Kenyan Pundit

IMG_1005

Originally uploaded by ateka.

For the fellow mama’s - a mummy post.

I didn’t coordinate the “b” block. For real.

She’s eleven months next week. Cruising along furniture now and still very desperate to walk, but balance not there. We’re both bored of baby food so I think she starts eating more of what we’re eating from next week If I can discipline myself to cook early that is. This has been a wonderful phase with her personality developing - she’s so interesting and such a fast learner (for real, this is not mama bias). She loves to imitate you coughing and laughing…it’s the funniest thing. I’ve forgotten the sleepless nights. Now if I can keep her away from my laptop.

It’s my birthday tomorrow so off till Monday.

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Gabi_8.5 months

Originally uploaded by ateka.

She’s just turned nine months and is such a joy. She can wave goodbye and hello…it’s the cutest thing. FINALLY sleeping through the night…yes I endured 8.5 months of not having more than 4 hours of straight sleep. What did it in the end? Not sure. I increased her protein intake quite a bit (both lunch and dinner), she’s a lot more active during the day, and maybe she just decided it was time to give Mama a break (confession, I kind of missed her at night the first few nights she slept through). Kinda crawling. Well, it’s more like the caterpillar move thingy. She’s very fast especially when a forbidden object is in sight. But given her issues with tummy time, any movement on her stomach is an accomplishment in my view. She’s really eager to walk, though I think that’s a couple of months away.

(That’s jelly in the pic, we do a mums and babies playgroup once a week).

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Edible toesies

Originally uploaded by ateka.

They really are edible.

Thanks everyone who left a comment/emailed on the transitions to solids. Cereal is still a challenge - so far cerelac, 4C porridge, and oatmeal have been rejected. We’ve come full circle and are back to rice cereal with some fruit in it. So far so good. Carrots can be sneaked in with loads of sweet potato. Key word is sneak. I once got confident about my “masking” abilities and took it too far, Gabi figured it out and proceeded to shut her mouth firmly (she also hits the bowl and spoon when she’s not interested and hums with every spoonful when she loves what she’s eating). Other interesting things - she likes water over juice - I’ll ride that while it lasts, can’t get enough papaya, and will not eat anything with even the hint of lumps…hopefully that changes once the teeth show up. Sitting properly now, still hates “tummy time” so I’m wondering if she’ll ever crawl. Stretches her arms when she wants to be picked up…learned that yesterday. Trying to laugh out loud (she currently giggles/howls), but ends up doing this fake cough thing instead…it’s the funniest thing.

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IMG_0670

Originally uploaded by ateka.

We can sit up on our own for a bit, ears got pierced with minimal fuss, still hate carrots, don’t care too much for any kind of cereal either but mama is insisting.

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Gabi_Cute

Originally uploaded by ateka.

She’s 20 weeks today, this was taken about a week and a half ago.

For the other new mums who want details (and let me know if my mini foray into mommy blogging is helpful)…we’ve been doing solids for about 3 weeks, new guidelines from the experts and the paed recommend waiting until six months, but I was tired of waking up several times a night to feed her (solids seem to have helped) and I felt she was ready to move on. So far so good, she’s always been a good eater. Started with rice cereal mixed with formula, then a new mashed veggie with a bit of milk mixed in for 3 days to see what’s popular and to watch for any reactions. First veggie was carrots, which was not a big hit. We’ll try again next month, maybe mixed with something else. Second veggie was sweet potato, very popular…she could do seconds. Third veggie was butternut, not as a big a hit as sweet potato but seems to go down well. Right now doing butternut and sweet potato combo. I’ve put off trying fruit until this week because it’s recommended that you get them used to vegetables first before the sweetness of fruit. Banana has not been well received to my suprised, tomorrow we try pears.

To the non-mums…yes, with motherhood comes preoccupation with a lot of things that many would find mundane including the color and consistency of the baby’s poop

A couple of tips on the transition to solids:
- A big plastic bib is essential, it gets messy.
- Don’t worry if half the food seems to end up everywhere but in the mouth in the beginning, they soon get the hang of it. Start with small portions first and not when they are too hungry otherwise they don’t have the patience (sometimes I give her a bit of milk beforehand).
- It’s trial and error, some foods will take and some won’t. Don’t fret about it and don’t be afraid to go with your instincts.
- Recommend the book “Complete First Year Planner” by Annabel Karmel. Gives you a good idea on a schedule you can follow plus has ideas for meals when they are ready to try more.

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