Today when we went to the grocery store, Lexi rode in the cart for the first time – in the kid’s seat, that is. Before, we have either carried her or put her entire car seat in the main part of the grocery cart (they have very large carts here) and piled the food around her. But she has been sitting up well enough (still not completely stable, but close) that we thought we would try it. She seemed to enjoy the trip as she was able to look around more. She did keep trying to turn around so that she was facing the direction we were pushing her, but obviously couldn’t.
I have also been talking to some of you about Lexi eating solid foods so I thought I would share with everyone because there are some differences in what is available here. First, we have not been able to find baby food in jars. So this means if we want to feed her anything besides cereal, we have to make it ourselves. Having house help is nice as since the blender is now getting a lot of use and neither of us like to clean the blender, we can have Jane do it. We have cooked and mashed up/blended sweet potatoe (not liked too well by itself), squash and bananas (not cooked).;l,vcfcC~Cccccccs aas,,,,,,,,,m (Lexi was helping with the typing there.) This week’s new ‘real’ food is paw paw (a fruit).
There is a variety of powdered cereals though that you add water to and we have tried several flavors. Wheat or rice are the bases – and you can get them plain – and then they are flavors like wheat and banana or rice and carrot, etc. Today, we picked up a different brand of cereal – the flavor is chicken and vegetables. Sounds tasty! J Lexi seems to really like all of the cereals so far no matter what the flavor. There is also Nestle brand baby cereals but we are avoiding them for ethical reasons. If you don’t know why, ask us.
February 23, 2008
February 21, 2008
No real changes - just more
I know I haven’t written in a while on what’s happening with Lexi (although Sarah has). Actually, I tend to write about changes in me instead as I learn about this strange creature and try to adapt to the way she changes.
The reason I haven’t posted in a while here is because there haven’t been any dramatic changes in Lexi, nothing that I think is especially strange, funny or incomprehensible. The only thing I can say that has changed is that she’s doing more of what she started in the past. She still loves to smile at us when we look or talk to her. She’s still a very happy baby in that way. And she gets excited more often by kicking her legs and beaming broadly in that funny gummy smile of hers.
Lexi is also “talking” a lot more. Now there’s a whole strange repertoire of noises. There is sort of the hissing or “talking” by quick breaths from her mouth. It’s almost as if she’s trying to say words in her mouth but can’t get a sound from her throat. And there are strange shouting outbursts that are sort of like quacking. It’s a rough sound. Sometimes among these sounds are high-pitched screeches, but these sometimes come on their own, which are especially hard on my ears, but she really enjoys making them (it’s when she’s excited). She has a good time all day conversing with Jane in this variety of ways.
This means she’s getting better all the time at interacting and responding to people. She turns her head when someone from behind her calls to her. And Sarah noticed the other day when she took Lexi to see Freddy (the baby of Sarah and Ed at #7 in our compound) that she was really chatting away to him, while Freddy just sat silently, staring back with his big blue eyes with slight concern (although he does this with everyone). I’m beginning to wonder if Lexi needs some playmates now!
The reason I haven’t posted in a while here is because there haven’t been any dramatic changes in Lexi, nothing that I think is especially strange, funny or incomprehensible. The only thing I can say that has changed is that she’s doing more of what she started in the past. She still loves to smile at us when we look or talk to her. She’s still a very happy baby in that way. And she gets excited more often by kicking her legs and beaming broadly in that funny gummy smile of hers.
Lexi is also “talking” a lot more. Now there’s a whole strange repertoire of noises. There is sort of the hissing or “talking” by quick breaths from her mouth. It’s almost as if she’s trying to say words in her mouth but can’t get a sound from her throat. And there are strange shouting outbursts that are sort of like quacking. It’s a rough sound. Sometimes among these sounds are high-pitched screeches, but these sometimes come on their own, which are especially hard on my ears, but she really enjoys making them (it’s when she’s excited). She has a good time all day conversing with Jane in this variety of ways.
