The Number Field

When Elena started eating solid foods she ate everything, and a lot of it. In one meal she would easily put down 3/4 cup of homemade oatmeal mixed with another four ounces of baby food. That was in addition to the food I gave her to tide her over while I was preparing that main course: crackers, cereal, tortillas, etc. I can only ever remember her disliking one food that I offered: avocado. After trying several times I decided to quit wasting it on her, since Mark and I like it quite well.

Roman is a different story--he's already a picky eater. I don't do picky, but I would like my child to eat. We don't give him oatmeal because it causes problems, which may or may not be an allergy, but hopefully he'll grow out of the sensitivity someday. He won't eat rice. He spits out any type of meat we try to trick him into eating. He throws cereal on the floor without even trying it. He will not open his mouth for eggs. He will not eat cheese or bread. Sometimes he tolerates crackers or pretzels, but for a little guy that still does not have teeth, being picky severely limits his meal options. This is what he eats: toast (but only for breakfast), yogurt, pears, peas, strawberries, pasta, mashed potatoes, and formula. And except for the formula nothing is a sure bet.

I thought I could keep feeding him baby food, but much of the time he won't eat that either. He knows it's different from what the rest of us are having, and what he really wants is to eat what we're eating. At least that is what he thinks he wants, but he won't let us spoon feed him--he wants to pick it up and feed himself. And of course, once he shoves the food into his mouth, he'll spit it out unless it's on his list of acceptable foods. I keep thinking that if he gets hungry enough he'll eat whatever I give him. Logically that's how it has to work, but this little guy has already proved to be quite stubborn!

Update: Since the original writing of this post, Roman has had at least one good food day, eating substantial portions of things he usually rejects, including rice and avocado pieces.