Someone Else Can Feed the Baby!

Apparently having a child 6-3/4 means I finally have someone to help feed the baby. Yay! (I'm not sure if having a child 4-3/4 means I have two such helpers, but Mary is begging to learn.) Now if only I had eyes in the back and sides of my head, I could make sure the two-year-old stops doing things like putting a big ol' slice of cheese in Joseph's mouth "because he wants it!"

Joseph will be nine months in a couple of days and in this last week has really taken to eating purees. He bangs the tray wanting food and opens his mouth in anticipation of the spoon.

Also he now grabs the spoon to lead it into his mouth. All my babies have done that and been early self-feeders with a spoon, so maybe it's a pattern.

Joseph also will chew/suck on hard things (like pizza crust) and eat dissolving baby puff cereals (but not yet cereal as hard as Cheerios).

John (with his tongue tie) had disastrous problems eating solids, then Mary and Margaret were at such ease they simply started with table food (Mary: chunky, spicy guacamole at Qdoba restaurant when she was not yet 6 months old!). Joseph (also with a tongue tie) seemed to be having trouble so he's my first baby to eat store-bought purees in a mainstream kind of way.

He still gets virtually all his calories from nursing, and is eating about one tablespoon of food three times daily--unless I forget or we're out and about.

Joseph learned to clap on Sunday morning! So, he spent all of Mass clapping and making loud noises of joy, quite similar to the above video clip. I think it is so funny when a baby learns a new skill because I find they often do just what Joseph has done the last two days of naps and bedtimes: he has had trouble falling asleep because he is nursing and clapping simultaneously. Can't . . . stop . . . the . . . clapping . . .