This means she’s getting better all the time at interacting and responding to people. She turns her head when someone from behind her calls to her. And Sarah noticed the other day when she took Lexi to see Freddy (the baby of Sarah and Ed at #7 in our compound) that she was really chatting away to him, while Freddy just sat silently, staring back with his big blue eyes with slight concern (although he does this with everyone). I’m beginning to wonder if Lexi needs some playmates now!
February 14, 2008
Getting Bigger
Lexi and I went to the doctor Tuesday for her 6 month check up and vaccinations. She now weighs 7.03 kilos and is 67 cm in length – pretty much right around average in both categories. She did very well with her shots: she didn’t cry after the first one at all and only for a few seconds after the second one. I think it has affected her a little more than usual though – she was running a slight fever after I came home after work and didn’t get all of her cereal for dinner like usual. The doctor said she is doing very well. We don’t go back now until she is 9 months old.
February 3, 2008
What a strange creature!
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised as a first-time parent because every stage of Lexi’s life will be new to me, but I am still confounded by the newness of Lexi and the strange way she is learning to do things.
The latest addition to her behavior in the last few days is making chatter. She’s done this in some ways in the past, but this is a new way and a little more sophisticated than the last. It’s just a bunch of grunting and baby “gaga” and “goo-goo” sounds, but they’re formed in a way that is closer to real speech and sounds more like a conversation. It’s fun to talk back to her when she’s doing this, like we really are having a conversation. She just sounds so busy when she’s “talking” like this, like she suddenly has a lot to say while we’re changing her diaper or at other random moments when she has these outbursts.
The way Lexi plays by herself in her chair while Sarah and I are eating dinner and then looks up at us as if she expects us to say something or just pauses to look at us like we’re strangers who have suddenly arrived in front of her just makes me laugh. I’ve said to Sarah several times in the last week or so, “What a strange creature!”
She’s always been a curious baby (well, maybe all babies are like this, but it’s new to me), but it’s fun to see her be more organized and controlled with this curiosity. Like this morning in church, I was holding her against me, with her head looking behind me over my shoulder. She had to get a good look at everyone behind us on one side of me and then move her head to the other side of mine and spend a few minutes looking up and down the pew at the people on the other side. We do recognize this curiosity in her, and we try to cater to it. When we prepare dinner each evening, she’s in the kitchen with us, and when we can, one of us holds her so she can watch the other chopping veggies or stirring what’s in a pot on the stove. We hope she learns to cook this way and learns to enjoy doing things like this.
The latest addition to her behavior in the last few days is making chatter. She’s done this in some ways in the past, but this is a new way and a little more sophisticated than the last. It’s just a bunch of grunting and baby “gaga” and “goo-goo” sounds, but they’re formed in a way that is closer to real speech and sounds more like a conversation. It’s fun to talk back to her when she’s doing this, like we really are having a conversation. She just sounds so busy when she’s “talking” like this, like she suddenly has a lot to say while we’re changing her diaper or at other random moments when she has these outbursts.
The way Lexi plays by herself in her chair while Sarah and I are eating dinner and then looks up at us as if she expects us to say something or just pauses to look at us like we’re strangers who have suddenly arrived in front of her just makes me laugh. I’ve said to Sarah several times in the last week or so, “What a strange creature!”
She’s always been a curious baby (well, maybe all babies are like this, but it’s new to me), but it’s fun to see her be more organized and controlled with this curiosity. Like this morning in church, I was holding her against me, with her head looking behind me over my shoulder. She had to get a good look at everyone behind us on one side of me and then move her head to the other side of mine and spend a few minutes looking up and down the pew at the people on the other side. We do recognize this curiosity in her, and we try to cater to it. When we prepare dinner each evening, she’s in the kitchen with us, and when we can, one of us holds her so she can watch the other chopping veggies or stirring what’s in a pot on the stove. We hope she learns to cook this way and learns to enjoy doing things like this.
