Feeding Herself at 23 months

Babies grow so fast! Emma is 23 months. Almost two years old!

It's like only yesterday we brought her home from the hospital.

She is a BLW baby. She started eating solids only at 6 months old. Never cereals or porridge in those early days. But big chunky finger shaped steamed vegetables or fruits. She can suck all the goodness out of fresh fruits and veggies, mushrooms, even steak cut into strips! She had been loving life because of it. I never had to force her to eat her meals!

At one year old, she started to grab the spoon and feed herself, copying us. Then she also tried her hand at chopsticks. She never poke her face with it. She can gauge the distance from the spoon/chopstick to her face. Because she is used to feeding herself.

It was so delightful to see her eat by herself everyday three times a day, seven days a week! Sitting with the whole family, having a peaceful meal together.

Whether it's at home our or outside, she sits by herself and eat by herself without too much interference from us. She even joins the conversations with us.

I wish every baby could have such a wonderful weaning experience! Instead of force feeding with a spoon and swallowing mashed food.

If you are looking for the best way to wean your baby, read the latest book on Baby Led Weaning. I hear the new edition is even better because it comes with recipes! I might buy another one myself.

Just want to praise the Lord for my baby.

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

 ¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
 ² Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
   we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

 ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Footnotes: a Psalm 100:3 Or and not we ourselves

Emma loves Ramen

Who says a baby cannot eat ramen noodles? A BLW baby can!
Here Emma was 8 months old and she loves noodles! What fun shapes noodles are. And delicious. Our family loves to eat japanese food. So naturally Emma loves it, too.

It doesn't matter how much she actually eats. Because her main food until 1 year old was still milk. But I notice at that time more and more were actually going in.

Mealtimes were playtimes for her. It's OK to play with food. That's the only way she learns to handle food, and later on to handle table manners. At one year old, just about 4 months later, she could hold a spoon and even chopsticks already. Now, at 23 months, Emma still loves ramen noodles and could finish half a bowl by herself. I went hungry the last time I shared my ramen with her.

Everybody including the waiters loved to watch her eat. They didn't mind very much that she left some mess on the floor. I usually would pick up the larger mess so it's not too glaring. It's okay for them and it's okay for me. Most definitely it's okay for Emma!

One more thing, after she was about 18 months, she eats quite neatly if she wants to. Very little went to the floor. It's usually at the end when she is already bored that some food actually falls down. So she really eats her food. Truly thank God for BLW.

Eating with Friends is easy with a BLW baby

Emma is one year old and she happily eats by herself on the table with my husband and I, and her big brother since she was 6 months old.

Recently when I went to visit my friend, she did me proud sitting by herself and eating the same food as us. We were having rice with fried tofu, boiled veggie and some prawn crackers for lunch. They didn't have a high chair, so Emma sat on the same chair as us. I make sure it's safe on both sides so she would not fall off. I didn't bring a bib because we didn't plan for lunch. So she just had a linen napkin on her nap.

What a doll!

BLW Checklist

Baby-led weaning is the best thing for our baby. I really do believe that. I feel sad when I see children being spoon-fed. Because actually we rob them of the joy of touching and eating food just the way it is.
Emma never had any mush, or mashed up food (except when it is supposed to be mashed like buttered potatoes or rice porridge). She is healthy, chubby and loves mealtimes!

I'd love to share some of the things you might need to go on the BLW journey:

• Invest on an easy to clean, sturdy highchair. Don't take one with intricate nooks at the bottom or on the legs. Imagine yourself pouring a bowl of spaghetti down the top. If you can clean it reasonably well, take it. Here's a link to the Gulliver ikea wooden chair that Emma uses.
• Always spread enough old newspaper underneath. You'll never know.
• Have lots of non-moisturizing baby wipes handy.
• Clean the surface of the table before eating. Foods always manage to escape the plate and into her mouth. Use anti-bacterial wet wipes, or just regular baby wipes mentioned above.
• Use a disposable table mat when outside or in a restaurant if possible. If not, just wipe as you would at home. Unless you are at a food court.
• Clean fresh fruits or vegetables thoroughly in running water before giving it to her.
• Always be positive and praise her eating. Never scold her for spilling food when she didn't mean to. Just enjoy our time with her and try to let her be as much as possible. Don't wipe her face all the time.
• Remember to start only when she is 6 months old.
• Remember that her main food is milk (breast or formula). These mealtimes with you is PLAYTIME until she turns one year old.

