Variety: the Spice of Life!

For those of you that know our little Jonah pretty well,

You have most likely either witnessed or been subject to a discourse

on his rather narrow choice of foods.

That he will eat.

Jonah was a FANTASTIC little baby in terms of baby food.

He ate everything!

But, as soon as texture became a factor, he shut down.

He became extremely picky, choosy, you name it.

Since that time, we have struggled with his eating habits and preferences.

He basically eats peanut butter (only JIF or Peter Pan - all others have been gagged out), certain types of crackers, yogurt, milk, most fruits, carrots occasionally, muffins, and most sweets. No meats, cheese, veggies, breads, and whatever else you can think of!

A couple weeks ago, though, we decided that it was time. He is three and one half years. He is old enough to start enjoying the process of being forced to eat certain things. Or, at least, TRY certain things in order to say that he "doesn't like that". So, we set up a calendar for the week, and listed three different foods for each day. Before he could have one of the foods he wanted, he had to at least eat a few bites of a "new" food.

Some days were great! Some days were horrible. Namely the day that had cheese and corn on the list. At some point past lunch, he was hungry! Didn't want those food AT ALL. But, finally opted to try cheese. He put it in his mouth and promptly spit it back out. No go on the cheese. Lots of tears and screaming through the rest of the day as he refused the foods offered on his plate and requested peanut butter what seemed a million times. Nope. No caving. Finally, at 8:15 p.m., he ate 4 kernals of corn. And acted like he was going to die! That was a long day.

But at the end, he had tried some new foods. And we had re-incorporated some foods back into his diet that we had gotten lax about making him eat. We're still keeping a calendar to ensure that he gets as much variety as possible. We're still working on this idea of him at least trying a bite of a food without screaming or gagging it back up. It's a process.

Here he is: choking down carrots on the last day of that first week. Because, waiting at the end of a successful week of a sticker on each day was a Buzz Lightyear spaceship toy that he had seen at the store and really wanted. He got it. Yup ... we're not completely above bribery or rewards with this situation. The kiddo needs some motivation or he just starves himself! May God give Eli and I patience as we keep up the work in this area with Jonah.

Here's to my little 3 year old. Love him. But I really hope someday he can enjoy some steak and potatoes with his daddy!