Food and Eating | Marriage Confessions Food and Eating

In the past few months, dinnertime with Bean has become increasingly…um…hellish? Disastrous? Unbearable?

D. All of the above.

Bean eats like most toddlers. He has a HUGE breakfast every morning. Usually he has two bowls of cereal, a banana, a piece of toast (sometimes two), and some yogurt. He’s like He-Man in the mornings. At school he normally eats all his morning snack and most of his lunch. His afternoon snack is when he starts winding down and he’s hit or miss as to whether he actually eats any. By dinner, he is not interested in food at all.

Our pediatrician said that as long as he’s eating a balanced diet most of the day, we shouldn’t stress too much about the light dinner. And I get that. But part of eating dinner is the sitting down as a family. That’s something I want Bean to learn is part of our household routine. Also, at daycare he’s getting balanced meals, but they aren’t SUPER healthy every day and dinnertime is how I make sure he gets some fresh veggies and fruit in his day. So, while I don’t require him to eat everything, he does have to sit at the table with us and eat a little bit.

And, therein lies the challenge.

I have been struggling with how to get Bean to eat without ruining dinner with temper tantrums (no small feat, I assure you…). Most of the time, he’s pretty good. I let him bring one toy to the table as long as he eats his dinner while the toy is there. Our dessert rule is that if Bean cleans his WHOLE plate, he gets a cookie. That actually rarely happens. Normally, he pokes at his meal for about half the meal while he talks to me and Chris. When he’s tired of sitting there (usually after 20 minutes), he asks to get down. If he hasn’t eaten enough, I ask him to take two or three bites and then he can get down. If he’s eaten a fair amount, I let him get down and tell him how much we enjoyed having him at the dinner table.

But there are those special nights when nothing works. He won’t eat anything and dinner looks like it’s going to be an epic fail in about 10 seconds. On those nights, we play The Game.

I accidentally came up with The Game one night when I was frustrated with Bean not eating his dinner. He had one of his toys on the table and I took it away from him because he wasn’t eating. When he asked nicely if he could have it back, I told him he could have it if be took one bite of veggies and one bite of chicken. He laughed like that was the greatest game in the whole world. So, I ran out to the living room and grabbed a handful of his favorite toys and put them in a bowl. Then, we started playing The Game.

The Rules:
- Bean can’t see what toys are in the bowl. It adds to the surprise when I pull one out.
- The toys much be pulled out with as much drama as possible. Extra points for silliness.
- The payment for each toy is based on the “value” of the toy to Bean. So, if it’s one of his favorite toys, he has to eat more food.
- The game ends when all the food is gone (which means I sometimes have to do several rounds in the living room collecting more toys) or whenever Bean gets fidgety.
- We only play the game once a week, at the most. It’s the novelty that makes it so fun to Bean.

Tonight I pulled The Game out because Bean hasn’t eaten a solid dinner for three nights now. This time, I had Chris video the beginning so you could see how it goes.

Getting toddlers to eat has to be one of the greatest parenting challenges. On those nights when I’m positive Bean is going to shrivel up and starve if he doesn’t eat dinner, this is my go-to game.

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44 comments | posted in About Beanie, Food and Eating, parenting, Parenting Ideas, The Romper Room, Toddlerhood, What I've Learned | tags: parenting, toddlers

If I have become an expert on anything this past holiday season, it would have to be eating out with two small children. Whether we’re at someone else’s home, sitting in a fast food drive through as we travel, or eating at a restaurant, taking two kids out to eat can be a real challenge.

Michael is at the age now where he knows what is expected of him in a restaurant. Mostly, that’s because we expect him to act the same way at our kitchen table as we would expect him to act in a restaurant, so there’s little confusion about table manners. Of course, there are times when he’s tired or cranky or exceptionally hyped up, and those meals are a bit more challenging. But, generally speaking, Bean is pretty good when we go out now. He’s two and a half and so he sits in a booster seat next to me or Chris. We try to get a booth, when we can, because it is easier to contain Bean. Most of the time, Bean sits in his booster seat through the entire meal. I make sure to order his meal when we order our drinks, so that he has his food sooner rather than later. I’ve also started bringing crayons and paper for him to play with while we eat. Restaurants are also one of the only times he ever gets to use a real pen to write with and so that’s always good for a few minutes of novelty.

Gracie is now nine months old. She can sit up on her own and so we get a high chair for her. Usually, I put my shopping cart cover in the high chair, just because she likes to chew on anything around her. It’s also convenient because she tends to drop things (like, EVERYthing…) and that cart cover helps trap falling debris. I like the cart cover because it has these rings that I can hook toys to, so even if she throws them, they just dangle.

