The food revolution
Baby Boy turned ten months old yesterday. He celebrated by declaring (non-verbally) that he is no longer in favor of being spoon-fed, unless it’s something he really,really wants (like fruit). The end result is that he wants to feed himself. This would be a good thing, if he could use a spoon and a fork.
We have entered the Cracker Era.
When the Munchkin turned a year old (and I swear it was to the day), she absolutely refused to let me put anything into her mouth. She was going to do it herself! She lived on peanut butter crackers and grilled cheese sandwiches and milk for two months. Hence, the Cracker Era. Baby Boy has begun early, but all is not lost.
Since he is too young for peanut butter, my options are limited. Fortunately, he is willing to let me feed him if his hands are otherwise occupied. So far, the best distraction has been his sippy cup. He’s still nursing for the most part, but has been able to take a few swigs from the cup. He hasn’t quite gotten the hang of it, though – he forgets to tip the cup up to drink, and usually needs some help. We’ve heard some interesting burps because he’s sucked down a little too much air.
Other good distractions have been Cheerios (Baby Boy’s perfect snack), toast, and as of yesterday, the grilled cheese sandwich. Cheddar cheese, not American. He loved being able to sink all seven of his teeth into his little one-eighth slivers of grilled cheese. And for dinner, I broke out the baby food grinder and he had his first dinner of table food – pasta and chicken, with a side of his already home-cooked-and-processed green beans. He did pretty well, but eventually I gave him a bowl of his dinner that he proceeded to eat by hand and smear on his face like warpaint. I call that a success!
On the other end of the spectrum, we have the Munchkin. Over the last year, we have had a horrible time trying to get vegetables into her. The only way she would eat veggies was if it was baby food (and for a while, I catered to that simply because I wanted to get some nutrients into her), or if it was vegetable soup. She still loves vegetable soup – she’ll eat the veggies out of it and leave the alphabet letters.
But in the last couple of weeks, she has actually begun to eat the veggies offered to her. For the record, I mainly use frozen veggies. The only canned vegetable I use (besides tomatoes, but they’re technically a fruit) is creamed corn. I grew up eating the frozen ones and find that they are much fresher (plus they make great baby food). The Munchkin usually just plays with her vegetables, mushing them up with her fingers and making a mess. But all of a sudden, she has decided to like green peas! I served them again with dinner last night with the aforementioned chicken and pasta, and while I was feeding Baby Boy, she tugged on my sleeve. “Mommy, more peas, please!” she said.
I turned, expecting to see a mess of peas all over her placemat. There was not a pea in sight. She had eaten her whole helping of peas before eating anything else. I nearly passed out in shock. “What did you do with my little girl?” I gasped.
She looked at me as if I’d gone blind. “I right here,” she said in a confused tone.
I gave her a kiss and served up more peas. She ate a few more, then promptly went to work smushing them all with her fingers. I didn’t care. She had eaten peas!!!
*sigh*
They’re both growing up so fast.
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June 13th, 2006 06:10
Happy 10 Month Birthday Baby Boy!!!
Although Mophead & Dustbunny are pretty good with their veggies, sometimes I still have to sneak some in there! The easiest way is (as you know) veggie soup – have you tried blending it and giving them crusty bread to dip? Another good way is to whip up a quick bolognaise sauce – you can add finely chopped carrot, onion, tomamto, celeriac, peas etc. Also try boiling up a little sweet potato with your normal potato, add butter and milk and mash – hopefully they will love this! Cheesy sauce over brocolli & cauliflower is also easy and yummy! If you want any recipes – I’d be happy to return the favour!
June 13th, 2006 06:39
Little Cousin likes peas and corn – I let her eat them whole (which means that they come out whole). I get a frozen peas and carrots mix, and Little Cousin picks out the peas and leaves the carrots. Bananas are the only fruit she can feed herself, so she has that and cheerios for breakfast everyday. She doesn’t have any ground food anymore.
A couple things we invested in when she wanted finger-foods, were fish sticks and chicken nuggets cut into smaller pieces (along with the favorites of mac ‘n’ cheese, toasted cheese sandwich, and goldfish crackers). It was a good way to get meat/protein in her and I still keep them on hand. However, she is a carb-girl and would eat cheerios, bread, rice, and pasta all day if I let her.
She’s been an independent eater since nine months, so we had to adapt slightly sooner. I also feed her what we have for dinner. (It promotes family cohesiveness.) I cut pasta into small strands, meatloaf and meatballs are winners, rice and potato (mashed) are easy finger-foods, too. I make sure she sees that she’s getting what we have. My theory is that she’s more inclined to eat it then.
June 13th, 2006 09:17
Too funny, Deanna. My daughter started demanding that she feed herself around the age of 12 months. She very rarely ever lets anyone feed her. The end result? She ends up with more food on her face and the floor than I’ve ever seen. Yesterday, after dinner, her hair was covered in macaroni and cheese. I would have been a little upset if I weren’t laughing my ass off!