Your Baby’s Eating Habits ... by Moon Sign

You can spend half your life building a career, learning and becoming a better person. Yet the challenge of feeding a baby his or her first solid foods can reduce even the most intelligent and gifted of us into a screaming ball of frustration.

In your birth chart, your Moon represents your basic emotional and physical responses to life. Quite often, babies act much more like their Moon sign than their Sun sign. Just like your own eating habits, an infant's are often strongly influenced by the sign placement of their natal Moon. Learning that placement and working with it (rather than against it) can go a long way toward making meal times more smooth -- for both yourself and your baby.

Fire Sign Moon (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius)
You'd think these little gaffers would be too tired after asserting their wills all night long -- or as you like to put it, "not sleeping" -- to put up a fight about eating their creamed spinach. But Fire Sign Moon babies can be stubborn. Try making them laugh and they're more likely to play along with lunch. Or you can simply wait until they're a too tired to make a fuss. Often, a solid round of playing or exercise will make the difference when it comes to getting a little cooperation.

Earth Sign Moon (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn)
Earth Sign Moon babies can be highly emotional about their eating. If they're upset or annoyed by something, you might want to just give up for a while. They tend to be fond of foods sweeter or higher in fat and starch content. Moon in Taurus babies respond well to physical affection, so lots of cuddles after downing the dreaded strained peas will probably serve both of you well. Moon in Virgo babies tend to be good about eating their vegetables, and if a Moon in Capricorn baby wants to make it known they won't eat something ... give up and switch to something else.

Air Sign Moon (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius)
Babies with Air Sign Moons are bright and perky creatures, and often this can make them charming and entertaining. The problem you're most likely to encounter with them at lunchtime is how they're too easily distracted to be sat down and fed in one continuous session. Try a spoonful or two, then get up and do something else; then another couple of spoonfuls, then wander away again, and so on. Gemini Moon babies respond well to being entertained, while Libra Moons like being praised. Aquarius Moons prefer to do it for themselves -- so let them (as much as possible).

Water Sign Moon (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces)
Water Moon Babies are usually more into their own emotional state than those of others, so feeding one can be a hit-or-miss affair, depending on their current emotional environment. Cancer Moon babies are usually the first to show signs of being emotional eaters. Imparting a certain sense of safe routine -- like always using the exact same spoon, for example -- can be a tremendous help. This baby might be hard to feed in unfamiliar settings. Scorpio Moons are often slow but steady, so don't be surprised if they analyze every spoonful. And Pisces Moon babies are pretty much impossible to feed if something is annoying them.

Always remember that, no matter what, babies do have a certain degree of wisdom as to what they really need. You may be in charge, but a baby possesses impulses directly related to their physical needs, and these occur on a level even they couldn't quite describe -- if they could talk, that is!