All Done

One of the many worries in raising a baby is the whole feeding issue. One always wonders whether the baby is eating enough and how much to feed him or her. When Joshua was exclusively nursing, there was the worry of whether he was getting enough and how much to give him. Over time, I realized that 10 minutes on each side was the key. He started out at 15 minutes, and then gradually moved into the ideal amount of time. Part of it was trial and error too. If he got 12 minutes, he would spit up. 10 minutes was the perfect amount.

Moving on to solids, the "how much" came up all over again. I always wondered how much he was supposed to get and whether he was full and getting enough. He can't exactly say, "Mommy, I am full and don't want to eat anymore". All he could do was turn his head to the side and say "don't put that spoon anywhere near my face, I won't take it". So, I started giving him more and more food until he turned his head, and took that as the cue that he was all done. As he started getting older, I decided to try some basic baby signs for feeding. Each time, he was going to get milk, I asked him "do you want some milk" as I squeezed my hands into fists. For months, nothing happened. Then, one day as I was buying sneakers in Sports Authority, Joshua looked at me and squeezed his fists. I knew exactly what he wanted and gave him some milk when we left the store. He was a happy camper. I have been trying the signs for eat, more, and all done, but milk seems to be the sign of choice right now. For the "all done" sign, I took my hands and pushed them out as if to make the "safe" sign in baseball. Every night as dinner was ending, I would say, "Joshua, are you all done?" and make the "safe" sign. Joshua decided that he was not going to use that sign but was going to create a sign of his own. When Joshua is all done eating, he takes his bib off, pushes his hands against the tray on the highchair as if to move it away, and sometimes even throws some of the pieces of food on the floor instead of putting them in his mouth. That is his sign for "All Done". So, I think I will go with that. It works for me. They say that kids eat when they are hungry, and if they don't eat, it is really ok. So, I feel ok now with Joshua's eating habits and now know exactly when he is "all done".