Last night, I found myself cradling a box of banana flavoured Cheerios, stuffing my hand in, grabbing fistfuls and popping each Cheerio into my mouth one by one.
All of a sudden, I kind of felt like my son.
I don’t normally find myself stuffing my face with Cheerios, but last night I was feeling particularly not normal. I was nauseated and craving some serious comfort food. And apparently, watching a baby eat Cheerios all day has changed my view of this particular food staple.
Cheerios have never been a big part of my life. Every once in a while I’ll crave some Honey Nut goodness. And I just had to sample the previously mentioned banana flavour when it was released (the box has been in my pantry since then!). I even enjoyed a few bowls of Multigrain Cheerios while I was pregnant. But Cheerios have never been my favourite cereal. We do usually have a box in the house but only because it gets eaten so rarely.
But then I had a little baby who started to grow up. One day, I was looking in my cupboard at one of those baby snack bowls. It was purple and green and had a cover that allows a baby’s hand to go in, but keeps the snacks from falling out. I knew that none of the snacks that Cameron currently ate fit into the bowl, and I knew I had a box of Cheerios in my pantry, so I decided to try it out.
I poured the Cheerios in the Snack Catcher and gave Cam a little tutorial on how to use the thing.
Since then, Cam has been hooked on the O; The Cheerio.
Cheerios have been a lifesaver for me. If I need to get a little housework done, or distract Cam while changing his diaper, I just hand him his bowl of Os. And I rarely have a mess to clean up, because Cameron doesn’t give a hoot if his Cheerio falls on the floor before he puts it in his mouth.
So now, we’re a family who uses the Cheerio. It has become a beloved snack and a parenting tool. This probably won’t win me any Mother of the Year awards, but that is okay. Because it works. And sometimes, as a parent, you have to go with what works.
So be warned. Next time you come over the my house, your foot may just find a forgotten Cheerio because we are now a Cheeri-O’Family.
