Six months is such a massive milestone and I’m so happy that Alfie and I have survived this new life adventure this far.  Aiden now looks like a proper little boy and has such a cheeky character. This is such a fun age and quite a busy one, there have been lots going on this month. 

Sleep Deprivation

Our night routine is still going well and my little man is getting much better at taking naps during the day, especially since starting solids.  It doesn’t go to plan all the time as when we’re out it tends to disturb his schedule, but he likes to take one long nap just before lunch time and wakes at 1.30pm and then another short nap later in the day that’s about 30 minutes long.  I’m much better now at recognising his ‘tired cry’ and when he’s cranky and struggling to drift off to sleep which is when I step in and try and rock him to sleep.  He’s still not sleeping throughout the night though, but I think my body is well adjusted to this now and used to feeling tired. 

Last weekend we cleared out our guest bedroom and started setting up AJ’s nursery.  We have the cotbed all built and ready to go and I loved picking out the bedding for it.  I have some big plans for his nursery and there is still some work to do, but at least the starring feature is now built.  We’ve been putting our little man down for naps in it, some have been a success and others not so good.  He seems to like it which is a big plus, but I think it’s still going to take some time to get him to sleep in it at night.  It’s going to be so weird not having him in our room – I’m going to miss those night time baby snuggles. 

Weaning

Yes, we started weaning Aiden when he turned 26 weeks to make sure his digestive system was fully developed and I’m really enjoying watching him discover different foods, tastes and textures.  He was so ready to start weaning as he would always take an interest when we ate our food, grab hold of our forks if he was sitting close enough and even had his hand in my soup, which was thankfully lukewarm by that point.  A few weeks before we officially started weaning I offered him slices of apple and avocado to see how he got on, initially he wasn’t too fussed, but then he started to use them  a bit like a teether, particularly the apple slices.  

The approach that I had originally set out to try is baby-led weaning as I thought this would work great for us, but to be honest we have had more success with purees in the first instance so now do a mix of purees and finger foods.  Aiden wasn’t really eating the batons of food that I gave to him, more using it as a teether and gnawing on it.  I realise that the first few weeks of baby-led weaning is all about the discovery of food rather than actual eating, but we were worried that my milk didn’t have enough nutrition for him now that he’s bigger and a mix of the two weaning methods and breastfeeding on demand is working out great for us. 

So far, his favourite foods have been sweet potato, avocado, scrambled egg, apple and pear puree, parsnips, steamed broccoli florets, roast chicken pieces, toast and apple slices.  We’re keeping things pretty basic at the moment as it’s still early on.  I just make the purees myself and store them in freezer pots so that we have a stash on standby and the finger foods are easy to whip up too, but I’m keen to buy Annabel Karmel and Gill Rapley baby-led weaning recipe books.  I could actually write a whole blog post on this whole baby-weaning topic as I’m really enjoying it.

Body

Nothing much to report here really, but I will do a more in-depth update soon.  I’m feeling a lot stronger, particularly in my abdominal area and I think that’s all down to the postnatal Pilates classes and focusing on my core to help knit everything back together.  The tendonitis in my thumb has eased off significantly and I only get a twinge of soreness now and then.  

Mind

Some days I feel like my mind is trying to play catch up with Aiden’s development because everything seems to be happening so quickly at the moment.  Buying his highchair, cutting his first tooth, replacing his carrycot with the pushchair seat and weaning all seemed to happen in one weekend.   There is a lot of readjusting to do now as he becomes more independent and I have to get my head around the fact that he’s going to be less dependent on me as he grows into a little boy.  I’m trying not to dwell on the fact that the time is just flying by, instead I’m trying to live in the moment and take each day as it comes otherwise I think I might spend the next 6-months depressed. 

 All the baby snuggles because sometimes Aiden prefers to use his mama as a mattress instead of his own bed! 

Aiden’s Milestones

Well, where do I start? Since my last update Aiden has cut 2 teeth on his bottom gums, the first one sprouted and the second one pretty much came up straight after.  We didn’t notice any difference in his behaviour like we had been told to expect, so we’re guessing that he wasn’t in too much pain with them.  He’s also on the move a lot these days, although he’s not crawling he never seems to stay where you put him and gets around by rolling and shuffling along the floor. 

Slowly but surely, his spine is getting much stronger and he can sit unaided for a few seconds before toppling over.  Since he likes to try and sit up so much now we’ve packed away his carrycot and swing and I’m looking to buy him a jumparoo or something similar because he really likes to bounce up and down when you hold him upright.  His motor skills have really come on in leaps and bounds too and he’s so curious about everything, reaching out for things and showing a deep interest in his surroundings – nothing in close proximity is safe anymore! 

I just love hearing AJ’s baby babble and as I’ve mentioned previously, he’s a very loud and chatty baby once he gets going.  Alfie is sure that he heard him say ‘dah-dah’ the other day, but I’m not totally convinced.  I’m so excited to hear his first words, which may be a while yet…just give me a little hint little man! 

What were you most excited about with your baby’s development at this age?   

What was your first word and at what age did you say it?