Decoy

When Lyla sees the spoon of rice cereal approaching her mouth, she wants to help but doesn't always know the best way how. If we could convince her to open her mouth and keep her hands at her sides, then less food would end up on her face. But maybe she likes food on her face. Maybe her forehead has taste buds.

One of Julie's coworkers told her an amazing trick. She got this trick from her son's pediatrician, who coincidentally happens to be Lyla's pediatrician. (And the pediatrician is spectacular, so you can imagine our collective disappointment that she's leaving to teach doctors at the hospital.) But the trick is to give the baby a spoon to hold while you use a different spoon for the feeding. The baby's hands are happy, so more food goes in the mouth, less on the face. A decoy spoon: genius.

My brother suggested a spoon camouflaging technique. Sit in a blue room, for instance, paint yourself and the baby blue, and use a blue spoon. Also genius.