Solid Foods, Redux...or "they change so fast!"

A few weeks ago, the very curious Holden had a test-run of solids. And while he liked them very much, they didn't settle too well with his digestive system. After, er, constipation (yuck, I know!) with rice cereal, and painful cranky gas with oats, we decided to take a little break.

So now that he's officially 6 months old, we're ready to begin again. This past week Holden has started on rice cereal again, this time--thankfully--without any painful problems. We've made some tactical adjustments, like feeding him in the morning instead of the evening, so that he can work through any tummy troubles by bedtime. This seems to help, psychologically, anyway. And based on our doc's advise, we're holding off on the oats for a little while, and moving on to fruits and vegetables instead. So far this week, he's tried homemade sweet potatoes, which he royally protested. We'll keep working on that one. By the way, if your ever interested in making your own food, wholesomebabyfood.com is a great website.

All this solid food business is making me realize, as they cliche goes, "they grow up so fast!" A year ago at this time, I was telling the world that I was pregnant! Plus, I find the whole task of getting them from breast milk to adult food daunting. How do we get from point A to point C? I know we take it day by day, but it's amazing how quickly it all goes. Whenever I see an 18-month old I am in disbelief that Holden could possibly ever look or act like that. I guess that's what people mean when they tell me that once you get to the 6 month mark, time really starts to fly. In the meantime, we'll keep charting our food adventures here for the one or two of you who remain curious.

20 Weeks: Halfway!

Today we hit the 20 week mark, which means we're halfway to the big d-day on Halloween (this also means we could be over halfway if the Short Stranger is impatient and arrives early). It's been a pretty awesome week all around for us and the Short Stranger. Two days after I returned from my lovely research trip to DC, we learned through our big ultrasound that the Short Stranger is a boy, so he now goes by Mr. Stranger. We also got a peek at all his body parts, as he danced about on the screen for us (mostly face down, so we didn't get to see much of his profile). It's truly amazing that you can see the four chambers of the heart at this point! I'm also feeling his movements much more regularly this week, including an occasional tapping sensation that seems a lot more specific than the vague flitters I usually feel. And--as our friend Jen had predicted--I'm having to say goodbye to a lot of my non-maternity clothes this week. Hello bump!

And in other news, I also started prenatal yoga at the YMCA last night, which is run by this cool chick with wild tattoos running up both of her arms. She's totally South City! The class will be a great respite after working at the St. Louis Art Museum every Thursday.

So we know from the ultrasound this week that the Mr. is around 10 oz, but in babycenter.com food-talk, this means he's apparently about the length of a banana. I'm thinking that the website has run out of round mid-sized fruits and vegetables. And speaking of food, babycenter.com has decided to focus on digestion this week. Incidentally, we also know from the ultrasound that Mr. Stranger's stomach and kidney's are working well.

Here's what the website has to say:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).