Thomas was having trouble swallowing the sticky mass. His mother saw he was having difficulties and stopped feeding him for a moment. She got up from her chair, taking the bowl with her. During the respite, Thomas realized that the combination of bananas and mushy oatmeal was, in effect, baby food, no matter how good it tasted. The thought of eating baby food repelled him, but under the circumstances he had no choice; there was nothing else his mother would feed him and baby food, however psychologically repellent it might be to his personality to eat, would nourish and sustain him.