Ibn's Physical Devt

Alhamdulillah,it is good to hear that Ibn has gained to 11.2kg, whereby it is indeed an accomplishment for him to meet the 11kg weight.

Despite the increment of his weight, both Zauji and me are still worried sick (at times) about his eating patterns. As I am the primary caregiver of him, I have noticed certain eating habits in him -

1. He will drink milk only when I feed him, either by cup, spoon or straw.
2. He eats better for lunch than dinner.
3. He will keep food in his mouth and refuse to chew and swallow till we show and force him how to. Recently I notice that this is an indicator of "Ummi/Abi, I have enough of this."
4. He will sit throughout his meals if we sit with him. Upon either Zauji or me getting up from our seats, Ibn too will do likewise during meals. Well, kids model, don't they?


I find that it is quite amusing, mind boggling and at the most time testing our patience. Lessons to learn -

1. Give what Ibn likes more in terms of proper food/dish and not crackers or any unhealthy snacks.
2. Always prepare a cup of water to help with teh flow of food
3. Small children's diet is unknown to us. We need to be adventurous in this matter and play the guessing game, the TRIAL AND ERROR game. There may be times
- when they will just drink milk, prefer eating biscuits the whole day
- when they will want different taste for lunch and dinner. So 2 different dishes.
- when they will eat lesser than expected. They too have mood.
- when they will eat more/better with distractions.
- when they will enjoy their food when it is interesting and vice versa.
- when they will finish up what they like during the meal e.g. fish, brocolli.
- when they will eat a type of ingredient e.g. spaghetti, noodles, cheese.
- etc, etc, etc. Many to expect the unexpected/unknown.


In addition to the above, Zauji was in deep thought about this eating matter. The why questions why Ibn refuse to eat. Following points are to be included and has become MAIN REMINDERS to me -

1. Rezqi is in the hands of Allah. So there is a certain portion of intake that fits Ibn during each meal.
2. Baraqah is important. (This helps me a lot during the process of feeding Ibn)
3. His name is given by Almarhum Habib Ahmad Semait, who is an 'aalim and one of the ulama'. Zauji mentioned before, upon seeing Ibn eats, "Budak ni cara dia makan, cara orang sufi - sikit." Maybe it reflects the person who gave Ibn his name. Wallahu a'lam bissawab.

With all the reminders, I too have to respect Ibn as an individual child and not compare with other children who have better weight and appetite. Another reminder for me,
"AN INDIVIDUAL CHILD/PERSON IS A UNIQUE BEING.
THERE IS SOME SPECIALITY IN THAT BEING."

Ummu Mukhtaar