Ella is learning to eat solids, and I absolutely LOVE letting her play in it when she's done eating (as long as she's still in her jammies or almost ready to go to bed)! She is one funny girl.
But I need some mom advice. What is the best way to get the spoon to the mouth without hands intercepting? I've tried everything short of a straight-jacket, but nothing is working. I've given her two spoons to hold, I've held her hands down with one arm while swooping in with the other... she's just too tricky!
Also, what is your best M.O. for cleaning up? There must be some magical order to do things, but it seems like whatever I try doesn't work. For example, if I wash her face first, she will inevitably wipe carrots all over her mug before I get the hands clean. If I start with the hands, there is still stuff on the tray that she will grab. If I wash the tray first, then she will hit it with her hands while I'm washing, OR if I remove it she will, no doubt, pat her belly with a fist full of peas. I'm about ready to get out the garden hose...
Moms need 2 extra sets of hands to get it all under control. Surely I'm not the only one who has ever faced this circus-like dilemma. Any advice??
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Help!
Posted by Bonnie at Thursday, January 07, 2010
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5 comments:
You're right it's tricky business and even experienced Moms are left with quite the mess. For clean up I usually hold both baby's hands with one of mine while I whipe the face. Then I let go of each hand as I wipe it. As she gets older adn starts eating messier things, I just take my baby out and either wash their hands and face in the sink or go directly for the bath if it's in their hair, which is often the case.
If you learn of some magic method for keeping baby clean I'd like to know it myself.
By the way, I've loved all of your myths. I think now you seem to understand yourself better than most.
You mean you haven't grown in your second set of arms yet? Hmm ... mine grew in about two weeks after my first kid was born. I don't know how to do it without them.
As far as grabbing the spoon-I've got no magic answer except to give her time. She'll outgrow it eventually! For clean up I wet two paper towels. I lay one on the tray that Grace will probably grab, but that's fine (sometimes it helps to do a quick and simple swipe of the tray). While she is distracted with that I start with her head then move to the hands, followed by the tray last, using the second towel that she is playing with. For the really messy jobs I sometimes use her wash clothes because they seem to clean her up a little better. Like Jen above, now that she's older I will sometimes just pull her out, away from the mess, and clean her up at the sink. It also helps to resign to the fact that her clothes will get stained, but they're just clothes. Good luck!
I saw a lady once feed her kid in the kitchen sink full of bubbles so she wouldn't have to deal with clean up. I've never tried it, but considered it a few times. Too bad my kitchen sink is always full of dirty dishes.
Forget an extra set of arms, I have always wanted to be an octopus. Maybe then my dishes would get done.
My best advice is to practice. Lots. It helps a lot to just do it fast and as you practice you get much faster. If you shoveling it in faster they can't grab--it's already in their mouth. You get better at it the more kids you have, so multiply and replenish the earth!!
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