It's a Spring Break Miracle!
Lucy was on spring break this past week, which meant Mommy scrambled to try to schedule some playdates to help fill in the blanks. Despite a couple activities that fell through, it worked out pretty well. Lucy got to have lunch with Bregan and Aiden on Monday, A playdate with Kate at the tot lot by our house on Tuesday, a playdate at Dylan's house on Wednesday, gymnastics and lunch with Daddy on Thursday, and a playdate organized by the neighborhood Mom's Group on Friday. We've also been playing outside in the afternoons after nap more lately, now that the days are getting longer. So, ample excitement.
But nothing, no playdate, NOTHING could compare to the excitement (at least in my eyes) to the shocking turn of events that occurred this past week: Lucy tried food! If you know us, you know that, despite the fact that I used to make ALL of her baby food from scratch, which included all types of meats and vegetables, had become a picky eater. Her veggie intake has been almost nil, except for raw carrots (at times) and raw celery (weird). Over the course of this past week, she has almost quadrupled her veggie repertoire!
I really cannot stress to you how miraculous this is. And no, I don't feel like I'm being melodramatic! Until this past Monday, it was impossible to get her to even try a single bite of a new food. (For our purposes, "new" refers to anything outside of the small array of foods that she's been eating.) This all changed, completely out of the blue, on Monday. April Fool's Day, mind you. ;)
While I was making her dinner on Monday, she asked if she could have some chocolate ice cream for dessert. For some reason, I had the idea to try to work in a veggie. I told her that she could have some chocolate ice cream for dessert if she tried some cucumber. (Cucumber was easy enough to prepare quickly.) To my surprise, she agreed. However, even as I sliced the cucumber, I imagined her refusing to eat it (like she had always refused anything we would try to get her to try) and thought about what a waste of time it would be and how I guess I would be eating some cucumber slices for dinner. I brought her the cucumber slices and to my surprise once again, she picked up a slice and actually TOOK A BITE! OMG! And as if I wasn't already preparing to pass out, she said that she liked it! OMG!! I was beside myself with excitement. "YAY!" I said. "Daddy's going to be so surprised," Lucy said. Understatement. Then she remembered the little inexpensive reward chart I bought for this very purpose. "Now I can get a sticker," she said. "Yes! Let's get your chart!" I let her choose a sticker and we put it in the first square, and I wrote, "cucumber" above it, so we could remember what she ate. I was overjoyed!
On Tuesday, she asked for ice cream again, so I told her she could have some if she tried something else. Day 2: Broccoli. I wasn't sure if she would like it raw or cooked (both ways are so different), so I figured to increase our chances that she would like it, I should prepare it both ways. So I steamed a few florets and offered a few raw florets, with a dollop of ranch dressing on the side for dipping. I also gave her some more cucumbers, since she said she liked it the day before and I wanted to remind her. ;) She immediately zoomed in on the dressing and said, "I don't like that!" Okay fine, I told her she didn't have to eat it, but just try the broccoli. She pointed at the raw broccoli and said she didn't want that, then picked up one of the cooked florets and said, "I'll just eat this one." She said she liked it! While I was back in the kitchen, she ate one of the raw florets on her own, and when I returned, she told me she liked the raw one too, and also said, "I tried this too," pointing at the dressing. You like the dressing?" I asked. She said yes, and put a finger in it and licked it, to show me. (She has since boycotted ranch dressing again, so who knows.) It was about this time when I felt like doing cartwheels in the living room. I could not believe what was happening! "Let's get my chart!" she said, proudly. I proudly got it out for her, and we added another sticker. As she ate her ice cream, she said, "Thank you for helping me eat broccoli." I almost cried. Well, I did get a little teary. I mean, OMG! It was about this time when I started feeling a little lightheaded and like I might pass out from the shock. To put me over the edge, a few minutes later she added, "Maybe tomorrow I can try lettuce." WHAT???
Day 3: Lettuce. Because she said she didn't want any dressing and because lettuce is blah without dressing, I tried to get her to try avocado instead, but she wanted nothing to do with it. "Would you like to try lettuce instead?" I asked. She said yes. I explained how people usually (aka always) eat lettuce with dressing on it, but she said she wanted to eat it plain. Gross, but okay- whatever floats your boat! I washed and tore up little pieces of red lettuce and butter lettuce, which is what we had. I thought I could talk her into the red lettuce, since it's kind of purpley, purple being her favorite color, but no. She went for the butter lettuce. And declared she liked it. She continued to nibble on the tiny pieces of lettuce like a bunny. (I should note that with all the veggies she didn't eat all of what I gave her - which wasn't a lot to begin with, but she did eat at least one piece of each thing, which I still consider a major triumph.) Again, we got out her chart and added a sticker to it. Again, I wanted to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. How long could this last, I wondered (and still wonder).
