Here Comes the airplane!

Started him on rice cereal as per doctor's reccomendation. A few days later, while browsing some parent sites, I got a little nervous. Apparently, there has been a new campaign to get rid of rice cereal as a starter food for babies because its just plain white processed grains, totally unhealthy, they're calling it a "white-out". I went to look at the ingredients on his rice cereal and was relieved that the brand i purchased, Earth's Best was definitely OK. In addition to be 100% organic it is made from whole grain BROWN rice and is not as junky as the others. I like that the only ingredients on the package are the brown rice and added iron - that's it! The less ingredients the better, especially when it comes to tiny tummies.

Still, I don't know that these cereals are as crucial to babies as the veggies are so I got him started on all the veggies right away. Every 3 days we introduced a different veg (all from Earth's Best because they use only organic and have nothing added in). So far we've done squash (LIKE), peas (DISLIKE!!), sweet potatos (LOVE!!), carrots (LIKE). I haven't started fruit yet, I like that he's enjoying the veggies so I'm holding off introduction of the sweet stuff. Fruits: the gateway drug to candy!! kidding :)

Sitting High

So, my baby got the go ahead for solids and lucky for us we just bought a highchair! We weren't actually planning on buying a highchair that day, but we were in Babies R Us buying a crib mattress and found a great steal in the clearance section. Its a joovy nook, in white leatherette, and since its an online-only purchase that someone returned to the actual store we got it for 1/2 off! The highchair is great - very sleek looking, with modern stainless steal legs and and a leather seat. The tray swings out which is nice because you can do that with one hand and put baby in with the other - us moms love anything you can do with just one hand! Best part though has got to be the fold - completely flat so that it gets put away nicely and doesn't overcrowd my already shrinking apartment space!

Here is the nook in White leatherette which is what I have.

And that's the fold! tiny and light! Wouldn't necessarily bring it on the beach but its nice that the company would like to illustrate your many options here ;)

Sleeping through the night

So we're on the 5th day of Cry It Out and I'm shocked to say things are going smooth! For those of you unaware of the term, Cry It Out is a method of getting baby to fall asleep on his own without the aid of you rocking or nursing him to sleep. You put baby in the crib when he's drowsy and hope he'll fall asleep on his own. Its called CIO because most babies, and mine definitely included, do not want to do the whole sleep thing on their own and much prefer to fall asleep nestled in mommy's arm, so they cry when placed into the crib at bedtime.

I originally found the entire concept a bit cruel, I hate to leave my baby cry and I usually rush to his needs so it felt strange to let him scream in his crib. My opinion changed after his doctor's visit last week. My husband had to take him this time, because I had an appointment. Completely drained from having barely slept an entire week, he exasperatedly begged the doctor for some clues on why our baby at nearly 5 months could not sleep longer than 3 hours without waking up wailing for us. She told us it was because he simply did not know how to sleep. She told him to imagine he fell asleep on the couch with a beer in hand watching the game ( was she spying on him Sunday nights?!) and woke up in bed...rather disorienting, no? Our baby needed to fall asleep in his bed on his own so that when he woke up he'd feel comfortable in the crib and at ease enough to simply go back to sleep.

OK, so I was mostly sold, but what really drove in his need for proper sleep habits was spending the weekend at my in-laws. It was a huge family gathering and everyone was sleeping over. The next morning 3 different aunts came up to me and asked me what was happening the night before with my baby cuz they heard him through the house. That was it. My baby was going to start sleeping!

So Sat night we get home and start. It works like this You hold the baby do whatever bedtime routine you do, singing, hisses, etc. and then put him in. You say good night and leave right away and then if he is crying you go back in to comfort him at 5 minute intervals - but you can't pick him up! The first night I did horribly and kept picking him up, and I cried the way thru, until my husband sent me to bed and he handled the rest. After 40 mins like this he went to sleep. The next night was only 15 minutes of crying! Last night only 5! And the clincher - today my baby looked tired, we have a terrible time with naps, he fights them with intensity, anyway today as he showed signs of sleepiness I swaddled him, rocked him for 5 mins and put him in his crib. He cried for just 1 minute till I left the room and was fast asleep. Hence, I am actually able to blog right now!

I AM A BELIEVER!