Super Baby Food

I kept hearing about this book called Super Baby Food in all the mommy's groups I go to. Apparently this is the bible of feeding your baby solids and many follow it to a tee. I picked up my copy and have had my nose stuck in it for the last two months.

It's amazing how much of a science this baby food thing is turning out to be! First we are working off a list of foods that are tame enough for his age. Then we are introducing new foods every four days in order to single out any possible allergies. And we are making everything he eats except for the teething biscuits. Back in the '70s my mom would have poured a Pepsi in my bottle, handed me a cigarette to play with and called it a day. Times have changed. Oh, that Pepsi part really happened.

I am really concerned about feeding Ira all the right things and making sure that he gets off to the best possible nutritional start. Since we're raising him vegetarian-style, I feel like I need to make sure I do an extra awesome job of feeding him. I want him to grow to 6 and a half feet tall and brag about how he's never eaten meat.


Speaking of meat. I recently made some really meaty grilled mushrooms. They were so nice I'm making them again this week, except no favas this time. I have some broccoli, but I never know what to do with it besides steaming it.

Life and times of Neon

Take two
Originally uploaded by riblet.

Or
Times in the life of Neon
Or
Neon: the Time of Our Lives
Or
I'll Do My Best to Catch Up on the last few days

Pipas were here! We were so glad to have them. We are old touring pals and haven't seen them in a couple of years, so it was a real treat to catch up with Mark & Lupe while they were in town. Ira really turned on the charm for these guys and it damn near got him stowed away in the trunk of Pipas rental car. Mark invited us to his wedding in September. I really hope we can make it even though it's all the way in NY. Leon has family there that hasn't met Ira yet, so we have at least two reasons to go. Or three if you count this vegetable peeler that I've been wanting for years. This guy sells it at the Union Square farmer's market.

Oh, what else? I made food, I ate food. I made a lot of food for Ira. I ground up my own brown rice in our Vita Mix for rice cereal. I blended up some mangoes and papaya for mixing in with the cereal, too. I've got my own little system going with the vegetable and fruit purees in the freezer. Rice cereal gets made once every couple of days and is refrigerated until Ira eats it. Leon warmed up a frozen cube of sweet potato that I pureed a couple of weeks ago and said "who wouldn't make their own baby food? this is so easy!" Well, it is easy to pop the finished product in the microwave, but it takes a long time to get it there.

....

Pils, please!

Mommy loves pils!
Originally uploaded by riblet.

If Leon brought me anything back from Germany, it had to be a special German brew. He brought me this pilsener. We split it (I have to go real easy or else Ira gets drunk, as well) and I was all too sad when my half was gone!

The stats

He really likes it
Originally uploaded by riblet.

I know better than to get hung up on percentiles. Percentiles are the vague-ish numbers that tell you where your baby ranks in height, weight and head circumference compared to other babies. Ira is kind of all over the place. In the upper and lower percentiles for different things. So, even though the numbers don't really matter as long as the baby follows his or her own growth curve, I always get a little nervous to see where Ira fits in all that.

Here's what the doc said at today's appointment:

Overall cuteness: 90th percentile
Wardrobe: 51st percentile
Stinky poop: 15th percentile
Appetite: 72nd percentile
Grumpiness: 5th percentile

That's my boy.