my-speck

i'm pregnant and it's going to be a rollercoaster

And she has started eating…. We are going baby-lead-feeding.. December 20, 2011

Filed under: baby stuff,cooking,development stages,eating,family,healthcare,Parenting,Raising a Child — rakster @ 1:00 pm
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In other developments around our house, the littlest member of the family has started on her food adventure. I don’t know if I managed to get a photo of her first food (cucumber), but since then we’ve introduced a range of vegetables, a little fruit, and a bit of meat (cooked by her daddy), bread and crackers. Did I mention that you got your first tooth about 2 months ago at 3 months old?? Well, regardless of teeth, you are into food.

I remember when little O first had food like it was yesterday. Avocado. You haven’t tried that yet. Will have to add it in.

Dear Little L:
So far, your favourites have been: steamed / fresh snow peas (preferably from the garden) and turkey. Yes, your Dad cooked a Christmas turkey on the weekend and you are very much into it. We are giving you only whole food: the baby-led feeding approach (read this brochure if you want a quick summary on it). So your sit in your bumbo or on our laps, and get whole bits of veges and other stuff to play with and eat as much as you can of. And since starting, your hand-eye co-ordination has improved out of sight and you have no trouble getting the food from your plate to your mouth. And there is definitely some going down, as is evidenced by the seeds and other bits and pieces I can see in your poo. mmmmm… All good fun. We spoon-fed your brother a bit at the beginning but he really wasn’t into it at all so soon changed to the baby-lead feeding approach. For him it didn’t make much difference – he is just a little skinny thing. You seem a lot more into food so far in general. Thankfully. It is nice to have a little robust baby after the skinny minny your brother turned into at around six months (and still remains).

love mum

So around here mealtimes are a family affair.  It’s fun to see:

munching on some cheese: baby-led feeding

a family meal

Love and kisses 🙂

mum

 

Finger lickin’ goodness. May 14, 2010

Filed under: baby's feelings,bad parent of the day award,eating,emotion,Parenting,pregnancy — rakster @ 5:45 pm
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Alternately: “Is my dad a cannibal or did he bite my finger by mistake?”

Hello!

Bad Parent of the Day Award today – very simple.

DAD. For biting your finger as he was attempting to eat some food that you were offering to share with him.

Your reaction: disbelief, then loud crying and screaming.

End result: 20 minutes later, red swollen finger….

ooow!! someone bit my finger

ooops.

love mum

P.S. Note, you were hungry. As per the photo, you continued to try to eat your spinach and cheese muffins with blended roasted vegetables through the tears.

 

Baby Food – you’re onto Indian. Our little curry muncher. While your tastebuds are still developing anyhow. January 30, 2010

Filed under: baby stuff,eating,Parenting,Raising a Child,vegetarian — rakster @ 5:49 pm
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Hello!

So.  You tried my favourite food today: Indian Palak Paneer (or spinach and cheese curry).  I’m not sure you ‘loved’ it as much as I do, but you sure did eat some. Palak Paneer is the top of my food list. Don’t know why – just love the stuff. Actually I do know why. Spinach and cheese and curry. All rolled into one. For a vegetarian. Delightful. We make it with fresh ricotta as a substitute for real paneer, and it works out great.

Palak Paneer on the way ...

It’s coming close but you don’t seem sure

We cooked it last night for dinner, same as usual, just with no salt.  We’re getting closer to just feeding you what we eat with some slight modifications.  Anyway, I have been feeling a little lacking in iron, and was having a spinach craving, so your dad cooked it up.

Baby Food - indian palak paneer (spinach cheese curry)

Palak Paneer (Spinach Cheese Curry) for you..

And so you got it for dinner tonight as we’re running low on other home-cooked baby meals.

Eating the curry

yum?

You still prefer apples though – it’s apparent from your facial expressions.  It’s fun to watch your face when new tastes are introduced.  We’ll keep at it.

baby eating the curry

Mmmmm. Tasty?

I’ve read and heard that children’s tastebuds develop over time and it’s likely you’ll reject things you once ate happily when you get a bit older. So, for now, we’ll just let you eat a wide range and hope that somehow even if in the shorter term you start to refuse to eat a bunch of them, that the tastes sink into your subconscious and as you grow older you’ll grow back into them.

