Little Food Monster

So Claire has ventured into the world of self-feeding. It has been difficult to get her to eat anything from a spoon. This is both good and bad. I no longer have to steam, puree, freeze, thaw, serve everything she eats, but it has been challenging to find things that are soft enough for her to chew, but that she can also pick up with her fingers.

Slowly, but surely I am expanding our repertoire of finger foods. She loves beans and they are easy to cook and serve. She has had and loves ground turkey, ground beef, tiny bits of chicken, and ham. We tried carrots, but I don't think I got them soft enough and she had a lot of trouble chewing them. I will have to try again this week sometime. She still eats peas (but isn't very fond of them) and she loves green beans which are pretty easy to cut into small chunks.

I think it is the fruit I am struggling with. Anything soft enough for Claire is so slick and mushy that she really has trouble picking it up and getting it to her mouth. I have been experimenting though and we have had some success getting her to take some cooked pears and apples by spoon and a couple of the chunks she successfully fed to herself. Learning how to feed a baby - soon to be toddler - has been an adventure. We have had trials and successes every step of the way and each stage has been a fun adventure.

What is not so much fun is trying to eat my lunch anywhere near the baby. She is constantly trying to get a hold of my plate and anything she can on it. It doesn't matter if she has just had an eight course meal of her own food. When I try to eat she wants some of it. So I try to make lunches that have at least one food item that Claire can eat. I share with her and eat, or I eat while she is napping, or I hide in a corner and eat while she is playing in baby jail.

What you do as a mother to take care of your self and a baby is pretty hilarious sometimes. So Claire is now officially my little food monster. If she sees you eating it, it must be good, so she wants it. Watch your plates!