A picky eater

Back in the day- oh I dont know 6 months ago I would say that Tristan was a world class eater. He has been great over time developing his likes and dislikes, and ultimately graduating to full table food.

But now, oh my sweet Tristan...the battles have begun at night. What is it about feeding time( yes I do call it that) that brings us to a stand off. I really thought, like most parents, that like all things with children its all about how you raise a child. They(children) were picky eaters because YOU as a parent indulged them. They didnt sleep because YOU as a parent didnt enforce bedtime rules( well I still kinda believe that) and so on. Well having one child that was the product of my incredible parenting( cough cough) and another well....seems to have his own agenda- my nights arent going as predicted. Jonathan and I have tried the toddler gerber dinner trays that offer a delectable array of tempting and nutritious items. They have all been rejected. I try each new variety with high hopes that perhaps this variety( and brand) will be a hit and we will have one thing we can feed at dinner time. Only to have my hopes dashed with one bite either swallowed and then the next bite spit out, or the first bite to be consumed and then slowly dribbled out to the bib- with the ensuing headshake and lull to follow which clearly indicates to me he wont attempt a second. The next thought is okay - what to offer, I have tried scrambled eggs,( nope) pieces of hotdogs- which he will eat, ( but come on everynight? gross) noodles of any sort( not) carrots( no more) greenbeans( never) peas?( nope) squash(nope) sweet potatoes( rarely- if hes in the mood) fruit is always a yes so that and yogurt is my staple dinner items ( cheerios is also hit and miss.) He likes to drop said items on the floor and watch the dog eat them more often than himself eat anything. We have all the carb baby food- wagon wheels, puffs- he likes those- but really that cant be dinner! Those are just snack items to tide him over BETWEEN meals. Its very discouraging to me to think that my child basically wont eat any veggies, and his diet is so hit and miss. Also I no longer have many options as far as the babyfood isle. Do you know how hard it is to come up with something to feed to a child that has hardly any teeth ? We also discovered that he knows the difference between "big people food" and "babyfood".

Now yogurt and the jar babyfood applesauce for instance. I had a few jars left so I thought perfect, Ill get that out one Saturday morning. I got him all set in his highchair and pulled the jar out. He doesnt like this. He prefers to feed himself EVERYTHING but he hasnt mastered the spoon yet so I had to feed him. I dip the spoon into the applesauce and he refuses to eat. Now Im getting really ticked off. I know he will like this stuff and besides he hasnt EVEN TRIED IT! So I say forget it -get the yogurt out of the fridge and dump some stuff in a bowl and now hes happy. A light bulb went off.....I take the bowl out of his sight and put the babyfood into the bowl and start to feed him the applesauce. GUESS WHAT- he ATE it. Stubborn little sucker!

Im learning- oh Im learning....but still dinner- I havent figured out what makes him tick yet. I wish he could talk because all the signing Ive taught him- hes only mastered "all done" and hes got that one down pretty well!!!