Sorry to start out with a poop question.
Now for some random pictures.
Mealtimes are not fun in our house. Okay, mealtimes for ME are not fun. Caleb has a blast. We took away the booster because he wasn't really using it anyways. He's too short to sit on his chair and eat normally so he stands and that seems to be a disaster. He likes to "help" and put butter on our food, pour dressing over our salad, give us our drinks, and serve us food. It's endearing, sort of, but after a while, I realize it's ALL he's doing and he doesn't eat. When we tell him to eat he ignores us or gets off the chair and plays. He ends up leaving almost all his food on his plate. When Kyle and I are done, we clear the table--his plate included--but he screams that he still wants is food.
Should I get the booster out from storage again?
Should I MAKE him eat?
Should I allow him to play during lunch?
Should I let him eat his food even after we're done?
Also, do you have any ideas for picky eaters? Would you let him have "his" food (meaning foods that he actually likes) even when we're eating something else?
I'd love to hear what works/worked for you.
Toddler teething--the last ones that are WAAAAAAY back there. Any thoughts?
Now for some random pictures.
Cleaning in the deep dark crevices that is Isaiah's neck.
Instead of watching tv, we play tv.
I've learned that when you use the "colic hold" you actually push/rub their stomach and bounce. The warmth of your hand, the bouncing and the pressure helps the digestion. It's been a miracle for us with Isaiah during his fussy times. Who knew? Not me.
Instead of watching tv, we play tv.
Little blue-eyes here slept 7 hours straight last night!!
I made him a giraffe. He loves it. It needs a name. ("Jerry the Giraffe" is taken.)
13 comments:
My recommendation for the milk thing is to keep trialing it - one event isn't enough to establish a non-sensitivity, since you've been off it for a while and his gut isn't being constantly assaulted by the foreign proteins.
I wouldn't worry about color as much as I'd worry about mucus - that is a DEFINITE red flag for sensitivities. You are probably dealing with multiple sensitivities if the milk didn't get rid of the mucus.
As for supper time with Caleb...you need to do what it takes to keep your sanity. Two years old is plenty old enough to learn the discipline of sitting still in a chair and eating food with the family for 5-10 minutes. When he's done, he can get down and play while the rest of the family finishes. And yes, by all means make it COMFORTABLE for him to sit at the table as you require - so if that means bringing the booster back out and forcing his bottom to sit in it, so be it. :)
For family meals (which are not consistently every night around here) I always make a very small plate of what we're eating for Sophia - like, one bite of each thing, even salad which is still kind of difficult for her. She's required to try everything before she gets down, OR before she has something she'd rather eat (she is on a huge HUGE cereal kick right now).
When Sophia starts playing with her food, I remind her that "When you start to play, that tells me that you're done eating. If you want to eat some more, you need to eat and not play." If she continues to mess around I take the plate before she causes too much damage to the floor!
I would never, EVER recommend starting a precedent of allowing food-play at meal times, but I would provide ample time for exploration during meal prep.
Sophia does lots of her own PB-spreading, milk-pouring (with my help of course!) and lettuce-spinning. There are days when she's focused enough to make Daddy's sandwich nearly all by herself - with me getting ingredients and her placing them carefully on the bread!
Just make sure you are aware that you're laying the foundation NOW for Caleb's expectations of future meal times. If he's allowed to run wild and make messes, it's going to be harder and harder to break that habit the longer it's ingrained. :)
It may be because I don't have a picky eater that I don't have any sympathy or patience for picky eaters. I am a strong believer in people learning to be polite and to take a bite of every thing they are served, regardless of their preference. It's common courtesy to me! This is how Sophia discovered a love for asparagus - something she was deathly afraid of at first! :)
I would get the high chair out again (or booster chair) and not let him out until he eats some and everyone is done.
He has a tendancy to eat all around the house, but mealtimes should be a sane time. :)
Then again, with kids they seldom are. :) Good luck!
G-ma N
Hum, about the possible milk intolerance... it can take up to 3 weeks to clear your system of milk proteins in order to adequately tell if there's a problem. I found this website which has some info you might want to see: http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html#protein. I've also heard of a diet out there (I can't find it right off the bat), where you cut out everything in your diet that is a known allergen for a couple weeks or so until your system clears itself, and then you gradually introduce new foods, one at a time, and pay attention to if baby reacts to any of it. I've never done it because I never seemed to have much trouble with anything except beans, which were fairly obvious, but I know others who have had to go this route. I hope you can figure it out soon!!!
As for Caleb, I would recommend pulling back out the booster, even strapping him in if you have to. We don't allow food playing at the table, and the boys are not allowed to leave/get up during meal times unless we tell them they can. For pickiness, we usually make them have at least a couple bites of whatever it is that they don't want to eat. If they refuse or begin trying to gag it up, sometimes we'll put the food in the fridge and give it to them for breakfast. Or, if we happen to have dessert that night, the picky child will simply not get any. With any luck, as soon as the picky kid sees what the others are getting as a treat, they change their mind REALLY fast! It's definitely hard though, and sometimes we're just to tired to deal with the boys and things slip. Overall we've begun to be very strict at mealtimes though, and for the most part the boys are getting better about eating when they're suppose to and not making too much of a mess...
