Thursday, April 19, 2007

week

This week has flown by so far, as did last week! We didn't have classes last week, but were still busy with papers all week! Also it was cold, so we were mostly at the apartment each day. Thankfully, this week has been a little warmer...I hope it will continue.
Sunday we had a near incident I will write about. Before Lydia Catherine was born, I was VERY concerned about people wanting to hold her without washing their hands and related cleanliness issues. Our Pediatrician suggested no one hold her without washing their hands for the first two-three months, at least because of the season and sickness of people during the winter months. Since Frankie is a pastor, we knew it would be impossible for me to avoid church for two months. We did well, though, and the baby didn't make an appearance for several weeks. The first week, one person did ask to hold her, and I managed not to offer hand sanitizer. In December, when we went home, I managed to let people hold her and thankfully family members that were sick didn't ask to hold her. Well, now she's five months, and I have relaxed almost entirely. It's spring and she's older and her immune system is developing...she's healthy, praise God. I thought all these anxieties were behind me. I was wrong. New issue. Food. Lydia has been exclusively breastfed and I gave her rice cereal at 4 1/2 months. She didn't tolerate it very well, so I waited a couple of weeks before trying again. She's now 5 months and just over a week and still only has about a tbsp of cereal each day. She has tasted bananas and sweet potatoes, but her feeding schedule is sporadic and we're still getting used to solids. OK, so older generations think your baby is hungry if she isn't eating at 3-4 months. One lady in the church told me her kids ate gravy at two months and are fine and healthy now. Another lady suggest Lydia wasn't getting all she needs from my breastmilk and that's why she cries. Yet a third said she should be eating what we eat from the table...just mashed up. So Sunday we visit some people. And the subject of food comes up. So the lady asks me if Lydia can have pudding. I say, "Well, not yet...maybe soon though." Diabetes and obesity are rampant in Frankie's family, as is hypertension. In addition, I have very soft teeth that are prone to cavities (if I just look at sweets). With all these factors, Frankie and I have decided to be very intentional about what we feed Lydia. Pudding is out, especially at this age. So I think it's settled. I then tell the well-meaning lady that Lydia is just eating baby cereal and a couple of bites of baby food. Moments later, as I'm walking to the bathroom with the baby, the lady is cutting some cake in the kitchen. She stops us and talks to Lydia, then takes her finger and runs it along the side of the cake, scooping up icing. She offers it to Lydia! I freaked, and backed up. The lady only stepped forward! Before I could protest, she just wiped the icing (a huge gob!) across Lydia's lips! Lydia had a confused look, and didn't even open her mouth. I practically ran to the bathroom and washed her face. She never even tasted it, praise God.
Maybe it's because I'm a new mom and maybe I overreacted. I didn't say anything negative to the lady and I don't think she picked up on my reaction to the situation. I just worry how it will be handled again if we visit there.

posted by Amy @ 8:40 AM