A Whole New World

A whole new world was just opened to my son last Monday...he's just had his first taste of solid food!

Of course, if you look at his food, one really wonders what there is to be rejoicing about...after all, it's just watery rice cereal that tastes like...well, watery cereal. But looking at his expression after taking his first spoonful, he might as well have been eating creme brulee -- he was just so ecstatic!

He's now on his fourth day of solids, so I gave him a treat and let him try some squash. What's nice about my son, I'm discovering, is that he's not afraid to try new food. I've read a lot of times in several write-ups that mommies have to brace themselves to the reality that most kids don't like new food. They further said that this is especially normal in babies who are just beginning to eat. So here I am, prepared for my son to spit up his first few bites and for his little tummy to start acting up on the new things that are making their way in...luckily, our experience was the exact opposite.

My son couldn't have been any more angelic than in those moments when I was offering him spoonfuls of baby food! What's more, his tummy didn't have any adverse reactions to the newly-introduced food. I'm just praying that my son (and his tiny tummy) will continue on with the good behavior.

So now I'm thinking of all the exciting things to feed his growing appetite: apples, pears, bananas, peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, chicken...I don't know who's more excited, me or my son!

This morning, after I've fed him his squash and was watching him take a bath in his tub (another thing he truly enjoys), I was left in awe of his ability to find the most intense pleasure in the simplest things: the splash of the water on his tiny fingers, the texture of the baby food on his little mouth, the funny sound from his rubber duckie...things like that. It's just wonderful to be in touch with another human being with emotions so pure, so eager, so open, that it makes me think...it's not just my son who's experiencing a whole new world right now.

He just opened an entire horizon for me.

Eating Plans

Recently, my husband was diagnosed as having a gall bladder stone, among other things. In his blood chemistry, it was also revealed to us that he has high cholesterol, high uric acid levels, elevated bilirubin count, etc. The only thing that's low in his blood is the good cholesterol, how's that?

Sure, it sounds like a lot of bad news for us; in fact, we were left staring off into space and half-listening to the doctor's litanies. We consulted several other doctors, including a cardiologist and a nutritionist, to help my hubby shape up.

The original doctor we consulted -- a surgeon -- did not give us a lot of hope. Predictably, he advised immediate surgery (what else would he be good for if he did not have any patients to open up, right?). Particularly, it was laparoscopic surgery he was gunning for, a type of microsurgery that would cost us an arm and a leg -- not to mention my husband's gallbladder.

We did a lot of research, and right now, though we are preparing ourselves for the eventuality of surgery, his gallbladder is behaving rather well. Maybe it's too attached to my husband and doesn't want to be removed anytime soon?

The learning curve comes in when it comes to my husband's meals. Dear Lord, I never realized that planning for meals was so stressful! Ever since we lived together, I had an idea that, per se, plotting out food everyday is really hard. But add to that his dietary restrictions -- low-fat, low-carbohydrate and low-purine -- Jesus, he might as well eat paper.

So now, I'm obssessed with websites that will offer us alternatives to his daily fare of pasta in garlic, olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes.

I'm just hoping that my husband's condition will improve, and that surgery will not really be required. I'm just not comfortable with the thought of him losing an organ, no matter how many doctors and specialists claim that it serves no real, life-altering purpose...the irritating thing is that, how come nobody knows one's gallbladder exists until the day it starts to complain and you have to lose it?!?!?

And the irony to the situation is that, just as my husband's cutting off on his food, my son is about to start on solids. Oh well, at least that's something to look forward to.

Just realized, though, that that would also mean more meal planning. Oh great.