Toddler Eating Habits

So my daughter has decided, and so far she has been correct, that she can survive on the following:

goldfish
bread
veggie pasta
tomatoes
string cheese
strawberries
bananas
grapes
milk
water
a multivitamin

That's about it...that's what she eats on a daily basis along with random bites of maybe a cookie or ice cream or some sort of sweet. Other than that she does not experiment. Everything I cook she spits out of her mouth. Most times she doesn't even try it before she turns it down. The simple fact that it does not look like a goldfish or a string cheese or a piece of bread means NO THANK YOU! I am at my wits end. I do not know what I am supposed to do to please her pallet so that she gets a full range of foods. I feel like a failure of a mother because I cannot get my child to eat normal food. When she was an infant she ate everything; it did not matter what you put in front of her she ate all of it and wanted more. Ever since she started eating solid foods she has limited her options to the list I gave above. I don't know at this point what I'm supposed to do. I am just so extremely frustrated and sad about this issue. Hopefully I'm not alone and someone will pass along some advice my way. I have tried hiding veggies in the pasts and that kind of works, but then she gets tired of it or something and wont eat it anymore. I think I need a recipe for meat and veggie bread. Bread is the only thing I know she will eat no matter what it looks like...she knows its bread : )

Ugh!!

Talk already!

Since I have not blogged in so long I am not going to try walking you through the last 6 months but I am just going to start with the present and fill in as needed. Ari is running and climbing now and I don't have enough hands or energy to keep up with her at times. She is also teething and has like 6 teeth coming in at the same time! I have been struggling with my mommy guilt lately for many reasons but mainly because Ari isn't really talking yet.  Actually she isn't talking at all! I feel like such a failure. What am I doing wrong? What am I not doing? I talk to her A LOT, we read, she points, I sing, she yells and babbles, I ask questions, she grunts and points...etc. I know that one mistake I was making was giving her what she needed/wanted without her asking only because I knew sometimes before she did what she wanted/needed. Now I offer options and repeat them a thousand times trying to get her to verbalize her choice. Well, that pretty much ends in a whining, face grabbing tantrum (by both of us) so I just cave and give her what I know she wants. Am I supposed to let her starve because she won't choose what she wants to eat or thirst because she won't choose water or milk!!??

Anywho, Ari is up from her nap so off I go!!

Babies Are Supposed SLEEP Right?

Lack of sleep for both mommy and baby makes for a very, very, VERY cranky mommy and baby. My good little sleeper has decided to change her ways and seems to be extreeemely restless. She wakes every few hours at night crying/whining. Sometimes she has just become wedged in a weird spot in her crib but other times she is sitting up or on her knees holding the side of the crib crying. She has always been a good sleeper. She normally sleeps from 8pm-8am. Her naps have also become more complicated. Usually I would lay her down in her crib and turn on her music and she would be asleep shortly there after. Now she gets up, squirms around, whines, cries, tosses, turns and then passes out in odd positions. I am starting to get concerned as this is odd behavior for her and it has been going on for three or four days now. She is teething which is the only reason I can see for such a shift. I just feel sorry for her; she is miserable and not getting the good sleep that she needs. I hate feeling so helpless when it comes to her. I want to help her and solve her problems and when I am at a loss I feel like I failed. More mom guilt I guess : )

Long time no blog

I have been completely MIA from the blogging world this holiday week. I am back on track now and ready to catch up on all that I have missed. Ari experienced her first Thanksgiving this last week and all went well. I was nervous about all of the family being a bit too much for her and napping in a strange place with all of the cousins running around, but she handled herself like a sweet little angel. I was so proud of her when I put her down for her nap. Out of the thousand items that we brought to keep her happy and entertained we forgot her crib music thingie. This thing is her best friend in the crib. I was terrified that we would end our Thanksgiving festivities early with a cranky baby but she went down all on her own. I was a proud mama! We had a great day and I'm so glad that she was such a good girl. I feel silly now for stressing about her and what would happen on Thanksgiving. I am always nervous when taking her into a new situation. I think about all of the possible things that could go wrong, all of things that could upset her, all of the things that I could forget to bring...etc. In the end though it always works out and even when something goes "wrong" it's never THAT bad. I love my little girl and I just want her to be happy all the time and that's my real issue. Is that weird? Am I crazy? I don't verbalize these anxieties as I think I am a little nutty but maybe I can find others like me through my blog : ) Hope everyone had a great holiday week too!

Baby Teething FAQ's - Questions regarding Orajel® for teething babies

Once again, those pesky milestones are consuming my every thought. Ari is 9 1/2 months old and doesn't have a single tooth!! According to this article I read, she has until 10 months to pop out a couple of teeth on the bottom; after that I guess she will be officially "behind". The doctors keep telling me we are close but they have been saying that since she was 6 months old! It is driving me nutso. I want to see some teeth! She has been chewing, gnawing and drooling for months!! For those of you lucky enough to have seen some pearly whites, this article shows the order in which the rest of the teeth will make their appearance.

Enjoy!! I'm jealous : (

Baby Teething FAQ's - Questions regarding Orajel® for teething babies

Baby Milestones Worries

So, I read the following article and LOVED it. It made me feel so normal : ) What is normal anyways?? When it comes to our children, normal becomes very important and is on your mind everyday. Everytime that Ari does or does not do something I wonder if she is "normal". Silly I know but it is amazing how the pressure to be ahead of the game starts as soon as your child is born. From the first time that your child's height, weight and head size are charted, the race begins. It is especially apparent if you have friends or family with kids the same age or close to the same age. Why do we do this to ourselves? For myself I feel like it is out of fear of not being a good parent. If my child is not meeting the chart's numbers or the books milestones, then its my fault and I suck as a mother. Deep down I know that I am doing my best, but it does have an effect.

My daughter is 9 months old and just started crawling a week or so ago. It was a big deal in this house. My husband and I were ecstatic. Now though we seem to be focusing on what's next. She hasn't said ma ma or da da, no teeth, no "hi" or "bye", no clapping, no "arms up!"....but I'm not concerned. Even though friends of mine have kids that are close in age and have been doing these for months now. That's ok. Ari is fine. I'm not worried at all. Yes, I sit in front of her while she is in the bathtub and say "ma ma, ma ma, ma ma, ma ma, ma ma, da da, da da, da da, da da" then "sigh, that's ok baby, high five!" and I get a hand in the air : ) That is her "trick" that we are OH SO proud of. When you say "high five" Ari puts her little hand in the air and touches your hand. PRECIOUS! Personally I think this one trick is the most difficult and most advanced. I make it a point to show EVERYONE. Their kids can't do it, but mine can. HA!!

Check out this article for more fun:

The Truth About Baby Milestones

http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Development/The-Truth-About-Baby-Milestones/1