by Becky Vieira posted in Parenting

I look at the clock and think to myself ?Is it really that time, again."  I sigh and begin to mentally prepare myself. It?s nothing I want to do. But it must be done, and I?m the one who has to do it.
I?m talking, of course, about feeding my infant. Because let?s be honest? sometimes it can be the most stressful part of your day.
Before my son was born I assumed I?d offer him his food and he?d eat it. Sure, I expected there would be some rejection, or that we?d have a little mess from time to time. But overall I thought I?d put food in front of him and that would be that.
Excuse me while I take a moment to laugh at my "before kids" naiveté!
Feeding my son is like a sport. It takes physical strength, dexterity, mental awareness and patience. Oh, so much patience. Not to mention the cleaning products...gallons and buckets of (baby safe) cleaning products.
It usually begins with the timing. My son has acid reflux and takes probiotics, which must be given (roughly) no sooner than 39.8 minutes before his meal and at least 126.5 minutes before bed. Okay, I?m exaggerating here but it sometimes feels that challenging. I?m always looking at the clock and calculating when he ate last and then holding him off before he eats again.
Next is the highchair. Once I get him in he bangs ? loudly ? on the tray like a heavy metal band?s offbeat drummer. It?s his way of letting us now he?s ready to eat. Now!
Then comes the food. He does o...