Groundhog Day

I have definitely been struggling with the "same thing, different day" aspect of my life lately. I'm aware that I should basically shut up and be grateful for my life which is pretty privileged and generally very happy, but I think anyone who spends their days home with very small children will tell you it can be mind numbing.

Like, some days I wonder if I have had a seizure my brain is so mushy.

H has recently started at our local Montessori Kindy, and this is generally AMAZING, we love the school and it adds a lovely element of routine into our days. We walk to school each day and three hours later we walk back, then come home to eat lunch together.

But it does sort of jar our day. By the time we've had lunch, W is ready for another sleep. H also sleeps some days. By the time he or they wake up, it's often close enough to dinner time that I can't really be bothered to leave the house again. Which is fine, really. The kids are happiest at home. Just boring for me I guess.

I love the afternoons at home playing with my babies but there's only so much shops/princesses/extremely specific games that are dictated to me in detail that I can stand. So it kind of goes…do some washing…play a little shops…any new emails? No? Sing to the baby. What time is it? 4.15. Hm…let's do play dough! Okay…now it's 4.25, and the house is reaaaaally messy. Tidy a little. 4.29. Any new emails?

The thing is, we kind of HAVE been changing things up a little. On Sunday we had a picnic dinner in the park with friends, and last night we went out to a restaurant. My sister stayed over last week, J took a day off. So it's strange that I'm feeling this way.

Maybe I'm hormonal? Or maybe it's just 8 months of juggling, 8 months of being really busy but at the same time doing absolutely nothing. It's a strange, inexplicable thing, being a mother of infants and preschoolers. You can't quite explain it unless you've done it - yet most Mums seem to understand that there is something specifically challenging, something lonely and isolating, about this phase of parenting.

Mostly it's great. Mostly it's fantastic, actually - your kids have boundless love to share and they actually worship you, for a while.

But it can sometimes feel like groundhog day!

Z x

Baby Led Weaning: When It Works (And When It Doesn't...)

From the moment I feel pregnant with baby W I was determined to introduce solids to him via baby led weaning. "Baby led weaning" sounds kind of official and complicated, but essentially it's just offering a range of safe finger foods from around six months and letting them feed themselves. No puree!

There wasn't really any firm reason I wanted to do this and I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with puree. I did feel however that H somehow became a terrible eater, so I might as well try something different! Also it is easier in a way as baby can eat a version of what you eat. Plus it's, like, so the rage right now.

Our BLW journey was complicated by a few things. Firstly, I had really hoped to breastfeed and that didn't work out long term (again!). This meant that I really wanted him to start solids prior to six months, as based on my own research and doctor's advice I don't feel formula gives babies a range of tastes and nutrients the same way breast milk does.

So, we started him on a few spoon-fed foods at four months, none of which he really took to until five months. By five months, W was over 65cm long and about 8kg. Big. Not only did he take to food at this age, he couldn't get enough. It is still pretty much the only thing over which he will cry - not getting it fast enough.

This meant that when I tried to shift to finger foods at 5.5/6 months, he was INCREDIBLY frustrated. He just wasn't getting the volume of food he needed and it certainly wasn't coming at a satisfactory speed. Cue screaming in frustration from a child who has basically never screamed about anything, which was of course very frustrating and distressing for me.

My solution for the last couple of months has been to offer some finger food along with a puree, and this has worked well. He loves the independence of feeding himself and gets great enjoyment out of holding a spoon (I now struggle to feed him without letting him hold one!) and has become really good at chewing and swallowing given his age.

Over the weekend, I noticed that W (now 7.5 months) was really into his finger food and actually managing to get quite a bit in. So today I tested him with some pasta, meatballs and fruit, and he managed to get enough in to be satisfied for a whole meal. H and I enjoyed watching him make a big mess and he kept looking over and laughing. The floor afterwards was interesting, but overall it was lots of fun and great to not be spoon feeding him.

Baby Sees Food...

Baby Grabs Food...

 

 

Baby Eats Food! Success.

Anyway, I guess the message is that if you have a really large, voracious baby or a really small baby who needs quite a set amount of nutrients, a degree of BLW is still possible. And overall it is an easy and fun way to introduce solids that (research suggests) could have long term benefits for your child's eating habits. (Still, nothing beats a fruit and veg sachet when you're in a bind!)

Z x