Food Fight!

Most mornings, Jude gets John Patrick up about 7 a.m., feeds him, then gets him dressed for the day. As she leaves, I take him downstairs, select some music to play on the ipod, sit him in his high chair and feed him breakfast. It's the highlight of my day.

Often times, mind you, it's challenging, depending on John Patrick's mood. Fortunately, I've developed some strategies for "encouraging" him to eat, even when he isn't interested in doing so. On a given morning, I may use one strategy or a combination of strategies, depending on how quickly he picks up on what I'm doing. Eight month olds are smarter than you think when it comes to doing what they want to do, as opposed to what you want them to do.

In no particular order, here are some of the strategies I've used.

1. Humor. As I hold the spoon in front of his face, I smile, laugh, sing, etc., until John Patrick opens his mouth to smile, then I shove the spoon in his mouth. Normally, it's my first option.

2. Distraction. I make a noise, say "boo," or otherwise distract John Patrick until he opens his mouth, then in goes a spoonful of food.

3. Bait and Switch. One of my favorites. After he's been eating for a few minutes, sometimes John Patrick starts to get bored and refuses to open his mouth. He'll hum, make noise, all with his lips pursed tightly together. I take a tupperware container or the top of one of his babyfood containers and hold it in front of his mouth. He looks at it, then opens his mouth to chew on it. When that happens, I shove the spoon right in. It works almost every time.

4. Deception. If all else fails, this is my go to strategy. When John Patrick gets tired of eating his rice cereal, which is kind of bland, I feed him a spoonful or two of babyfood fruit (apples, pears, bananas, etc.). Then, I mix in a few spoonfuls of rice cereal, then back to the fruit. He looks at me like he's kind of confused at times, but he eats all of his food.

5. Heavy Equipment Operator. At times, this approach works, as well. Basically, I fill the spoon up with babyfood fruit, babyfood vegetables or rice cereal (whichever is the food of choice), and make a noise like an airplane, a train, a bulldozer, etc., as the spoon approaches John Patrick's mouth. On a good day, he opens his mouth, probably as a puzzled reaction to all the dumb noises his father is making.

6. The Rhythm Method (also known as the Chanting Monk). When John Patrick and are really clicking and in sync, it takes little effort or thought to feed him. I fill up the spoon with babyfood or rice cereal, he opens his mouth and in goes the spoon. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. At times like this, when the whole operation is flowing smoothly, I find myself humming or saying "yum," as I put the spoon into his mouth, almost like a repetitive chant. We're in the zone. It doesn't happen a lot, but man is it nice when it does.

I'm guessing, though, that I'm only going to be able to outsmart John Patrick for a limited time. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.