Turning One

Emma is one year old last week.
She can already handle a spoon, not poking herself. Because she is used to handling food like steamed broccoli, slices of apples, etc. So she can gauge distances from her hand to her mouth.
I can even trust her with chopsticks. Under supervision, of course. But it's unbelievable how nimble she is with the utensil. She can copy us picking up rice or noodle with the chopstick and eating it!
This will never happen if I have been feeding her cereals or porridge only with a spoon. Thanks again to Baby Led Weaning!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

I just realized that Emma has enjoyed all the food mentioned in the Very Hungry Caterpillar book.
Thanks to BLW (baby-led weaning).
She knows and has eaten all the fruits: apples, pears, plums, strawberries, oranges and watermelons.
And I mean she knows the taste and texture. She knows the fruits not from the jar. Not only as juice. Not mashed. But the real fruit.

And not only the fruits. She loves all kinds of cheese, salami, apple pies, quiche, sausages, cupcakes, corn cobs, fish, prawns, steak, even seaweed and cooked sushi. Occasionally she also enjoys chocolate cake when we have some.

She has tried all those since 6 months old. It's so much fun!

She loves to open the book and touch all the pictures. She loves to have me read the book to her. She is only 10 months old.
How cool is that.

happiness is ...

... brushing hair together with your daughter in the morning.

As I started to brush hair, my 9-month-old Emma was very interested with my hairbrush.
So I took out her little soft-bristled, purple baby hairbrush and lets her play with it while I brushed my hair.
What bliss!

I thought about the many times when I was younger. When I was dreaming about having my own daughter doing stuff with me.

Praise the Lord for His amazing attention to detail in perfectly ordinary stuff.

Eating Out with a BLW baby

Now that Emma is almost 9 months old, I am just so grateful for BLW.
It's amazing EASY to eat out with her. She can eat anything in restaurants.

My husband and I took her out for a fancy teppanyaki dinner when she was just 8 months old, and it was fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed dinner. We could talk and eat and didn't have to fuss about her too much. She was just busy eating her favorite table water crackers and camembert, and oranges and strawberries, all of which I packed for her from home.

We went back to that restaurant last Saturday. It was a full service buffet this time (brunch). And Emma could really eat the same foods with us this time. She sucked on the grilled marbled beef, grilled prawns, grilled salmon, shiitake mushroom; everything! She closed with a couple of mini mandarin oranges I brought.

It's just so satisfying to watch her eat. It's hard to believe that she only started last December. She's just so confident in handling food. She sometimes even join in the conversation with us during meals with her baby talk.

All this sure beats force-feeding her with a spoon!

Call unto Him

Today for the first time my daughter calls me, "Mama," very clearly! It has been "yaaa" or "maaa" for a while, but today it was a really clear two syllable word.

I can't describe how happy it made me feel.

I wonder if God also feels the same way when we call His name. When we call Him, "Father God," or "Lord Jesus," how does He feel?

Why don't we call Him more often?

Psalm 89:26 (New International Version)

 ²⁶ He will call out to Me, 'You are my Father,
       my God, the Rock my Savior.'

Going out with baby

Tips on how to always be ready for trips with your baby/toddler:

• Replenish the diaper bag once you get home. Don't wait until your next trip.
• Bring wet wipes, tissue, change of clothes and diaper, bibs.
• Strawberries, apples and oranges are my favorite take out food for Emma because they stay fresh a long time uncut/unopened. We can always cut stuff up with a table knife at the restaurant.

got milk?

http://www.whymilk.com/

As a breastfeeding mom, drinking low-fat milk is my morning routine.
It's a huge source of calcium for my breast milk.

The calcium in fresh milk is the best because it is the easiest to absorp. That's why I always drink milk.
For my bones, and especially, for my baby.

baby-led weaning

http://www.baby-led.com/

I started baby-led weaning (BLW) with Emma about a month ago. She was a few weeks shy than 6 months. What a wonderful thing to see!

At first she just play with the food, feeling the textures. Putting it into her mouth, of course, but we knew she never actually ate it. Until a few days ago when she just turned 6 months. I started to notice her swallowing. Sometimes her face look funny as she experienced the swallowing process. But after a couple of seconds she went for more.

She also looked like she was gagging a few times. Then the food came out of her mouth safely. She was not choking, because choking means no air and so she won't make a sound. The gagging was actually a good reflex that sends the food out. Just like the book (above) says, that the gagging reflex on the baby's tongue is located near the front, not near the throat like adults. Nevertheless, I was holding my breath every time she seemed to be gagging. But tonight, she didn't gag anymore.

I say, what a find this book is!
My family are loving the results of me reading the book. Even the elder brother (10) read some parts to better assist me. We enjoy eating meals together. Three times a day during the holidays because big koko don't have to rush to school.

I get to eat my food instead of spoon-feeding her. In fact the less obvious attention we pay to her, the better for her to enjoy the meal.
In these early days, before she is one year old, meals will continue to be more play and less duty to eat.

I love steaming vegetables for her. Broccoli, snow peas and sweet potatoes are her favorite! As long as they're cut in a shape that will help her hold around that chubby little hand. Also fruits like bananas, apples, pears, whatever we have at the meal, we try to share with her. As long as it is not high in sugar and salt. I gave her slices of hamburger steak and chicken also, when I happen to cook or buy them. She tried a slice of char siew last night. I know I bought it from the food court, but I used my judgment. She loved it. She sucked on it almost the whole time.

