the stages of eating

Since day 1, feeding Liam has been an adventure to say the least. When he was first born and for the first few months after that, it was a victory for every mL we got him to drink. He started off on 5 mL which was huge for him and then it turned into 10, 15, and so on until we could get him to do ounces. I remember when my mom and Matt and I would take turns going to the hospital to feed Liam we would report back to each other on how much he ate. It was a competition to be the one who got him to eat the most! Most of the time he fell asleep so we learned some tricks like changing his diaper during the middle of a feeding or bouncing him a certain way so he would stay alert.When he was a few months old he was really good at eating, but then it took a turn for the worst and he had a specific way he wanted to be fed. He wanted to be fed in the crock of the leg (still does) while you buzzed "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Not just singing but buzzing it with your lips. No other song would do and you couldn't sing it, you had to buzz it. Believe you me how frustrating and tiring that was, not to mention how much spit came out over the course of a feeding. Gross. And your lips go numb after about one time through the song. I dare you to do it while you read the rest of this post. Triple dog dare. Here, I'll do it too.Then we moved on to the 4th month. Oh the 4th month! Nobody could feed him except Matt. We tried everything. The blowdryer, the vacuum, the bouncing, the rocking. Nothing but Matt. My mom didn't believe me until we came out to visit. Matt was gone and it was time to feed. We tried for over an hour and a half and he wasn't having it. As soon as Matt walked in and started to feed him, he was done in about 10 minutes. Bad thing for everyone else, great thing for Matt's biceps.At 6 months we got to introduce solid foods. This was fantastic! He ate like a champ until about a month later. He would start eating really well and then after a couple of bites he would refuse. That is until we figured out if Matt could dance, it would become a distraction and we could feed him. This isn't just a little jig. It's like this and I'm not joking. I wish I had documentation, but Matt refused. I wonder why?

That lasted for a few months until now after 13 months we are still having to find tricks to feed him. Sometimes we act like we are giving him cheerios (his favorite) and while his mouth is open ready to eat we quickly shove some food in. At times we get really lucky and he eats so well for a week or so. When that happens he closes his eyes during each bite as if he's relishing in every bite. On the days when it's not so good we have found a new trick. Right now the latest thing is this:

Untitled from Megan Scott on Vimeo.

Bless the freezer door. So far it works great, but I have a feeling we'll be having to find a new trick soon!