Starting Solids?

This past Tuesday we started feeding Kathleen rice cereal. A very diluted rice cereal. She's just over 5 months and they say it is common to start solids between 4-6 months with rice cereal being the "best" first food. Kathleen was showing "signs" of being ready for spoon feeding such as reaching for our food with great interest, getting toys to her mouth easily, and waking up a few times a week in the middle of the night hungry. So I made the trip to Babies R Us for weaning spoons, small food pots, and rice cereal to get us started. Brand loyal as I am, we went with the Explora brand of supplies made by Tommee Tippee. I do love the way they design products.

In the mean time I also checked out 4 books from the Durham County Library about starting solids and was in the process of reading as fast as I could to learn about how this whole process works. I would say that this is the first time every book said something different. I managed to pick up books from one end of the spectrum to the other on their beliefs of when to start, what to start with and how to progress from a full milk only diet to depending only on solid foods for nutrition. I described it to Calvin as looking at 3 different recipes for a similar meal then looking in your pantry to see what you've got and combining them all to hopefully end up with something delicious.

So even though we started rice cereal this past week we are now holding off again to take more of a "Baby Led Weaning" approach. In November, when Kathleen is officially 6 months old, I assume we'll do a combination of mostly baby led weaning with one serving of rice cereal by spoon every day or two. I'll let her feed herself with the spoon as much as possible so that she can learn how it's done. (Unlike one book that suggested teaching your baby to put their hands on the side of the highchair tray while feeding them as to not make a mess.) She'll also enjoy finger foods including all types of veggies, fruit, local meat, and bread. For the most part we are not planning to deal with purees. We'll just have to make sure we are eating healthy basic foods so that Kathleen can enjoy and taste right along with us! It sounds much more fun to me to do it this way.

A question weighing on me that I will save for the doctor on November 11th will be whether or not we need to withhold gluten given my father's celiac disease. Apparently there is research on both sides arguing that introducing gluten early vs. withholding it until after the first year helps prevent the disease in those that are genetically predisposed to it.

Nevertheless, Kathleen was incredibly cute and happy with her first feeding.

Too much fun, what's that mean? It's like too much milk, there's no such thing....

Last week Calvin and I walked into daycare to find this:

Yes, that is a cardigan you see. It's cold in the daycare room! Pants, socks and sleeves required.

The proud Mommy moment of last week was when I walked in to find out that Kathleen had finger painted for the first time! The teacher thought I was crazy with how excited I was to hear the play by play on what they did. They sat her up in the high chair for the first time like a big girl and put watered down blue paint in front of her on the tray to swirl around and play in. As she played they took her hands and placed them on a piece of construction paper for Kathleen's first piece of "artwork".

First one from last Thursday. Notice the labels under her hands. 

The thing I have learned and love most about school is that if you put the words "discover" or "explore" with an activity, anything can be educational at Kathleen's age! So the high chair is now set up at our dining room table so that Kathleen can "explore" new textures. It also serves well for her to get used to sitting with us while we eat at the table. This past weekend we tried the first experiment of playing in water and sugar and raisins. Kathleen was so good, never once did she try to suck on her hands and she immediately pushed the sugary raisins over the side for Rascal to enjoy. I picked sugar based on the daycare teacher's recommendation, but next time I believe I'll use salt, rice, or some other mixture for her to explore that isn't quite so sticky.

Second one from today. 

Coming Up for Air...

A lot has been going on in our little world. Since the start of the fall semester, last night was the first time Calvin and I both felt like we could stop and take a deep breath. These past 3-4 weeks have felt like 2 months. Ironically Kathleen has her first cold and the poor girl is having a hard time taking a deep breath herself!

I do apologize for the lack of updates. In addition to our crazy schedules, our home computer is on the mend at the repair shop which has kept me from loading pictures or even checking personal e-mail at home. Three plus weeks without a home computer has somewhat taken me off the grid.

Kathleen began sleeping in her own room the last weekend in August and the very next week daycare started! Since I had been working for a while I did not expect it to be that big of a deal to leave her for the day at daycare. However it was an emotional week, just holding on to get through. I couldn't help but feel like I left my daughter with strangers! Now 3 weeks in it's like she's been there for months. They work to teach her new things each day and she has a little buddy there named Olivia who is only 1 day older than Kathleen.

Calvin started an internship with the youth group at Highland UMC in Raleigh. He will be working there through May/June 2012 Kathleen and I will be joining him for worship Sunday mornings and there is a late 20s early 30s Sunday School class I have been attending as well. I think this will be a perfect fit for this year and I am so thankful everything has fallen into place. Hopefully his next job after graduation will be a local pastor position at a church in the North Carolina Conference.

Below are some of my favorite pictures we've taken recently:

A quick update

Our family is doing well. Calvin is enjoying his final time with Kathleen before he gets busy with his 3rd year at Duke. Next week he'll be helping lead BRIDDDGE for the incoming 1st year students and his first day of classes starts back on August 29th. The internship hunt is also on for this year so please keep your fingers crossed that he will find a placement he enjoys, can learn from, and that will use his talents for the work of the Lord during his last year in Duke's M. Div. program. I myself am also preparing for back to school and the new students that will be arriving. It's a very busy time in my office but my favorite part of the job is working with the students so I'm glad to have them coming back. I am praying that the changes to our family life that will come with Calvin's fall semester schedule will go well. Right now I am spoiled with dinner being made and bottles being washed along with pretty much all the other household chores being taken care of. So it will be an adjustment, but I think we are all looking forward to the new school year. I quite enjoy the schedule and the seasons that come with working for a university and having a husband in graduate school. 

Kathleen is continuing to learn and grow. I would have to say that Daddy Day Care has been a huge success this summer. It's been wonderful to see them bond and I am so thankful that Kathleen will be 4 months old as she starts daycare. I really think that extra time has given her immunity system a chance to grow stronger and she is quickly approaching the age of being fascinated with new things and learning about the world around her. She has already started observing more of our actions and the room around her throughout the day. Yesterday she rolled over 2 times in a row while on her play mat. This was a big deal for us since she was clearly trying hard and thinking about what she was doing in order to kick over to her back. And this morning I woke up to laughter in the crib. It is extremely common for her to smile and laugh in her sleep. What I like most about this is that it consists of a combination of a belly laugh and a small chuckle to go along with whatever she seems to be dreaming about. It's simply one of the most adorable things I've ever seen. I'm hoping to catch both of these on video soon.

This clip below was taken a couple weeks ago after I got home from work. I thought you would enjoy seeing her little chubby cheeks squeal in delight. And here are a few new pictures from this past week.

Daddy had to take away the mobile last night. Kathleen was having so much fun she couldn't fall asleep! 

3 months old & a camera for Mom's Birthday

Since having Kathleen, I have quickly found out why you see so many moms walking around with fancy cameras. Kids are hard to keep up with and it takes a little extra technology to catch the "Kodak moment". So I retired the old college pocket camera and this year for my birthday my parents bought me a FinePix S3200. It came in the mail yesterday and I could not wait to take it out for a test run tonight. And this of course was perfect timing since today is Kathleen's 3 month birthday! Out of over 100 pictures snapped here are my top 12 favorites. With this new camera I am going to have to quickly learn the skill of being generous with the delete button.

I would also like to wish my Grandpa and Brother in Law Happy Birthdays today. My Grandpa John turned 86 today and my Brother in Law Jermaine turned 26. I love you both. 

Look at the concentration in that tongue! She'll be creeping and crawling soon enough.