Before she turned 6 months, we took her for holiday in a foreign country. We had lunch at the poolside because her brother was swimming. She sucked for 20 minutes on a piece of chicken wing (I took away the skin).
At the breakfast buffet she devoured pieces of cold turkey, salami, cheese and tomatoes. By devouring I mean trying them out, sucking them, gnawing at them, not necessarily swallowing them. Babies get a lot of goodness from sucking it only, anyway.

So it has been a great ride, and a very satisfying one. I knew the great idea of letting the baby feed herself would work and I couldn't wait to try it. But still I am pleasantly surprised that it really worked. It really works splendidly.

Of course the cleaning of the high chair and the surrounding area after every meal is more than usual. But with a 10 year old elder brother at hand, BLW is a lot more enjoyable (wink!). I just invest in a very nice, easy to clean Ikea high chair, and that's it.

Most importantly, Emma enjoys every meal time with us. I could tell she loves discovering the new tastes and textures, not only with her mouth but also with her hands. She's just loving it. She really bonds with the whole family over the meal. Perfect.

Time

Time is what a mother with young children do not have. I don't know how they do it (those who can continue to blog everyday!). But without help, I really almost couldn't do blogging or scrapbooking, or even bible study.

I know I have to make time. I've been asking God, "What do You want me to do next, Lord?"
I wish I could do more. But there just isn't time right now.

It's good. Because now that I'm really strapped for time, I learn to look at bare essentials in the eye. Cooking meals, doing laundry, cleaning, - basically taking care of my family, is of great importance.

One thing for sure, I'm enjoying every moment with my baby. I really count it a blessing that I can stay full time with her. I suppose that is where my time is. With her.
Scrapbooking can wait. My blog can wait. My bible study, well, that I need to do!
Without God's Word I feel crippled. I'm moving backwards instead of standing still. Not good.

I plan to plan the next move. Prioritize. Pray. Make time for the most important things in life.
And hopefully sometimes blog about it.

breastfeeding

I just love breastfeeding.
I'm told it's really useful and profitable for the baby. It builds her antibody. It is the most easily digested, and will provide everything she needs. She does not even need to drink water as long as she is on full breastfeeding.
Yes, I'm finding all of them quite true and more. The bonding time is priceless.
I love it that I can provide for my baby fully just by breastfeeding. She is 5 months now and perfectly healthy. Growing up so fast, talkative and her hands grasping at everything interesting near her.
WHO recommends that we give the baby solid food only after 6 months old. I'm planning to breastfeed her as long as I can, even up to 2 years.

I'm just so thankful that I can enjoy this period of my life. With my first child I didn't have fun, I couldn't stand the pain. I ended up fully breastfeeding only for 3 months. With this one, I was ready and fully committed to it. So when encountering problems, I did not give up.

My advice to all new mothers is just to commit yourself to it.
Breastfeeding is really the best for our baby.

happiness is Seeing your daughter smile to a picture of shinkansen on the wall

(picture taken from http://digitalcitizen.ca/ with thanks)

When my son was a baby, he loved to look at a pooh plush toy sitting beside his changing table every time he was being changed. I remembered that lesson to heart. Before Emma was born I looked for a vivid picture, maybe in black and white, that might be her company beside her cot or changing table.

At the last minute, I found an old place mat of Shinkansen from my dining room. I almost threw it away a year ago, we've had it for so long.

I'm glad I didn't.

I knew the stark blue on white and the cute smiley face would attract a baby, hopefully would make her feel better during changing time.

I involved the big brother to paste it on the wall beside her changing table. He is now happy that she likes it.

Indeed, it works like a charm !

Emma always looks at the picture automatically since she was a newborn, and now even coos and smiles to it. Countless times we have thanked God for it, because it stops her from crying.

Little shinkansen has really been a comfort to Emma during those dirty diaper times. And a big help to us.

Choo choo!

The Frills Don't Matter

Zoe's "girly modern" Nursery
Originally uploaded by The Doe or the Deer

I've realized that the frills don't matter.
It doesn't matter that we don't have a proper nursery for her, or a proper cot, or a fancy changing table.
It doesn't matter if I have not prepared a black and white picture of her big brother hanging in a frame on the wall across from where she sleeps. Or a cute mobile over her (since she'll be sleeping on my bed). Or get the apartment absolutely immaculate and totally ready for her arrival.
I think it matters to her that she knows exactly how much we love her. It matters that we feed her exactly when she's hungry, change her when she's wet and cuddle her tight all the time. It matters a lot that we'll be there in a heartbeat, to hold her, whenever she calls.
I think those really matters to her.
I should put it in perspective and not worry so much about not being ready for Emma. 'Cos by God's grace I believe all three of us are ready for her.
It doesn't matter if we can't afford fancy decorations. It would be nice if we can. But if not, it's perfectly fine. Emma's all that matters.
The frills don't matter.

baby Delivery

Maibel the Mouse
Originally uploaded by J.Chin

How do I describe this feeling of expectation?

