Adventures in Eating

Lunch
- Sit Caroline in her highchair with 2 pieces of turkey, a string cheese, and some cut-up tomatoes. Encourage Caroline to start eating her yummy lunch.
- Sit Clayton in his Bumbo seat
- Clayton fusses.
- Caroline insists she DOES want salad dressing dip for her turkey. Quickly get dressing.
- Clayton starts bobbing up and down trying to get out of Bumbo seat
- Try to feed Clayton oatmeal but he's bouncing and fussing.
- Look over at Caroline who still has yet to touch her lunch.
- Encourage Caroline to take a bite.
- Try to feed Clayton cereal, but he wants to practice making the "bbbbbb" sound instead whenever he feels the spoon in his mouth.
"bbbbb" sound + baby oatmeal = baby oatmeal spit right back into your face. If you wear
glasses, this is even more fun.
- Try to wipe the oatmeal off my glasses. It smears and now is worse. (the shirt is already a lost cause. )
- Physically put a piece of turkey into Caroline's mouth.
- Again try to get the spoon into Clayton's mouth and get him to eat the food before he starts "bbbb" iing again.
- Caroline is still chewing the first bite of turkey...like 3 minutes later.
Tell her to swallow and put a piece of cheese in her mouth.
- Feed Clayton some more cereal + some carrot baby food. He hungrily eats it. While I go to get another bite, he eagerly puts his fist in his mouth. Carrots, drool, oatmeal cereal now coat his fist.
- Ask Caroline to eat a bite of turkey. "I don't want to. " She says and drinks her milk instead.
- Put another bite of food into Caroline's mouth.
- Clayton rubs his head (along with the carrots, drool, and oatmeal.)
- Feed Clayton some more. He starts eating a little better with only a few "bbbbs" in between.
- Wipe glasses again, try to wipe the food off his head and fist.
- Ask Caroline to take another bite. She is still chewing the bite from a few minutes ago. "OK, swallow, then take another bite, please " I say.
- Clayton fusses because the feeding has stopped. Feed him another bite.
- Caroline has finally swallowed. "Take another bite, please". Instead, she starts singing and doing the hand motions to "Itsy-Bitsy Spider".
-"Right now" I say. She makes fists and whines. She finally takes another bite...
- Clayton has eaten all of his cereal and baby food and starts to fuss. Grab his pacifier for his post-eating suck.
- Caroline has eaten some turkey (dippe din slad dressing) and is now rubbing her hands (and oily salad dressing)all over the chair and the tray.
45 minutes later, 1/2 the string cheese is left, but at least most of turkey and tomatoes have been eaten. We call it a day and get cleaned up.
This is lunch for a baby and a toddler!