How do you get a baby to eat solids without choking? Baby food feeders are a hands-free (on your part) way to allow your baby to safely chow down on solid foods. Just want to know my top baby food feeder picks? You got it…
The #1 silicone baby food feeder on the market. Easy to hold. Easy use. Easy to clean.
Best for purees, this fresh food feeder has slots at the tip for easy sucking. 2 pack
The best mesh baby food feeder. A generous storage pouch allows you to fit more food inside. 2 pack
Otherwise, read on to find out more about this marvelous invention including a closer look at what made my top picks so great
Baby food feeders look like a cross between a pacifier and a baby bottle. You may have heard a baby food feeder referred to as a baby food teether or baby food nibbler.
And using one is incredibly simple. Simply open the baby food feeder in scoop in the baby food (no liquids). In this case, we are going to use a mashed banana.
But the beauty of a baby food feeder is that you don’t even need to mash the food up. Your baby’s gnawing does the work for you. Stuck for ideas? I have used whole pieces of banana, watermelon, pumpkin, grapes, and blueberries…
If it turns to mush when pressure is applied, it’s suitable to be placed in. And for a summer treat, freeze some watermelon or breast milk or puree and pop it inside for a baby-safe popsicle. No more frozen fingers. Great for teething babies
Most baby food feeders come with a protective cap. Not only does this keep the silicone tip clean and hygienic, but also stops you from covering your hands with baby food while you fill the food reservoir. Once you have filled the food reservoir to capacity, you simply lock the handle into position and give it to your baby.
And that’s really all there is to it. Baby food feeders are not exactly a complex baby gadget.
By now you are probably rolling your eyes at me. Why do you need yet another baby gadget? If you had asked me that question 6 months ago, I couldn’t have come up with a compelling reason as to why you need a baby food feeder.
But having experimented with many different food feeders on the market, I can now say with confidence… Baby food feeders are amazing. And here’s why…
They allow your baby to gum on solids long before his teeth come in. And best of all, you don’t have to worry about your baby putting choke-sized chunks of food into his mouth. A baby food feeder keeps your infant safe during meal times.
If you are having trouble introducing new solid foods then a baby food feeder can be your secret weapon. By encouraging your baby to self-feed, your little one will be much more likely to take to new tastes and flavors. And all because your baby is allowed to feed himself.
This was actually the reason why I bought my first baby food feeder. After weeks of trying to introduce banana to my baby’s diet, I served it in a Kidsme Food Feeder. And just like that, he gulped it down and begged for more.
And if you are a mommy who likes her house spotless; the selling point is a cleaner meal time. While your creative little nibbler will still drool all over the place, the majority of your baby’s meal is going in his mouth. The remainder is left behind inside the baby food feeder for easy cleaning.
But perhaps the greatest part is that a baby food feeder allows for hands-free feeding. No more pretending to be an airplane. No more trying to pry open your baby’s lips. No more having your baby flip his dish.
You simply give your baby a food feeder and you will have a rare couple of moments to use both of your hands. Whether that’s taking a second to clean up the last mess your baby made or just opening a bottle of wine, this is something that all parents can appreciate.
When it comes to choosing a baby food feeder, silicone is always the way to go. And there is one good reason for this. Cleaning. Silicone nipples are super simple to clean. A light scrub under warm soapy water is all it takes to wash the remainder of your baby’s meal out.
If you already use silicone baby bottle nipples, then your baby will take to this in a heartbeat. After all, your baby already associates the mouth-feel of silicone with a full tummy! The only downside to silicone baby feeders is that they can discolor.
I remember staining mine with mango, it gave the silicone an orange hue. Try as I might, I could not scrub the color out. Turns out the mango had dyed the silicone.
While the baby food feeder was still perfectly hygienic to use, it had a funky color to it and never quite looked clean, even when it was. Fortunately, this didn’t worry my baby. He still gnawed on it like a chipmunk.
Not only is this the best silicone baby food feeder, but it’s also the best all-around baby food feeder ever. Seriously nothing comes close. Kidsme got it perfect the first attempt.
