Son Barry eats with gusto!

By Olivene Godfrey

Son Barry told me when he came home from work one recent day that one of his co-workers was critical of his table manners when he ate lunch.  "You should have told her that at least you can eat chocolate cake now without getting it in your hair," I told him.


He replied that he did mention the chocolate cake incident, and he added that he guess she thinks he eats with too much gusto.
I remembered that Barry came into this world with a huge appetite and nearly starved to death bye the time his doctor switched him to a soy formula.

My late husband, Ralph, and I hadn't had much sleep since we brought Barry home from the hospital. And that night I gave Barry a bottle of the soy formula.  He fell asleep and I carefully  laid him in his bassinet that my mother had decorated with blue satin and net. His dad and I hurriedly got ready for bed and all three of us slept soundly until the alarm clock went off.  Barry was making hungry noises and I gave him another bottle of the soy formula which he hungrily drank. And, for the first time in his short life, he wasn't sick all day.

Soon he was a healthy,big baby and when he started eating soft foods, I would feed him with his little spoon but apparently not fast enough. One day, in frustration, he grabbed the spoon out of my hand and started feeding himself.  He didn't always get the food in his mouth and was messy but he ate with gusto which made me happy.

After that day, I placed newspapers on the floor beneath his high chair and tried to supervise his eating. I made a picture of him with food all over his body.  Over the years he continued to eat every morsel of food on his plate.

Gradually, he learned to watch his gusto when we ate in restaurants or with friends. I credit the soy formula, in part, with the good health he's always enjoyed.  About the only time now that he makes a "mess" is when he eats barbecued ribs or fried chicken. And I don't know how anyone can eat those foods neatly.

See you next time.