These days, almost every attempt to put a morsel of food into Bubboo’s mouth is met with violent shaking of her head. These morsels are usually grabbed away by her little hands before I can feed them to her. She then proceeds to put the food into her own mouth. The few times I do put in a bite or two of food into her mouth, just because I want to feed her, there is a loud wail, accompanied by the pulling out of said bites of food out of the mouth, and an attempt to put them back into the mouth on her own. Heights of independence, no?
Madame doesn’t want me holding her while she stands on our living room sofa and looks out the window, or when she is sitting on the edge of the bed. She has made that abundantly clear, too. Every attempt of mine to hold her at these times is met with a shriek, and the pushing off of my hands.
It looks like her breastfeeding days have come to an end, too. She doesn’t seem to need the comfort of her mother’s breast to get to sleep any more. There’s no holding or hugging her, either. She wants to wriggle out of my grasp as soon as she can, and get to exploring the world around her.
Where did my cute baby go? Who is this super-independent little girl who has replaced her? Could you please tell me something to make me not feel this bereft?
The Girl Next Door 
TGND, it’s a fab sign of independence. I would let her feed herself. You might just need to increase the frequency if you feel she isn’t getting all the food she needs. Does she have a designated place to sit and eat? That will help her sit and eat. An independent child is always a good sign, in my opinion. Hugs to the little darling
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@Smitha
Yes, it is a good sign definitely. That said, I can’t give up on the bittersweet feeling either. đŚ
Thank you! The hugs shall be passed on. đ
No, she doesn’t have a designated place to sit and eat. I feed her here and there. Maybe I should train her to sit in one place and eat? Or just continue with what I am doing at the moment?
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TNGD,
Bittersweet is the feeling when you see your child move through each stage of life successfully, while needing you less and less. The hope is that while they may not need you that they will still want you. Such is parenthood đ
My second one is getting ready to move away to college this Fall and Bittersweet is exactly how I feel. I sometimes look at my 5′ 7″ baby girl and would be totally surprised to see her look like a young woman and she would treat me like a kid. Though most of the times she still looks and acts like a child. So I can totally understand your emotions.
Yes, they grow up very fast!
Hugs to you and me đ
SS
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@SS
You put it perfectly! Yes, hugs to you and me! đ
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Ha ha… Enjoy the freedom while it lasts TGND đ On a serious note, she’s most probably going to assign these tasks back to you, once the achievement feeling over those new tasks, fades off !
Relax, she’s still a tiny baby who has got a looooot of time to become actually big !
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@Freakyveggie
She isn’t fully independent yet, and needs a lot of assistance. I know I have still got a long way to go, in terms of taking care of her, but the speed at which she is learning to get independent is amazing!
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This sounds scary TGND !! It is always a concern if the child rebels to eat..Hang on..Things will settle down on their own!!
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@Paatiamma
Errr… she isn’t rebelling against eating. Not at all!
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Err..Heights of independence!! I get it..
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@Paatiamma
đ
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TGND, I would strongly suggest giving her food to her and she feeds herself, as she is trying to now. I made the mistake of feeding M and he still wants me to feed him at 7 years of age…It’s a child’s natural instinct to actually pick food and take it to her mouth and literally feed herself..please please encourage the same đ
With regards to being independent..this is just the beginning …Bhooooooo…SJ cries out loud, M doesn’t even want me to bathe him !
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@SJScribbles
I get what you are saying. Totally. But then, she doesn’t know how to feed herself yet. She grabs fistfuls of food and tries to put them into her mouth, but half of it falls to the floor. I doubt she will have a full tummy if I let her eat that way. That said, I understand that this is the way a child learns to eat by himself/herself. What would you suggest in this case? Let her feed herself first, and then feed her with my hands?
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Yes TGND ! Let her feed herself to her hearts content first, be ready to clean the mess after đ Once she is done…and stops feeding herself, you start feeding her as much as you think is enough for her.
Just to share with you TGND, we were invited to one of J’s friends home – I was feeding my 5 year old – The host had a little daughter who was less than 3 years old. I was amazed and ashamed at the same time when I saw the little one sit in front of her plate and with her tiny fingers mixed the rice and curry and fed herself gracefully, next she added a little cup of curd to her second helping and ate every bit of it without the mom or dad’s intervention ! The secret to the way this adorable little one was trained was that her mom let her do it when she wanted to ! Else you have to wait for a good 8 years to see your little one eat herself !
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@SJScribbles
Oh, wow! That little girl was so well trained, eh? đ Thanks for sharing the incident with me.
I think I will go with the flow for now. I will do whatever Bubboo seems to be ready for, at the moment. đ
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Lucky you! My baby is a month older than yours but still eats lying on my lap. I plan to breast feed him till two yers of age and am terrified when i think about the weaning tantrums:(
Get on with your life TGND! You are so lucky things are falling in place by themselves. Do you know how much of effort all this takes if it has to be brought about by you?
Believe me you are really lucky that your child is getting independent on her own. I am waiting for the time when I do not have to feed every meal !
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@Aarthy1823
I do understand that. That said, it still rankles that she doesn’t really seem to need me all that much. đŚ She does come to me for cuddles occasionally and to play with me, but the baby who used to want to be held all the time is going away fast.
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