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Diary Of A New Mum -
Week 19
All Things Weaning
This week we started the exciting
process of weaning. I know ‘current guidelines’ say wait until six months, but a
few years ago they said 4 months, and a few years before that 3 months. We, as
Jess’s parents, made an informed decision to start at 18 weeks – and Jess’s
reaction told us we had timed it just right. In fact, the look on her face when
she tasted her baby rice said, ‘Why have you waited so long?!’
All the signs were there. Her milk
feeds, which had satisfied her for up to four hours at a time before, suddenly
weren’t enough. She was crying for food much earlier than usual. Being tiny, she
couldn’t fit enough in her belly to last her until the next feed so she demanded
her milk earlier and earlier until it seemed as though we were feeding her
constantly.
She can also hold her head up really
well now, and sit in her Bumbo chair unsupported, and she puts everything in her
mouth (although this might be teething). We planned it all really carefully, I
read all the books (as is my tendency when doing something new) and Monday
morning we gave Jessica-Ann her milk as usual then sat her down to try her first
taste.
The book said that babies, on being
given a spoonful of something relatively solid for the first time (actually the
baby rice mixture is just like thick milk), would do one of three things: Screw
up their faces, cry and spit it out; screw up their faces, open their mouths and
let it drop out; screw up their faces, scream and violently spray the food all
over the room.
With Jess they only got one part right –
she did screw up her face. Then she moved the food around her mouth while making
yummy noises, swallowed it, and opened her mouth wide for more. She was like a
little bird. She had all the rice, and actually looked disappointed when it was
finished.
So weaning clearly isn’t going to be a
chore at all! Since then she’s also tried pureed pear, which she loved, and
sweet potato, which she also loved. It’s a breeze. Her poos are fine (sorry to
go on about poo again), so it clearly agrees with her, and she is sleeping even
better than before – an all round happy, contented baby.
I surprised myself this week. Not given
to spending time in the kitchen (cooking is Paul’s forte, not mine), I actually
enjoyed cooking and pureeing Jess’s food. It felt wholesome and nurturing, not
tiresome and tedious like I’d imagined. She has dug deep inside me, this baby,
and pulled out all sorts of qualities I never knew I had. Who knows what I’ll
discover about myself next! That I like cleaning, for instance? No. I don’t
think so. Not even Jessica-Ann could produce a miracle like that.
Positioning Your
Baby For Breastfeeding
Although breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, there is
a correct technique that will help feeding go smoothly and avoid many
common breastfeeding problems
Diary Of A New
Mum - Week 25
Babies And Boats
In which we decide to buy a narrowboat for weekending - despite the fact
that many people think we are mad to take a baby on board!
Print, cut and assemble a mobile to decorate the baby's room - or make
use of matching room signs, door hangers, photo frames and more! Room Decorations To Print
Everything from nursery mobiles and cut-outs to birth announcements and baby
shower invitations and scrapbook paper! Baby Printables
