È italiana!

This week there were a couple of fun surprises at our table.  Eliana, who is famous around here for putting all things except dinner in her mouth, tried and liked...pizza and spaghetti!

She kissed her fingers and said,"Deliziosa!" (That means delicious in Italian, she's so smart.)

These two foods proved to be a hit with Eliana, although I will say that the pizza was the more popular.  It must be the Italian blood running through her veins.  Actually, I don't think there is any Italian blood running in any of our veins, but who doesn't love Italian food?!   I'm just glad that we're making progress here.  But I wonder if this means I have to start saying things like,"Bella cucina," and "Buon appetito!"?  Arrivederci!

Food for Thought

I have to admit that feeding babies is not my specialty.  I don't have much patience for the whole process of baby trying new foods (or pushing them around and squashing things), and never really eating much except the few things that have passed the test.  The third time around is no better (and I realize that I'm the common factor here and must accept some responsibility for the situation).  Eliana is very opinionated about what goes into her mouth.  She is extremely suspicious of anything new.  She will put some things in to try and they immediately come out with a deadpan look on her face that says,"Nope, not a chance." Fortunately, she does like her yogurt.  I have been feeding her plain, whole-milk yogurt since she was 6 months old, and she has loved it since the first bite.   She has been feeding herself her yogurt these last few days and actually getting some in her mouth.  I still do most of it but she insists on having her own spoon and wants the bowl on her tray too.  It is a messy affair, which I understand is the nature of the thing.  I do look forward to less food on the face (and hair and arms). She does enjoy it though. I keep thinking that when she's older there will be a little less food on the outside and a lot more food on the inside. Then again, maybe not.

More Than Unusual

In the middle of August we began the process of helping Eliana sleep through the night without the comfort of being attached to Mommy all night long.  No one involved in that scenario (the sleeping attached one) was getting much quality sleep!  And as many people know, getting used to a new way of doing things can be very tough, especially when it comes to how a baby gets to sleep.  There were many tears, and for the first couple of nights I actually stayed in the room with her talking quietly to her, shushing her, and trying to make it a little less sad.  She has done very well and most of the time will now go down at night with a little fussing, but no more than the time it takes for me to leave the bedroom and get to the living room.  And she stays asleep for a very long time, until 5 or 6 a.m. on a good night, and maybe 3 a.m. on a rough one.  But even that is a huge improvement from waking up an hour after I put her down and refusing to go back in her bed! One thing that made me sad about the whole thing is how upset she was even on the way to the bedroom.  Walking down the hall made her fuss, and cling to me with her head buried into my neck.  She knew what was going on, and did not want to go in that room, much less in the bed.  I thought to myself,"She'll never be one of those kids who leans toward the bed and really wants to dive in and go right to sleep." Tonight I brushed her teeth (trying to make that part of the "bedtime routine") and started my walk down the hall.  She laid her head on my shoulder and hugged on me; we went over to her bed and I said my usual good night stuff and gave her one last squeeze.  I set her down in her bed, turned around and walked out of the door, shutting it behind me and NEVER HEARD A PEEP. I said to myself as I shut the door,"Are you serious?"  And the quietness behind me said loudly enough,"I am serious."  Even if it doesn't happen again for weeks or months, I am so glad and grateful to be able to put her down and leave her not crying!  Ironically, I have tears in my eyes!