baby vs. food

Yesterday I posted about how Asher is currently resisting many forms of solid food.  I got some great ideas from people and decided to give some a go that same day!

First up:  chicken and cheese quesadilla

Ash loves grilled cheese sandwiches, so I thought these would be an instant hit.  Honestly what's the big difference?  Well, he hated it.  As in wouldn't even take a bite and turned his head when I tried to feed him a piece.  Then in anger over my insistence that he give it a try A took the offered bite and threw it on the floor.

Quesadilla = FAIL

Next:  black beans with cheese

I mushed up the beans and melted some cheese over the top.  He really does like cheese so I thought if I gave everything a cheesy flavor it might win me some points.  Blah.  Spit them out and made a yuck face.

Beans = FAIL

Finally:  hard boiled egg

Asher hasn't shown any affinity to scrambled eggs, but I thought I'd give this version a try.  You never know.

I've made hard boiled eggs before, here's how:  place eggs in cool water, bring to boil, cover and turn down to simmer for 1 min, take off heat {still covered} for 15 minutes, then place in cold water to cool.

I did all this, but when I went to peel the egg it went splat and oozed all over my counter - not even close to being hard boiled.  Gross!  No clue what went wrong - anybody know a better way to do it?

Needless to say, we'll be trying that one another day.

Hard boiled eggs = MOMMY FAIL

After all of this refusal yesterday I was planning to take it down a notch and go slower.

This morning Asher decided that eating the cup that held his morning Cheerios would be fun!

A few hours later he got a hold of my headband and couldn't get enough of the delicious elastic-y taste it provided.  Ooey gooey cheesy quesadilla?  Yuck!  Stretchy headband - YUM!
 

He wouldn't even put it down to play with his blocks.
 

Since he was so willing to put weird stuff in his mouth this morning I hoped that was a good sign that he'd try some new foods that are actually food {instead of things that hold food...or hair}

Great news at lunch!  I offered him some chicken noodle soup and he loved it!  Ash usually rejects noodles, but these went down easier with the soup broth.  I also gave him some cooked, whole green beans and he really loved those.  The pounding-on-his-highchair-tray-for-more kind of love!  The skins were a little tough and after a while he spit them out, but it was a great effort.

We'll get there!  If you come up with any new recipes for toddlers I will always love to hear them - feel free to share!

{By the way, not to brag, but how gorgeous is he?! ha!}

chowing down

Asher's new favorite game.

Mommy has decided that if he wants to bite the spoon, then he must be done eating.  I don't try to wrestle it back and he lets go right away.

No!  Wait!  I wasn't done - keep feeding, please!

Asher has actually been interested in feeding himself with his spoon recently.  He does a few bites {with my guidance} but then realizes that mommy is much faster and passes the spoon back to me to finish up.  He'll get there soon enough!

Speaking of food, does anyone have suggestions of foods that I can introduce to Ash?  He still resists a lot of finger foods, but I'm trying to give him new solids all the time.  His favorite is still baby food {any kind - fruit, veg, meat} - but I'm so tired of buying and making purees!  It seems like he should be past this by now.  Our pediatrician says not to worry, but it's hard when it seems like every other baby his age is eating all kinds of table food.

The thing is that he can eat solids - just chooses not to in most cases.  *sigh*  In fact, I'm beginning to think that he secretly signed a contract with Gerber because he will eat anything with their label on it!  Seriously, he eats Gerber Puffs, wagon wheels, maple crunchies, etc.  If he can munch through those rock hard apple wagon wheels then he should be able to eat anything!

Table foods that he eats and enjoys include: bananas, grilled cheese sandwich, cheese slices, pieces of apple, Cheerios, Goldfish crackers, french toast, any kind of bread/muffin, yogurt, turkey lunch meat {which I don't like to give him, but it's the only meat he'll eat!}

I've tried to give him canned chicken, browned ground turkey/beef, meatballs with sauce, pasta - he takes none of it!

Would you mind sharing what your kiddo likes to eat?  Thanks!

{Rene - I saw on your blog that Jack likes black beans with melted cheese.  We're trying that soon! Wish us luck! ha!}

puff eating: a lesson in technique

Asher is now an expert Puff eater.

