Temper, temper...

Nathaniel, 7 months old,  in a hand-me-down outfit from Reid.

We had a fun Easter (besides four flat tires on the car). Grandma and Grandpa Hoffman drove to Toronto on Sunday. We went out for breakfast at The Purple Onion. Grandma taught Nate a new game - he coughs, then you cough. Then he coughs. Then you cough. And so on and so on. 

Nathaniel also had chocolate for the first time (Mommy was outvoted) and loved it, of course. After a roast beef dinner, Grandma and Grandpa went home and the three of us drove to Kitchener (the tires were fixed by this time) to visit Grandma Darasch.

The big milestone this week was learning how to throw a fit when we don't get what we want. Yes, Nathaniel has found his temper and he sounds like the Tazmanian Devil. 

Mommy's biggest challenge is keeping a straight face. Nate is also cutting his third tooth which is not helping with his anger issues. 

The best news is that we're going on two straight weeks (with one or two blips) of sleeping through the night - eight hours in a row!

I've noticed that the baby seems to be weaning himself as he manages to get more solid food into his mouth. He only nurses three or four times during the day and, besides his bedtime bottle, once at night before I go to bed. His pincer grasp is developing well and he fed himself homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner last night. I don't know why, but I am still surprised daily by how much that child eats. Hollow leg!

Here's a video from about a month ago of Nate eating broccoli...

Special Visitors

Last Saturday was so beautiful that we had to go for a walk, Mommy, Daddy and Nathaniel. When the weather gets warmer, we can take our parrot Loki with us, too. 

Do you like the cool shades? They didn't last too long, and Mommy had to trace our steps to find where they got dropped.

This week we also had our friend Laila visit with her kids, Madeline (who just turned 3) and Finn (who just turned 1). Nate couldn't take his eyes off of Finn. Just before they left yesterday, Steve put Nate on his stomach and he seemed to be trying to crawl after Finn. Of course, he didn't get anywhere since he isn't strong enough yet, but that's the first we've ever seen him attempt to get mobile (other than climbing Mount Mommy). Something tells me that we'll miss these days of staying put. 

 Here is a shot of Mads, Finn and Nathaniel, three of the sweetest babes ever. They all got along really well.

Um, excuse me, but that's my rattle. 

Today, the house is eerily quiet. I had thought to clean, but I'm kind of tired. Don't know why.

A New Perspective

We've had a very busy week developmentally. Nathaniel's ability to sit up gets stronger every day and he has really started babbling up a storm. Instead of just crying when he's discontent, he tells me all about it. 

This whole sitting up business is a big hit with The Bean. It makes it much easier to play with his favourite toy, a Christmas gift from cousins Philip and Gracie. He still tips backwards and needs help up again, but he has figured out how to use a hand on the floor to keep from tilting sideways. 

We're still having lots of fun experimenting with food. Since the last update, we've tried pasta, pineapple and kiwi. (This runs the risk of being TMI, but it seems that kiwi seeds don't digest very well.) 

Here is a somewhat gooey picture of his new teeth. Teeth suit him, don't you think?

We also have a new rule in the house: nobody eats anything without sharing with the baby. He has found new ways to express outrage as his pronunciation of consonants improves. And when that doesn't work, he'll reach out and grab the food right out of your hand.

I've also added a button at the left if you want to be emailed when I update the blog. Just click on the link and follow the instructions. 

A Word About Growth Percentiles

Yesterday, Nathaniel and I went to the Ontario Early Years Centre drop-in to hang out with the other kids and play with some different toys. Another mom with a babe asked me how old Nate was and predictably expressed surprise when I told her six months. I asked the age of her baby and she said, "Too." But, of course, I heard "two" and assumed she meant 2 months. It turns out that her little boy, although half Nathaniel's size, is actually 2 days older than Nate. "Wow, he's big," she repeated, obviously convinced that I was lying about my son's age. 

We get that a lot. 

Which prompted me to check out some growth percentile calculators online to see just where Nathaniel fits in with other kids his age. What I learned was rather interesting (if you're interested in that sort of thing). Since birth his weight has stayed in the 50th-75th percentile, meaning he's slightly above average. His length and head size, however, have both jumped from the 25th-50th percentile to the 95th for length and 90th for head circumference. That means that only 5% of boys his age are longer and only 10% have bigger noggins. (I, for one, am glad that his head size started on the small side.)

Hidden somewhere in his fist is half a banana. I have found that if I leave on part of the peel, he has an easier time holding onto it since it isn't as slippery. By the end of the meal, though, it gets pretty squidgy.

Mmm, toast and jam.

Believe it or not, a fair amount of food actually made it into his mouth. 

This huge leap in length goes a long way toward explaining my baby's appetite. Steve has taken to calling him "Dyson" around mealtimes (presumably because it's funnier than "Hoover"). And so far, Nate has liked pretty well everything I've offered, though the jury is still out on peaches and cauliflower.

A Messy New World - Solid Food

I still haven't figured out how to post videos - apparently, they need to be converted to a different format first. But, I decided to update anyway. 

Nathaniel, now 6 months old, is getting very good at sitting on his own. He will sit and play with a toy for about 10 or 15 minutes before he leans too far and needs some propping again. Still hates tummy time. When he tries to roll over, he gets one arm wedged in the wrong position and gets stuck. That's usually when the tears start. It seems that he is happiest standing with Mommy or Daddy holding his hands. And jumping. He LOVES jumping in his exersaucer. 

We've also started playing with food. He's been eating pablum and pureed vegetables for about 6 weeks. Click here to see him trying pablum for the first time. 

Recently, I came across something called Baby Led Weaning (BLW). The idea is that a baby's oral and motor skills develop at the same pace as his or her digestive system, making pureed food an unnecessary step. If the wee one can pick up a piece of food and get to his mouth, he is developmentally ready to digest it. You start with food cut into sticks so the baby can palm it. As the pincer grasp develops, foods like peas can be introduced without a fear of choking. (For a full description and studies supporting the theory, check out the links at the left.) Therefore, the baby weans himself as he slowly manages to get more food into his mouth and down the hatch. I asked Nathaniel's pediatrician about it and she said it made sense to her so go for it. 

Now, since he had already been eating purees for a few weeks, our approach is not the purist BLW way, but more of a hybrid. When we reach the point in a meal where most of his food is on the floor or his face, I offer him some oatmeal if he's still hungry. To date, Nate has tried and enjoyed sweet potatoes, avocado, banana, carrots, pears, peaches, potatoes, bread, green beans, broccoli, chicken and apple. He tends to gag about once per meal which is perfectly normal in BLW and attributed to the learning process. The theory stresses that gagging and choking are very different things. That said, he tried a piece of cantaloupe in a restaurant last week and gagged so we don't eat finger foods in public for the time being - it seems to raise eyebrows.

I will post videos of him eating in the near future.