Feeding habits

I recently purchased the book Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter. It seems to be sort of a feeding bible for many and since it had gotten really good reviews from a lot of different people I thought I would check it out. It was written by a nutritionist and psychotherapist, and has been revised a few times. It is dense but I am really enjoying it so far.

The main idea of it is that we as the parents are responsible for the when, where, and what of feeding whereas Teddy is responsible for how much and whether.

I love this idea as I have never understood food battles and I really want all of my children growing up with healthy food habits.

She goes very in depth with how the transition from breast/formula to table food should go and for the most part we are on the right track. She suggests transitioning over to table foods relatively quickly once purees have been introduced and not getting stuck with purees for too long- she also encourages letting the child feed himself if they show interest, which Teddy definitely has.

So I have started letting Teddy feed himself more for at least one meal a day. It is such a disgusting mess. Thankfully I am not at all sensitive about stuff like that but my husband is definitely not feeding him when he does it himself anytime soon. She also says how important it is for him to eat what we are eating so I have started giving him things like strips of soft bread and anything else I think can easily dissolve in his mouth with a little gum chewing.

On the one hand it is fun to watch Teddy in an area where he seems to be progressing quite quickly but it is also bittersweet to realize he most definitely isn't a little baby anymore. Especially after he drinks a little from his cup, swipes the adult spoon I am holding and shoves it into his mouth with relish. By following his lead he just naturally transitioned to 3 meals a day with snacks so quickly that the days of long breastfeeding sessions are definitively over.

I just hope he holds off on the toddler-hood trait of rejecting different foods to assert independence a little bit longer!