A First of Sorts

Baby's first rice cereal. I was all excited to try a bit of solid food, to get more in baby's tummy so baby would feel full and baby wouldn't want to eat once per hour or some such nonsense.

I'm not exactly doing attachment parenting, except I think that I am what with feeding on demand and all. Oh, sure, sometimes I distract the baby with other things, like brushing my teeth, just to buy another 10 minutes here and there. Now that she's five months old, she MUST want to EAT something SUBSTANTIAL, right??? When does the detachment process begin? I mean, not "rip off the band-aid and throw it away" harshness, just some subtle, you know, independent sitting for a few minutes and things.


Evelyn isn't down with it. Instead of baby's first rice cereal = success! so that we could celebrate and move on to other such things as Sleeping More and Making Mommy's Coffee, no. 


I'm in ur high chair not eatin' ur food.

Evelyn Roísin prefers to drink her breakfast, just like the longshoremen. Evelyn's got it over the longshoremen with her smooth face that I would like to lick. And do, on occasion. Mostly I just eat her hands and feet, snacking on some cheek every now and again.

STARDATE MONDAY, JUNE 18: RICE CEREAL ATTEMPT NO. 2


Our subject has gotten a whole 10 days older, with 10 days worth of growing and development under her belt. She's been practicing sitting up and watching the family eat with their utensils, though she is not mimicking us. Perhaps her fool mother thinks she is ready to try again with the cereal? Let's find out.

Hallo, what's this?

My nemesis, Spoon. I've seen you before, you of new-way-to-eat of doom. I've rejected more comforting alternate food delivery devices, I will reject you, too. If my icy stare doesn't freeze you in mid-delivery, then my steel-trap mouth will not let you in.

Do not enter. Wrong way. Do not pass go. Back up Jack. It ain't happenin'.

Noooooooooooooooooo. Ope.

Admit defeat, you coated-for-my-comfort scoundrel! Lay there like the useless instrument that you are. 

That's right.

Hmm, what is this delicious coating on my hand? Methinks I would like to lick it, just to spite the spoon.

Haha!

Evelyn won the first round, and the second. Stay tuned.........the spoon has more delicious weaponry in its arsenal. I don't want to give it away, but it rhymes with "bapplesauce".

What the Fuss

As a breastfeeding mom, I have a long list of foods to avoid eating or else they will upset the baby. As the mother of an infant, I have very little time to invest in creating new menus to replace those I have automatically enjoyed for years. Take breakfast, with the restriction of no eggs, peanuts, or dairy. I can replace the milk on my cereal with rice milk, but that leaves my bagel painfully dry, without peanut butter, cream cheese or butter.

Breakfast is annoying but the worst meal of the day by far is dinner, where I must make something amenable to my baby and the rest of the family. Sometimes, I have cereal for dinner. That doesn't cut it for the rest of them, though, who don't like to eat like they're still in college. A dish as simple as pasta becomes inordinately difficult. No marinara, and no alfredo either.

There are websites that list meal plans and recipes for people like me, but often they are for omitting one item or maybe two, not the entire list that is applicable to me. A dairy-free site will tell me to avoid dairy if baby is fussy, but suggest cabbage or broccoli as an alternate calcium source, which also makes my baby fussy. A breastfeeding guide to nutrition cautions me to get plenty of calories, and then merrily suggests getting plenty of calcium from sources like yogurt or broccoli, which we've already established are out of the question.

Restrictions + no time + need for calories = mealtime freak out.

That formula could be the case, but I've decided to remain calm. I've eaten my (cereal with rice milk) breakfast, now it's time to plan for lunch. Yesterday's lettuce sandwich was all right, but isn't enough. I can't keep improvising. I need a plan. I also need a calcium supplement.

No:

eggs
dairy
tomatoes
citrus
peanuts
soy
corn
vegetables like cabbage and broccoli
shellfish
caffeine
carbonated drinks


Evelyn is calm for now.....to the internets!