Four Fists Full

Viola has taken over!

violalily — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:08:23 +0000

The thing about twins is you are forever comparing them. It now seems that Viola is more interested in food than Lily – or is Lily just having some off days. Lily slept through last night (for the first time in months) and Viola only woke once so things were looking good but neither seemed interested in breakfast. For lunch I thought a new taste would be a good idea so I cooked up some broccoli. Lily was really not interested but Viola seemed to have a go. She sucked on it for quite a while and although sometimes pulled a funny face when she got the brassica hit she went back for more. I also offered pear to tempt Lily – she ate a piece and Viola ate 2. When I say ate, I mean took, chewed, mashed up and spat out – some is injested but not more than 50% I think. The amount of broccoli injested was also minimal – lets see what the nappies have to say.
Still updating via a proxy and could not accept comments for some reason – so sorry if you have written some and feel I am ignoring you! Also cannot upload photos with the proxy….

More catch up..

violalily — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:23:40 +0000

Monday 12th Nov
We went away for the weekend, just as all the high chairs and clip on chairs arrived. The Chicco clip on easy adjust chairs arrived on Friday and so I attached them, with difficulty, to the kitchen table. They cannot get near to the dining room table – just the wrong shape – a huge lip underneath the table prevents any attachment. The seats can fit on the kitchen table with a bit of brute force but with about a 3 inch gap from the table edge. This 3 inch gap is perfect for dropping all food down directly on to the floor for awaiting dogs. We are now bridging the gap with a table mat! However they look comfortable and the twins ate a banana for friday lunch and I quickly wiped off the debris. Most of the banana ended up on the floor due to the gap….
We went off to the hills outside of Shanghai for Saturday night. Baby led weaning is great for travel. We took some rice crackers, some pears and a nice sharp knife. Viola and Lily sat on our laps and ate their lunch outside in the sun. Imagine if I had to make a puree!
Back home and the twins had their first breakfast with their BIG brother and sister. It was great. They sat in their Chicco chairs and ate rice crackers whilst the big ones had weetabix. For lunch I roasted some sweet potato in olive oil and they loved it. Viola especially and she really eats well now. They had about 3 chips each which they ate most of. I put Viola in the Tripp Trapp chair with the baby set – its too low for the kitchen table (which is a high table) and actually a bit too low at the moment for the dining room table -they will have to grow into it! The Tripp Trapp babyset works well but is quite a tight fit – good job I have lean babies. Not sure how a well rounded baby would fit in. Its a bit disappointing that all 4 chairs do not fit (as designed) our kitchen or dining room table. Our car seats don’t fit our car either so its a bit of a theme….

Thursday 8th Nov
Another day, another rice cracker. The girls did not seem so hungry at breakfast though. Lunch they had pear and Lily chomped away for about half an hour and spent a lot of time picking up smaller bits that dropped on her lap – quite clever really! Viola enjoyed it and seems to be where Lily was about a week ago. The Tripp Trapp chairs arrived today (hurray) but still waiting on the baby sets to add to them so we can actually use them…

Bananas are messy.
Wednesday 7th Nov
We have a little routine now. I get the girls up and after a feed and nappy change I take them downstairs and they have a rice cracker. It seems like Viola is the rice cracker queen, ate 2 quarters and Lily had had enough after 1 quarter. We then go back upstairs to get dressed (and remove the rice crackered clothing). Lunch I try fruit or veg. Today it was banana so I removed as many clothes as sensible and put on big bibs before handing the banana around. Lily is in her element here – she just loves it. Viola had just one piece, about an inch in size, and ate most of it but not with the professionalism of Lily nor with the enthusiasm of a rice cracker! Lily ate almost half a banana. She did a lot of gagging again today, I think its just she is eating faster and larger bits are hitting the back of the throat. She seems to sort it out with a quick gag and then chews a bit more. When I was eating dinner this evening Lily was on my lap and trying to grab my plate and its contents. I put some fresh pineapple within her reach as a decoy and she grabbed and ate it as quick as a flash – whole piece in her mouth and not a lot came out again! Impressive

Carrots still get the thumbs down…

violalily — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 08:04:52 +0000

Tuesday 6th November
Again rice cracker for breakfast and then I decided to try carrot again for lunch – my weekly ritual. Anyhow, both seem to not like carrot. I think they have the ‘I do not like carrot’ gene they inherited from my sister. She never liked them as a kid. I ate the carrots and went back to pear. Lily was gagging a lot today – I think she was just biting off big hunks and then they were going down too fast. Viola was expertly sucking and grating bits off with her gums. She seems to have turned into a pro. Volumes not big but making a difference in the nappies all round so something is happening. Still cannot get into wordpress without using a proxy…

5 day recall – a bit fuzzy!

violalily — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:09:44 +0000

Monday 5th November
Guy Fawkes. Still cannot get onto wordpress – doing this though a proxy…