At first there were a few things that tripped him up. 

1) wet baby hands = sticky Puffs
2) holding the Puff too far back in your hand = it can't get in the mouth
3) being greedy {a Puff in the hand is worth 2 in the mouth}

Don't let this happen to you!

Instead, follow Asher's tips for successful Puffs eating:

First, select your target.

Next, pick up carefully, making sure your hands are dry {see Trip Ups #1}

Make sure it's all the way in there.

Chew carefully.

Or, if you don't chew, gag a little when the whole Puff hits the back of your throat.

If this happens, just cover your mouth until you recover.  Then enjoy the delicious goodness.

Repeat until your tray is empty.

Then check your lap for any that may have gone missing in action.

Patiently wait for the next course.

That's it!  Asher's 9 step plan for successful Puff eating. 

Bon appetit. 

he's a pickle baby

The other day I was eating a dill pickle spear while holding Asher and he kept lunging at it.

He does this at anything I'm holding.  It's lots of fun.

I decided that if he wanted it so bad, I should oblige.  I figured he'd hate the sour taste and would {maybe? please!} leave my other handful alone.

Well, as happens every time I assume something about A he loved it!

I wanted to see if it was a fluke, so I offered him another one yesterday.

He made this same yuck face at first, but then he kept coming back for more!

By the way, this is the same baby who regards banana Puffs as dangerous and to be avoided.  He hates those, but loves him some pickles.

Go figure.

s*pear* me

Asher proved once again what happens when I assume things where he's involved.

I love pears.  Love them.  They are hands down my favorite fruit.

So, naturally, I assumed that A would love them as well.

Glean what conclusion you will from this face.

That's right -- he hated them.  I guess they are a little more tart than peaches or bananas.

But, really.  This bad?

I didn't give up though and after a few days of taste tests Ash came around.  He doesn't gobble them down like he does for his favorite foods, but doesn't look like I just made him lick the diaper pail anymore either.

I'm chalking that one in the victory column.

how 'bout them apples

Asher tried some jarred baby food applesauce today {forgetful mommy neglected to thaw anything for this afternoon} and loved it!

I really want to make him some, especially since fall is right around the corner and apples will be extra fresh and affordable.  The thing is....applesauce kind of intimidates me.

That's why I'm sending my plea for help out into the blog-osphere!

Has anyone made baby food applesauce?

What kind of apples do you use?  One kind?  A mixture of kinds?

How do you cook them?  Steam?  Bake?

Do you add any spices?  When can babies have spices, by the way?

Thanks for helping me get over my fear of pureed apples.  You are good friends.  :o)

our weekend

Asher got to meet his cousin Owen this weekend!

My parents, sister, and nephew all stopped by to visit us for a night on their way to Pennsylvania over the weekend.  The trip worked out great because my nephew, Owen, was with them and he hadn't met Asher yet.  We thought it would be a good idea for them to see each other before Asher started walking around!

We had so much fun visiting with them -- I only wish they could have stayed longer!

This weekend Asher also tried peaches for the first time.  They were a huge hit!  With every other food he has tried the first bite was met with a grimmace and yuck face.  However, after a few tries of the food he comes around and ends up liking it.  Not so with peaches -- Asher totally skipped the yuck phase of things and went straight to "more, please!"  I guess peaches are nice and sweet, so what's not to like.

My only funny 4th of July story for this year...yesterday afternoon I stopped by the liquor store to pick up some tequila for our celebration and the clerk told me to "have a happy 4th with your 5th."  Haha...I thought that was great!  We did!

Hope you all had a great 4th of July!

sitting high and feeling fine

Asher is now using his highchair!

I had been feeding him in the Bumbo chair, but noticed he seemed to have a hard time holding his head up well.  It also looked like he was really folded over which didn't seem conducive to comfortable eating.  I thought the Bumbo was a good support for early sitters, but Asher just never seemed to love it for longer than a couple minutes.

We decided to try out the highchair that's been sitting in our basement for the past 6 months and little A loves it!  He looks like such a big boy sitting up like this!  Small tear from mommy, but mostly big smiles.  :o)

Yesterday I made him some carrots for the first time.  He wasn't sure what to think at first.  They look like sweet potatoes, but certainly don't smell or taste the same.  After the first bite, he just closed his mouth and looked away.  No big fits, but a very definitive, thanks, but no.

