You Decide

So, they say that babies should be exploring their independence and learning to feed themselves right about the age Monkey is at. I am not convinced. I have treasured the last few weeks of orderly, machine like meals after several weeks of being spit at, of feeding his eye instead of mouth because he insists on moving his head at the last second and of playing tug of war to get the spoon out of his vice like grip.

Yet, I still want to be a good parent or at least follow the CHR protocol. I read their info and I feel like not letting Monkey feed himself is tantamount to clipping those little wings that will someday let him fly from his nest. Oh no! Not my little birdie! So, I decided to give it try. I will let my little baby fly!

So, one day I'm feeding him milk and I think, why not let him hold the bottle. So I release his arm from a modified wrestling hold (if you've fed him you'll know what I mean)and let him explore his burgeoning independence. He immediately stops feeding and begins to massage the nipple while the bottle is still pointing at his head. He squeezes the nipple out of the nipple holder thing and milk comes gushing out all over his clothing, down his neck and all over my arm. He, of course, is unfazed and patiently waits for me to make another bottle.

Ok, no problem. He's learning, right? Next, I introduce him to some Boccincini (pasteurized, of course)and chop it up into little pieces. He opens his mouth like a little bird and squaks like one too if I'm a little late in delivery. I try to hand it to him. He smacks it out of my hand and opens his little mouth. I mumble "I'm sorry Prince Monkey; I will do better next time Prince Monkey". Yet, undeterred I hand him a little plate with pieces of the above mentioned cheese on it. He grasps at the cheese, he squishes them and then dumps them on the floor and proceeds to eat the plate. I spend the next little while grieving over the lost fresh mozzarella that will never know salt nor my taste buds.

Now, I really wouldn't have a problem with him feeding himself rice cereal with a spoon if he didn't always put the wrong side of it in his mouth. Or if he wouldn't fling it around, spraying cereal on me, our couch and floor. I really wouldn't mind if even 25% of the food I gave him made it close to his mouth but it doesn't. Seriously, if I let the kid feed himself he'd starve!

So what do I do? Clip his little wings but ensure he grows up healthy and strong or let those little wings spread across the sky but have no energy to fly because most of his food is on the floor, in his hair or up/on his nose? You decide.