Hasta la Pasta

It's something about my perspective as a mother that I always feel my baby is not eating well. Every once in a while I try to treat her with something that would excite her appetite and make her go ga-ga about it. So one fine day I decided to make pasta in tomato sauce for her. She was about 15 months then, and though she had tasted pasta earlier but tomato sauce was going to be her first.

As good understanding parents, my hubby and I agreed that we would not rush her to eat it, rather let her 'explore' it and 'enjoy' the taste..."the most prescribed feeding style' on the web. So there we were. Riya sitting on her high chair, with a tasty pasta before her in a bowl. And we waited and waited. She played and smeared. She laughed and shouted. Smashed the spoon on the pasta. Picked it up with her fingers and tried to get it off. She did all things a baby can do with a bowl of pasta except she didn't put a single tiny bite in her mouth.

I finally gave up and tried to put it forcefully but NO! she won't open her mouth. She was very resolute. After playing for several minutes, she got bored and started crying. I picked her up from her high chair to change her clothes. The pasta was falling down from all sides. I felt a little sad. But I was determined to be a good parent. I rather focused on enjoying the moment. She did look very cute  with all the red sauce spread around her face. I managed a smile and a laugh. 'Remember', I told myself..'The good books instruct to try and try, and never give up'. I felt better. I just need to be patient, I was telling myself.

I decided to give her a bath. As I opened her diaper, reality struck. There are unexpected things that can come out of a baby's diaper! Chunks of poop fell out on the floor. Nooooo! I didn't see it coming. Help! I called out for daddy dear. All my smiles and sweet reflections gave way to a new emergency. By this time, Riya was not in a good mood at all and was crying loudly. The next few minutes were spent in damage control. Bathe her. Clear the mess. Calm her down and also calm ourselves. Finally a bottle of warm milk did the trick and she fell asleep. As I was holding her in my arms and it was so quiet, I closed my eyes and embraced the silence.

I'm yet to try feeding her pasta again...but I've 'not' given up yet. As one can say, its just 'until next time', so 'Hasta la Pasta'.