Actually, I don't remember much. I have decided that, from now on, instead of doing a monthly post I will post about events as and when they happen and just label them by the month that we are in. Anyhoo - this is the last monthly post.
Sometime during this month, Ninni started turning to her side. She doesn't do it that often even now. As I mentioned earlier, she tries something new for a few times and when she is satisfied that she has mastered that skill, she just gives it up for something new :) So, she turned to her side for a couple of days and then lost interest in it. Also, our persistence paid off this month. Ninni HATED being on her tummy. But we would still give her some tummy time everyday and she'd spend it miserably. Then one day she discovered..... the IDIOT BOX!! Yes, as much as I hate kids and babies watching TV, both my daughters love it :D I think they got the "TV Watching" genes from both their grandfathers - J's and my dad :D Now this double whammy of genes is something that I can control, but can't wipe away altogether. So, this time I decided to use it to my advantage. I gave Ninni her tummy time in front of the television one day. Then her sneaky nana-nani also did the same the next day. And the next. And the day after that too. Slowly she started enjoying her tummy time and then we eliminated TV from this equation and she didn't even realize it!
We did have a lot of fun for a few days observing her love for the idiot box though. I would turn it on while playing with Ninni and then block her vision whenever she turned her head towards her. She would just go crazy trying to get a peek! She would contort her body (and neck) in every possible way just to get a peek at the screen. Yes, I know I am a very cruel momma :P
Around this time she also started enjoying her daily morning sessions on the activity mat. We have fixed the mirror on the top so Ninni can see herself when she is on the mat. She looks at herself and coos incessantly, this narcissist baby! One day, I decided to have some together time with her on the mat so I lay down beside her. She looked at me in the mirror, then turned her head to look at me and then looked in the mirror again. I think it confused her to see "two" of me :D
One milestone for the big sister was that she picked up Ninni UNASSISTED!!! for the first time!! And another milestone was for nana who successfully put Ninni in bed for her nap ONCE!! :D And I think this was the month when Ninni finally convinced nana to change her diaper :P (Till now nani, mommy and daddy had been doing the dirty work!)
One final thing to happen in this month was Ninni's 4 month checkup which was scheduled just 2 days before she completed 4 months. She got slammed with FOUR shots, poor thing! Apart from that, everything else was fine. The doctor was even very happy with her weight gain. I think I never mentioned it but Ninni was in just the 5th percentile of weight when we brought her home. Now she is in the 50th percentile. In the doctor's words - "The weight gain has been phenomenal". So mommy is happy. And keeping her fingers crossed. And touching wood everywhere she can find it :D
The doctor said that though he recommends that we start her on solids only after six months, he will leave the final decision upto us. Since we had already made up our minds about starting her on thin soups by the time she was 4.5 months old and then solids by the time she turns 5 months or so, I told the doctor our intentions. I have to say I wasn't expecting the way he reacted. He was COMPLETELY COOL WITH IT!! I told him this is what we did with our older daughter and she has the best eating habits in all the kids I have seen (and I believe it was because we started her off pretty early - and because of the varied food I gave her. More on that in another post). He asked me what is the rate of food-related allergies in Indian kids to which I replied that I don't have concrete data, but I rarely heard of any kids with food allergies back in India. He nodded as if my answer proved some unspoken theory of his. Or maybe it was my imagination :P
So, this is it. I am eagerly looking forward to starting Ninni on solids. With Mitthi, I made sure she got a variety of food, and something from all food groups every day. I am worried that this time it might be a little difficult because when Mitthi was small, I was at home and had all the time to cook nutritious food for her. I don't want to give Ninni much store-bought baby food. I believe home-made is the best. Also, home made will be closer to what I cook for our regular meals and thus there will be a greater chance that Ninni, like Mitthi, will develop good eating habits. Here's hoping that happens...
That's been my experience with the solids too. I too started Ayaan on solids at 4.5 and he turned out to be reasonable non-fussy about his food. I have a hypothesis (could be entirely wrong) that if you start at 6 months or later, it's harder
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the pics !
ReplyDeletehey, it was great to read this update. my daughter is a month or so younger than yours. am having trouble with her tummy time, too and have noticed she does crane her head to watch tv when i'm walking her around...hmmm...interesting. may try this (introduce and withdraw like you did)
ReplyDeleteand looking forward to the solids introduction update too :-) - very useful for me, all this. thanks!
and four shots?? brrr...
Rohini: I think so too. The earlier we start, the better it is. It is really a matter of finding a balance. It was an easy decision for me to make because both my daughters have been formula-fed.
ReplyDelete2b's mommy: Just need some time. The pics are on our digital camera, need to upload themt o my laptop first. :(
Y: Thanks for dropping in! Yes, I have been reading your updates and must say you have a very captivating style of writing :) A short post on introductory solids coming up. I just need to remember what I used to cook for my older daughter. It has been 8 years you know - with a swiss cheese memory like mine..... Oh, and now she doesn't seem that much interested in TV, somehow. I guess the charm wore off.
happy 4th ninni. I am touching wood too everywhere I can find for the amazing weight gain. you go girl.
ReplyDeleteI was amazed to read about the link between starting solids early to kids being not fussy abot food. I started Chip with rice cereal at 2 months (reccomended by the doctor for his severe acid reflux). He was eating daal-chawal at 6 months. By the time he was 1 yr old.. he had tasted everything. The foods that I did not introduce to him (like cakes because of an allergy) he still doesn't like them (egg free version). I always suspected Chip was a good eater because I got lucky, but deep down I did have the feeling that he was introduced to tastes and textures before he knew better.
sorry to hog your comment space.
Dotmom: Nice comment-space-hoggers are always welcome!!
ReplyDeleteWith all the comments I have received, my belief is becoming stronger that an early exposure to as many foods as possible does play an important role in forming a child's eating habits.
I asked my mom once about how she managed to teach me and my brother to eat everything without a fuss and she said she started feeding us regular meals on the family table as soon as we started sitting up unassisted. I did that with S too - and it worked for us. She loved eating with us and I noticed that she created less fuss whenever she would eat with us opposed to when she ate alone.
You guys are probably right about the early solids theory. We din't start Apple on solids early enough because her doctor did not recommend it and we din't know any better. She turned out to be a fussy eater and has food allergies despite our precautions.
ReplyDeletemy mom didn't start any of us on solids until we were 9 months old. all we had were fruit and vegetable juices.
ReplyDeleteand we are just such bad, bad picky and fussy eaters, even now.
i'd love to check out what you're feeding ninni.
hana's on rice cereal twice a day and veggie purees once a day. how do you do daal pani and how much should a six month old get? one full meal, followed by no milk, just water?
i'd love your feedback on this because i honestly believe that kids that start late on solids are fussy and picky and heck, i don't want hana to be like that.