What's For Dinner?

It has always been a bit of a pet peeve of mine when people ask if we've started feeding Charlotte "real food." As though my milk is not enough, as though I'm depriving her of something. I may not be a woman with an over-supply issue, but Charlotte is continuing to grow and thrive.

"Solid food" is a better term to use. And the answer is yes, we have. I had hoped to exclusively breast feed Charlotte for 6 months and then introduce solids. I'm not able to keep up with her 100% since returning to work - stress, time constraints, sleep deprivation, blah blah blah. I figured if I had to start supplementing, homemade additive-free solids seemed to be a better choice than formula. At her 4-month check-up, her pediatrician gave us the okay to either start solids or wait a while - - he did not pressure us one way or the other. He let us know which foods would probably be easiest on her system and let us know to introduce new foods slowly so we could keep an eye out for allergies or sensitivities.

The week before Christmas, we gave her a bit of rice cereal. She loved it!!

"Hmm, what is this?"

"OMG it's delicious!"

"Let me help you with that, Mommy!"

"What do you mean 'all done!'?"

She took to it like it's something she's been doing forever! She squealed in between bites, stretching her arms out for more. It made for a very happy memory!

After she had rice cereal for a couple of weeks (about every other day) and had no problems, we decided to start adding some fruit and veggies. My brother Chris got us a Baby Bullet, and it looks like making our own baby food will be as easy as it will be budget-friendly (have you seen the price of a tiny jar of baby food?)!

On January 1, Charlotte got her first taste of bananas. They were a HUGE success!

"This doesn't taste like rice..."

"Bananas are yummy!"

Practicing her karate chops while she eats...

 For those of you wondering, no, the introduction of solid foods has not helped her nighttime sleep at all. It's been worse these last 6 weeks or so than ever before - last Saturday she was up every 20 - 40 minutes for about 6 hours. After that she slept 2 hours.

Now that Ben's back in Kentucky (YAY) and staying with Charlotte during the day, we're working to get her into a good routine - especially at bedtime. Since Saturday, it's gotten a little bit better each night, so we're hoping that progress continues.

It was great to spend time with our family and friends, but I think all 3 of us were ready to get home and spend some time as a family. After 400 miles of distance between us for 6 weeks, it's sooooo nice to have Ben home! While the situation is not what either of us feels is best, we're glad that Ben can stay home with Charlotte while I work.

2011 was full of blessings, joys, challenges, opportunity, and good health... here's hoping the trend continues in 2012!! :o)