At Simone’s last pediatrician appointment her doctor asked whether she had started solids.
“Not that I know of!” I quipped, feeling panicked. Was she supposed to?
Apparently she can begin any time. Simone, you may not have realized, is almost EIGHT MONTHS OLD. Does anyone else find that unbelievable? She’s just over four months adjusted, but still. I have arbitrarily decided to start giving her rice cereal at the end of October, when RSV season starts and we will be quarantined until April. I figure it will give me something to do, and she’ll be 5 1/2 months adjusted, which seems a nice age for eating purees. I ordered a high chair and everything, and I suppose I will have to buy some of those little spoons with rubber covers. It seems impossible that Simone is old enough to require utensils. In no time at all she’ll be running with a fast crowd and I’ll be telling her not to use that tone with ME, young lady.
The other day, I was looking through old photos, and I happened upon the set from our first Baby of the Week competition. The pictures were taken in the NICU, but it was toward the end, when Simone was fat and healthy and off the ventilator—wearing clothes, even. Because the winning photo was a close up, you couldn’t really see how small she was. Here, see for yourself (the pictures are taken through the isolette, hence the blur):
Baby of the Week, April 7th:
Another shot from the same bunch, but with my hand for scale:
So tiny! But look at her now:
Now, she can stand up while I hold her hands (though she still isn’t rolling over), and weighs a hearty twelve pounds. And she’s about the talkiest baby you’ll ever meet. She squeals and makes these…lowing sounds, and says what she thinks is “hello,” only with a charmingly Hebraic “ch” at the beginning. She’s always moving, and seldom wants to be held unless we are up and walking around. She is changing so quickly. The other night, Scott looked at her and asked “Where did our little baby go?”
As silly as it sounds, it’s like each incarnation of her is a whole different person, and as delighted as we are to meet the new one, it is always a little sad to see the old one disappear. And of course each time Simone changes it reminds me of Ames, and how he never will. I hate to get all THE BITTERSWEET PAGEANT OF LIFE on you, but we are heading into what I expect will be a pensive season. Last year on this day I was precisely seven weeks pregnant, and it is hard not to watch the leaves change and remember how things were the last time they did so.
To everything, turn, turn, et cetera, I suppose.
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She is just absolutely beautiful.
Next thing you know she’ll be running around wearing jewelry that she made and with a little notepad accessory carabiner-ed to her jeans and she’ll ask you “mama, why my due date was in January but I came in September?”* and you’ll REALLY wonder where the baby went.
*Why yes, this does describe my child this morning.
What a cutie pie!! Did the hospital recommend Synagis shots for her for this RSV season? My son was on it for a few months when he was born prematurely…a little peace of mind…if your insurance covers it…crazy expensive. And Synagis’ manufacturer sends you this nifty sign to hang on her car seat that is a red stop sign and says “Wash your hands before touching mine!” People should know that, but they just see a baby and go crazy with the poking.
Lovely post, hang in there during this upcoming pensive season…know that this huge network of invisible friends is with you all the way through to the bright days of spring (and beyond) that will eventually reappear.
Simone is absolutely beautiful, by the way! :)
Wow, that is one cute baby. I can’t believe how big she is!
Very cute! So glad to hear and see she is doing so great!!! Yes, that *PESKY* RSV season……. bleah….. She’ll do fine and it will be spring before you know it!
She is sooo beautiful.
I’ve been following yuor blog since I found it after being diagnosed with PCOS and being put on Metformin.
I’m a little bit pregnant – I’m hoping my scan goes OK tomorrow – if it does it should confirm I’m 7 weeks pregnant.
Spooky
If you aren’t up for cleaning spoons daily (in our house we don’t run the dishwasher daily), you might want to look into the first years ones – they come in a pack of 20 and work well. Plus, they are cheaper than the other ones! My daughter loves to play with them as toys (she feeds herself these days).
She has gotten so big, and more beautiful by the day. I know the change thing never ends, but it is so nice to see them become little indepedent people with free will and all. Despite my recent hatred of the word No.
I feel the same way when I look at my daughter sometimes, that there are these new incarnations happening so quickly, seemingly right before our eyes, and then I think about her brother who I lost four years ago, how he’ll always be a baby.
I have to ask, how ever do you get such great pictures indoors? Are there always huge windows near the baby letting the outside light in? Do you carry around a photographer’s light and those big umbrella shield looking things?:)
she has changed! I can imagine it is hard to watch your little baby grow up, but it is excitign too! Think abotu all the neat things she will be doing soon, eating and talking and walking! yay! haha, miss positive over here.
She is such a cutey.
i can’t even associate baby pictures of sam with the 5 year-old before me now… totally different creatures. obviously it never ends, which is like you said, both sad and enjoyable.
would you mind very much telling me what kind of camera you have/what tricks you are doing to get such great pictures? help a sister out.
sarah
My daughter is 7 months old (I was making my husband check your updates while I was on the fetal monitors myself) and recently I had the thought that I was looking at a little girl, no longer a little baby. It’s crazy how quickly they grow and change!
I cannot believe how big she is getting. It doesn’t seem that long ago she was born.
Oh my, how big she has gotten! Time does go by so very fast. And for her, its the best thing.
Boy do I understand what you are feeling (to an extent of course) my baby turns 4 months tomorrow, we started rice cereal last week but it was a flop, will try again in a week I suppose. She weighed right at 12lbs about 2 1/2 weeks ago, so I am not sure where we are now, but I cant believe that I have already packed an entire rubbermaid tote of clothes that are too SMALL! I really enjoy all the new changes (such as sleeping through the night, fewer and fewer reflux episodes, laughing and cooing all the time), but at the same time, there is some sorrow with how fast its all going.
