Self feeding baby with Down syndrome

When Kamdyn was about 9 months old, I started to think about self feeding, because I remembered my other kids being able to do it at that age.  She started out with a straw cup that had handles on it, which made it easier to hold.  She required some help in the beginning, but it didn't take long for her to get it.

The whole straw cup thing was weird, because I just tried it with her one day, since I was thinking about self feeding, and she did it.  So we went from there.

The honey bear cup is a good cup for teaching how to drink from a straw, because you can squeeze the liquid up the straw while they drink. 

For food, we started out with large, easy to grasp foods like biter biscuits. I didn't like the biter biscuits, however, because she would bite off a big chunk, and I didn't feel comfortable with her having that much in her mouth.

A friend mentioned that she used Mum Mum rice crackers, so I tried those. They are great.
 

 
They melt in their mouth immediately like a puff, so I never worried about her choking or taking too big a bite.  And they are not messy like biter biscuits unless you put nutella on it:
 
 

Graham crackers also dissolve quickly.

As Kamdyn's first birthday approached, I worried that she would not be able to have that classic first birthday moment of eating cake, because I had not put food in front of her to feed herself.  Since she didn't have a pincer grasp, I didn't think she was ready for it.  Her birthday was her opportunity to show me.

She ate cake like a champ.

She was so proud.

Shortly after that, I was reading the Woodbine House fine motor skills book.  The book explained that low muscle tone also affects the muscles in the hands and fingers.  Well, that may be common sense to most, but I had never even thought of it.  Apparently, being able to coordinate the thumb and pointer to pinch a small object is a pretty intricate process that often takes our kids longer.  A toddler with Down syndrome will usually use a raking motion with the fingers to scoop the food up before they develop a pincer grasp.  This video demonstrates it perfectly:

As you can see, I only give her one piece at a time.  When she first started feeding this way, and I poured a pile of cheerios or puffs on her tray, she would scoop a whole handful and try to shove them all in her mouth.  In order to prevent choking and teach her to eat one at a time, I sit with her and offer one at a time.  Now, at almost 14 months, I can spread out a small pile of cheerios or puffs, and she will only eat a few at a time.  For larger foods, I am still only giving one at a time, though. 

Some products that I will be investing in as she grows are:

*Munchkin suction cup bowls

Kamdyn already likes to throw her cup, so we are working on it, but a little suction cup help can't hurt.

*Sassy spoons that have a shallow bowl and are curved to make feeding easier.

* Infa trainer cup before we go to an open cup, because it helps teach the motion of drinking from an open cup but helps provide more control.