For food, we used to order Bean a children’s meal every time we went out, but lately he is so hit and miss on whether he’ll eat a whole meal or not and so we’ve been just ordering him a side item or two. Gracie is also eating table food now and so we usually just give her pieces of whatever is on the table that she can gum to death. Here is a quick list of what are our go-to foods at each meal when we eat out:

Breakfast – Bean:

Plain biscuit (which we put butter or jelly on at the table – we keep it plain if we’re in the car)
Yogurt
Cheerios (he likes me to mix his yogurt and Cheerios together in one bowl)
Fruit cup
Single pancake (no butter or syrup because I’m a Debbie Downer and don’t like the sugar, although his Nana always gives him syrup)

Breakfast – Gracie:

*All of Gracie’s food is cut up into bite sized pieces and she either feeds herself or I feed her as I eat. I usually let Gracie sample whatever we have on our plates. Be sure if you’re giving your baby something for the first time, you wait about 3 days before introducing anything else new so that you can monitor for an allergic reaction. I’ve had one pediatrician who said to stay away from nuts and peanut butter strictly until they were one year old, but I’ve had another pediatrician who said that we could try it now at nine months with Gracie in small amounts. We’re choosing to wait a bit, simply because that allergy can be really dangerous in wee ones. We also don’t do honey until they are two years old and we keep the shell fish out of their diets until they are about two years old, as well. Other than those two things, though, we really let her try all kinds of foods. Be sure you talk with your pediatrician about what they recommend for introducing new foods to your baby. These are simply big hits that work for my particular family.*

Toast (If you butter it a little and let it sit first, the bread becomes a little soggier and easier to chew)
Biscuit
Single scrambled egg (be sure to ask that they not cook it in butter, if you’re particular)
Cut up pieces of fruit

Lunch or Dinner – Bean:

*He can pretty much eat anything and he tells us what he wants or doesn’t want, but these are some of the most popular when we’re out. Our best bet is usually to look at the side items part of the menu, instead of the kids menu for Bean, unless I know he’s particularly hungry.*

Grilled cheese
Fruit cup
Grilled chicken strips (usually from my salad)
Mashed potatoes (especially if they are sweet potatoes)
Applesauce (the biggest thrill EVER, if you are Bean)
Yogurt
Cheese quesadilla (sometimes I get chicken and cheese to get some protein in there for him, but Bean usually picks it out. He’s not much for meat…)
Avocado

Lunch or Dinner – Gracie:

*Basically, if it’s relatively bland and unsauced, Gracie gets to try it.*

Fully cooked turkey or chicken
Fruit
A french fry (if I’m desperate and she’s getting fidgety. She’ll slobber all over a french fry for an hour!)
Pasta
Any vegetable that’s on someone’s plate
Applesauce
Yogurt
Avocado (these are great in Mexican restaurants with a cheese quesadilla. Both my kids love that meal.)
Rice (brown, when available)

With the kids getting a bit older now, eating out and on the go has become much easier. The trick is to get them in, keep them happy and as healthy as possible, and get them out quickly! Meals on the run aren’t necessarily relaxing anymore for me and Chris, but they certainly are an adventure!

What about you? What are your kids favorite things to eat when you’re out and about?

8 comments | posted in About Beanie, About Gracie, Food and Eating, Out and About, parenting, Parenting Ideas, The Romper Room, Travel with Bean | tags: eating out with kids, restaurants with kids, travel with kids

This post is going to be the first in a series of posts I do called, “I Get Around,” where I’ll share practical tips for how we navigate different situations with two kids. At the top of that list is getting through a restaurant meal with a toddler and an infant. Eating out with one baby is hard enough, but eating out with two of them brings all new challenges. To be honest, it’s hardly ever a fun time when we go out to eat with the kids. We do it for all kinds of reasons – to be with friends and family, to expose the kids to situations, to practice manners, or simply because we’re out on the go.

There’s a great window when babies are still newborns when going out to eat can be enjoyable. They’re too little to be awake for long and they don’t really care where they are or what’s going on around them. Perfect conditions for eating out! I wish we’d done more of it when Bean was a newborn, actually.

Now, with two kids, eating out is hit or miss. Sometimes it works great and other times neither Chris or I get to eat a bite of food. Its really about trial and error and having the confidence to try, try, try again when things don’t go so well the first time. In our adventures into restaurant eating, here are a few tips we’ve discovered that have helped us have more successful meals:

- Plan your meals around the happiest time for your kids. You might have to eat a little earlier than normal people (blue plate specials are not just for seniors, my friends…), but you have the best chance of success when your kids are in the best moods. For us, we’ve found early meals around 5:00 or 6:00 are optimum times for dinner because the kids aren’t quite at their breaking point yet and we can still get home in time for bedtime.

