Day 2 of being a single mom, and I'm tired. I guess it doesn't help that the fourth molar is coming in, which is making her extra clingy. I think that it's not just the physical help that my parenting partner provides, but it's also the emotional support. We're having a bit of a tough spell getting Abby to eat anything other than fruit, cheese/yogurt, and bread lately. And knowing that someone else is frustrated sometimes helps me feel like I can take control and not be the frustrated one, as if I can foist the burden onto someone else for a few minutes until the heat of the moment has passed.
Ben is going to be in Lafayette all week to make an electric guitar and get *paid* for it, plus meals/hotel expenses covered. When he first talked about this workshop, I was pretty set against it. But then he found out that he's getting paid to do it and suddenly, the week didn't look so bad. But yesterday was bad. It just had some seriously lousy moments bookending an enjoyable playdate in the afternoon. Supper was the zenith of the day's lousiness. There were tears. Abby and I cried together. And then it was okay, and she went to bed happy (enough).
This eating situation is getting more difficult. If this were in the middle of the school year, I think that my tears would have come sooner and repeatedly. Abby never had a problem with veggies before she hit her first birthday. This kid literally would eat pretty much anything except avacado. She would have a couple of spells were she wouldn't want green peas, for example, for a couple of days, but overall, she still ate veggies.
Admittedly, this is much of a pride issue--I'm determined that my child won't be a picky eater. I'm determined that I won't make separate meals for everyone. I'm obstinately convinced that picky eaters come from parents who coddle their children too much and/or don't expose them to enough of a variety of healthy foods. This is probably another of those pre-pregnancy ideas that I was pridefully sure that I knew I was right about. Thanks Abby for bursting that arrogance bubble. And now to reality...
Right now, Abby only eats veggies if they're dipped in hummus. Granted, we haven't offered her many other dip options because I also don't want an ignorantly chubby kid because the parent gives them too much sugar and fat. Hummus, in our opinions, is the perfect dip--full of protein, healthy fat, low in sugar...ideal. But we've just figured it out that the redness she often gets after eating is coming from the hummus. Not good! So she can't eat it. What this means for the next few days when we try to coerce her into eating what we make for her is hard to tell. And I'm going to be on my own with this, too. There might be more tears and a lot of fruit in her future.
Abby and I drove over to Lafayette today for tonight and tomorrow since his hotel is paid for, we're bumming off of Ben's good fortune. We have a suite so that we can put Abby down to sleep in the extra room. Lovely idea in theory. The kid decided not to sleep this afternoon which means that she had 1 hour of sleep today. She's been down for the night for almost an hour and a half now, and she's still standing in the corner of her pack-n-play. Just standing. Not making any noise for an hour now. Did she fall asleep standing up?!?
1 comment:
Amy - for what it's worth, I feel your pain about the food thing. I also don't want to raise a picky eater. Just when I think a food is a "go-to" food for Lane, he'll swipe it off his tray or spit it out. It's frustrating. He won't eat any fruits except bananas, applesauce, and pears. It's hit or miss on other things. I've read that toddlers will be picky and that it's ok to serve them bananas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if that's all they'll eat. I guess we just have to keep introducing things to them, and once they are older enough to know better, they'll have to eat what we serve or not get anything. :) My friend with a 2 year old says that she tells her "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit" and she had to put up with a couple bad days, but then she ate the food. Here's to hoping! :)
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