Yum Yum

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. 

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.

Taken on my iPhone.  I wish our lighting was less yellow.

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.

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

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.

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.  =)

34 Weeks Old

This posting is about a week late...  Baby CP tries to stand just about anywhere so we have to watch him very vigilantly.  It's exhausting.  We now go to bed at around 9 or 10 (within less than an hour) after Baby CP goes to sleep.

Here is a photo of him from a playgroup a couple weekends ago.  He's sitting right in the middle focused on playing with something..I'm sure it's a germ-infested toy.

Here are is a photo and a video of Baby CP at his first swim class.  We'll be trying classes at the saline pool at the newly renovated YMCA in Chinatown next week.

Baby CP and his buddy Toby in the pool at Le Petite Baleen in San Bruno.

We have tried to give Baby CP apples a few times, but he never seems to like them much.  Whereas he will open his mouth really wide to eat oatmeal, you can barely get him to open his mouth at all when eating apples.  I cut some banana into tiny pieces and he seemed to enjoy "chewing" on that.  Tonight we went out to a restaurant for a birthday dinner.  Baby CP was really tired and he did not want to sit in the highchair at all.  The only way to distract him was to give him some of what the adults were eating, because he is just so interested in what we eat.  The only single food item I had were the french fries that came with my burger...I feel terrible about it, but I ripped a couple up into really small pieces and he gobbled them all up.  Then we gave him some water out of a cup and out of a straw (putting drops into his mouth) and he kept wanting to drink it, probably because the french fries had some salt, but maybe he also liked the idea of drinking what mommy was drinking.   I think he really enjoyed being included.  Mr. CP suggested that we find some kind of heathier and convenient snack that we can always just toss in the baby bag when we go out so we're not forced to give Baby CP unhealthy foods when we're out.  I'll have to look into it.

7 Months Old!

This past week, Baby CP reached the ripe old age of 7 months old.  At his checkup today, he weighed in at 19 lbs and measured 27.25 inches.  He's grown an inch since his last appointment, but apparently has lost a few ounces.  I don't think it's a big deal since he's so active these days and he seems to be eating a ton, but the doctor wants to reweigh him in a couple weeks.

Baby CP is becoming increasingly mobile these days.  He doesn't quite crawl properly, but he either inchworms or uses one leg to propel him.  It looks almost as if he wants to skip crawling and jump straight to walking, so the crawl looks somewhere in between the two.

The edge of Tooth #3 (top right) is erupting, so he's been chewing on things and drooling everywhere.

We've moved Baby CP into his own room.  He had been using the railing to help himself stand which was quite amazing, but then I got nervous that he might fall out somehow, so we dropped the crib mattress.

The last photo of Baby CP with his crib in our room.

His first night in his own room went really well.  He cries a little in his sleep sometimes, but settled back to sleep on his own.  He went 8 hours straight and then another 2 after eating.  Last night didn't go so well...he woke up super hyper at 3am and didn't go back to sleep until 4:30.  They say sometimes babies' brains become extra active when going through developmental changes and that it's a phase that passes.

We think Baby CP knows a few words now.  If I say milk in Chinese or show him the sign language sign for milk he will smile if he is hungry.  Sometimes at night if he's hungry, he informs me by climbing up my arm while I'm eating dinner so he can get a look at what the adults are eating.  He has such an intense interest in food.  This week we introduced roasted pumpkin puree and he has been eating baby oatmeal cereal.  Baby CP also loves his vitamin drops.  I think they taste disgusting, but they are a little sweet, so he will lie very still right before I drop them into his mouth.  Starting two days ago, if I say "droppies" he will smile, become calm and wait for them by licking his lips or opening his mouth.  How funny.

This weekend we're taking Baby CP to his first baby swim class.  It's a free trial class and it's nice to get them acquainted with the water at a young age.  We know he likes baths, so hopefully he adjusts well.  He also has a Mandarin playgroup to attend and a playdate with another big little guy.

30 Weeks Old - Happy New Year!

Baby CP is now over 30 weeks old.  He can sit up on his own now by moving from all fours to his side and then to sitting.

We have moved the bath location to the bathtub because Baby CP likes to splash the water and also for safety - he can get very squirmy.

Baby CP's weight and height remain steady a few ounces above 19 lbs and around 27 inches.  He has his next checkup in a couple weeks, so we'll see if he grows more before then.  He's so far eaten congee, oatmeal cereal, pureed pears, pureed apples and smashed bananas.  We didn't really stick to the 7 days between each new food program, but so far it doesn't seem like he has any allergies to what he's eaten.  For the rice and oatmeal, he lunges for the spoon so I think he likes eating.  I'm not sure if it's because he thinks it is fun or because he is hungry.  He had eaten bananas for a couple days and then didn't want them anymore.  Then when we tried apple sauce, he didn't seem to like it at all on the first day.  Today, I combined the two and added a tad of water and he ate it all up.  My guess is that you have to feed him solids during the day before he gets tired.  I think feeding him solids at night when he's fussier hasn't been as successful.

A couple weeks ago we abandoned the cry it out method.  Baby CP seemed to make progress, getting down to as little as 2 minutes of crying some nights before falling asleep on his own, but then there were other nights or naptimes where it would take 20 minutes.  After trying it for about 2-3 weeks, I felt that he was just falling asleep because he was tiring himself out and not because he had actually learned how to soothe himself.  Instead, I have started feeding him a bottle about half an hour to an hour before bedtime and I keep feeding him every so often until he seems about ready to sleep.  Then I carry him around for a couple minutes over my shoulder and he falls asleep pretty quickly.  For weekend naptimes, I pop him into the ergo and then transfer him into the crib a couple minutes after he falls asleep.  I do think cry it out did help him learn how to get through the transfer phase though so it probably wasn't a waste of time...before all of this sleep training, transferring Baby CP into his crib was always tricky and he probably woke up about 50-70% of the time.  This lead to him sleeping in our bed a night after his first night waking - I was just too tired to deal with transferring him into his crib.  The past week, however it's gotten much easier, he often opens his eyes when I'm putting him into his crib, but once he hits the mattress, more than 90% of the time, he just seems happy to go to sleep so I haven't had to put him in our bed.  I'm hoping he can keep this up. 

Today, Baby CP has been acting very strange.  He has been frantically trying to find things to chew on.  I assume he must be teething again...but this didn't happen last time.  Mr. CP caught him trying to climb into the laundry basket to find something to chew.  I gave him a pacifier the two times I put him in the ergo and he seemed to like chewing on it and it also helped him fall asleep within minutes.  It's the first time I've seen him take the pacifier in over 3 months.