Adventures in Eating

Luke is learning to feed himself real food, instead of just using his mesh bag for everything. (But seriously, those mesh bags are amazing and have totally spoiled me. He loves being able to feed himself and it gives me a chance to do other things in the kitchen while he's eating. Plus, now I'm nervous and hover-y when he eats because I'm afraid he's going to choke on everything, which he usually does but then coughs it out. In short, get the bags.) I picked up some little puffs to work on his eating skills, and cut them in half at the suggestion of my friend Nicole. Good call because these things don't immediately melt and I would have been a crazy person until figuring out for myself to just cut them in half, so it saved me from freaking out and it saved Luke from having to watch it. Can you say run on sentence I know I can.


So as I watch Luke try to figure out how to work that little thumb and pointer finger it's all I can do to keep myself from just putting the darn puff in his mouth. I want him to learn, but I also want him to finish a meal in less than an hour. So I decide to demonstrate for him. "Lukie, put your fingers like this," I say, demonstrating the skill and expecting the normal response of sweet doe eyes and charming grin with a head tilt. Instead, Luke uses his pointer and thumb and picks up the puff. "Holy crap!" I think, but manage to say, "Good buddy! Now put it in your mouth," followed again by a demonstration. And my freakin' genius child puts the puff in his mouth. So, he's brilliant, right? I'm thinking to myself that my child just learned to eat and now meal times will be so much easier. Think of all the things he's ready to eat! Plus, he's obviously brilliant with those kinds of observation skills at less than eight months old. I must go write this in his baby book!


But I stop in time to see him attempt fruitlessly to pick up the second puff waiting on his tray. In frustration he grabs his mesh bag of pears and sticks them on his head, then throws them to the ground. Then there is crying that will only be silenced by a bottle, as the remaining puff sits quietly alone on the otherwise empty tray. Sigh.


Reality is way less fun than crazy mom land. Maybe he'll learn to eat for real next week.