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| My exersaucer! |
Eating solids
There's some debate in the world about when to start solids. When we were in Penticton, the advice we were given was not to start before 6 months old. In the USA, it's common for infants as young as 4 months old to be given some solid food. With Rachel, I was determined not to start until 6 months old, but I was very excited about it. We went on a trip to VA/NY with her just before she turned 6 months old, and during that trip she went from 'sleeping through the night' at home to 'waking all the time hungry and nursing'. I wonder if we had given her solids a little sooner if, perhaps, she would have slept a little better during those next few months.... Maybe not, but it did stir some interest in feeding Ava if she showed signs of readiness.
So, a couple of weeks ago, she seemed very interested in food and not as content with only breast milk. Also, selfishly, December offered us a much more relaxed schedule with some extra time and January is promising to be quite busy, so it seemed like a good time to start. I must admit I was not as excited about this transition as I was the first time around with Rachel. I knew that solid food meant new challenges: laundry and diapers are way less fun, traveling with pureed food is tough, and feeding an infant is time consuming.
Questions of what food to start with fill posts online from parents and professionals. I've been making pureed food here and there and storing it in the freezer for the last few months. We believe that iron is really important to a 6 month old. We try a food for 3 days before confirming that it's safe and moving on to a new food. We tend to believe that sweeter foods like fruits are better to come a little later than more savory foods. So we started with rice cereal, which is relatively high in iron. The only issue with it is that Ava's frequency of bowel movements reduced significantly. For the first week or so of solids, she only pooped once every other day. We watched this closely... but she didn't seem bothered by it or strained in any way. We then offered mashed up avocado and then banana. After just 9 days, menu offerings included mashed up avocado/banana/rice cereal/breast milk combos that seemed to be quite palatable. We then offered pureed ground beef, for the iron content, which we realize some people don't agree with. Next came oat cereal. By this time I was a little concerned about the lack of bowel movement so we added pears at the same time, breaking our 3 day rule. More recently, we offered pumpkin, which Ava is not a fan of, and chunks of rice cake to gum on. I'm excited that she has a portable option like rice cake bits because it's much easier on the go.
So far, so good. No concerns at all. She's not taking it down quite the same as her sister did, but she's not rejecting it, either. She's really interested in grabbing the spoon and possibly more interested in the spoon or the food itself. She's also had some water out of a cup, and enjoys chewing on the cup more than taking in the water.
We're usually feeding Ava as she sits in the Bumbo chair (supervised, I promise) on the table. We do have a high chair but have to come up with a way to use it with our current table and floor. So, for now, the bumbo is much easier and cleaner. She's even sat in her Bumbo in the front seat of the car and had food there.
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| Eating in the front seat of the car in my green bumbo chair |
Sleeping
Ava sleeps pretty consistently from 7pm until 7am without waking up. We are so thankful for this and realize that we are very lucky. Once in a while, she'll fuss and I'm not opposed to nursing her if she does wake at night, but it is much nicer for me to be able to sleep a whole night without waking up for Ava or without waking up because my body is dying to feed her. Rachel is actually the one who tends to keep us from sleeping through the night, not Ava.
Ava is good about sleeping in her own crib at night and during the day. She'll usually take 3 naps, but the length can vary. She will sleep in a carrier/stroller/car seat, but she does better in her crib and isn't as great at sleeping in her car seat as her sister was (who did not nap well in her crib at all).
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| Ava sitting and 'playing' with her sister |
Sitting
Ava can sit on her own. She will fall over, so she needs to be supported or supervised, but she can sit for several minutes by herself. She also likes to roll from once place to another, pivot around on her tummy, play in her exersaucer, and try to 'crawl'. Crawl is a very loose term for her movement. She moves about 6" forward by sticking her bum up, grabbing on to a tuft of carpet, and pulling herself forward in an army crawl. She doesn't get very far yet, but she is motivated.
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| Rachel and her green eyes |
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| Rachel with her knit hat and scarf from Nana |
Rachel continues to be a pretty awesome big sister most of the time. Recently, as Ava gets around more and gets into more things, Rachel is noticing that Ava can get to Rachel's toys. Usually Rachel responds by stealing her toy back and yelling 'Ava! Mommy!', but we're working on sharing. We're also working on continually scanning for any small items that Ava cannot have. Rachel is very good at educating anyone who will listen on what is safe for Ava or not safe for Ava to have.
Our girls are getting so big, so fast! We're trying hard to slow things down and enjoy their bright moments and soft snuggles before they get too big.
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