Both girls had rice crackers for Breakfast – and ate one quarter (Viola) and one half (Lily) each. Of that I think about 2 thirds was actually consumed – injested- as the remaining sucked and spat out bits were pretty small. Viola seems to be a big rice cracker fan. For lunch I decided to roast some sweet potato in olive oil as I have noticed how many other blw’ers have roast veg. It seemed a little hard – tough on the outside but soft inside. However, Lily coped fine and seemed to like it – had about 2 chips of it and ate / managed half of it- especially the squidgy inside. I then gave some pear – an old favourite and they had a couple of pieces, Viola less but she did keep a piece in her mouth for simply ages. Yes gobstoppers! I think Viola is getting there albeit slowly but that is OK. All 4 chairs, 2 clip on and 2 Stokke Tripp Trapp paid for in Hong Kong today so we can expect to get them with in a week! Had a friend to lunch who also has twins – almost 5 months old so not yet weaning- she had not heard about blw and was a bit apprehensive. I gave her the Gill Rapley info and she saw my girls eat – not that they eat a lot – but I hope she was not too put off.

Sunday 4th November

Cannot get onto the blogging site…and could not the other day so now up to 4 days without a post – can I remember what Viola and Lily have eaten?
Did not offer Viola any food for a day and Lily in contrast goes from strength to strength at eating. I reckon if I was to add up all the non eaten bits of food she consumes (swallows) about a third to a half of what is offered disappears, presumably into her tummy. Banana is easy to eat and seems to go down a treat, as does rice cracker. Apple and pear a bit more challenging, more like one third eaten, but thoroughly enjoyed. I was cutting up a pear for Lily at the weekend with Viola on my lap and Viola grabbed for a bit – so I let her take it and she really seemed to enjoy it. I think a little was eaten but mainly she bites off a piece and then keeps it in her mouth for ages sucking on it, like a gobstopper! Lily does the same but more is eaten. About quarter of an hour after I thought she had finished eating I was changing Lilys nappy and saw she still had a little piece of pear in her mouth that she was still rolling around and enjoying. I can also report that Lily did have a more ‘solid ‘ poo in her nappy on Friday – so presumably that indicated she is eating a substantial amount of food.
They both had a bit of mango on Saturday and rice cracker later on in the day – so we are up to 2 meals a day now, if you could call them meals. They were also 7 months old this weekend so bearing in mind they were a month prem they could be called 6 months old. Viola is sitting up a bit more each day and I can report she sat up along this evening for a few mins on the bed….good for her!

Rice crackers a gogo

violalily — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:56:35 +0000

Out to lunch today with other babies also doing blw. Decided not to give Lily the banana I had taken with us as it would have made us all sticky and stained…so she had plum again (well it is a favourite!). She enjoyed it as usual and I think some big bits were swallowed as she gagged a bit – but again nothing too bad and certainly no complaints from her. I was not going to offer Viola anything, give her a day off, but we shared our plum with Theo (also 6 months) and he shared his rice cracker with Viola. She seemed to like sucking on it and it was certainly easy to hold. I am not sure how much was eaten but thats not the point at this stage! So rice crackers all around tomorrow. Again, I knew when Lily had had enough when she ignored more plum! Perhaps we shall try breakfast too tomorrow.

A big mouthful.

violalily — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:38:38 +0000

I was going to give Viola a day off today but all was quiet as Lily slept and so I thought perhaps I could concentrate on Viola for a while. I used the small cloth bibs as the bigger plastic ones seem to get in the way and cause a distraction! I offered her a wedge of plum and she reluctantly held it and eventually gave a half hearted suck and that was about it. She humoured me by taking it each time I offered but was not going to eat it. After a while she got bored with it and I accept that she needs a few days off to rekindle her interest. If mangoes were in season perhaps that would tempt her…

When Lily woke and after a feed she had the rest of the plum and ate like a professional new blw’er. She even took the whole piece of plum in her mouth for a good chew, spitting bits out as she went along. She also tried to work out how to get the smaller bits back into her mouth that she could not quite grab a hold of by balancing them on her fist and aiming for the mouth! I knew she had had enough when she studiously ignored the next piece on offer.

They had plain organic rice cakes (German imported) at the local supermarket today so I brought 4 packets before they disappear for 6 months. May try one with Lily soon.

We have also made a decision on high chairs… we need them now. I have found a source who imports the Stokke Tripp Trapp chair into China at a reasonable price so we are going to have 2 of them plus the baby attachments. In addition Ian will buy two clip on chairs to fix to the kitchen table when he is in Hong Kong next week. These are portable. So my logic for not wanting 2 big high chairs in the house is a bit fuzzy when you consider I am buying 4 chairs now!! I should have them all within 2 weeks.

