Growing up!

I am sure not the last time Kelly and I will think this, but Jenna is getting so big already. She started eating solid foods at 4 months old and now she has just gotten so good at it, she might not need us anymore:-) (okay, not that good)

She eats solid foods at least once a day, I try and feed her solids twice a day, but it depends. Her favorite food is sweet potato, but she also loves peas, green beans, and oatmeal. She isn't a big fan of banana baby food strangely enough, but she will eat it. We haven't tried real bananas yet. I bought some that need to ripen little more before we can try it. She also didn't like the strawberry, apple combination. She does like applesauce alone or in her oatmeal.

Figuring out when to give her food was a challenge. We started with dinner because that was when I was home from work, and it just seemed like we had the most time then. It worked well, so she gets solid food every evening around dinner. She also gets some for brunch, if we are home. After lunch is usually her long nap so that doesn't work. We also tried first thing in the morning, but that didn't work. After a long 10 hours of sleep, she just wants her bottle and doesn't want to mess with the spoon. When I moved it to brunch, around her 9 AM bottle, that was better. The problem is, we aren't always home at this time. I am hoping with summer I can get her on a more regular schedule, but who knows with Kelly being gone. I think Jenna will have to learn to be flexible, which she probably is more so than I am.

So, what does she eat? At this point she is up to Stage 2 baby foods, mixed flavors (corn and sweet potato or broccoli and chicken). I plan on working through all the store bought foods and then moving on to making my own. I didn't have time or desire to make them too early since I was still working. Now that I am off, I figure I can try it. She also drinks juice (Apple or grape so far) from a sippy cup. At first I had to basically pour it in her mouth, but now she will actually suck it from the cup. She can't really get the cup to her mouth yet, although she really tries. She will reach for it and I help her get it to her mouth. Of course, we are working on the sign for drink, but she hasn't picked that up yet either. She also gets small bits of cereal that dissolve in her mouth. These are kind of like the crackers she was eating before, but they are little pieces so she can pick them up and put them in her mouth herself. Some of the cereal bits miss the mark, but she can get them in as well. She also has yogurt melts, which are the same concept in that they melt in her mouth. She gets these for breakfast and she really likes them.

Kelly and I are so proud. We try and have her eat with us as often as we can. We want her to learn about family meal times, so we sit together, eat and talk in the evenings. What else do you do without TV?

By the way, neither Kelly nor I really miss the TV much. Last week he was out of town and, although we still have our PVR, I made a point not to watch the TV. It wasn't that bad. I got some reading done and even cleaned the bathroom one night after Jenna went to bed. Something I usually try to do when she is awake for some strange reason. The thing I miss the most is the weather. I check weather.com, but I don't think it is as accurate as local forecasts. Guess I will just have to talk more to friends and find out from them. Or watch the weather forecast on the local TV website in the morning. I just don't think about it.