As the D-day inch ever closer, I am full of anticipation. I can’t wait to see her. Also, the nights are getting sleepless, the leg cramps catching up (so painful!), the breathlessness, etc, etc.

I am enjoying listening to Mozart for Mothers-to-be CD (available from www.amazon.com) as I work on my laptop. I listen to it especially at night to help me go to sleep.
But of the day of delivery, who am I to say what it’s gonna be like? I had caesarean before. What will the contraction feel like? Oh, dear.
My sister (who had two boys) says it’s nice and she would like to enjoy it again. Yaiks. I think she meant for me to treasure it because it’s a once in a lifetime experience.
Right.

I find myself dreading it and yet can’t wait for it at the same time. I believe it’s gonna be wonderful, one way or the other.

I’ve been thinking about it, praying about it, trusting it all to the Lord of hosts. He is and will be in control.

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." (Psalm 18:2 NIV)

The more I think and pray about it, the more I know, that it would not be me who will deliver my baby girl. It would be the Lord. He will open the way, He will provide the way. I should not be afraid. He who is in control over the farthest star and over the smallest atom, He will be in control over my baby’s delivery.

He is my Deliverer. In Him I will take refuge as I count my days down. Oh yeah.

Pregnant Ladies in the Bible

Being pregnant gives me a certain perspective on how some Bible characters must have experienced. When we were passing christmas three months ago, my heart went out to Mary. How tiring it must have been, even just riding on a donkey for a few hours. Let alone all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

Later on I was doing Bible study on Sara who had been waiting for the promised Isaac so long. I could feel her anticipation and happiness. Usually my mind just skipped right to the delivery. But this time it occured to me how long they still have to wait. The day to day pregnancy, etc, for over 9 months. Sara was 90 years old. How they must have trusted in God’s promises, that God will carry the baby through despite the impossibility of such an old lady being pregnant. And what about the prospect of giving birth?

Rebekah too, was struggling with the twin babies jostling inside of her (Esau and Jacob). Right now I am enjoying my girl’s kicking and turning around in my tummy. Sometimes it is very hard and persistent, to the delight of her dad and big koko (brother in chinese). But it’s always fun. How terrible and worrying it must have been for Rebekah to have the babies fight inside her tummy. Maybe she thought something had gone wrong somewhere. After all she didn’t know there were twins (no ultrasound machine, yet). She prayed and God answered her that there were two inside her womb.

At 7 months I had my first ever contraction that I have ever experienced. With my first child there was never a contraction, he had to be delivered immediately by caesarean procedure due to the baby not moving for 12 hours already. So when I had my contraction last Sunday I did not recognize it immediately.

I guess I was just too tired after an especially busy two weeks. Anyway, my hubby rushed me home from Sunday School (I had to leave all my little kids in class to my partner, thank God for her!). All is well after I rested. But my, on a scale of 1 to 10 it felt like a 3 only. Yet it was bad enough for me. What of the real thing?

I will just trust in the Lord. Oh, baby, wait for your time. Do not come early. I want you healthy, gal.

***

***

19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,c saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”
c Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard of God.
The Holy Bible : New International Version. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 1 Sa 1:19-20

The Wonder of Ultrasonography

Today we went for checkup again at our ob-gyn office. Again the doctor used ultrasonography and this time, at 12th week, I saw my baby ever so clearly!

She used to be just a tiny pea-sized heartbeat. But in three weeks since we last saw her, she has grown twice as much. She is now 4.6cm from the head to the rump.

As the doctor, my husband and myself watched, she was lying on her belly. Then to our delight she turned facing up. Then turning left and right, too, so that I could even see her oval face with two eyes, a nose and a mouth. Her chin was pointy.

Her tiny arms and legs were there. At one point we saw her moving her arms about in front of her. I couldn't believe how active she was in my tummy at this stage. Now everytime I think about her, I can know that she is not just a 'plant' growing in me. She is a person! She moves about and just simply enjoying herself in there.

Of course we still don't know whether it's a boy or a girl. I'm just referring it to a she here for practical reasons. :P

I can't imagine anyone aborting her baby at this stage. And yet some people still abort their baby even up to 20 weeks into pregnancy for whatever reasons. It's murder. Plain and simple. :(

I love my baby and looking at her with the ultrasound truly made me even more aware of this.
If you are pregnant, seek ultrasonography as early as possible. The doctor said it develops a bond between parents and the baby. He couldn't be more right.

The Lord bless you.