- Bring toys and entertainment for your kids, no matter what their age. Even little babies need sometimes to focus on or else they get fidgety. When we started out, we brought little hand toys and teethers for the kids. Now, Gracie is seven months old and is to the point where she gets bored easily. I’ve found that what keeps her the most entertained these days are new things that she doesn’t see too often, so I give her things from the restaurant. Last weekend, she waved and banged around with a spoon for half an hour, happy as a pig. For Bean, he’s pretty much seen it all in the restaurants, so what keeps him entertained are activities that engage him. Usually, I bring books or things to color for him. Even still though, be prepared to spend the majority of your meal interacting with your child. Nothing entertains kids more than people and aren’t mealtimes all about a chance to interact with each other? So, color with them or draw their hand prints (that’s Bean’s favorite), play “I Spy,” point out colors, letters, and numbers on the menu.

- Order your child’s meal when you order your drinks. We try to get Bean’s food as soon as possible. It keeps him entertained and busy and allows us to focus on helping him eat before our own food arrives. Most waiters completely understand and are appreciative of anything you do to keep your child content and happy.

- DON’T TAKE THEM OUT OF THEIR SEAT! We have found that if we take Bean or Gracie out of their highchairs or boosters, it is hard to get them to go back in. This one is much easier to do when it’s just the four of us eating together. In larger groups of family and friends, everyone wants to hold the baby or walk around with Bean, but Chris and I know that that actually makes things much worse. Plus, you’re teaching them about restaurant behavior and they need to learn (especially when they are toddlers) that we sit in our seats when we eat a meal.

- Bring your own utensils from home for your toddler. One of the staples in my diaper bag is a Ziplock with a bib, a fork, and a spoon for Bean. That baggie stays permanently in the bottom of my diaper bag so that we are always prepared when we go out to eat. Then, when he finishes, I put the dirty silverware back into the Ziplock and it keeps my diaper bag neat and clean. I also usually have an empty sippy cup in my diaper bag to fill whenever we get somewhere. If you want or need to bring a sippy cup in the car with a drink in it before the meal, try bringing water. It’s easy to add to when you get to the restaurant and you don’t have to run to the bathroom to empty out a sippy cup of milk when you order apple juice at the restaurant.

- As soon as your baby is able to sit up on their own, get a shopping cart cover. Not only does it help in the grocery store, but you can put it in a high chair in a restaurant and it keeps your baby in a clean, cozy seat. Plus, if your baby is just starting to sit up on their own, those slippery wooden high chairs can be tricky. Having that shopping cart cover in them gives them a little traction and helps them balance.

- Eat quickly! Even on the best nights out to eat with our kids, we have a very small window of happiness before one or both of them start to get fussy, fidgety, or just plain loud. In fact, Chris and I are in such a habit of sitting down, spot-picking off the menu, ordering quickly, and eating even faster, that when we go out to dinner with just the two of us, we end up eating in 20 minutes and then not knowing what to do with ourselves for the next few hours we have the sitter! Old habits die hard, I guess. With kids, we’re working on their schedule and they live in about 15 to 20 minutes intervals before they are ready to move on to the next activity, so eating is fast and furious. Save the leisurely meals for date nights!

These are just a few of the ideas and tips that we’ve found over the past two years with little ones. What about you guys? Do you have any sure-fire tricks for keeping restaurant meals happy? Do tell because we’re always looking for more parenting secrets!

21 comments | posted in Food and Eating, Out and About, parenting, Parenting Ideas, The Romper Room | tags: babies, Family, parenting, toddlers

Gracie is seven months old now (gasp!) and I started to panic because he daycare teachers told me today that she’s about to move up to the next classroom. In that class, they introduce a sippy cup at ten months old and they start on table food. It’s not that we are trying to hold Gracie back on purpose, but we really haven’t been working with her on developmental skills at this point. I mean, she’s only seven months old, so her skills are pretty basic. But the conversation about moving her up to the next class today made me come home and think hard about what we need to be teaching Gracie and things we should be trying with her.

When Bean was a baby, I was on Babycenter.com all the time checking his milestones. Making sure we weren’t missing something or lagging behind. With Gracie, I don’t think I’ve checked a milestone chart or anything like that since she was born. While I’m not one of those people who live and die by milestones, I do think I should probably at least check in to make sure Gracie is developmentally on the right track.

So, tonight I came home and while Bean was (not) eating his dinner, I put some puffs on her tray and let her get used to eating some kind of solid food. She was making some of the funniest faces that I had to grab my camera…