On Oral Development

Wow I haven't blogged in months! Time flies so fast and any downtime, I just want to read or watch tv or, believe it or not, get some cleaning down. Everything else is filled with the lovely stubborn amazing wonderful boy (and the husband, dog, parents, friends...). Nevertheless I was just sitting here watching Sawyer eat Happy Baby Puffs, something that he's been doing for over a year now, and thinking about what a great chewer he is at 17 months. I think good chewing and oral motor development is a learned, gradual process. I believe that I helped his skills by slowly introducing him to continuously more firm/ chewy/ crispy food from 4 months old. First the baby oatmeal (Happy Baby again) very runny, then more and more firm so that he had to use his tongue to move it around his mouth. Then progressively more bulkier soft foods like roasted sweet potato or squash. Then even more "solid" food like bananas and avocado. Now he eats crispy cereal puffs and apples with no problem. And. he's done with his pile of puffs so off I go...!