It's preschool pickup time, and I'm in the hallway pulling papers out of my son's cubby: lovingly painted abstract watercolors, macaroni necklaces, letters made from Fruit Loops. Moms and departing kids are jostling past me. The mom of one of Xander's classmates is emptying her child's cubby as well.
"They were busy today," she says conversationally. I nod. The mom picks up her child's lunchbox and peeks inside. "Don't you love it," she says with sudden passion, "that they send home the leftovers so you know exactly what your kid ate or didn't eat for lunch?"
Oh.
I have never peeked in Xander's lunchbox after school, not until I'm at home, standing by the sink ready to wash out the dishes. I know exactly what is inside: empty plastic containers. Not a morsel of food. Every piece is licked clean. If I didn't know better, I'd say the teachers washed the containers at school.
"Y-yes," I stutter, mind racing. I had assumed the teachers tossed the few uneaten scraps of food so that the classroom didn't smell like leftovers all afternoon. Even though Xander's a big eater, I hadn't honestly thought he'd eaten everything every day. I figured in the bustle and excitement of school, he might not get to some things.
Now I'm a bit panicked. Has he been hungry every day? Does he eat all his food and wish for more? What does he think when he sees other kids not even eating all their food? It's true that his first words in the car each afternoon are, "What's my snack?" (I dutifully bring crackers of some sort for him to munch on the ride home every day.)
Has my child been hungry every day?
This is a lingering fear for big baby parents. I've had it since Xander was born. It's a sneaky and seemingly irrational fear: when a child eats three times the normal amount, how could he possibly still be hungry?
But big baby parents know. What their child eats and when he is satisfied cannot be measured on the normal standard. Xander would nurse for forty-five minutes and scream in hunger twenty minutes later. He'd down 25 ounces of baby food and want his next meal early. He'll beg for a snack at 4 and eat a man-sized dinner at 5:30. Keeping a big baby satisfied often defies logic and what should be the physical capacity of a kid's stomach.
We identify with this commercial:
Nervously, I ask Xander's teacher, "Does he really eat all his food every day?"
Oh yes, I am assured. Such a good eater.
"Do I need to pack more?"
I don't even know how I would accomplish this. I ordered Xander a regular-sized lunch box, figuring if it holds enough lunch for an eight-year-old, it'll do for my (then) two-year-old.
This picture does not demonstrate its capacity, but it holds quite a bit. (Let's be honest: this lunchbox is laughably under-packed. I have never put so little in Xander's lunch.) I pack it so full every day that the zipper strains. Part of the squeeze is that I insist on packing reusable containers. The only way to fit more food is to downgrade to Ziplocs.
Big Baby Truism #8: Buy a big lunch box.
Apparently, buying Xander a lunchbox meant for elementary school appetites was too modest. I need a construction-worker lunch box. One the size of my dad's toolbox, with a lid that swings open on top and can hold enough food for a grown man.
The teacher admits that more food might be a good thing. Sometimes he asks the other kids for their extras. (I am mortified.)
Xander, a child of routine, usually has a lunch with the following items:
Sunbutter and honey sandwich on wheat bread (full size--no halfsies here)
Veggie chips or crackers with hummus
Yogurt or applesauce (4-6 oz, depending on brand)
Sweet or treat: bunny grahams, olives, two slices of the insanely expensive smoked gouda my little gourmand enjoys, etc.
milk (10 oz.)
Where to add more? How to add more?
Here are my tips on packing lunches for big babies (who have grown into big kids):
*Pack moderate amounts of quite a few different foods. Smaller containers are easier to Tetris into a lunch box ergo less wasted space. Also, a variety ensures that even if one food isn't your kid's preference today, he still has plenty to fill him up.
*Sacrifice reusable containers. . .reasonably. Items like chips that don't fit well into plastic containers I now put in Ziplocs. (These can by brought home, washed, and reused. Just ask the teacher not to toss them.)
*Skimp on drinks. I scored a lot more space when I downsized Xander from a 10 oz sippy to an 8 oz box of Horizon milk. If he's still thirsty, he can get water at school.
*Double up. Some days, depending on what else is in his lunch, I'll give Xander two yogurts or extra applesauce. Sometimes I give him one of each instead of just one or the other.
*Go high calorie. What Xander wants at school is to replace all the energy he's burned playing, learning, and behaving (the latter is especially taxing). If your kiddo needs 600 calories, try to fit it into the smallest quantities that are possible and healthy. Cheese, yogurt, grains, and beans (such as hummus or black bean dip) are perfect for this purpose. Carrots are great, but they don't fill up a hungry kid. I save those for snacks in the car or at home and as a side for dinner.
*Stick with winners. Pack your kid's favorite foods. I don't mean you have to give him pizza every day, but pack things that are generally acceptable to him: a favorite sandwich, cracker, or fruit. At school, he needs to refuel. New or objectionable foods are best worked on at home, where you can set your expectations and follow through. At school, he just needs to eat.
To test if Xander really needed all this food, I sent him the next two days with foods I knew he didn't particularly care for: bell pepper strips and sliced apple. (He prefers to bite into apples himself.) Lo and behold, these were the two (and thus far only) items to return to me in his lunchbox. He was also surly and moody until I got a snack into him, a sure sign he hadn't had enough to eat.
People often tell me "Wait till he's in a teenager!" in regard to eating. I don't need to wait. He already eats like a teenager. I can only imagine that he'll eat like some sort of massive livestock when he hits his teens. (He will probably be happy to eat massive livestock.) In the meantime, I'm working on getting him hooked on healthy but inexpensive foods that I can buy in bulk. (He doesn't like rice for crying out loud. It's a work in progress.)
And next year I'll be buying a bigger lunch box.
Mayhap this one:
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