I have to agree with what someone wrote about the take and toss spoons that come 20 to a pkg, I reused mine instead of tossing them, but I found out that i liked them much better than the rubber tipped ones…and its like $3 for 20….. gotta love that!
She is beautiful!! Thank you for sharing pictures and stories of your precious baby girl!!
Simone is not almost 8 months old. You’re lying, and clearly do not know the age of your own child. She can’t be. I refuse to believe this.
Simone is darn cute though, whatever her age may be.
We are starting solids at the same time. Ack- it’s scary isn’t it!
Wow, so far you’ve come.
I remember when I first started giving my son Cheerios and I was CONVINCED he would choke to death. So I cut them in half.
WOW. I forgot how tiny she was! She seems small to me anyway because Sam is such a bruiser but man, she’s really filled out, hasn’t she? She really is just the prettiest baby, too.
Have fun with solids. I think you will.
i cannot say that i understand, because i do not have children of my own… though, i have lost children from my life… i have lost children because my religious beliefs no longer fit their parent’s view of what was right… i have lost nieces and nephews to multiple miscarriages… i cannot imagine what you feel when you think of Ames.
and at the same time, i cannot wait for each new Simone. i can’t wait for toddler Simone, with her will and her stumbles. i can’t wait for 4-year-old Simone who will probably be an early reader and who will shock you terribly with her insights and logic. i can’t wait for 7-year-old Simone who will be counting down the days until school starts and carrying a plastic lunchbox. i can’t wait for 12-year old Simone who will hurt, but find a true friend in her mom and dad and begin to learn that they are her advocates and her champions… that she cannot ask for anything that they will refuse. i can’t wait for 16-year-old Simone to start writing moody poetry about her crushes and her desire to be An Adult. i am just so grateful that you have allowed us to share her life so far. we are luck people.
ooooh, piggies! She’s so adorable. Congrats to her and you, momma, for making it this far with such a healthy, cutie pie baby. :) And hang in there during this pensive time. <3
We have a toddler now, and it is very difficult to remember anything about her baby stages. Bottles? Pureed food? Nothing too small to accidentally swallow?
If it hasn’t already been said, you might consider oatmeal rather than rice cereal. Same innocuous, bland flavor without risk of allergy, but no constipating side effect.
You did not ask me, but I just wanted to throw in some assvice. I LOVE Munchkin baby spoons. It’s one of the few baby things that I am completely passionate about.
I’ll second that Oatmeal thing. Rice was brutal on the constipation front for us. Oatmeal=good.
She is so lovely and amazing. Wait a minute though, Ch-ello? Moooooo? Would she oblige in front of a camera? Surely this should be recorded for posterity.
I actually use those baby spoons myself for my Smart Ones desserts. Makes them last just a bit longer. :-)
Those are the cutest before and after pics I’ve ever seen.
Solids are lots of fun, with the skeptical expressions and the smearing of food all over the face. Applesauce is a hit (and making your own is so easy), avocado not so much. Mine insists on holding his own spoon, so we get that much more mess. Our two dogs love it, they have to be reminded to wait until he’s done to lick him. They’re especially excited for finger foods, we’ve already taught them the “hoover” command. Congrats on a wonderfully healthy, charming baby!
That last pictures of her is adorable.
I think of each stage like being a different person too. People tell you all the time how fast the time goes but they don’t tell you that you don’t get to keep the “baby” you so wanted. They’re only there for a fleeting moment.
My heart breaks for you regarding Ames. I can only imagine the pain and it brings me to tears every time.
Simone is one lovely baby girl. She’s at the fun age, enjoy every moment of it. She’ll still be a baby when she turns a year – they don’t really start looking like toddlers until about age 18 months or so, when they’re zooming around the house on their feet instead of their knees.
I remember the first solid foods – doctor recommended rice cereal as well. I mixed it with pumped breast milk if that might help you. My daughter was so surprised when I put it in her mouth, she just rolled it around on her tongue and spit it back out. She was strictly breast fed until age 1, so I gave up until she turned 1 and then restarted them and had much better luck. Now she’s a 34 year old mom herself.
Her eyes look so wise! And that lovely little expression, with the waving feet… in short, she is scrumptious. Willing babysitter here.
We started Harry on solids at 4 months corrected, and he seemed keen to have a taste. I couldn’t figure out if he was actually swallowing anything or merely rolling carrot puree lovingly around his mouth, so I ended up eagerly scanning his nappies for evidence – a lovely picture I’ve just painted for you, yes?!
Great (read:hilarious) article today on Lemondrop. Loved it!
Simone has gotten big and she’s so beautiful! The days absolutely fly by, don’t they? Scott hit the nail on the head when he said “where did our little baby go?” I look at my two month old and find I miss my little newborn. Sleep deprivation has almost completely erased my memories of her little newborn self. I have to contain myself when I see newborns at the pediatrician’s office – I just want to scopp them out of their parents arms and cuddle them. I’m taking a lesson from you and have committed myself to taking lots of pictures so I can hold on to each phase!!
Keep up the awesome work mommy!!
The current medical recommendation is to delay solids until at least six months of age, and breastmilk should remain the bulk of a baby’s diet until at least one year. There are several sides of readiness to look for: the ability to sit up unassisted, the loss of tongue thrust, and the pincer grasp. Until your baby has all of these she’s not ready for solid foods.
She’s so adorable.
Mine didn’t start solids until 8 months (no adjusting.) Solids are mostly for fun in the first year, and since she was so early, I’d wait until she was at least 6 months adjusted.
When is she really ready? When she can pick up food and feed herself. I know, I’m one of those baby led weaners :) My baby started when he was 8 months by swiping sweet potatoes off my plate, we skipped purees and went straight to food. Easy peasy.
I kind of want to squeeze her cheeks.