Dislaimer
AV Baby content is for information only. If you are at all worried about your
baby, please seek the advice of your midwife, doctor or paediatrician.
Diary Of A New Mum -
Week 31
Too Many Carrots
This week I realized that we haven’t taken Jessica-Ann to be weighed for some
time. Five weeks, in fact! So I wrapped her up warm on Thursday morning (an
arctic chill had settled overnight), and headed off to the health centre.
It was the usual routine: I wait in a queue with all the other moms and we each
eye up the babies for signs that ours is better/healthier/prettier etc. Not that
I’m competitive. (I don’t need to be – Jessica-Ann is the most perfect baby in
the world.) When a free changing mat appeared, I dived on it, eager to put Jess
down. I didn’t need the scales to tell me she has put on a hell of a lot of
weight!
I stripped her down to her birthday suit, then carried her across the room to
the scales, hoping as I always do that she didn’t choose that exact moment to
have a pee. She didn’t. Phew! Once she’d been weighed I whisked her back to our
station to dress her. Sixteen pounds and ten ounces, was the verdict. Not bad.
Jess is following a healthy curve, although it is a little under the ‘average’.
We’re not worried, though. She has a healthy appetite, and happily eats whatever
we put in front of her. Providing I haven’t cooked it!
The health visitor came over while I was dressing Jess. I had her sat up to be
dressed, my latest trick, and she looked so cute in her matching pink top and
sweater. When the health visitor asked if everything was okay I said, Yes, of
course. Why wouldn’t it be? She said she’d noticed the color of Jess’s skin.
And? I replied. Jess has a great color, everyone says so. She takes after her
dad, has the kind of skin that will tan real well in summer. She already has a
bit of a tan, in fact…
No. She doesn’t. She has a case of too many carrots in her diet, apparently!
This, said the health visitor, is quite common when you use a lot of baby food
in jars. She might as well have slapped me in the face and called me a bad
mother right there and then!
The fact is, we started off giving Jess nothing but home-cooked food. All her
first tastes were lovingly prepared by Paul or me. But when she progressed to
protein in her diet she seemed to prefer the ready-made stuff. I thought it was
because they have everything in the right proportions (except carrot,
apparently). We only give her the very best baby food – no GM, purely organic,
no additives. It is true that a lot of these jars have carrots in them, but
babies like carrots. They are sweet and easy to digest. And a nice orange color.
Like Jessica-Ann’s face!
I’m exaggerating a little. She isn’t that bad. But we will have to keep an eye
on her carrot consumption from now on. I don’t know – only seven months old and
already she has an eating disorder! What is the world coming to?
Diary of a New Mum Week 32
My Lazy Thyroid In which I discover that there is a reason for my tiredness, aching joints
and weight gain...
Diary of a New Mum Week 33
A Baby Cage In which I purchase a play-pen and wait to see how Jessica-Ann will react...
You'll be amazed at how much equipment you will need for your newborn
baby! Here we help you to think through and plan for your requirement. De-cluttering Before
The Baby Comes Home
Make sure you know your rights so that you can use your maternity or paternity
leave to good advantage. Maternity And
Paternity Leave
Surprising numbers of parents get their baby's nurseries wrong - filling them
with pretty accessories but often leaving out the real essentials! Don't fall
into these traps... Nursery Do's and Don'ts
What do you need to buy for your baby's first clothes and bedding? A Basic Layette
If there is one parenting issue which causes the most anxiety, disruption and
unhappiness, it is baby sleep problems! Establishing a good sleep routine from
the very beginning can be crucial to a peaceful and happy family. Baby SleepLots NEW!
What should you expect at 6 weeks, 6 months or 1 year? We provide useful
milestones and developmental stages so that you can keep an eye on your baby's
development in the first year. Baby Stages
Print, cut and assemble a mobile to decorate the baby's room - or make
use of matching room signs, door hangers, photo frames and more! Room Decorations To Print
Everything from nursery mobiles and cut-outs to birth announcements and baby
shower invitations and scrapbook paper! Baby Printables
