Culinary Adventures

As I write this entry, I'm overcome with a mix of both excitement and sadness. Each day I see my Lucy growing and changing. Often, I sit and watch her in awe, amazed that this precious little being who months earlier squinted at the world in a sleepy stupor is now bouncing and chatting, using her hands to grab anything and everything she sees.

When Jamie and I decided that it was time to finally introduce Lucy to the world of solid food, I was hesitant. How did these last few months fly by so fast? Are you sure we should give her solids now, I asked, knowing very well that according to everything I've read (and I've read A LOT), Lucy is more than ready. Not only is she rapidly approaching her six-month birthday, she's almost sitting up on her own. She's also keenly aware when her parents are eating. She tries to pull food off of our plates and gets grumpy when she finishes her bottle. When I could no longer ignore these flashing signs, I admitted that it was time.

As I mixed the slightly unappetizing mix of rice flakes and water, Jamie put Lucy into her Bumbo. When she saw me approaching, bowl in hand, she became excited, babbling and reaching out. I'm not sure what she expected with the first bite, but she immediately began to try to suck on the spoon--this resulted in a strange garbly noise as cereal spewed all over her shirt, onto the bumbo, down onto the floor and even onto her teeny toes. I never knew rice cereal could travel so fast, nor did I know it was so sticky.

Though clumsy at first, Lucy quickly mastered the art of eating. Now, as soon as she swallows a bite, she stares at me with anticipation, mouth open like a baby bird. Today, I'll buy bananas--next week we'll try butternut squash or sweet potatoes. I'm sure that before long, she'll move on to finger foods. And, being a Copeland, she'll be eager to to try meats. This world of adventures in food is exciting. After all, Jamie and I are both foodies (as if you couldn't tell from our photos!). But it's a bittersweet adventure. For as much as I look forward to sharing every new experience with Lucy, there's a small part of me that is already grieving the past.

“When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies”
- James Matthew Barrie

Prune Trauma

The time has come. Our little girl has had her first taste of what some say is the nectar of the gods: Sunsweet prune juice.

Getting to this point has been a long and, at times, arduous journey. You see, I never dreamed that the topic of baby bowels could occupy so much of my time. Last night, I found myself googling the phrase "baby bowel constipation remedy." To my overwhelming surprise there were hundreds of thousands of entries. Sticking to our preferred Dr. Mike of pediacast, I clicked on the link. And what did I find? An entire 3-day podcast dedicated to the topic, and I quote, "Baby Bowels." I can pretty much certify myself as a baby bowel specialist now.

Following Dr. Mike's advice, I purchased a large bottle of prune juice today. Of course when Lucy saw her bottle, she began flailing her arms excitedly. "You may be in for a suprise my little one," I said as Jamie gave her the bottle. In fact, just moments earlier I sniffed the juice but couldn't bring myself to taste it. Upon the first few swigs, Lucy quickly realized that this was NOT milk. She looked at the bottle, shook her head in disgust, and then looked at us as if saying, "what in the world is stuff?" After a few moments, she must've forgotten her previous displeasure and seemed to want more. Again, when we gave her the bottle, she took a few sips and promptly shook her head, pursed her lips, and stuck her tongue out. I think she thought that if she drank enough it would turn into milk!

We've added some photos of Lucy's traumatic introduction to prune juice in her 5 month album. Enjoy!