Tuesday, March 29, 2011

My little comedian

Last night, despite overshooting bedtime by at least an hour, peanut wasn't too convince it was bed time. Needless to say parents weren't in complete agreement with his decision.  It took a long bit of rocking and shushing to change his mind. After listening to his wailing calm to moans, after calmly explaining that he was tired, after going through the litany of whispered what he had done today and what he could do tomorrow when he awoke, I thought we finally had a winner. Peanut was drifting, drifting off to sleep. His eyes had closed and he seemed relaxed. 
Then my little comedian drowsily pulled out his pacifier as I whispered "What do you want to tell mama?"  With perfect comedic timing, peanut let out a loud  raspberry. His eyes then popped open, and we were back to our bed time struggles anew.  At least we got a good laugh about it. StumbleUpon

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Adventures in Real Food: Part 2

Now pushing 7 months, peanut has gone beyond his first foods.  He's also becoming more particular in his likes and dislikes.  He has a strong preference for fruits.  He really doesn't care for cereals at all any more.  I think this is because it's so bland and he recieved some with every meal for awhile there.  He'll tolerate cereal in the morning, but will throw a fit if you serve it with dinner or more than once a day. 
Since last food post, he's tried butternut and acorn squash.  I like thes because they're easy to cook and puree up very smoothly with just a little extra formula.  The acorn squash worked out exceptionally well, and is relatively thick for homemade squash baby foods.
Peanut has also had carrots, but they were his first strongly disliked food.  He now eats them, but usually makes a face for the first bite.  We learned a valuable lesson durring his first days of carrots--they go through him quickle.  We reguallarly combine his carrots with squash for "squarrots" which he likes better.
Another combo he likes--"guaccabeans" and "quaccapeas."  We tried avaccado since it is a very easy "instant" fresh baby food that I don't have to cook or run through the food processor.  He really didn't care for avacado by itself, as it has so little flavor on it's own. However, if you blend it with another green vegatable, you really have something.  It makes the homemade greenbeans a little bit smoother. I was surprised to discover that the remaining avacado can be frozen in an ice cube tray like our other homemade baby foods and doesn't brown up too bad.  It did begin to look a little discolored after being in the freezer for a few weeks, so I wouldn't recommend doing a large batch in advance.
On to the fruit.  As mentioned, there isn't a fruit he won't eat.  Apples were probably his first fruit.  We picked a bushel in the fall, and made homemade applesauce with no sugar or additives. 
He also eats bannanas--another great no-fuss baby food.  He wasn't crazy about them at first, I think because of the semi-slimmy texture.  However, if you add a little formula to cut the slime, he is less likely to object.  He also likes bannanas blended with other fruits or with cinamon.
His next fruit was slightly tropical--mango.  Wow, does he love mango.  I'm not a huge mango eater myself, but I figured it would blend up smoothly and it does.  He'd eat a whole meal of mango if you let him.
Most recently, we've blended fresh strawberries into an awesome purree.  We all also love blended bluberries. When combined it's a challenge to see who can eat more of them first.  Although they are delicious, the berry purees are also really messy--especially the bluberries.  We find mixing them with cereal or more solid fruits like bananas helps contain the mess.
   StumbleUpon

Monday, March 7, 2011

Not so little "Little Man"

Weighing in at an impressive 16 pounds 11 and a half ounces and measuring 28 and 1/4  inches--my little man is officially not so little anymore. He isn't this super light little bundle anymore, but rather stretches across my lap. He's eating much more and has started fruits.
Peanut's also a lot more mobile.  He can roll in either direction at will--though cries when he lands on his tummy and is too tired to flip back to his back.  Not yet crawling and not really showing to much inclination to do so, he is a master scooter.  He army crawls and kicks off with his legs.  In a span of a few minutes he went from under his baby gym to the side wall of the room.
 I think he's pretty amazing, but I'm pretty partial.  It is sometimes frustrating how often he is compared to his cousins.  One is two weeks and one is six months older. When speaking with other mom's and all of their bragging, it seems like a contest of one upping.  I know we're all proud of our babies, but there is a tactful way and some not so tactful ways. It sometimes feel like there is a competition about who's kid has the most teeth, weighs the most, has the largest head circumference... I love my peanut for who he is, period.  He's special for who he is, without comparing him to any other babies out there. StumbleUpon