It’s been a while since I wrote about “Jack’s Eats”. Jack is now two, and let’s just say that I started this post when he was 18 months old…so I’ve been distracted to say the least. Jack is a full fledged diner who loves to be included in the shopping and preparation of meals. Every meal is certainly not a win win. Some days he devours his food and completely rejects it the following day. Some days his appetite is robust and he clears his plate and asks for more. Other days his main source of nourishment may be buttered She Wolf sourdough toast and cucumbers. From my experience and knowledge base, toddler eating patterns are not linear. Their intake is self regulated - it ebbs and flows based on periods of growth. Babies and children are also completely aware of their hunger cues. They eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. At times this can be quite discouraging and frustrating but, the key is to not give up the good fight. Continue to offer, expose, and lay the foundations for good eating habits now, and ideally you will create a lifetime of open-minded eaters.
Read moreJack's Eats: first bites, baby-led feeding, and gear
Jack had his first tastes of solids at 5 1/2 months. It was smashed avocado, and the excitement on my end was not as well received by Jack. We got him comfortable with his chair (the Stokke Tripp Trapp), put on his bib, (happy healthy parent bib) showed him the whole avocado, mashed it with a fork, and offered it to him with a spoon (the numnum gootensil has been our go-to). His reaction was as if he had tasted something very sour. It was, after all, the first that time Jack had tasted real food with texture and flavor. Since that point, feeding Jack has been filled with tons of laughs, some stress, and lots and lots of clean up.
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