With You — 5 months +
A month for moving
This month saw a lot of change.
Moving to a new home
5 months into life for our little one, and we were, as parents, about to embark on a whole new stage of life as home owners. We had signed up to a home and land package before we got pregnant. Signed the sale and purchase before we had reached 12 weeks into the pregnancy, and waited as the build was delayed with Covid and pushed out into 2021, spending the first few months of Rino’s life living with his Nanna.
It could not have been a better place to assist us through the beginning of his life, but the time had come to create our own space — a house was now ready to become our home.
Settlement day arrived, we had a picnic on the floor with a bottle of Moet and pizzas, and we celebrated all that was this new chapter of our days. With immense gratitude to my own mother who made it all possible and who was at our side through the whole process guiding and supporting us. I hope one day I can provide this same unconditional support to my own little one.
That weekend we moved in and it took time to settle Rino in to his new surroundings. He missed his Nanna, the garden that he explored daily, and everything that he had known since he was born.
But here he had a new found sense of adventure and determination to get moving. He was beginning to pick himself up and take off…
Moving around the floor
Following our big move into the new home, Rino’s began his big moves, he was starting to leap forward like a frog at snail pace. He would push himself up from lying to sitting, and once he figured this out he spent a whole morning practicing. I watched him learn this new skill, he balanced his arms and then the face of determination moved to excitement and joy when he was sturdy. We celebrated his successes and he learnt to be chuffed with himself in his achievements, a pride in his pace.
He is now sitting unsupported, almost from one day to the next. He could now explore his toys and books from a whole new angle. Quickly he launched himself from a slight movement forward to exploring the room, his toys, the kitchen and new floors all by himself. Watch out pot plants and coffee tables, Rino is on the move.
Move to Solids
With his increase in activity and now that he was almost 6 months old, I wanted to start introducing solids to his diet. I read The Nourished Baby to get inspiration, that mixed with guidance from Plunket and discussions in SPACE, I felt ready to start trialling.
The other day I told someone that I was preparing Rino for solids by sitting him in his high chair at our island bench, with his toothing toy shaped like a rubber carrot, and his sippy cup with water. However ridiculous this may sound it has been a source of mental preparation for me (and for him?).
I started with butternut pumpkin, and planned to slowly introduce more every few days. I let him feel the raw pumpkin, smell and watch as I prepared and cooked it, and explore chunks of pumpkin as well as puree. He laughed away, and seemed to love this new addition to his diet.
Next I added some spinach to his pumpkin puree, he still enjoyed his meals but slowed down a bit at the bitterness set in, next I added some beef broth to the puree and he scoffed it down. Not a week into eating solids and he was mastering feeding himself with his spoon.
Such an exciting time for Rino and I find that I am loving the mess that everyone warned about, this may be the honeymoon period of feeding but with each new stage comes a new adventure and growth for Rino. Soon he will be eating more and be less dependent on my milk. Soon he will move from crawling to running. And soon he will be off out into the world.
I can help set foundations for his feeding, his play, his growth — but ultimately he will become his own little man and I can’t wait to be at his side throughout it all.
