Let the food fly!

I am obsessive compulsive when it comes to Autumn, this I know. It is one of the only places in my life where this trait has appeared. I blame it on my mother.

I want Autumn to look clean all the time. No stains on her shirt or boogers in her nose. This wasn't a problem when she was a baby, thankfully she did not spit-up often, so for the most part she stayed clean. As she has grown and become more independent, this feat has become harder to achieve. Especially at meal times.

Steve and I have noticed that for the past few nights she has not been eating as much for dinner as she usually does. She will eat a few bites here and there but that's about it. Tonight was no different. I sat Autumn in her chair and began to feed her dinner when she decided to go on strike.

Obviously, she was not having it. I tried everything I could think of, I pretended to take a bite and made the "Mmmmm" sound, I made funny noises as I brought the spoon to her mouth, I tried reverse psychology and acted like I was putting the food away, hoping that would prompt her to want it. Nope, nothing worked. Until she showed me exactly what the problem was, she grabbed for the spoon.

Autumn wanted to feed herself.

Gasp! The thing I have been fearing is here, she is ready to start feeding herself. I'm not going to lie, I have seen signs of this coming, but have been avoiding it. This means food all over the floor (which the dogs will love), food all over her high chair, and food all over her. My first thought is to strip her down and throw a trash bag over her (yes, we do own a washing machine, I told you I'm neurotic), but I didn't. Instead I let her feed herself, with my help. And you know what? She ate much more then she has been.

So, in an effort to have a child that can feed herself, I have realized I am going to have to take a deep breath, step back and let the food fly!