Toddler Tracks: Baby AB and the Snackalicious Journey

Dear Baby AB,

Here’s another chapter of the Chronicles of You at One Year and a Half. This one’s about food!

You and food have a great relationship. I’m really glad I read Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter (thank you, Leslie) and Baby-Led Weaning by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett (thank you, Megan) before you started solid food, because you are quite a flexible and enthusiastic eater of all kinds of great things. I sure hope you stay that way!

You have enjoyed lasagne and chili and vegetable stirfry and spinach omelette. You showed a liking for curried vegetables and lentils before you were even one year old. Most recently, you delighted in some quiche with red peppers and kale, and some potato leek soup.

It is such a relief to have a kid who eats a variety of foods. (No offense to your brother, especially because I partly blame myself for his pickiness, but his rigidity regarding food is exhausting.)

There are a few things you won’t eat so far – cauliflower and avocado come to mind – but you’ll try almost anything.

Of course, you have your favourite things – things that you get vocal about. Pancakes and pizza are two examples. You see a pizza box and you go all “Pizza! PIZZA! PIZZA!!!” Like a kid from a commercial.

Also, you munch on seaweed snacks like they’re going out of style, and your preferred cooked veggie is broccoli (which you originally called “boppily”).

And you love chocolate. I don’t even know if we’d given your brother any chocolate by this age, but you first tried it many months ago, and fell directly in love. You only have it in very small amounts, but you’d eat lots if I let you. You always demand, in your most authoritative voice, “More chockit.”

And I’m going to have to watch out, because you’ve already been known to help yourself to foods that are within your reach. What a go-getter.

Mostly, it’s just fun watching you deal with food. Rice vermicelli is particularly funny.

And just lately, you really want to do it yourself. You’re surprisingly good with peas and a spoon. Yogurt and a spoon makes a big ol’ mess, but it’s hard to say no to your gusto (and I’m sure yogurt’s soothing on the skin). And I suppose your hair has probably benefited from the various greasy things you rub in there on a regular basis.

My most cherished hope, when I watch you relishing a meal, is that you will always have such a wonderful and healthy relationship with food. That you will always feel free to love eating, and enjoy all different kinds of cuisine. That you will be unafraid to own your appetite – and that, consequently, your appetite will never own you.

And just so you know… the most delicious thing in any room, at any moment, is your adorable self. *SMOOCH*

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