Please help me welcome our guest blogger today, Laura from ManvsMommy. Thanks for stopping by. Take it away!
I used to think feeding Man was a challenge. I was very, very wrong.
From the very beginning Man was not the best eater. My doctor called him a “grazer” (What is he, a gazelle on the Serengeti?). One ounce here, a half an ounce there. I would longingly watch my friends breast- or bottle-feed their child a full 6 ounces in one feeding…while Man shoved the bottle away and squirmed to get off of me after having finished only 2 ounces. Of course, he’d scream bloody murder for another ounce only 30 minutes later.
Next came solids. Things improved a bit; he seemed to enjoy a wide variety of fruits and would gobble them down eagerly. Vegetables were not his favorite, but what kid wants to eat his vegetables? It seemed we were in the clear until one day, out of the blue, he decided he no longer wanted to be spoon-fed. Every meal would end the same; me, Man, the walls, the dog, and even the mailman, all covered in purée after he skillfully batted the spoon out of my hand a dozen or so times. I was defeated. Man was the winner yet again.
Finger foods provided some relief. For a time he would enjoy his meals as long as he could feed himself. I found an array of soft solids that he would eat and all was peaceful with the world once again…until now.
Man has recently decided that his high chair is an evil place full of negativity and hatred. Even as I carry him towards the chair he starts kicking and screaming. Every meal is the same: dropping the food over the side, then screaming, escalating to crying, and eventually somehow climbing out over the tray and attempting to jump down.
Initially I thought he just didn’t like the food until one day I found him under the high chair eating the same meal he had just thrown over the side (the dog happily sharing it with him). The next day I let him just stand next to the chair and I fed him while standing…
Success! Or was it? This was a bad precedent, and feeding him every meal this way did not seem like a good long-term solution…
And it wasn’t. He began to crawl away during meals while I’d chase him around the room with a sweet potato. Did he have somewhere more important to be? “Are you late for a special date, Man?”
This also provided easy access for our dog to share Man’s meals with him. I’m no germaphobe, but watching my dog lick her butt and then lick the remaining crumbs of grilled cheese off of Man’s face was just too much for even me.
This behavior has now affected Man’s ability to eat out at restaurants. He used to be a dream when dining out: the wait staff fascinated him, and he would look like a living bobble head doll as he watched the hustle and bustle. Friends and family would actually compliment us on how well behaved and patient he was.
Well, just the other day he actually slid out from under the safety straps and climbed right up onto the table. The teenage couple that was on a date next to us watched, mouths agape, as this little peanut of a Man got himself out of his chair and into the breadbasket. “He’s like birth control, huh?” I said to them.
Has anyone struggled with feeding issues out there? Come share your story with me. Click on the number at the top of the post and leave a comment.
Thanks, Laura! You can visit ManvsMommy at the following links:
http://manvsmommy.wordpress.com
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Lol, Laura! Just like birth control!
And sharing his meal with the dog and then using it’s tongue as a napkin? Priceless.
I’ve so much enjoyed Man and Mom’s adventures on your blog. So I was thrilled to get to enjoy them here at 4badmommies as well.
This is great, Laura and I have to say I can totally relate. My oldest took 4-5 ounces of formula every 2 hours. He was never full.
And, at some point, he decided he didn’t want the high chair. I remember him screaming in a restaurant once and throwing his toys everywhere because he wanted out. Once we put him in a booster seat, he was a happy child. I just didn’t like the idea of giving him what he wanted but it worked out.
Great post!
Abbi
Hi Laura!
Thank you for this fabulous post! I remember high chair days. My children were not allowed to eat unless they were seated at the table. Good in theory. Until we found that my toddler son would stuff his mouth with meat/chicken, say he was all done, and ask to be excused from the table. Then he’d chew. And chew. And chew. But he’d never actually swallow. Then my husband and I would find these little balls of…well…dried out meat stuffed in the oddest places. I really could have used a dog back then!
I must say, getting my children to eat was never a problem at my house. Now table manners…those continue to be an issue!
Good luck with your high chair wars! Oh, and when my children were young, if they didn’t behave in the restaraunt they were taken out of the restaraunt. This is exhausting at first, but eventually they learn.
Laura, thanks so much for the awesome post! I remember my high chair days sooooo well. My little one would tear off the trays and pull at the straps – he wanted out! My oldest would calmly sit in there for hours and eat everything I put in front of him. They are all so different in each stage. Cracked up at the birth control statement – ummm, it’s been said around my boys too@!!!
