Forbidden Pizza

John Harrison loves to crawl over to see Raleigh. At first, he crawled right into her room, but I knew that wasn't a good long-term option---I put a baby gate in the doorway between the hall and the laundry room (where Raleigh stays during the day). John Harrison cried the first time I put the baby gate up. He will crawl into the kitchen, look over at Raleigh and smile, and then crawl over beside the baby gate. John Harrison seems to be growing on Raleigh; she will try to get him to play with her when they are on the floor together---it is so cute to watch.

John Harrison is about 7 months, 1 week old in these pictures. Last week, I attempted his first "meal" in his high chair. We have been trying to introduce a few solids here and there and have been feeding him in his bouncy seat. The high chair feeding didn't last long . . . for that matter, none of the feedings do. John Harrison will take a few bites of solid food and then decide he is done. He won't spit out the food, but he will turn his head and refuse to open his mouth. Then, if we continue to try to get him to eat, he will start to start squirming around like a worm until we get him out of his seat. The foods we've tried giving him include--homemade butternut squash, homemade applessauce, chicken/veggie jar babyfood, and baby oatmeal. He probably likes the squash the best so far, but "like" may be too strong of a word. I don't want to force solids on him, so for now, he is diet is still almost 100% milk. It's funny because when he is away from me---or somewhere where there is a lot going on around him, he can easily go 4-5 hours between feedings. When we are at home, though, he wants to eat about every 2 1/2 hours. When his reflux was really bad about a month ago, he wanted to eat at least once an hour (sometimes more!) to help settle his stomach, so every 2 1/2 hours isn't so bad.

I've definitely learned that with a baby, things will always seem like a few steps forward and a few steps back---after I started the strict elimination diet over three weeks ago, he slept through the night for about a week and also only took two naps a day for about a week---those changes were short-lived and he quickly went back to waking up once a night (even two and three times a night the past few nights) and taking three naps a day. He is able to stay up for 2 1/2 hours at a time between naps consistently, though, which is better than two hours. Also, he has decided that he wants to get up around 6 am every morning---a change from the (much better) time of 7 to 7:45. John Harrison's decreased fussiness after I started the elimination diet was fairly short lived, unfortunately--there were about 5 or 6 fairly happy days followed by about two weeks of very fussy (and very trying!) days. I will say that his reflux has seemed to have improved a whole, whole lot, though, since I started the elimination diet--and overall, even on his fussy days, there is a slight improvement in overall fussiness from before. For some reason unknown to me, he has been acting happy (like a normal baby!!) the past two days, which has been wonderful. I've actually been able to put him down and let him play and crawl around (without him fussing and crying) while I get some work done. I am very thankful for days like today---they are a much-needed breath of fresh air:). I have not given up on the elimination diet and am still sticking to it--mostly because of the huge difference I have noticed in John Harrison's reflux. I have added the following foods: beef, garlic, and turnip greens. May not sound too exciting, but believe me, any additions to my daily meals of plain chicken, rice, and squash are greatly enjoyed. The food I want to eat most is a Papa John's veggie lovers pizza. I could probably eat the whole thing in one sitting....I'm not kidding! I will probably be feeding John Harrison for about five more months and he is a little over seven months old now, so I guess I am over half way to my pizza.