The Boy Can Eat

 

(After eating a purple sweet potato for dinner.)

Jude was a pretty big baby at birth but he didn't maintain that "big baby" status very long. According to the charts at our doctor's office at 6 months Jude was only in the 20th percentile for his weight. (But according to the WHO standards he's in approximately the 60th percentile.) You see, the standard charts at your pediatrician's office don't differentiate between formula and breastfed babies. Typically, breastfed babies grow in spurts whereas formula fed babies just constantly grow. Which is why so many formula babies are bigger. However, they all start to even out after they begin toddling around.

Well, then the doctor started raising concerns about Jude's weight and I got concerned that maybe he wasn't getting enough to eat. (Even though he wasn't exceptionally fussy and ate well when he was hungry) So we started giving him some solids. It started out small but quickly developed into a feeding frenzy. However, even with the addition of solids his stats weren't changing. So I decided to ignore the doctor and just go with my gut. Which was telling me everything was fine.

Now at 14 months old he's still pretty slender but eats like a horse. I attribute this to the fact that he's an active, growing boy. Not to mention his father is built the same way!

To prove that he can EAT I've recorded a sample of his daily menu. (All you moms of boys let me know if this is about average for a 14 mo old.)

Breakfast
1/4 cup of Cheerios
1 Whole Banana
1 Waffle

Nurse

Lunch
1/4 cup chicken
1/2 cup cut up grapes
1/4 cup avocado
1/4 cup pears
1 graham cracker

Nurse

Snack
1/4 cup Earth's Best Organic Banana Smiley Snacks

Dinner
1 Whole Baked Sweet Potato
1/4 cup chicken
1/2 cup strawberries
1 small yogurt for dessert

Nurse



In addition to all of this he usually ends up eating a few bites of whatever Joe and I are eating.  I am no longer concerned about his weight but I am concern about our grocery budget!!!!

Clean Out Your Pantry

All you coupon savvy folks I'm sure you have some non-perishable food items that are crowding your pantry. If you don't think you'll use it, lose it! And a good way to rid of that food is to put it in your mailbox.

Well, not IN your mailbox but in a bag next to it, this coming Saturday, May 9th. For the 15th year, Campbell Soup Company and the United States Postal Service are partnering with the National Association of Letter Carriers to co-sponsor Stamp Out Hunger, the nation's largest single day food drive.

FEED IT FORWARD

Restaurant.com is running a special called "Feed it Forward" where you can send 1 FREE $10 gift certificates to 3 friends each day now until Christmas. (for select restaurants in your area)

http://www-ws22.restaurant.com/FeedItForward/Default.aspx

So if you get an email from Restaurtant.com that says Jessica Lieb has sent you gift open it and redeem your $10 gift certificate.

Also start sending and Merry Christmas!

I'm gonna eat... yeah

Party Party

Jude has shown extreme interest in food for the past few weeks. I always said I would introduce solids only when he showed interest. (BTW He'll be 6 mos next week!) So for a couples weeks I was hoping it was only a phase that would soon pass. Otherwise it means my baby is growing up! :(

One night I pureed some avocado and let him try a little... it was obviously a learning experience for him more than anything else but he absolutely LOVED it. He liked sitting in his high chair at the big people table, with his own tray and a spoon! He didn't eat too much but he did have fun.

Over this past week I've decided to let him try a few more things and I think I've created a food monster. While he's awaiting the food he makes the same grunting noises as when I'm getting ready to BF him. He can kill 2 oz of apples! but after each solid meal we have a BF meal where he usually eats pretty well there too. We haven't decreased the number of BFings and don't plan to wean anytime soon. Right now it's alot of fun for him and if he decides it's boring in a week or so we'll take a little break.



Modeling his sweet bib that Jane made for him... it has a whale on it!


Opening Wide... give me apples.


Guiding my hand. He just wants to make sure I don't miss his mouth.

Thanksgiving

So yeah I know it's not for another month but Andrea and I were talking about the holidays today and I was thinking about all the holiday foods I DON'T like.

I don't like turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, or pumpkin pie. Basically your traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

However, if it was slightly modified to be a ham, rolls, baked sweet potatoes, sauteed garlic green beans, dried cranberries in a salad and chocolate moose pie... I'd be in heaven.

The two things that are typical at our family Thanksgiving that I do like are deviled eggs and squash casserole.

A New Raleigh Experience

This weekend Joe's parents were in town visiting and we decided to try something new. Joe's dad found an ad in the Independent Weekly for a new chocolatier in downtown Raleigh. So before we headed to Southpoint mall in Durham for dinner and shopping we stopped by Escazu. Escazu Chocolates handmakes all of their specialty chocolates in house! Obviously, a boutique chocolate store they make unique blends of chocolate bars. We bought a few samples including, Chocolate with Organic Bananas and Spices, The Beaufort Bar with Sea Salt and Chocolate with Chipotle Chili & Vanilla. My personal favorite was the one with Bananas. The Sea Salt bar as weird... I guess some people like the mixture of salty and sweet but it doesn't work for me. The chili bar was HOT! I had the smallest nibble and it almost knocked me off my feet. I don't think baby Lieb appreciated it either since later that evening he/she had the hiccups.

Now I'm a simple girl that love simple chocolate and personally Dove dark chocolate is my absolute favorite. But if you're into exotic flavors you should check out Escazu!

CRAVINGS

It's common knowledge that most pregnant women have cravings. However, most women don't crave pickles with ice cream. After talking to several of my pregnant friends I've learned that my cravings are pretty standard.

During my first trimester I dealt with typical morning sickness or rather all day nauseua. Therefore, I craved very little except bland foods with minimal odors specifically, potatoes! Baked potato, mashed potato, potato soup... you name it and I wanted it! My biggest adversion was to sweets, which many of you know is completely opposite of my nature! The thought of candy, ice cream or cake made me sick... thankfully I've passed that stage. The popular places for getting potato based meals are Second City Grille and Bear Rock Cafe!

Now, in my second trimester I've moved on to more complex cravings such as Beef! Most specifically hamburgers! But not just any ole hamburger will satisfy this craving, we're talking top notch burgers. None of that nasty fast food stuff! We're talking grade A beef with cheese, lettuce and tomato.... the thick kind and obviously a side of fries is a must. I've found my favorite come from The Raleigh Times, Logan's Trading and Chargrill.

Another one of my most recent cravings has been breakfast food... we're not talking cold cereal and a banana. I mean the full gamit! Eggs and waffles most specifically! Now we don't do big breakfasts like this often and I actually haven't had any waffles yet but it sounds so good. I have managed to sneak a few scrambled egg bagels in for breakfast. (btw. Joe hates eggs!) I'm totally craving breakfast/brunch from Cafe Carolina! Maybe one saturday I can convince Joe to get up early and have breakfast with me.... one day!

My final craving and probably the healthiest craving I've had is for fresh fruit! All kinds.... oranges, grapes, strawberries, kiwi, apples, pineapple, bananas, etc. I could eat fruit all the time if it was readily available. Right now it's probably our biggest grocery expense... but I figure it's worth it! Just looking at that picture makes me hungry! And all this talk of food makes me even more hungry.. time to break out the fruit!