Baby Led Weaning

Eleanor started solids at six and a half months old, and instead of going the traditional route with pureed baby food, we choose to use the baby led weaning (also called baby led feeding) approach.

Mmm... squash!

Basically, the idea is that the baby eats what you eat and you let the baby feed herself from the start, beginning with stick shaped finger foods that they can easily manipulate in their tiny hands. Supposedly, letting the baby decide what and how much to eat will make them grow up to be less picky, healthy eaters. Other benefits include getting to eat your own food while it's still hot, and not having to make or purchase pureed foods.

Eleanor figuring out what to do with her first solid - sweet potato!

I was a little hesitant to try this approach because I've read there can be a good deal of gagging in the beginning, and babies may not eat much food for a while and play with it instead. We have had neither issue with Eleanor! Since the very first meal, she eagerly grabs whatever we set in front of her and starts gumming away. It has been so much fun watching her discover and explore her food, and she has a blast with it. She gets excited and impatient when we put her in her high chair and get her food ready. It's the best and most hilarious part of our day.

Her food repertoire currently includes:

Roasted sweet potato wedges
Roasted butternut squash
Banana
Avocado
Steamed or roasted carrots
Steamed or roasted green beans
Pears
Oats (in the form of oatmeal banana pancakes)
Red bell pepper
Roasted broccoli
Brown rice
Apple

She has yet to turn down any food we've given her, but her favorites seem to be pears, banana and carrots.

Little monkey

The only downside - the mess! We've just accepted that there will be a mess and embraced it. It also helps that we have this easy to clean high chair from Ikea (only $20!). Also, these sleeves bibs are awesome, dry quickly after a hand washing, and have saved Eleanor's clothes from all kinds of stains.

And now for my favorite part, food pics!

Who needs hands to eat rice? A faceplant will work just as well.

Broccoli!

Green bean sword fight!

Assorted roasted veggies for dinner

This giraffe is a little raw

Seven Months

This little lady is seven months old! Well, seven and a half months, really, because there just aren't enough hours in the day to get blog posts done in time.

We've really seen Eleanor grow in this past month. She seems to be turning into a little person right before our eyes! We've both noticed that she seems more aware and thoughtful lately. On the one hand, I don't want my baby to grow up, but on the other I love watching her learn new things and become more independent. 

Oh, Mom!

Just recently Eleanor's spit up, gas, and digestive issues seem to be disappearing, which is a huge relief. We've started solids (we're taking the baby led weaning approach - more on that to come!) and she is doing surprisingly well! She started eating from day one (a lot of babies can't get food to their mouths right away or just play with it), and there hasn't been a single food she's turned down. We think her favorite right now is fresh pear. She may not be a good sleeper, but the kid can eat!

Mmm, squash!

Speaking of sleep, it's getting better. We think. After months of waking every hour or two, we finally bit the bullet and started sleep training (modified cry-it-out). It was never our plan to sleep train, but as I've learned when you have a baby, plans change! It's been a few weeks, but most nights Eleanor goes right to sleep in her own room after her bedtime routine. We no longer have to bounce/rock her to sleep for 20-30 minutes just to have her wake up again in half an hour and do it all again. Our issue this past week is that she's started rolling onto her tummy in the crib and she can't roll back so she gets upset. She seems to be getting more comfortable on her tummy, so we hope this will be a short phase.

Eleanor had her first cold earlier this month which she caught from me and then passed along to Kevin. She did better than both of us though - she never had a runny nose or seemed that sick, just extra snuggly and cranky.

In other exciting news this month, Eleanor's cousin, Elijah James, was born on February 28th! He weighed 9 lbs 2 oz and has a full head of hair - it must run in the family! Eleanor and I will be flying to Seattle next weekend to meet him and help out. We can't wait - though I'm nervous to fly with her alone!

Welcome to the world. Elijah!

That's all for now! I'll leave you with a few more pictures from this month and an adorable video of Eleanor learning to push up on her hands and knees.

Always a lady

Making breakfast with Daddy

Oh, hello there!

Cutie pie