Mimi Updates and I turned 28 :-)

Tis the season to be busy..fa la la la la, la la la la

It has been crazy lately but I wanted to make a quick update on Mimilicious.

Mimi is going to be 5 months on Dec 22nd. Sh

e is about 18 lbs and boy is she heavy! We did end of starting solid foods, one tablesp

oon serving, only once per day. So far she has had sweet potato, carrots, apples, pears, prunes, and oatmeal cereal. Our doctor recommended NOT to use rice cereal or giver her pureed bananas because of her constipation problem. Mimi holds her poop for 4-5 days at a time. Very frustrating and probably very painful for her. I thought starting veggies and fruits would help with this, but alas it has made it worse. I think I will try to give her 2 oz of water a day in a bottle or sippy cup to alleviate this issue. I have the playtex sippycups, but the nipple at the top is hard and she hasn't quite got the idea of sucking it yet.

I ordered some "Nuby" ones off amazon, so we'll see if she likes those better. I have been making all my own organic babyfood with teh exception of pru

nes. Finding organic prunes proved tougher than I thought. When I finally found them, they were 4 dollars for 4 oz, so I bought the earth's best organic prunes for 50 cents a jar. It really is affordable to make your own organic food--maybe not the most convienent for travelling--but very affordable and easy.

Here is a list you might find helpful as you make your babyfoods--

1. Peaches - Summer’s blushing fruit contains high residues of iprodione, classified as a probable human carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and methyl parathion, an endocrine disruptor and organophosphate (OP) insecticide. Methyl parathion has caused massive kills of bees and birds. According to Consumer Reports, single servings of peaches "consistently exceeded" EPA’s safe daily limit for a 44-pound child.
2. Apples - Apples may contain methyl parathion. Both fresh apples and baby food applesauce can also contain chlorpyrifos, an OP which has caused large bird kills. CORE Values IPM apple growers are trying to phase out OPs.
3. Pears - Pears, both fresh and in baby food, can also come with methyl parathion, as well as the OP azinphos-methyl, which is toxic to freshwater fish, amphibians and bees.
4. Winter Squash - Dieldrin, a chlorinated, carcinogenic insecticide, exceeded the safe daily limit for a young child in two-thirds of positive samples. Another potent carcinogen, heptachlor, also showed up. DDT and its breakdown product, DDE, were detected in baby food squash.
5. Green Beans - Green Beans can contain acephate, methamidophos and dimethoate (three neurotoxic OPs), and endosulfan, an endocrine-disrupting insecticide, which showed up in baby food, too. Acephate disorients migrating birds, throwing them off course.
6. Grapes - U.S. grapes contain methyl parathion and methomyl, a carbamate insecticide listed as an endocrine disruptor; imports may contain dimethoate.
7. Strawberries - The enhanced red color of strawberries comes from the fungicide captan, a probable human carcinogen that can irritate skin and eyes, and is highly toxic to fish. While the lethal soil fumigant methyl bromide doesn’t show up on the fruit, it has harmed California farm workers, and depletes the ozone layer.
8. Raspberries - Watch out for more than thorns! These berries can contain captan, iprodione and carbaryl, a suspected endocrine disruptor that has also been found in plum baby food
9. Spinach - Permethrin, a possible human carcinogen, and dimethoate dominate spinach’s toxicity ratings, but CU notes that residue levels have been declining as U.S. farmers reduce use of these insecticides. DDT has been found in spinach, which leads all foods in exceeding safety tolerances.
10. Potatoes - Pesticide use on potatoes is growing, CU warns. They may contain dieldrin and methamidophos, and children eating potatoes risk getting a very high dose of aldicarb, CU says.
11. Tomatoes - high in chlorpyrifos or other pesticide residues
12. Cantaloupe - high in chlorpyrifos or other pesticide residues

Mimi is wearing size 6 months clothes and shoes. She can roll over from back to tummy very well, but only from tummy to back occasionally. She sleeps 11-12 hours a night without waking to eat. I know that the books say that at 6 months, they should only sleep 6 hours without eating--but if you have seen photos of her you know she's not starving! Plus the dr. said that was fine. She takes 1 long nap (2 hours) and 1-2 short 40-minute naps a day. When she is awake she wants to be entertained so I get very little done. I gave up on that awhile ago. Mimi loves to go out. When we take her anyway she behaves better than at home. She looks around at everything and interacts with people. One issue we are dealing with is her hating the carseat and riding in the car. She fusses and cries most of the time unless she is full and warm, then she fall asleeps. I installed the Britax Marthon carseat rear-facing in my car, but we still use the infant carseat in my husband's car.

I am doing awesome. I am 5 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight and one pants size smaller than my pre-pregnancy size--so the saggy belly does subside EVENTUALLY!! I hurt my knee two weeks ago so I haven't been able to walk much and I still lost weight! Breastfeeding ROCKS!

Today we are going to buy our Christmas tree and put is up. We're going to try to take a nice family photo in front of it for our Christmas/Holiday cards. Our Christmas shopping is almost done. I have had more fun buying stuff for my friends baby than anything else. Mimi doesn't need anything, so I only bought her some books and a jacket. We'll see what the grandparents send--I'm sure she'll have some wrapping paper to eat.

Good luck to all those pregnant ladies about to pop and good tidings to all those with little ones. Post cute santa photos!

Oh--I turned 28 yesterday---my twenties are almost over! Yikes.

Happy Holidays!