Good Eaters 101

I have to admit... I have always been rather proud of the fact that I had a kid that would eat anything...

At his 4 month check up, I was given the green light to start introducing Liam to solid foods in the form of puree. That following morning, I set out on a quest to begin introducing him to a palate of a variety of different taste and textures of every baby food possible. I even made him fresh avocado dip because I was sure if I introduced it to him young, he would grow to love it later in life. When Liam threw me a ugly face because he didn't like a particular food, I would introduce it more often into his diet and try to find different ways to blend it with things he did like. For example... at first, he hated the way fresh apple sauce tasted (mainly because I refused to sweeten it). So, I decided to mix it with other fruits and slowly introduce it to him plain as he learned to like the sour punch it had as it hit the tongue. Overtime, I could get that kid to eat anything. It was grand, I will admit! At restaurants, servers would smile with glee as they watched my 14 month old eat Ty noodles with ginger sauce and bamboo shoots. Grandparents and family friends would oh and ah at the amazement that we had such a wonderful eater. Michael and I loved it too! Don't get me wrong...Having a more distinguished eater does come with a price though... By the time Liam was 3 years old, he was no longer content to order grill cheese from a local restaurant, he wanted steak or shrimp (with the spicy cocktail sauce, I might add!) So I usually would allow him to choose his meal of preference and decide to split it with him. Lying to him about the selections didn't work for us either, because Liam at age 3 could read the menu completely. Remember?

Believe me, food with Liam hasn't been a perfect happily ever after story, where we ride off into the sunset with our lobster and new york strip. I will explain...
Remember when I was hospitalize for 13 weeks during my pregnancy with Charley? Well that was the end of my love affair with a perfect eater. By the time I returned home, ready to cook up a storm...for my fancy little chef, he was requesting hot dogs & chicken fingers for dinner. Gasp... I know! But I tell you... I was used to eating salmon or sweet and sour pork over grill veggies and rice.

I soon began to experience the "I don't like that's", the "yuck's", and the dry heaves as he stubbornly gagged on the "Don't make me eat those or I am going to throw up's."

Then, as stubborn as I can be... I still continued to blend, and trick, and puree those veggies back in to his dishes. But eventually, I did find myself letting go a few months later and allowing my little boy to just be the stubborn little eater he had become.

Besides... I was busy with a 4 month old!