Why has it gotten so hard for me to do daycare drop off? I find myself coaxing Moodle into the room, and then sitting with her until she agrees to get off my lap and go to the breakfast table at school. It takes about 20 minutes for me to get out of there. I know I can go in, bring her into the room, give her a kiss and a hug, and go. I know she will cry, and that our lovely teachers can handle that.
I know kids have some separation anxiety at this age (we turn 22 months this weekend!). It's not that I can't bear to see her cry. It sucks, but at least I know why she's crying, and that it's developmentally appropriate, so it doesn't haunt me. And I know she's probably done with it before I even make it out of the building.
What bugs me is that I know she will need the attention of her caregiver as soon as I leave. And so if I show up when the kids are having breakfast, I feel guilty leaving her to deal with Moodle's tears while also juggling three or four kids who are eating or just starting to eat, or cleaning up, or making sure the resident spitfire doesn't draw on the walls with his breakfast burrito.
I need to get over it. Or I need to get to school 10 minutes earlier so I'm not in the middle of breakfast prep. I think I also need to talk about this with our teachers, so they can work their teacher-y magic, and we can work together to get me over it.
Any suggestions for streamlining our morning?
ps...Moodle eats like a Hobbit, so we call her school breakfast "second breakfast". Lunch is "elevensies".
Showing posts with label eating habits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eating habits. Show all posts
Friday, March 23, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Guacamole Moodle
This is the post where I brag because we are finally seeing some payoff in Moodle's eating habits. We've been struggling for more than a year now to strike the balance between offering her new, different foods and offering her foods we know she will eat, while simultaneously tricking her into eating vegetables and meat. And making sure she doesn't get bored with her food choices.
Eating is a requirement for living. Why is it so complicated when there is a toddler involved?
Anyway, we've been plugging away at it for a long time now, and we are at the point where we try not to make a big deal out of anything. We just put it in front of her, and then show her that Mommy and Daddy are enjoying it. Works maybe half the time. If I'm worried she didn't eat enough, I throw some fruit on her plate at the end of the meal. Parenting is about compromise, or so I'm told.
Yesterday, Moodle and I went out for our first dinner at a sit-down restaurant with just the two of us. Usually when it is just the two of us and we go out, it's more like McD's. But I really didn't want fast food, and I had a long day, and didn't want to cook either, even something easy. Max Powers and I had discovered a local Mexican joint, and it seemed like a pretty relaxed place. And nachos sounded delicious. Plus, they give you warm chips and mild salsa while you wait for your food, which Moodle would love.
I let her play on the bench next to me while we waited for our food and ate chips and salsa. And when they brought out the guacamole I ordered, Moodle dug in with a chip without waiting to be invited. Score! She's rejected avacado in the past, but seemed to enjoy this, especially when she realized she could dip the chip in both guac and salsa. She was enjoying it so much, I started to worry that she was going to fill up on chips before our dinner even got there.
It turns out I needn't have worried (which is usually true). When dinner came she ignored my crazy nachos (so delicious! amazing queso) and dove into her wet bean burrito. They were considerate to put it on a cool plate (they usually serve on hot plates to keep the food warm longer), and once I cut it up she ate half a huge burrito with her hands. She even settled into her booster seat with no complaints.
When the server came by to ask how our food was, he just laughed. "She doesn't need to tell me she likes the food. You can tell from her face!" Which was, of course, adorably covered in beans and red sauce. As was her sweatshirt, my sleeve, and the table. She grinned at the waiter through a mouthful of burrito. When we were done, I cleaned up as best as I could, and left a good tip.
As we left, I was feeling like parent of the year. Dinner out with no behavior problems, great eating, and new foods. But apparently Moodle REALLY liked this place, because she started kicking and screaming as we were leaving. Certainly loud enough to disturb other customers, and so I hastened my exit as best as I could.
Sigh. Bubble was burst. But as Meatloaf said, two outta three ain't bad.
Eating is a requirement for living. Why is it so complicated when there is a toddler involved?
Anyway, we've been plugging away at it for a long time now, and we are at the point where we try not to make a big deal out of anything. We just put it in front of her, and then show her that Mommy and Daddy are enjoying it. Works maybe half the time. If I'm worried she didn't eat enough, I throw some fruit on her plate at the end of the meal. Parenting is about compromise, or so I'm told.
Yesterday, Moodle and I went out for our first dinner at a sit-down restaurant with just the two of us. Usually when it is just the two of us and we go out, it's more like McD's. But I really didn't want fast food, and I had a long day, and didn't want to cook either, even something easy. Max Powers and I had discovered a local Mexican joint, and it seemed like a pretty relaxed place. And nachos sounded delicious. Plus, they give you warm chips and mild salsa while you wait for your food, which Moodle would love.
I let her play on the bench next to me while we waited for our food and ate chips and salsa. And when they brought out the guacamole I ordered, Moodle dug in with a chip without waiting to be invited. Score! She's rejected avacado in the past, but seemed to enjoy this, especially when she realized she could dip the chip in both guac and salsa. She was enjoying it so much, I started to worry that she was going to fill up on chips before our dinner even got there.
It turns out I needn't have worried (which is usually true). When dinner came she ignored my crazy nachos (so delicious! amazing queso) and dove into her wet bean burrito. They were considerate to put it on a cool plate (they usually serve on hot plates to keep the food warm longer), and once I cut it up she ate half a huge burrito with her hands. She even settled into her booster seat with no complaints.
When the server came by to ask how our food was, he just laughed. "She doesn't need to tell me she likes the food. You can tell from her face!" Which was, of course, adorably covered in beans and red sauce. As was her sweatshirt, my sleeve, and the table. She grinned at the waiter through a mouthful of burrito. When we were done, I cleaned up as best as I could, and left a good tip.
As we left, I was feeling like parent of the year. Dinner out with no behavior problems, great eating, and new foods. But apparently Moodle REALLY liked this place, because she started kicking and screaming as we were leaving. Certainly loud enough to disturb other customers, and so I hastened my exit as best as I could.
Sigh. Bubble was burst. But as Meatloaf said, two outta three ain't bad.
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