The Snack That Smiles Back . . . Goldfish

My daughter has recently begun sprouting teeth, which signaled to us that it's time to move away from the jarred goo that we've been feeding her. With three teeth on the bottom, and two canines plus one front tooth coming in on the top, she's developing an appetite to match her new chewing abilities. During a recent visit, my brother said we'd better start feeding her "real food" since she now had teeth.

So we've launched into the world of adult food, accompanied by more food on the floor than ever before, and a little coughing and hacking as she adjusts to chewing before swallowing. She's now eating all sorts of adult foods, but seems to have a natural predisposition towards cheese, crackers, and Cheerios. There is no real problem with this, other than the fact that her dad shares these dispositions (except for the Cheerios - they're all hers). This means that meals often go like this: One bite of cheese for her, the rest of the slice for me. A few Goldfish for her, then a handful or two for me. Naturally, we're going through "baby food" very quickly these days. Particularly on days like today when my lunch is a bag of Goldfish.

Sprouting teeth has happened at the same time that she's learned to crawl and stand. She's been working on the crawling bit for a while, but couldn't synchronize her arms and legs. Then, one day, she got it and took off. One day she was mostly immobile, and the next day she couldn't be left alone. What made this transition even more abrupt was that she figured out how to stand up the day after she figured out how to crawl. Literally overnight, childproofing became an issue. My wife and I scuttled around the house picking up everything that could be a problem, and cramming outlet covers onto all the outlets. In fact, we did such a good job moving all the loose objects in the house that my parents asked if we were moving when they came to visit.

I wonder a little about the people who design those outlet covers. The covers fit tight enough that you nearly need a hammer to put them on and a crowbar to get them off again. Since we have several different types, I noticed that some covers have a little cutout on the bottom. I guess this is supposed to be where you stick your fingernail to pry them out. However unless your fingernails are made of steel, this is a joke. My strategy is to jam the plug into the slot and prying them back out. So far, I have only badly bent one of the plugs I've used for this purpose. By the time our daughter grows up, we'll giant yellow replacement plugs on most of our electrical appliances.

My wife is not particularly fond of the jarred baby food that we are feeding our daughter. Last night she commented that most of it smells like dog food. Even though some of it smelled odd to me as well, I hadn't connected the smell until she mentioned it. I don't think there will be much more turkey and gravy dinner served to the little one in the future. However, the spinach and pasta still smell alright, though our daughter seems to be intent on visually inspecting each pasta bit that enters her mouth.

I think we could save time by just feeding her in the shower. Whenever she finished a meal, we could give her a quick rinse, change her clothes, and we'd be off to rocketing around the house again. This would save the step of wiping down the area she was eating in and the unpleasant feeling of baby food on bare feet that occasionally occurs.