TEETH! + Spicy Mexican Red Lentils

Monday

Arthur woke up at 5:15 on Monday, so, you know, he slept in a tiny bit later than the previous day, but not nearly as much as we had hoped. I nursed him in bed for a bit (he was really hungry!) and then Miklós took him for a bit so I could get some more shut-eye.

Oma's a fan

During the two hours or so that Miklós had him, Arthur was apparently ok sitting with his grandparents for 10-15 minutes without Miklós, so maybe his stranger anxiety is getting better! They also fed him some leftover quinoa and cream of wheat from yesterday.

After Arthur’s second breakfast, Miklós and G-Dawg took him on a walk, during which he got a good nap in. Later, he was pretty content in the backpack at the grocery store, but less so during his afternoon nursing session; he was really restless and kept chomping on my nipple, and didn't seem particularly hungry. Nor tired; he didn't get the nap I was hoping he would.

In the late afternoon, we took Arthur to the docks in downtown Friday Harbor, and he fell asleep in the backpack almost instantly. We didn’t spend long there, though, because we wanted to meet Oma at home, so the little dude’s nap was cut short after about 20 minutes or so. What surprised me, though, was that when we got home, he ended up continuing the nap while nursing on me - not for long, but when combined with the backpack nap, added up to a full nap!

Arthur had a huge appetite for solids during dinner time, and went through a couple slices of sweet potato, tofu, and then, since I had cooked a salt-free version of the lentil sweet potato shepherd’s pie I often make for my low-sodium parents, actually had some of the same dinner we were eating. It was pretty fun to be eating the same dish. Arthur was very enthusiastic about everything on his plate. My mom was pretty impressed with how much he ate; she thinks he’s having a growth spurt. She might be right about that; he really was thirsty the past two mornings, and nursed with gusto.

Arthur was in a surprisingly sweet mood for most of the evening and charmed the pants off of his grandparents with his smiling and giggling - his witching hour was almost nonexistent!

Anyways, on Monday, Arthur ate:

• quinoa

• Malt-O-Meal (wheat, barley)

• soy milk

• peanut butter

• sweet potato

• green lentils

• canned diced tomatoes

• tofu

Tuesday

Arthur slept in until around 6 on Tuesday - he seems to be slowly adjusting to the new time zone! However, he fell back asleep pretty soon after waking up, and spent an hour dozing in Miklós’s arms until I woke up and fed him breakfast. The rest of the morning was mostly spent sleeping as well, first in my arms while I nursed him, then in the car, then in the hiking backpack as we walked around American Camp with him.

Meeting our first crab!

He had another sleepy nursing session when we got home from the camp, and then a massive solid lunch. I mixed him up some black beans with half and half, mixed nut butter, quinoa, and a sprinkle each of dried coriander and mustard powder. He probably had well over a quarter cup of the stuff, which was pretty dense. I also introduced him to some mashed blackberries, which he was very enthusiastic about!

After his lunch, Arthur went for a walk with his pops, where, shocker, he slept some more. That was his last sleep of the day though, and he started getting fussy and restless in the evening, as his witching hour approached. And it was a proper witching hour this time.

Surprisingly, Arthur didn’t seem very interested in his solid dinner. I gave him some leftover shepherd’s pie from the previous day, mixed with a bit of tahini, and he seemed to genuinely dislike it. Maybe it was the tahini, but I tasted it myself and the flavor really wasn’t too pronounced. We tried giving him some avocado as well, but he wasn’t terribly interested in that either, despite it usually being one of his favorites. So he only had a few bites of solid dinner, and then we gave up.

Experiencing South Beach the Arthur way

As he was cleaning Arthur up after dinner, Miklós announced the kid had really managed to chomp down on him good. But we don’t see any evidence of teething. Still, my nipple was bleeding yesterday, so maybe he is. It would also explain the sleepiness. We’ll see. Anyways, at least Arthur nursed pretty well before bed, and his solid intake for the day was pretty decent, coming to:

• black beans

• half and half

• quinoa

• mixed nut butter (almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, chia, flax)

• spices: dried coriander, mustard powder

• blackberries (new food!)

