The Great Banana Panic of 2011
This past Saturday Colin was a little off his game, and on Sunday he went into a full-blown hunger strike. I think the kid maybe deigned to eat one serving of pureed fruit, and that was it. I even tried Goldfish crackers, which were summarily rejected with a sweep of the arm and a firm "no." I expected that he'd be back to normal on Monday, possibly ravenous, and for the most part he was pretty much his usual self.
Monday night, however, he went back off his food and utterly refused dinner. Not surprisingly, he (or should I say we) then had a miserable night as he cried on and off from 4AM on. On Tuesday morning he was a mess. Utterly. He could not be consoled and would only stop sobbing hysterically if I was holding him. (That makes things like showering a bit tough - especially since I now look like I recently swallowed a basketball!) He didn't want to be put down, wouldn't have anything to do with his poor father, and was simply miserable beyond words. H was really sick, and I wanted him to be able to sleep a little so I gave up and took Captain Crabs downstairs with me as I was gearing up for the morning routine of making breakfasts, feeding the pets and packing lunches. I plopped him on the sofa where he flopped face-down, still sobbing. As I was making his breakfast (eggs, and a fruit salad of grapes and banana slices) he managed to sit half-way up and, with tears streaming down his sad little face moaned "Gape? Boh-nana? Gaaaape? Boh-naaaaana?"
Good lord - is the child melting down because he's finally figured out he's hungry???
I grabbed the container I'd made with the grapes and banana slices and he ravenously began devouring the bananas (but ignoring the grapes). By the time he finished the 1/2 banana I'd cut up the transformation was incredible. He was sitting up, calm, tears gone, and asked me cheerily for "more boh-nana?" What the heck, kiddo - here ya go! I peeled another (large) banana and handed him half, which he happily downed and then asked for more. By the time he got to school he'd devoured 1½ large bananas, which is really a lot of food for a little guy.
This has started a new trend. On Wednesday morning there was another plea for a boh-nana (chomp! gone!). On Wednesday night Colin ate a large dinner, but still woke up at 4AM begging for food. This time it was a "squeezy" that he wanted. Let me translate: we buy travel packs of pureed fruit and veggie medleys (Happy Baby is a fave) which we call squeezy tubes, and Colin was begging for one. When he finished he then began tearful please for "more squeezy." By that point I had caught a mild version of H's flu so my darling husband got out of bed and went downstairs to get the first tube, then made the trip again for the second. (Hooray for Daddy!!!)
Thursday morning the mantra began again, as soon as he woke up: "Boh-nana? Boh-naaana???"
Thursday night, again... 4AM. Colin woke up and began a sleepy, tearful request for "Boh-nana? Boh-naaana??" Super Dad again trucked downstairs, this time wisely returning with both the magical yellow fruit and (just in case) a squeezy. Colin wolfed down the banana so quickly I honestly feared he was going to choke, then sucked down the puree in record time, after which he was raring to go. Instead of falling back asleep (which would have been a mercy to the entire family) he sat up, popped mama on the head (bonk!) then with an irresistible smirk pointed to the pillowcase and informed me "whiiiite."
Me (groggy, trying to stay half asleep): "Yes, Colin. White. Good job."
Colin (annoyingly perky, smiling, and pointing carefully at the pillow): "Mama! Whiiiite."
Me (thinking about how nice it would be to have my eyes closed and my head on the soft, fluffy, white pillow): "Yes Colin. Nite-nite."
Colin (with head down on the pillow and butt-up, like a puppy ready to play, clearly not intending to sleep): "nite-nite mama!"
This nonsense went on and on - I honestly don't know how long, because I lost track of time. He identified my nose, his nose, doled out hugs, noted my eyebrow and his cheek, checked on Sydney, called for Seamus (Maow? Maow! Where maow?) and flopped around like a freshly caught Marlin. He may have stayed awake the whole time - in my sleep deprived state I couldn't be sure. Eventually the clock ticked past 6AM and I gave up and blearily trudged downstairs to begin our day. Colin had another food meltdown, so I dumped him into his high chair and gave him a couple of apple-maple chicken sausage links to gnosh on which kept him happy.
