Update on Solid Foods

In October I wrote a post about how I fell to the pressure of introducing solids to Ava before I had planned. Now, 4.5 months after introducing solids, Ava is FINALLY into it! She is eating at least three meals a day. Yesterday at daycare she ate a big bowl of rice and meat AND an 8 ounce bottle of breastmilk in one sitting! Not sure where she is putting it! Since she started crawling she has really thinned out, but she is so busy I am sure she is burning all those solid food calories she taking in pretty fast! Next time around I am going to wait much longer to introduce solids. Unless the next child shows eagerness and readiness of course. I just think about how much time I spent trying to consistently offer her food, it was exhausting and not very fulfilling since she would always turn her nose up to it. Thats what parenting is all about, learning as you go.

Peeling Lips

My lips have been peeling since about September...yes, September...that is four going on five, long months! And when I say peel, I mean sheets of skin peeling off every two days. In addition to sheets of skin peeling off it was also affecting my jaw from me constantly rubbing my lips together. I don't know what has caused it, I suspect some sort of deficiency from breastfeeding. I have tried everything...Burt's bees, unpetroleum jelly, Medicated Chapstick, Blistex Lip Medex, and even that Neosporin Lip Health that is supposed to heal chapped lips in three days! I also tried taking extra supplements. I had read about an iron and B Vitamin deficiency, so I added that into my diet for a month as a test. Nothing has worked, until now! I posted a thread on a mothering.com discussion board and someone suggested lanolin. I had some Lansinol lanolin left over from the early days of breastfeeding and decided to give it a whirl. It works! The lips are certainly not completely healed. I haven't been bringing the bottle with me to work, I have only been using it when I am home, but it is fantastic. It is so thick that I only need to apply it 3 or 4 times a day, versus every 15-30 minutes with other stuff. I do plan on going to a Chinese Medicine Doctor in the next few months and am hopeful that they can find a root cause of the issue, but until then, lanolin is my best friend!