We have recently become aware of baby food pouches. Were these around as recently as when Everett was born? If so we didn’t know about them, but they are quickly becoming a big part of the US baby food market. For a while both of our babies ate them, but Gwen now insists on feeding herself most of the time and will only eat from pouches occasionally. In contrast, pouch purées are one of the few things that Teddy will eat, and he can suck one down in a couple minutes. We usually give him a pouch or two at each meal and then some non-non-fat yogurt. Only in the last couple weeks has he eaten tiny amounts of solid food like Cheerios.

We have mixed feelings about the pouches. If children are eating from pouches, are they still going to learn table manners and how to use utensils? Will pouches make food so quick and convenient for families that children don’t learn the habits and social aspects of eating at mealtimes? Is this the latest phase of an American effort to make everything as efficient as possible, including meals (and childrearing)? We don’t know the answers to these questions, but we have often had the thought that the pouches are definitely a big help for parents of twins. For example, using them one of us can feed two babies at the same time while holding them in our arms. And even if you are only feeding one baby, the pouches make it much easier when a high-chair isn’t available, for example on an airplane.

On the subject of eating, Melissa and Everett recently observed that Chris is incapable of feeding the babies without opening his own mouth. Everett and Melissa often watch Chris at dinnertime when he is feeding a baby. Chris thinks he is keeping his mouth closed; Melissa and Everett think it’s hilarious that he can’t.

Lastly, somewhat related to the subject of this blog entry, we found the remains of a rabbit in our front yard. It was eaten by something, perhaps a fox or a coyote, that left behind the head some intestines. Everett wrote a letter to it, below (the circles are teardrops). Readers may note, as we did, that this includes some pretty creative spelling. One thing we learned about Montessori is that in 5k they don’t really try to correct spelling, and encourage students to spell words phonetically. So if some words don’t make sense then try sounding them out, or find a 5 or 6-year old to help you.