All I can say is that the way he's eating this kid had better be going through a growth spurt. If not, by the time he's a teenager I'm going to have to trade him in on a plague of locusts to keep our grocery bill manageable!!! On the plus side, when my son is begging for food he asks for fruit. Not chips or cookies, not over-processed salty crackers, not candy... just a piece of fruit. When I was awake enough to think clearly I decided that's pretty darned great! (Chalk one up for mom's neurotic nutrition obsession.)
In the meantime you can bet your bottom dollar I'm stopping at the grocery store on my way home tonight, and will be stocking up on bananas!
Monday night, however, he went back off his food and utterly refused dinner. Not surprisingly, he (or should I say we) then had a miserable night as he cried on and off from 4AM on. On Tuesday morning he was a mess. Utterly. He could not be consoled and would only stop sobbing hysterically if I was holding him. (That makes things like showering a bit tough - especially since I now look like I recently swallowed a basketball!) He didn't want to be put down, wouldn't have anything to do with his poor father, and was simply miserable beyond words. H was really sick, and I wanted him to be able to sleep a little so I gave up and took Captain Crabs downstairs with me as I was gearing up for the morning routine of making breakfasts, feeding the pets and packing lunches. I plopped him on the sofa where he flopped face-down, still sobbing. As I was making his breakfast (eggs, and a fruit salad of grapes and banana slices) he managed to sit half-way up and, with tears streaming down his sad little face moaned "Gape? Boh-nana? Gaaaape? Boh-naaaaana?"
Good lord - is the child melting down because he's finally figured out he's hungry???
I grabbed the container I'd made with the grapes and banana slices and he ravenously began devouring the bananas (but ignoring the grapes). By the time he finished the 1/2 banana I'd cut up the transformation was incredible. He was sitting up, calm, tears gone, and asked me cheerily for "more boh-nana?" What the heck, kiddo - here ya go! I peeled another (large) banana and handed him half, which he happily downed and then asked for more. By the time he got to school he'd devoured 1½ large bananas, which is really a lot of food for a little guy.
Thursday morning the mantra began again, as soon as he woke up: "Boh-nana? Boh-naaana???"
Thursday night, again... 4AM. Colin woke up and began a sleepy, tearful request for "Boh-nana? Boh-naaana??" Super Dad again trucked downstairs, this time wisely returning with both the magical yellow fruit and (just in case) a squeezy. Colin wolfed down the banana so quickly I honestly feared he was going to choke, then sucked down the puree in record time, after which he was raring to go. Instead of falling back asleep (which would have been a mercy to the entire family) he sat up, popped mama on the head (bonk!) then with an irresistible smirk pointed to the pillowcase and informed me "whiiiite."
Me (groggy, trying to stay half asleep): "Yes, Colin. White. Good job."
Colin (annoyingly perky, smiling, and pointing carefully at the pillow): "Mama! Whiiiite."
Me (thinking about how nice it would be to have my eyes closed and my head on the soft, fluffy, white pillow): "Yes Colin. Nite-nite."
Colin (with head down on the pillow and butt-up, like a puppy ready to play, clearly not intending to sleep): "nite-nite mama!"
This nonsense went on and on - I honestly don't know how long, because I lost track of time. He identified my nose, his nose, doled out hugs, noted my eyebrow and his cheek, checked on Sydney, called for Seamus (Maow? Maow! Where maow?) and flopped around like a freshly caught Marlin. He may have stayed awake the whole time - in my sleep deprived state I couldn't be sure. Eventually the clock ticked past 6AM and I gave up and blearily trudged downstairs to begin our day. Colin had another food meltdown, so I dumped him into his high chair and gave him a couple of apple-maple chicken sausage links to gnosh on which kept him happy.
All I can say is that the way he's eating this kid had better be going through a growth spurt. If not, by the time he's a teenager I'm going to have to trade him in on a plague of locusts to keep our grocery bill manageable!!! On the plus side, when my son is begging for food he asks for fruit. Not chips or cookies, not over-processed salty crackers, not candy... just a piece of fruit. When I was awake enough to think clearly I decided that's pretty darned great! (Chalk one up for mom's neurotic nutrition obsession.)
In the meantime you can bet your bottom dollar I'm stopping at the grocery store on my way home tonight, and will be stocking up on bananas!
Comments