Andromeda Update

Andromeda is almost seven months old now. She weighs sixteen pounds and is 25 1/2 inches long. Here she is just now:

She can roll over both ways, though she tends not to; she likes to be on her belly to play, and only flips on her back so she can see us better and demand attention. She scoots all around, mainly backwards, but she can turn 360 degrees, so she can get anywhere she wants. She can sit, but usually will go over on her belly before too long. She's trying to get up on her knees; very soon I think she will crawl.

She tastes just about everything I eat. I mix up baby oatmeal with a little diluted apple juice and I can't get the spoon from her mouth to the bowl before she demands more. She likes orange, nectarine, chicken, pancakes with butter, toast with jam, just about everything we put in her gob. We gave her a lemon and she didn't make a sour face. She still nurses several times a day.

We've been teaching her certain signs. Milk is the first one, and sometimes Andromeda will hold up her fist when she wants milk, but she doesn't do the motion. We sign to her: more, food, drink, done, mom, dad; but we focus on just the first few.

As for sleep, well, she does, but she much prefers to sleep on my lap or in my arms. She will sleep in her crib, and usually does when I first put her down for the night. Then the first time she wakes, she'll either go back to crib peacefully, or wake back up and I'll bring her to bed with me. Then she'll either wake up a second time and the same thing ensues, or she'll sleep through til morning. She naps in my lap. Occasionally I can put her down during the day, but with our current living arrangement, days are usually too noisy/busy for her to sleep on her own.

That's my Babby!

Andromeda Eats More

We've been trying something new with Andromeda, with some success. Ollin or I will give her a little bit of what we're eating: something soft enough for her to chew, such as bread or pancake. We put it right in the front of her mouth so her tongue can push it out if that's what needs to happen. This seems to be working. She sort of sucks it into her mouth, chews it with her gums and swallows it. I like it much better because we can give her food in safe sizes and not worry as much about her choking. She still gags sometimes, but manages to get the food back into her mouth for more chewing.

Then, when she's done with a bite, she opens her mouth wide and demands more in a loud voice. If more is not provided immediately, she makes her demand even louder. Too long and she gets upset. Her binky can comfort her, but she still will try to take stuff from my plate if she wants to eat.

When she doesn't want any more, she'll try to grab the bite of food from my hand, and if I let her get it she'll mash it up, try to tear it apart or simply throw it. I gave her a breadstick she couldn't get a bite of, and the tossed that clear across the room. "I have no use for this!"

She still nurses well, so I don't think it's too much food for her. She seems to really enjoy eating, and I know Ollin likes to feed her. We love food, and of course we want to share this with our children.

Simone's Report Card

Yesterday was the last day of fourth grade for our dear little artist. Her report card was outstanding, and a great improvement on last trimester's. It was all 3s, 4s, Es and Ss. Way to go, Simone! Wow, now she's a fifth grader.

Simone's Play

Simone's play was yesterday. She did well, and didn't seem nervous at all. It wasn't as good as last year's play, but the kids were good in it.

I nursed Wiggly in the audience, and if anyone noticed, they didn't say anything. I couldn't get a read on how Ollin felt about it. I get the sense that he is embarrassed by it but doesn't see any way around it. Come to think about it, that's how I feel, too.

Dangerous Food and a Parasol

Andromeda is trying to eat, but I'm not sure if the bread I've been offering her is a good idea. She manages to get big chunks off of it and chokes on it. She doesn't gag; she stops breathing and her eyebrows turn red. I turn her upside down and pat her back, and it flies out. I ask her if she's okay and she grins at me, with red-rimmed, teary eyes. I wish I had more room, a kitchen, a way to let her explore food in a safer way. Squishy food that she can't choke on. Maybe I'll get her one of those mesh food- holders.

On a lighter note, Ollin had the genius idea to use one of our rain umbrellas as a parasol down at the pool. He tucked it into the slats of one of the pool chairs and Babby and I sat comfortably in the shade. While he and Simone swam.

Pool

I took Simone to the pool yesterday, though it's not my favorite thing to do. There's no shade down there and Babby won't let me sit down when she's in the sling, so I wander around all hot and bored. Yesterday, though, I didn't bother with the sling, and Andromeda and I sat in our own shadow and played; it wasn't so bad.

Andromeda Eats

Andromeda is not quite six months old, and she still needs to prop herself when sitting, though she's getting stronger every day. They say to wait until baby is six months old, and can sit unsupported before starting solids, and her pediatrician recommended rice cereal as a first food.

Thing is, Babby wants to eat. She wants to be a part of whatever we're doing, but nothing so much as eating. She tries to faceplant in my dinner! I'm not so sure about rice cereal. I know they say it's mild and unlikely to set off any allergies, but it's also not as nutritionally dense as many, many other foods, especially breastmilk. She also wants to feed herself with her own hands.

I read about baby-led weaning; it seems just right for Andromeda. Instead of spoonfeeding baby purees, you sit them up with a bit of what everyone else is eating and let them try. I've given Babby french fries, bread, banana, avocado. She loves to gnaw on a hunk of hard bread. She's not so fond of avocado. Usually I'm holding her while we do this, though twice now I've propped her up in a high chair. She doesn't get very much in her; it's just for play at this point, so that she's doing what we're doing and satisfied.

Yesterday she chewed up some bread and loved it, and I think she may have actually eaten a few crumbs of it. Hooray for Andromeda!

I don't know what I'm going to tell the pediatrician. Probably the truth, just to see what she says. I feel that I need to have us eating healthier food, though. If we eat veggies, Babby will eat veggies. If we eat crap, I have to either feed her crap, too, or not let her eat, neither of which are very good options. French fries aren't that bad, but they aren't that good, either.