Solid Foods...Maybe

Layla has been eying food and beverages a lot lately and she makes chewing motions with her mouth all the time, so after talking to her pediatrician we decided to start her on some solid foods. Her first experience came in the form of rice cereal. I do believe this is the standard choice for babies first food. I mixed up a bit with some breast milk, sat her in the Bumbo, tied on a bib, and gave it a try. She seemed to take to it quite well. Every bite she seemed to get the whole idea of eating down a little better. The only difficult part is sometimes when she sits in the Bumbo she gets a bit of a lean going (we call it her gangster lean). When she does this, her head is so tilted that it makes it somewhat of a challenge to feed her. Once she sits up on her own a bit better using the high chair might be easier.

Layla's Gangster Lean

I made the rice cereal rather soupy for the first try, which made for quite the messy situation. Especially because she grabbed the bowl at one point so a bunch ended up all over her foot. Plus sometimes she tries to suck on the spoon as opposed to open her mouth for it, and that makes most of it just pour down the handle of the spoon. I guess that is the fun of the whole infant eating experience, though.

Taking some of her first bites

Since trying the rice cereal for a few days, it seemed that it made her rather gassy. She is pretty gassy anyway, but it seemed like it was getting worse. Poor thing. I hate when she is in pain. So we decided to switch and start her on some veggies instead. I started a marathon baby food making session. It is very addicting for some reason. Now we have some green beans, peas, carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, and blueberries all made up and in the freezer. Not sure about the blueberries, though, as all those tiny seeds make for quite the gritty texture. Perhaps we will wait until she can eat those whole since I don't have a way to remove the seeds.

Our first veggie attempt was with some sweet peas. Unfortunately, that didn't go over so well. Although, she was quite overtired, gassy, and not in the best of moods at the time, so that could definitely be a factor. So then we went on to butternut squash. Not so much. So next we tried some sweet potatoes. She wasn't too into that so I mixed a bit of banana in with it. It took a couple bites in before she stopped making that disgusted face and then she was loving it. I was excited that she was finally enjoying it.

Unfortunately, she seems to still be having some major gassy issues and I am sure that digesting new foods isn't helping the situation. So I think that we are going to take a few days off and try and get her system back in order. I still don't think that I will give her the rice cereal again, but we might try the oatmeal. She is making the chewing motion all the time and she is such a good eater (as long as she likes it), but I think that her system isn't quite as ready as her mouth is.

One thing with my Layla bug is she has never made the whole eating process easy for me. In the last month or so, whenever she takes her bottle it is like she is watching a tennis match. She turns her head side to side and is always fidgeting, pulling at my hands and the bottle, and sometimes pulls away like she is going to choke on the milk. And when she nurses she is constantly moving her arms and pushing against me. My arms are getting a workout just trying to keep her in place.

I'm trying not to get discouraged by all of this, though sometimes it is rather trying. Her gassiness is so difficult to remedy because it seems to be rather inconsistent. I don't know if it is my milk, the formula, the solids, or a mix of all of it, or just the way she is. Everything with raising a little one is such a learning experience, especially in patience. So hopefully soon we will have some better luck with her eating and digestion. Luckily, besides that she is such a happy little girl, which is good because I can't get enough of that big smile and those adorable giggles.

So Many Changes

Layla has had such an amazing week! She transitioned into sleeping on her own, and she continues to be such a great sleeper. Just last night she went eight and a half hours straight! Then, the best thing in the world happened on Thursday, she giggled for the first time! That is just about the best sound ever! She is also talking so much more in the last couple days and I can't get enough of listening to those coos, gurgles, and squeals. It is just unbelievable to watch how much she is growing and changing every day. She is getting too tall for a lot of her outfits now and she is over 10lbs, all of which is head and that adorable Buddha belly!

She is discovering her hands and feet and is even beginning to reach for things. She doesn't have the grabbing thing down quite yet, but if you put something small enough in her hand she will hold onto it. She has always been really alert and responsive, but now she will look in the direction of different sounds and voices, and can follow objects all around. I know it sounds like a little brag list, but I am just so proud of our little girl. It is amazing how the smallest things in life can bring so much joy. My favorite is in the morning when she wakes up, she just chills in her bassinet and when I peek over the side she turns and looks at me and immediately cracks the biggest smile ever. Melts my heart every time.

One thing that I think has made quite a difference this week is starting her on a different kind of formula to supplement with that is for gassy babies. She doesn't get as fussy as she had been on the previous formulas, so it makes for a happy mommy when she isn't in pain anymore. Now that she isn't hurting from the gas pains she is just the happiest, most adorable baby ever. She is my strong little munchkin too. We do still have to work those arms a bit though, but she isn't the biggest fan of being on her tummy so that part is going a bit slower. It is too bad too, because some of the cutest shots are on her tummy. We need to get her some mini barbells to shape those guns!

Two Months Old!!!

I can't believe that Layla is already two months! It goes by so fast. We went out to Babies R Us today and I got her a couple little rompers and one of those carriers so that I can do more around the house while still holding her. I hope that it works out. While we were waiting in the check out line some lady thought she was a boy. Now in her defense Layla did have a brown and white polka dot blanket, which I suppose could be more boy, but she was wearing lavender. I suppose I should expect that when I am so opposed to pink. Although I have to say that Layla is warming me up to it. She looks just precious in pale pink.

We had a short photo session on her 2 month birthday with her little lavender dress on. She looks so adorable in it. I so wish that I had a proper photo studio in my house so that I could have better lighting and more variety. Maybe someday. I will have to work with what I have for now. Luckily she is cute no matter what!

My baby doll

Such a happy girl

There is never a dull moment with my little Layla Bug. She definitely keeps me on my toes and I'm loving every minute of it. We are still working on getting my milk supply up. The fenugreek had to go because it made Layla really gassy and miserable, so we are going to have to try some other methods. We've also started the transition from co-sleeping and I am sure it is going to take some time. Every time I set her down she wakes up anywhere from one to thirty minutes later. She has been like that since the day she was born. The only time she will sleep when I'm not holding her or lying next to her is for her nap in the swing. I can't have her sleeping in her swing all night, so if anyone has any helpful suggestions on that or upping your milk supply, I would love to hear them.