Yep - you got it ladies and gentleman. My little girl, my Alice, ATE CAKE!
I'm sure most parents would not find this amazing in the slightest. But ever since I can remember Alice has hated cake. We thought it was funny at first, I mean who hates cake...seriously? I joked that she definitely didn't get it from me and it seemed a bit ironic given that her Uncle is a pastry chef.
Now we understand a bit more about Alice we've realised that it is most probably a sensory issue rather than and actual dislike of the flavour of cake. Her mouth senses are heightened and for whatever reason she just cannot handle the texture of cake in her mouth, same goes for muffins.
Alice has quite a limited diet in terms of what she will and won't eat, it's not just cake. She can't handle red meat unless it is mince and in a sauce. She will only eat chicken in nugget form. At parties she doesn't pig out on the birthday cake (though she always gets a piece and sits there looking at it like she wishing she could eat it) and hates most home made type party snacks.
When we have a roast dinner Alice has chicken nuggets and "white pasta" (alfredo packet mix). When we have chicken and rice, Alice has rice and sauce. No matter how tiny I cut the meat up, she finds it.
I'm sure people who don't have children with these issues are wondering why I'm a soft touch about this. I'm sure many are thinking "she's a child she eats what you eat no exceptions!" Ha. You haven't met Alice.
I learnt pretty quickly there was no point pushing food on her that she didn't like - mainly because she will put it in her mouth (she does like to please) and then promptly vomit all over the table, not just gag and spit up the bit that she was eating, no. She will literally empty the entire contents of her stomach. Even at parties sometimes just looking at things like cake will make her look like she is going to vomit. It's like she can feel the texture in her mouth just by looking at it! So I made a choice, I made a choice to accept her telling me she doesn't like something. If there's one thing I know for sure about parenting - it's all about picking your battles.
She has quite a good diet really, she loves fruit, yoghurt, cheese and ham. She loves taking a "burrito" (salad and ham wrap) for lunch at school. She eats things like homemade pizzas, peas and corn, carrot, lettuce, rice crackers. She will devour my spag bol, which little does she know is packed with mince and veges.
But cake. Cake is a big thing. Cake is what makes birthdays fun. She adores birthday cakes, loves blowing out candles, singing happy birthday, cutting it, but never eating it. Maybe, just maybe, by the time her birthday rolls around she'll be able to eat her birthday cake for the very first time. I know she'd love that.
No comments:
Post a Comment