I bought some frozen peaches the other day to make for Carrie to try. They really aren’t as sweet as I’d hoped – I think I might have done better with fresh ones even though they’re not quite in season. But I gave them to her today and guess what? Carrie likes them!
I’m now on a quest to find a food she doesn’t like…and yes, I know I’ll be eating those words when she hits the picky toddler stage…
We went to Friendly’s for lunch today, and although I packed everything Carrie needed to eat (oatmeal and applesauce, bibs, spoons and wet wipes) I forgot to put her sippy cup in the diaper bag. It’s not as though she ever drinks very much water anyway, but I do like to give her some water to drink after eating because I think it’s a healthy habit to get into.
So I asked for a children’s cup of water (no ice) with a straw. I figured it was worth a try. She got it on the first attempt. It was kind of a big straw, so she got way more water than she could swallow and ended up spitting it out everywhere, but then she managed to get another couple of sips in. She took to it like drinking from a straw was the most natural thing ever.
We went grocery shopping after and I bought her a straw cup meant for 2+ years. She can drink from that so much easier than her sippy cup I’m not sure we’ll bother with the sippies from now on. At least I know if I get stuck in a restaurant without her cup she’ll be able to drink from a straw.
And I think she’s finally grasping the concept of games. She now hides for peek-a-boo. I had her in her high chair with her bib on and she pulled the bottom up so it covered her face for a couple of seconds then lowered it, and when she did it a second time I caught on and said “peek-a-boo!” and she started giggling and did it again. Definitely genius material, don’t you think?
Carrie tried oatmeal today. As with everything else she’s tried, she was more than happy to eat it. It’s not that I want her to not like something, but I’m amazed that she seems to like everything. I guess it’s time to get a little more adventurous with trying new foods? I really ought to make up some sort of schedule or plan, because at the rate we’re going she’ll be trying new foods until she’s 27 years old.
Oh, and while we were at my grandparents’ house Carrie finally figured out how to get a piece of puffed rice cereal off of her tray and into her mouth. She still thinks I might be trying to poison her (at least, that’s what it looked like when she made her funny face) but it apparently tasted good enough to do it a couple of more times.
Dear Carolyn,
Time is just flying by – you’re already seven months old! You’ve changed so much in the past month I hardly know where to start…
We’re still breastfeeding several times a day, but you’re also eating two meals of solids a day. You really love peas – hopefully you’ll still like them when you’re older – and you really haven’t disliked anything you’ve tried so far: rice, pears, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, carrots and peas. You’re happiest when I give you a spoon of your own and let you feed yourself a bit. (I still have to actually put the food on the spoon for you, though!)
Just recently we bought you the LeapFrog learning table, which has become one of your favorite things to play with. Not only does it make lots of music, but you can practice standing up while playing with it! You’re also really into balls and blocks, but mostly to chew on. No teeth yet, but I’m sure they’ll come soon enough.
You’re back into saying “ah-boo” a lot. I’m still trying to get you to say “mama”, but you’re not interested at all. You do play the “so big” game, though – I ask “how big is Carrie?” and you put your arms up when I say “so big!” It’s pretty darn cute!
It’s still a lot of fun being your mama, but it’s a lot more work now that you’re so busy exploring everything! I hardly get to sit down except when you’re sleeping. It’s so worth it, though, when I pick you up and you put your arms around my neck and snuggle up to me. Of course, three seconds later you want to get back down and keep playing, but I’ll take what I can get!
Love, Mommy
I bought some jarred baby food this afternoon so that I wouldn’t have to figure out how to keep the homemade stuff frozen during our upcoming trip to NYC. I also bought extra jars of peas because I wasn’t happy with how the ones I made came out and I wanted to start Carrie on them next. I do feel a little like I’m giving up, but I suppose it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing, right? Besides, I bought the organic brand our grocery store carries – Earth’s Best – so I feel a little better about giving it to her. I guess the only thing I’m really worried about is that these are much smoother than the foods I was making, and I’m afraid Carrie won’t eat the lumpier homemade stuff when we get back home!
Anyway, I gave her some peas tonight for dinner, and she loves them! She liked them alone and also mixed with her rice cereal. So far there hasn’t been anything I’ve given her – well, to be fair, she’s only had 7 foods so far – that she hasn’t liked. There’s only one thing she hasn’t eaten with great enthusiasm: we’ve been putting a few pieces of puffed rice cereal on her tray after each meal to see if she’s ready for finger foods yet. Not only can’t she pick it up yet, but if I try to put a piece in her mouth she makes the funniest face and moves away before it can even touch her lips. I’m pretty sure she thinks I’m trying to poison her. She does like pushing the pieces around the tray though.
