Esme's not so high highchair

We finally got Esme a high chair about a month ago - something with a tray so she could grab things and feed herself. We had been feeding her between mealtimes in her stroller because it was easy to get her in and out of and spoonfeed in. And at dinner time she would come stand or sit down next to us and we would handfeed her bits of whatever we were eating. It was time for her to have her own little meals at her own 'table.'

We don't have an average-height kitchen table so we wanted something that was portable, and could be used on the floor as well as at a chair at a table. I didn't want to lug a full-size highchair up and down our stairs as sometimes it is more convenient to feed her upstairs with our dinner than downstairs in the kitchen.

This is the Fisher Price portable booster seat. We ordered it from Amazon since our local stores didn't have anything we liked. It can strap on to a chair or be used on the floor and won't easily fall over. Not to say Esme can't tip it over if she tries hard, she can and already has - but we have been securing the back strap to the shelves in her play area and that helps quite a bit. We also like that the tray can be put in the dishwasher (the white part, not the blue part).

For now we're leaving the chair in her play area and the clean tray out of her reach nearby. We're trying to teach her that if she goes and sits down in her chair and gets our attention we might come put the tray in and give her some crackers etc... I think it's working some already, lately she has been a bottomless pit of hungry! Mark and I can't believe how much food we are putting down this little stomach :)




Here she is eating some cereal and graham cracker bits.

Note: The biggest problem at this age is that she gets bored when she chews. She wants something to do with her hands and ends up picking up food and tossing it on the floor until she has swallowed, then eats the next one. I've been trying to teach her she can sort them between the drink spot and the tray and still have something to do without wasting food. The best thing is to just not give her too much at a time, and expect to vaccuum more. Also the dogs will be getting fatter :)

First bottle

Esme drank her first successful bottle today. You might ask 'first bottle at 2 months?' but I've been working on her every once in a while to get to this. Eventually she'll start teething, so this is necessary training for both of us!

I washed a new bottle in the dishwasher last night in anticipation and when she napped this morning I got the breastmilk ready and the bottle pieces boiling. Then I put it all together and woke her up. I held her on the bed across my knees (not against my chest) and tried the bottle. IMHO The NUK nipples work much better than the 'classic' baby nipple style. I was having troubles at first, though. She wouldn't take the nipple for more than a second before spitting it out. Then she would get frustrated and cry as if she wanted it back. I finally realized I had the nipple upside-down in her mouth. NUK bottle nipples have an 'up' and 'down' just like NUK pacifiers do, but they aren't marked the same way the pacifiers are.

Esme did finally understand though. After I got it right-side-up she drank nearly the whole thing. However, the whole time she was staring at me with strange eyebrows like 'You're SURE about this? Something is wrong here *frown* well at least there is some milk...'

I wonder if I can keep her taking at least one bottle feeding a day...?