Today, I took Baby CP to the farmer's market at the Ferry Building because I wanted to pick up some organic vegetables to make him a vegetable baby broth based on a recipe I found. Baby CP drinks milk, some formula and some water during the day, but I think he still needs more fluids to regulate his system. The baby broth is supposed to be great because not only is it a non-sugary source of fluids, it is also packed with nutrients. Afterwards, you can also take the veggies that were used to make the broth and puree those for meals too. The broth can also be used to flavor other foods and to poach fish. I hope he likes it because I made about 6 cups.
Baby Vegetable Broth
Ingredients
2 quarts (8 cups) of cold water
6 oz carrots, cut into rounds or, if thin carrots, about 3/4" pieces
6 oz broccoli florets
6 oz cauliflower florets
1 cup of coarsely chopped rainbow chard
1 tomato
Directions
Put everything into a medium pot and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and let simmer for an hour. Strain the vegetables out of the liquid and set them aside.
SUPER easy. Baby CP went down for a nap and 25 minutes later, my broth was already boiling. I think you can put any vegetables in it...I didn't have exactly what the recipe called for, so I improvised. I plan to freeze the broth into ice cubes and to puree the veggies and freeze those for his weekday meals.
Because we headed out to the farmer's market before 8:30 this morning, I didn't have any solids prepared for Baby CP when we got home. The foods I had prepared in weeks past were frozen solid in the freezer. Last week, I had purchased a couple pouches of Happy Baby Organic Stage 2 baby food for Baby CP because they come in convenient pouches which are perfect to carry in the diaper bag in case we need to feed him some solids while we're out. They have caps that screw on and off so it's pretty clean. They are called Stage 2 because they are combos - I bought pear, broccoli and peas and mango, pear and spinach. Yes...those combos totally sound weird, but other parents wrote reviews about how their babies just LOVE the stuff.
Anyway, I cracked open the pear, broccoli and peas today to see if Baby CP would like it. The consistency is super smooth...much smoother than any puree we can make in our food processor...and not too runny. Baby CP opened his mouth for the first spoonful and took almost a whole minute to contemplate the flavors, then he started to lean forward in his chair for MORE MORE MORE. So I tasted just a teeny bit and of course the stuff is very very sweet. No wonder babies love it. The package only list pears, broccoli, peas and lemon juice...not mention of additional sugar or fructose. It tastes like pears and smells a little like peas, but my adult taste buds would not be able to handle it.. After Baby CP finished the first tablespoon, he started clamoring for more, so I mixed more into some oatmeal so it wouldn't be quite so sweet. He liked that.
So, I'm not sure how I feel about the pouches...I do think I will invest in the prune ones to help Baby CP's digestive system along since he eats a lot of oatmeal and bananas which leaves him a little constipated, and I think pureeing prunes is probably a pain in the butt. However, unless I can find flavors or another brand that is less sweet, I feel kind of weird feeding this stuff to him.
Babies are funny though...they love sweets. Baby CP has very little interest in green beans and zucchini unless we at least mix it into oatmeal and even then, he would never want to eat them with the same excitement that he expressed for the pouch today.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
39 Weeks Old
Baby CP has been sick with a snotty nose for over a week. =( Unfortunately, he HATES having his nose wiped and will scream if you get the aspiration bulb anywhere near him. I'm not sure if it's the stuffiness or teething, but he's not very enthusiastic about eating solids these days. This week I prepared pureed string beans, pureed zucchini, curry potatoes and cauliflower. I can get him to eat only a couple spoonfuls before he refuses to open his mouth and quickly loses patience with sitting in his high chair. He will eat a few pieces of banana at night though.
Baby CP took only 2 days to figure out how to drink water from the straw in his Zoli BOT sippy straw cup. I didn't even have to entice him into learning by putting juice in it. I bought him the straw cup because I didn't like that he had to tip his head back with the other types of sippy cups. He enjoys holding onto the handles himself and shoving the straw into his mouth.
Last week, Baby CP had his first bottle of formula. He hasn't had any formula since he was 2 days old when we had to force feed him a few drops by syringe in an attempt to clear his jaundice. Formula seems pretty convenient to make and Baby CP drank all 5 oz without batting an eyelash. I guess it must taste good. I'm thankful it was that easy, because Baby CP has been eating an extra bottle a day and mommy is going to try to cut down on the number of daily pumping sessions to free up an extra 30 minutes a day. The supplement takes a little of the pressure off.
