Some of the best $$$ ever spent

Back in January 2010 when the kids were about 7 months old we introduced the now beloved feeding table.
That was then...

This was a few days ago...

This is now...


Actually we have moved two booster seats to look out the window and put another chair by the window so we can ALL EAT AS A FAMILY. Finally. That is the theory anyway.

We figured out that the kids only want to eat what we are eating and they eat much better if we are sitting with them. Our pediatrician recommended we move to booster seats when we were discussing Beckett's weight issues. So here we are. And I'm not happy with it.

First of all- the day before we moved out the feeding table the kids figured out that they could push it around the kitchen. It was a nightmare because we have a tiny kitchen and they were plowing over each other with the table, running over the dogs and knocking over the doggie water dish not to mention screaming when it would no longer move because they ran it into the wall or the pots and pans scattered around the kitchen floor. So I figured it was time.

Now they push the kitchen table and the 5 chairs around the kitchen. But that is not the worst part. The worst part is that the booster seats add about 15 minutes of clean up time to my routine every meal. Time that I don't have to spare. We could put the kids in the feeding table without seat belts because they are too big to slip through the leg holes and there is nothing below them to use as leverage to hoist themselves out. I could pop them in and out in a snap. Now they have to be buckled in. Sounds stupid to be complaining about that. But with three, it is a big deal. Minutes matter around mealtime when they are the crankiest.

Now they are able push themselves backwards from the table with their feet and if I hold the chair they can move the table with their feet. I THINK the moving table thing is temporary because we are using a tiny light table in our tiny kitchen and eventually will have a bigger table when we move to a house. Before I would wipe the table, sweep or maybe wipe up the floor and voila done in about 3 minutes. Now I have to wipe down the table, the booster seats, the tops of the chairs AND the back of the chairs, move all the chairs to sweep or wipe the floor and move everything back. All the while the kids are tyring to help move chairs and sweep with me. After a few meals of almost losing my mind, I now have a gate that I put up to keep the kids out so I can at least get the floor clean. Oh yeah, and the pugs are underfoot snorting around.

The move to booster seats has also come with the IDEA that I will no longer be a short order cook and will no longer serve the kiddos a 5 course meal at every meal. They now use the divided plates and I put something in every compartment and that is what they get with the exception of dessert if we have any. Again that is the theory. I'm having a hard time breaking the habit of offering multiple options at the first sign of an upturned nose so I'm transitioning myself into sitting down and staying seated.

But all of this depends on all 3 willfully sitting down when it is time to eat. Guess who doesn't want to cooperate?
Hard to believe that innocent little mug would cause so much drama the last few days. More than half of the meals since the introduction have been tantrum filled and flush with timeouts for Mr. Beckett. He has just been refusing to eat, refusing to sit at the table and REFUSING to cooperate with getting dressed. Yesterday at lunch after about 30 minutes of fighting we just put him to bed. Enough is enough. I was so exhausted I feel asleep that afternoon in the waiting room of the Honda dealership while the getting the oil changed of the minivan. That stinky waiting room at the time seemed like the most fantastic place to nap ever.

After all of that I've decided that the feeding table has probably been some the best money we have ever spent on triplet gear. If you are reading this, are pregnant with multiples or have multiples that are not yet eating solid food- immediately go to the internet, do not pass go, do not collect $200, and gladly shell out the $300-$500 (depending on model) for a feeding without blinking an eye even if you have to charge it, bust into your 401K, whatever to buy it. That' my opinion anyway based on the drama of the last few days.

Godspeed little yellow feeding table as you move on to your new triplet family. May you save their sanity as much as you have ours.