On The Daycare Front

As you know from previous posts, little man is in daycare officially four to five days a week.

And as I've mentioned it's been hard for both of us. After a couple of weeks of dropping him off every morning and feeling miserable when I leave because he just doesn't want me to go ("mama, stay with me?"), I had a realization one morning that perhaps my tactics weren't good. Here is what I started out doing:

For the first few days, I would take him into his classroom, get him settled, find him toys to play with, engage him with the other kiddos and then when he wasn't looking, I would sneak off quiet as a ninja and out the door. One morning after doing this, I decided to look through the one-way window and see how he reacted.

And my heart broke.

I saw him looking around, walking around, looking for me. And then I saw tears well up in his big blue eyes as he continued looking around for me. What a jerk. How could I leave my child feeling like that?  I could only imagine what was going through his mind. I couldn't take it. I had to walk out right then and there and my eyes flooded with tears on my way to the car.

I decided that the next morning, I would try another tactic. Hopefully one that wouldn't leave him feeling abandoned. Gah, abandoned is such a harsh word. Do you think he felt that way?

So the next day, I happened to drop him off right around breakfast and was hopeful this would be a good distraction. I got him settled around the table with the other kiddos and waited until they handed out his plate of food. I told him I had to go to work, that I wanted him to have the best day and that daddy would be there to pick him up later in his big truck (he has this obsession with Nick's truck, I think because it has a DVD player and daddy lets him watch Mickey whenever they go anywhere...but, I digress).

He said, "mama, no! Mama, stay with me" and climbed up into my lap and wrapped his arms around my neck with turbo strength. After prying his arms off and getting him settled back in his chair, I tried my hardest to talk him through his day and how much fun he would have. Once I stood up, he tried again to get me to stay and I continued to talk him through what they were going to do that day. It ended up, he stayed in his chair and ate and as I walked out, he turned in his chair and his eyes followed me all the way to the door, but then he turned back to his pancakes and that was that.

This new method seems to be working better and I feel better about it, so we will see.

..............

On a happier, more positive note (thank God, I'm sure you're all thinking...) we have officially introduced peanut butter into little man's diet. And I couldn't be more excited. No more sneaking spoonfuls of peanut butter and hiding it from him so he doesn't ask for some...wait, who does that? Oh yeah, I do.

And yes, he's sitting on the counter, in his diaper, owning that jar of peanut butter. Isn't that how everyone does it?? I love how he just gets after it and shoveled fist after fist right into his mouth. Some people say he looks like his daddy, but it was in this moment with the peanut butter dripping off his fingers and covering his face, that he resembled his mama...

Take a look at him lovin' up on some PB&J. Yum.

Table Food!

Last week at Little Mango's 9 month well check we were told we could start table food....what!?!? You mean little, solid pieces of food from food we can eat? I'm right on top of that, Rose! (for you young'uns out there that is a reference to one of the greatest movies of my time, "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead").

We immediately went to the grocery store - because if you know me, you know my kitchen is generally quite bare and the hubby & I prefer picking up our meals or dining out rather than making them - and picked up a ton of stuff that little man could nosh on.

The first night we had ham, cheese, green beans and a couple cheerios. Then we became a bit more adventurous and I pulled out the pots & pans and whipped up some spaghetti w/ a bit of marinara sauce. We've done pancakes and scrambled eggs. As well as mashed potatoes, corn and applesauce.

I'm telling you my kitchen has had more love the past week than it has in the past three months prior to this! I have dishes to wash, veggies to clean & chop and messes to clean up. And do I mean clean up. Babies + hands + food do not equal a clean kitchen. There is food smooshed in the chair in behind his thick little thighs, near & in his nose & ears, mashed in his hair, squeezed in his hands and all around his near vacinity. Bath time is a MUST each night.

All clean and ready to eat! I envision a knife in one hand & fork
in another and him pounding them on his tray. He was READY

He loves mushing it his hands before it makes it anywhere near his mouth

Hmmm....I've seen this face before from his daddy
(hence the reason I don't cook!)

