Progress with Solids

We are slowly making progress with the solids. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Becca was refusing anything on a spoon and wouldn’t swallow the finger food I offered her.

Since that post, I have tried a few things that seem to work. Here is what I offered her:

• a variety of different foods and tried not to stress out about the amount she was eating.
• pieces of mushy food (a ripe banana, well cooked potatoes, avocado)
• Stage 3 foods (this is a combination of pureed and chunky foods)
• finger foods (small pieces of fresh chicken, cut-up grapes, pieces of string cheese)

The mushy banana was the biggest hit. She really loved the taste so she would eat quite a bit of it. After two days of eating mostly banana (and breast-milk of course), I noticed that she began eating the finger foods as well. She still isn’t a fan of the Stage 3 foods or the yoghurt (basically anything on a spoon) but she is now swallowing the pieces of chicken, fruit and cheese that I give her.

M. Kate

My Daughter was Swallowed by her Stroller!!

You read it write– my daughter was swallowed by her stroller! Fortunately she is okay but she definitely gave me a scare!

It started out as a pretty typical morning- in fact, it was a better than average day. I was getting Becca ready to go to the park with her abuelita (grandma). While we were waiting for her abuelita, we hung out on the stoop for a little while, we took a walk out to check out the grass in our backyard and I was just really enjoying spending time with my daughter. I remember being fascinated by her fascination of all of the typical summer sounds (birds chirping, a distant lawn mover, a passing car).

 

Then Becca’s abuelita asked me to show her how to open the stroller so I did. I then strapped Becca in and her abuelita ran into the house to get something. I pulled the stroller towards me using the snack tray and all of a sudden, it just snapped closed!!!
It felt like one of those Discovery shows where an alligator surfaces to snatch its prey!

 

One second, I am looking at my baby giving me a gummy grin and the next second, I am looking at the back of the folded-up stroller. I quickly unfolded the stroller, as she was screaming, and managed to get her unbuckled. I was relieved to see that she seemed to be okay. She does have a bruise above her left eye but she didn’t have any blood and didn’t have any other signs of trauma.

Once I assessed that she seemed okay, I then ‘re-enacted’ the situation to see what exactly happened. From what I could see, her head didn’t hit the driveway (thank god!!!). Instead, it looked as if she was probably hit by the snack tray and that the actual bulkiness of the stroller kept her away from the driveway (thank god!!!).

I called the DR and they seemed pretty unconcerned— she hadn’t lost consciousness, she cried right away, she then calmed down but seemed her normal self. They just advised me to watch her for the next 48-72 hours.

I also called the company to report the incident just in case it is some sort of defect. It is a Combi- Spoleto LX stroller— I have been very satisfied with the stroller until now! In fact, I was planning on giving it a positive product review. I think I will put that review on hold.

I think the scariest part about the whole incident (especially since she seems fine) is how quickly my life switched from enjoying a summer day with my little girl to assessing her for signs of trauma.

I am so thankful that she is okay…

M. Kate

The Trend for Two Languages

Apparently I am not the only one who is consciously raising a bilingual child in the United States today. Instead, I am one of many parents who have seen the benefit of their child speaking two languages fluently. According to this article in the Star Gazette News, more and more parents are interested in their children becoming exposed to another language (particularly Spanish).

I definitely see the practical reasons for a child to know two languages (Top Ten Reasons to Speak Spanish) but I also have personal reasons for my daughter to speak English and Spanish. I want her to be able to understand and experience all aspects of her Mexican and Irish-American background. I want her to be able to communicate with her abuelita (grandmother), tías y tíos (aunts and uncles) and primos (cousins) who only speak Spanish. I want her to have pride in her heritage and raising her bilingual will help to instill that in her.

These are just a few of the personal reasons I want my daughter to speak Spanish and English. What are the reasons you would like your child to speak more than one language? Please leave a comment and share your reasons with me.

M. Kate

 

Becca is a Chipmunk!!

Becca is transitioning from eating pureed baby food to eating ‘chunky’ foods and finger foods. She has begun to show little interest in cereal or in the pureed foods. Her mouth closes like a trap, she starts shaking her head back and forth and strategically places her hands in front of her mouth. Fortunately, she seems to enjoy picking food up in her hands and will ‘play’ at eating. So I decided to move her into the finger foods.

The problem is that she will not swallow the food!!! She will put the dried apples, pieces of melon, ground turkey or chunks of cheese in her mouth. She will smile widely and chew away. But she will not swallow!!! She just keeps chewing and chewing and chewing.

This has been going on for a few days now and it’s making me a little crazy. I tried some of the Stage 3 foods (they are pureed with chunkier pieces) thinking that maybe she skipped a vital step in learning to eat solids. But she shows little interest in this food and starts shaking her head and batting with her hands after the first spoon or two.
My mother-in-law’s solution is to focus on the ‘sweet’ foods (fruit, yoghurt) and avoid the other foods (protein, vegetables).I also worry that she will become one of those toddlers who only eats ‘white foods’ or ‘crunchy foods’. I have visions of Becca sustaining herself on Hershey’s chocolate bars and Wonder Bread.
As a result, I continue to offer her protein, vegetables and fruit at her meals. She definitely eats more of the fruit than the protein or vegetable but she is getting a little of all of them. I am trying not to focus too much on the amount that she eats. Instead, I am trying to be happy that she is eating and starting to swallow. Fortunately, she is a healthy weight and still shows interest in nursing.

M. Kate

Children aren’t Coloring Books

“Children aren’t coloring books.  You don’t get to fill them with your favorite colors.”  – Rahim Khan, The Kite Runner