Baby CP has become confident in his crawling - though he still uses that one leg like a propeller...his nanny thinks he does this because the hardwood floors are slippery - Baby CP will now try to leave to explore other rooms on his own and sometimes will follow me into other rooms.
Baby CP is more consistent with shaking your hand (wo wo shou) and giving you a high five if you ask in the morning or after he's not seen you for a while. Maybe he knows you only greet people when you see them at first and not when they've already been around for a while. =P
Baby CP took only 2 days to figure out how to drink water from the straw in his Zoli BOT sippy straw cup. I didn't even have to entice him into learning by putting juice in it. I bought him the straw cup because I didn't like that he had to tip his head back with the other types of sippy cups. He enjoys holding onto the handles himself and shoving the straw into his mouth.
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| Taken on my iPhone. I wish our lighting was less yellow. |
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| He's trying to escape with my bag. |
Baby CP has become confident in his crawling - though he still uses that one leg like a propeller...his nanny thinks he does this because the hardwood floors are slippery - Baby CP will now try to leave to explore other rooms on his own and sometimes will follow me into other rooms.
Baby CP is more consistent with shaking your hand (wo wo shou) and giving you a high five if you ask in the morning or after he's not seen you for a while. Maybe he knows you only greet people when you see them at first and not when they've already been around for a while. =P
Friday, February 10, 2012
8 Months Old!
Baby is 8 months old (or 37 weeks old)!
This past week, Baby CP enjoyed some spinach in his oatmeal. We think he's teething again because he acts a little crazy sometimes and wants to find things to chew on. He might also be hungry or just generally curious and excited about food. One night, I had some chinese broccoli sitting in a plate on the coffee table with dinner. I turned around to talk to Mr. CP about something for about a minute and when I looked at Baby CP who was standing in front of me he had already shoved a piece of chinese broccoli into his mouth. I thought it might be bitter for babies, but he didn't seem to mind. The next day I gave him a lemon to play with while I was washing dishes and when I turned around he was using his little teeth to gnaw on the peel. He had little bits of lemon zest on his bib...haha...he smelled lemony fresh all morning!
I bought the Boon highchair on Craigslist because I wanted a chair that is easy to clean. This chair doesn't have all the folds and crevices so it's easy to wipe down. The food tray can be put in the dishwasher if that's your thing. The chair is on the heavy side, but it has a couple really nice features. The chair is very sturdy and rolls everywhere. The nanny can take him from room to room in it and he likes being wheeled around. The chair also has a pnuematic lift so you can adjust the height of the seat easily.
Yesterday, I returned home to find that Baby CP had caught a cold. The poor guy had a runny snotty nose and had barely slept all day. I was afraid that he would wake up every hour since his nasal passages were blocked, but I think he was just so exhausted and I had given him some baby tylenol to help. He ended up sleeping from 10-5:30 and then another couple hours after that so it wasn't too bad. I was hoping he would get some sleep so that he could recuperate faster.
This is a photo from a month and a half ago of Baby CP sitting in a shopping cart for the first time. He loves going shopping...so many things to see! Sometimes he twists himself all around so that he can see as the cart is being pushed forward but usually he is just really calm and content.
This past week, Baby CP enjoyed some spinach in his oatmeal. We think he's teething again because he acts a little crazy sometimes and wants to find things to chew on. He might also be hungry or just generally curious and excited about food. One night, I had some chinese broccoli sitting in a plate on the coffee table with dinner. I turned around to talk to Mr. CP about something for about a minute and when I looked at Baby CP who was standing in front of me he had already shoved a piece of chinese broccoli into his mouth. I thought it might be bitter for babies, but he didn't seem to mind. The next day I gave him a lemon to play with while I was washing dishes and when I turned around he was using his little teeth to gnaw on the peel. He had little bits of lemon zest on his bib...haha...he smelled lemony fresh all morning!
I bought the Boon highchair on Craigslist because I wanted a chair that is easy to clean. This chair doesn't have all the folds and crevices so it's easy to wipe down. The food tray can be put in the dishwasher if that's your thing. The chair is on the heavy side, but it has a couple really nice features. The chair is very sturdy and rolls everywhere. The nanny can take him from room to room in it and he likes being wheeled around. The chair also has a pnuematic lift so you can adjust the height of the seat easily.
