Después de comer, mi hija se quedó mirando las moras y los arándanos como si fueran una sorpresa.

After eating, my daughter kept looking at the blackberries and blueberries as if they were a surprise.

Breakdown of Después de comer, mi hija se quedó mirando las moras y los arándanos como si fueran una sorpresa.

• ser: to be
• una: a
• comer: to eat
• mi: my

Questions & Answers about Después de comer, mi hija se quedó mirando las moras y los arándanos como si fueran una sorpresa.

Why is it después de comer and not something like después de comiendo?

In Spanish, after después de, you normally use an infinitive when the subject is the same and the action is expressed generally:

• después de comer = after eating / after lunch
• después de salir = after leaving

Spanish does not use the gerund here the way English often uses -ing.

If you wanted to mention a different subject or make it a full clause, you would use something else, for example:

• Después de que comió... = After she ate...

But in your sentence, después de comer is the natural compact form.

What exactly does después de comer mean here: after eating or after lunch?

It can mean both, depending on context. In everyday Spanish, comer often refers not just to eating in general, but specifically to having a meal, especially lunch in Spain.

So here, Después de comer could naturally be understood as:

• After eating
• After lunch

Both are good interpretations.

Why does the sentence use se quedó mirando instead of just miró?