Wednesday 1 June 2011

Thick and Creamy



Ladies and Gentlemen, please be advised that the nappy consistency has changed. I repeat, the nappy consistency has changed.

Oh my. In fact, that particular nappy was much like the parsnip and apple that I have just pureed to a smooth mush.

The change in nappy contents, was one of many reasons that I was not looking forward to beginning weaning. Alas, it is not considered polite for a child to go on being exclusively breastfed into adulthood, nor is it healthy for the child. So I suppose weaning must commence.

And so it did, last week. Along with the increase in laundry, there was a noticeable increase in my stress levels too. I had forgotten quite how little I had enjoyed weaning my eldest. Could this be to blame for his picky eating now he is nearly 3?

I will not let this happen again. Just in case it was to blame. And so, when I sit down to introduce the baby's palate to a world of new flavours, I will take a deep breath, I will relax my shoulders and I will NOT let the mess annoy me. I will put out of mind that this will be his third outfit change of the day and I will allow my own hands and clothes to be wiped, spat and dribbled on.

I will not get cross when his hands or his bib find their way into his mouth instead of the spoon and I will smile and sing merrily (not at all through gritted teeth) to regain his attention when he non-chalantly gazes out of the window or arches his back in frustration. When a fully loaded spoon is knocked flying from my hand, I shall laugh in the face of the cleaning cloth. Food will be fun. And mummy will be calm.

Spoons at the ready. Let the culinary battle commence.

11 comments:

  1. Oh my God, I'd forgotten about weaning. You tell it like it is missus, love it. I was quite lucky that The Boy has always been a tidy eater, but your little one does look like he's having fun up there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yay it let me comment!
    Firstly, he is so cute and looks like he is enjoying himself!
    I loved weaning my 2 boys and chose a mix of traditional and baby-led weaning with my youngest. Lots of mess, lots of fun and he still prefers to eat spaghetti hoops with his hands and he's 2 and a half!!
    Just wait til you start finding bits of sweetcorn in that nappy....

    ReplyDelete
  3. I feel exactly the same! I am not at all ocd about cleanliness but I just can't see what is fun about have food spat, chucked and rubbed all over a highchair and floor that was only cleaned 3 hours previously! I am trying though and my relaxed attitude does seem to be helping, I just can't wait till the majority of food is being eaten instead of being used to decorate my kitchen!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ah yes, looking forward to this stage, I think I know exactly where the dog will be sitting once we do....

    ReplyDelete
  5. Karen - Yay, you can comment (and now you can subscribe too, if you like! Ha ha. Plug, plug, plug). p.s. my favourite nappies occur after blueberries.

    Fool - Dogs are very helpful at the weaning stage and beyond.

    Insomniac - My nearly 3 yr old still decorates the table, my arms and the floor with his dinner. Maybe when he's 18... *looks all dreamy*

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ha ha, I know exactly what you mean. I did start off enjoying the weaning process with my daughter until my lovely daughter started spitting everything, rubbing it in her hands, knocking the spoon out of my hand. She just generally turns into a bog monster every single meal time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your first paragraph made me smile. We're about the same stage as you with weaning and had an episode the other day. After a lovely meal of pureed something or other, we lifted baby out of her chair and *gasp* we were facing a huge nappy explosion. Dashed upstairs, ran the bath (it looked that bad), got a change of clothes ready and undressed her - not a poo in sight, it was simply the puree which had gone everywhere and looking as it did, I think it was going to look the same coming out as it was going in.

    Ah, the joys...

    ReplyDelete
  8. We are at the weaning stage and my god what a mess!! Baby seems to love it though. And I think it might be time to throw the rug away, and maybe start feeding the baby in the kitchen.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lisa - Bog Monster, perfect description

    Claire - I love that you ran the bath!

    Tas (Mcai) - If you move into the kitchen now, you may not move out until he is 5!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good luck with that! It's certainly a messy time! Emma :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ha ha great photo! Burton still makes a mess like that now aged nearly two! I enjoyed weaning as I liked making his purees from different food to make nice flavours for him.

    ReplyDelete