Carrie started pulling up this afternoon. She crawled over to my parents’ coffee table, put her hands on the top, and ended up on her feet. She was quite pleased with this new perspective. Now, in addition to all the other general baby-proofing we need to finish, we’re going to have to start securing things to walls.
Is it just me, or does she seem to figure out several new things all at once? And isn’t it much too early for her to be doing all of this? I thought for sure I’d have at least another month or two before I had to start chasing her all over the house.
In other baby news, we started giving Carrie a second meal of solids today. So far, she’s tried – and liked – rice cereal, pears, sweet potatoes, apples and bananas. We’re going to start some less sweet things, like carrots and peas, in the next couple of weeks, so I wanted her to have one meal with something familiar and one with something new.
1. Lay baby on changing table.
2. Roll baby who has immediately flipped onto her stomach back onto her back.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until baby stays on her back for more than 3 milliseconds.
4. Hand baby toy to try to keep her still.
5. Retrieve baby who is trying to climb headfirst down the front of the dresser.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until baby starts crying.
7. Comfort baby until crying stops.
8. Quickly repeat steps 1 and 4 while using teeth and inside of elbow to fasten changing table strap.
9. Blow rasperries at baby to distract her.
10. Unfasten snaps and attempt to access diaper.
11. Retrieve baby who has wriggled out of straps and is now once again climbing headfirst down the front of the dresser.
12. Repeat step 8, tightening straps as much as possible without hurting baby.
13. Sing to baby while unfastening diaper.
14. Quickly place new diaper underneath baby and use wipes as necessary.
15. Attempt to fasten new diaper.
16. Roll baby who has somehow flipped onto stomach despite straps back onto her back.
17. Repeat steps 15 and 16 until diaper is reasonably secure.
(17a. If diaper has “gaskets” check to make sure they’re still secure, or the next diaper change might not be so fun.)
18. Undo straps to retrieve clothing which is now up around baby’s shoulders.
19. Repeat steps 1 through 8 until baby is once again securely fastened down.
20. Sing silly songs about snaps while attempting to refasten clothing.
21. Congratulations! Baby has a clean diaper, and it only took 20 minutes! Collapse in exhausted heap – after removing baby from changing table where she is once again climbing headfirst down the front of the dresser – until next diaper change.
If baby requires a change of clothes…good luck.
This evening Miss Carolyn accompanied me to Sit & Knit, while Denis was out at a business dinner. (At the Dinosaur Barbeque. Lucky guy!) Anyway, Carrie was really good while we were out. I set up her booster chair and gave her some toys to play with. She tested gravity the entire time, so I only managed to actually knit one row on her poncho in between picking up toys. (Granted, it was a cable row, so it would have taken a while anyway.)
I feel terrible, though. I had planned to leave at 8:00 – her usual bedtime – figuring that being up an extra half-hour wouldn’t be so bad, but we didn’t leave until 8:30, and Carrie spent most of the car ride home crying her poor little heart out. I’m such a bad mommy. I was actually hoping she’d sleep in the car and then I could just feed her and put her to bed when we got home, but no such luck. Ah, well. She’s sleeping soundly now, so I guess there’s no harm done.
I should be careful what I wish for. Remember, just a few hours ago, when I said Carrie was going to start crawling because we’d just told the pediatrician she didn’t yet? Yep. She did. I even caught it on video:
Her first successful crawl was directly for the pedals on the piano. I looked up from my knitting (I was just trying to put another row or two on her poncho) and there she was, crawling away. She practiced all afternoon. I thought babies were supposed to sleep a lot after getting shots? Not this one. She apparently doesn’t like it when we tell people that she can’t do things yet – it just makes her determined to show us that she can!
Vital stats:
27 weeks, 2 days old
16 lbs.
26.75″ tall
Yet more shots today, which Carrie handed very well. (I’d cry too if someone stuck me twice in each thigh!) Somehow, even though her weight is tracking along the 50th percentile line perfectly, she’s been jumping into higher brackets for height at every appointment. At the last one she was in the 75th, now she’s in the 90th! I’d be very excited for Carrie if she ends up average height. She wouldn’t need to shorten every pair of pants she buys!
Based on the last appointment and all the things she learned to do immediately after we told the pediatrician she didn’t yet, I’m expecting her to accomplish the following this week: crawl, cut a tooth, and start saying “mama” and “dada”. (Actually, if she says “mama” for mothers day, I think my heart might just melt!)