Let them eat cake.

Have you ever stopped dead still in your tracks and seen yourself through the eyes of another? I did that today...and had to laugh ( isn't it just great when you can laugh at yourself? I think I'm quite good at it I have to say) Seth is dealing with his food phobia in such an impressive way, I think his beginning the party scene has made him realise thathis friends eat so many different foods that he perhaps would like to join them. Bless his face, he is so afraid and I haven't honestly ever tried to understand his fears before, today he asked to go to the shop and choose something that he has never tried before. This week alone he has tried SIX new foods, we asked him to do nothing more than touch the food and he has surpassed our request and actually put tiny morsels in his mouth.
He tried spagetti with SAUCE..huge deal, mixing food is a terrifying prospect for Seth, messy food is a definate no-no..so to actually stick his finger in spagetti sauce and then lick his finger was a marathon achieved.
He tried White triangle cheese..only ever has yellow cheese ever passed his lips...today he ate TWO dairylea triangles.....SUPERSTAR!
He tried and demolished some white chocolate cream biscuits ....cream biscuits.....can you imagine how difficult that was? He will eat plain biscuits...don't even show him ones with chocolate or cream in...2 foods mixed....too scary!
He tried a cheese slice, didn't like it but he tried it, good boy.
Strawberry milkshake made at home oh AND banana milkshake. Mc donald's strawberry milkshake only in the past.
Seeing his face when he tries and likes the new food is a treat indeed.
Today when we walked around the shop he tried to back track and choose food that he always eats saying ( very cleverly) "but I haven't ever tried THAT packet!!"
I found myself standing next to the chocolate biscuits saying " Seth..these are very good....you should try them" he was looking longingly at the Kellogg's cornflakes, no sugar of course and I was standing ther saying " no, I know you like those and you've had them lots of times and I want you to try these chocolate biscuits please" and out of the corner of my eye I saw an older lady looking at me with the greatest look of incredulity.....open mouthed gobsmacking disbelief! I truly had to explain that Seth was afraid of food and that he was trying new foods so that when he was with his friends he could enjoy different things...if we start with foods that he is almost guaranteed to like he will get braver and more willing to try more and more new things. Phew! she seemed to understand immediately and off we went but all day it has given me such giggles to imagine what I must have looked like, a tiny little boy in his school uniform and specs obviously very healthy and happy with me, hugely overweight, all but begging him to chow down on some totally junk filled food. HA!
Sweet little boy, I really put myself in his head today and imagined a french man with a huge plate of lightly boiled and seasoned snails telling me just how delicious they are....right mate....eat them yourself then!! That's how Seth feels when offered cake, nothing will tempt him, he can't even touch it, he chooses a cake every birthday and is thrilled to see everyone ELSE eat it but shudders at the very thought or mention of tasting it! How brave my boy is to have battled against this fear SIX times in one week...for every 5 new tastes he tries he gets a pound and he can buy whatever he truly loves, a pack of 5 animal bars today, delicious chocolate bars that are his favourite and they were all his, he was allowed to eat them ALL.
At dinner time tonight for the very first time in his life he had THREE foods on one plate, tomatoes, his favourite, cucumber his friend and spanish rice, he touched the rice, he smelled the rice and then he tasted it, he allowed it on his plate while he ate his cucumber and tomatoes and then he brought his plate to me and told me that he couldn't eat it. No crying no panicking and no screaming that he couldn't eat food if it had all been on the same plate.
This week, Seth is my hero.