Rice Cereal Time

There is so much controversy surrounding when you should feed your baby solids for the first time.  The doctor says to wait until 5 or 6 months, friends say don't even try until 8 months because they are not ready, Grandma says 3 weeks.  I really think it's up to you because it's your baby and I doubt your baby will die from eating a little rice mixed with breast milk.  After all, they can die from SIDS, being shaken too hard, looked at with an evil eye, wearing too much clothing, tripping while walking, etc.  The world is a scary place!  One night I was reading in my "What to Expect the First Year" book and it gave some suggestions as to when your child may be ready to try solids.  I really liked this approach because it mentioned that doctors go off of research and studies and Grandma uses old time ways, but it showed ways in which your child gives you cues.  It said that your child should at least be a supported sitter, which she is.  They should show curiosity in food, and she totally stares while we eat.  It also said that their instinctual habit of thrusting things out of their mouth should be gone.  All these signs leaned towards Audrey being ready.  Forget the backlash from friends or family who think otherwise...we are Audrey's parents and what we say goes.   So, off we go to Target to buy some rice cereal.  Here's what we bought.

Totally organic and excludes all other additives that would give her boobies when she is 3.  We pump Audrey up and tell her she is getting big girl rice and it's going to be so exciting.  Here she is getting ready for her surprise!

She was really interested in the first couple of bites....then it went downhill from there!!  The pictures explain it all!

I have no idea what I'm in for!

What the heck?

This has a different texture than my boobie juice!

Okay Mom, I'm over it!

Whoa!

Dad...please help me!

No...I'm done...quit putting the spoon in my mouth!

The scary face begins!

Please, no more...torture!

Waaaahhhh!

I want to throw up all over the place.

And this is how her first rice cereal meal ended.  Tears and an empty belly.  We love you Audrey!

Tummy Troubles

At Audrey's 2 month check up the doctor does everything from checking her height and weight to checking her reflexes and if she has hit any monthly milestones.  Dr. Zipp says she is going to check how Audrey does on her tummy.  My insides become knots because I know this is my daughters week point.  Sure enough, just as she always does, as soon as she is on her belly her hands do not come up to her chest and tuck nicely underneath to hold her gigandor head up.  No, Audrey decides to play dead or pretend to be Jesus....you pick.  She lays there with her head tilted to the side and her arms straight out like she is getting ready to be nailed to the cross.  No attempts to lift her head up or even think about lifting her chest up.  Tummy time is for the birds.  So after Audrey's assessment is done, Dr. Zipp goes through her scores, including the ones we had filled out at home.  She asks, "Guess which area she scored the lowest in?"  She asks this almost with a giggle and I am quick to say, "Tummy time!"  This area is otherwise known as her gross motor skills.  My child has wonderful head control, so it's not a matter of can she get her head up, it's a fight of laziness and if I cry enough tummy time will be over!  I have tried to document her 12 second tummy time that she allows us to give her...here are some pictures of her first attempts at tummy time.  This is with the assistance of her friend, the boppy.

Hmmm...this isn't so bad.

  

                             Rrraaaarrr...I'm going to eat my hand because I am so mad!

   Arrrgggh it's pirate tummy time!

The pictures above are from her at roughly 2 weeks old.  I thought, wow, she has great head control...she's going to be lifting her head up from her tummy in no time flat.  Haha!  She fooled us!  Now here are some pictures of her at roughly a month old.  Boy was I proud when she lifted her head all by herself.  At this point she is still using her Boppy, making pirate eyes, and eating her hand.  These are all necessary things to be successful at tummy time, according to Audrey.

Now that we have mastered the art of tummy time with assistance from the boppy, we move into tummy time with no help.  This is where Audrey becomes an epic fail.  Poor thing. She told me it's because you can't see the world when you are looking at the carpet and peoples feet.    

                                                               Why Mom?  Why?

                 Thank you for putting my arms under me....I can see the TV much better from this angle.

 Mmmmm...hand.

She has yet to figure out how to stick her arms under her, so any time she has her hands there it's because we put them there before we had Ornery Rayne join us (this is her alter ego when she is throwing a fit).  Now these next one's are fairly recently and Zane thought he would motivate her by licking her.  She probably thought he was a monster and made her get on her tummy.

    I love you sister.

 Getting ready for tummy time means I should spit up on myself so I won't have to do it.  Notice the wet spot 

on the back of her shirt.  No, Audrey...you still have to practice on your tummy.

This is a great time for grunting and the ever so fun fart because she is pushing so hard.

   I wonder what this blanket tastes like.

                     I'm over it.  So is daddy and so is Bruno.  Tummy time is torture.  It's prison for babies.  Maybe Dr. Zipp won't notice at my next appointment.  I guess we'll have to wait and see!