Motoring along

Happy Australia Day everyone!

We have tried a few new foods this week, each of them being a big hit with Ethan. First was toast for breakfast. I decided that I would spread a bit of avocado on it, since he has been having a bit of trouble picking that up on its own - slippery little suckers they are! So I toasted a slice of wholemeal bread, spread a thin layer of lovely ripe avocado on it, de-crusted it, and sliced into soldiers. Before I had even placed it on his high chair tray he grabbed it out of my hand! I was a bit concerned he might bite a chunk off and swallow it without chewing it, but he sucked on it for a while, got the avocado off, and then a few bits started to come off. He was a little startled when it got stuck to the roof of his mouth at one stage, and I had to help him out a bit, but he seemed to get the hang of it pretty quickly!

The next new food was yogurt. I make my own yogurt, using an Easiyo yogurt maker. According to the manufacturer of this yogurt maker, freshly made yogurt has around a billion healthy bacteria per spoonful on the first day it is made. The bacteria will diminish as each day passes, which makes homemade yogurt a lot more beneficial than shop bought. Also the yogurts don't contain any artificial flavours, colours or preservatives. So I decided that since Ethan officially hit 6 months last Saturday (the 22nd), I would let him have a taste of yogurt, and rather than go out and buy him the "Baby Yogurt" variety he could have some of the delicious home made stuff! So i popped a bit into one of his little bowls (well his brother's bowls - hand me downs from the puree days 2 years ago!) and dipped a rusk into it and he put it straight into his mouth. The look on his face pretty much said it all - he loved it! He didn't really understand the dipping concept, so I helped him out with that, but he definitely understood the sucking it off the rusk part! By the end of the meal he looked chuffed with himself, and happy with his achievements!

Aside from the nutritional benefits down the track with BLW, I have already noticed another benefit - it is helpful in developing motor skills. Last night for dinner I made him some chip-shaped roasted potatoes. I placed them in front of him, and straight away he picked them up and started chomping on them! Then he did an amazing thing and used his thumb and tips of his index finger and middle finger to pick up one of the 'chips' and take it to his mouth! Already we have evidence of him developing the pincer grip! Pretty good for a 6 month old! At lunch time I had offered him half a banana with a bit of the skin peeled back and cut off so he could eat the top of it like a lollipop. Just a couple of weeks ago I had tried this and he was having difficulty holding onto it. Yesterday he had no problem at all!

He is also getting a lot better at chewing and swallowing. He was gagging quite a bit last week, but just in the last few days he has been chewing for a little while before I can visibly see him make purposeful swallowing movements (and usually i can hear him swallowing too - very cute!) After his meal he always gives me a huge grin, as if to say "Thanks Mum!".