Day 4: Corn. By this time, the vegetables we had available and on had for her to try were dwindling. after all, i didn't plan for this! She was still not game to try avocado, and I didn't feel confident enough to have her try kale yet, so our options were limited to the freezer. Hence, corn. I heated up some corn and added a little bit of butter and salt. I mean, how could she not go for this? Yum! She loved it! She even asked for more! This was getting out of control now. Who is this girl?? Another sticker for the chart!
Day 5: Edamame. Avocado was a no-go again ("I'll try it in 5 days."), so pretty much the only thing we had left (I thought we had some frozen peas, but nope) was frozen edamame. At least she went for that. She loved the edamame, too! And even wanted more of that as well. Amazing!!
I really cannot adequately put into words how exciting this is for me to see. I have been asked how I was able to bring about this change all of a sudden, but I can't take all the credit. 3.5 year-olds (at least mine) are interesting little creatures, with minds of their own, and mine is especially strong-willed. It's not like we haven't tried to get her to try new foods in the past. It's been a while since we have been offering them to her on a daily basis, because she would always refuse, but even the times we would try, she would refuse. Not only veggies- anything! We couldn't get her to try ANYTHING new. If I had to guess at what could be some contributing factors, it could be small seeds that may have started to plant in her head. We have been mentioning how she's going to have to start trying new foods, but without saying anything else. Then I did buy that reward chart and put it in her Easter basket. When she asked what it was for, I told her it was for when she tries new food. Honestly, though, I have no idea what switched on in her brain all of a sudden, what made her try that first slice of cucumber that first day, and what's been motivating her to continue to be open to trying something new everyday since. (We didn't try anything new today, but our day was also thrown off by a packed day of meals out. She did, however, ask for edamame as a snack and corn with her dinner, so yay!)
All I can chalk it up to is that 3.5 year olds are little freaks. ;) Who knows why they do (or don't do) anything? This is no different. This is also why I'm now living in fear that she could change her mind again at any moment and revert back to refusing to try anything else. I hope it doesn't happen though, because this has been awesome! I'm going to keep a positive attitude for as long as this continues. I even planned to buy more veggies at the grocery store tomorrow for her to try next week: asparagus, tomatoes, peas (all of which she used to eat just fine at one point), mushrooms, maybe zucchini, and maybe that avocado. I should mention that there are about a million foods that could and will go on the list, but I thought I would start with veggies, since that's what's been severely lacking in her diet and what I think is really important to get her eating. At some point meats will be included, since it would be nice if she would at least eat chicken, and then I'll slowly introduce the other million foods. ;)
For now, just the fact that she's been willing to at least TRY new foods is HUGE and makes me so proud of her. The fact that she's been (admitting to) LIKING the new foods is icing on the cake! All I can do is hope whatever switched on is permanent and that she's learned that she can try things and that at least sometimes she will learn that she likes it. As long as she is open to trying (and liking) new food, I think I will be a happy mama. Wish us luck! :)
But nothing, no playdate, NOTHING could compare to the excitement (at least in my eyes) to the shocking turn of events that occurred this past week: Lucy tried food! If you know us, you know that, despite the fact that I used to make ALL of her baby food from scratch, which included all types of meats and vegetables, had become a picky eater. Her veggie intake has been almost nil, except for raw carrots (at times) and raw celery (weird). Over the course of this past week, she has almost quadrupled her veggie repertoire!
I really cannot stress to you how miraculous this is. And no, I don't feel like I'm being melodramatic! Until this past Monday, it was impossible to get her to even try a single bite of a new food. (For our purposes, "new" refers to anything outside of the small array of foods that she's been eating.) This all changed, completely out of the blue, on Monday. April Fool's Day, mind you. ;)
While I was making her dinner on Monday, she asked if she could have some chocolate ice cream for dessert. For some reason, I had the idea to try to work in a veggie. I told her that she could have some chocolate ice cream for dessert if she tried some cucumber. (Cucumber was easy enough to prepare quickly.) To my surprise, she agreed. However, even as I sliced the cucumber, I imagined her refusing to eat it (like she had always refused anything we would try to get her to try) and thought about what a waste of time it would be and how I guess I would be eating some cucumber slices for dinner. I brought her the cucumber slices and to my surprise once again, she picked up a slice and actually TOOK A BITE! OMG! And as if I wasn't already preparing to pass out, she said that she liked it! OMG!! I was beside myself with excitement. "YAY!" I said. "Daddy's going to be so surprised," Lucy said. Understatement. Then she remembered the little inexpensive reward chart I bought for this very purpose. "Now I can get a sticker," she said. "Yes! Let's get your chart!" I let her choose a sticker and we put it in the first square, and I wrote, "cucumber" above it, so we could remember what she ate. I was overjoyed!
