Feeding Disorder

I'm really proud of the way the babies eat, and the Baby Bullet really gave me direction in the food department. I feel like it's a road all its own.  In fact, it's a road so its own that...I think I'm lost.

I have followed the Baby Bullet Nutrition Guide very closely. Introduce a new food every 4 days to screen for allergies. Gradually increase the texture of purees. Fingerfoods. Ok, got it. Now I just make the recipes.

Since I'm not home to feed Ethan and Emma during the day, the person who is (mostly my mother) should not have to worry with preparing meals. I do that. I prepare the food, put some fresh in the fridge and freeze the rest. I use small Tupperware containers to store portions of things that won't fit in my ice cube trays, like turkey pot pie, shepherd's pie, veggie lasagna, scones, etc. Other things like mac and cheese, spaghetti, soup, diced veggies, rice, beans, whatever--go into the ice trays. I then put the food cubes in labeled freezer bags. This helps Mom and me unfreeze only the amount that we need. And it allows us to mix and match different things. I still make some vegetable purees so I can add them to certain foods they love, like spaghetti or mac-and-cheese. It's a good thing.

The babies eat at a certain time every day pretty much: 7:30 or 8:00am breakfast, lunch after their nap, 12:30 or 1:00. Snack at 3:00 or 4:00. Dinner at 6:00.

So what's the problem?

Rodney and I don't eat at 6:00, for one. He doesn't get home till later. So that means we will be eating after the babies eat (a second meal plan), which also means that we will be shoveling food in our faces while trying our best to tune out the relentless mantra: "Bi'e, bi'e, bi'e, bi'e, bi'e, bi'e..."
If you give them a "bi'e," you'll be lucky to get a bite of your own. They hover. They cry. They're like those seagulls on Finding Nemo. Sometimes I just want to scream, to be honest. CAN I EAT IN PEACE?   We usually eat at the coffee table. So they're also crawling all over me. I realize this behavior is my fault. So I try not to get too frustrated with them.

I am also noticing that most people I know are just letting their toddlers take care of their own business at feeding time. They eat their own granola bar--right out of the package. They don't need it broken into manageable pieces. They can spoon-feed themselves. They can eat a hamburger maybe even. WOW! Hahaha! Our babies still get gagged or choked when they are left to their own devices. So I have to cut their meal into bite sized pieces. I present bowls or plates for most everything I serve them, and plastic ware. They may dip the spoon in the cheesy rice and put it in their mouths, but then they set it down and use their hands. It's a mess.  I have to spoon feed their soup. They're 18 months old (adjusted age from original due date) so I know they're ok. They'll catch on. So will their mother. Surely.

I'm thinking the only way I will be able to get them on our eating schedule, a family meal plan, is to either start eating Baby Bullet recipes...or stop making them.

I can't stop making Baby Bullet recipes! I need an 800 number, a support group, something.

I have a feeding disorder.