Let the babyproofing begin! Ack! I can't believe it's time for this already. That newest realization slapped me in the face yesterday when Sprout rolled across the living room rug and got stuck underneath one of my armchairs. As funny as it was to watch her little legs kick in frustration, I've got to do something about keeping her contained and safe now that she is moving around.
I'm pretty sure she's got a little Zoolander in her, as she seems to prefer rolling to the left. That, and her hilarious poses for the camera...sigh. She's getting so big, so quickly.
Yesterday also marked another new development in Sprout's (and my) life - finger foods! I started her on solids at about 4.5 months, and she has rapidly progressed through almost every fruit, vegetable, and meat, and we've been introducing spices for the past couple of weeks (she looooves her morning cereal even more now that it contains cinnamon). I've given her a few things here and there to munch on with her hands - teething biscuits mostly, and pieces of fruit in those little mesh bags - and she really likes being able to feed herself. So I thought, why not try it with some of her dinner food, now that it has more substance and texture? Ahhh. Good idea? Well...it was sure funny!
I plopped a scoop of mashed potatoes onto her high chair tray and waited. And watched. And waited. It only took her a couple of seconds before she grabbed the whole pile with both hands and squished it between her fingers. Seeming very satisfied with herself, she proceeded to continue mashing the starchy mess all over her hands and the tray. Inadvertently, one of her hands ended up in her mouth, and her reaction just about made me drop to the floor in laughter. Her little eyes bugged out of her head, and she turned to look at me with a huge grin on her face, as if to say "HEY! If I grab that stuff and then put my hands in my mouth, I can EAT IT!?" I don't think I've ever laughed that hard in my life! Once she came to the conclusion that she could actually feed herself, it was a flurry of fistfuls of potatoes, flying from the tray to her mouth quicker than she could effectively grab at the food.
The cleanup? Horrible. There were potatoes everywhere. In her hair, hands, nose, eyes, ears, and all over her sleeper, and then there was the high chair. I cleaned it out last night and again this morning, and I swear when I took her out of it after her breakfast, I saw a chunk of potato fall onto the floor. Whatever it was, it wasn't there for long - thank goodness for dogs!
Was the experience worth the result? Absolutely! I am continually amazed with Sprout's development and her fine motor skills, and can't wait to try some more finger foods as she gets a little bit bigger and hopefully gains a tooth or two. I was one proud mama last night, as I tucked Sprout in and she snuggled her lamb, rolled away from me, and shut her eyes. And then I cried. If you are reading this and you have a little one under six months old, hold onto those first months - they fly by way too quickly, and as fun as each new stage is, I always find myself wondering how we got there so fast!
Well, another day of dragging my Sprout around town lies ahead post-naptime. Get your rest, baby, it's going to be a big day!
xoxoxo
Mommy
No comments:
Post a Comment