Tricia, David, and the Little Ones: One Month Later, more stats, and solid food!

So sure, we have been remiss in our blogging duties, and sure, we should update daily, or perhaps weekly, but in our defense, we have a baby and a toddler, both of whom have been sick with colds over the past few weeks. Our baby, specifically, seems to be convinced that we are attempting to suffocate him every time we wipe his nose, and he therefore throws a hairy conniption fit. Our toddler is slightly more amenable to the nose manipulation, but she has lost sleep and is crabby, and in case you are unaware, a crabby toddler is the purest concentration of evil in the universe. We have been trying to convince her to use her words instead of whining, but a tired, sick, crabby toddler has little recourse but to whine, and so this is a recurring conversation in our household.

But now, the colds have more or less abated, and normal lives are slowly returning. In the course of the diseases, however, many things have happened and we have been documenting them on virtual film in anticipation of the time when we may return to interaction with the outside world, and it seems that time has come.

In the last checkup a few days ago, Sophia weighed 31 pounds, and stands 3 ft 1 inch tall. Jacob was 12 pounds 11 ounces, (still in the 3rd percentile for weight) and about 25 inches long (64 cms). The doctor suggest for Jacob to start on solids so that he could get bigger ... she's concerned that his head is too small. We suspect some cultural differences, as his head looks perfectly good to us. Regardless, doctors have extensive knowledge that we do not, and although it still seemed a bit early (our baby is growing up!) we decided to give it a try. The other motivating factor is that Jacob is more and more interested in food. He is constantly looking at our dinner plates with heightened attention. If I am holding him in my lap while we eat dinner, and if I am not paying close enough attention, I may look down to find that his hand is deep in the mashed potatoes. So given that interest, and the doctor's suggestion, we decided to take the plunge and start him on solids.

First solid is usually rice cereal mixed with breast milk, and Jacob took to this like bees to honey. I think he has been so interested in food that any addition to his diet is a euphoric experience. He continues to be very excited about food, and will eat a couple teaspoons at a sitting. We have increased the proportion of rice cereal to breast milk making the pablum thicker and more full of texture, and he has continued to be very enthusiastic.

The second food we introduced to him was mushed avocado mixed with breast milk, and he has been enthusiastic about this as well. We will add a new food to his repertoire every few days, just to keep an eye out for allergies, but Sophia hasn't had any problems, and there isn't a history of serious food allergies in our family, so I think we're ok.

Photo evidence: