I Love You, Therefore I Feed You

I Love You Therefore I Feed You cradlerockingmama

Yesterday was a busy day, so we didn’t get crackers made until evening. For dinner, Zac got 1/4 c. of cooked quinoa flakes and after that, he got to nibble on crackers before bedtime.

I don’t think I can convey the sheer joy and amazement at watching Zac eat last night! The child has hardly eaten anything in his whole life, and he grabbed the spoon and started feeding himself right away.

And he was GOOD at it! Very little mess, considering this is the first time he’s handled a spoon for self-feeding.

I know he’s older and has better motor skills than most babies do when they’re first introduced to foods, but I still thought some degree of practice was required before they got to be that good at eating.

Of course, maybe all that ‘eating crap off the floor’ counts as practice.

Zac was overjoyed about being given food, and he was very intent in his focus on that bowl of quinoa.

When he finished eating and I picked him up from the high chair, he gifted me with one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen on his adorable face and clapped his hands.

It’s enough to make your heart explode, and break your heart at the same time.

Feeding your child shouldn’t be the thrill equivalent of a trip to DisneyWorld.

Ah, well…

So far, so good. He had a poopy diaper first thing this morning, but it looked pretty good. It had some undigested quinoa in it, but no mucous or blood. With any luck, that’s how it will stay.

I took the opportunity last night to finally sample a single quinoa cracker. It’s the first thing I’ve eaten in over a year that wasn’t on my TED!

I only ate one; in case we do have to pull quinoa again, I need my milk to stay safe.

However, this is a great time to taste one, and I’ve never tasted my own creation.

They’re really quite good! I would love to get basil and oregano into Zac’s diet; I’d imagine these would be delicious with a little Italian/savory flavoring added in.

At this point, though, I’ll just be thrilled if Zac can handle the quinoa by itself. Hopefully his bucket has been emptied enough that he can.

And if he can, I’m going to enjoy eating these crackers as a snack! Yum!

Aside from the sheer joy of feeding Zac, one of the most precious things about dinner last night was seeing Jed in action.

Jed was also thrilled to be able to feed Zac! He cheered and clapped at the dinner table, and when the crackers were baking kept running to the oven to check on them.

When they were ready, he would run to the kitchen, grab four crackers, and gleefully present them to the family. “One for Mommy, one for Daddy, one for me, and one for Zac!” he would say as he placed a single cracker in each of Darrel and my hands.

Then he would run up to Zac and shout “Here you go!” as he gave him his cracker.

He kept doing it so much, Zac wound up with a stash of crackers. He couldn’t eat them fast enough to keep up with Jed’s largess!

Darrel and I were amazed at this, until it dawned on me: Jed’s whole life, he’s heard people (Darrel, my parents, friends) comment to him “You’re very lucky to have a Mommy that loves you so much she makes such special foods for you!”

So in Jed’s world, you show how much you love someone by feeding them.

Last night made it crystal clear: our sweet Jed loves us all very, very much.

I have the two sweetest, most loving little boys in the whole wide world.

And for at least a little while, I can finally feed them both.

Today is a good day.

__________

Do your toddlers love to feed their siblings, too? Does it just melt your heart?

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