January 31, 2008
Scared of a Sneeze?!?
In the last week or so, Stephen has sneezed and Lexi burst out crying. We think it scared her! I can just imagine how she would react if she heard Grandpa (my dad) sneeze (if you have heard my dad sneeze, you will know why)!
And we don’t need to buy her lots of expensive toys, she is happy tearing up the newspaper and playing with plastic sacks (don’t worry, she’s always supervised). These days if she is crying – and not hungry, wet or tired – it’s because she has grown tired of what ever she was playing with and is ready to move on to something new. Sometimes finding the “right” entertainment is a challenge! She loves to stare out the window and see what is happening in the natural world. I am not always sure exactly what has captivated her attention; the trees moving? The flowers? The birds or bugs?
Tonight I had leftovers because Stephen is away. I put them in the microwave to heat up and Lexi perked up. I think she was expecting a bottle to come out – Jane heats up her bottle in the microwave (yes, I know you aren’t supposed to but it works). She looked at the microwave very expectantly when it dinged. In many ways, we can tell she is learning new things.
And we don’t need to buy her lots of expensive toys, she is happy tearing up the newspaper and playing with plastic sacks (don’t worry, she’s always supervised). These days if she is crying – and not hungry, wet or tired – it’s because she has grown tired of what ever she was playing with and is ready to move on to something new. Sometimes finding the “right” entertainment is a challenge! She loves to stare out the window and see what is happening in the natural world. I am not always sure exactly what has captivated her attention; the trees moving? The flowers? The birds or bugs?
Tonight I had leftovers because Stephen is away. I put them in the microwave to heat up and Lexi perked up. I think she was expecting a bottle to come out – Jane heats up her bottle in the microwave (yes, I know you aren’t supposed to but it works). She looked at the microwave very expectantly when it dinged. In many ways, we can tell she is learning new things.
January 19, 2008
Stranger Anxiety & Pressed Nappies
We have gone out to eat again. This time to a French-Swiss restaurant called (and run by) Rudy’s. Rudy came up to greet us and Lexi – and she screamed her head off! She doesn’t react that way to the wait staff who are all black. As this is the second time she has screamed at seeing a white person, we think maybe she is scared of white faces. She is definitely going through some sort of stranger anxiety phase.
I think Lexi is one of the best pressed babies around. Jane (our house help – see Stephen’s recent post) thinks all laundry should be ironed. I don’t really need my underwear to be ironed, but it’s being done anyway. She also irons Lexi’s cloth diapers, onesies and little oufits. I doubt any of Lexi’s cousins in the US wearing cloth diapers have them pressed so neatly!
I think Lexi is one of the best pressed babies around. Jane (our house help – see Stephen’s recent post) thinks all laundry should be ironed. I don’t really need my underwear to be ironed, but it’s being done anyway. She also irons Lexi’s cloth diapers, onesies and little oufits. I doubt any of Lexi’s cousins in the US wearing cloth diapers have them pressed so neatly!
January 15, 2008
Growing and doing new things
We took Lexi to the pediatrician this morning for her five-month checkup. There wasn’t anything major the doctor needed to look at, and there were no immunizations that Lexi needed at this time (and, in fact, we saw a different doctor this time because our usual one was out or something).
But Lexi is growing, and this is most clearly indicated by her weight. She now weighs 6.6 kg (14.55 lb), which is 600 grams heavier than a month ago. There was an error in measuring her height this morning, so I won’t give that. But I think most of her weight is going to her thighs.
The doctor asked us several general questions about her eating and sleeping habits and examined her a bit and declared her healthy, telling us, “Good job, guys!” It’s good to get this sort of affirmation for something as hard as caring for a human being who’s so dependent on you.
