feeding time @ the zoo

first, the mess...
i'll admit it: i am hopeless at keeping dd neat as she eats her solids.
she would be wearing a bib and i would have a couple of cloth wipes handy but inevitably, bits of cereal would wound up in her hair; her sleeves and collars would be badly stained. and don't even talk about the floor!
i can now understand why plastic mats are sometimes placed under the high chair.

then, the fuss...
in the beginning, dd was superb in the high chair. but for the past month she's always clamoured to get out after a few spoonfuls. sometimes she could be persuaded to stay put if i sing a few nursery rhymes but usually she would just whine at an increasing pitch till i unscrew the tray and lift her out.
sometimes we can finish the meal with her on my lap. but the past coupla days i distracted her with the telly (i know, bad bad mommy) and shovelled it in as she gaped at the screen.

dinnus interruptus / the poo-break
there's been a few instances now when she's interrupted her meals by deciding it was time to evacuate her bowels. she'd first reject her spoon, then start compressing her lips into a taut line. a faraway (concentrated?) look would appear in her eyes, then the grunts would start. sometimes she would push till her face goes bright red, and her whole body would rock a little from the effort. funny bub.
i don't mind changing her and disposing of the biz, but she sometimes doesn't want to resume eating afterwards. that's what bugs me as i do hope she will have full meals.

splashy splashy

A couple of days ago, while dd was seated in the bathtub playing with her toys, she suddenly started splashing the water with both hands, making that mouth-open-i'm-excited face.
It is the first time she's done this after we moved her into a sitting position (with the seat) a few weeks ago. Prior to this she'd been bathing lying in the tub, when she'd kick both legs for loud sploshing sounds.
Watching her do the splashing hands biz is fun too though.

More poo news:
It seems that she may be becoming more regular. The lapse between poos appear to be shorter (although she didn't do her biz today). Yesterday she made one after going without for 2 days. But this last poo was incredibly pong-y. Must be the salmon I fed her for Saturday's lunch!
She does make the most incredible faces when trying to poo though. It's so funny (not for her of course, poor little mite) to see her go all red, with puffed cheeks and stretched-thin mouth.

the most beautiful syllables in the universe

for the record: week 33, 20.5 lbs, about 70cm long

this past week dd has been keeping to her routine - in the daytime anyways. but what's more significant than her night wakings (or rather night wailings), which have occurred ever since we went away on holiday 3 weeks ago, is that her vocalisations actually mean something these days.

for quite a while now dd has been babbling loads ("mama, dada, baba" seemingly indiscriminately), but this past week i have noticed that whenever she desperately wants something she would call out, "Ma ma!"

now, whether "mama" = help, get me outta here OR "mama"= mummy,
only time (or dd) will tell!

whatever, "ma" is definitely the most beautiful syllable in the universe, and the combo "mama" the sweetest.