BORED BORED BORED of feeding toddlers!

[moominnewbie]

AIBU in finding the whole feeding thing really tedious? It is hard enough trying to create something palatable with a baby crawling around, and a toddler running in circles, (both have bags of energy and too much curiosity with no setting on the volume control) without then having to deal with refusal to eat, or only picking snippets of tiny mouthfuls, or just taking a b s o l u t e l y a g e s to finish (nearly an hour for tea yesterday).

I am finding all my inspiration going out the window, my food bills are erratic (aka too big) as I'm buying ready made stuff instead of cooking from scratch or topping up with 'stuff I know they will eat' (aka thomas the tank engine petit filous and dried mango and lighting mcqueen lolly pops and cheese) and its JUST PLAIN ARSE BORING. Its rolling over into what me and hubby eat now and I'm getting grumbles from him.

HELP.

How do I get my groove back with all of this or is it just suck it up and deal with it?

20 mins is plenty long enough for a meal then clear it away - no reason to drag it out for an hour imo.

Do you cook for yourself - can't they have what you are having?

Can't offer any help OP but if it's any consolation I'm still bored of it and my DS is 14! In fact I even get bored with having to feed myself!

Um, sorry but (whispers) suck it up. A lot of bringing children up is boring,but worth it when they ready to eat with you, sit with you, chat with you, etc.
Feel for u, these days take years to pass, but believe me, you will look back and will have gone in a flash!
Not trying to be smug, but try to enjoy it...is all too short.

I do cook for myself but ended up cooking what they like and eat their food - i.e. plain boiled veggies and roast chicken or sausages and mash with peas and carrot batons, or cheese and ham sandwiches. Toddler refuses soup, stews, anything covered in sauce (i.e. pasta bakes, bolognase etc) and baby (nearly 1) wants to feed himself (great) but gets bored and still expects spoon feeding (not so great). I'm just doing the same old same old.

I agree! I is so bloody bloody tedious. If I CBA I can just have a biscuit. They need feeding at least x3 a day. I mid a big meal for H and I when babies are in bed, then, fridge/freeze the rest or next days lunch/dinner. The following things:

Fish pie
Spaghetti bolognase/meatballs
Chicken curry
Tagine type stews
Chicken pie
Tuna Neapolitana Pasta
Salmon cheese and broccoli pasta
Red lentil and tomato soup

And rotate!

Cheesy mash and peas too

Are you me. I am stood in my kitchn rightvnow waiting for my 16mo DD to finish a petite filous, she refuses to let me feed her, it's in her hair and all over her entire face, I have just eaten a packet of licorice all sorts whilst I wait. I have homemade pizza for DSs and DH, but the head of the house won't wait until daddy gets home, roll on 7 pm......bed time.

YANBU

It put me off putting together. Feeding DS1 was a huge challenge because of extreme fussiness/phobia, especially about texture. I had to put a lot of thought into gradually weaning him onto trying different foods. Sometimes I just didn't bother and he had toast, weetabix, orange juice and milk to eat because that's all he liked. DH also used to complain because all my menatl energy was about feeding the DCs what they'd eat and there wasn't much exciting for us.

But it gets better. Your childrens' diet sounds good. And one day you'll all be tucking into a lovely Thai meal, or something, and it will have all been worth it.

put me off cooking ...

I'm waiting for green beans to finish cooking, DS1 refuses the homemade chocolate biscuit and demands ambrosia rice pudding (cold) and have prepared veritable rainbow of finger foods for us to eat (having meanwhile demolished said homemade choc biscuit - one of many today - btw miranda gore browne's book is great - she is from Great British Bake Off). DS2 is downing DS1's juice and goodness knows what hubby will eat as he's out on the lash and won't be in 'til way past my bedtime (9pm - how depressing is that! )... probably eat nice combo of cold roast beef, biscuits, weight watchers bars and cheese.

Something that I notice/noticed, is that when DH cooks, he doesn't pay as much attention to what the DCs do and don't like, and wouldn't you know it, they don't complain about his food

YANBU. Easily the most tedious part of parenting imo.

oh and BTW this weather doesn't help - for some reason my boys have developed the energy and sheer wriggliness of puppies during all these gales and lashings of rain - not even indoor soft play centre wears them out!

We were in the same boat at around 18 months with our boy. He's now a year older and is eating a much larger range of food, even having the same tea as us some nights. I read somewhere that it takes trying a new food 7 or 8 times before a kid will eat it. Even now our lad will go off things that he used to love. Right now he won't touch bananas but can't get enough pears and sliced peppers. We've also been cutting down on the time it takes for meal time by asking him if he's done and taking his plate away if he says "yes" when he's clearly not. He's been hungry a few times after and not gets a move on when we ask if he's done. Unfortunately all you can do is press on and give it time...

YANBU - I loathe it! Forever scraping little dishes of food into the bin after DD has turned her nose up . . . or what's worse, finishing it up myself (hence muffin top)

DD is 2 now and is s l o w l y improving - atm she is happily eating some left over roast veggies and cous cous. I am finding the mess that is being created a bit depressing though!

Oh, I'm with you OP.

I have my iPad at the table so that I can at least read/Mumsnet whilst feeding my two.

[rotting brain cells emoticon]