I could go on and on about how differently my boys eat today … the picky, the thief, and the dropper … but it makes more sense to compare their eating habits from when they were all about the same age.
Ricky. He was always a picky eater. My brother often referred to his diet as “white-food-only.” He did have a preference for colorless meals – string cheese, ravioli (hold the sauce), white bread, gold fish crackers, and bananas. I could put a wider variety in front of him, even force feed him, and all that would happen is that he would gag the food right back up and Kevin would have a mess to clean up (hee hee). Other than the up-chuck, he was a pretty decent eater … we could clean him up with a damp cloth after the meal. (Picture: Ricky, Oct. 2005)
Billy. He has never been a picky eater since he started eating real food. He wasn’t a fan of baby or toddler food … he wanted the real stuff. His early eating days also consisted of eating similar to a wine tasting … he’d take a bite, roll it around in his mouth, and then spit it back out after getting the flavor. The difference to most wine tastings is that Billy would then put the food back into his mouth and finish eating it! It was hard to watch him eat. This re-eating of food did make him messier than Ricky, but he kept the mess fairly confined to his own hands and face. (Picture: Billy, April 2008)
Rusty. Ahh, Rusty. He has been my easiest baby, in general, but this does not extend to his table habits. He wasn’t terribly picky until just lately. He knows a dessert from a mile away! And he is the messiest little eater EVER! The bulk of his uneaten food ends up tucked between his legs — beware when you go to undo his seat belt because you never know what you might stick your hand into!
We are trying to teach him to use a plate or bowl, but it usually becomes a play thing. One meal I looked over at him and asked Kevin where the bowl had gone. The food was dumped out on his tray (and the floor and the cupboard next to him) but there was no bowl to be found. After a few minutes investigating, we found it tucked behind his back. Not really sure how or why on that one!
These pictures are from a fairly clean lunch. A meal that includes spaghetti or dessert would show his true colors! He smears his meal behind his ears, into his eyebrows, onto the top of his head. He grinds it into his elbows and his pants and I almost need a chisel to get the stuff off the cupboard next to him. The idea of using just a damp cloth to clean Rusty after a meal is comical. He gets hosed off with the sink sprayer! Ever watched a waitress drop a plate full of food? Each meal that appears to have happened around our high chair. If only this boy wasn’t so cute …
And heaven forbid Billy be left out of a photo shoot …
