I haven’t been this thrilled with Kiwi getting older since, well, she was born.
Six months marks a watershed in her short life.
Sweet, sweet sleep
Most important in her development, of course, was the sleep training. Kiwi transformed from a sleep-shunning infant who never slept longer than two hours at a time to a Ferber-ized champ who puts herself to sleep (no more bouncing!!) and snoozes for up to six hours at a go.
Getting more sleep means I feel less like a hollowed out shell of myself—and means I get to enjoy this dumpling much, much more.
She rolls, she giggles, she kicks, she chews on anything she can get her gummy mouth on.
She has dimpled cheeks and rolls on her thighs.
She watches her sister play, stares out the car window on drives, listens to books and turns toward any sound to figure out precisely what made that noise.
Up until last week, when Kiwi tried her first food, all that growth, activity, curiosity and learning was 100% fueled by breastmilk—magical, powerful, nourishing breastmilk. Read more →
Kiwi ate her first food. (No, I’m not counting the snow.) She’s acted ready for weeks now, but I just hadn’t gotten around to it, and I wasn’t keen on the possibility of messing up her sleep, reflux and sensitive stomach even more. But this week we made it happen.
“Mom, are we ready to eat yet?”
I had planned on pureeing sweet potatoes, as I did for Peeper’s first food almost exactly two years earlier, but I didn’t manage to cook them. So I just mashed up a banana with a fork, swirled in some breastmilk and called it good.
(Isn’t that funny how a baby’s first food is such a big deal with your first kid, and with the second one, not so much?)
Kiwi seemed more confused by the banana than anything, but she didn’t hate it! She had several bites and Peeper even fed her a few. And when Kiwi took a bite, Peeper clapped and cheered! It’ll be fun to continue to offer foods and witness her palate—and appetite—expand. Who knows, maybe Kiwi’s culinary adventures will even inspire Peeper to eat more (though I’m not holding my breath).
Big girl in a big bed
Peeper also met a milestone: She transitioned to her big girl bed.
Kiwi is powered by breastmilk.