Love you
mum

 

Snaps: playing on the couch January 27, 2010

Filed under: baby stuff,eating,Parenting,Raising a Child — rakster @ 5:24 pm
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A few snaps from the couch this afternoon…

this is what the view is from where I am and you try to kiss me. Mmmm. Open-mouthed baby kiss. Only a parent could really love it.

lunging for the camera

You have a new favourite food.  Cucumber.  I can almost hear you say,

“I can do it myself, mum”….

cucumber muncher

Love you

mum

 

Me me me me me me me. January 24, 2010

Filed under: Parenting — rakster @ 11:42 am
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Hello Little Speckle.

Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.  Yes. Me.  I am a person.  And I’m a separate person from you, believe it or not.  I know you don’t understand that yet, and you definitely think my boobs are just yours for the taking.  But believe me, I’m a person.  And over the last few weeks it’s had me thinking a lot about that fact.  I guess doing some long hard thinking and wondering where I fit into the equation of our family.  And where the ‘me’ bit is in it all.

Actually, this question has been niggling away at the back of my mind for months.  It started when I was pregnant – I guess one of the reasons I started this blog. A realisation that to you, for many years, I’m just going to be ‘mum’. And it will be taken-for-granted that I will be there for you, with you, in the background of your life. I thought a lot about the fact that you wouldn’t even conceive that I did things and had a fruitful and fulfilling life before you came along. Just wouldn’t be interested…

Since you were born it’s changed to a more day-to-day struggle to balance out the ‘mum’ from the ‘me’. From talking to lots of other mums, it seems a very common contemplation.  It really is a difficult adjustment going from full-time gainful employment in your chosen career and a busy and active social life with just yourself and your partner to think of and straight into motherhood.  I’ve been happy, alternately anxious, happy again, tired, exhausted, wonderously surprised, excited, busy, planning…  It is definitely is an up and down road.

So I’m happy today because I feel like I did something for myself this week.  All for me.   A small thing,  but it feels like an achievement.  Actually, a couple of things:

Hotcakes and Peaches - yum

Ricotta Hotcakes with Stewed Peaches

  1. I did the second installment of my not-new-year’s-resolution resolution – to try to cook at least one new thing a week.  Last week was apple pie.  This week in honour of your aunt Milla in NY’s birthday, I made Bill Granger’s Ricotta Hotcakes but with a variation – I just stewed up some of the plentiful and delicious fresh peaches that are in season and served with that.  I’ve posted the recipe… You ate some too:

    Baby eating ricotta hotcakes

    Poogie eating ricotta hotcakes

  2. I almost got your Dad’s website finished.  It’s  been a learning process, and I’ve been at it for a while.  But when we FINALLY get the stuff from the graphic designers, I’ll be able to launch it.  Whew.
  3. Most importantly, I found the book I was looking for.  When I say found, I mean: searched through and emptied about 15 dirty, dusty, musty boxed from in our store room to find (the boxes are part of the around 50 boxes we have down there stored full of stuff from one of the four times we’ve moved house in the last five years but not yet unpacked).  So I found it: the book my mum was assistant editor on years and years ago about homebirth.  Yay.  There is a reason I wanted it, which I’ll explain in another post, but suffice to say it’s been on my “want-to-do” list for at  least two months and your dad thankfully took you out yesterday afternoon, allowing me to root around in the storeroom and find it.  Along with boxes of kitchen appliances, serving platters, more books, old clothes…home birth book

No doubt I won’t feel quite as elated tomorrow, and I’ll continue to oscillate back and forth on all sorts of things like a yo-yo. But for today I feel GOOD and quite pleased with myself.

Love and kisses
your mum

 

Learning to eat is a messy business November 24, 2009

Filed under: development stages,Parenting,Raising a Child — rakster @ 5:37 pm
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Hi Poogie,

head to foot. That is how covered you were in banana and yoghurt mixture yesterday. You like to try to feed yourself with the spoon. I let you. Most goes everywhere.

baby eating

baby eating – a messy business

You had a bath afterwards.

But not before you’d got it in your nose, hair, eyes.

the spread of food. But you ate a lot

the spread of food. But you ate a lot

Yes, that’s right. The eyes. That made you cry a bit. And note to myself: banana yoghurt is almost like glue and difficult to remove from eyes and eyelashes. Especially when you have a squirmy baby…

messy eating baby

in the eyes with the food

love you
mum

p.s. note the fat rolls in the photos. above the nappy. nice one. “baby bacon” according to your dad.