Oh, and I also really don't like the idea of making several different things to please various kids at mealtimes. I've seen families where they did that because one kid didn't like cheese and the other didn't like tomatoes and it becomes so much more work for the mom! However, there is one time when I will make the boys something different for dinner from what we're having- it's if we get special carry-out or something fun for dinner and we know the boys will not appreciate it (even if they might eat it). That's when I pull out the mac and cheese. It's a win win :)
I like that the guy with arms has an arm-chair in your TV scene:) clever.
Hmm giraff name...I think an easy-to-say name would be best. Bo was the fish....what about "Joe"?
hey girl :) we have a picky eater over here, too. i'm always wondering if i should do more about it -- i'll reap some consequences later, i'm sure. but for now, i don't make different food for him, but i always put a tiny bit of what we're having on his plate to try, and then fill it with the things i know he'll eat. if we're having soup (which he hates), i dig out the noodles and give them to him. he won't eat mushy veggies, so if we have carrots in the soup, i cut him some fresh ones instead. (more nutrients anyway, right?) ;) i let him pig out on the elements of the meal he likes (bread, etc). i know that if i worked harder, i could get him to eat/try more things, but its just not worth the effort in my mind yet. all the fits and the screaming and the discipline -- yikes! if he wants more of something he likes, we ask him to take one bite of something he doesn't like on his plate. a few times we've had to discipline for this, but he will usually try it. this is our non-negotiable. but i really don't want food to be the area i focus my disciplining efforts in at the moment. maybe when he's older. :P right now, i want to give my energy to helping him obey in other ways.
our dude is a physically expressive little one, which means lots of fits and tantrums (normal for two year old life). i just don't want to spend my day fighting with him in all areas, so food is the area i choose to let go of right now.
i would think again, though, about pulling the booster seat out and strapping him in. its good for a mother's sanity to have a two year old tied down when there's food on the table, you know? ;)
Hearing your stories of your mealtimes makes me remember that we tied our boys in the high chair with a dishtowel twisted up cuz the straps on the high chair disappeared. (or they didn't make them in those days??) But they all went thru stages where if we didn't tie them in they would climb out or let themself slip down underneath the tray to get out.... Boys!! G-ma F.
Our little men must be close in age - I'm dealing with the same thing at mealtime - not wanting the booster, wanting to get down & play, etc. For us, having one parent sit right there really helps - not always doable, but we try. I say keep the booster.
Don't be a short-order cook. As hard as it is sometimes, serve him the same meal you're eating. If possible, give him choices of what to have - which veggie, which carb, etc. If you cater to his wants now, it'll just get worse as he gets older (watching it happen with a relative right now). I have 4 kids who eat fairly well. I also try not to make a meal of all things one kid doesn't like. If I know there will be issues with a certain food, I'll make a 2nd option if it's feesible (veggie, fruit, sometimes meat).
We also have a bite-per-year rule. If they want to be done for whatever reason, but haven't eaten much, they have to take one bite for every year old they are. They also have to take 2 bites of any new food (rare occurance). If they don't take the required bites, they're out of luck til the next meal.
No baby advice, I wasn't able to breastfeed any of mine for very long. But he looks like his uncle Chad - and you when you were little! :o)
I have to crevice clean too. Ahhh, the scope of a mother's work....
Ok, so I didn't read any of the others' comments...BUT this is what we do:
Mealtime is with everyone and is the same all around (as in, we all eat teh same things, regardless of "preference"...i.e. picky toddler), and eating until done & then L can get down and play. He is told when he wants to get down something like, "if you still want food, you need to eat, no more food after you get down" etc.etc. and Follow Through! If he gets down and then wants a snack 15 min. later, Nope, sorry charlie, you learn to eat with everyone. I think he has only maybe done this once or twice (then drank a lot of milk before bed) but then hasn't done it since, plus kids eat a LOT less in the summer, bc its just too hot. Just make sure he drinks lots of water! :)
As far as 'mucus' goes--A. has never really had normal non-mucus stools but never shows signs of any intolerance or tummy ache. Have you ruled out overproduction or overactive letdown yet? Those are the two things I had w/ L and once I got my nursing under control it went away--with explosive green mucusy stools--gone as well.
The reason for L's g/m stools was because he was only getting mostly foremilk --rich in proteins (after a let-down comes the hindmilk--) rich in fat) so it was basically like he was eating the "sugar" part of the diet only...does that make sense?
Anyway, once I nursed on one side until COMPLETELY empty...then move to teh other.
Hope that helps, bugh. toddlerhood. Can't slow it down for cuteness' sake, can't get over soon enough for sanity's sake, huh? :)
Sarah
ps--I forgot to mention abotu mealtimes: we also make L. wait after he is done eating for about 5-10 min at the table so "we can finish our food".
This not only helps him develop patience waiting, but it also shows him that proper manners are waiting until everyone is finished. It is amazing how much he has understood this! (it also rules out the "snack" later, as sometimes he will still eat a bit more food during this time too)
Lukka stands if we';re on teh porch eating, or sits in a booster inside. It's whatever lets you keep your sanity!! I say do it!!
S
how funny, I was thinking about it and was going to come back and mention the foremilk/hindmilk imbalance as being a possibility, but it looks like someone else beat me to it :)
Hi, I'm Christine, a friend of Angie's. My experience was similar to Sarah's- my daughter had green stools when she was not getting enough of the higher-fat hind milk. Try having him eat on one side only at a feeding (pumping the other side if you need to) then feed only on the other side at the next feeding, until you are sure it has been completely emptied, then if he's still hungry switch to the other. I hope that helps! Good luck...
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