as much as i dislike feeding my children their bottles (nice way to start off), i enjoy feeding them the solids they are now spreading across their faces, tongues, hands, and throats.

carys is sweet to feed. her stomach is still very dodgy, and she can only handle the smallest amount of rice cereal. and because she still can vomit farther than i can throw my latest issue of vanity fair, we have to ensure her food is lump free. no broccoli or any of its green relatives, carys is a pastel puree eater: pumpkin, sweet potato, applesauce, eggplant (with fromage fraise), pear, etc. she doesn't like it enough to open her mouth eagerly, you have to slide the spoon in sideways. she doesn't take a lot, but at least she isn't vomiting often.

sela lurrrrrrrves her green creamed spinach. sela has nappy rash. the two have to be related. when it comes to eating, she is either playing this game with us, or else she doesn't know what we all do. the issue? she's not a voracious eater. she opens her little rosebud mouth, smacks her lips together, flips her tongue about, and then swallows. this passionate child, a laissez-faire eater? it aint so. i predict in a couple of weeks, she'll be manic at the bit. or possibly she is mourning the fact that she cant eat and stick her tongue about simultaneously. we shall see.

jasper was a dream to feed until a few days ago. now he begins complaining if the next spoonful isn't rightthere the minute he swallows and opens his mug for the next nourishment. jasper eats pretty much anything in pretty big quantities. he doesn't like the chill of fromage frais, but he does like the taste. he is a man with a conflict. imagine his brow when he is trying to decide if the taste makes the cold taste on his ever so sensitive tongue worth it.  if you don't feed jasper swiftly enough, he rams his massive fist into his mouth. and then makes those stranged crying sounds. but he grins as he opens his mouth wide, and overall loves to be fed. no more raspberries during feeding.

sebastian (need to include him) is going through an interesting phase with his food. all he seems to want to do is drink. juice, milk, water through a straw, even at restaurants, he would rather drink than eat. his appetite has seemingly leveled off; last night he took 12 bites of casserole and was done. have no idea if this is normal. still won't eat vegetables. any suggestions there?? i will tell you this as he isn't reading yet, i throw chopped carrot, broccoli, peas and corn into all his food. but he doesn't eat the steamed carrot, cauliflower and cheese, etc on the side of his plate. he gets his vegetables, he just doesn't knowingly eat them.

and a small indication that i am no longer a rookie mother: i no longer open my mouth when spooning food towards the babies' mouths. amen. i would have lockjaw if it did.

on a final note: last night magnificent charles and i went over to friends for thanksgiving dinner. can i tell you how nice it was to celebrate this holiday with a family? three generations were there, two sisters, sons in law, grandchildren...it was so nice seeing the familiarity between them all. i miss my family, and being around the table with them.  it was a great, easy, warm, evening.

i'm not ready to be the head of my own six seater table. thankfully, for the next while at least, it will be three seats, (one with a bumper seat) and three highchairs. and one cat who refuses to get off the spare chair.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

oooh yes, and an acknowledgement that yes indeed, i did not refer to charles as magnificent in my last blog. no, we did not have a fight. thank you to the people who pointed it out to me. magnificent. there, we're even.

Comments

[Boulder]

Ahh, Tess, I am amazed at what you pack into a day! Making your own baby food for your lovlies, wow. I can barely muster up a microwaved majic meal for two, so I'm in awe.

I love hearing about your 4 & am glad that Charles is still magnificent.

Also, I clearly remember watching some parenting show out of Toronto (broadcast to the US) in which a parenting specialist guy was helping a family to feed their ultra picky little girl about Sebby's age. They visited with a pediatrician who said that it was some TINY amount like 2 tablespoons that they needed to eat at that stage, and that they could easily self regulate (oh, how I wish I could to the same for myself!) and not to worry if they didn' t eat much, that they'd eat when they were hungry. Sounds to me like your big boy is also getting what he needs vegetably speaking on the sly, so wouldn't worry too much.

Anyway, thanks again for sharing a glimpse of your life at your 3 chaired, one with bumper seat and three highchairs dinner table. Now must go plan what to microwave or order in for today....

xoxo

[Sheena]

Hi Tess,

Havent been here in a while but I had to thank you for your email a couple of weeks ago. im so glad the four are doing well.

Lots of love

[knobody]

about Seb: Sagan has been doing the same lately. oh, if it's all carbs he can eat a bunch, but he frequently will take two bites and call it a meal. we have stopped ordering him his own plate when we eat out. after years of worrying that he was eating too much i have decided to not worry if he eats too little. i'm sure Seb is eating plenty to maintain his now-slowed-down growth.

and you actually have a table to dine at? i'm SOOOO jealous. i want a table. and a dining room. *sigh*

[Winnie]

Ha..ha... Mom, you're so nice...
Jasper no need to wait for the next spoonful of food and also Carys no longer to vomit... but they'll do the facial treatment for you by the rice cereal and mashed food!

so, just enjoy the food together!

[Trinie]

Tess,

Did you know that some children eat to live while other children live to eat (not just children either huh?). I think that you have the full continum in your family. Don't worry about Seb - he sounds perfectly normal.

[Julie]

Tess,

I am so glad that I am not the only one who opens her mouth when feeding babies! LOL! But even after 4 babies (all singletons), I STILL do it... Does that mean I'm still a rookie?! LOL!

Seb sounds normal, all my kids either went or are going through the picky stage. But my kids never fell for the hiding veggies in the food thing. They always seemed to know that I did it... Maybe I'm not chopping them small enough?

Hugs
Julie

[Scully]

They're all so wonderful!!! I love your updates.

Vegetables - mine is 14 and it's taken a lot of work. The last few years he's been learning how to cook and we watch a lot of cooking shows together (we LOVE food) so when we see how vegetables are prepared, we try it and then I can work in a new vegetable. If my son had his own way, he's live on pepperoni pizza.

And broccoli is a no go - he's NEVER going to eat "trees".

Frankly, I think your ingenius to sneak the vegetables in. I should have thought of that years ago.