Does anyone else dread mealtime??

Okay - I feel really guilty about this, but I dread feeding my twins solids. I have to work myself up for each meal my girls get. They are eating some table foods and then get baby food after. They are great with the table foods, but the baby food makes the worst messes. Clean up takes forever. I don't even know why I buy them cute clothes, we are ruining them all. They are rubbing their mouths on their sleeves and them putting their hands all in the food and rubbing it in their hair. I'm just not fast enough to wipe them down between bites. I think I should probably just strip them down to a diaper while they eat. Am I awful or does anyone else have this issue?

 

Okay - I feel really guilty about this, but I dread feeding my twins solids. I have to work myself up for each meal my girls get. They are eating some table foods and then get baby food after. They are great with the table foods, but the baby food makes the worst messes. Clean up takes forever. I don't even know why I buy them cute clothes, we are ruining them all. They are rubbing their mouths on their sleeves and them putting their hands all in the food and rubbing it in their hair. I'm just not fast enough to wipe them down between bites. I think I should probably just strip them down to a diaper while they eat. Am I awful or does anyone else have this issue?

 

I am right there with you!

I am desperate to get the boys on table foods...but it just isn't happening (as fast as I'd like it to).

I've tried everything...big vinyl bibs (which they spend the entire time chewing), small cloth bibs (lots and lots of laundry), no bibs/clothes (lots of extra baths).

One of my boys doubles over to gnaw on the high chair tray...the other wants to guide the spoon into his mouth with his hand...then extracts all the food from his mouth with his finger and rubs it all over his face, hair, clothes, and tray.

Let me know if you find a magic solution.

 

quote:
I think I should probably just strip them down to a diaper while they eat.

That is what we do...they are messy!!

And NO, you aren't awful!

 

For some reason mine were not that messy (guess I just got lucky), but for certain foods (blueberries, cream of wheat, and anything with tomato sauce!), they eat in just a diaper. I also don't usually bother to wipe them down between bites -- it is easier just to hose them off afterwards.

 

For anything really messy, I just strip them down to their diapers! I dread mealtime more because it is always me trying to coax them to eat - they do not have big appetites.

 

Kimberly,
You are not alone. I feel like all I do all day is clean up from meals or bottles. It takes so much longer to feed the twins simply because there are two of them. I am trying to experiment with different table food too, but still do the jarred fruits/veggies and yogurt, so they still need me to feed them. But it is so hard to determine what to feed them that isn't too messy.

 

James isn't messy (Thank the Lord!) but Sean is as bad as his biggest brother and sister. He grabs the food off the spoon and rubs it all over himself too. I strip him down to a diaper, wrap myself in a bath towel and set him on my lap to feed him. The towel blocks me from getting gooed on and it makes a handy napkin. I have a couple of ugly towels for this purpose btw. After we eat I get him with a warm wet washcloth. There is a lot of complaining on his part, but as I always tell him "If you wouldn't make such a big mess then I wouldn't have to scrub you!"

 

I also DREAD mealtime. My girls are only 6 1/2 months and they are only on rice cereal (we start veggies this weekend when my husband can help). They cry between each bite b/c they act like I am not feeding them fast enough, but I am going as fast as I can go. I use cloth bibs, but I keep thinking I need to go out and buy those extra large vinyl bibs maybe. They always put their hands in their mouths between each bite and then it gets everywhere!!! They don't really even like eating the cereal b/c eating from a bottle is much easier for them so they are very fussy.......HELP!!!!

 

I totally understand. Feeding infant twins solids was always hard for me and I can't say I enjoyed it very much.

 

My twins are exclusively breastfed. I have tried solids starting around 6 months, but they really aren't taking to them. DD clamps her mouth shut when the spoon gets near. DS will make these awful faces and spit some out. So, I'm not pushing it all that much. I only try once every couple of days. I'm dreading feeding on a regular basis more than once a day. The whole process from getting them into their chairs, feeding and cleaning up takes about an hour. I wish we could skip this phase and just start feeding them table foods. Seems like that might be easier.

 

I do feed mine in their diapers when they are eating messy things (like their veggies). They get it everywhere, but their bath is the next thing so they get all clean.
Sometimes we skip the high chairs too and feed them in their bouncers with a towel behind them so we can just throw the towel in the wash and the babies in the tub and it goes pretty fast!

Good luck

 

Charlie and Kate aren't all that messy, but they both do rub their messy hands in their hair! Ugghh. Luckily, Kate has very thin, fine hair so it is pretty easy to clean up.
I think it is very hard to feed 2 kids at once. We are completely off baby food, which makes it easier. They do get yogurt and applesauce, but usually as a snack. I just sit on the floor and feed them bites as they play.
I refuse to make 3 different meals for the kids, so it has been a little challanging to get them all to eat the same things! Oldest is VERY picky and the twins will eat anything. I try to give them lots of fruits and veggies, which oldest won't eat!
Ughhh...