I'm surprised that I've not yet written about what was a troubling time for our family.
Back in early May, my daughter, having just turned 3 years old, had a choking episode that led her little mind to this logical conclusion:
Any food that requires chewing is dangerous.
Convinced of this, Piper stopped eating solid food for 2 months (I wish I had that kind of determination when concluding something isn't good for my health).
To help her get over this hurdle we tried every trick that we and concerned others could dream up.
Looking back it's strange to think about the small victories we celebrated:
Hooray, Piper is gnawing on a raspberry (sure she didn't chew it but she did put a solid food into her mouth)!
Thank God! Piper is chewing her yogurt (sure it's not solid food which requires chewing but she is choosing to use her teeth)!
And then, the baby step which ultimately helped Piper unlearn that solid food is scary:
Piper's occupational therapist (for whom we are so grateful) suggested that we dump macaroni and cheese (which had been one of Piper's favorite foods) into a blender and hit the puree button.
In front of our little girl we placed a spoon and a mush filled bright blue, orange red and white microwavable container (the exact one you see in the picture) and, to our seemingly disproportionate delight, she ate it (sure, it's not really solid food but she did have to chew before swallowing).
Today Piper enjoys and chews all sorts of solids and, of course, is thrilled to eat non-blender treated macaroni and cheese.
There is, however, one small caveat.
Piper, at 3 years of age, is brand loyal! She refuses to eat macaroni and cheese if it is served in an ordinary dish or in the microwavable bowl of a competing brand.
No problem. We don't have to tell that her dear old mom and dad serve whatever mac and cheese is on hand as long as we continue to wash and reuse this very special container.
Even I don't fully understand the impact of a well designed package.