• green lentils

• canned diced tomatoes

• sweet potato

• tahini

• avocado

Wednesday

Arthur woke up at 6:00 again. He had a bit more energy this morning, tolerating some time with his grandparents, as long as his dad was nearby. He also had a big solid breakfast before he was able to get to my boob, eating the rest of the black bean mash from yesterday, a blackberry or two, and some kabocha squash /soy milk purée my mom had made. Then it was time for a nursing session and a very short nap on Mama - maybe 20 minutes or so.

After the nap, I was chatting and smiling with Arthur, and at one particularly big smile, I noticed something strange on his bottom gum. I ran my finger along the rim and felt it - a tooth!!!! It was hard to get him to open his mouth wide enough and long enough for me to see it, but I did catch a glimpse - there is definitely the white crown of something poking out through his gums! It’s his bottom right incisor. Honestly, I’m really surprised that he’s not showing any of the teething behavior I’d expected - he’s not particularly fussy or chewy. I guess his symptoms are hunger and tiredness, and I will very happily take both of them.

Chilling with G-Dawg

Arthur got another cooler bath, during which he continued being fascinated by his little wiener and ballsack. We took Arthur to British Camp in the late morning, and hiked up Mount Young with him. The little tyke got a decent nap in the backpack, and was smiley for the rest of the trip; he really has been sweet today. Arthur also sampled some salmonberries on the trail, along with his parents and grandpa. He seemed to like them, despite their tartness!

Back home, it was time for more nursing on Mama, before Papa took him out for a walk. I also got another look at his gums - the bottom right incisor is starting to poke through, but the bottom left is honestly right behind it, and hitting the surface of the gums, so pretty soon he’ll have two visible bottom teeth!

For his afternoon solid snack, Arthur had some more leftover sweet potato shepherd’s pie mixed with tahini, along with some avocado. He wasn’t terribly enthusiastic about it, but at least ate a few spoonfuls this time. He also tasted some “mango lassi” that his grandpa had made, made of mango + nonfat yogurt. He wasn’t very excited about that either; I think he was pretty full at that point. We did, however, try again later, and he polished off the tahini dish! So I was very happy about that.

Since Arthur had finished off the shepherd’s pie, he got something more appealing for dinner: scrambled egg! I mixed an egg with some soy milk, paprika, garlic powder, and turmeric, and scrambled it in olive oil. He wasn’t terribly enthusiastic at first, but then ended up working up an appetite and eating the whole thing, along with some pieces of the chili I was eating: pinto beans, tomato, zucchini, carrot, and some celery slivers (a new food!). He seemed to be happy to eat all of them.

So, on Wednesday, our little teether practiced using his new tooth on:

• black beans

• half and half

• quinoa

• mixed nut butter (almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, chia, flax)

• spices: dried coriander, mustard powder, garlic powder, turmeric, paprika

• blackberries

• kabocha squash

• soy milk

• salmonberries (new food!)

• black beans

• sweet potato

• canned diced tomatoes

• tahini

• onion

• avocado

• mango

• yogurt

• egg

• olive oil

• zucchini

• tomato

• celery (new food!)

I actually did cook dinner for everyone on Monday and Tuesday! Monday was my favorite sweet potato lentil shepherd's pie, and Tuesday was a recipe I've made a number of times, but it's probably been at least a year since the last time, so I never posted it. It's a very quick and easy lentil dish - tasty, cheap, healthy, and, like I said, fast and simple! Usually I make it for just Miklós and I, and serve it on its own, and it's a good serving. Today, I used the same recipe for four of us, and served it over quinoa. It's pretty much just this recipe, without any adaptations really. Here's how I make it:

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Spicy Mexican Red Lentils (serves 2 hungry people as a main, or 4 with a side)

Ingredients

• 1 cup red lentils, uncooked (dry)

• 3 cups water (I used boiling water from the tea kettle)

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 cup onions, chopped (I used 1 large onion)

• 1 can diced tomatoes

• 1 tsp cumin

• 2 tsp chili powder

• 2 tsp garlic powder

• 2 tsp onion powder

• 2 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp salt

• ¼ tsp cayenne powder

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• optional: MSG, to taste

Instructions

1. Sauté onion in olive oil in a large pot, until they start to brown.

2. Add all the other ingredients, and bring to a boil.

3. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 15-20 minutes, or until lentils are cooked through.

4. Serve on its own, with bread, or over a grain of choice.