My Science Project

Question: Does Liam end up any messier if I give into Owen's requests to feed him his green beans for dinner than when I feed him myself?
Research: Owen is very capable of feeding himself with a spoon. He has also fed me things from a spoon a time or two with very little mess. He has been using a spoon for 12-13 months. Owen does not have experience feeding babies. Owen certainly has never fed a baby that spits and sputters and sucks on his hand and hits the spoon while taking in food.


I have been using eating utensils for 31 years, assuming my mom didn't hand over the spoon until I was over 1 year old--otherwise, longer. Further, I have experience in feeding babies. I definitely have experience feeding babies that spit and sputter and suck on their hands and hit the spoon while taking in food (Owen was a champ at this as a wee one).
Hypothesis: Based on the fact that I have more experience with a spoon, I believe that Liam will be less messy if I feed him his green beans than if I give in to Owen's requests to do so.

The Experiment.

Exhibit 1: Owen feeding Liam. Note the care and thoughtfulness evident on Owen's face. And, the obstacle of the hand in the mouth presented by Baby Liam.

Exhibit 2: A bite for Liam....a bite for Owen (ha, ha).

Exhibit 3: Liam AFTER eating green beans fed him by his 22 month old brother, Owen. Owen was fairly successful; however, a few bites were directed at Liam's nose AND Liam managed to swat the spoon away making green beans go everywhere. Otherwise, not too bad.

Exhibit 4: Since Owen didn't take photos of me feeding Liam tonight, we only have the final product. Here's Liam after eating a container of green beans fed him by mama. Yes, he is wearing the same outfit. No, I didn't take these all in one day, they are two separate occurrences.

Analyze the Data and Draw a Conclusion: Liam does not appear any less messy in Exhibit 4 than he does in Exhibit 3. In fact, he is almost messier. Perhaps it is because I don't take a bite in between feeding bites of food to the baby. Hmmm....

Communicate your Results: You saw it here, folks, it is no less messy to allow a 22 month old baby to feed a 4 month old baby. Nosireee. That's because the baby, the sweet, smiling, drooling, innocent looking baby, is the root cause of the mess every, single time.

Stunned? Yup....we were, too.