'tis the season

Dear Olive,
Clancy came down with his first cold last week. It was, of course, inevitable. But what was surprising was that I'd forgotten just how miserable a baby can get when they're sick. He was clingy and generally wretched, which was terribly sad (and terribly exhausting). I tried him on a new to us brand of kids herbal range (KiwiHerb for those interested) and upped his daily dose of cod liver oil. (The naturopath in the health food store laughed when I told her that Clancy drops whatever he's doing and comes pelting into the kitchen whenever I call out "who wants cod liver oil!".) I gave him my bone broth, which he loves having straight up in a cup. And I'm always happy to breastfeed him as much as he wants. One of the most brilliant things about breastmilk is being able to have a little control over what goes in it - because what goes in me, goes in him, so I make sure I'm having lots of things that will help his still-developing immune system fight - nutrient dense meals with plenty of garlic and onion, topped up with immune boosting supplements, and lots of ginger and turmeric and lemon tea. And it probably goes without saying; endless cuddles. But life goes on around his poorly self, and thank goodness for slings so it can!

PS Did you know Australians are prescribed 25% more antibiotics than the OECD?

baby food

Dear Olive,
Clancy turned 6 months on the weekend just gone (I know! We can scarcely believe it, either). And aside from it indicating that we've all been loving him for half a year, it means he can start on food. It has always seemed sensible to me, to wait as long as I could before I introduced my babies onto solids - to allow their digestive system maximum time to mature. A friend told me recently that a baby is born with holes throughout it's gastrointestinal tract - an exquisite design so that antibodies in the breast milk can absorb directly into the babies blood stream. Isn't that amazing? 
There's a wealth of online resources about the growing nutritional needs of a baby, and how to go about meeting them through food - this article provides a great, easy to understand summary. And I found 'The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care' by Sally Fallon to be an invaluable resource for feeding - and everything to do natural, nutritional health. 
So far, off my finger, Clancy's tried gently cooked egg yolk, and mashed carrots cooked in broth (he flat out refused to open up at all for avocado). I wouldn't say he was mad for either, and over four "meals" so far, I'd estimate he's eaten about one eighth of a teaspoon. In total. *sigh* It's a slow process. (Not to mention a terrible waste of good food.) I remember a midwife telling me when you were young that food was just for fun before one, and I think I'll be reminding myself of that in the months to come.