Baby Led Weaning

We decided it was time to start Bella on solids especially as we had a spate of night wakings again. Rather than go down the puree route we decided to do Baby Led Weaning (BLW) where the baby feeds themselves with their hands or a spoon. We offer a selection of foods each day, all cut into shapes easy for a baby to pick up and get into their mouth. They then explore the textures and flavours, put the food in, have a little chew, spit it out mainly. The idea is to get them used to food in it's proper form rather than puree feeding and then having to adjust to solids later. I must admit I felt very nervous the first time we gave Bella food and she bit some off and started moving it around her mouth but she tends to cope well with it. Most of it gets pushed back out but judging by her diapers we know she's eating some of it! The theory is that the fine motor skills required for picking up food items develops around the same time as the ability to chew and move food around the mouth. So, if the baby can put food in the mouth they can control it once it's in there. The one thing you can't do is feed your baby as in put food in the mouth in case they aren't ready for it. On the whole it's a fun method but extremely messy. So far she's had rice cakes, cucumber, melon, pear, avocado (great for rubbing in the hair!), banana, lemon. Here are a few pictures of her feeding herself with a spoon.

Escapology

Bella's new way to throw herself out of her play nest! She's so active now we have to watch her so carefully.

No Cry Progress

Well, 3 days into the method and things seem to be going well. We've ditched the pacifier for all naps and only use it early hours of the morning when she's starting to become unsettled. Also I've been working with her on extending nap lengths using the cycle blender method and I'm very happy that in 3 days we've gone from 4 half hour naps a day to 3 long naps. Today she took an hour nap, an hour and 15 mins and an hour and 20 mins so she's almost doubling her nap lengths each day. It's making for a happy little Bella and she's also settling so much easier at night.

No Cry Sleep Solution

After a couple of difficult nights getting Bella off to sleep and a total write-off with naps yesterday followed by a nighttime meltdown we decided we need a new plan of action. We were considering everybodies advice about the "Let her cry it out" method, but Chris and I are just not those type of people. I can't sit and listen from another room while my baby cries and cries. I don't see how that helps teach independence, more a sense of abandonment I feel. So after a bit of research and some recommendations we're trying the "No Cry Sleep Solution" which is all about nurturing and love, but still encourages self-settling and the ability for a baby to go to sleep on their own.

The basic principle is to start off with a good wind down routine, put baby in their sleeping bag, move to a quiet dark room and gently rock the baby to sleep. Once they've dropped off you put them down in the cot. You do this each time for naps and overnight sleep and start putting them down earlier and earlier while they're still awake so you can get to the point of putting them in the sleeping bag and straight down. Whilst this is not a quick fix solution lile controlled crying, I feel it is more suited to us and Bella. We're both prepared to do the gentle rocking etc before each nap and bedtime as it only takes 5-10 minutes until she's off.

If she wakes in the middle of the night or middle of the nap and starts to cry then you do the same procedure until she drops off again. Eventually she should have the independence to put herself back to sleep. Apparently this can happen within the first 2 weeks. Also it means we no longer have to use the pacifier which I am glad to get rid of!

So far today Bella is down for her second nap of the day and whereas normally she has been a cat-napper grabbing 30 minutes each time, through this method I have already managed to get an hour and a half from her and she's still going! When she woke and cried (obviously not refreshed from her nap and ready to wake) I picked her up, rocked her and she's gone back off no problem.

I guess time will tell how successful this method will be, but if it means just cuddling your baby to sleep and giving them love rather than listen to the tears then I'm all for it!

5 months on!

Where has the time gone? I can't believe Bella is 5 months old today. I would say the 4-5 month period has been the one with the biggest developmental changes. She has learned so many new skills this month and her character is really shining through now. She laughs so much, has the most gorgeous smiles and a whole range of new sounds and facial expressions. She has learned to roll from front to back and back to front, is very strong on her legs and likes to stand most of the time and has started trying to pull herself up to sit. She's also found her feet.

With all these new developments has come some tough times too. She went through a major growth spurt the last month and combined with teething has made for some very unsettled periods. We went back to feeding through the night in the midst of the growth spurt (like having a newborn again) and also some very cranky moments when awake usually out of pure frustration on her part when she wants to do more than her body will allow. I've learned to embrace these times though as they are only short lived periods and afterwards you get to see a major developmental milestone in her.

With her new found mobility comes trouble! I've caught her trying to climb backwards out of her playnest where she gets into a "crab" type position and arches herself backwards over the edge; I've put her under her jungle gym, popped out the room for a minute and on returning she was about a foot away from it in the middle of the rug. She's also started throwing herself around when sitting on your lap. She'll be feeding and all of a sudden launch herself backwards so you need fast reactions! The only place of safety for now seems to be in the new activity centre as she can't escape from there...yet!

It just amazes me how much she has changed this last month. She is growing up so fast and is the most inquisitive little thing. She's also started giving out kisses, which while unbelievably wet, are the cutest things!

Dia de la Madre

Today is Mothers Day here in spain. Sadly I don't have the energy to celebrate it as I have flu and feel a bit lousy so it's just a quite day at home...well, as quiet as it can be with a baby! Good job I chose to celebrate the english one.

Bella is doing great although we did have a few disturbed nights again recently. I stopped the baby rice for a few days as her growth spurt seemed over and I don't want to wean her too early but she was back to night waking again, so we're back on the rice. She has started sleeping through again thankfully. I don't plan on introducing anything else food wise for another month though. Not sure if I mentioned that she had a congested chest recently. It was picked up at her 4 month check up. Anyway, she had a follow up appointment at the doctors on Thursday and the catarh and mucous has cleared from her chest and no sign of any other infection in the ears or throat so she has a clean bill of health. To be honest I think it might have been down to the teething again. It seems every time we have a growth spurt she cuts more teeth and gets a cold or similar. She doesn't have any more teeth through just yet but I don't think it will be too long for the two front top ones. I can feel them poking under the surface so reckon they'll be through within the next couple of weeks.

We bought her a Baby Einstein activity centre yesterday as she loves to be upright on her feet and I wanted to give my arms a break. We assembled it this morning and so far it's a huge success. A little expensive but I think it will be worthy investment as I can see hours of entertainment from it. If you have a small baby I would definitely say buy one!