the Cacing Diaries #13

5 month + 2.5 weeks

Just a couple of weeks after my last diary entry and Cacing can now eat solid food! She can now sit!

going solid

It was after our regular visit to the pediatrician early this month that we got clearance to give solid food to our daughter. We have observed lately that she salivates at the sight of us eating and our pedia decreed that at 5 months, Cacing is ready to venture outside of formula milk.

My wife is shying away from prepared and prepacked food so no Gerber nor Cerelac for Cacing. Instead, my wife prepares a porridge mixture made of ground rice powder and mashed sweet potatoes! Cacing is a true blue Filipina and enjoys her rice. The sweet potato also provides roughage and it helps a lot in regularizing Cacing’s bowel movement.

Upon advise of the our doctor, my wife only introduces a new flavor to the basic porridge every two days so that we could isolate any allergies. Thankfully, there has been none so far. Cacing has tried mangoes (not her type as she cringes at the sharp taste), apples, banana and squash. She seems to love the bit of puff pastry we gave her (it has butter and not much gluten anyway), as well as the morsel of steamed lapu-lapu (white grouper fish). Three times a day she gets some semi-solid food and I bet she could not wait for more.

sitting up straight

As I’ve said, Cacing now likes to sit up straight but for safety reasons, we still have to support her back. This way, she gets to enjoy a lot of time outdoors, watching the world go by. Her favorite pasttime early in the morning is staring at how the laundry bubbles rise and fall while our helper washes the clothes. This and jumping up and down on the lap of her nanny complete her day.

Her daily routine includes two baths. First, we lay her on a net hammock and wash her with baby milk soap solution. Then we’d rinse the suds off her body while holding her aloft. Then finally, we would set her on a tub of shallow water. While before we still have to hold her straight, she can now sit solo, holding on tightly on the side of the tub for support. In glee, she would kick at the water, splashing and toying with her rubber ducky.

And oh, I get to bathe her every afternoon after I get to work. A truly enjoyable chore.

Here are some more pics!


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/50s, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 800, +2/3 EV
Cacing sitting on her own in her “bath tub”



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/50s, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 800, +1.0 EV
This strapless dress is courtesy of my best friend in Bali



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/30s, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 400, +2/3 EV
Letting out a big yawn while on her crib



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/50s, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 400, +2/3 EV
Cacing, on her crib. A lot of her pictures are shot at this perspective obviously.



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/60s, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 400
Everybody loves fixing Cacing’s long hair. Our housemaid is Cacing’s de facto hairstylist.



Wearing a dress given by my sister in NY, Cacing dances at an acquaintance party of chemistry majors and teachers of a local university where my wife is teaching.



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/320s, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 100, +1/3 EV
in party mode at Lai Garden SM City, Cebu