After yesterday’s baby food pouch giveaway, our winner informed me there is now a product on the market that makes it even easier to feed babies when you’re out and about.
Say hello to the Boon Baby Food Dispensing Spoon (made for Plum Organics baby food pouches):
As you can see, it comes in a 2-pack and allows you to instantly turn a Plum Organics baby food pouch (which usually has a hard straw on the end) into a spoon-tipped baby food dispenser.
Look at the difference:
Just screw on the spoon attachment and you can then squeeze the food out of the pouch and onto the spoon in order to spoon-feed your traveling baby.
This 2-pack of Boon Dispensing Spoons is sold for anywhere between $3.49 and $3.99 depending on where you buy it. You can find it at Target (right next to the Plum Organics baby food pouches if you go in the store), Diapers.com, or Amazon.com (subscribe & save to get them at lower cost per 2-pack).
Okay, so since this a product review, I want to note a few things I like and don’t like about this product as both a mom and an occupational therapist:
I like…
…that it comes in a case that can easily be clipped on a ring or handle of the diaper bag. Easy storage, minimizes mess after use.
…that it minimizes equipment needed in order to create a travel spoon, unlike other squeezable dispensing spoons.
…that it’s easier to wash than those squeezable dispensing spoons that hold an entire jar’s worth of baby food, because all you have to wash is the spoon tip.
…that it allows you to spoon-feed an out-and-about younger baby who perhaps isn’t quite ready to be fed straight from the straw of the pouch.
…that it’s free of BPA, phthalates, and PVC.
…that it fits on brands other than Plum Organics’ baby food pouches (definitely the Gerber pouches and likely all other brands since the straws tend to all be the same sizes).
I don’t like…
…that the bowl of the spoon is a little too deep. According to feeding therapy expert Diane Bahr, babies should ideally use a spoon that is mostly flat (I like the Gerber rubber-tipped baby spoons). This allows them to close their lips around it and remove the food with their top lip as the spoon is pulled straight out of their mouth (horizontally), as opposed to scraping the puree off with their teeth or gums as the adult swoops the spoon diagonally upward to remove the spoon. That diagonal swoop prevents them from having to close and work their upper lip (which is needed for the development of more complex feeding and speech skills) and is often associated with using a spoon that has a bowl that’s too deep for the baby. It’s only a big deal if you end up using these screw-on spoons all the time, but still something to note.
…that it has the potential to get lost or accidentally thrown away because of how small it is. Feeding baby while traveling can be pretty chaotic, and now you have to remember where you put the mini spoon before you stuffed everything in the diaper bag and headed back home (even if you remember to bring that cute little plastic case).
…that it’s a little redundant. Baby food pouches are already convenient. The spoon attachment seems a little bit like overkill to me.
…that it has the potential to create more mess than if you didn’t use it. Once you put puree on a spoon it has the potential to go flying, thanks to grabby little baby hands. You might actually save yourself a potential mess if you don’t use this product and just feed your baby straight from the pouch.
All in all, I think this is a pretty cool, inexpensive product that may be worth having on-hand for on-the-go babies who are eating stage 1 and stage 2 baby food purees. If you think you and your baby would benefit from using this product, then I’d recommend giving it a try!
What do you think of this product?
Share your thoughts in the comment box below!
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I saw this at safeway too, with the food pouches. I almost bought one but then remembered the whole reason i purchased a few of the pouches was to help baby get the hang of sucking from a straw. My kids don’t seem to get the sippy cup. They’ve both done better with a straw.
Intersting what you said about spoon depth. I found that Mikayla did better eating from a deeper spoon. But now that she’s getting teeth I definitely don’t want to scraping food on them. Thanks for the insight.
Angela, that’s funny what you said about neither of your kids doing well with the sippy cup. That same feeding therapist mentioned in the post (Diane Bahr) is actually a strong advocate AGAINST the use of sippy cups. When kids transition from a bottle to an open cup, they have to learn how to elevate the tip of their tongue in order to create enough suction inside their mouth to swallow (pay attention to what your tongue does the next time you swallow liquid). This takes practice. A sippy cup prevents them from being able to do this and, according to her, basically serves no purpose. She recommends teaching kids how to drink from a recessed cup (one that has a top that dips down a little and has a small hole in it) rather than a sippy cup when transitioning from bottle to open cup. Interesting stuff. Thanks for the comment!