So, needless to say, we were really worried, but also didn't want meals to turn into high-pressure situations that would create negative associations for Judah. What to do, what to do (other than blend everything together into a disgusting meat smoothie)?
Well, it turns out, Judah likes a good deal, like the son of a corporate deal lawyer should.
Michael discovered by accident one day (it happened to be Thanksgiving) that Judah understands very immediate trade-offs. Michael was trying to get Judah to eat a piece of turkey (for the 26th time), but Judah kept shouting for his "cheerios." He says "Oh! Oh!" to ask for his Trader Joe's O's.
So out of exasperation, Michael held out an "O" and said, "If you eat this turkey, I'll give you this "O." He didn't expect Judah to be able to process this information, but repeated the deal a couple times and then held out the turkey to Judah--who opened his mouth and accepted it! Unbelievable! It never ceases to amaze me how babies understand so much more than we think they're capable of.
Then Michael gave him the "O" and once again negotiated with Judah over turkey. This went on for a few more rounds until Judah realized, hey, turkey is delicious!
Pretty soon he was just eating the turkey without any trade-offs. We've since used other trade-offs (cheese, grapes, strawberries) to get Judah to try chicken, ham, beef, and other foods he used to flat-out reject. (Here I'm offering him some Kale in exchange for a pomegranate seed--ah this brings back not-so-fond memories of law school in which contracts were made using a peppercorn for "consideration").
Anyway, the "Meal Deal Method" works about 90% of the time and Judah now has a much broader range of foods to eat. Maybe we should patent this amazing toddler feeding trick?! Well, too late, I already spilled the beans here. And yes, Judah now eats beans too!
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