 

More food attempts. November 4, 2009

Filed under: healthcare,Parenting,Raising a Child — rakster @ 9:56 am
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Hi Poogie,

so, it was very apparent from your facial expressions yesterday evening that Farex (rice cereal for babies) mixed with breastmilk is NOT as appetising as avocado.  In fact, I think your Aunt and I can quite confidently say that you thought it tasted disgusting and weren’t at all sure why the hell we even tried to feed it to you.  Screwed up your face and pushed it out with your tongue and gave me a “what the hell do you think you are doing to me, Mum?” look.

Righto.  So I adjusted.  And mixed some avocado in with the disgusting-smelling mixture.  There was no way I was going to taste it myself (which doesn’t vouch for me feeding it to you does it? Maybe I should have a rule that if I wouldn’t eat it then I won’t feed it to you? Sounds fair – though at some point I will feed you meat that your dad has made, but I won’t eat).  Anyway, you did decide to eat the mixture of rice cereal, breastmilk and avocado.  Not as voraciously as you attacked the plain avocado.   But you got a substantial amount down.  In fact, at least a quarter of an avocado and maybe two tablespoons of rice cereal and boobie milk mixture.

oscar eating

you’re not as keen on this foul mixture. not surprisingly!

 

We’ve also been experimenting with sippy cups.   C told me that you are supposed to try to drink 30ml of water with each ‘solid’ foods meal.  First cup was insulated and you have to suck on it pretty hard to get the water to flow out.  It will be fantastic when you’re a bit older and used to a sippy cup, but for now it was a bit too big of a learning curve.  Next cup was just a tip and the water flows out the three little holes without having to suck at all.   Your bumbo ended up with a pool of water in the bottom of it.  Good thing you were naked.   Third cup was a winner – a soft rubbery part for your mouth, that you have to suck on a little to get the water to flow out, but not too much.  Still a lot of water spillage, but less choking-action (cup two) and more drinking-attempt-action.   So you managed to get some water down too.  You preferred it when the water was warm.

eating with mum

getting food with mum

Otherwise?  Well, I haven’t been to mum’s group for weeks due to the lack of ability to walk/drive, but have kept up with the emails.  It seems a few of the four-month-old babies are going through a whingey, unsettled phase.   You are a little.  Trying to get you to sleep at night has become a battle where you scream for a good half to full hour each night.  So two nights ago your Dad and I instigated renewed effort to settle you into a night-time get-ready-for-bed routine.   I’m not the best at routines, so it’s not 100% the same each day, but better than before.  New tip, back to swaddling you and having lots of quiet, ‘chill-out’ time in the hour leading up to 7pm.  So far, SUCCESS!  A little grizling but not the screaming tantrums of the past week.  I think we were just letting you get too tired before putting you down.

 

righto. Must run. you have awoken and need to eat some food.

 

love mum

 

Your first food: Avocado November 1, 2009

Filed under: baby stuff,baby's feelings,development stages,Parenting,Raising a Child — rakster @ 8:27 pm
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Hello Poogie,

Well, look out whomever gets the next nappy ’cause you had your first non-breastmilk meal ever today!  Your dad did it on the sly, you just shared some of our lunch with us.  Your dad had made a nice platter of things to snack on for lunch:

the first supper - our lunch platter ...

the first supper – our lunch platter …

and decided that your first food would be avocado from our lunch platter.  So a bit of avocado mashed up on his finger served as your first taste of non-breastmilk food.  And you were stunned.  You turned your head up and looked up at him with your mouth open for a good two minutes or more.   As if to say,

“what are you doing to me? It’s not bad, I don’t think.  I’m just very confused.  Not at all sure what to do.  I’ll just stare at you, maybe you’ll give me a clue?”.

Your dad made munching or eating noises and movements with his mouth, and eventually, you tried to close your mouth and follow suit.

avocado eating from dad's finger

avocado eating from dad’s finger

And after the first bit, which stayed in your mouth for quite some time, you started to swallow.  And seemed to enjoy it.  You then actually started seeking-out avocado-laden fingers and pulling them into your mouth.

avocado eating - more

searching for the avocado with your mouth

I don’t know how much you actually ate, but you definitely swallowed some, and looked very contented afterwards.  And were very tired.  So then you had a big sleep.

20091101_eating0420091101_eating05

20091101_eating06

Next time you’re getting Farex though.  Farex (rice meal) with boobie juice mixed in.  I suspect you won’t like it as much as avocado.

Happy Eating.  Welcome to my favourite pasttime!

love mum