Feeding my children food.
I despise it.
Why?
Because they despise it too.
My children are far beyond the typical "picky eater."
They simply don't care about eating.
Ever.
And as a result, they have no energy, low blood sugar, and are GROUCHY.
I spend much too much of my day trying to get them to eat healthy food that will help them feel better.
It is exhausting.
And it rarely works.
We have daily food "negotiations".
And bribes.
And trips to "time out."
And eventually I usually end up caving.
Food.
I have never liked making it because I'm a terrible cook.
But I try.
Pretty hard.
I make weekly menus, go the grocery store, and attempt to make healthy, home cooked meals.
But the fact that I spent the entire mealtime trying to convince my kids to eat what I made makes me hate cooking even more.
Ugh.
Food.
It really shouldn't be this difficult.
And now, Miss Abby Grace seems to be following suit.
It's time for her to start eating baby foods.
So we started with the traditional rice cereal.
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| {Abby's 1st Rice Cereal Feeding - July 30, 2012} |
Don't let this smile fool you.
Because Abby Grace is following suit.
Following suit by not eating.
She likes to hold the spoon.
And put the spoon in her mouth.
As long as there is no cereal on the spoon!
She seems to get a little satisfaction out of torturing me with her not eating. Her eyes and little smirk show that satisfaction.
So even though she has cereal all over her face, she's still following suit.
Approximately 2% of that cereal actually made it to her stomach.
Like those who came before her, she just doesn't care about eating solid food.
And by "doesn't care", I mean screams and cries when I try to feed her.
And so I tried sweet potatoes.
Those are always a sure hit with the babies.
All the babies except Abby Grace.
So I decided to break all the rules of good and conscientious parenting and completely skip the vegetables.
Go straight for the fruit.
Surely she would like the fruit.
Every baby likes the fruit!
Right?
Every baby except Abby Grace.
She's just following suit.
Not wanting to eat.
Anything.
Ever.
Food.
I don't know what to do about it.
Maybe I'll start adding sugar to it.
Because that's really the only thing I never have to negotiate with my other kids.
Suggestions are welcomed.
5 comments:
Amelia wouldn't eat any baby food. Even mixing in breast milk to both cereal and veggies or fruits didn't help. We finally decided she just didn't like the texture of purees, and I got tired of throwing money away on food she would eat two bites of, so I just stopped trying. She was extremely interested in what we were eating, so when she got closer to 9 months old we started giving her small bites of what was on our plate and she loved it. She only wanted to feed herself though, and she still won't eat things like applesauce, so I really do think it was a texture thing for her. Hang in there momma. As long as Abby is a healthy baby I wouldn't worry about it too much (and based on those pictures I'd say she's definitely got a healthy set of lungs on her ;D ).
Ditto what Elizabeth said completely. Baby food is overrated. And don't worry about starting with fruit, I think Kolbe's first food was banana. Breastmilk is actually very sweet, so fruit is closer to that taste anyways. IF she's not interested in solids, no rush, try again in a few weeks or months. She looks like a happy, healthy girl so I just wouldn't worry. Easier said than done I know, but just go with the flow and do what works best for her, even if you think it's "breaking the rules" (probably not the sugar thing though, ;-D). I mean, seriously, who wrote those rules anyways??
i can totally sympathize about food frustrations. neither of my boys are that interested in food. at family gatherings they barely eat, then driving home they complain about being hungry-so irritating!
max used to through major, MAJOR fits about whatever i put in front of him, even if it was exactly what he had asked for, cut exactly the way he wanted it. lately i've taken to just telling him, "fine. then don't eat it, but this is all you're getting." sometimes he'll still stomp and pout, but usually he'll eventually sit down and eat, then telling me it's his favorite food ever. it makes me crazy!!! i have set snacks-carrots, almonds, and walnuts that if they complain about being hungry before bedtime, i'll let them have. that way it's nutritious but not terribly exciting.
max was also not interested in any foods until 10 months old, then pretty much went straight to simple table foods.
sorry this is a really long comment. i wish i had the magic answer for you because i know exactly how frustrating it can be. but gosh, even mad, miss abby sure is cute : )
Mary, I do the same thing if mine are hungry within 20-30 minutes of a meal. Carrots or broccoli are usually their choices. That way I don't have to listen to them whine about being hungry, but I know they're eating something they'd have for a meal anyways, so who cares if it's mealtime or not.
Thanks for the advice ladies. It's good to know that other babies didn't care for baby food. My other babies ate it... not a LOT of it, but they did eat it. I'm fine with forgetting it for a while... it was my hope to get her to sleep longer at night! But honestly, she doesn't wake because she is hungry. She wakes because she wants to be nursed and comforted... we all know how that goes! And I told Noah tonight that if he was hungry before bed, he could have carrot sticks or nuts. He was not a fan of that idea! But it's going to be my standard answer from now on!
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