picky eaters... i got one!

this is leah (above)... at one. she's eating, she's smiling... this is leah (below)... at three. she's storing. holding. drawing out the misery. OK... many of you may have hated me (a tiny bit) because all of my kids have been really good eaters. weird good eaters. I mean, they have things that they don't like, but for the most part they eat anything. and, i know. some of you have hated that. now, it is time for you to REJOICE! i'm humble by nature... (doesn't every humble person write about their humility?) and, if not by nature, certainly having a large family has taught me humility. but i think i may have had a small bit of pride watching ALL of my kids eat spinach fish quinoa jicama (they fight over asparagus and edemame...) yes. i do believe i had some pride. so, when leah entered our life i wasn't quite aware. she wasn't a good eating baby, and i didn't really work with her. i have all good eaters, so i didn't mind that she ate string cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt and mild cheddar everyday for lunch... for 2 years. Sometimes she eats everything... but, many times she slips by... not eating much of her dinner and REALLY customizing her breakfast and lunches... i noticed the signs today... the quiet exit from the table after eating NOT ONE BITE of her dinner... the picking out the tiny, tiny pieces of spinach on her spoon... she gags when she tries to swallow and she has even thrown up once or twice... (i made the mistake of taking her with me to the store and showing her the dead fish at the fish counter-- eye balls and everything. Then, we cooked fish that night. Leah told me over and over that she REALLY does not like fish. After minutes of my best "get your kid to eat hard things" tactics, she voluntarily put the fish into her mouth with a smile... but, upon trying to swallow, she gagged and choked and threw up a little onto the floor. SHE KNEW that the fish BIT her... she said, "See mom, that's not fish, that's a MEAN SHARK." she won that night. no fish for leah.) It is the keeping ONE BITE in her mouth for a LONG, LONG time that finally led me to accept the fact. i have one. this child can not be bribed, coerced or forced to eat. when i ask if she wants to eat one bite or go to bed without any food she gladly chooses, "BED!" when i tell her that her feet are crying and they need some food, she tells me they like CHEESE. when i tell her that "chicken" makes her strong, she reminds me that Kool-Aid makes her stronger. yup. we all need one. drew could have been my one, he's picky, but my sheer skill (see the humility) expanded him into the horseradish eating child he is today. (yes. he eats horseradish but not whip cream-- he's weird.) But, picky kids are weird. I still remember sweet madilyn dewsnup who would puke with a pea but would eat a huge slap of steak fat with a smile. weird. drew, he's NOT my picky eater. leah-- she beat me. and, i really don't mind if she eats cheese the rest of her life. at least, i don't think i mind. here's proof it started young...