LOL I love that last line. Ain’t it the truth though.
Both of my boys were colicky. I couldn’t find a formula their sensitive tummies could tolerate. So we’d spend hours every day with inconsolable screaming. Solids, my oldest ate great. He loved everything, even his veggies, but my youngest was very picky. When he was potty training, pooping in the toilet scared him. So he decided all on his own he simply wasn’t going to eat. I’m assuming he thought, “if I don’t eat, I don’t have to poop.” He got real thin there for a while. Scared the crap out of me. I had to get tough with him. He wasn’t allowed to leave the table until he ate everything on his plate. Surprisingly, it worked (thank goodness).
As for table manners…my husband and I gave up. After a while, we just stopped taking the kids OUT for dinner unless it was McDonald’s (where kids are expected to scream and run around), until they were at least ten. lol
LOL! Yes, most excellent birth control. I never took my kids out to eat until they were old enough to stay seated and not make a huge commotion. I’m just too lazy to work hard at keeping them happy all the while paying for food I’m not really able to enjoy.
And BOY have I struggled with eating issues!My seventeen year old is STILL picky. But hey, she’s healthy, so there’s something, right?!?
Thanks for guest posting today!!
I thought I had it bad, not so much! A booster seat worked wonders on the littlest babe, he thought he was sitting at the table like the big kids. Still a picky eater though at home, great at the sitter’s house. If it wasn’t for her some days I’d wonder if he ate anything!
Hi everyone, thank you so much for your wonderful comments. I will definitely try the booster seat as Abbi and Andrea suggested! Wendy, love that you used to find dried bits of chewed food stuff all over… I can see Man doing that in a few years!!!!! As you all enjoyed, he is like natural birth control! I’m just not sure why it did not work for me, i am pregnant again. I will be joining the 2 under 2 club and you can be sure I will be blogging about it!!!
Again, thanks for all of your comments, keep them coming. They help me make each and every blog even better!
Looking forward to continuing to blog for “guest blog Tuesdays”!!
This is absolutely the best birth control for teens. They need to see the real deal!!
As far as tips, the high chair was my secret weapon. I kept him in the high chair until he could basically get himself in and out of it! lol He is 4 now and I often think about looking for a high chair for preschoolers.
With that said, just know that this phase will pass…..well at least before he is a teenager, I hope.
Hang in there mama!
Joanne and Aimee,
My husband and I were very careful where and when we took our young children out to eat in restaurants. We chose kid friendly restaurants or we ate out early so we’d be done by six p.m. And I brought lots of stuff to keep them occupied!
Hi Andrea! And welcome! Booster seats are wonderful. The old ones used to tip but I think the new ones strap onto the chair. We also had what I think was called a Sassy Seat that anchored right onto the table. I don’t miss those days!
Hi Laura,
Congrats on the coming bundle of joy. 2 under 2. Wow! you’re going to have your hands full.
Based on my mommy-mojo, Man seems to be @16 mos. old (haven’t had a chance to check out your blog yet due to my own rugrats). You mentioned nursing; I have to tell you that if he was a BoobMan for an extended period of time–say, until @ a year, or even now–he just may not be into food, period. I nursed each of my 3 girls for @2 yrs, of course being the most gung-ho about the first, and she simply Never. Liked. Babyfood. Period. She eschewed it all and fought me until she foamed at the mouth and our dogs did backflips of joy while liking up the collateral damage, until finally I gave up for a while. @14 mos. she began eating brown rice with a little butter and salt, whole, along w/other simple foods like chicken, while in our laps at the table w/us. So, it may be the Boob-baby-bias, or your Man may just be telling you “F*&#K a high chair, I want to do what you do when you do it.
The good news: my #1 kid (“the Lawyer”) is now in middle school, healthy and smart, and we share cool clothes. Bad news: she still gets off on refusing to do things she innately SENSES are REALLY REALLY important to me. : )
Hi Regina, thanks!! You can be sure I will be blogging about it!!
Helena- Man is 11 months old, he HATED breast feeding! He seems to like a wide variety of foods, I mean he ate clams the other day… I don’t even like clams (his daddy fed him those). I think your dead on in the “F*** the high chair!” I hope it’s just a phase, but if not we will have to do some behavior modification when he can tolerate it!