Adventures in Dining.

So they told me that all The Geej had ever been given to eat at the orphanage were the following:

• (Non-fortified) formula
• Apple and apricot juice
• Rice cereal
• Apples
• Apricots

That's it. Her whole diet for 8 months. (And I'm skeptical about the "juice" thing too, because the first time I tried to give her juice (and yes, I diluted it 50% with water), she looked at me like I was a space alien.) Sucks, no? No wonder all of the babies are diagnosed with rickets and anemia...

So when I got her in my arms, I was bound and determined to improve her diet. The facilitators took us to the baby store in Vlad, and pointed out the items we should buy--the exact same crap she'd been getting at the orphanage. And when you tried to add anything different to the basket, they said, "NO. Baby is allergic." Oh, really? And you would know how, exactly? So we did as we were told, and just bought the formula (called "Bona"), cereal, apples, apricots, and juice.

Now, the conventional wisdom is that you should just keep them on thier same diet until you get them home (because of potential allergies and digestive issues). But I couldn't help myself. A day or so after that initial visit, I went back and bought some pumpkin, carrots and pears. Nothing too adventurous, but I had to give this baby some stuff BESIDES all the sweet stuff she'd been eating. (Every baby book under the sun will tell you to introduce vegetables to your baby first, and the sweet stuff later. Makes sense, no?) Also, I immediately began giving her a full dose of Poly-Vi-Sol infant vitamins with iron.

The first time I got The Geej fully undressed in the hotel, you could see her ribcage, and her legs were like sticks. Absolutely no baby fat anywhere (except her cheeks...on her face).
Well, Saturday will mark my 1 month anniversary of having this little baby in my care. She's beginning to get a little fat roll on the top of her legs, and so far we've had spinach, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, green beans, berries, bananas, pears, oatmeal, apple and pear juice and fortified (American) formula. And she's liked it all. The things she's turned her nose up at? Apples and apricots.