Friday, April 1, 2011

And it's Friday...

It's been a week. 

Life has decided to throw us some financial curve balls.  Life?  God, in His sovereignty is more accurate, I'd say.

But anyway, it's just been a car's in the shop, expenses adding up, stuck in the house, raining outside kind of week.  And, in the midst of that, my discipleship group is reading Trusting God by Jerry Bridges (love it and him!!), and it turns out, surprise, surprise, that God uses these situations to help us practically learn His word and, you know, sanctify us.

I am memorizing Philippians 4:4-14 for discipleship group (we each pick a verse/verses to go with our accountability question, and my question has to do with anxiety--shocker, right?)  So, intellectually, I have been saying out loud and in my head over and over, "Rejoice in the Lord, always, again I will say rejoice..." but this week, God said, "Rejoice in me always--like when your car is in the shop for the second week and you are climbing the walls and the rain keeps pouring and you want to scream--again I will say, Rejoice."  I didn't always have the best attitude this week, I confess.  In fact, at times, my heart was looking rather ugly.  But at the end of the day, I really, really mean it when I say, I want His will.  Whatever that is.  That's what I want.  No matter how uncomfortable; I want His will.  Because isn't that really the safest place to be?  Smack dab in the middle of God's will.  I think so.

So that was our week, and I haven't blogged because the blogging wouldn't have been pretty.  And now I have two parenting questions.  Advice, anyone?  Please?

First, dear, sweet, stubborn, baby John has decided that he will only eat toast, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and yogurt, which I mentioned a couple of posts ago.  I mean, he is also willing to eat cookies and goldfish and things of that sort, but of the things that I am willing to give him, He will eat toast, PB and J and yogurt.  I have tried avocado, strawberries, cantaloupe, grape tomatoes, bananas (which two weeks ago, he loved), lima beans (which he finally ate some of the other night), pinto beans, black beans, green beans, carrots (has willingly eaten these before, as well), eggs, and the list could go on and on.  He refuses.  I get frustrated, I am trying to force the food into his mouth because I know if he tries it, he will most likely continue to eat it, but I can't get him to try it.  He holds his lips closed as tightly as possible, turns his face away, and hits the high chair.  I have also tried just putting things on his high chair so that he can feed himself.  He just throws the food onto the floor if he doesn't want to eat it.  It is making dinner time quite stressful for me.  And as I have mentioned before, control is one of my idols.  And in motherhood, this often looks like me trying to make sure I am doing things right, and checking off all the boxes.  So I am feeling fairly stressed over the fact that John is getting no fruits or vegetables in his diet.  None.  I feel okay about the yogurt and the sandwiches because I give him Yo-Baby organic yogurt with plenty of probiotics, and I only give him 100% whole grain bread with no high fructose corn syrup and natural peanut butter.  In other words, I am trying to "follow all of those rules," but no fruits or vegetables.  What do I do?  And his being in the 9th percentile, makes me even more want to make sure he is eating plenty of the right foods and gaining weight the way that he is supposed to.  So...I just wonder if there is a way to make this less of a battle.  Will he outgrow this or will I be doing mealtime battles for the rest of his childhood? 

This is getting so long, that I think I will stop the post here without going into the Ada bedtime issue.  I'll save that for another day. 

But I really would love some advice or even a reality check when it comes to John's eating habits. 

p.s. I should add that John does eat other foods, like graham crackers and goldfish and cheerios, mainly to maintain my sanity and keep him from screaming.  He also eats the free cookie at Publix, so I willingly confess that my kids eat lots and lots of junk, but I try to make sure that the majority of what they eat is healthy, energy providing stuff.  And I should add, that I have even tried going back to baby food since he was willing to eat fruits and vegetables in that form, but of course he doesn't want baby food now.  So, that's where we are, and I am sort of throwing my hands up in frustration.  I am considering buying pediasure or something of that nature just to make sure he is getting the proper nutrients, even if they are artificial.

13 comments:

Christie said...

Maybe try slicing strawberries or bananas and adding them to his pb&j. Or make muffins or cupcakes with "hidden" veggies in them until he gets over this phase! Good luck!

