Who says men can't multitask? Our nifty nipper has no problem working his digit up a nostril while getting on with everything else life throws at him. Unfortunately these sticky globules are still the only greens he's willing to snack on. I'm somewhat limited when it comes down to real veggie finger-food for our big kid.
Don't worry, he's a long way from getting rickets - I hope. I still employ my trusty Sneaky Chef tactics, although admittedly I stick to the basics - like pureed veg in mac n cheese. I'm a little gun shy to try anything too adventurous after my maxed out meatloaf cupcakes episode, which I blogged about in March: The (not so) Sneaky Chef.
I love LOVE the shiny fruit and veg pouches they have these days jazzing up the baby food section in the Grocery store - especially if they've got spinach, green beans, broccoli or peas whomping up their nutritional value - and fortunately so do my boys.
Add a few celery, carrot and apple home-made juices here and there, and Momma's magic mix - basically a rip-off of the YoBaby 3 in 1 Meals yogurt fruit and veg mixes minus the sugar, heavy on the veg, with a sprinkling of flax-seed and wheatgerm - and bingo bango BOOM! A kick-ass diet (not strictly by his choice) for my fairly fussy eldest sweet-tooth.
Unfortunately - like many kids - he's an addict when it comes to ice-cream, candy and cupcakes - and only just this past week have we had to add chips (crisps) to the 'don't-say-that-word-out-loud' list! It's been a bit of a slog but so far we've managed to keep them both 'bouncing here and there and everywhere' without resorting to Gummy Bears - although I don't know if that would be such a bad thing...?
Our eldest had his finger pricked yesterday to test his iron levels and he passed with flying colors (he scored 12.9 and only needed an 11 to pass)! I was really chuffed to hear we'd nailed his anemia test. It makes me feel like I'm not doing such a shabby job at feeding him - at least in the iron department.
Back in February when my youngest only scored 9.5 (see WICked nutrition) I was pretty down on myself about the balance of foods I'd been providing. Ironically it's the baby who's always been the better eater - go figure?
It may sound funny, but there aren't too many tangible ways for me to measure my mothering abilities. I'm an engineer by background - and I do like my numbers. I prefer quantitative to qualitative analysis - give me an A+ or 100% and I'll be smiling from ear to ear.
But for some reason the indulgent songs of praise from my hubs: 'You're a great Mommy, baby!' or 'You're the best!' and even 'There's no-one I'd want raising my children but you!' more often than not fall on deaf ears. OK, so he's pretty good at the Mommy schmoozing.
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| "What's up, Doc?" |
Recently, however, I've found that if I peel a whole stick of carrot and let him carry it around with him, he'll munch away at it tiny morsel by tiny morsel. Perhaps he'll ingest an inch after an hour has passed - I can almost see the pure vitamins filling him up to barely ankle height - but I'll take what I can get!
The other day 'carrot crunch' time coincided with TV time, and both boys were happily snacking on their healthy orange sticks when big kid pushed the envelope of his heinous nose-picking habit to a new extreme. I watched in horror as he poked the tapered end of his thinner-than-normal carrot up his nostril then wiggled it around to get the goods to stick.
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| "Mommy, this carrot is too big!" |
Who needs Ranch dip anyway?
Oh, just had to laugh as I pictured the kids with carrots up their nose :) At least they took the carrot though. My mother once made us cabbage ice-cream. It was gross, and only God knows how she made it, but when she said 'eat', you ate it.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your kids will get enough of everything as they grow up, I hated veg as a child but love it now as an adult. Nice Post.