Dear Penny,

Some months ago we met the challenge of getting you to eat people food.  Ok, not to be too dramatic here, you gladly ate mac n cheese, sweet potatoes, apples, oranges, yogurt, cheese,  and berries.  But other foods jumped off your menu and when something undesirable landed on your plate you would either abruptly push the plate away or start crying.  No matter how hungry you were, you refused to eat.

I’m stubborn enough to persist with my meal offerings even though you were a walking whine all afternoon for weeks on end.  Why am I so stubborn?  Because I love you too much to raise you to be a picky eater.  It is my understanding and belief that by letting you be picky now may result in a lifetime of picky eating habits and any number of health issues due to poor nutrition.  We eat a diverse diet to provide the variety of vitamins and nutrients we need to be as healthy as we can be.  Lastly, and most importantly, even though there were days I was worried you weren’t getting enough to eat, I could rest in the truth that any calories you missed during meal time you were making up via breastfeeding or via your sippy cup full of a combination of almond milk and heavy cream.

I’m so thankful I didn’t cave during this picky season in order to have an afternoon of peace.  Now you are back on board with eating anything I put in front of you.  Are there times when you choose not to eat?  Absolutely.  But there is nearly always a way to coax you into trying what I’ve made for dinner and enjoy, at least, pieces of it.  I’m rooting for your healthy and nutritious future!

Proud of you,

Mommy