EL at nearly 7. Months

So I finally manage to get a day off from work. It's quite crazy. The recessions has not only made a dent in our pay but also meant that we are all supposed to do the work of 1.5 persons if not 2. So it's been late nights at a stretch.

Luckily, or not, I have RT. Yeah, it's embarrasing. I used to get the gold standard for IPPT but the words "used to" are important. So given the work that I do, getting out of office at 530pm is impossible. So I applied for four weeks of leave on Wednesday. Gives me time to rest at home, play with EL and get some time in with her. Mum's doing a great job with her but I also want in on some of EL's time.

When i started this blog, it was supposed to be about my experiences as a father. But its impossible to comparmentalise being a father, being a husband, being an ant in the economy, being a student of economics and a follower of politics. So I decided, this will be my de facto blog, personal or otherwise.

EL is growing really fast now. We had some issues with her not putting on weight at about 4-5 months. Wife had problems pumping at milk (we are still fully breastfeeding) so she wasn't getting enough milk to keep up with her growth. That's what the doctor hinted to us. We felt she was okay. She was alert, happy and learning new skillz, like flipping over. Then filpping over consecutively. Then garbling and of course sitting and kicking me. But we didn't want to end up with a situation of her not being skinny, so we followed the doc's advice, which was to start her on solids.

She began with organic brown rice cereal and is now into her 5th week into solids. I think. She's doing lots of fruits, papaya, apple and pear. She's also done some veg, spinach and pumpkin (is pumpkin a fruit or a veg ah?) And of course rice and potato. After putting her on this diet, she's been putting on weight. From 5kg to 6.6kg now, an average of about 200-300 gm a week, which works out to about 2-4% growth in weight a week. She's fast catching up to the 50th percentile and we are happy.

Warning: Solids give constipation. Especially for babies early on. She had some real issues with crapping. So we cut down on the carbs and fed her more fruit. Seems to have helped. What is great is that she's now doing this crapping thing: Her nose turns red, she emits some "uhhh" "uhhh" sounds and her face turns into one of full concentration, no doubt getting excess luggage out of her system.

I'm thinking of switching jobs because I realised how important it is for me to be with her and my family more. It's not just about missing these developmental signs but also that the more I'm with her the more she recognises me and the better our relationship will be. My job is great, I love it. But it is temporary in that there may come a time, the company may no longer want me, or that I will fall out of love with it. But my daughter? She's forever.