Several days ago, on the eve of her 5-month birthday, we started Lexi on solid foods. It’s true what you’re told before you have a baby – that you’ll just know when your child is ready for certain things, and this was the case with starting on solid foods. She was becoming quite observant with watching us eat – she knew we were taking things from plates and putting them in our mouths. Plus she is very much into the oral phase, to borrow a medical term from the doctor this morning, and is putting everything in her mouth anyway. So we started to feed her a little bit of rice cereal at the beginning of the bedtime routine to see if this would fill up her belly more solidly and get her to sleep for longer stretches at night as well.
She’s adapting to it well – well, as much as we can tell because we don’t know exactly how this should go, this being our first child. She likes to make a lot of noise when she eats – sort of a humming thing in the background while she “chews.” It’s kind of funny.
Then, to make it all official, we went out over the weekend and bought a real high chair for Lexi. Now, suddenly, it seems that the whole house has been taken over by large baby equipment – strollers, car seats, cribs, bouncy chairs, toys, etc. Well, we’re used to adult equipment – things like living room furniture or a desk with a computer on it – but having baby things and big baby things among the furniture still feels strange.
Otherwise, her personality is largely the same. She likes to look at us a lot and smile often. She is still good at smiling at strangers who talk to her, although the other night at the Chinese restaurant, the Chinese woman who owns the place was talking to her, and she started crying that “I’m afraid” cry. Lexi hasn’t figured out that she’s very pale-skinned compared to the many African people she sees around and who talk to her.
So Lexi is growing and learning new things all the time, like how to eat solid foods. Here’s a picture of her doing something else new – we’ve got her learning how to do housework with Jane, our nanny/housekeeper. Here they’re hanging Lexi’s cloth diapers outside to dry after they’ve been washed.
But Lexi is growing, and this is most clearly indicated by her weight. She now weighs 6.6 kg (14.55 lb), which is 600 grams heavier than a month ago. There was an error in measuring her height this morning, so I won’t give that. But I think most of her weight is going to her thighs.
The doctor asked us several general questions about her eating and sleeping habits and examined her a bit and declared her healthy, telling us, “Good job, guys!” It’s good to get this sort of affirmation for something as hard as caring for a human being who’s so dependent on you.
Several days ago, on the eve of her 5-month birthday, we started Lexi on solid foods. It’s true what you’re told before you have a baby – that you’ll just know when your child is ready for certain things, and this was the case with starting on solid foods. She was becoming quite observant with watching us eat – she knew we were taking things from plates and putting them in our mouths. Plus she is very much into the oral phase, to borrow a medical term from the doctor this morning, and is putting everything in her mouth anyway. So we started to feed her a little bit of rice cereal at the beginning of the bedtime routine to see if this would fill up her belly more solidly and get her to sleep for longer stretches at night as well.
She’s adapting to it well – well, as much as we can tell because we don’t know exactly how this should go, this being our first child. She likes to make a lot of noise when she eats – sort of a humming thing in the background while she “chews.” It’s kind of funny.
Then, to make it all official, we went out over the weekend and bought a real high chair for Lexi. Now, suddenly, it seems that the whole house has been taken over by large baby equipment – strollers, car seats, cribs, bouncy chairs, toys, etc. Well, we’re used to adult equipment – things like living room furniture or a desk with a computer on it – but having baby things and big baby things among the furniture still feels strange.Otherwise, her personality is largely the same. She likes to look at us a lot and smile often. She is still good at smiling at strangers who talk to her, although the other night at the Chinese restaurant, the Chinese woman who owns the place was talking to her, and she started crying that “I’m afraid” cry. Lexi hasn’t figured out that she’s very pale-skinned compared to the many African people she sees around and who talk to her.
So Lexi is growing and learning new things all the time, like how to eat solid foods. Here’s a picture of her doing something else new – we’ve got her learning how to do housework with Jane, our nanny/housekeeper. Here they’re hanging Lexi’s cloth diapers outside to dry after they’ve been washed.
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