Quinn turns *six months old* this week! And we just discovered her first tooth breaking through! Front, lower right. So far, she seems to be taking her new chomper in stride. Declan never really had issues with teething pain – could we be this lucky again?! We’ll see. Her appetite is growing, and she’s been enjoying all kinds of local in-season foods that she can hold herself, like a fresh peach or apple. She also drinks soft boiled egg yolk from a small shot glass. Quinn’s favorite “chew toy” is currently cleaned, cooked chicken bones (leftover from stews and broth). Our approach to solids this time around is a baby-led feeding style, where she isn’t fed with a spoon, but rather eats prepared food she can get into her mouth herself. With this method, she can determine whether she wants to simply explore a taste or texture, or actually eat it, as well as decide the amount and when she’s “done,” just like when she breastfeeds.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the connection between solids and breastfeeding and babies’ rates of development. I wonder if there might be a link between the foods I eat, the way they taste through my breastmilk, the solids she can manipulate by herself, and solids she can’t. I also think about the foods that are available seasonally when a baby demonstrates readiness to eat solids. Are there true universal “first” foods for babies, or might they vary depending on when the baby is ready to eat them? Quinn was born in March, and she began solids in the summer. Locally, we have all kinds of amazing produce available to us, and that’s what we’ve been feeding her, with some banana and avocado thrown in. Does it matter if a baby eats something fresh and local like I’m doing and it’s reflected in both aspects of her diet, breastmilk or solids, or if she eats something grown and processed someplace else which is not reflected or “echoed” in my milk? Do babies who begin solids in the winter do better with stored grains or root vegetables as first foods if that’s what the mother’s eating?
As far as movement, Quinn is still focused on crawling but hasn’t worked out all of the coordination yet. She’s got the position, the rocking back and forth, sometimes even “bunny hopping” to move forward by pushing on her back legs to lurch ahead. We’re currently experiencing lots of success with the Elimination Communication (EC) catching pees and poops, even at night, but the crawling will apparently throw her signals and timing off, so we’ll see how that goes. Quinn wears cotton training pants during the day to help catch any “misses,” and it’s been working – she’s been out of diapers for several weeks now.
Declan’s been wearing Mike’s old military watch, and he’s dying to learn how to tell time. Anytime anyone asks him what time it is, he generally answers “5:30.” Not sure why. He’s identifying more and more letters and their related sounds and wants to know what everything says, usually after we’ve driven by it and have no idea what it was. When he draws a particular shape or a letter, he asks for feedback, and if we offer suggestions to help, instead of incorporating them into his picture, he says, “I do it a different way.” His imagination is growing by leaps and bounds, and his imaginary friends “Big 2” and an occasionally appearing “Big 3” help to balance out “Hocalo,” who apparently “died.” He’s not sad about Hocalo dying, since he said his spirit is in heaven with God, even though his body is down here. Sometimes Hocalo is referred to as alive, but when I ask about that, he says, “That’s the other Hocalo.” Declan’s starting to ask about where aspects of his dinner come from, and he’s working out the difference between milk *from* a cow and meat that *was* the cow, as well as eggs from chickens and, well, chicken from chickens. He absolutely loves to make Quinn laugh, and her giggles only encourage him.
Declan-ism:
D: “What’s a ‘word,’ mommy?”
Me: “I don’t know, honey, what’s a ‘word’?”
D: “It tells you what to say!”
Declan and Quinn at Awosting Falls
Mommy watches as Declan explores a fun waterslide at Miles’ 3rd birthday party
The kids had a great time at the annual gun club BBQ – here’s Declan making a huge bubble, with cutie Norah in the background, a girl on-the-go!
We’re so excited that our friend Heather bought a second home in New Paltz! We met in college, and we’re thrilled to be seeing more of her nowadays. Here she is with Quinn, relaxing at the BBQ.