Yesterday, I returned home to find that Baby CP had caught a cold. The poor guy had a runny snotty nose and had barely slept all day. I was afraid that he would wake up every hour since his nasal passages were blocked, but I think he was just so exhausted and I had given him some baby tylenol to help. He ended up sleeping from 10-5:30 and then another couple hours after that so it wasn't too bad. I was hoping he would get some sleep so that he could recuperate faster.
This is a photo from a month and a half ago of Baby CP sitting in a shopping cart for the first time. He loves going shopping...so many things to see! Sometimes he twists himself all around so that he can see as the cart is being pushed forward but usually he is just really calm and content.
35 Weeks Old
This post is also a couple weeks late, and by now, I'm sure my weekly age count is wrong, but we'll keep pretending that I didn't miss any dates. =P
We brought Baby CP back to the pediatrician's office for another weigh in. He weighed 19 lbs 13 oz. He still hasn't broken the 20lb mark, but at least he has gained some weight. The doctor said that he's right around the 50th percentile now, so he's fine. I figured as much since he's a pretty happy baby, but the doctor had been a little concerned since Baby CP used to be in the 90th percentile at 3 months and and then didn't gain weight for 2 months (months 6 and 7). Baby CP has been introduced to meat...he had some beef in his rice porridge at a couple Chinese restaurants. He really likes to eat with us and is very well behaved if he has something to eat while we're eating. We've also tried adding some wild caught salmon into his rice porridge, but he didn't seem to like that very much. Last week mommy gave him some mashed blueberries without the skin and he seemed to think those were tasty. The doctor said to try giving him some veggies and to avoid juice, since it's mostly just empty calories.
On Sunday, we tried the saline pool at the newly renovated YMCA in Chinatown. It was about 82 degrees which by adult standards is pretty warm, but since babies don't really know how to kick yet, they just get cold. The second Baby CP hit the water he became very upset. That was a tough 30 minutes. I'm lucky he didn't catch a cold! We'll go back to Le Petit Baleen in San Bruno where the pool is as warm as a bathtub.
Baby CP likes being spun around in a circle. It makes him laugh. I am not sure whether he gets dizzy...but I do. Sometimes he finds it relaxing though...if he's tired and in the ergo spinning around a little induces a smile and then his eyes close and he falls asleep pretty quickly.
Here is Baby CP at the park. At his age, he should probably be lying down in the swing, but he insists on looking around.
Here is a photo of Baby CP in the Presidio. We went to the bowling alley to celebrate auntie T's birthday and walked by these cannons. Baby CP seemed to find it amusing to sit on them. This also happens to be just a few steps away from where mommy and daddy got married. =)
We brought Baby CP back to the pediatrician's office for another weigh in. He weighed 19 lbs 13 oz. He still hasn't broken the 20lb mark, but at least he has gained some weight. The doctor said that he's right around the 50th percentile now, so he's fine. I figured as much since he's a pretty happy baby, but the doctor had been a little concerned since Baby CP used to be in the 90th percentile at 3 months and and then didn't gain weight for 2 months (months 6 and 7). Baby CP has been introduced to meat...he had some beef in his rice porridge at a couple Chinese restaurants. He really likes to eat with us and is very well behaved if he has something to eat while we're eating. We've also tried adding some wild caught salmon into his rice porridge, but he didn't seem to like that very much. Last week mommy gave him some mashed blueberries without the skin and he seemed to think those were tasty. The doctor said to try giving him some veggies and to avoid juice, since it's mostly just empty calories.
On Sunday, we tried the saline pool at the newly renovated YMCA in Chinatown. It was about 82 degrees which by adult standards is pretty warm, but since babies don't really know how to kick yet, they just get cold. The second Baby CP hit the water he became very upset. That was a tough 30 minutes. I'm lucky he didn't catch a cold! We'll go back to Le Petit Baleen in San Bruno where the pool is as warm as a bathtub.
Baby CP likes being spun around in a circle. It makes him laugh. I am not sure whether he gets dizzy...but I do. Sometimes he finds it relaxing though...if he's tired and in the ergo spinning around a little induces a smile and then his eyes close and he falls asleep pretty quickly.
Here is Baby CP at the park. At his age, he should probably be lying down in the swing, but he insists on looking around.
Here is a photo of Baby CP in the Presidio. We went to the bowling alley to celebrate auntie T's birthday and walked by these cannons. Baby CP seemed to find it amusing to sit on them. This also happens to be just a few steps away from where mommy and daddy got married. =)
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