Why I Let My Baby Eat Candy...

Prior to having Henry, I planned on being super strict about him having sweets. My reasoning being that we are shaping his eating habits for a lifetime now, and if we could make it so that he didn't develop a taste for bad stuff, he would be better off.

This plan never took into account a few things. One, that he would be presented with sweets at every turn (ahem Grandpa Joe). Two, that he may or may not have a natural taste for them. Three, and most important, I really like sweets and denying him meant denying myself! I refuse to shove cookies down my throat while hiding in a closet.

So, onto Plan B. My brother has always allowed pretty unrestricted access to sweets without a terrible effect. His two older ones love them and his little one would rather eat fruit. I thought that there might be a middle ground.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, Henry has a great diet. He will eat almost any vegetable, he loves fruit, dairy and is starting to like meat more. He grudgingly drinks his milk everyday and although he adores juice he will happily drink water. So, on the whole we are doing alright.

We love to bake together, so we have lots of homemade goodies around. Actually, I bake and he tries to scarf down as much brown sugar as he can get his hands on while I am not looking. Other than ice cream, he doesn't ever eat any other pre-packaged treats.

Since I have been pregnant this time, I have an insatiable desire for candy like Skittles and M&Ms. As I spend every waking hour with Henry I need to cut him in on my stash or else he will rat me out to the Candy Police (aka Adam, who was reared on sugar-coated everything and has zero interest now. Go figure.)

Once every few weeks, Henry and I share a small bag of candy while walking through Target or heading home from the store. I dole them out to him one at a time and he gets the most beautiful smile on his face. It is like he has never experienced such bliss. We laugh as we eat each one and I make him promise not to tell Dad that we are eating candy (of course he does anyway). When they are almost gone, I give him the warning that we are running low to avoid a fit. Each piece makes him as happy as the first, but when we run out he happily goes back to eating whatever healthy treat he was eating prior.

How could I deny candy to such a sweet boy?