Thursday, April 28, 2011

just two peas in a pod...

and then a whole bunch more that milo gulped down his gullet this morning. it's a little bit funny (and perhaps a little bit sad) the things i get really excited about since becoming a mom. i just about cried tears of pure joy as i fed him, spoonful after spoonful of green pea mush that he readily ate.

so far rice cereal and green beans have been depressingly difficult. getting milo to eat them involved trickery of the most treacherous kind: silly songs and an unsuspecting open mouth. i would sing "old man by the window stood" (old man by the window stood, looking out into the wood, saw a bunny hopping by, knocking on his door. "help me! help me! help!" he said, "before the hunter shoots me dead!" "come inside and stay with me; oh how happy we will be!") including the most obnoxiously silly singing voice i could muster and accompanying hand motions.

he would look at me bewildered, but his mouth was open, and that's all i needed. in went the spoon, and then came the furrowed brow and a look of total disgust and betrayal, as if he were saying, "how could you. here i thought you were entertaining me, but no. just putting more of that nasty gunk you call 'food' into my mouth."

it worked most of the time, but we also often had to resort to prying the spoon into his mouth. he would turn away, or try and grab the spoon, or put his hand up in front of his face trying to stop us...

all this to say, green beans and rice cereal have been a struggle, and so far, milo has wanted nothing to do with them.

but peas? oh peas! glorious peas!

normally feeding milo in his highchair takes a minimum of half an hour. and for only maybe a tablespoon of food? (and that's before it gets derailed to his cheek, hand, bib, the floor.)

i gave him one spoonful of peas. he seemed a little unsure, but when i presented the second spoonful, he opened his mouth wide and readily accepted it. no singing or silly songs required. it took him maybe five minutes to eat what i had portioned out, so i decided to try for a second helping, and milo took in every bite.

like i said, it might be a little bit sad that i'd be so excited over peas, but these are the things my days consist of, and anything that'll make my job of feeding milo - helping him to learn and grow - easier is totally something worth getting excited over.

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