To ease the transition I gave him a bite of bananas next.  This boy LOVES bananas.  What's not to love...sweet and delicious.  That worked like a charm.  He took the bite of bananas, then opened up and took the carrots without complaint.  I think that's how we'll do it until he's used to the new flavor.

So far, Mr. A has had sweet potatoes, bananas, carrots, and 1 round of oatmeal.  After the oatmeal he had some blood in his poo, so I decided to skip all grains for awhile.  I'm just not convinced that his digestive system is up to the challenge of grains yet.

Next will be another fruit --- maybe pears? 

Asher has quickly come around to eating baby food.  He's now eating 2 ice-cube sized portions in the morning and 2 in the afternoon.  Besides that he drinks 4, 8.5 oz bottles a day.

Hungry, growing boy!

{By the way, thanks for all of your advice yesterday!  I made an appointment with my OB/Gyn to ask her advice on Monday.  I really don't want to stop breastfeeding yet, so hopefully we'll be able to come up with a game plan to make this work!}

2 doctors, 1 week

Asher is finally done with all of his doctor appointments for the week!

This has been an especially busy week for us, especially in the doctor department.

On Wednesday Mr A had his 6 month check-up and flew through with flying colors!  The doctor was very impressed by his growth, considering all of the food trouble we had over the past few months.

The new stats:

weight - 17 pounds (50%)
length - 26.5 inches (50%)

Our baby is perfectly average.  I'm going to put emphasis on the perfectly part of that.  :o)

Asher's pediatrician said that he should keep getting new foods every 3-4 days, but to go through all of the yellow/orange fruits and veggies first.  Apparently these are a little easier to digest and since Ash has some digestive issues that would be best for him.  We're going to skip rice cereal completely for that reason, but she did recommend that he try some oatmeal. 

So, what should be next??  I'm leaning towards the oatmeal, then maybe some butternut squash.  We'll save green beans and peas for a little later.

He needed 2 shots {boo} but handled them really well.  There was some crying, of course, but he was a pretty good trooper overall.  He needs some credit for his battle wounds. 

All in all he's a super healthy baby -- yay!

Then this morning Asher had his long awaited appointment with the pediatric gastroenterologist.  We made this appointment way back in May when his bloody stools were happening every day.  Since I changed my diet the blood has stopped entirely and Ash is back on straight breastmilk. 

The GI looked him over and said that it sounds like we're on the right track.  As long as the blood has stopped then we're good to go.  There's no reason to think there will be any long term effects from this bout with ulcerative colitis.

Around 9 months we're going to try slowly introducing milk back in my diet to see what happens.  The GI felt confident that Asher will outgrow this allergy, perhaps by 12 months, maybe longer.  There's always a chance that he won't outgrow it, but for now we're being optimistic.

Personally, I'm really looking forward having a little dairy again someday soon.  What should I have?...ice cream, cheese, buttery garlic bread?  Oh my, the possibilities!  My system is probably going to rebel big time.  Better take it slow.

Happy Friday everyone!

sleepy head

Asher has been doing an amazing job at sleeping recently!

We're celebrating!

{I'm a little afraid of jinxing myself by posting about this, but it's too exciting to keep in!  Jinxes aren't real anyways...right?}

As I said before, I truly think that Asher is reading Baby 411 behind my back.  He seems to know what's expected of him, so he just does it before we have to apply any tough love.  Dr. Brown says that healthy babies who are 6 months old are capable of sleeping 12 hours at night without eating and that's exactly what Asher does! 

Now, I'm not completely brainwashed by this book and certainly wouldn't have let Asher cry at night if he seemed hungry, but it worked out that he just started sleeping longer and longer on his own.  Yay!  The first night it happened I was a little confused as to how his feedings should go the next day since he missed the feeding that usually happened around 4 or 5am.

After quite a few days of trial and error, I think we got it worked out.  Obviously, the more food he eats, the less milk he'll need, so things will change, but for now this is our system.  I'm going to spell it out just in case our trials and errors can help anyone else!

