We have been feeding Josh solids and purees since he was five months old. We didn't know what to expect, but it has been a challenge to get Josh to be interested in solid food. Initially he had trouble swallowing the food. Then he was far more interested in the spoon than the food on it. He would grab the spoon as it got near his face. Other times he simply refused to open his mouth. This made feeding him very tiring and messy.
We've tried to stay persistent and have tried many different types of purees and solids. Josh has enjoyed picking foods up on his own and putting them into his mouth but keeping the food in his mouth was a challenge initially as well.
Since Josh started daycare we decided we would send solid food with him in addition to his milk so he would be fed it on a daily basis. We thought maybe he would learn from the other kids in the class, or that his teachers would have better luck than us. This seems to have done the trick. Over the last week we have seen a dramatic improvement in his solid food eating. Now he seems very interested in the food on the spoon and no longer tries to grab the spoon. He lunges his head towards the food and happily eats it. We have been giving him solids at home as well and he is much better at putting the piece of food in his mouth and swallowing it.
We are not nearly to the point where he is eating only solid foods but it looks like we've turned a major corner and feeding him is a lot smoother than it used to be.
Sorry for the lack of updates, Margaret's thesis has gotten in the way of blogging. Just so you don't lose interest, here are some recent pictures of Josh
Well this probably won't win us parents of the year but we put together a video of Josh's funnier moments over the last few months. Everyday Josh tries something new and we've tried to take as many videos as we can. Unfortunately, for him, many times we capture his less skilled attempts at trying new things. Fortunately he is a very good fall-er and is still just as happy to explore, even if it doesn't always end well. Enjoy!
Right before the trip to the beach we got a jogging stroller from Julian's mom. The BOB Revolution SE to be exact. We used it a few times to run at the beach because it was flat and well paved, but haven't run much in our neighborhood because of the uneven pavement and curves. We do use it for walks all over because it has great maneuverability and Josh can sit and look out at everything in it.
Yesterday we decided to go for a family run down on the Capitol Crescent Trail. Josh woke us up extra early so we were able to get a good start on the day. Unfortunately taking care of Josh (and an in-car diaper change), left Julian and I feeling very tired and dubious about actually running by the time we got to the start in Bethesda. We managed to muster the energy to start and ended up having a great 5 mile run! The weather was much cooler than it has been, and the slight downhill outbound run made us foolishly feel good enough to keep going :-) The trail did not slope on the edges, so pushing the stroller was much easier than some of the other runs I've done. Both Julian and I enjoyed having a place to put the extra layers we were wearing at the start of the run and Josh seemed to enjoy the run as well. After about a mile he was babbling which we decided meant he wanted to go faster, and then he promptly fell asleep :-) The trail was starting to get more crowded as we left, so we were glad we got an early start!
Overall it was a great start to our Sunday, and we are looking forward to more runs there this fall! :-)
Where does the time go??? We can't believe that Josh is 8 months already. There is no checkup this month, not until 9 months, so we don't have any official stats for Josh. Unofficially, Josh is getting very close to 20 lbs, and is outgrowing his clothing height wise...so he is certainly still growing! This past month Josh has started babbling and has just learned how to open drawers and cabinets. He can shuffle his feet a bit when he climbs onto something but he hasn't ventured further towards walking. It has been really noticeable how much better his problem solving skills are. He will now go around an obstacle to get to something he wants, or be able to follow where we put something out of his reach and go get it. He loves our bathroom or the refrigerator and makes a b-line for either as soon as the door is open. He is still not particularly interested in solid food, although he has started crying when we won't share something we are eating which I think is a good sign. We have been sending pureed food to daycare for "lunch" and feeding him finger food at dinner. He does a really good job of picking up the food and getting it into his mouth. He is not doing as good a job of swallowing, but we hope that will come in time. We hope that the combination of pureed food and finger food will help him get more excited about eating :-)
Unfortunately this past month also included his first illnesses which were difficult for us all. The hives from his allergic reaction to antibiotics are still on and off, but we hope that they will clear up soon. His eczema continues to be an issue and I have done everything I can to cut out any possible offending food (dairy, soy, eggs) but it is difficult when even my multivitamins have soy in them! For Rosh Hashanah I "cheated" and ate dairy and eggs (how could I resist matzoh ball soup???), and his eczema did not seem to get any worse. I've gone back to soy/dairy/egg/peanut free diet since, but I'm hoping to reintroduce dairy again as soon as the hives clear up :-)
Josh going to daycare was difficult on us all but we are adjusting to it. He really likes some of the toys they have there, and always seems happy to play with them when he arrives. When we pick Josh up he crawls over to us as soon as he sees us and puts up his arms to be picked up.
Josh continues to amaze us every day. His personality is really coming out and it is amazing to see him be a real person. Here are some cute videos of what he is up to. We are looking forward to what the next few months have in store :-)
This morning we were greeted with an unpleasant surprise, Josh got hives all over his face and one arm. I immediately went to CVS to get Benadryl just in case we needed it. While I was gone Margaret called the pediatrician after hours number. Because he was just finishing an antibiotic they said to bring him in and get checked. Josh was acting normal and the hives went away after about an hour without using any Benadryl.
I took him to the pediatrician and she immediately focused on him recently finishing a course of
amoxicillin for his ear infection (his last dose was yesterday morning). She said it was common for reactions to occur after taking antibiotics. This likely means Josh is allergic to Penicillin since they are related (Margaret's grandfather was allergic to Penicillin). She didn't think it was related to anything Margaret had recently eaten. The doctor said not to worry (not an easy task for Margaret or I) and if it got bad or was causing discomfort for Josh we could give him Benadryl. Our biggest concern was the hives making it difficult for him to breath but the doctor said that was very rare.
After the appointment I took Josh to daycare. When I picked him up they told me he had a hive on his face after his nap but it quickly went away. This evening his hives have come back on his face, arm and feet. Josh doesn't seem bothered by them so we are trying it without Benadryl. Hopefully the hives will go away for good in a day or two and we will at least know to avoid Penicillin related treatments in the future.
We took some pictures of the hives but instead of showing them, here are some non-hive related pictures of Josh:
