Asserting her Independence at Dinnertime

Lately Ivy refuses to eat unless she can either feed herself or at least hold her own spoon while I feed her. She does pretty good actually getting her food into her mouth with her own spoon, for the most part. If it’s something like applesauce or fruit puree and yogurt she at least is able to dip the spoon in the bowl and then get most of what’s on the spoon into her mouth.

But, taking place at the same time as this self-feeding milestone is another big girl trait- she’s so over purees. Unless there’s yogurt involved. But one can only eat so much yogurt so for the most part, she wants her food chunky so she can use those 8 teeth that she cut so painfully to chew up her food.

So when she’s eating something like some mashed up zucchini with pastina and lentils, we have a bit of a situation on her hands. One in which most of the food does not make it from the spoon to her mouth, and instead, ends up all over her high chair and the floor.

If it’s something yummy it then become cat food, but for the most part our dinnertime ends with mama picking up tiny bits of pastina from the floor and Ivy eating approximately half of what was in her bowl.

I’m not sure why I even bother with the bib, except that I use it to wipe the food from her face (and neck, and arms, and legs) afterwards. Oh, and that painting behind her? Yes, it once was graced with peaches and yogurt. Please don’t tell Jon