~ Belladonna Family Photo Album ~
When baby Blake was old enough to start eating solid foods, it seemed that nothing her parents did could make her interested in letting the Baby's First Cereal™ into her little mouth. A typical attempt at feeding it to her ended with Kali, Ghira, and the entire kitchen coated in lumpy white mush, while Blake happily chugged milk from her sippy cup and giggled at her silly-looking parents.
"Maybe we should try something else. What if she just doesn't like the taste of that particular cereal?" Ghira suggested.
"Well, I'd be inclined to believe that, if she'd ever actually put any of it in her mouth, but she never even tasted it," Kali replied. After a moment's pause, she conceded, "Although, perhaps you're right and we should try something else."
Strained peas went over as well as the cereal had. They made even more of a mess, and the green stains were harder to get out of everyone's clothes.
Next they tried giving her a cracker to nibble on, but Blake didn't seem to get the point and treated it like a toy instead.
"Look, Blake," Kali said, as she took the lid off the toddler's sippy cup. As the baby watched, her mother dipped a second cracker into the milk.
Blake made a distressed squeaking noise, promptly snatching the cracker from her mother's hand and throwing it on the floor. Then she grabbed her cup and hugged it to her chest protectively. Unfortunately, the lid was still off and this action caused much of the liquid inside to splash out.
It seemed that Blake was very determined not to start eating solid foods. She seemed perfectly happy with nothing but milk.
After consulting a pediatrician about Blake's lack of progress - who assured them that this was not abnormal, and some children had difficulty adjusting to the dietary change - they decided to give up for a while and see if Blake expressed an interest in eating solid food on her own.
Their daughter was a stubborn little creature indeed, and showed absolutely zero interest in consuming anything other than milk... until one day, several weeks later, when Ghira happened to carry the child into the kitchen while Kali was preparing dinner.
Blake sniffed deeply. She obviously smelled something she liked. Drool began to leak from the corners of her mouth as she continued to sniff, trying to find the source of whatever was giving off that delicious scent.
The baby squirmed in her father's arms, reaching out toward her mother. Whatever Mama was chopping up right now, that's what Blake needed!
"I think she wants the fish," Ghira said, as he clutched the flailing child closer to his chest so she wouldn't fall in her struggle to get to it.
Kali turned around and smiled at her fish-craving baby. But then she frowned.
"The doctor said we shouldn't give her meat until she's at least two years old. It's too early to let her have any fish."
"FIIIIIISSS," wailed the toddler, still struggling to reach the forbidden food as her father carried her out of the room.
~oOo~