Feature Article
Food for Thought
By
Maureen A. Boyle
(published in SUPERTWINS Volume 5 #4 - September 1994)
It comes
at you from out of nowhere. It creeps up on you so slowly and unsuspecting
and then BOOM! It hits, it is 5:00 p.m. Time to pull another rabbit
out of the hat. "What's for dinner?"
Over
the past several months many families have been asking for dinnertime
strategies and recipes for families of higher multiples of all ages!
While we wait for your quick kitchen tips, I will share a few of ours.
Newborns
When
our triplets were newborns many friends said they wished they could
help us but they worked full time and/or had families of their own.
My mom pinned them down (not literally) and asked them to drop off a
frozen meal in a container that did not have to be returned. This was
a true godsend during my children's first few months. One friend had
a standing order of a local pizza parlor to deliver a pizza to our house
every Friday for six months and bill her. This was such a gift that
it has become a family ritual.
Starting
Solids
When the babies finally graduated to eating solids (a transition I strongly
suggest you don't rush into), at about 14 lbs. or 6 mos. adjusted age
they cried throughout their meals. We learned to feed them a little
formula before meals and not to wait until they were hungry but to anticipate
it. I remember feeding them with a bottle in one hand a spoon in the
other. Feeding the bottle, removing it, putting the spoon in quick and
then quickly returning to the bottle as I refilled the spoon and gave
a spoonful to the sibling. This phase passed quickly but it was a big
transition for them to adjust from continuous gratification of the bottle
to interval feeding with a spoon. Aside from their adjusted age, and
weight, a development readiness sign is, the baby will suck the food
off the spoon if he is ready. If he is not ready he will push the food
out or his tongue will go flat.
By
nine months I was an old pro and was able to finish a feeding single
handedly in a matter of a few short minutes. I used one bowl and one
spoon and fed everyone at the same time. I also started making some
of my own baby food with a "mini chop" and a blender. I slowly
changed from baby food applesauce to the large jar of the store name
regular (not chunky) with only natural ingredients and no sugar. I used
the smooth yogurt instead of baby food yogurt. I found this transition
was easy since I had to cook for the rest of the family anyway.
Introducing
Table Foods
We did this late compared to many families. One of my children choked
easily and I was afraid to rush into this. But like every other stage
that mom tries to delay, your children will let you know when they are
ready. They want to feed themselves instead of you doing it all. You
can give each baby his own spoon and a small bowl of whatever it is
your are feeding them or small cut up table food, i.e. cubed pancakes,
cut up pasta, scrambled eggs, cheerios, diced grapes or cut up canned
fruit. I suggest putting a table cloth, sheet or shower curtain under
the high chairs and shaking it out after every meal instead of having
to wash the floor after every meal. As a rule of thumb when giving babies
table food make sure it is about the size of a thumb nail to avoid choking.
Finicky
Eating Toddlers
By my children's second birthday their appetites dropped remarkably,
just like many other toddlers. It tried not to make an issue of meals
but this wasn't always easy. Between 18 mos. and two years children
start to resist staying in their high chairs. I have heard of some mom
going to some real extremes to keep their children safe and firmly in
place in their high chairs. We purchased stroller harnesses and attached
them to belts already in the high chairs and kept the high chairs far
enough apart so the children would not help undo each others sippers
while my back was turned. We also made a very firm rule that if they
insisted on getting out of their high chairs before they were finished
they were not given any other food. It was eat dinner or eat nothing.
It was tough. The ate so little throughout the day that I couldn't allow
them to eat anything but foods that were nutritionally sound. (I would
sneak my own treats, but that is another story.) This non-eating stage
passed also. I now wish I was related to the local grocer (Yes, that
is another story also!).
One
trick that did work then trying to get the children to eat a little
more that a mouthful at a meal was to use "dipsies". If there
was something for them to dip their food into, the food seemed that
much more appealing. We used ketchup, gravy, salad dressing, tartar
sauce and BBQ sauce. It tried to use the low-salt, low fat brands since
we did use a lot of these condiments.
Preschool
Snacking Through School-Age (feeding the multitude)
When I tell you that my children rebounded from the last phase with
a vengeance, it is an understatement! From age 3 on up it seems that
the phrase "I'm hungry" should just be stamped on each of
their foreheads. I started outlet food shopping at this time. We went
to wholesale food stores and bought cereal, eggs, frozen meats and juices
in bulk. I would suggest, if possible, buying a large chest freezer
so that buying in bulk is a little easier. We also started some easy
gardening in our yard. Nora has her own strawberry garden which she
takes care of herself. She picks strawberries in the morning, washes
them and has her own private snack throughout the day (Spring-Fall).
Like everything else we seem to do I overdid the gardening the first
few years making it more of a job then a joy. Now we do a little container
garden: 4 heads of lettuce, 4 tomato plants, 4 cucumbers, 4 peppers
and we have salad the whole summer. I plant early and never bother with
them again until it is time to pick. Gardening is not for everyone but
if you have a yard or fire escape in your apartment you have enough
room.
One
other strategy for cutting down on my time in the kitchen and the 5:00
panic has been to pull out that crock pot I got as a bridal shower gift
12 years ago and never used. After the children leave for school or
during the baby's naptime I will put on stew or pot roast or make a
baked ziti in the crock pot. As many of you know I am generally in the
office from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM and if I leave the kitchen in the morning
with my pot of coffee I am usually not likely to find the time to go
back. To be honest I usually use the crock pot only during soccer season.
Four of our children and myself all play soccer. Fitting in homework,
practice, meals, showers, and getting to bed at a reasonable hour is
not always easy. But if all else fails I keep a jar of Ragu and a pound
of pasta on hand at all times.
We
have also been cooking in bulk for some time. This helps out a lot.
If I am going to be making enough of a good meal to feed an army it
is just as easy to double everything and freeze the second meal. When
we have french toast (on the weekends) I will make two loaves work and
freeze the left-overs so we can have hot breakfast on a school day or
a snack after school.
For
the first several years I fed the children first and my husband and
I ate later. When they started table food we would eat at the same time
as the children on weekends (during the week my husband came home too
late). This eating together was seldom enjoyable and often over quickly.
Long, leisurely meals were for the people in the international coffee
commercials. As the children got a little easier (school age); meals
became for the most part civil but at the same time a challenge to find
the time when we were all under the same roof at the same time. Eating
as a family when possible is the ideal. When is there another time that
I have the opportunity to ask "Mr. Elbows" to get off the
table or remind the children that the milk glass goes at 12:00 (the
top center of their plates just like a clock) so as to not spill their
cups? My mother recently gave me a copy of Tiffany's Table Manners for
Teenagers. I'm glad we have a few years to go before we have to deal
with the teenage years. But I got the hint that we now need to work
on table manners!
Other MOST resources for feeding multiples:
|
Updated 5/23/08
