Baby steps

I'm excited I've kind of discovered a new exercise/outing thing. There are lots of great hikes in the LA area, but some are more challenging than is practical (I find I wait until I'm "up for it", and then weeks go by). Also the more challenging ones are tough with a stroller or while baby wearing. So I have taken to doing the Silverlake reservoir walk every other day or so. I used to just go with Walking Friend when she was available, but then I thought why not do this all the time, like part of a daily/weekly routine? So I've been going every couple of days. It's nearby, there's a grassy area I can let B crawl around in at the end, and it feels safer than most of my hikes - lots of people, moms with kids, etc. Also exercise does wonders to elevate my mood, which is always a good thing.

So snap n go stroller is now dispatched so I have no choice but to use the umbrella stroller. As always thanks for all of your helpful suggestions. I will see if I can get some sort of shade extender; in the meantime I will most likely use the jogger in the most sunny situations. I went to Target for sippy cups and to my dismay they only had the Nuby kind; but I figured they were worth a try. This morning I gave him some full fat cow's milk in it! I'm not sure if he understood the concept at first - I didn't realize sippy cups have "stages" you're supposed to follow, so I got one of the in-between stages one just to hedge my bets. He mostly wanted to use the silicone nub thing as a teether - which they specifically tell you not to let them do - but he was swallowing so I think he did get a little milk. He seemed to like it, no weird faces or spitting it out. So hopefully this will be his new thing - and can you imagine if I didn't have to pump for sitters anymore...? Oh my God, that would be the best thing ever!

In a panic over him not being big enough, I did a little amateur sleuthing last night; measured his length and head circumference with a tape measure, and weighed us both on the bathroom scale and then weighed just me for the difference. It looks like he's in the 25th percentile for weight and the 50th for height and head size. Of course my measurements weren't exactly 100% accurate but it did make me feel better - I was worried he was undernourished after all this food weirdness. I can hardly wait until he's nine and scarfing down everything in sight (I say that now-!).

I also bought what I hope will be kid friendly foods at the grocery store yesterday. Cheese, cottage cheese, bananas, I have avocados from my tree right now, and ingredients for my more mushy adult meals, like my favorite polenta and white beans with spinach, or split pea soup and popovers, or pasta with spinach pesto. Haven't delved head on into the "real food" thing but I'm poised for it. I'll give myself the weekend for easy squeeze bag foods and then Monday it's on.