My Foodie

Long ago, Dylan and I decided we wanted to raise a little 'foodie'. Weren't we silly to think we could have any impact at all on what our child would eat and what he would view as subtle attempts to poison him? Since he was around 9 months old, most of what we presented to him as edible he questioned mightily. He'd occasionally take the minutest taste which was usually followed with him throwing his arms in front of his mouth as if he was totally offended that we would even THINK to offer him such a thing. So, I'd given up. His diet since then revolved around a small number of things I knew he'd eat. The list included grilled cheese, macaroni & cheese, green beans, baby food fruit (he found real fruit to be especially toxic), anything sweet, and milk. He'd occasionally venture into a little chef boyardee, maybe some cheeseburger, and an occasional pea. That was it, really. My husband has been inwardly devastated (I think).....

But, I'm happy to report the tide has turned! I was initially hesitant to blog about it, as if drawing any attention to it (albeit attention Eli would be unaware of as he is not a frequent reader of my blog) would bring us right back to the bland food strike he's been on for a greater part of his life. It's been a few weeks now and he's venturing into undiscovered food territory on a regular basis. Just yesterday he delighted in a chicken quesadilla (with big chunks of pepper) and guacamole. That's right, my little buddy loves guacamole! A child after my own heart! He's also delving into the world of real fruit, instead of the goo he's been eating for months. Blueberries, raspberries, maybe a little melon have all been added to his list of 'will eat' foods. Amazing!

You may wonder why this matters to me. After all, he's obviously a healthy child, on track with the growth chart, hair and nails that get girlishly long seemingly overnight. Well, we moms have a built in guilt-o-meter and this has been one of the things that I occasionally stress about. If you've ever hung out with me during a meal when Eli is chowing on something that isn't beige I'm sure you've heard me say how happy it makes me when he eats fruits/veggies. I feel like I've accomplished something great when he has ingested a healthy, well-balanced meal. Seems silly, but isn't life all about the little accomplishments?

So, we are going to be on a mission to bring in more things for him to try during this food exploration phase, and I call it a phase because I'm well aware the tomorrow he may turn up his nose at anything except potato chips (kids are fickle like that). But do be on alert for a distraught post if that happens because this mom has been riding high on that 'good mom' feeling and coming down from that can be brutal!