Weeks 4 and 5 - TEETH

Whoops - just remembered I hadn't updated in almost two weeks, bad mummy. We've been overwhelmed here, as quickly following the chickenpox outbreak we had an awful cold (for Jacob and me) and 3 teeth popped through in quick succession.

As a result, there have been several days where Jacob has had little (or nothing) to eat, solids-wise, as it was just too painful for him. Even previous winners in the teething war, like cucumber or raw peppers, caused wincing, shivers and ear-banging when they touched his gums so we didn't push it.

The teeth seem never-ending, I'm pretty sure there's another one on the way out now. When possible we've been trying to squeeze in meals, and Jacob's been enjoying things that don't require much chewing (because of the teeth). Soup has become a favourite, and I have to admit that I've resorted to spoonfeeding him on a few occasions. This caused no small degree of angst, however I reasoned that as Jacob's arms were hanging by his sides, he was refusing to reach for anything but was leaning eagerly forward, making hungry noises with his mouth open, then in effect it's still baby-led. He demolished 2 small platefuls of soup this way, plus 2 large slices of mango (it was very slippery, I held and he nibbled).

Mango has become his definite favourite, and he has developed a ridiculously cute habit of carefully examining his bib for any leftover bits, gasping with pleasure when he spots one, then carefully sucking it off the bib.

What else... spinach and ricotta stuffed peppers are another favourite which he has no trouble eating, and he also loves new potatoes, as he can easily bite chunks off with his new teeth.

We've had one outright rejection so far, which was mashed potatoes. He was happy to play with it, but spat it out as soon as it went in his mouth. I mashed some butternut squash and combined the two, and he ate a little (personally, I can think of nothing worse than unsalted, unflavoured mashed potato).

We need to try and get back in the swing of daily meals though, it's been very hard as his milk intake has dropped and it's a battle to get his RDA into him (again, probably due to teething pain). As a result, I'm reticent to fill him up with food when he's not getting the good nutrition he needs from his milk.

I'm sure it'll sort itself out though, once these teeth have come through. How long does it take again?

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