We have welcomed a new guy to the family.  As if I needed another guy in this house.  But he is amazing, so I allowed it.  Milton is his name.  Getting kids to eat is his game.

Milton was an Instagram discovery, like many great things.  So I ordered him and he arrived in a cute little box on my doorstep.  He came with a book.  It is all about his trip to earth and his exploration of food.  As you can all imagine, this feeding therapist/mom is obsessed.

It was easy to use him.  My kids are good eaters.  They will eat anything.  So instead of raving about how awesome it was to see Gus feed Milton scrambled eggs, knowing full well Gus will always eat scrambled eggs, I thought I would really put Milton to the test.  I was going to use Milton to get Hank and Gus to try sushi.  It was going to happen.

The boys have never had sushi.  Not because I don’t think they can handle it or because “sushi isn’t for kids,” but because I LOVE sushi.  If I am going to have sushi, I am doing it right.  I am not going to spend my glorious moments of Asian cuisine bliss pulling Hank’s edamame apart or telling Gus to stop drinking the soy sauce.  My kids have not been introduced to sushi for selfish mom reasons.  I don’t regret it.  I need those moments.

So we did it.  In three steps.  It was amazing.  (Side note – I am lucky, because Hank and Gus are good little eaters, they better be…I am a feeding therapist! So if it takes a few more introductions with Milton, don’t give up, it will happen!)  We started with a Bloom Box.  The Asian Cuisine Bloom Box to be exact.  If you aren’t familiar with Bloom Boxes, make sure to check them out HERE!  We took the sushi and chopped and played and shared and pretended.  You know, all the fun things you do when you have a speech pathologist for a mom.  And then Milton played too!  He loved the play sushi.  He thought it was delicious.  This was step one.

Step two was equally easy.  I brought home a veggie roll.  No big deal.  Hank and Gus are cool with avocado and carrots, right?  Wrong.  They were not impressed with the sticky rice and the new look carrots and avocado had taken on.  But we played.  And again, Milton loved it.  He squished it with his jaw and chopped it with his teeth.  The boys loved it because it was hilarious and messy.  I loved it because they were learning and experiencing a new food they were unsure of.

Step three was the big one.  They had to eat this new food.  Gasp.  I offered it and Hank said “You can give it to Milton.”  Nice.  But Gus was interested.  Because Gus is nosy and needs to know everything about everything.  So he watched Milton enjoy Hank’s again.  He watched very carefully how that rice squished and those carrots crunched, and then he thought he would try some.  So he did.  Sushi.  Three steps.  We did it.  High fives all around.

Hank fed Milton one of his, watched Gus eat one, and thought he would enjoy it too.  He gave it a shot and said “Sushi isn’t my favorite.”  Well, the goal was to get him to try it…not enjoy it.  I mean, I really have no desire to give up my blissful sushi party sans children.  Don’t judge.  I will continue to offer it to them, but I don’t really care if they don’t love it until they are adults and we can enjoy some plum sake together.  Until then…..

As for Milton, well, I am in love.  We spend a lot of time together, me and Milton.  He goes to feeding therapy with me about 6 times a day and then home for dinner with me every night.  I have kiddos that would scream at the sight of a fruit, now laughing and feeding Milton happily!  And even better, they are learning about foods and trusting these new foods!  Milton’s the best.

Want your own Milton?  Check him out HERE.