Worry Wart

As a new Mom, I feel like I am constantly worrying about something.  When James was first born it was about whether or not he was eating enough.  Then it was about all the gas he was experiencing when he was eating.  As he got older, I worried about the colds he would get at day care and whether or not he'd meet all the oh so important milestones of holding his head up right and rolling over and crawling.  Every day there is a new worry, and from what I understand, that never goes away.  Awesome.

The most recent worry (other than the 4-weeks of being sick that took both Ed and I down for a brief stint) are James' motor skills when it comes to his pincer grasp.  What is a pincer grasp you ask?  Well, this is his ability to pick things up using his pointer finger and his thumb. This is a skill that is learned over time with practice.

Experts say you should start introducing finger foods around 8-9 months to get them used to picking things up and bringing them to their mouth.  Eight months was way too early for James.  He was still a man in love with his purees and anything else we put on the tray was immediately pushed to the floor.

At nine months, he started to get the hang of the Gerber Puffs and the Happy Baby Yogurt Bites. These 2 items did not make him gag, which he did.  A lot.  And usually with puke.  We started putting other items on his tray - toasted waffle bits, sweet potatoes, scrambled eggs, overcooked pasta.  No interest.  He would push things around and sometimes try to pick them up, but really, he was just playing.  

The more he showed no interest, the more I started freaking out.  Was my kid behind the curve on mastering this very important motor skill?  What is going on?  He's almost walking and he can't seem to grab onto a piece of waffle?  WTF!  And then I would start Googling.  Google is not a friend of a new Mom having a ridiculous panic attack.  

We are now at 10 months and something seemed to click.  Not only is he starting to grab things from his tray and put them in his mouth, he is also trying to get at the food on our plates.  Sunday morning, he actually ate a good portion of his waffle. And by dinner time, he was eating up the sweet potato and mac and cheese bits placed in front of him.

The skill is not perfected by any means, but I'm starting to see some rays of hope.  Oh, and by the way, I'm also a panic attack when he does actually get something in his mouth because I'm worried he might choke.  I have problems.  :)