Big Girl Eating

When I decided to start introducing Kiki to solid foods, I was prepared for certain side effects -- specifically constipation. When she made the transition from mostly breast milk to mostly formula (I just .... stopped producing. Go figure.), she got constipated, so I figured adding solid foods would do pretty much the same thing.

And it has. We've done the prune juice -- diluted with half water and 1 oz given 2ce a day. This works somewhat except that she's not crazy about prune juice (who can blame her?) We've had to resort to glycerin suppositories on occasion. But what I've found actually seems to work on a regular basis -- no pun intended -- is corn syrup in every bottle.

And no I'm not being a paranoid mom who can't tell the difference between constipation and solid poop. Yes, I know breastfed babies do the soft pooping that is nothing like the firmer pooping of the formula-fed baby. And I know that all babies strain when they poop and it doesn't mean they're constipated. But when she's straining so hard she turns purple AND she starts screaming until it's come out AND she's passing a little blood AND it's the consistency (I shit you not -- again no pun intended) of modelling clay -- well, honey, your baby is constipated.

Okay, anyway, we have it under control.

But we have this OTHER side effect of introducing solid foods that I honestly did NOT expect AT ALL. I mean, it's not like I'm feeding her a TON of solid food. I'm INTRODUCING, which means, you know, a tablespoon of some kind of food 4 days in a row, until I introduce a different food. So again, just one tablespoon a day of food.

I think I went awry when I then decided to add a nighttime treat of rice cereal, so now she's getting 2 tablespoons of solid food day, two different times a day.

In any case, the upshot is that Kiki loves to eat big girl food. She's very good at it. She opens her mouth like a little bird after every swallow. She bounces around excitedly while she's eating. She claps her hands. She feels at her mouth, plays a little with the food.

In other words, she loves to eat. Just like I'd thought she would.

And she has decided she hates her bottle. Which I never in a million years expected.

I mean not HATE hate, but she could do without, you know? I'm glad I don't breastfeed, because she's taken to chewing on the nipple. And then she takes a mouthful of formula and spits it out like a fountain and grins. She pushes away the bottle after a couple of ounces, then fusses because it's gone, then just plays with the nipple when it's back in her mouth.

And this happens at every feeding, mind you, not just after I've given her food. If she decides to wean herself in the next couple of months, I will just kick myself until she's 16 for just HAVING to introduce food so damned early.

Update: she dislikes bananas and hates green beans. But she luuuurrrrrves sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash. Next up: apples! (I know it should be peas. I want it to be peas. But Kipp wants her to try the cereal with apple in it and I won't let her try it until I introduce apples, and he's very impatient with the whole introduction thing.)