Thursday, January 5, 2012

They won't eat REAL food...

My boys are EXTREMELY picky eaters. Or, "non-eaters" to be more accurate! They live on dry Cheerios, plain waffles, dry toast, applesauce, yogurt, milk, Goldfish, graham crackers, egg yolks- no whites- and occasionally pizza or chicken nuggets. That's it. They have been this way for over a year now and everyone keeps telling me they will grow out of it.

I am beginning to question that.

My husband is also really picky. He does eat a better variety of food than the boys and is far more willing to try new things but he is still pretty limited in his diet.

It must be genetic.

Anyway, my boys won't eat real food. That said, my nickname for Connor is "the goat"- he will eat paper, pool noodles (you know, the Styrofoam ones?)and he can regularly be seen LICKING the carpet. Thanks to our dog for teaching him *that* delightful trick! Casey also enjoys paper- important papers seem to be his favorite- and they both LOVE to chew on socks.

The other night we took the boys up for bath and while I was undressing Connor, Casey quickly crawled away and went to see what our cats were up to. We have 4 cats. Little Lady is the momma to Michael, Junior and Goliath. All the males are pretty large cats. They also all seem to shed wads of fur all over the house. All. The. Time.

So, Casey is on his adventure and I peek around the corner to look for him just in time to see him pick up a gigantic fur ball from the floor and SHOVE it in his mouth without a hesitation. I immediately scrambled over trying to pull the kitten-sized ball of fur out of my toddler's mouth. He attempted to bite my fingers off and I jumped back, shaking my hand and wincing at the teeth imprints he left. I refocused on getting the hair out of his mouth only to find he swallowed it. Oh. My. Gosh! My kid just ate a hairball. Fail.

Not only did he eat the hairball- he also seemed to enjoy it. Immensely. To make that point more clear he smacked his lips a few times and then smiled at me. He looked content and I felt nauseous.

Pasta? No way!
Fruit? Nope!!
Vegetables? Not a chance!

But a rogue hairball on the carpet- DELICACY!

I'm still waiting to find that one in a diaper.

Ahh, the joys of motherhood.

7 comments:

Courtney Bassett said...

Ugh, I would be nauseous about the hairball also, Let me just say that my son who is 5 now was an extremely picky eater as a toddler even seemed worse than what your sons eat. He literally wouldnt eat anything but select few items and was pretty much that way up until age 4,Now at 5 he eats a good variety of things and tries new things, he still has his moments but he is doing much better so I am sure your boys will too.

Kim Kush said...

I feel your pain on the eating issue. Maylee won't eat anything she has to chew. My husband was like that as a kid so maybe it's genetic. Idk! It is very frustrating. They keep saying she won't go to kindergarten eating baby food but I am starting to wonder! I try to be positive and think of how healthy she is eating and how great she is doing. It's hard though to look at other kids eating regular food. Good luck w the eating!

AmyB said...

HAHA! Noah did the exact same thing! He ate paper, lint, play dough (which he stills enjoys)... I even caught him eating chunks of drywall from the wall once, while in time-out!! Love it! :)

Jen Mahan said...

Try leaving fruits and pasta on the floor?!

Jennifer G. said...

My son is 2 1/2 and he eats about the same things your boys do. Only recently of all things he started willingly eating salad mainly iceburg lettace and ranch without having to force his mouth open and make him eat it.I substitue his milk with pediasure.

Yvette said...

Maya likes to chew on diaper wipes. I was under the impression that we always got them before she actually swallowed one, but then there was the diaper incident....I won't be graphic, but let's just say...Dad was completely freaked out and well...I have to stop thinking about this now, because my stomach hurts.

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU! For letting me know that I wasn't the only one dealing with a picky-eater. The only thing added to your boys' menu that my daughter also thrives on is meat! Especially chicken. Sometimes that is all she will eat at a meal. I started to sneak bits of peas and beans into a bite of chicken just to get something green (that wasn't play dough) into her. :)
Lisa M