So, a quick run through of how things are progressing so far:
Conrad’s having three meals per day now. I didn’t mean to rush him in any way but he has been really keen, so I’ve just carried on offering him new things and a little bit more every time. As an example of what he eats now, today for dinner he had one ‘ice cube’ sweet potato mixed with one ‘ice cube’ parsnip, plus 1.5 ‘ice cube’ cooked apple for dessert. Just have to say though, to anyone who hasn’t taken part in weaning a baby and is wondering how on earth they can make such a mess when it’s the grown-up holding the spoon: well, at about the same age as weaning starts, babies seem to go through a stage of wanting their arms and legs to get involved in everything, and trying to feed a baby puree is really a test of how well you can dodge flailing arms, kicking legs (nothing aggressive, it’s all excitement!) and those little hands grabbing the bib and shoving it in baby’s mouth at the same time as you’re trying to get in there with a spoonful of runny, sticky and usually very brightly coloured stuff…
Last Wednesday, Conrad deliberately was walking, one foot put in front of the other, for about a meter across the living room floor over to the control panel toy – I was holding him upright, of course (he wasn’t walking all by himself) by his hands with his arms at about elbow height, but his feet and legs moving were all him. I’m still amazed at how strong he is (though do wonder whether the wiring in his brain is all there yet to actually let him start walking by himself any time soon).
When it comes to sleeping, Conrad now falls asleep fairly easily in his cot for a daytime nap. When he rubs his eyes, pulls or rub his ear or starts cranking a little bit (and it’s been 2-3 hours since he last slept) I tuck him in in his cot (he’s very good at kicking his blankets off, so they have to be pushed right in under the mattress) and it usually doesn’t take him longer than 5-10 minutes to go to sleep. Sometimes he complains a bit about being in his cot, so I don’t leave him for longer than 4-5 minutes before I go back to show him I’m still around, maybe to pick him up for a cuddle to calm him down if he’s a bit upset. So far I haven’t had to go back a second time. Night time, I put him straight into his cot after he’s finished his feed so he’s tucked in while still awake. He doesn’t complain about it, though a few times he’s been chatting and kicking excitedly for a little bit before drifting off to sleep.
In the bath he sits very upright now, and looking much happier than when he was lying back – he even beams at me with his lovely smile now and then, instead of the previous slightly hesitant look. Hopefully he’ll start to really enjoy bath time. I put one or two bath toys in with him now and he reaches for and grabs them, so it’s not all just boring wash time.
A few photos from when we were staying at Conrad’s farmor and farfar last week:
Gabriella