On Tuesday, she asked for ice cream again, so I told her she could have some if she tried something else. Day 2: Broccoli. I wasn't sure if she would like it raw or cooked (both ways are so different), so I figured to increase our chances that she would like it, I should prepare it both ways. So I steamed a few florets and offered a few raw florets, with a dollop of ranch dressing on the side for dipping. I also gave her some more cucumbers, since she said she liked it the day before and I wanted to remind her. ;) She immediately zoomed in on the dressing and said, "I don't like that!" Okay fine, I told her she didn't have to eat it, but just try the broccoli. She pointed at the raw broccoli and said she didn't want that, then picked up one of the cooked florets and said, "I'll just eat this one." She said she liked it! While I was back in the kitchen, she ate one of the raw florets on her own, and when I returned, she told me she liked the raw one too, and also said, "I tried this too," pointing at the dressing. You like the dressing?" I asked. She said yes, and put a finger in it and licked it, to show me. (She has since boycotted ranch dressing again, so who knows.) It was about this time when I felt like doing cartwheels in the living room. I could not believe what was happening! "Let's get my chart!" she said, proudly. I proudly got it out for her, and we added another sticker. As she ate her ice cream, she said, "Thank you for helping me eat broccoli." I almost cried. Well, I did get a little teary. I mean, OMG! It was about this time when I started feeling a little lightheaded and like I might pass out from the shock. To put me over the edge, a few minutes later she added, "Maybe tomorrow I can try lettuce." WHAT???
Day 3: Lettuce. Because she said she didn't want any dressing and because lettuce is blah without dressing, I tried to get her to try avocado instead, but she wanted nothing to do with it. "Would you like to try lettuce instead?" I asked. She said yes. I explained how people usually (aka always) eat lettuce with dressing on it, but she said she wanted to eat it plain. Gross, but okay- whatever floats your boat! I washed and tore up little pieces of red lettuce and butter lettuce, which is what we had. I thought I could talk her into the red lettuce, since it's kind of purpley, purple being her favorite color, but no. She went for the butter lettuce. And declared she liked it. She continued to nibble on the tiny pieces of lettuce like a bunny. (I should note that with all the veggies she didn't eat all of what I gave her - which wasn't a lot to begin with, but she did eat at least one piece of each thing, which I still consider a major triumph.) Again, we got out her chart and added a sticker to it. Again, I wanted to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. How long could this last, I wondered (and still wonder).
Day 4: Corn. By this time, the vegetables we had available and on had for her to try were dwindling. after all, i didn't plan for this! She was still not game to try avocado, and I didn't feel confident enough to have her try kale yet, so our options were limited to the freezer. Hence, corn. I heated up some corn and added a little bit of butter and salt. I mean, how could she not go for this? Yum! She loved it! She even asked for more! This was getting out of control now. Who is this girl?? Another sticker for the chart!
Day 5: Edamame. Avocado was a no-go again ("I'll try it in 5 days."), so pretty much the only thing we had left (I thought we had some frozen peas, but nope) was frozen edamame. At least she went for that. She loved the edamame, too! And even wanted more of that as well. Amazing!!
I really cannot adequately put into words how exciting this is for me to see. I have been asked how I was able to bring about this change all of a sudden, but I can't take all the credit. 3.5 year-olds (at least mine) are interesting little creatures, with minds of their own, and mine is especially strong-willed. It's not like we haven't tried to get her to try new foods in the past. It's been a while since we have been offering them to her on a daily basis, because she would always refuse, but even the times we would try, she would refuse. Not only veggies- anything! We couldn't get her to try ANYTHING new. If I had to guess at what could be some contributing factors, it could be small seeds that may have started to plant in her head. We have been mentioning how she's going to have to start trying new foods, but without saying anything else. Then I did buy that reward chart and put it in her Easter basket. When she asked what it was for, I told her it was for when she tries new food. Honestly, though, I have no idea what switched on in her brain all of a sudden, what made her try that first slice of cucumber that first day, and what's been motivating her to continue to be open to trying something new everyday since. (We didn't try anything new today, but our day was also thrown off by a packed day of meals out. She did, however, ask for edamame as a snack and corn with her dinner, so yay!)
All I can chalk it up to is that 3.5 year olds are little freaks. ;) Who knows why they do (or don't do) anything? This is no different. This is also why I'm now living in fear that she could change her mind again at any moment and revert back to refusing to try anything else. I hope it doesn't happen though, because this has been awesome! I'm going to keep a positive attitude for as long as this continues. I even planned to buy more veggies at the grocery store tomorrow for her to try next week: asparagus, tomatoes, peas (all of which she used to eat just fine at one point), mushrooms, maybe zucchini, and maybe that avocado. I should mention that there are about a million foods that could and will go on the list, but I thought I would start with veggies, since that's what's been severely lacking in her diet and what I think is really important to get her eating. At some point meats will be included, since it would be nice if she would at least eat chicken, and then I'll slowly introduce the other million foods. ;)
For now, just the fact that she's been willing to at least TRY new foods is HUGE and makes me so proud of her. The fact that she's been (admitting to) LIKING the new foods is icing on the cake! All I can do is hope whatever switched on is permanent and that she's learned that she can try things and that at least sometimes she will learn that she likes it. As long as she is open to trying (and liking) new food, I think I will be a happy mama. Wish us luck! :)
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