Merry Christmas to all...

and to all a good night!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Hmm, I wonder which one is Richie's?

A is for avocado, part 2

Day two of the great avocado experiment was much more successful with Daddy doing the feeding. It's now been a week since we started and he's eating as much as I give him (about 2 tablespoons). At first he had a little gas but I think he's over it now. He's sleeping much better (woke only once the past 2 nights) and last night, drumroll please.....

He slept through the night! From 8pm to 5:30am! Mom was up at 4am wondering what was going on and checked to make sure he was breathing. He may have even slept longer if the crazy cat hadn't been on the rampage with a noisy toy in the hallway. Why is it that when Richie sleeps in the cat wakes us up early? One of life's great mysteries.

Next up on the menu is pumpkin. Now I just need to find an orange bib...

A is for avocado, part 1

Richie passed another milestone this week: eating his first solid food.

I'm proud to say he's been 100% breastfed until now (a shout out to all the moms who stick with it, it's a tough job!). But starting about 2 weeks ago he started waking more often in the night, teething and most recently, mouthing while watching Mom eat (all signs that he's getting ready to start solids). So at 4 months and 3 weeks we gave him his first food: avocado. 

Sure most babies start with baby rice but when avocados are in season and packed with lots of lovely nutrients and omega 3's why not give him more bang for his itty bitty bite? It's one of the "approved" first foods along with most root vegetables, apple and pears. Apparently it's harder to get them to eat veggies if you start them on sweet fruits, so we're going to give him veggies first and then will add in some fruits (again, lucky boy lives in the "Fruit Bowl of New Zealand" and will have his choice of peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, etc).

From what I've read and heard there is also some controversy about whether giving infants starches like rice before they have molars is a good idea as well. Some say they lack the enzyme necessary to properly digest starches until they have molars and hence get terrible gas, and others say giving them starches too soon makes them more likely to get colds. In any case, we decided to play it safe and go for a food with as much nutrition as he could get that was still safe for him to digest. And hey you can't get any easier than mashing up avocado for homemade baby food. (ok, I did add a bit of breast milk at first and water to thin it out and make it more palatable). 

Below are pics from the first attempt on Dec 16th. He was a bit more interested in the spoon as a teething device but he did seem to know what to do with the food once it got in his mouth.

*Note that the food also matches his bib and chair. Momma ain't no fool.

Joy to the World!

In a time where the season often comes down to who gets the biggest tree, presents, etc., this morning I was reminded of the simple joys. I pulled a tissue out of the box and passed it over Richie's head, which led to a squeal of delight from him. Just passing the tissue over his head was enough to bring a look of pure joy to his face, from the simple sensation of a delicate touch.

A good reminder this holiday season to appreciate the simple, little things that make this thing called life grand.

Licensed to travel

Master Richard is now ready to travel. He got his NZ passport the other day and is officially protected by her Majesty the Queen, at the request of the Governor-General in the Realm of New Zealand in all his travels. Since he'll be traveling with us for the next 18 years and we're traveling on US passports, we're hoping that means we can go through whichever line is shorter at immigration!

How cute is his little passport photo? It was actually quite a mission for me. I did it myself with a lot of trial and error rather than taking him to a photo shop. Do you know how hard it is to get a 3 month old to sit still with a "neutral expression" on his face with his eyes open? There were plenty of cuter pics with a smile that had to be scraped according to the passport rules. In the end we made it, although he was sliding down the chair causing his overalls to come up around his ears. 

a handful

Scene: Sunday afternoon, Richie's room at the changing table

Me: "Paul come here."

Paul: "What, did he have a big poo?"

Me: "No, but you're gonna want to see this."

(Paul enters to see his son gleefully holding his privates and refusing to let go)

Me: "Our son has found his manhood."

Sorry, no pix to accompany this entry.