Sleep

Aaah, sleeping in Mommy's arms.

I can sleep in any position,

on the floor,

sideways,

I can even sleep soundly with a towel on my face.

Potato potage and carrot mush

Not so sure.

This week, Shosei started a new menu of baby food.  I made potato potage and mashed carrots.  The carrots are from a frozen product, picked in New Zealand and the potatoes are from Hokkaido, Japan.  These days, we have to know where the produce is from, to avoid the potential hazards of produce near and around Fukushima.  Sometimes, there just seems no way to avoid it all together.  I find myself looking at the green vegetables and root vegetables, wondering whether to believe the written names of places where these produces were grown.  It must be even harder for those people living in Fukushima.
Shosei seems to not like the carrot mush so much.  When I tasted it, it tasted too much like plastic, as if it had been stored in the bag it came in for far too long.  Frozen food just doesn't taste right.  I long to feed Shosei real, fresh vegetables from my parents' all around organic garden.  I flavored the potato potage with a little bit of Katsuo dashi stock.  Shosei also had a taste of unflavored rice crackers for babies 7 months and older.  He played around with it and then eventually, he rammed it into his mouth and let a few pieces melt in his mouth.  It easily melts in the mouth.  It's edible for babies with no teeth.

Broccoli

This week, I added broccoli to his rice porridge diet.  Apart from the possibility that broccoli makes babies have more gas, Shosei seems to like it and eats broccoli porridge very well with the spoon in his mouth.  He goes, ' Ah-mmmm' every time he swallows it down.  He finally drank barley tea today without playing around and yesterday, he drank apple juice for the first time, too.  Next week, I am thinking of changing his rice diet to Japanese somen noodles and have some apple sauce for the first time.  I'm sure he will like something sweet.  Maybe some pumpkin, too. 

First times

Yummy big toe

Sitting up with no help

Sleeping on my side and praying?! at the same time

First bottom tooth

Falling asleep while playing

First time

Today, Shosei had his first taste of real food.  I made rice porridge called Okayu.
It is made of simple white rice, boiled in plenty of water and I mashed the rice into a thick, watery and sticky substance.  No added salt or flavorings.  As I mixed it into the right texture, Shosei sat in his high chair, waiting eagerly and sat at the edge of his chair, extending his arms towards his bowl.  Of course, as the matter of course, he flipped over the large white spoon, sending bits of sticky, wet rice all over the dining table and onto the floor.  I thought he wouldn't like the feeling of a spoon in his mouth, and not swallow so well, but no, he acted like he knew what he was doing from the start.  He let me glide the spoon into his mouth, between his lips, and he easily swallowed his first spoonful.  We were so surprised!  Maybe he had really been observing how we were eating at the table during each meal time.  My husband fed him, too, as I snapped a few photos.  After his first 'meal', Shosei was reluctant to let go of his rice bowl, and expressed it with a few whines, but he was quickly satisfied as I finished off with a bottle of warm milk.  I'm sure he is already looking forward to his next bowl of rice tomorrow.  Maybe he is dreaming of it as he soundly takes an afternoon nap. 

He wanted to eat the bowl, too.