Austin's New Menu

Austin is over 6 mo. By any standards, it is time to start feeding him solids in some form. I decided we were going to get into a routine this weekend. I pretty much gave up on strict BLW because it failed miserably. If he needed to get calories actually into him instead of onto him, I was going to have to operate the spoon. I had very little success on Saturday, but I did get about ½ teaspoon of avocado into him. On Sunday I got a little more avocado and less than a teaspoon of oatmeal into him before he started “blowing bubbles” with each mouthful of food. Blowing bubbles isn’t so cute when you have a mouthful of oatmeal. I didn’t know I needed a bib to feed this boy!

I noticed a problem on Sunday… no stinky diapers all day long. For reference, we usually get 3-4, and one of those generally necessitates a complete change of clothing. I wanted to watch him to see how he did on Monday before giving him any more solids. Dallas took Austin to Fran’s on Monday with a bag full of milk as usual.

Big mistake! Fran met me at the door on Monday afternoon when I picked up Austin with the following words, “I need to talk to you about his food.” Uh-oh. Fran has been hinting/suggesting/recommending food since Austin was 4 mo. I told her I had no plans to feed him until he was 6 mo, and she agreed in the polite way of hers that clearly says I’m not doing it the right way. Apparently, she got tired of waiting for me to act. She told me in no uncertain (but polite) terms that Austin needed solids starting on Tuesday. I tried to explain that I was feeding him solids, but was concerned about constipation. I blame Dallas for not explaining about the constipation when he dropped Austin off!

Long story short, I explained how I planned to introduce solids, how I wanted solids to fit into Austin’s schedule, etc. Fran pretty much disagreed with everything I said. She disagreed politely and said that I was the parent and she would follow my instructions, but in her experience… Again, I got the message that I wasn’t doing it right. In the end, I told her to do it her way and tell me what foods she needed. That made her happy. And so Austin’s journey with solids began. It began along a different path and in a different direction than I planned on taking, but it began.

I realized as I left daycare that I really needed to just let this one go. Generations of babies have started with pureed food and worked their way up to solids. Fran has done this many times with many babies, and Fran takes care of him for 5 of his 7 meals a week. He is going to do great…and probably progress faster under Fran’s experienced tutelage. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful caregiver who is looking out for Austin’s needs and interests and who will give me sound advice when needed.

As expected, Austin did much better eating his carrots and apples with Fran on Tuesday than he did with me. Fran believes that Austin is going to be a great eater…he is, after all, his daddy’s boy. I was vindicated just a little bit, however, on Wednesday. Austin decided he had enough carrots and proceeded to spit them all over Fran! Maybe it wasn’t just because I was doing it wrong! Fran said it is because Austin is so smart. She said he wasn’t hungry and was just letting her know. She tried to feed him a little later, and he ate great!

We’ve had a week of carrots, apples, and oatmeal. I’ll let you know what he will be eating next week…once Fran gives me the menu!

Maternal Musings

For those of you who, like me, thought Austin couldn't get any cuter, he has proven us wrong.  He is so much cuter this week than he was just last week.  He is so alert, inquisitive, animated, and interested.  I can hardly stand it!

Crib Notes - Week 29

Oh, man!  Mrs. Fran read the same books as Mommy.  She is all about having me eat with a spoon.  NO FAIR!  She made Mommy bring in carrots this week.  Carrots!  What is wrong with milk?

Mrs. Fran said I was going to be a good eater, though.  She said I am so smart that I only spit out the food when I'm not hungry.  Well,  of course, I do.  What else am I supposed to do with it?  Do you think there is any chance Mrs. Fran and Mommy will get over this food on a spoon stuff and let me get back to drinking my food like I'm supposed to do?  I'm drinking 8 oz of milk with every feeding this week.  I don't need CARROTS!

Daddy and I play all the time.  He makes me fly and zoom around the room.  And he got me a new exersaucer.  It is so much fun.  There are toys everywhere.  One of the toys is a book with real (plastic) pages.  When I turn the pages, the book makes sounds.  I am so good at turning those pages.  I turn them over and over and over and over...

 

I've been hungry more frequently than normal.  Mommy and I have been getting up to eat during the night again.  I don't think Mommy minds.  I'm pretty cuddly.  She gets naps during the day, too...right?

Impromptu Photo Shoot

Peggy Ann McKay

Our little Austin is practicing for his Peggy Ann McKay impersonation.  He discovered on Sunday that he can fake cough.  He spent the entire rest of the day pretending like he was coughing up a lung.  Speaking of lungs, he has also discovered that his work fairly well.  When he wasn't fake coughing, he was testing out his lungs by "talking" at the top of his voice.  He had people in the grocery store rolling in the aisles by first letting out a LOUD wail, which he ended dramatically with a couple of fake coughs.

Today, when I picked him up from daycare, he added to his repertoire of maladies with violent throat clearing, which he did nearly the entire way home.

Tomorrow I expect that him to say, "I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke, I'm sure that my left leg is broke--" Shel Silverstein

Maternal Musings

With children, you don't call them chew toys.  You call them "teething toys."  Oops!

When I Grow Up

Snow Days!

New Favorite Food

Austin is not a big fan of foods other than milk.  He refused to even pick up the finger foods we gave him.  He hated rice cereal, and he was certain avocado was a mistake.  But we found something he LOVES. ..bath water.  He grabs the wash cloth and sucks the water out of it like it's his favorite flavor of ice cream.

Maternal Musings

Austin hasn't had a stinky diaper all day.  Is it really possible that 1/2 teaspoon of avocado and maybe 3/4 teaspoon of oatmeal could constipate him?  Surely not...

Crib Notes - Week 28

I had a pretty uneventful week.  I took a few days to get over my 6 mo shots, but I'm better than ever.  I'm getting pretty strong.  I still need a little help, but I can almost sit up by myself to play with my toys.

 

I still love my exersaucer.  I'm so good at playing with all the toys on it.  Daddy took my exersaucer to Mrs. Fran's so I can play in it all day.  The other kids are so jealous!  They all gather around me when I'm playing in my exersaucer.  Look how big I am.

Mrs. Fran had Mommy bring in a bigger bottle and faster nipple for me this week because I am eating so much.  I made it all the way until Saturday before Mommy made me try anymore food off of a spoon!