Thursday, May 29, 2008

Who Would Have Thought?


Last night our friends opened our eyes to a fork. Okay, so Steve and I have known for awhile what forks are, but last night was Easton's first encounter. The outcome: eating. A new concept for this child of ours who has had eating problems for months now.

My child is not the best eater. He's kind of picky, and once he sees fruit, there is no chance of him eating anything else in front of him. We eat in shifts at our house. A lot of times he flat out refuses to eat, no matter what I try. Lots of tears shed by the both of us. At dinner last night our friends gave him a fork. He then proceeded to eat...and chicken even, which I don't believe he has ever eaten before. It was a very happy moment for us, I seriously dread meal time (except breakfast, he's a good breakfast eater). I guess he just wanted to be big like the rest of us and use utensils. Sure, spoons he uses, but I guess I just never thought of forks! DUH!I really hope this discovery will help us at mealtime...because my kid has only gained about 3 ounces in the past few months.

Here are a few more pics from last night. Easton and Nathan play so well together, and Nathan has such cool toys at his house. We love the basketball hoop and all the balls and blocks. And no evening would be complete without a little ring around the rosies.

19 comments:

Kara said...

I love it!!! You got some great pictures! We love hanging out with you guys and obviously Nathan loves you and Easton! I'm so happy that Easton ate my chicken and I hope he will continue to eat and eat!

Lizzy said...

We had this same thing happen at our house a little while ago. Forks really do make all the difference. Ben loves to have his own fork, but he's still not great at using it, so sometimes I'll just give him one to "use" while I feed him with another. As long as he's got a fork, he'll eat anything. I love it.

Another thing that's helped my stress level with eating is a piece of wisdomly advice my MIL gave me. She said don't shoot for a balanced meal, shoot for a balanced week. She gave me this advice after I complained and complained about him only eating every other day. Some days he can't shovel food in fast enough, others he won't even touch it. Ben definitely eats for survival, not because I want him to.

Brynne, Aaron and Cade said...

Too TOO cute! Everything about your little guy......love him!!!

Mary said...

That is so Bridget. Our biggest battle is eating with her. Her problem is she loves bread and cheese, so her meals are grilled cheese sandwiches, tortillas and melted cheese and macaroni and cheese. My ped recommend a dietician named Ellyn Satter's books: CHILD OF MINE and HOW TO GET YOUR KID TO EAT. The basis: Your provide healthy food and regular times to eat and the eating part is up to the kid. No bribing (if you eat your broccoli you can have a cookie), no short order cook and no making a big deal about actually eating. It's been the best thing ever. Bridget now occasionally (with a capitol O) eats apples, oranges, strawberries, bananas and tonight put a piece of broccoli in her mouth that she spit out. But, she actually put it in her mouth. She kind of chewed on a carrot for lunch today. No spectacular, but uch improved than in the past. Anyway, the book might be helpful to you. I think it's always easier in the summer too when you can try new fruits like fresh berries and stuff. And fun new dishes and silverware make it fun too! Yeah for break throughs in parenting!

Jenni said...

ok seriously- you've GOT TO STOP THE TORTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 i miss easton so so so so so so badddd! i tell my roomates like every day how bad I want to go to Vegas.... i'm just broke as a joke. haha! and i miss you and stevo too... sheeshhhh.

no but seriously- congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i know this must be a HUGE relief for you!! and he sure looked freaking THRILLED about the fork in that picture!! so good luck!!!

Tara said...

Oh my gosh can we please talk soon!!! I am totally having this issue with the Drew. The kid will not eat today and I was SO frustrated! It is just nice to hear that other people go through this too!

Bringhursts said...

First thing, Easton is like the most stylish boy I've ever seen. Second, we also discovered utensils and they're great. However, they are kind of my nemesis since 90% of Ethan's food ends up on my recently mopped kitchen floor . . .

Alifinale said...

I love that he loves the fork! And those pics are awesome. He and Nathan are the cutest little buddies.

I so feel your pain about lack of eating. It is pathetic now that I am so happy if Emery even eats 2 bites of dinner. But we still offer it...so I guess that counts.

Kim said...

We have the same problem with Isaac. Meal times are the worst with him. We had lasagna for dinner last night and if you can believe it he didn't want to eat his lasagna or his corn. No, he wanted the salad Danny and I were eating. I couldn't believe it! He ate salad like there was no tomorrow. I definitely could not have predicted that! :o)

I really hope that the fork works out for you guys! :o)

Christi said...

Yeah Easton ate chicken! Who would have thought all he needed was a fork!I love that picture of him with the fork. That is awesome!

Aimee said...

YEAH FOR FORKS!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been a fork lover for many years now, so I'm glad Easton can now join with me when I say yeah for forks!!!!!!!

Teresa, mom, Deitz, Aunt Dee Dee said...

Love the picture of Easton with the fork. Who would have thought. Don't you love the guessing game we get to play with our kids. What more fun can you ask for?

Glad you have crossed this milestone.

Love ya tons

Jill said...

Oh, I hope this is a long-term solution to this eating problem! How funny that it was so simple but yet, why would you think of it? Too funny!

Paul & Ashley Justensen Family said...

Wow. That would be a tuff problem. Aubrey eats like a champ so we really haven't had too many problems. Hopefully the little tike can gain a few more pounds!

Carol and Bruce said...

It's going to be interesting to see if he opens the fridge and pulls a chair up and eats you out of house and home at age 12. I'm sure you remember seeing that happen around here more than once:)

Glad to hear he is interested in the fork and hope it lasts. I truly understand the frustration.

You have to cut him some slack for being cute though. Love his new shoes!

Jessett said...

Ok... Seriously.... Easton and Nathan are so cute. You can totally tell that they are such good friends.

You crack me up Emily. I just love all your posts.

We need to do lunch soon. Maybe we can get some other girls together too.

Danielle said...

That is so cute. Okay- I love all your pictures of Easton- he's such a babe! You have him in such cute things. I remember one picture with him in plaid shorts, and this one in this post he is wearing the cutest slip-on shoes! He is such an adorable little boy.

The Grahams said...

ok so our kids are so much alike! Jackson is also the pickiest eater ever! And he also loves fruit and will sometimes only eat that all day! Unfortunately, Jack has been using his own fork for months now and has still not improved much on what he eats!

Ilene said...

Yes, those cheeks definitely say that he is wasting away.

I have found the appetite thing goes in spurts.