Swirling the noodles all around his tray.

THE MESS

Messy face

Tossing noodles EVERYWHERE

In his hair...of course we need to run our hands through our hair during dinner.

My happy boy...loving his table food!

I'm excited to continue trying out new foods and seeing what he really enjoys and what foods we will need to get him to like. Another stage in his life I can't believe we're at, but excited for it nonetheless!

Puffs!

At our six month check-up, our pedi said that we were good to move up to level 2 foods as well as introduce the Gerber Puffs in the following week or so. He easily took to eating level 2 foods and LOVES all of the different flavors {I haven't found one that he doesn't like!}, so I was excited to introduce him to actual solids {well, dissolving solids, but you know what I mean} this past weekend.

He was apprehensive at first, then got excited {because let's be honest, it's food. Don't we all get excited?} and finally determined he was not a fan. I figured once he got used to them, he would love them like he does everything else, but that's not the case. He is not a fan...though, I still continue to make him try them. I'm convinced he will eventually come to love them...because I think they are SO yummy!

"You want me to eat what?!"

"Ok, I'll try them!"

"Hmmm...I don't know about these things."

"No way - I don't want any part of this!"

In Dire Need of Recipes

I'm reaching out to my blogger friends for some ideas for yummy, but healthy meal ideas.

I'm finding that I eat better when my meals are planned {e.g. packing my lunch/mini meals for work rather than trying to eat well at our buffet - no willpower!} and have been doing very well during the work week. BUT that is all ruined when I'm running from a work meeting to get to daycare in time to pick up little man and then I find myself heading home with nothing planned for dinner. As a result, the hubby and I sit around and talk about what we should eat and before we know it it's 8:30pm and we quickly throw something together to appease our growling stomachs.

If you have any healthy recipes that don't involve fish {I hate it, therefore, my hubby doesn't get to eat it at home} and aren't crazy hard to make / take a long time to cook, then post them here! I really want to try some new things and for the sake of my marriage, I think I need to expand my cooking expertise beyond noodles/marinara and grilled chicken.

I'm really hoping I get some great ideas...I know you guys are reading this bad boy, but I rarely hear from you.....and your comments are welcome! :)

A Day Of Firsts...

Last Monday we decided we needed to start a couple of "firsts" with little man. At our last doctor's appointment, Dr. Shidler said it was time to let him try rice cereal and we were looking forward to it since people have been telling us how good it is for the babies and helps fill their little bellies up. Plus he has been scarfing down his bottles - 7ozs every three hours! We needed to do something to curb his appetite.

Well, we tried it and the verdict is....not sure we like it.

All clean and ready to eat!

First bite and not so sure

Most made it onto his face & bib...
after he pushed it out of his mouth w/ his tongue

Close-up of the mess we made
{Look at those little chipmunk cheeks!}

Then, in the spirit of trying all things new, it was time for his first night in his crib. Since we brought him home, we've had him in the pack & play on the side of the bed. I kept telling myself I was ready to move him out of our room...and then each night I would chicken out and put him in the comfort of the bed he was so used to. So I bit the bullet and did it. He was awake for a while, rolled over onto his tummy a couple of times and then I got him turned back over and he fell right to sleep.

Then, I may have curled right up on the floor next to the crib with a blanket and pillow and slept there the rest of the night.....I don't know what my problem is, but I wanted to be next to him in case he woke up. And I slept on the floor every night this week, while little man slept through the night every.night.this.week. I even talked the hubby into joining me the last two nights....

Laying restlessly in his crib

Rolled over in the corner of his crib

So on Sunday night {seven nights of sleeping on the floor}, I graduated to sleeping in my bed with the monitor so close to my head I could hear EVERY move little man made.

However, in the spirit of firsts, I suppose you can say we had three "firsts" over the course of last week!