From about 4 months to 5.5 months old, this was Asher's schedule:

Wake at 4 or 5am to eat (nurse until satisfied)
Wake at 7am for the day
Eat 7oz of pumped milk at 7ish am
Nap at 9am
Eat 7oz at 11am
Nap at 1pm
Eat 7oz at 3pm
Nap at 4pm
Eat 7.5oz at 6:30pm
Bed at 7pm

Of course, things varied depending on how the day was going, but that's what we did in general.

Once he started sleeping through the night he skipped the 5am feeding, but still needed those ounces of milk sometime through the day.  I tried just keeping with the same schedule {having 4 feedings, instead of 5} but then he woke up at night.  I also tried increasing the amount of milk at eat feeding, but his little belly can only hold so much and 8oz was just too much for him at this point.

So, like I said, after a couple days of trials and error plus incorporating solid food, we came up with a new schedule that seems to work really well.

At least...it's worked well for the past 3 days.  Let's all keep our fingers crossed.

Wake up at 7am
Nurse at 7am
Nap at 9am
Eat 7oz at 10:30am
Nap at 12:30pm
Eat 7oz at 1:30pm
Eat some solids around 2:00pm
Nap at 3:30pm {3rd nap is short}
Eat 7oz at 4pm
Bath at 6:15pm
Eat 7.5oz at 6:30pm
Bed at 7pm

I know these feedings seem close together -- that's one reason why I didn't try this schedule at first! -- but he drinks all of the milk with no problem.  I figure if he takes it down, then he must be hungry enough.  There are plenty of times when he refuses to finish and pushes the bottle away, so I'm confident that if he's full he will let me know.

Anyway, that's where we're at!  Mr A is sleeping like a champ and eating more solids everyday.  We tried sweet potatoes for the first time yesterday.  He was a little wary of them at first, but rallied quickly. 

One funny thing is that somehow he figured out how to store them in his cheeks like a chipmunk.  Asher kept releasing little orange smears of goo all throughout the afternoon.  Finally I just stuck my finger in his mouth and cleaned it out.  How does he do that?! 

He's a stinker, but I love him.  :o)

baby food!

After Asher spent a day in this shirt

he decided it was time to go full monkey and eat some banana!

I was originally planning to hold off on any solid foods for him until we visited with the Pediatric GI in a few weeks, but Saturday afternoon Drew and I both noticed how hungry Asher seemed.  In addition to his apparent hunger, he was also chewing, sucking, and exploring everything he touched with his tongue.  He did so well avoiding the tongue-thrust reflex, that I thought he might be ready for something more solid than milk.  I'm only feeding him after he's had a bottle, so he still gets all the calories he needs from breast milk/formula.

I am planning to make most of Asher's baby food myself and placed an order for a food steamer than was recommended to me {thanks, B!} but it hasn't come in yet, so I decided to start with something that requires no cooking.  Hello, banana!

Most people start their kiddos off with rice cereal, but I had read that sometimes babies with milk protein intolerance {like Asher has} have a harder time digesting cereal.  Because of this I knew that we'd start with either a fruit or veggie.  I've also heard that you should avoid fruit first because the sweet taste spoils them from eating veggies, but that won't be the case for me since Asher has been getting breastmilk since birth.  He has been tasting bananas {and veggies} for months now!

I must say that banana was an extremely easy food to prep!  I cut a 2 inch chunk of fruit and smooshed it up with a fork.  It still seemed a little chunky to me, so I poured in some breastmilk to help thin it out a little more.

Asher loved it!

Honestly, he ate like he's been eating off a spoon for weeks.

The first few bites were predictably messy with nanners dribbling back out, then being pushed back in with his little hands.  Once he got the hang of sucking the bananas off the spoon, then swallowing it he gobble the whole bowlful down.

I have a feeling we have a champion eater on our hands!

It went so well that we decided to repeat the event on Sunday.  Success again!  This time Asher tried to grab the bowl and eat straight from the source, but I cut him off at the pass.  I think he likes bananas!

We're going to stick with bananas for the recommended 4 days to make sure he doesn't have any kind of allergic reaction.  Once my steamer gets here later this week we're going to try some sweet potatoes!

My little guy is growing up so fast.  It's wonderful!