Feeding the baby

There are a few things to know when you start to introduce the baby to food.

You just need to accept the fact that when you feed a baby, baby food that is, you are going to look like an idiot. The sooner you understand and accept this, the sooner you stop focusing on trying not to make "eat this" faces and spilling food everywhere in the process.

I can remember feeding C and getting food on every part of his face. It was always the worst when it dried into his eyebrows before I wiped him down. Now that I am three kids into the game, I can usually get through an entire meal with F without spilling or smudging beyond his little chin. Of course, there is the occasional lump of oatmeal that gets up his nose, but that is due to his sudden movements more than my skills. This is because I look like a total idiot while I feed him.

My husband hardly gets any food into the baby. Why? Because he doesn't attempt the face-making and baby-tricking tips that I give him.

Aside from face-making, baby-tricking is key. When they first start eating baby food, this is not necessary. However, they reach an age where they get sneaky. This happens earlier than any first-time parent could possibly anticipate. I, for one, thought that kids didn't get sneaky until they could talk (I can practically hear the fits of laughter from the experienced parents who are reading this).

No. They get sneaky early! When they identify a food they don't like, they start to take note of where the spoon originated. When the spoon returns for another scoop the grossness, they make it difficult for you to successfully deliver said grossness. So, you get smarter and hide the dish from their view.

The baby then takes note of the color and/or smell and checks the spoon before it gets to their mouth. See what I mean? They are sneaky little buggers!!

Luckily, by the time they reach this point, they are usually starting to feed themselves and you are onto a whole new set of problems and are no longer distracted by the face-making and baby-tricking.

You are now onto toddler-deceiving, which is a whole other topic for a later post.