This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef

Feeding Beatrice has been a source of great stress for me since she arrived. It's the most basic of parenting responsibilities, yet it has been the thing that I worry about the most. I stressed about producing enough milk to keep up with her and feeding her often enough. I stressed about when to start solids and making sure everything that she ate was organic and made by me. I stressed about her getting enough and then her getting too much. Feeding her has been stressful, to say the least. And really for no good reason other than this is my first time making sure someone else doesn't starve to death. So, you know, I don't want to screw up.

These days, feeding Beatrice brings a different sort of stress. She refuses all purees, yet is very selective on what table foods she will eat each day. Some days she loves grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches. Other days, she gags down every bite of whatever she loved the day before. It is becoming a challenge to feed her a balanced diet. One cannot live on milkies, Cheerios and bananas alone. Can they? Plus, you should see the floor surrounding the high chair after a meal. It is a war zone of toast bits, grape halves and scrambled eggs. JD says he cannot be apart of mealtimes anymore because the mess is unlike anything he's ever seen.


I totally get why parents end up with kids that only eat macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit snacks. Getting them to eat something nutritious is hard. Heck, getting them to eat something different is hard. I really want Beatrice to like healthy foods and be willing to try new things. But I really don't want to be the mom that has a freezer full of chicken nuggets and cheese pizza because her kids won't eat anything else.

So for now I will keep offering her healthy options and pray that her little taste buds adapt. We have a no juice rule, she's never had sugar or sweets and she eats several fresh vegetables and fruits a day. I think we are on the right track. Now if I could only teach her not to throw everything off of her tray when she's finished, I will count that as success.