ice is beginning to eat solid food

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com

ice has just turned 5 months last sept 9. so we started giving her solid food in addition to milk. we milled the rice so it becomes like a rice powder or something. we cook it into a very soft porridge and mix some mashed vegies, egg, or flaked fish. we feed her solid food twice a day at the moment, in the morning and during lunch. we also occasionally give her soft biscuits for her to munch sometimes to avoid her from thumbsucking instead. i am the one who gives her her breakfast before i go to work. i get amused whenever i feed her. she gets excited whenever she sees the spoon. she swallows the food quickly. but we try to control the food we give her because her stomach still does not digest that well.

maybe, we have done something wrong in training rain to eat that caused her to become a picky-eater. i have not been that keen on her diet before. or maybe that's just the way she is. but either way, i am trying to get facts on children diet to do it right with ice this time.

i have bumped into a nice website www.wholesomebabyfood.com on baby diet and found this.

here's what i learned and intend to give her. for more about this, click here

Four to Six (4-6) Months old Try mixing together the foods that you have already introduced without allergies or reactions. Rice Cereal mixed with Bananas for example.

CEREALS Rice Barley Oat

FRUITS Apples Bananas Pears Avocado

VEGGIES Sweet Potatoes Acorn/Butternut Squash Green Beans

rain's favorite food

rain as i have said in my previous blog is a picky-eater. but there are times when she eats well especially if i serve her with foods that she likes. she loves spaghetti. when we dine in fast foods, that's what she always asks me to order for her. she also loves fried chicken, specifically buttered chicken. she also loves pizza. when we order hawaiian pizza, she eats it with a certain procedure. first, she eats the ham. then, the pineapple chunks. after that is the sauce. and lastly, the crust. amusing, isn't it? but that's the way she eats pizza.

rain as a child(proud to say) loves to eat veggies. believe it or not. it is so easy to feed her when we serve her with veggies, especially vegetable soup. she loves "okra" the most. she also likes to eat beans and leafy vegetables. she eats squash only occasionally. when she was still below 2 years old, she had a vitamin A "overdose". shame on me, it was because i used to serve her with mashed squash and carrots almost every meal. i really didn't know that it was not the right thing to do. fortunately, she didn't get weak or sick. but her skin turned yellowish. the friend doctor said that it was due to excessive vitamin A in her body. so we stopped giving her squash and carrots. fortunately, thank God, the yellowish color of her skin disappeared eventually.

normally, craving for sweets and "junk foods" is inevitable for a child. and rain has it too. but she has been (more than once) diagnosed with UTI. so we'd always tell her that "junk foods" are not good for her body, she might be sent to the doctor again, and be injected, and it would really hurt, and so on. fortunately, she'd always listen, and would instead ask for cookies or bread. about candies, we give her some at times, but not always, just as a reward maybe. but as much as possible, we do not let her see candies at home. but when we go to the grocery store, she'd ask for something sweet (chocolate, lollipop, cotton candy, or whatever). thinking rain usually acts like an adult, i try to compromise and negotiate with her in an adult way. like, "rain, how about we buy you milk instead of this", "hey, maybe this is much better", "oh no, the dentist says you cannot always eat sweets, she might pull all your teeth", and many more.


grandpa: the spoiler
in one of the photos above, she was eating corn, which she also loves to eat. her grandpa(my dad) always buys her boiled corn. he is the one who spoils her the most, considering rain being his first granddaughter. she gives her practically "everything" she asks from him. which, giving us (her parents) a difficult time to refuse whatever she asks from us. when this happens, she'd always say, "alright, i'll tell grandpa". her grandpa knows what she likes to eat. and he loves to see her indulge in some food she really likes. he always buys her peanut butter, peanuts, and chocolates. whenever they go to the grocery store, the cart would be full of rain's favorite foods, including sweets and "junk foods". but now, maybe he had realized what his spoiling was causing her, so he kinda toned down a little. now they wouldn't go to the mall that often. or maybe, he had gotten bankrupt because of her (tsk-tsk-tsk...hahaha). but still and always, he never fails to show rain how much he loves her. and rain obviously has a special affection for her grandpa. i really do appreciate their relationship. only rain could tame down "the great eduardo".

growing children

tn
time indeed travels fast. rain is now three years old. she already knows how to do things in her own way. actually, she always wants things her way. i am proud of her for that. but she's just a child, she can't do all things right. i am still figuring out the right way(s) to make her understand things. it surely does require various techniques to get her to follow. in my case, i treat her like an adult, because believe me, she really thinks she is, already.

rain is a picky-eater. it really is hard to feed her most of the times. during her younger years, we try to entertain her to let her eat, to persuade her to eat. but when she got to learn to play around, it really is very hard to follow her to feed her. and when you let her stay in one place to feed her, it'll take minutes for her to swallow whatever is on her mouth. there even were times when i force-feed her. i try to scare her off or something. but, she's just a child and nobody wants a crying little child. it makes me hate myself. sometimes, we give her candy to encourage her to chew and then swallow. now, we give her a vitamin supplement to boost her appetite. i think it works a little. though, still she's not too graceful in eating breakfast. but it gets better during lunchtime and dinner. particularly during dinner, when the three of us (including his father) will eat together in the table, she seems to show interest on eating. especially when we include her in the conversation and give her some "inspiring words on eating well". this way, i get to relax a little, knowing that she stands just on the slim line of the normal weight (12 kg). but our friend, who is a doctor, says that its better that way than have her being obese or overweight considering she is a girl.

as a growing child, rain always like to play around. and she also wants to do things that adults normally do. like washing the clothes, washing the dishes and more. i always stop her to do all these things because i worry she might get colds. i never want my kids to get sick. kids getting sick is a very heavy burden to bear. it makes me feel sick a hundred times more.

being a young mom, it is hard to discipline a child. especially, in my case that i still haven't established that kind of patience that good parents normally have. i don't feel that i am good at disciplining her. but i am trying to learn the right way. i hate it when i scold her because it's like hurting myself a thousand folds back. i try to tell her calmly but sometimes it really doesn't work. it's really hard to get her to listen, specially when she's busy doing something important (at least, for her). sometimes, it requires me to raise my voice so i can get her attention. i don't want to raise my voice, but i want her to grow up right.

most of the times she cries if what she wants does not happen. it takes a lot of explaining and compromising to get her to understand the case. i guess (and i hope) these are all just normal things for a growing child. in her case, she is used to having everything the way she wants it. this is because she is our first child. she is also the first granddaughter of both our parents. and it was long before she had a sister or a cousin. during this time, all attention is towards her alone. and she gets everything that she wanted.

don't get this wrong. she is a nice child most of the times. but maybe it's just normal for a child. she is still a child. i always try to remind myself that. and she still needs more growth, physically and emotionally. so i guess, i'll just have to take my time and enjoy every moment of her young years. i know she won't be this young forever. she'll grow up, and we definitely have something to do with what she will be when she grows up. my role as a mother is a very critical and significant thing in her growing up. so i must try my best to be the best mother that i can be. with the Lord's guidance i know i can cope up.

ice is learning to crawl

today, on her fifth month, i saw ice turn around on her own. i was so amazed to see her doing something new. few weeks from now, she's going to learn to crawl. i am anticipating for that moment. i am so proud of her!