11/08/2012

HONEST FOOD

Another post to do with my child and how he eats. It seems to be the one thing I really obsess over and worry about. Occasionly, even if I've had a good day, the whole feeding ritual can really ruin it for me. Mainly I find it boring, a little tedious perhaps...is that a bad thing to say? Sometimes I find it frustrating, wasteful. And more often than not, time consuming. I'm always grateful for Tuesdays. Tuesday morning Stanley goes to nursery from 8-12.30pm. The one day I have two meals taken off my hands, suddenly not my problem, and boy oh boy it is such a relief!

Chickpea, carrot, pea tomato stew with paprika and cumin and avocado and mash

tuna mayo on toast with cucumber and leek, cauliflower cheese 'sausages'
{such a random lunch. poor child. although i ate the same...a nothing in the house kind of day! notice how he scraped off the tuna leaving all the toast...}

grilled chicken, cauliflower, cucumber and chickpea patties 
leftover aubergine, mango noodles from this ottolenghi recipe
{he HATED the aubergine, but ate all the mango off my plate too}

Pesto pea pasta, chicken, blueberries and yogurt
{lunch on the move}

Spaghetti bolognese and yoghurt
{ALWAYS a winner!)


On the whole though he is getting slowly better, I think. I'm still on occasion chasing him round the house, trying to shove food in his mouth every time he runs past me. It seems that no matter how hard I try, that feeling of motherly instinct that I simply must feed my child means I lose the battle to remain calm and discipline him in the same way I would if he was throwing things or hitting. When it comes to meal times I seem to lose my sensible logic, I panda to his whims, to his mischief. I let him get down out of the high chair so he can run around and yet still have food put in his mouth. It is like it is too boring to just sit there and eat. Anyway, I'm getting a bit stricter, and since his vocabulary has improved vastly I am now confident he undersatands full well what I'm saying. The phrase, "all done?" seems to work well with him, hinting that now when he leaves the table, that is it. No more food. No more me runnning about him while he plays and I still feed him. Not only is it is messy, it takes forever! I also feel he should be feeding himself a bit more, taking control of the spoon. He does with a few things, like yogurt or scrambled egg. I'm slowly moving away from me shovelling the food into his mouth while he does a puzzle or plays with his toy cars! Arghhhhh!! I swear, next baby is going to be fed baby led weaning style....I'm sure that'll be a better idea. Right? Right??!!!

If anyone wants to share their links to any 'before & after' feeding pictures I'd love to see them, so put your link in the comments section. Or, any successful feeding tips or toddler friendly recipes - always happy to hear those too!

I really relate to the feeding stories on this blog. It seems I have similar battles to this Mum feeding her little Hooper. It's a beautiful blog by the way, so check it out if you get a chance...

Final chance to enter my giveaway!!! I will be choosing the winner Sunday night by Random.org and announcing the winner sometime on Monday with a blog post on my bicycle and bike seat for Stanley as some of you asked before what make I had decided on.

9 comments:

  1. Thank you for your Stanley food posts, I feel like I'm in exactly the same position ( and misery loves company ). My 17 month old daughter often has to be distracted so I can spoon feed he, and although she is obviously a good weight etc. the anxiety persists that she should be eating more.

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  2. I think I could have written this post. Seriously, I feel EXACTLY THE SAME as you... Everything you said... I fault myself for the same things... letting Hooper get away with leaving the table while I chase him around with another bite of food. and I couldn't agree more, it's so time consuming and boring and frustrating. If he eats well, it can make my day and if he is a pill, it feels like the worst day ever. I hate the waste, which makes me increasingly more reluctant to have him try new things. Knowing baby #2 was coming along, I feared the worse. Some days I feel like Hooper's entire waking hours are spent with me trying to get food into his mouth. I allow him to do just about anything so long as he eats while he's doing it. I've let him hold a knife before (not a sharp one) because he allowed me to shove food in his mouth while he held it. I know, worst parent award gets handed right over to me. And like you, I know what I'm doing can't be right. But also like you, I'm obsessed with making sure he gets enough food. For me, his weight concern started as soon as he was born. He started out in a high percentile for weight (9lbs at birth) at steadily declined until he got to the 10th percentile. I think it's because of that that I obsess over what goes in. He may be a low percentile, but the kid is clearly healthy and the pediatrician has never expressed serious concern. But, it's time... he needs to be more self sufficient when it comes to eating and I need to trust him to eat when he's hungry. It's hard though and I feel your pain. I do have one tidbit of advice that may help: Have a second child ;) hahahaha, I'm beginning to learn in these early weeks that trusting hoop to eat more on his own isn't really a choice so much as it is a necessity.

