Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Unorthodox but, hey, it worked!

For the 16th day in a row (yes, I keep count), Julia has been rejecting her baby yogurt. She screams her head off as we feed it to her. Sunday we got an ounce into her, Monday we got two ounces into her, and today we got one ounce into her. It took 3 days to feed her a 4-oz container of yogurt. Yep, three days' worth of dinners = a 4-oz container of yogurt. She actually does like the stuff, despite the protestations. We also tried to get her to eat avocado for dinner; that was a no-go even though just a few weeks ago she gobbled it down. Actually she hasn't eaten any baby food for us either with the exception of Easter Sunday. She ate almost a whole jar of baby food at Easter dinner at my mom's. Weird.

So what do I do? I get the idea after our unsuccessful dinner feeding that I'll try to feed her during her bath. It may be slightly unorthodox, but she loves the bathtub + it will be easier to clean her there + we have a ton of baby food to get rid of. After I wash her and she's playing with the washcloth and her flashing ducks, I offer her a bite of sweet potatoes and turkey. I was completely amazed when she took it. And then she opened her mouth again.

What??? Julia never does that. I think it's a fluke, but she does it again. Within 2 minutes, half the jar of baby food is gone. Of course, we have slightly more spillage than when she's in her high chair because she's crawling around in the tub as she's eating. But, still, she got 2 ounces of baby food into her within a few minutes. Usually it's a half hour struggle to get an ounce of food into her, and there's usually plenty of screaming from her. This, in contrast, was EASY!!! She stopped eating shortly thereafter, but the point is that she ingested 2 ounces of solid food relatively easily.

And what do I do? Scream for S and show him the half empty jar of baby food. Then I try to figure out why she will eat in the tub and not her high chair.

Our current speculation is that perhaps she doesn't like her high chair. She ate Easter dinner at my mom's. She eats at daycare. But she won't eat in her high chair at home. So then I call my mom and ask to borrow her chair. For tomorrow's dinner we'll try that high chair. As crazy as it sounds, it's worth trying. And if she still refuses to eat in that high chair, there's always the bathtub!

7 comments:

Leigh Ann said...

Well, let me tell you what's weird. And why our babies are still 2 peas on a pod. I have started feeding Waylon in his bumbo on the counter top. Why....because he eats more and better than in his highchair. Why? No idea. But it works. So, that's where we eat now. Maybe our babies just don't like to be strapped down to eat!! I thought I might try the highchair tonight without strapping him in and seeing how that goes...
Yay for the bathtub feeding....WHATEVER WORKS!!!!

B said...

I have bumbo jealousy. When she was 3 and 4 months old, I was searching everywhere for a bumbo. I didn't want to pay full price ($40! Ah!), so I searched Craigslist everyday. It turned out she ended up sitting by herself really early, and I never found a bumbo anyway. Now I'm kinda bummed because I could be using it for feedings!

You're so creative, Leigh Ann. Bumbo with a tray, who would have thought?

I can't wait for these kids to vocalize what it is about their high chair that they don't like.

Actually, I think I know, in Julia's case. It's a plastic booster seat. Can't be terribly comfortable. But there's a plastic one at daycare, so maybe that's not it. Ugh! So frustrating!

Scrapping in Circles said...

Come visit us and I'll let you take home our bumbo. Joseph hates his. (=

Scrapping in Circles said...

We don't have the tray feature though. You'd have to purchase it at Target.

Marie Tere said...

B....I can never get enough of Ms. J stories.

I've fed my kids many of yogurts (not turkey & sweet papas, but still food) in the tub. Sofia to this day still longs for me feeding her yogurt in the tub.

Now you know a secret ...and who care's if it's unorthodox. We do what we have to.

Ann said...

Sophie has been protesting the highchair for quite sometime. I just got her a booster seat, and after several days, she actually has started to use it. I think she finally realized she can reach better than when she just sits in our chairs. Her favorite way to eat is to stand on one of our chairs and laugh at us when we repeatedly tell her to sit. All snacks and most of breakfast must be served to her at her little table in the playroom. She does me the favor of pointing to the exact spot it needs to be placed. I don't dare try to feed her in the tub. We would end up having all of our meals in the bathroom:)

B said...

I heart MTC!

Nicole, ooooooooooh, I want to see a bumbo up close. I am such a freaky dork.

Ann, yep, I could see 3 baths a day in Julia's future. But I'm so desperate that I would feed her in the bathtub. I draw the line at using the bathroom vanity as her baby food pantry. A girl's gotta have limits! ;)