Elizabeth said...

well, graham crackers are whole grain and not much sugar and plain cheerios are also healthy snacks. little or no sugar and whole grain oats. so, both good snacks. Honestly, I wouldn't worry about what he's eating- those are good things he's getting - Isn't there a little fruit in the jelly? Okay that's a stretch, but, um - are you still giving him a lot of that almond milk? Might cut back on that so much if it's curbing his appetite - but doesn't sound like his appetite is the problem - just won't eat veggies and fruit. One day he will eat them. Sooner than you realize. Just back off and he'll probably begin to want what all of you have. You know, the little beggar syndrome. :-)

Laura Forman said...

Can we be living anymore of the exact same lives with our two kids? I am having the EXACT same problem with Jack and I am having bedtime issues with Sadie. I really, really hope someone gives us some advice because I am at my wits end too!! :)

Jenny said...

Try a smoothie, made with whole milk, his yobaby, and some pureed fruit. Should be nice and sweet, taste like milk, and you can sneak those fruits in there.

Beth said...

I second the smoothie idea! If you start off keeping it really similar to his yogurt, he might get used to it and you can gradually sneak in other things and a wider variety of fruit. Also, it seems like my kids can always sense when I REALLY care about a certain issue...and then they resist it even more! So maybe if you pretend that it's not a big deal, he won't be so interested in fighting back.

I'm interested to hear more about the bedtime issues. Let's just say that our bedtime last night with my three-year-old daughter ended with me exhausted and crying on the couch. Something is wrong with this picture.... :-)

Jenny said...

I was thinking about this some more and I would also suggest making your own 'jelly' out of different fruits. My kids like PB&J with strawberry spread, and they like PB & banana sandwiches too. You can even try PB & applesause sandwich. It's all the same consistency, just different taste. And I agree about cutting back on the milk, that may be filling him up. (P.S. What brand almond milk do you use? I have 4 coupons $1 off the Silk brand, I'd love for you to have them!)

Hollen said...

:) Jonathan used to only eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and bananas. I'm sure he also ate other things (similar to how John also eats graham crackers and whatnot), but he used to eat that ALL the time! He grew out of it, though! I third the smoothie idea...that might really work!

Mary said...

I don't have any wise words, I am STILL struggling with the same issues with Abbie. I shouldn't really say "still", with her they come and go, She seems to have picky phases. I would just say just keep offering him the good stuff (don't let it become a battle, just make it available, along with something you know he WILL eat) and wait...eventually he will branch out. And give him a good multi-vitamin. I remember reading an article one time about how amazing the human body is, that it can get the nutrients it needs out of just about anything that we feed it (not that I think we should feed it junk, just that you shouldn't worry too much about it) Easier said than done, I know!! haha!

Kathy said...

My son did the same thing - it's SO frustrating! Try limiting what he drinks until AFTER a meal. Will was getting comfortably full on whole milk that he didn't care to eat much. Hopefully it'll help!!

p.s. peanut butter ON banana slices is a nice way of sneaking in some "fruit" :)

Jenny said...

And another idea...quesadillas. My kids eat these several times a week. Just a flour tortilla, and I put some refried pinto beans and some cheese, fold it in half and either microwave it (which I do!) or cook it on the stovetop. They love it. Another big fave is the grilled cheese, if he likes toast, he'd probably like that. Good luck!

Jenny said...

I can't edit my last post, so you don't have to add this if you don't want...but you can also do shredded or diced chicken instead of beans, and add cheese and tiny tomatos or green peppers. I cut them so small that my oldest can't see them.
I promise I'm not a blog stalker. :)
I just enjoy trying to help other moms.

Ashley Turnbull said...

Oh, this is super common!!! We ALL worry about what they're eating. Ugh. I hate it! Great suggestions from the ladies above - I do smoothies as well. She loves them. I do frozen fruit (s'berries or mixed berries), yogurt or milk, a tablespoon of PB, and even instant breakfast (for the nutrients). I eat half and she drinks half. I also do casseroles where she gets some chicken/rice/veggies but it all seems to stick together. I have make homemade granola bars (try the Giada recipe I posted) - it's soft and K likes to snack on that. Great source of stuff there! Try to cut out the things you know are just empty calories - if he's TRULY hungry, he'll eat :-)

Margaret said...

Obviously I'm way behind on blogs- Cope is the same way! I buy the healthiest breads and the wheat ritz and whole grain goldfish-but he can't get by on just that-though that seems to be his plan! I've resorted to a liquid vitamin! I've been stressing so much on what he is missing out on-and I still just keep trying-but feel a little better knowing he's getting the vitamin supplement!