catching up?

Wow... how should this go?

So much to say... a really long post? a series of shorter ones?

ok... organize, simplify... react..... that's what has made it possible and enjoyable about dealing and interacting with the daily challenges and changes of our little girl.

There have been so many things that have happened in the last week+... I'll just spew them out individually, and worry about the chronology of them all later...

Of the two big changes.... rice-cereal. It's really only cereal from the standpoint that it's "stuff" that you add milk(boob juice) to, stir it up to consistency and then feed it... This has got to be one of the coolest experiences to date.

but of course... a little backstory..

So somewhere on the innernet, it reads that solid food is supposed to start somewhere in the 6-9month range. For those of you who think that is a really long time out, please remember that most places in the world breast-feed until like 4 or 5 years old or something seemingly insane to us here in the US that have store-bought formula, supplements, and often times place priority on working, shopping for shoes, handbags, purses, and getting rid of their pregnancy weight as quickly as possible, higher than the well-being of their children. --- end rant ---

That being said, I've known since our little girl came out of her warm and happy place that she was expressive... the first expression "the concerned look" to the heart-melting "the pout" that I'm still trying to figure out where she learned. And we all know expressiveness is going to be a endless reactive guage when it comes to having her try new food. Salt and Vinegar chips? Toasted Almond Ice Cream from Fenton's? Wasabi? how long do I have to wait till I get to experience her first taste with her? I know it's a long path to get her up to complex foods and tastes, but not having even started yet is sad.

So for what has probably been the last couple of weeks, if not month, when Bethy and I break our fingers free from the mighty grips of the little girl to eat, we've gotten the feeling that she is staring and watching us eat....... possibly wondering where hers is, or what we are doing and how it tastes.

So this past week we gave it a shot... some bbq chicken with a side of macaroni and cheese.

no really. So during the last dr visit, she recommended we start with the rice flakes. So, we stopped by and got some of the gear... a box of rice-flakes, $1.50 or so, some little spoons, 6 for $2 or something. The "flakes" aren't really flakes so much as they are a white powder, when mixed with some milk looks like jook or oatmeal without the lumps(is that possible?). We made it pretty watery the first time around as we weren't sure how she was going to react or manipulate something that she had to swallow the first time around.....

So the first reaction was one of "huh? what IS this?" she kinda held her mouth open and looked at us like we'd done something wrong, but without the drama. The tongue rolled around a little bit, more like in and out, than around.... some of it came out, and the mouth closed. Now I've never really been good at telling exactly when she swallows, but I know from the empty bottles that she does do it from time to time. This was about the same.... put some in, get some out, wipe up the dribbles, put it back in, get some out, maybe go back to the teacup for some more from time to time. I knew that SOME was going in and staying in, but also that there was a fair amount on the face, and definitely on the bibby. This was an amusing event... it lasted for probably 30 minutes or so before I think she got a bit tired... I do have it on video, so if I can ever get it off, it'll definitely get posted.

The first time, I used a full teaspoon, and that was waaaay more than she ate. She ate an unknown amount, but it was a good first experience.

The second experience was actually with Bethy feeding her, and Grandma holding her, and she was ferocious. I think she knew was it was, and had a little better idea of how to deal with it, and it couldn't come fast enough. It is still unknown the capacity that the little mouth can hold and manipulate to swallow, but the eyes are definitely trying to tackle tablespoon sized portions. I would hold up the spoon, and moth opened. She still doesn't have control over her upper-lip to be able to clean off the top of the spoon without help, but she'll get there. Maybe she's not a big toy-fan yet, but I haven't seen her this eager for anything yet. This time we adjusted the consistency from wattery to thicker, and got a pretty good amount into her before she got tired.

The third experience was in the car yesterday while up in Vacaville waiting to celebrate U Ken's birthday. Apparently the bottle that Grandma was using didn't have a whole lot of milk in it, and the consistency was a bit on the thicker side.... thick enough so you can actually make a mound of it with some definition instead of it all just being goop... Well... this feeding resulted in quite a bit of drama.

Not only did she like it, but we ran out.

So... keep in mind here that these rice-flake-feedings are only supposed to be supplementary. Mom's milk still provides the bulk of nutrition in vitamins, minerals and all that other good stuff along with the hopes and prayers of all you, that have kept our little girl perfectly healthy so far. The rice flakes have some guidelines around them in that they aren't supposed to be a first or last feeding, not supposed to replace a feeding etc. So, when we packed a little bit, we didn't pack that much. But when it ran out, we were alllll sorry. She cried and fussed for the car ride from the outlets over to BJ's. She wanted more, and milky wasn't going to suffice... Luckily for us, the carb-rich rice, coupled with the car ride worked like a charm and she was out like a light.

So I'll have to look at the little booklet that the dr gave us that goes over all the stuff like single grain this, single vegetables and fruits here and see where and how far out the good stuff is really going to be.... and make sure I have the camera handy for the expressions and reactions that will come too. BBQ? Salt and Vinegar? oooooh! I might have to state a rule where if you feed her new stuff, you MUST capture it on camera!!! SOOO MUCH FUN!!!!