A poster called Chilledy has just asked how long it takes to feed the babies in the BLW stylee, which rather got me thinking. I'm pretty sure that I remember my mother complaining in the early days that it was dragging on, and that if I would just shovel some food into Babybear's mouth then it wouldn't take so damned long. Yeah, thanks Mum.
I reckon that it usually took about half an hour before she signalled that a meal was finished in the traditional manner, ie by casually dropping any remainders off the highchair tray, tipping up her cup and splashing her hands in the water and making a soup out of whatever crapola is left there. I now look out for the first signal and remove her immediately. If she was enjoying herself and if I wasn't in a hurry then I'd leave her in for longer if she wanted to fanny around. Remember, it's for fun more than satisfying any major nutritional craving.
One big change that has taken place with increasing age, however, is that Babybear has discovered how to extricate herself Houdini-style from her and every other highchair we've encountered. Even a five-point harness is no match for her super-collapsible little body. It's very annoying, not to mention terrifying, to turn your back for fifteen seconds and find her surfing on the tray.
If she spends as much as ten minutes eating by herself nowadays we are in luck, but if we're all having our meal together then she sticks it out for maybe twenty or so minutes. Her appetite also ranges wildly… she loves a big breakfast and a snacky lunch and when it comes to dinner either wolfs down an incredible amount or nothing at all. It's utterly dependent on her teething, the poor wee soul.