    Thanks for the blog shout out, so sweet of you. xo.

    Ashley @ The Stork & The Beanstalk

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    1. Hahaha a second baby! I can imagine though that you have to let go of certain things with a second coming along.Perhaps I'll try it ;)

      My problem was never with Stanley's weight - I was obsessed with sleep. Or lack of it. I never had any until Stanley hit 9/10 months. And it seemed every piece of advice I was given was about feeding him so he was full enough to go through the night. Breast milk wasn't enough so try some formula. Now try formula with some cereal in. That didn't work so don't worry as soon as you start weaning him, then he'll sleep. Hmmm, and it didn't, and so I went on. And then of course one day he just did. And then a few times after that. And now of course unless there's something wrong he pretty much goes from 7pm-6.30am. It is great! Obviously for a reason other than food. But unfortunately those early months have been ingrained in me and I can't think like a normal person about it. I still think now if he hasn't eaten enough he won't sleep through. TOTAL MADNESS. Anyway I really am quite normal most of the time! Hope all is going well over there with Van, and you're welcome for the shout out. I really love your blog, and the way you write with such humour. Often spitting out my morning cuppa all over my computer. Which is a good thing by the way!
      Sarah x

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    2. What's wrong with us!? It's like we both totally recognize the fact we are truly MAD but we, for whatever reason, continue on with our madness! Something happened early on, for both of us, that paved the way for our madness but clearly we have yet to overcome it ;) Anyway, it's nice to have a buddy to go mad with. My logical side is telling me that we ought to let go. Clearly both of our boys are healthy and/or sleeping. My emotional side, on the other hand, has a spoon in it's hand and running shoes on with the determination to catch and stuff a toddler. I swear I'm normal most of the time too...

      xo,
      Ashley @ The Stork & The Beanstalk

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    3. I just spent a good ten minutes highlighting the fact we are totally mad and better yet, mad together. And then my comment just completely vanished. Son of a bitch. But anyway, yes, we are mad. Clearly. Our boys are healthy and sleeping and we are still mad. My logical side knows I have to let go and trust him to eat if/when he's hungry. My emotional side, however, has a spoon in it's hand and running shoes on and is trying to catch and stuff a toddler. It's difficult to flip the switch and rely solely on logic. I too, believe it or not, am normal most of the time...

      Ashley @ The Stork & The Beanstalk

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    4. I don't know why it disappeared as it did turn up here in the end....both of your mad comments!!

      I think it is a very good thing we are on opposite sides of the pond, or else getting together to meet for coffee and discuss how bonkers we are together might make things worse ;)

      Good to have an internet buddy on this whole food thing though. I'll let you know if I get any better/saner!

      xo

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  3. I think that looks pretty good! It's a very healthy diet and a lot of it is being eaten. My children are older and now eat pretty well, but as toddlers used to run away and not eat a lot. Someone once suggested that you should look at what they're eating across the whole week, not just on a daily basis, because some days they're just not really bothered.

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    1. Hi Victoria! Thank you. I think maybe he eats ok, but the struggle sometimes gets me down. I also think I think it is worse than it is. It is one of those silly build up things that you can't see it is ok because you had such a hard time getting to that end result. Perhaps photographing the in between bits would make more sense!!
      Anyway I like the idea of thinking about a weeks worth of food. I know he does it well really, it is just an ingrained problem I have with wanting him to eat like an angel and in his highchair!!!

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  4. I'm baby led weaning my daughter. She's nearly 8 months old, and we've been doing it for over 2 months now. I can't say anything about it in the long run - we may well encounter some of the difficulties you have with Stanley when she's older and starts exerting her own mind! But so far she hasn't refused anything I've given her (with the exception of some quinoa and lentil medley that I made her, and some fish cakes) and eats a lot of food. Her favourite is fruit - any fruit - and pasta. It is a bit of challenge coming up with ideas for soft finger foods (she's in no hurry to cut teeth), and very messy (I get funny looks when she eats in public - and she isn't very keen on being spoon fed). But so far I can't recommend it enough. The other night my boyfriend and I had a curry and pitta bread and we were able to serve Elsie her very own portion of it, and she ate it all! We hadn't expected to be at that stage for quite some time so we were very proud of her! But who knows what she'll be like with food in a year's time - I'm keeping my fingers crossed she has the same attitude! x

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