Solid Foods

Six months today! One big six-month milestone is the introduction of solid foods. Lily's been watching us eat pretty closely for several weeks. She has also started making chewing motions when we eat and reaching for our food. AND she's really good at grasping objects and bringing them to her mouth. All these are good signs that she's ready to start the process of eating like a big girl. And even though she's only my first baby, I can't say I'm thrilled with how quickly this is all happening. It feels like the beginning of the end of her babyhood (as well as, let's face it, glorious lactational amenorrhea).

We've decided that baby-led weaning is the way to go. Breastfeeding is so ridiculously foolproof--nature's orginal supply-and-demand system--that I don't want to start really complicating my life with cereals and purees that Lily doesn't actually need for nutrition. Transitioning to solids right now is about her learning how to feed herself, not about getting more food stuffed in her face.

Monday night we sat her in the high chair with food for the first time. We happened to be eating some potatoes, so I put a few specks on her tray.

I quickly realized (duh) that said specks were a little too tiny for her to grasp at this stage in her fine motor development.

So she was more interested in her surroundings, including this tasty tray.

The next day, she was getting bored and squirmy, so we tried some toast. That was really fun to play with!

And once I demonstrated to her that it was for eating, she started putting it in her mouth. At least a few crumbs got swallowed.

Finally, yesterday we had some cauliflower and broccoli, of which I gave her a piece of each. Another slice of toast rounded out her collection of high chair tray toys:

"Yay, toys!"

"Still not sure this is really food. But it is a crumbly toy."

"Must study. Must concentrate."

(This broccoli was actually a little too al dente for actual baby consumption. Next time will be better!)

"Crumbs. I gots 'em."

We didn't get around to any high chair time today. But I did pick up more baby-friendly foods like sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados and other fruits at the store. Can't wait for more sessions of food discovery!

Nearly Six Months

Tomorrow, my little lady baby will be six months old. So much development in so little time! I mean, she's gone from this:

To this:

In a matter of a few short months!

And I'm blessed with a remarkably easy baby. Despite the endless months of teething that have yet to yield any fruit, a dairy sensitivity and just about every mild-to-moderate infant skin condition known to medicine, Lily is pretty easy to please. And when she isn't, she makes up for it by coming up with a new trick a few days later. Two weeks ago, I started to think she'd never be a roller, since she hadn't rolled over yet. Well, now she rolls every which way and with purpose. Just when I thought she'd never take regular naps (I went a little bit crazy almost every day during her fifth month of life), she's settling into a predictable pattern, which lets me get a lot more done around the house.

I have to continually remind myself of all of the above on days like today and yesterday. Lily must be cooking up something grand (a tooth?!?!? I can only hope; it's probably just a growth spurt) because she's been a bit difficult.

She was happy in the walker for a while:

But that got old, so we moved to the floor:

This child wants to go from flat on her back straight to sitting up. She dreams big.

But then a common scenario from yesterday started to repeat itself: a well-fed and comfortable baby doesn't want to be put down but writhes and kicks when held. As she started to slump over, fighting an afternoon nap

I decided to just flip her over and drape her over my lap.

And wouldn't you know it...

My counterbalancing right hand looks creepy! I mean, she liked it!

In fact, she's getting a bit comfortable. Could it be?

Yes! It's a nap!

And there she still is, pacifier spit out and on the floor. Could someone please bring me a glass of water?