My daughters had ham and scalloped potatoes for supper last night.  They both did.

Feeding my daughters the same thing for supper is a novelty that I don’t think will ever wear off.  In most households, ham and scalloped potatoes don’t warrant Facebook posts (complete with photos) or blog entries but in mine it does.  Being able to feed both Madi and Ali the same meal is new to me and although there are still many days when Ali doesn’t eat what she’s given, last night was a success!  Ali doesn’t chew so there are some textures that are difficult for her and getting her to eat meat is obviously tricky.  We often have to stick to foods that she’s comfortable with but we’re always looking to expand her variety.  I gave her the ham and potatoes in itty bitty little cubes.  It took me longer to cut it than it took for Ali to eat it.  She used her fork a bit and she swallowed them whole.  We’ll work on chewing, I promise!

I have to admit that Madi wasn’t overly excited about this successful meal.  She hates ham and scalloped potatoes.  I don’t think she appreciated being used as a model for her sister in this case.  She started off the meal by sitting at the table, arms crossed, saying, “I’m telling you right now, I’m not eating any fat!”.  I tried hard to keep a straight face.  She rarely complains when she’s asked to model for her sister but she’s quite obviously not a fan of ham and I guess that’s where she draws the line.  Modelling or using a child’s desire to eat socially is a key component in teaching a tube fed child to eat.  So, I let Madi know that once she showed her sister how much fun it is to eat ham, she could have a cookie. No, I am not above bribery and I needed Madi to eat happily! In the end, Ali ate two servings of ham and scalloped potatoes and Madi got her cookie after asking, “Is this fat?” many, many times.

Now, I have to fight the urge to serve ham and scalloped potatoes every night for supper (Madi will be relieved).  Thanksgiving is next week and I think ham might be a great alternative to turkey this year because it will be a good, solid reminder of the huge amount of progress that we can be thankful for.

Not to worry about Madi, I’m sure she’ll be happy to eat the ham when she finds out that we have pumpkin pie for dessert.  I’ll even give her extra whipped cream.