She ate fish the other day...

Baby girl has come a long way since my last few posts. I did find a good brand of cheerios that are both low sugar and organic. She loves cheerios and feeds herself. Baby girl has mastered the pincher grasp. She enjoys all kinds of fruits and veggies. I try to offer her a few different foods every day. She doesn't eat more than a few bites but she gets to experience a variety. Some of her more recent foods have been kiwi, strawberries, persimmon, pineapple, olives, turkey and fish.

What I learned from my baby

What I learned from my baby. - She is really sensitive emotionally but physically as tough as me (or maybe tougher.) When she falls down she cries because she is so hurt that her mother let her fall not because the fall itself hurt. - She can be patient but if she’s tired all patience is gone. - She doesn’t understand why I leave her and disappear throughout the day (when I have to go to the bathroom). This makes her feel abandoned and so she cries terribly so I’ll change my mind and come back. - She doesn’t understand why I can’t hold her while driving. - I can do a lot of things with only one hand. - In a pinch I can use the restroom while holding her. - I’m not as embarrassed by things like her spilling water in my lap so it looks like I wet my pants. - She would rather nap in my arms. That way she doesn’t have to fully wake up to nurse. - She doesn’t need a crib. She would rather sleep with me. She feels warm and safe by my side knowing that I’m there to protect and feed her when she needs me. - If anything is wrong with either her or me or if the day is just being stressful nursing helps. Nursing is the answer for everything.

Cheerios

I've been on the hunt for a brand of cheerios that are sugar free. So far I haven't found any in the stores around here. I don't want to order online because baby girl won't eat that many. My mother used to bulk order cheerios that were sweetened with fruit juice. But there were six of us. I even checked the finger cereals that are being marketed to babies. They have sugar too. I think someone is trying to get our babies hooked on sugar so they will be addicted for the rest of their lives. I'm starting to really get annoyed at how companies market their foods as healthy when they aren't.

Rice Cereal

So I finally decided to give her rice cereal but now I'm regretting it. After about a week of rice cereal baby girl is a little stopped up. I've been reading online and I think I need to be giving her more water. I've been giving her a few sips after meals but now I'm thinking that I need to give her more. I also read that switching to oatmeal can help. I decided to re-introduce eggs into her diet. I hope that's not complicating things.

Prunes

Traveling makes it hard to keep up the introduction of foods. You don't want a fussy baby dealing with a rash or something. So we have just one more food. Prunes. It was her first food from a jar (except for applesauce). She liked them. I don't think I will make it a regular food though. I had bought a few jars of baby puree. They are really runny. I started feeding her way chunkier foods than purees. They are messier too.

A Few More Foods

Carrots, applesauce, eggs, zucchini, white potato and mango. She doesn't care for carrots but will eat them mixed into applesauce. I think she had a reaction to eggs and zucchini so I'm waiting a while and then reintroducing them. She had a bad rash after the mango so I'm going to wait a long time before giving mango to her again. I've been researching online about giving spices and herbs to babies as well as oils. I'm thinking of introducing olive oil and coconut oil soon. Then I'll start on spices.

Convicted

I've been doing a lot of thinking and reading about nutrition. I want to start eating healthier foods. I'm reading this book called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. I've realized that even though I eat way healthier than most people, it is not enough. I guess that is where knowing more can make you feel more responsible. My baby girl has motivated me to change my diet as I strive to make hers the best I can.

Fruits and Vegetables

I've decided to stick to fruits and vegetables for baby girl. So far she has had sweet potato, banana, avocado, pear, and apricot. I was thinking of introducing rice cereal but then when I looked at the nutritional contents I realized that it is a lot of bulk without many calories. She has been enjoying her menu so far.

First Foods

Sweet potatoes. It's a tradition. Then I gave her banana. She doesn't eat out of a jar. I only give her freshly mashed food. I'm thing of avocado next.

Birth Story

I've always thought that the busier you are the more you have to blog about. But you are too busy to blog then. My baby girl is six months old and I still haven't told you the birth story yet. So I guess I'll tell you the short version. My bag of waters broke on November 1st around bedtime. I wasn't ready for the baby. The house was a mess. There were still lots of boxes stacked up that needed to be unpacked. We ran around trying to put everything into some sort of order and put fresh sheets on the bed. Then Brandon moved the birthing tub into the house and got it ready. We went to bed really excited. I went into the midwife the next morning and she made sure my bag of waters did break and I was in labor. I spent the day walking around and then resting as labor progressed some. Labor tapered off in the evening so we went to bed another night all excited thinking that our baby would be born the next day. I had to get my labor going the next morning or I would not be able to have her at home. So our midwife put me on a schedule of walks, squats, etc. My labor got really intense and then slowed and then intense again the afternoon. I reached a point where I thought I was great. The contractions were not hurting much even though they were strong. Then they got painful. I mean like really bad. I was discouraged and got in the birthing tub to relax. I thought to myself that it was worse in the tub and I needed to get out. The tub was too hot as well and I was overheating. I remember feeling so wiped out that I could barely get on my bed. I was totally done with it. I didn't want to labor anymore. The midwife said that I would have to walk around more to keep labor going. I was crying that I didn't want to walk. Then I felt like pushing. The midwife was really surprised and found I was ready when she checked. I did a lot of pushing. I wasn't paying attention to the time so I have no idea how long I pushed but I think it was at least three hours. Finally I pushed her head out and she was looking around and then I pushed the rest of her out. I was so done with the pushing that I had to be convinced to push out the placenta. Finally, I was done. She was so little and perfect. Baby girl weighed 5 pounds 14 ounces and was 19 1/4 inches long. I felt so sore and weak after the birth. I was thankful to be able to go to bed and sleep that night with her. Brandon was the best father. He took care of her and changed her diapers the first few nights. I only had to nurse her. It was a beautiful experience. So much has happened since then. Baby girl has grown up so much. She got sick when she was a week old but she hasn't been sick since then. She smiled around three weeks and laughed around six weeks. She enjoyed pushing up on her legs and could support her body weight really early. She can stand now while I hold her hands. She started sitting all by herself a few weeks ago. I still nurse her whenever she wants to. She tasted her first sweet potato yesterday. Baby girl likes to play with her toys, loves being read to and carried around everywhere. She went to the Nutcracker when she was a few weeks old and slept through the whole thing. She traveled to church, toy store, pet store, the bank, grocery store and a college gradation. She goes to the chiropractor and the library every week. Every month she goes to La Leche League. She loves her Uncles and is starting to appreciate her grandparents (she went through a phase of not wanting to be held by anyone.) I love being a mother.