Through The Looking Glass

Hey-la, hey-la…

So listen. This is one of those stories that makes me look dumb, which should be kind of fun.

The other night I had a wee meltdown, wailing to Will that I was done catering to Sam’s preschooler food particularities and wanted him to JUST EAT WHAT I COOK, WHY CAN’T HE EAT FOOD-FOOD? I do not want to be an authoritarian parent. It goes against every instinct and everything I’ve read and everything I believe. But I was ready to force that little guy to at least try a bite of something new. We talked about possible non-aggressive methods of encouraging him to expand his food horizons, and after we talked I felt better, even hopeful. I also was able to realize that maybe I was letting my dismay over his illness spill over into other areas, since of course he’s only wanted to eat crackers and drink juice for the last several days.

Last night’s dinner was fresh baked bread, cheddar cheese, apples, sausage, and olives, with brownies for dessert. (There was going to be a bottle of wine as well but we were so hungry it didn’t get opened until after the meal.) I expected Sam to eat sausage, and maybe an olive. He did. He also devoured about half an apple after Will offered him a bite with no prompting, and when I offered him “chocolate” he wolfed down two pieces of brownie as well. This kid has NEVER willingly consumed chocolate in any form but bar/candy. He distrusts cake of all sorts and thinks chocolate ice cream is revolting, but chocolate itself is his favorite.

Sure, it might have been a fluke. He’s on the mend and his appetite is back and maybe he would have eaten anything. But all I know is that this morning he took two big bites of my bread and butter, and if there’s anything he distrusts more than cake it is bread. (I know, he should have his Preschoolers Union card revoked.)

I figure I jinxed us (in a good way) with my meltdown. Which of course means I am re-jinxing us (in a bad way) by writing about it too soon. But oh well.

UPDATE, Saturday: Not only has he eaten more bread and butter and devoured several apples, but last night Sam ate a cookie. He has NEVER willingly touched a cookie before, but we were at Papa Cristo’s and Cris-Cris gave him one and he LOVED it. And when we got home he agreed to taste Will’s gyros. He didn’t like it, but he tried it. AMAZING.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 6:44 am and is filed under Sam . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.