As you might have noticed in one of last week's drawings, she started grabbing my hair during our long road trip. It was usually during feeding times that she would grab it, so of course, it would end up in her mouth. (Drawn by Althea Peterson)
She especially refused to open her mouth right after her 6-month booster shots. Now that she has a cold, she also is pretty much vetoing any real food once again. (Drawn by Althea Peterson)
We nicknamed our daughter "milk face" from the very beginning, because she was such a messy eater that her face would be covered in milk after any given feeding.
However, she is now 6 months old (time flies by) and a few weeks ago, we began feeding her solid foods.
Hungry baby demands more
Perhaps I received one-too-many reminders from daycare that my baby wanted to eat more milk than I was sending in with her. Perhaps I was just noticing her eyes following my fork/spoon go from plate to mouth one too many times.
However, it became quite apparent that we needed to feed her more than milk when she started taste testing everything in sight, mommy's hair included.
Rice cereal for babies is not a bowl of Rice Krispies
I might as well have asked if I was an idiot. Fortunately, pediatric nurses and pediatricians seem to be quite patient and well-humored when dealing with first-time parents.
The nurse told me to feed baby rice cereal mixed with an ounce of formula, breastmilk or water. Absolutely not cow's milk.
Rice cereal... OK... so, like, Rice Krispies?
I was fairly certain that the answer was "no," but when you hear "rice cereal," what else do you think of?
As it turns out, baby rice cereal might as well be powdered milk from the looks of it.
Veggies taste like vaccines?
Rice cereal could begin at 5 months, but vegetables themselves had to wait until she turned 6 months. We could do one at a time for five days, then try another (to detect food allergy issues).
We started with carrots. Mushy, puréed carrots that look entirely unappetizing. And we started them right around the time of the six-month vaccinations.
Ugly face. Spitting out carrots everywhere. MESS!
Did she associate the carrots with the shots, or is she somehow tasting the vaccine medicine with the carrots when we feed her?
She went back to only breastmilk for a few days before opening her mouth to carrots again.
Signs that baby's ready for solid food:
Age. Babies absolutely cannot start solid foods until at least 4 months old, but our pediatrician recommended waiting until 6 months. Interest in adult food. Is it starting to not be cute anymore as she constantly gets her hands into your food?Everything goes in the mouth. If those cute eyes are staring at objects with a hungry look, she may be ready to go beyond breastmilk.Confession: I had been falling behind on breastmilk and my baby fell in her percentiles at the most recent checkup, so it is a huge relief that she will getting some of her food from someone besides me.
--Althea Peterson
PS: Please leave a comment and join me again here next Monday morning, when I recap this week, where everything from a catheter, blood sample and congestion may have made this week my daughter's most miserable week ever.
Trimesterly tribute: I had read somewhere (probably the Internet) that caffeine was bad for baby during pregnancy, so I swore off soda entirely. That lasted up for about two or three months, when I reasoned that non-caffeinated soda should be fine. Yes, I just couldn't bear to be without soda.
Baby bit: My baby is really, really close to crawling, so what does she do instead? Gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. After awhile, she may fall forward, almost like she wants to fling herself forward. Other times, she pushes her arms so much that she ends up going backwards instead of forward.
Mommy moment: After a failed attempt at feeding her carrots, we set the carrot container on the floor (for some reason) and then got distracted. The next time we looked down, the carrot container had been licked clean, as had the wrapper and the baby's spoon. It turns out that the dogs love baby food more than baby does.
Althea's previous entries:
Sept. 24: Baby's first long car tripSept. 17: Photos: A newborn baby in her new homeSept. 10: Motherhood misconceptions and baby mythsSept. 3: When a baby can't sleep and won't stop crying (possibly due to her first cold)Aug. 27: Baby's appetite changes can make breastfeeding more difficultAug. 20: Mom's hospital stay after the baby arrivesAug. 13: Returning to work after maternity leaveAug. 6: Life as a single, working mother with a babyJuly 30: Dealing with a baby's first sick timeJuly 23: Delivering a baby by Cesarean sectionJuly 16: Introducing a new baby to your pet cat and dogsJuly 9: Breastfeeding a baby is a challenging decisionJuly 2: Baby airport travel requires patience and timeJune 28: Baby means there's never an awkward silence
Althea Peterson is the proud mother of a six-month old girl. Althea returned to work at the Tulsa World in May after two months of maternity leave. Baby advice, baby questions or baby words of encouragement can be sent to althea.peterson@tulsaworld.com. Also, follow Althea on Twitter at twitter.com/a1a4ou.
