Cud.

What is cud? Cud is "food brought up into the mouth by a ruminating animal from its first stomach to be chewed again." People don't chew cud, for lack of a second stomach, but if they did I think Daniel would be quite good at it.

Today I dug soggy raisins out of his mouth. We were in Target and it had been about two hours since he initially ate them. By the time I retrieved them, they didn't look like raisins as much as the bloody loogies you get in the winter when the air is too dry (don't ask). He stood in the cart writhing his head around as I gently held his cheeks with one hand and my index finger of the other hand swiping back and forth dragging out the tidbits one by one. He protested so much when I fished them out. I think he was sincerely angry that I was taking his raisins.

We aren't sure why he carries food in his mouth for so long, when clearly he has no intention of ever finishing it off. I think the shortage of teeth makes it impossible to break some foods down to his swallowing standards, and so he's left smacking his gums endlessly until I intervene. Raisin chewing gum, anyone? He can spit foods out but seems to forget once he's started smacking. Joe and I try to demonstrate how it's done, which usually results in amused looks or a food facial. I'm learning to avoid the food with skins. He did the same with the dried apricots; however the pineapple and banana dissolved well enough to vanish. I found the apricot on his floor, and on his shirt, and in his crib the next day.