Food

Bear is one good eater. He has eaten just about every food we've put infront of him the past few months. Some of the interesting foods he likes include roasted red peppers, guacamole, spicy Thai curry, and the one that surprised me the most, kimchi. (Pickled cabbage for anyone who has never had it, a Korean favorite.) The picture above was taken after a thoroughly enjoyed peanut butter sandwich.

I thought I would write a little bit about food now that he's one. After talking with his pediatrician at the one year checkup, we made a couple decisions about feeding. One decision is adoption related and one is not.

Vegetarian

Dodd is a strict vegan so he does not eat anything that comes from an animal. This includes all dairy, i.e. eggs, cheese, cows milk, and butter. I am not a vegan and enjoy eggs, cheese, butter, as well as a good steak every once in a while. The people who know us well know this was a source of conflict in the early years of our marriage. Dodd quiety went vegan a few months after we were married. I know I shouldn't complain if the worst my husband does is eat vegetables, but I had a hard time accepting his decision for several years. We worked through it and found alternatives that allow us to enjoy food together. However, our friends and family have been curious to see how we would approach food once there were kids and, well, so have we.

I think we've come to a good compromise. We are raising Bear on a primarily vegetarian diet, not vegan, with some additional flexibility. We feed him mostly meatless. I do give him dairy products in moderation, mostly in the form of cheese. We make sure he is receiving sufficient proteins through legumes (lots of black beans, lentils, chick peas, kidney beans, vegetarian refried beans) and occasionally eggs in addition to the fruits and vegetables he eats each day. His teachers know our preferences and help us feed him consistently between home and school.

After the years of deliberation, I feel good about doing this. My primary reason for not raising him as a vegetarian was mostly social. I didn't want him to get stuck with one more thing that would make him different. But there seems to be more nutritional awareness now among kids and adults and I don't think being a vegetarian is as unusual, even in a cow state like Wisconsin. And just so he doesn't freak out about meat at a picnic or a birthday party, I slip in some chicken or pepperoni pizza every once in a while. (Mmm, thinking about pepperoni pizza is making me hungry. Why is pepperoni so good?)

Bottle Feeding

Now that he's a year, it would be appropriate to wean him off the bottle. As suggested in the photo above, he knows how to drink from a sippy cup. (And a Coke bottle and soda can by the way. Did he learn this at Hannah's Hope? We did not teach him.) But we decided to go with the advice of the adoption community and continue to bottle feed him until he's 18 months for the benefit of bonding. Although we no longer have big concerns about attachment, it's another one of those situations where we feel like it can't hurt anything. And I confess I enjoy it. 20 minutes is about what it takes for him to suck down a bottle. 20 precious minutes of snuggle time, hold his hands time, rub his legs and toes time, look into his eyes and sing to him time. He's such a busy boy, he isn't still for 20 minutes any other way. He gets a bottle in the morning when he wakes up, one or two before or after lunch, and one before bed. For now, I think he likes it. He uses a sippy cup with lunch but he still seems to find comfort and pleasure in taking the bottle and being close. We'll go with it for as long as he will.

Now we have to teach him how keep peanut butter sandwiches in his mouth and out of his hair.

If there's anyone else out there with experience raising kids as vegetarians I would love to talk with you. You can post a comment here or email me at milreb@hotmail.com.

Happy Labor Day!

Rites of passage

In the state of Wisconsin if a child is at least 1 year and weighs at least 20 pounds, he may become a .......Front Facer. We turned his carseat around a couple weeks ago. I couldn't wait for him to make the switch.
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Because I love seeing this face in the rear view mirror.

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And for more evidence he's growing up...

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He started a gotee. Or maybe more accurately a Soul Patch.

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Have a good week!

He is One!

Our baby turned one last weekend. What a day. What a week. He decided to walk on his birthday. We were so proud and so was he. He ate his first piece of cake, and had his first taste of sweets. He obliged party guests with a thorough smearing of cake all over his face, hair and body. He smelled like buttercream frosting for at least 24 hours after the party even with a hot bath.

The day brought us joy as we with our friends celebrated our little joy giver. The week brought me closer to his birth place and his birth mother. I will share more thoughts on Bear at One if I can find the words. I am overwhelmed by him. He is a gift. Bereket.

When He Cries

Looks like an angel when he's sleepin'

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There's a little piece of heaven where he lies

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Looks like an angel when he's sleepin'

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But he looks like Charles Bronson when he cries.

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He looks like Charles Bronson when he's cryin'

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He doesn't have a mustache but he's tryin'

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When he's content he's like a present sent from paradise

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But he looks like Charles Bronson when he cries


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Lyrics from the song When He Cries, by Sara Groves.

Giggles

Photo Shoot

Jeesh, I am a bad blogger. Thank you for everyone who's checked in to make sure we are ok! We are are doing great. Bear is growing like crazy. In the absence of a real post with words, I am posting pictures from his first photo shoot from last...March. He was 7 months and toothless when they were taken. Yikes, the photos are already 4 months old.

I should credit Liz from Stella Photographs for the photos. If you live in the Milwaukee area and are looking for a photographer who can capture the spirit of a child, I would highly recommend her. I like that she comes to the house so Bear felt at ease and the photos feel even more personal to us.

So here they are for anyone who still checks this blog. I hope to get a few more posts out this month. Lots to talk about with a busy boy in the house! Have a happy 4th!

10 Months on Earth

Bear turns 10 months this week. I remember a James Dobson comment from many years ago when he observed how it takes a baby just 10 months to go from complete dependence and innocence to a willful little person who doesn't need your help. At least in the baby's mind.
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We are seeing Mr. Bear's will emerge. Little seeds of mischief are starting to sprout. I suppose this is a sign he is a normal child. Until this point, we've enjoyed the luxury of parenting a baby. There is no need for discipline with little ones. Now for the first time we are having to correct behavior. He is biting, mostly me. It started out innocently, just an interesting sensation for him with new teeth. But now it really hurts when he bites and he finds our reactions hilarious. Instead of simply distracting him like we've done with other behaviors in the past, we have to address the issue. We tap his mouth and firmly say 'no bite.' Then we disengage from him for about 60 seconds to create a consequence for the biting. So far all it seems to have done is encourage him to bite more. And laugh more. Naughty! I guess we are going to have work on our disciplining techniques.
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Oh, the joy of being a boy. He learns about his world by pounding on it, pushing it, or putting it in his mouth. If something is in his way, for instance the Pack n Play, little superman moves it. There have been times I thought he was chewing gum, and fished strange objects out of his mouth. Bark, broken plastic, cat claws, whatever he encounters along his happy little path. He also has a thing for paper products. If it's paper, it goes in his mouth super fast. Napkins, menus, toilet paper, mail, emergency contact cards, receipts, checks, the paper liner on the exam table at the doctors office. Dodd laughs and says Bear's facination with paper is yet another sign that he is the child of our hearts because I work with paper for a living.
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He just woke up from his nap and is telling me I need to play with him rather than blog. I guess it's time to close. I traveled to the East Coast on 2 separate trips in 2 weeks this month. Once for work, and once for a dear friend's wedding. Leaving him for several days was a heartache. Oh how I missed him. Bear and Dodd had a great time while I was gone though. Spending time with my boys was that much sweeter after being away from them. Here is a little video of how we spent our time when I came back last weekend. Watch him check in with Dad toward the end.