Food Foibles

Gabby's first "adult" meal, eaten all by herself.

Gabby's life as an almost 11-month-old pretty much revolves around the consistent schedule of eating. No matter what is going on or where we are at, she knows every 4 hours she will engage her taste buds and fill her belly, invigorating her spirit. But with this lifestyle comes some predicaments:

Predicament #1: You may have noticed by the photos of our little cutie, that Gabby is not a picky eater. While many a mother takes her child to the doctor for check-ups concerned about her child eating enough, we worry that she eats too much. At her 9-month visit, she tipped the scales at nearly 25 lbs., putting her at basically the 99.99th percentile. The only food she has ever rejected is the plain pureed meats (which only shows that she is still sane - those things seem disgusting!). She outgrew her infant car seat at 6 months and even if her Baby Bjorn allowed for her weight, there is no way our backs could take it any longer. Luckily, her height is staying caught up with her weight, so she is not unhealthy. She just happens to be the size of a two-year-old.

Predicament #2: Gabby believes that she is a baby elephant. A few weeks ago, she decided that it is necessary to make an elephant noise every time that you take a bite. This causes food to spray out all over the provider. We have tried everything to teach her that elephants are not allowed in high chairs, but to no avail. While she usually understands the word "no" and is even frightened by it, while in protection of the chair "no" is suddenly a humerus word. Ignoring her or taking away her food also does not seem to deter her. I literally have to wear an apron when I feed her.

Below is a video clip of this process. The fact that I took a video is probably why she continues to do this (I know, I am a horrible mother, but I couldn't resist). But I do promise that this was taken on meal two of her new habit, before I realized just how long it would persist. (Excuse the camera work, I was trying to film with one hand and feed her with another.)

Predicament #3: Jason & I have taught Gabby some basic baby signs, to help her communicate until she is able to talk. Her first learned word was "plus/more", followed by "manger/eat", followed by "fini/all done". Do we see a trend here? They all have to do with food! (The latter she knows but uses less frequently for reasons explained above.) The problem is that when she does them, we want to follow through and show her the link between the word and the action, but at what point do we stop giving her more when she asks for it? Snack time could go on for quite some time with her appetite, so we do our best to distract her with something non-edible after she has learned the cause and effect of signing.

Predicament #4: Gabby's favorite song is "Tête, épaules, genoux et pieds" (Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes). As soon as the song comes on, she begins touching her head. She also will touch her head whenever we ask her where her head is. Jason's favorite trick is to wait until her hands are all covered in food and then ask her where her head is. Gabby responds immediately, coating her hair in bananas or whatever else is impossible to get out. Then she claps, proud of herself for her accomplishment of making Mommy work harder.

Ah, the joys of feeding a baby!