7 Months?

Lily is 7 months old as of yesterday, as impossible as that seems. I totally had one of those oh-so-sappy I can't believe how old she is moments. I was sitting at the kitchen table eating tomato soup and a piece of toast with melted cheese. Next to me, in her new booster chair, Lily was picking up and eating small bits of cheese, reaching for her little bowl of tomato soup, and playing with her sippy cup. When did my little itty bitty baby grow up? I swear last month she just wanted to nurse all day and cuddle. Now she is feeding herself, eating the same food as us, and scooting all around. I could sit and watch her little hands picking up things forever. It's such a small, delicate movement that gets more precise each time she tries it. It's fascinating.

As skillful as she may appear in this picture, do not let it deceive you. Lily can pick up little pieces of things and successfully get them in her mouth. But she also sometimes gets it in her little fist and can't figure out what to do with it. She doesn't use a spoon on her own, but sure loves to chew on it between sips of soup. And the sippy cup is a total disaster. She's usually trying to drink the water out of the bottom of it or the handle. 

The new booster chair has been an absolute godsend. There is so much less mess with a tray! And since I can put things on it (bits of food, toys, etc) she's willing to amuse herself in it for longer than the other chair. This makes it a little easier to do the dishes, cook, and clean. 

This whole solid food thing has been an adventure. For those of you without babies, there are three main methods: 1) The traditional way of starting with rice cereal between 4 and 6 months followed by pureed fruits and veggies, then pureed everything else then finger foods, and finally table food (though usually of a 'kid friendly' variety). 2) The modified way of skipping cereals altogether and going straight for pureed fruits and veggies at 6 months, then the same as before. 3) The baby-led approach waits until the baby can grasp things and eat them on their own. For all three, the baby is really just getting used to different textures and flavors while breastmilk and/or formula is still the main source of nutrition until about 12 months. 

We sort of tried a combination of all three. Method 1: At 6 months, we gave Lily steel cut oats because the pediatrician said cereals were going to be the easiest to digest, but we didn't want to give her uber-processed non-nutririve rice powder. She never really liked it, so I did some research and came across Method 2. So we tried mashed up avocado and she loved it. We quit the cereals and made all kinds of pureed things. She would get super frustrated though, because she desperately wanted to be feeding herself but couldn't deal with the spoon and it's not exactly easy to pick up and eat applesauce with your hands. 

Then we had her 7-month check-up and she gained a whole pound in one month! That's the most she's EVER gained. She now weighs 11lbs 12oz, which is still not even on the charts. But she's 24 and 3/4 inches long, putting her in the 10th percentile for length and head circumference. The pediatrician said to go ahead and let her have finger foods and that we can just give her some of whatever we're eating, provided that it's not too spicy or too allergenic. 

So for the last week or so we've been cutting up or shredding whatever we're eating as well as still giving her pureed fruits and veggies and it has been hugely successful. She loves grabbing little pieces of food and is SO proud when she gets it in her mouth and has to chew it. Letting her have control over something has made her much more tolerant of the spoon. Cheese is her new favorite food. She would eat an entire brick of it in one sitting if I let her. 

So... that's all, I guess. Lily is growing and I'm already getting weepy and nostalgic. How bad is it gonna be when she actually grows up?