more

A few months ago Lyla learned "more" in sign language. We started teaching her a few of the basics like "more", "eat" and "all done" in hopes of avoiding meltdowns because she was hungry or wanted something and didn't know how to ask for it. We have since added on a few more and so far it has been quite a help. At first Lyla would only sign more if we asked her if she wanted more. Now she frantically signs "more" as soon as she wants something. "More" can mean "more", of course, but it also means "I want that".

In the past few weeks Lyla has become very aware of our food on our table and that it is way different than the food she gets. We give her diced bits of table food but much of her food is still the baby food (cereal, pureed fruits and veggies, and meals in a jar). It wasn't that we were trying to keep something from her. If we were having something I thought she'd eat we'd always give her some to try but at the same time we realize that her food is the most healthy for her. But that is all coming to a halt. With her newfound discovery of our food on the table and her knowlege of "more" she is all about making sure she gets a little of everything on the table. She will clap her hands together (her version of the "more" sign) repeatedly until she has a tray full of samples from each of the dishes. Once you tell her she's got a little bit of everything her head does a sweep from one side of the table to the other making sure she isn't missing an item. Sometimes she keeps signing "more" just in case you've got something hidden somewhere that she might want to try. But here's the funny part: just because she wants a sample of everything doesn't mean she will try it. More times than not she will eventually try it but it may take a couple of tries over the course of the meal before she does. And sometimes she will try food that we definately don't think she will eat but on that day she decides she wants to eat it.

When Lyla signs "more" she really does mean "more". There's no messing around with her when it comes to food. You wouldn't know it by looking at her because she is still pretty little but she eats a lot of food. We have sometimes wondered if she eats more than I do and have thought about putting all of her food on a plate to compare portions. I don't know where she has room for it but she can put away the food. We love that she's a good eater. The other night this is what she ate:

1 manicotti (this is what Kyle and I were having for dinner)

1 6-oz. jar lasagna baby food

3/4 slice wheat bread

3 oz. squash baby food

2 tbsp. oatmeal cereal

handful of blueberries


I'm pretty sure her little hands didn't stop signing all night. :-)

Depending on what Lyla is eating she is also very particular about portion sizes. You can break her off little bites of food and she may or may not eat it. But if you give her the full size version she will scarf it down. We had sloppy joes the other day for lunch and Kyle broke her off a few bites. She pushed it away. I cut my sandwich in half and let her eat off of it and she ate the whole thing. Same thing goes for fruit, waffles, pancakes, etc. I wonder if it makes her feel more like a big girl to have the larger pieces? Who know's why but it's pretty funny. So we're learning that if she doesn't eat something give her a bigger bite and maybe she'll eat it.