Playing Games

Will has started to play "games" with me.  One in particular.  On the changing table, as I begin to change his diaper, he will grab at my sleeve and begin to chew on it.  He's not all that interested in the sleeve itself--his eyes are fixed on mine and he has a mischievous grin on the corner of his mouth.  I react (hence it became a game to him!) by coming down close to his face and saying, "You can't eat my sleeve!" and then kissing his cheeks.  He laughs and laughs, and grabs the sleeve again for me to repeat the game. 

It's something so silly, but it's so cool to see him picking up on patterns and desiring my affection and fun.  Just another sign that he's getting bigger and developing more and more! 

Solids: Week 1

We are off and rolling on solid foods!  I have made carrots, sweet potatoes, and apples.  These I steamed, pureed, and froze using my awesome little Babycook food maker by Baeba and some Fresh Baby covered ice cube trays.  I bought organic rice cereal and oatmeal that is fortified with iron.

I feel so good knowing exactly what is in Will's food.  I used only organic produce and I added nothing to it.  I added back a lot of the steaming liquid to make the puree, so that allows even more nutrients to remain in the food.  Apparently, when food is steamed it retains more of its nutrients than when it is boiled (as is done for commercial baby food to preserve it longer).

So this week, our schedule looked like this:

Sunday: Rice cereal

Monday: Pureed Sweet Potatoes

Tuesday: Pureed Carrots

Wednesday: Pureed Apples

Thursday: Mashed Banana

Friday: Baby oatmeal

I am still nursing the same amount.  The goal of this week and next week is just to begin to allow him to taste food and learn to eat with a spoon.  I didn't realize how this was something that babies really have to LEARN how to do.  While nursing came so naturally, this is a different ball game.  He doesn't really seem to like any of this yet, and doesn't open his mouth for the spoon.  It will come in time, I'm sure.

Next week, I'll repeat this list and maybe begin to mix some of these same things together.

For practicality, I want to use up the food I've made, then I'll hit the store for some more food to try.  This is fun!

My Mantra

I started to get really sad as I was putting away some baby clothes.  There were these adorable little onesies and sleepers that I had imagined Will wearing before he was even born.  And now, they are too small!  He will never wear them again.

I am a sentimental person (thanks, Dad) and I know a part of me will mourn each passing stage throughout Will's entire life, but if I'm crying over little pajamas, this is going to be a really, really long road!

So, my new mantra: It just gets better!

I must remind myself of this truth every day.  So he can no longer fit into that cute knit hat--but now he can fit into that Gymboree outfit I love so much.  So he isn't exclusively nursing anymore--but now I get the joy of feeding him.  So I can't hold him with one arm anymore--but now he can sit up and laugh...and I can't get enough of that laugh!

I know not everything ahead is "better," per se.  We'll have bumps along the way.  I'm not really looking forward to potty training, or braces, or broken bones, or Drivers Ed.  And I will miss the baby babbles and the toothless grins and the cuddles and the lullabies.  Who am I kidding?  But one day, I want to look at Will and instead of thinking, "Oh man, I miss my baby!" I want to say, "Wow.  What an amazing man he is.  I love him now more than I ever did before."

And that will be the truth.

Solids

We started solids!  Will is 5 1/2 months old, and I started a couple of days before his official due date (he came a week late), so I was sure his intestines were ready to go.  He has nearly doubled his birth weight (he was born 9 lb 7 oz; he is now 18 lb 4 oz) and he is sitting up pretty well, and putting everything in his mouth.  He still isn't acting hungry after feedings or between them, and he isn't waking up more than once in the night, but I thought this was a good time to go ahead and give him s couple of tastes, just to get him used to the idea.

So, we started with just a teeny bit of rice cereal one day, watered-down pureed sweet potatoes the next, and pureed carrots the next day.  I plan to continue with a new food each day around lunch time so that if he has a reaction, I can spot it and trace it to a specific food.  I do not anticipate any food allergies since they do not run in my family or Alex's.  But, better safe than sorry.

The food has been met with mixed reaction.  He certainly doesn't seem to LIKE it.  I think he just doesn't know what to do with it!  It is so foreign to him...and yet to think of all the millions (billions) of bites of food he will have in his lifetime!  It was a memorable first! :)

Starting Solids

Will is now 5 1/2 months old...solids are just around the corner.  I could have started already according to my pediatrician, but Will hasn't been acting hungry or waking up extra in the night.  He is just starting to sit up pretty well, though, and I think I'm ready to begin this journey with him.  I want to make my own food as much as I can--but what food to start with?  What time of day?  How much?  When to increase?  How much breastfeeding do I maintain?  This is all a daunting task!

So, where to begin?  Well, I hit the library!  I'm reading up and getting a plan in place....  Exciting!