milk does a body good

Kai had his check-up and flu shot yesterday. I did remember to ask his doctor about his dairy intake and he said that it was alright as long as he doesn't go over 24 ounces of milk a day. Great, now to figure out how to get him back to unflavored milk. We made some progress on the vegetable consumption. Calling broccoli florets 'little trees' actually work! He gobbled them up like a giant! He also ate squash puree because we told him it was pumpkin (he's on a pumkin kick because of Halloween). Jimmy made sea bass and red quinoa for us the other night and surprisingly Kai ate everything. Go Dad!
Quinoa is a complete grain with a very high protein content. It is cooked like rice and it has a nice nutty flavor and some crunch like brown rice. I used the leftover quinoa to add to my black bean chorizo soup (recipe to be written; it's one of those put everything in the pot soups).
My menu planning for this week is going two days at a time. Last night we had chicken cacciatore with pasta and tonight I haven't decided yet.

Coffee doesn't work anymore.

I am exhausted today. Little Bella wanted to party all night and did not fall asleep until 6:30 a.m. The same time my husband's alarm sounded to wake him up for work. Which did not work because I still had to poke him and say, "Honey, it's 6:30." to which he just rolls over. Oh well, I think and put Bella in her crib then proceeded to pass out. Now I am on my second cup of java (don't tell the docs-I'm only allowed 1 cup a day) which is giving me a headache and making me sleepy. My two year old son, Kai, is making me play dough cookies and demanding that I eat them! "No, Kai do not put them in your mouth, just pretend to eat it." Oh how sad, my mug is now empty. what else can I drink?
Back to the baby Bella problem. Why is she so awake between the hours of 2a.m.-5 a.m.? When will she realize that it's the time when the rest of the family is suppose to be sleeping? Well, big brother can sleep with the occassional annoyed grunt and daddy saws logs with the occassional opening of the eyes to look at sleep deprived me and hungry Bella. That's another thing, she just can't get enough milk between those hours. Seriously, she wants to nurse every hour! Yep, I feel like a milk cow in those hours. During the day she wakes up every 2 1/2 to 3 hours to eat and get changed. I know it takes time for her to adjust to being outside the womb, but it has been almost five weeks. When will she adjust?!? And what's with all spitting up? Baby reflux? Over eating? And oh my goodness the poor thing is so gassy. I just remembered that the first month was the hardest, but I don't remember when it gets a little better.
Time to plan this weeks menu, off to get ideas from Martha, Rachael, and the folks at Food Network.