So much so that their recently released update, the doesn’t come close (it’s more difficult for a baby to hold). I do have to praise the Kidsme Food Feeder when it comes to durability.
The BPA-Free can take a beating. My baby likes to throw the feeder to let mommy know it’s time for a refill. The amount of times this thing has hit my tiled floor would count in the hundreds. And it’s still going strong. Even the silicone was durable.
Despite obviously trying, my baby’s razor-sharp two front teeth were unable to tear the silicone. Let’s say that your baby’s teeth are sharper than mine. If it does tear, there is no need to go out and buy a whole new baby food feeder.
Kidsme sells replacement sacks, as long as you keep the handle. The unique snap-lock closer made the opening and closing the baby food feeder a breeze, even with my clumsy fingers.
While I found it easy to open, my little baby did not have the same success. Try as he might, his little fingers just couldn’t open the lock. And if you are wondering what that odd ring is on the bottom of the feeder, it allows you to clip the food feeder to a pacifier clip. By clicking on the plastic hygiene cover.
But the best part about the Kidsme baby food feeder is just how easy it is to clean. With just a bit of water, your baby’s leftover meal slides right out. Or be like me and do it the lazy way, top rack of the dishwasher. The kids me comes in two sizes…
And each size comes in four different colors to suit your baby boy or girl. I’ll be straight up, I recommend the larger size, even if your baby is slightly younger. The small size just doesn’t hold enough food. The larger size can hold two small banana slices.
My 4-month-old was still easily able to gum away on the larger size without any issues. If you are in the market for a good baby food feeder, then this should be your starting point. Highly recommended.
Just want a cheap baby food feeder? You will be pleased to know that you can buy two of the Munchkin food feeders for the same cost as a single Kidsme one. When it comes to purees, the Munchkin food feeder actually outperforms my top pick.
If you look at the very tip of the food sack, you will notice a small slit. This slit stays shut when you are scooping in mashed baby food or puree but opens as your baby sucks, allowing them to easily draw out the puree with his mouth.
Unfortunately, this same slit is its undoing for solids. My baby was able to get a chunky piece of watermelon out of the hole, large enough that he had trouble swallowing it. This seems to be an unavoidable issue with the design.
There were a few other issues that made this a good food feeder rather than a great one. Namely that you cannot remove the food sack (not easily at least) and there are no replacement sacks available if it breaks.
Available in green, blue, and pink, the Munchkin Food Feeder is great for purees, but you might want to give it a second thought if using it to introduce solid foods to your baby. Still worth a look.
While I am wholly a member of team silicone when it comes to baby food feeders, there is one area that mesh baby food feeders have an advantage. Their size. The net of the baby food feeder just has more space. You won’t have to refill the pouch as often which means your baby will remain content for longer.
But as far as cleaning goes, mesh baby food feeders take a little more effort to remove gunky bits. And if you have a weak stomach, you may find yourself gagging at the thought of picking mashed bananas out of the net with your fingers.
If you are going to go down the mesh baby food feeder road I have one piece of advice for you… Rinse the net as soon as your baby has finished eating.
If you allow food to dry and harden, you are going to need a lot of patience to clean the food feeder. And if you are like me, patience is in short supply.
When it came to mesh feeders there was one that stood out. Well made, BPA free, and cheap. In fact, you can grab two for a fiver. Now that’s good value. Now you may have noticed that this doesn’t include a travel cap.
If that’s your thing, Munchkin also offers the , which comes with a protective cap. But it’s also double the cost.
If you are considering taking the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder out of your home then I strongly suggest buying the deluxe version. Without a hygiene cap, this is just a mess waiting to happen.
The large-sized mesh net can hold large-sized chunks of vegetables or fruit while your little one happily gnaws on them. I liked that the colored mesh helped prevent stains from setting in.
Don’t get me wrong, if you are serving steamed beets, the mesh had no chance. But for less colorful foods, the product held its color much better than the or which while good, stained on the first use.
If you want the cheapest baby food feeder on the market then the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder is highly recommended. Do you use a baby food feeder for solid food? Let me know in the comments below.
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