Month: January 2014

Each day presents new challenges. From new foods to new behaviors. Sometimes they are just AAAAdorable and sometimes these behaviors befuddle me. What do I do? First, today, she tried raspberries for the first time and sourly winced as she placed a piece gingerly in her mouth. I did not want her to starve, so I reverted back to the egg and banana route. She of course wanted her “baba” which I am learning has to come after she eats or she’ll just want milk. I now dilute it with water since she loves it so much and I can’t overfeed her the 24 recommended per day ounces. Next endeavor will be hummus, avocado and black beans.

After I picked her up today, I took her to Cheesecake Factory to meet my mom. She had not had a nap which should have been my red siren blaring, but oh well, let’s do this. We arrive and she instantly looks for things to grab. I hand her a small graham cracker as I pray for the waiter to hurry and bring the food. Steamed broccoli (she loves the floret tops) and grilled chicken quickly arrive and she proceeds to throw them on the floor as she laughs and screams. Oh joy. A screaming child? Really? I pull out every trick in the book….a mini book, her bear, a sippy cup of water (blegh…she hates plain water), puffs, a squeazy…all go on the floor. This is when I give up and decide it’s time to flee the premises. On the way home, she proceeds to SCREAM bloody murder. This is the sign of extreme tiredness. After about 5 minutes of straight screaching, she falls asleep. NO! It’s too early now for her to sleep, so the minute we arrive at home, I give her the baba and read her a story. Slowly we fade to bed, and now? I’m wondering if this is normal…normal to have a screamer!? I suppose I am going to have to just A) practice taking her to restaurants; B) make sure she is well-rested BEFORE we go; C) find more bags of tricks; or D) never go out in public ever again.

Breathe.

Yep…..sportin the shades!

 

How do I keep up with this inquiring mind and voracious appetite for learning? I have noticed that her play area (s) is filled with toys from when she was only 4-6 months old. It’s time to rotate and learn what she can thrive on. Yes, I have been given some amazing toys and gadgets, but I need to understand what is age appropriate and opportunistic for learning. Plus, when she is in her lobster, she gets bored easily, and I want her to learn to entertain herself instead of relying on everyone around her to keep her entertained. (Although she does recover quickly and make the most of her time)

I scoured blogs and various mommy sites to see what is working for others out there (Thank goodness for other minds since I’m clueless!) Then, I decided to create little “boxes” for each area of the house and just rotate, adding new toys as she grows. Some things I have around the house!
Here are some ideas I discovered:
1. Tape down some wax paper on the island (while she is in her lobster) and let her fingerpaint with pudding or yogurt. I can also tape down paper and get some crayons teaching her to draw!

2. Various puzzles and nested cups keep her occupied and teach her spatial relationships.

3.Empty mini boxes and bandaid boxes. Plus I can add stickers and let her learn to stick things! I figured mini-post-it note tabs too.

4. I am going to make some playdough which does not require cooking: flour, salt, oil and water and food coloring. She can make shapes and I can give her some pasta to make designs.

5. Various mini-pots and pans with lids, whisks, spoons…etc.

6. One of my old purses with lots of zippers..fill with compact, plastic keys, mirror…She loves to rifle through my things!

I am adding to this every day! I have to continue to learn how to help her learn!! 🙂

Here are some of her boxes. I have a ways to go! Today, I am going to get some crayons and a few other accessories for her to play with!

Work in progress to keep up with the Tot!

Trying to find foods Tatum can chew, I’ve been experimenting with all types of veggies. Of course the old stand-by of mashed banana has worked, but now she begs for her green beans and peas. She even said “apo” today when I ate my apple. They have to be canned however since she only has four teeth! Today, we tried edamame and HOORAY! Success 🙂

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So far, she is downing the mozzarella sticks, chicken breast pieces, pasta (I buy the mac and cheese and just make the noodles and then I just add a wee bit of tomato sauce for flavor), sweet potato bits and butternut squash bits.

Well, if she has mastered the finger action, one can assume a fork should not be so difficult. Banana on a fork! She felt so grown up and wanted to do it herself.

All gone!!

She’s whisking up some concoction in her little lobster. I love this little seat! Anyway, she is now in transition into finger foods. This is difficult because now I don’t get to hold her as much! Before, I spent meal times spooning the baby food and holding her bottle. Now, she is moving into more independence and this means ….well, it means so much!

First, what the heck do I feed a one-year old? Before, I just went to the baby aisle and VOILA! All the meals are complete and idiot-proof. Plus, they were pure and preservative free. Now, I have to think and plan. So, what did I do? I perused multiple blogs, websites and AAPA to find what were her needs at this age. Then, I met with Mary and Marla at Temple Chai to see what this would look like at school so we were on the same page. Tatum is just learning to chew so this has not been the simplest of transitions. We have to peel each pea since she spits this part out anyway. Also, the various textures sometimes make her wince! (Ex..egg yolk, broccoli, apple)

We finally got it down to an approximate menu. She needs about 1000 cals/day, and this cannot be more than a 1/3 from milk. I won’t give juice, so she must now get adequate veggies, fruits, grains and protein.

Breakfast:

One scrambled egg, 4-8oz milk, 1/2 banana or other fruit

or 1/2 cup oatmeal made with milk mixed with banana + 4 oz milk

Snack:

Choices: graham cracker, cheerios, fruit cup, string cheese cubes, carrots/peas/beans mix + 4 oz milk, 1/2 whole wheat muffin (pick two but include a veggie or fruit) not too much sweet..

Lunch:

Diced chicken + veggies + 4 oz milk

Snack: See above (with 4oz milk)

Dinner:

Rice or pasta

chicken or ground turkey

veggies (edamame?)

I want to try quinoa with her too!

Her tendency is to want to drink only her baba with milk from her bottle. Forget the cup or anything else besides milk. I have to be persistent in trying other ideas like water and having this in a real cup.

In the meantime, I am enjoying introducing her to new foods. Her palate seems to be pretty diverse at this point 🙂