Weaning Wednesdays: Mess, a must

My mum's flu got worse today, so it's another full day of just me and Junior J.  Although I'm sorta panicking about how I'm not able to get started on my essay or study for the exams the past few days, I must admit I've enjoyed the time hanging out with the little boy.  Not for mealtimes though, which have turned into a battle of me trying to spoon in food and him spitting it out.  We've changed our tactics now, so instead of just spooning fluids down to make him swallow, I've been giving the boy little bits of food to feed himself (he's always gesturing and wanting bits of food off our plates!), while trying to get in some spoonfuls of food in between.

Just the other day, he shocked us by asking for the cucumber on my plate of rice, and promptly nibbled his way through 3 slices... before getting bored and smearing the rest all over the table.  The same thing happens when he gets slices of carrots... some gets in before the rest gets smushed on the table.  But at least some gets in!  (and we stuff him with food while he's busy "handling" the rest of the food.)

Today was another shocker, as he ate all the broccoli I gave him!  Usually he spits out the little bits of broccoli in his food, but give it to him in larger chunks and let him feed himself, and he stuffs his little mouth full of it.  The same went for the pasta pieces I offered him, but he started his usual spitting halfway through his meal again (so its not a foolproof method...).  I've also tried letting him have some food in a small cup and giving him a spoon to feed himself, and he's been trying to, but with not much success.  Both grandmas (who are usually quite particular about clean mouths and hands) would really be aghast at the state of the boy after each meal... I find the easiest way to clean him would be to bring him direct from the high chair to the bath tub, and hose off all the mess!

So anyway, apart from those messy meals, we've been having a pretty good day.  We've managed to:

- Read a whole bunch of books

- Cook pasta for my lunch, and have a peaceful meal while catching up on some of my favorite blogs while the boy was having his morning nap

- Play "Match the lids" and make a whole lot of noise with some pots

- Fold some laundry in his room

- Load the toddle truck with all the resulting hangers and clothes pegs, and delivered it back to the kitchen

- Send off some flying kisses (he puts his fist to his mouth and goes "MUCK"!)

- Play peekaboo

- Practice saying the word "shirt" (which he uses to refer to his pyjamas, and anything hanging on the laundry poles)

Hope everyone's been having a good week so far!