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Aug. 23rd, 2004 01:01 pmAs a baby, Molly didn't eat baby food, because she didn't like being fed. She wanted to feed herself. So, from an early age, she ate real food -- graham crackers, cooked baby carrots, cut up fruit, whatever. We tried to slice things to minimize the choking hazard, and she managed pretty well. Her rejection of baby food was so complete that I think we only went through about three jars of the stuff.
Kiera, on the other hand, loves baby food. She likes table food, too: at dinnertime, we normally give her some of whatever we're eating, and she'll gnaw on the green beans or broccolli or corn on the cob (she loves corn on the cob) while we eat. Then, when we're done with dinner, she wants some baby food. Eating table food is a lot of work and not that much actually winds up in her stomach; my guess is that after spending a half hour on the table food, she's still hungry, and wants something that will fill her up. Then, after eating her baby food, she wants to nurse.
Starting from a pretty early point, when we realized that she liked baby food, we would give her a choice of jars. (Yeah, you can make your own baby food, but the jars are really pretty cheap for a baby that goes through maybe one a day, if that.) We would take out three jars from the cabinet, and tell her what was in each: "Rice and Lentil dinner -- sweet potatoes -- apricots." Then we'd put all three on her high chair tray to let her grab one.
Early on, the ritual of letting Kiera choose her dinner was mostly for our amusement. But over time, she's started to genuinely understand how it works. She may not necessarily know what she's choosing, but she knows that picking up a jar means that we're going to open it and feed her what's inside. And if she's not hungry, she'll refuse to choose. When she does choose, she'll hold the jar with this big grin on her face, and wait fairly patiently while we get out the bowl, spoons, and bib, since she knows that we need all that stuff before we can feed her.
Yeah, I know, it's small potatoes, but one of my favorite parts of parenting is getting to watch the wheels turn and the lightbulb come on.
Kiera, on the other hand, loves baby food. She likes table food, too: at dinnertime, we normally give her some of whatever we're eating, and she'll gnaw on the green beans or broccolli or corn on the cob (she loves corn on the cob) while we eat. Then, when we're done with dinner, she wants some baby food. Eating table food is a lot of work and not that much actually winds up in her stomach; my guess is that after spending a half hour on the table food, she's still hungry, and wants something that will fill her up. Then, after eating her baby food, she wants to nurse.
Starting from a pretty early point, when we realized that she liked baby food, we would give her a choice of jars. (Yeah, you can make your own baby food, but the jars are really pretty cheap for a baby that goes through maybe one a day, if that.) We would take out three jars from the cabinet, and tell her what was in each: "Rice and Lentil dinner -- sweet potatoes -- apricots." Then we'd put all three on her high chair tray to let her grab one.
Early on, the ritual of letting Kiera choose her dinner was mostly for our amusement. But over time, she's started to genuinely understand how it works. She may not necessarily know what she's choosing, but she knows that picking up a jar means that we're going to open it and feed her what's inside. And if she's not hungry, she'll refuse to choose. When she does choose, she'll hold the jar with this big grin on her face, and wait fairly patiently while we get out the bowl, spoons, and bib, since she knows that we need all that stuff before we can feed her.
Yeah, I know, it's small potatoes, but one of my favorite parts of parenting is getting to watch the wheels turn and the lightbulb come on.
