Eating Machine

I took some video of Elias eating lunch this week just to show that he really is doing it!

We've come to the conclusion that he is just the kind of baby that will wait to start doing something until he really knows how to do it. Then one day, he'll just start. It's been this way with everything so far - rolling, crawling, clapping, feeding, etc. So when he finally decided to start feeding himself, he was ready and he just did it. So he has very few problems with coordination or dropping food - he's a champ!

I did show a few of the problems he has, though. The first one is, of course, that he doesn't always chew his food - he just shovels it into his mouth at a high rate of speed. He especially does this with foods he really likes... (TMI alert! - I find whole blueberries, beans, and carrots in his diapers!) So I try getting him to slow down by saying "Chew, chew, chew! Chomp, chomp, chomp!" And it works sometimes because he thinks it's funny so he'll stop to smile. Whatever works.

He also occasionally forgets to take his hand out of his mouth, which results in him chewing on his fingers. By the end of every meal, his first two fingers on his right hand are red because he's chewed on them so much! (By the way, he's DEFINITELY a rightie! Anybody notice how he feeds himself with his right hand, but grasps his sippie in his left hand the whole time?)

And he does on the rare occasion miss his mouth and drop the food. He makes very little mess on the floor, though, considering he's just a little guy and he's only been feeding himself a couple weeks. So I'm very thankful!