The Gift of Life

We let the little girl eat twice a day now. It started upon the suggestion of the maternal and child health nurse at the health centre when we dropped by last Tuesday for a routine check-up. We are now feeding her mashed vegetables and fruits, in addition to her daily rice cereal and fruit juice intake. Since then, Erin has been sleeping better on most nights, which means everyone else is too. The chain reaction is just amazing in this household!

Erin has been very irritable since yesterday. She did not want to be left alone in her cot and she cried for most of the afternoon. She wanted to be carried and did not allow me to even sit down. She wasn’t hungry either. I was baffled! I did not know anymore what to do to pacify her and I was getting tired already.

So I took a peek at her gums to see if that was the source of her discomfort. And there it was!

There was a tiny white dot on her gums, which I originally thought was just a food particle. But when I tried to remove it, it would not budge an inch. Now I could conclude that, as of yesterday, she was finally teething!

The one erupting at the moment is actually her left lateral incisor of her lower jaw, which is unusual as it’s the central ones that usually come out first. I’ll take a picture of it when it’s more prominent.

Now I need to shop around for her own toothbrush and toothpaste. Erin is definitely growing up fast.

We were supposed to give Erin her first meal this coming weekend. J wants to witness it since it is, in a way, Erin’s rite of passage, as she will be no longer an infant solely dependent on milk. Unfortunately, I developed a cold last night and Erin had trouble sleeping as well so J took the day off to help me here in the house (sweet!).

I saw it as an opportunity to finally take that step — to give Erin her first real meal. I just could not wait for the weekend anymore! J took care of documenting the entire event by taking pictures and a video clip of it.

Notice how she’s smiling the whole time? She actually enjoyed eating! And she swallowed all her food without choking or spatting it out. I prepared three spoonfuls of rice cereal using her spoon and mixed it with approximately 70 mL of formula to make it really runny. But she only managed to finish two-thirds of the mixture. Still, not bad for a first-timer, eh?

We’ll be doing the cereal thing again tomorrow and for the next couple of days to see how her tummy reacts to it. If all goes well, we might add a few other things to the menu on the weekend. Yay, something new to look forward to!

Erin officially turns six months today! And among the three of us, I am the most excited person with this milestone. Here’s why…

She’s been very active these past few weeks, rolling around in bed all by herself. We can’t leave her alone anymore! She has fair trunk control now so we’re constantly practicing her sitting skills. She’ll need to be a fairly good sitter once we start feeding her solids. It’s also time now to consider buying a portable cot and a high chair for her. (Yay, shopping na naman! )

She’s due for another round of vaccinations this Friday. The next set will be given when she turns one next year in March. So, we’re saying goodbye for now to those painful injections.

I suppose there are still more new things happening with Erin but that’s all that comes to mind at the moment. In the meantime, wish us luck with feeding. I hope she won’t give us a very difficult time. *fingers crossed*

The little girl turned five months last Saturday. Has it really been five months now since she was born into this world?

She’s grown up a lot in that short span of time.

• She can roll over on to her tummy very easily, with little or no help from us. Getting back to lie on her back is still a bit more difficult for her.
• She is more vocal than ever. By this I mean, she loves to shout and scream and make all kinds of noise. I suppose she is into exploring sounds these days.
• Aside from sound, Erin is very much into exploring through touch. She will grab anything placed near her and bring them to her mouth. I think this is because she may also be teething.
• Her hair is getting pretty long, and therefore, unruly. Those Goody barrettes are the greatest!
• Erin is more sociable as well. By just throwing her a big smile, she will also do the same. Sometimes, we are rewarded with giggles.
• She’s starting to sleep better too, especially at night. Thank God! No need to explain this one.
• Erin’s more aware of her surroundings now. She knows when I’ve left the room. Sometimes I think she’s starting to develop separation anxiety.

Babies grow up so fast! They are amazing, I tell you. They can surprise you every now and then. More often than not, these surprises are just a delight.