6 months and potty progress.. or lack thereof.....

So, my little man will be six months old Sunday... well, sort of. He was born on the 29th and there isn't a 29th this month! So, we're just going to count it on the 1st! I can't believe that a half of a year has gone by since my little man was born! We will start solids next week. We're going to start with rice cereal but if he doesn't like it I'm not giving it to him by itself! Luke never liked it! So we just went to fruits and then mixed the fruit with the cereal. I started cereal with Luke when he was 4 months old, but he was on formula. It's recommended to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months. I've already had a few people ask me why I haven't started him on solids yet. One of the reasons is that you can help to avoid allergies (or lessen them) by breastfeeding exclusively for 6 months. I could kick myself for giving him those four bottles of formula. I know formula is not poison (Luke was formula fed and is perfectly fine, healthy, and smart.. if I do say so myself!) but for a child who may be allergic breast milk is best and anything extra may hinder that. And you never know whether or not they are going to be allergic until it's too late. Now with Luke I wasn't educated on all of this but now that I have the knowledge I won't make that mistake again (for future children). Number two reason for not starting solids is that Eli is so little. I would have felt completely wrong giving him baby food at 4 months! It would have just been weird! He is so much smaller than Luke was. So, we'll be going super slow with solids. I actually get a little nervous when I think about it. Especially after I read this story. Allergies are serious. I'm sure there are people out there who think that it's ridiculous that I'm avoiding dairy and eggs and that I'm just making up Eli's issues. Well, that's ok. I'm just protecting my baby. I have actually added some hidden dairy back to my diet. I added Cheddar Bunnies. They are kind of like Goldfish. So far, no reaction. I just have to remember that just because he doesn't react to my breast milk doesn't mean that he can tolerate it. It will be a whole new ball game when we begin giving him things. I was talking to my mom tonight and after reading that story I may just go sit in the hospital parking lot the first time we give him anything with dairy/egg in it. Seriously.

In other news Luke is 3 months away from being 3 years old and is still wearing diapers. Now, I'm not terribly concerned about this but I do wish we were making a little more progress than we are. Progress isn't even a correct term... since we are making ZERO progress. I refuse to make my child sit on the potty, though. What good is it going to do to force him to sit (kicking and screaming) on the potty? None. It would just make both of us miserable. So, I'm just praying that one day he will become interested. Preferably soon. Naps these days are hit or miss. He has "Quiet Time" every day from about 3 - 4:30pm. We usually go up to his room and play together for a little bit around 2:30 and then he gets to watch PBS or a DVD. Sometimes he falls asleep, sometimes he doesn't. And I don't mind that he doesn't always take a nap, as long as he is quiet. My rules are that the lights are dim and that he plays quietly on his pallet in the floor (coloring, reading books, etc). Oh, he's growing up so fast...

Well, that's what's new around here. Oh, I have something else to talk about.. but that will come later! It's after 11 now and I need sleep! BTW, that picture is the best one of the two of them I've taken recently. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get a 2 year old who hates to take pictures and an almost 6 month old who can't sit up alone to look half way decent in a picture together!!! I'm planning professional pics for Easter. Pray for me. ;)