My happy baby girl is half way through her first year! I say happy because she has indeed been a smiley little thing recently. There was a rather fussy period before this (4-months old baby) and so I’ve really enjoyed the more content baby. I felt like Maia’s fourth and fifth months were a bit of a struggle in some ways (not all) but life has been a bit easier again recently. It has helped that we’ve been at home and I’ve been able to really focus on her and plan our days around her routine. This doesn’t mean that the baby suddenly dictates our life, it just means that we can consider her needs as well as ours. She’s happier, we are happier. We have also had amazing summer weathers for the last month which has been a great bonus! Isn’t life just better when it’s sunny?😊
Whenever I complain about anything baby related I quickly remind myself that fortunately Maia has always been healthy and our “struggles” really are very minor – occasional poor sleep, crankiness, clinginess, etc typical baby behaviour. This is not to say being a parent to a baby isn’t hard, it is sometimes, but it’s good to put things into perspective…
Like her mum, Maia is becoming very social! She enjoys attention, as she always has, but it’s more than that – she now wants interaction. She loves cuddles, kisses, tickles, peek a boo-games and just being talked to. Splashing in the bathtub or swimming pool is amongst her favourite activities. I also dunked her under water for the first time a month ago and we’ve been practising ever since. She is very comfortable in water which was my main goal of taking her to the weekly baby swimming class.
Singing to her never fails to jerk a smile, no matter how terrible at singing I might be or even if I invent the lyrics on the spot! Lullabies at bedtime have become more important too. Maia has started fighting sleep and singing to her helps her to settle down for the night. This also works when she’s “too busy” to feed properly.
Maia interacts with a wide range (and volume) of squeals, shrieks, chuckles and even with little “he-he” laughs. She has recently discovered her tongue and makes the funniest sounds – and drools everywhere of course! Speaking of dribbling, she’s still struggling with itchy gums and tries to chew on everything but no teeth have pierced through yet. Teething toys and gel/granules rubbed on her gums have helped a bit.
Her motor skills have developed further and Maia can now grab things very accurately with her fists, not yet by pinching. She’s able to properly make use of her teething toys as well which is very helpful (since I no longer need to hold them for her). Maia sits up with light support and really doesn’t want to lie down anymore. She sits up in her pushchair as well, facing me. At home I prop her up with pillows – the U-shaped nursing pillow is very helpful – to help her practice sitting up and to cushion her inevitable fall. She has tried a high chair a few times in a restaurant and did so well that I was encouraged to order her one home!
The timing is good because we have slowly started weaning. Or I should say that because she can sit up and put things into her mouth accurately I have felt she is ready for weaning. I am going to try Baby Led Weaning (BLW) which means giving finger food from the start instead of puree. While Maia is still 100% breastfed, in the last week I’ve started offering her a few things such as banana, cucumber, avocado and soft cooked carrot cut up in sticks. A separate post on weaning to follow!
I thought babies can’t chew before they get teeth but boy was a wrong! Maia bites everything, including my nipples, and she bites hard. Steamed carrot was a “piece of cake” for her. Once we move next week and get our kitchen sorted I’ll assemble her high chair and we can start weaning “properly”.
Maia is growing and changing fast. At five-months her hair colour changed from dark blonde to white and it’s been really growing recently, covering the bald patches she had at the back of her head. She now weighs 6.21kg. She has been growing steadily on her 9th centile growth graph. She may be small but she has a lot of chunk in her small frame. Mummy’s milk continues to do its job! We have just moved to size 3-6 months and nappy size 3.
I wish she’d stay 6-months old forever!
xoxoxo,
Sini