Brenna's First Real Meal

Standing in front of the baby food section at the grocery store, I found myself frustrated by the lack of variety available in those little jars. I just couldn't feed her green beans and sweet potatoes anymore, and the thought of canned meat was enough to make me gag. So, I stopped by the kitchen store to purchase an immersion blender and headed home to make chicken and dumplings... for all of us.

I wilted chopped onions in a bit of olive oil then added celery, carrots, garlic, chicken and low-sodium chicken broth. After this simmered for an hour or so I removed some to blend for Brenna's dinner before adding the dumplings. The immersion blender worked even better than I had anticipated - everything was completely pureed, even the chicken.

We sat down for dinner and the moment of truth. Brenna's reaction was less than favorable (see video below), but after a little doctoring with apples and thinning with formula, she decided it was tolerable. Making food for her was surprisingly simple and I felt good that she was able to eat the same thing we were, just in a bit of a different form. Now the options are endless!

After looking at the video again, maybe I shouldn't tell her that she's having leftovers for lunch tomorrow. :)

Chicken and Dumplings - mine on the left and Brenna's on the right.

Mommy's Tough Little Girl

Brenna had her six month doctor appointment today which meant more shots. The last round of vaccinations at four months sent her in to a bought of unconsolable crying. I was prepared for the same today, but apparently now that Brenna is a whole half year old she's developed mommy's pain tolerance and "I'm tough" attitude. She got two shots today and didn't cry at all until after the second one. She gave us three screams, a couple sighs, and a then a smile. The nurse was amazed. Stephen and I decided to press our luck and went out for a nice breakfast afterwards. We were at the restaurant for nearly an hour during which Brenna sat calmly in her car seat, took a little nap, and chatted with the waitress. We've been home for a few hours now and still no crabbiness - she's playing in her Jumperoo and smiling at me as I sit here typing this. What a good baby I have! :) And no... I did not sell my soul to the devil for her.

Based on numbers, the past two months have been a crazy growth spurt for Brenna. At four months she weighed 11lb 11oz and was in the 10th percentile. Today she was almost 15lb 10oz and at 50-75%. She's now 26 1/2 inches long, but her head measurement took the prize today coming in at the 95th percentile (17 1/2 inches). That's one big noggin! Good thing all the hats I've been making are stretchy. :)