He Ate Mashed Potatoes

Jonathan is a very picky eater. Since he was a baby, the care takers would tell me that they couldn't fool him and put non-baby food in the baby-food jars without him noticing. As he grew older, he really liked lots of the "gluten" rich type foods, but also some exotic foods like olives. He would eat a large variety of foods and he would try different types of foods. He didn't seem to dislike food based on texture, but rather taste. He even ate mashed potatoes. When he was diagnosed, and we learned about the gluten free / casein free diet, I found it so hard that I only cooked certain types of meals. And Jonathan grew up without trying a variety of foods and he now dislikes everything.

So my new quest: introduce him to new food items every day. Today we had mashed potatoes and he hates the texture. It makes him gag. But I think it is because he grew up without being exposed to it. Today he asked me if I could buy him another Leapster cartridge, and I used that to negotiate with him. I made 10 small balls of mashed potatoes and put it on his plate, along with turkey cut up in squares. He refused to eat it, but wanting the cartridge was more important. He gagged during the first 4 tries. By the time he made it to the 8th ball, he was not complaining or gagging anymore. When he finished, he was very proud of himself (and so were we). We offered more, but he declined (go figure).

No more Leapster: I made up my mind and I am going to take the Leapster toy away from him starting August 1. That is a good day because we start HBOT at 6pm (right after school) and by the time we get home (about 8pm), he will be tired, taking a bath, eating dinner and getting ready for bed. He will cry and moan, but I will tell him that he can play on Saturdays and Sundays only. I will let him play for an hour each day, and then hit the road so he forgets about it. But it is really getting in the way of playing with other toys and people. It is a great learning tool, so I want him to still play with it. But I need to regulate it very closely.

Socialwise, I don't know how he did today. He played quite a bit with Vanessa. Well, they fought quite a bit. Every thing that one has, the other one wants. Here is a picture of a game they play where they smell each other's feet to see which one stinks the most. :) They love playing that game at night right when we are getting them ready for bed. Getting ready for bed can be a very lengthy task at times. But I love watching the kids play together.