One year of mayhem, one year of madness, one year of sleepless nights, one year of love like we have never known before, one year of hard work, one year of a newfound passion, one year of pure joy and delight, one year of being proud of every curly hair on his head, one year of cuddles, one year of kissing madly, one year of one sided adulation, I can go on and on. It’s been quite a year. It’s been so exciting and I look forward to so much.

As N turns one (at the end of the week) here are some things I would like to highlight in our first year together:

Primal food. Firstly, the reason why I decided to feed N purely primal food for the first one year and maybe more of his life is not because I am a diet crazed fanatic trying to starve my child of grains and sugar, but because babies and little children have tiny stomachs and primal foods are indeed wholesome and nutrient dense foods. Instead of feeding my baby fillers of sugar and grains I prefer to pack a nutrient rich punch and feed him real foods; lots of fats, protein, veggies and fruits.This way since he is eating topnotch quality and satiating foods, I don’t need to worry about quantity. I don’t believe in processed foods from boxes so N has never eaten anything processed so far and that includes formula. Also there are tons of studies like this one, which show that nutrients in the early years go a long way!

Breastfeeding. N was exclusively breastfed for 6 months. Now a year on, I still am not in a major hurry to wean. My son adores breastfeeding and it’s our quiet time together in an otherwise frenetic blur of a day. His mamma is healthy and eats super well (most of the time) so I can safely assume the milk he drinks is nutrient rich too! The bond and the nutrients make extended breastfeeding worth it in my books and I am in no hurry to leave him and head out and do things I would do if I were done breastfeeding. There’s plenty of time for that in the future! (mom stay out of my room, mom why do you ask so many questions, mom leave me alone!)

Evolutionary parenting. Thanks to my primal lifestyle for so many years before becoming a parent, I turn to the evolutionary context whenever I am faced with a conundrum. I’ve believed the hype for awhile but eventually all my decisions turned out to be the traditional way of doing things and not the current way, when it came to co-sleeping, potty training, feeding, play, diapering, barefooting, etc.

Instinctive parenting. Thanks to living the primal lifestyle for so many years I am able to take advise with a pinch of salt when it comes to my parenting and rely completely on my instincts and trust only what my baby is telling me, and me. Yes, my son (a helpless thing that depends on his parents for everything) probably cries at night not because he is hungry, but because he wants to be close to his parents. So?

Solids. In the last month or so I’ve introduced a little rice in Ns meals. He has eaten a bite here and there of dosa and I’ve fed him a few bites of Kheer. He has had a bite or two of prasad and I haven’t really stopped his grandparents from sometimes offering bites of non-primal food. Still for the most part, his meals are completely primal comprising entirely of eggs, chicken, fish, vegetables, ghee, fruits, cream, butter, cheese, yoghurt, coconut products, and milk. He is a good eater. He loves trying new foods, eats breakfast, lunch (with the family) and dinner and nurses.

Illness and general health: N had a cold and cough once and a relapse a few days later. He had one bout of constipation, which I’ve written a whole post about. Other than that (knocking furiously on wood) he hasn’t been sick.  He is a robust big baby boy, his weight and height  is off the charts, higher than the 100 percentile range and is a very happy child. His growth has probably not slowed down because of his nutrition packed diet. So as he finishes his first year with a bang, here’s wishing him many more.

And yes, I will give him chocolate cake on his birthday!

Thanks for reading! I hope to share more parenting highs and lows in the 2^nd year with my adorable little boy. As usual, I would love to read your comments!

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