Yes, today in Safeway I found out that Mae is so dextrous now, and so in control of her own food intake, that just as I had my hands full with new season plums, she swiped an apricot from the display and sunk her teeth into it before I could yell "stop, thief!".
"Ah well" I reasoned, "no one wants an apricot with indeterminate teeth marks in it" so I let her polish it off, praying she would make it swift and painless. She didn't let me down. The evidence was swallowed before we'd reached the nappy aisle, at which point I slid the stone slyly into my pocket, making me well and truly an accomplice.
Shoplifting aside, I am happy to see evidence that she can eat fruit like this now - no more slicing necessary! As long as it is reasonably ripe, Mae can get stuck into nectarines, peaches, plums and obviously apricots; skin and all from here on in. And it seems she knows that the stone is not for eating too, so I can mostly relax on the choking front.
Anyway, back to today because there is another brush with the law to report. On leaving Safeway (without setting off the alarm) we made our way to my mothers' group Christmas picnic. Here, Mae cruised around sampling watermelon and fairy bread, all fairly benign and quite delicious. Until she remembered she aint no nice girl, she's a girl on a crime spree and there's work to do.
I had popped my plastic glass of cold sauv blanc next to me for a second while I rummaged in my bag for more treats, and once again Mae spotted my distraction and used her dexterity to dabble on the wrong side of the law for a second time in a day. This time it was underage drinking.
She actually downed my glass of wine in one. Jeez! I was horrified! The other mums assured me it had mostly gone down her front, and there was only a centimetre or so in there in the first place so I don't think I'm going to be featured on A Current Affair as Australia's most irresponsible mother just yet. Most worrying though, was that she didn't even flinch! I don't think I could down a glass of wine, and certainly couldn't in my underage drinking days. On the upside, she holds her drink well, no ill effects to report!
Crikey.
So my point is, that it's all well and good bringing them up to be in control of their own food intake, and very dextrous with it, but there seems to be a gaping hole between now (when she is physically capable of shovelling anything into her mouth) and sometime in the future she can actually understand the meaning of the word "no", or better still just know inherently that we don't steal apricots off the shelves in Safeway and eat them in full view of our fellow shoppers. Nor do we pick up other people's glasses of wine at picnics and down them in one.
Bring on that day because I'm not sure I'm fit to be her moral guide in the meantime!
I just found your blog through the BLW page on Facebook and just read every word. We've just started BLW with our daughter, so it was great to read about your experiences! You are so creative with meals and offered her things I never would have dreamed up! Some great ideas that I will definitely have to try! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I had NO idea that people ate kangaroo! :)
http://thekenzieadventures.blogspot.com/
Hi Leanne, thanks for your comment! Sorry, we've been away for Christmas and I only just saw it now.
ReplyDeleteI know, the kangaroo thing seems a bit weird to non-australians, but it actually is a very sustainable meat that is inherently free-range and cruelty free. I don't eat meat myself but I do feed Mae free-range meat so kangaroo fits with that. I have to say, she has recently stopped eating meat - something about the texture seems to turn her stomach, she doesn't even taste it, just touches it and shudders. Same with fish. They really do go in phases - BLW or not! ANyway, good luck with your BLW experiences. I tried to look at your blog but it said only invitees could look at it, I'd love an invite if poss!