To be or not to be...

Well, the day has come. Independence, defiance, or just plain challenging? This week has slowly elevated. On one note, I am not sure if Rylen is ready to drop down to one nap, but he has NOT been getting as sleepy when the 2 naps come around and his morning nap has stretched to 11:00a over 10:00a. He has also started sleeping until 8:30a, but has also been stretching his bedtime until 9:00p. Sooooo, my thought is that we are about to lose that wonderful second nap and end up with just one. This will put a slight kink in my working schedule, as I tend to get A LOT done while he sleeps and his two naps totaled 4 hours. So, we will see how the next weeks progress on this theory.

On another, more frustrating note, we have finally hit the wall that other parents had already experienced. Food defiance. Rylen did SO WELL with jarred food and at the beginning with table foods, but as we started introducing our foods to him and they had a little more flavor, we began to have the acts of rejection. Rylen is still very good about eating good food and we do not give him sweets other than fruit. His tastes are still on the blander side because we don't add condiments or anything fried to his diet. So, we are still on a very healthy track, but he has become much more independent while he eats. There are times that he is fine with me feeding him something whereas other times he wants to do it himself and this is not always an easy task for him. It is hard for me to watch him poke at a carrot for minutes on end only to mush it beyond recognition so he is left to poke at another one until he can get a hold of it (because we are not going to think about using our fingers until absolutely necessary). Then when he finally does get it and he puts it in his mouth, it either doesn't make it in, destroying all the hard work, or he tastes it and decides that is not what he is in "the mood" for and begins to poke at something else. I am not one to make a hundered things in the hopes that he will eat something, so eventually he takes enough bites to satisfy me. The fruit is ALWAYS gone as well as the bread. The only positive to that is that we give him Ezekial bread which is a complete protein bread with legumes and grains. So, I know he is getting good nutrients out of that. But with this new stage, Robby and I are having to make some decisions now. Rylen will eat a lot of our foods that we prepare, but his palette is not ready for the ones that are spicy and so we have to make adjustments at those meals. I also have to figure out new meals for lunch as the jarred food has been out the window for a while. In fact, most of the time he wants to be eating what I am eating. So, Robby and I are having to decide what to bring back into the house to give to Rylen for meals. I have been so trained in my own eating habits that I am having to remember that some foods are still ok for most of the population to eat, they just affect me in a bad way. Not an easy mind transition to make. Not to mention, how do keep in the house only what a toddler would need to eat. That has already been difficult with Milk. Which on a positive note, Rylen is making the transition to milk very well. I waited until I was sure he was getting more nutrients in his diet before I transitioned him to milk over the formula. Unfortunately, formula is sweeter than milk so I have had to half and half it or 3/4 to 1/4 the ratio. But he has been not balking at any of these combos like he did a month ago. So, we are doing well there... ok, back to the food dilemma.

Tonight was the pinnacle of frustration as the sippy cup was thrown three times along with carrots & peas. And let me tell you, he HAS AN ARM! His defiance was settled after giving him a fork (he insists on stabbing food, so a spoon doesn't work so well) so that he could do it all himself without my help. Yet the sippy cup was thrown because he wanted me to start out holding it before he took over. Oh if he could just tell me these things! I know. The minute I wish for such things his talking will never stop. Well, I know that days like this will go up and down and I do love the little tyke with all my heart. But when an evening like this occurs, it makes me feel like such an incompetent mom with no idea what to do next. I almost dread the meal time because I don't know what kind of day it will be. (sigh) I just need to stay true to my initial thoughts... the vege will stay on the plate regardless if it is eaten. Besides, sometimes a vege gets in the mouth on accident and that is a GOOD THING!

Welcome to Toddlerhood. We have arrived.