The State of Eating

Quinn's a pretty good eater. There are only certain things he'll eat, but he eats lots of those, most days. He's not so much a meat eater, although we've tried on a number of occasions. He gobbles up all fruits, will eat a few vegetables sometimes (sometimes we have to resort to trickery or hide them in things). Cereal, bagels, toast, cheese, crackers, pizza, pasta...he's pretty open to trying new things, but first tries are usually tentative and it's the second meal attempt with the new food that's the telling one.

He's got almost all his molars now (last one's still finishing coming in I think), his front four and I think one or two other teeth. He is capable of biting food, although he only does so sometimes - I saw hime bite off some banana once and therefore assumed he could and would, but after some spectacularly huge mouthfuls I've learned to make smaller bites for him.

He will occasionally remove food from his mouth if something more appealing is put on his plate, which is a bit of thinking-outside-the-box I hadn't really considered. He also loves to throw food on the floor, much to his parents' dismay. It usually happens late in the meal when he's mostly done, or he's done with the particular sorts of food currently arrayed on his tray. He usually has this "watcha gonna do about it??" look on his face that may be a sign of things to come.

He's become reasonably adept at feeding himself with a spoon or a fork. He's quite proud of himself when he does this, so much so that sometimes he will refuse the same food if others attempt to feed it to him. He largely feeds himself from food we put on his tray. It appears to be a fine line between putting enough quantity and variety on his tray, and overwhelming him with too much so that he turfs it all on the floor. He can manage a sippy-cup of juice or milk pretty much on his own, but we take it away from him when he starts making puddles on his tray. He's interested in drinking from adult glasses, but I guess it's harder than it looks - he still usually spills and coughs.

All in all I'd say it's pretty much normal toddler eating. He eats pretty well and he's got the buddha-belly to show for it too :) Hopefully that translates to upward growth before long. He is solidly built, growing, and getting heavier, so I guess he's putting it to good use.