What a Big Girl

Elisheva has begun feeding. I didn't push it on her - I don't really see the point of spending lots of time and money and extra clothes washing in order to just socialize my baby to eat, since babies don't really need to eat solids until they are far, far older than 4-6 months. Lydia slowly eased her way into eating - first Cheerios and those fake-o cheerios that melt in your mouth really easily. Then bread, and then other grain products. By this point she was probably eight or nine months old.

Elisheva, though. Wow. We've never given her any solids at all really, but around a week ago she really, really seemed to want some (right around her seven month mark). We tried giving her tiny bits of bread, and she loved them. So the day after thanksgiving, Elisheva entered the wide world of solids in earnest.

First off she had bananas (in the picture) and oatmeal. Then for lunch she had leftover potatoes and sweet potatoes. Now at every meal she gets her own portion, which we make using a neat-o Kid-co little grinder that was a present from our Bishop's wife in Wymount. When she gave it to me, I didn't really want it, but it was a gift, and although Lydia was too old at the time to need it, I kept it to try on the next child. Well, a week in, I love it. It's just a little hand grinder, that separates out seeds and skins, and makes it easy-peasy to turn whatever we're having into Elisheva friendly. And I'm morally opposed to buying premade baby food. Maybe it's because what's the point of feeding your kid sweet potatoes and beets (or whatever) unless you eat them in real life? Having a gourmet baby doesn't help having a gourmet toddler and beyond. (Not that I care if any of you use it. They certainly are convenient, and maybe you do eat sweet potato on a regular basis; I certainly wish we did). Also, more importantly, I'm frugal (such a nicer word than cheap, don't you think?), and all those little packages of veggies can add up.

Anywho, Elisheva sure does love her solids now. See the look of ecstasy? Okay, so maybe she just blinked, but she really does become ecstatic around food.

Today we were taking a little longer to start feeding her than eating ourselves, and she let us know her displeasure by grunting and lunging toward any food she could. Then she had a nice dinner of ground up peas and then mashed potatoes (with a tiny bit of Turkey Divine sauce at the end). And she loved it, she loved it all. Big smackings, more lungings, it was all present.

It's funny how different Elisheva and Lydia are; both sweet and cute, but each such distinct personalities.

I'd write more, but Avram and I are going to watch Holiday Inn and feel all Christmasy instead (we also made Spritz cookies too, and now I think I've gained ten pounds in the last two hours. Avram blames it on the extra chocolate frosting I made to go along with the butter cookies.... And now I can't just eat off of the Elisheva diet, where I eat gargantuan amounts of food, and then pass it on to Elisheva via milk, so that she weighs 20 pounds, and I weigh less than I have since I hit puberty. I like this diet.)