Twins are not necessarily the same…

violalily — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 08:02:41 +0000

Today it seems clear to me that Viola really is not ready. She holds the food when offered but makes no real attempt to eat it, maybe an odd suck but not a lot else. Should I stop and concentrate on Lily and leave Viola for a few days? Viola is sitting up a little more each day but still not sitting alone like Lily. To add to all this they are both sleeping very badly at night. After the first 6 months of having good sleepers it now all seems to be going pear shaped. Phoned my sister in Oz (seasoned mother of triplets) for advice.

Today we had carrots again, lightly boiled. Lily knew what to do and I was interested to see if she actully liked them this time around. She did grimace and shake her head but after a few tries no longer grimaced! I am not sure she ate much, the pieces she bit off seemed to come out almost straight away. However, she notably picked up the bits that fell on her lap so seems to know what its all for. Her nappies are evidence of some food getting in, albeit small amounts. I wondered if I ought to try Viola on the organic rice puree I carried back from the UK at a moment of weakness but decided to come and look at other blogs and websites to get some support. I still cannot get into www.babyledweaning.co.uk – its a pain. It helps to read other accounts of this blw journey, just wish I could access the forums…

After I fed them I had my lunch, carrot soup and some rice pudding (my breastfeeding comfort food) and thought how ironic it was. I was eating the puree and they were eating the ‘real’ food!

Sunday – Lily has got it!

violalily — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 15:48:22 +0000

No Post for a couple of days – having trouble accessing www.wordpress.com…

On Friday Lily really seemed to turn the corner and know what to do when offered a piece of plum. Straight into the mouth and lots of chomping, then spitting out but with a new determination. Perhaps not a lot actually ingested but going the right way. Viola in contrast seemed to avoid the gaze of the plum. Each time I tried to offer her a piece she seemed to studiously avoid noticing it! I tried with a piece of pear but she quickly dropped it after a disinterested suck. I suppose its normal for them to do this at different stages, they may be twins but they are each their own person. Lily is sitting up properly so perhaps she is just more ready all round. I shall not stop trying with Viola but just need to be patient.

Both are waking a lot a night, more so Lily. They disturb each other so we have even had to seperate them and move Lily into our room. She genuinely seemed to be in pain on Friday evening/night and I was worried she may have indigestion so decided to not offer any food on Saturday, a day of rest, to see if it helped. It seems a little unfair of mother nature to make eating quite so troublesome. Saturday night was the same, Lily waking about every 2 – 3 hours. Unless I breastfed her she would not settle for ages. So maybe it is teething, maybe indigestion, maybe something else! Wish I knew….

Sunday I decided to try banana again. Lily was keen and started chewing straight away. Big and little pieces were bitten off and she seemed to enjoy it. Most was spat out but I think some was eaten. There was also notably no gagging. Viola had a little go but was not interested and quicky dropped her banana. I think we shall go for more veg next week. I need to look at some other blw blogs to see if indigestion is a common problem. So far they have both been up twice tonight and its not yet midnight….

The first banana.

violalily — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:54:16 +0000

Was looking forward to today. Went to meet Matthew and his mum Gillian for lunch at Nar (our favourite cafe) and thought Viola and Lily could show Matthew how to eat. They are a month older than him and he has not started weaning yet. However, they would not play ball and completely showed me up. They would not even try and hold their pear nor would Lily sit up in the cafe high chair. When we got home again, after a little sleep in the car, I offered pear and their first try of a banana. Well Viola really seemed to like the banana and Lily had mixed feelings – pulled funny faces but went back for more. Again they did not seem to swallow much but certainly bit off chunks and rolled them around in their mouths for a while. I think it was a good day for blw, eventually. By the way, banana is messy…..

Pears and plums

violalily — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:13:14 +0000

Lunch was out today in a cafe so I took a pear and a plum, a sharp knife and 2 bibs with me. Lily knew what she was doing and sucked happily on the pear and even broke some bits off for a chew. These later came out, sometimes with a bit of a gag reflex but nothing too worrying. The plum was also sucked but she found it a bit too slippery. Viola tried for a little while but generally speaking was less interested. She was tired and a bit grouchy. They are at a difficult stage where they will not go to anyone they do not know – ie. immediate family- so the friends I was having lunch with could not hold and enjoy them as they just cried! Hard work for me holding two at a time and dissapointing for others! Hope it passes soon…

Looked at the new WHO growth curves. They have been developed using the breast fed baby as the ‘norm’, see http://www.who.int/childgrowth/standards/weight_for_age/en/index.html

Plotting both Lily and Viola on these Lily sits on the 3rd centile and Viola, miss petite, sits below the 3rd and moving away from it ever so slightly but not as much as the standard growth curves that Shanghai United Family Hospital use. I am eating like a horse to keep up with my hunger, feeding the milk bank. My stomach is quite big and distended from the volumes I put inside it but I am maintaining my weight OK – would be nice to tone up a bit though. Time for exercise? No….