A wooden table and chair used from the time a baby is ready for solids, around 5 months of age. This one is from Michael Olaf. Read more about the Weaning Table and Chair here

Newborns can see 10-12 inches away, which is the distance to their mother’s face when they are in the nursing position. Now that they are outside the belly, they are developing new ways of getting to know Mama (besides all the ways they’ve come to know her already, like her voice, her heartbeat, her movements, her smell, etc). One of those new ways is recognizing her face. Nursing gives baby plenty of opportunity to get to know her in this new way. Nursing is an important time for mom and baby get to know each other, so make sure you are being present with her while nursing.

I cooked some teriyaki ribs in the slow cooker and pulled it apart into little long strips. Here is Brooke (8.5 months) practicing her pincer grasp (keep reading below).

The pincer grasp is a sophisticated 2 finger grasp that children generally start working on from between 8-9 months and can become quite good at by 12 months (though some will not master it till they are 18-24 months). It usually starts as a primitive pincer grasp, which looks like this. Notice the flat fingers.

And gradually becomes this.

A true pincer grasp looks like this. The fingers are completely rounded and the fingertips are touching

Some parents never let their babies handle little things, so even when they reach 1.5 -2 years old, their pincer grasp is still primitive. Practice is the only way to improve this very important skill, that eventually allows the child to write with a pencil, use scissors and play the violin.

Food is an excellent way to let your baby practice his pincer grasp. At every meal, always give him something he can eat with his hands. Start out by cutting things into spears that he can grab with his whole hand (a piece of banana sliced vertically down the middle, a spear of apple, asparagus)  then gradually, give him smaller pieces and even slippery things that will slide out of their hand. Under supervision, you can also try non-food items. Give your baby the opportunity to practice!