6 Months 2 days

Babybear is half a year old!! How did that happen?? I meant to post this exactly on 6 months, but yeah, that didn't happen. :) The picture was taken bang on 6 months if that counts though!

She's more than doubled her birth weight and is now 16.6lbs (7.55kg). I'd tell you how long she is but you try measuring a 6 month old, yeah not simple! And by the time they aren't moving any more you're not going to chance waking them up by measuring them! She's longer than she used to be. nuff said.

• She can sit unaided for ages, however, we still surround her with pillows for that eventual 'plop.'
• She can froggie hop with ease (It's her attempt at crawling. Both back legs come forward at the same time. )
• She's so close to crawling that we're starting the long process of baby-proofing!

What's a Rusk?

~ dedicated to my Mother, who taught me always to be brave enough to ask, "huh?" ~


Generally speaking, it's a baby cookie! Britishly speaking, a much loved biscuit commonly associated with childhood.

Mark remembers Rusks fondly and had to explain to me what they were. He wasn't impressed when I later told him that the Childsmile Dental Visitor imformed me that Rusks were a big no-no, and that Jessie wasn't going to be allowed any. (I caved of course. As long as she's not getting them all the time and only as an occasional dessert food then I can't see the harm, besides it makes both her and her Daddy happy.)

Even before we'd brought home the first box of Rusks, the word itself had taken on a life of its own in our home. The phrase "Bringing home the bacon" has long been replaced with "Earning the Rusks." ie. Daddy has to go to work now to earn the Rusks.

Here's the blurb from the box:
[Heinz Farley's Rusks are a unique food suitable for all ages from weaning through to toddler years and beyond. (They have to say this so parents don't feel so bad about munching on their baby's rusk!) Heinz Farley’s Rusks easily dissolve in the mouth, making them an ideal finger food for babies who are able to start feeding themselves, usually from around 9 to 10 months of age. They can also encourage hand to eye coordination, biting and chewing as your baby develops. Heinz Farley's Rusks are nutritionally tailored for babies and toddlers, as they're enriched with Vitamins A, C and D and with added prebiotic which helps support healthy digestion and immunity.]

And this is a picture of a baby with a Rusk

Here, There, Food Everywhere!

The weaning adventure has begun! We're not really following one school of thought here. We're taking a bit of Baby-Led Weaning and combining it with what we like from traditional weaning and just throwing in a mishmash of whatever seems to work for us as a family. (However, I've recently read that if you're spoon feeding and giving finger foods then that's really just conventional weaning. Meh! Too many terms, we're just doing what feels right for Jessica.)

Saturday Morning: a bit of banana in her net foody thingey (a what? yes. that's why there's a link) went down a hit! We have a little bit of video footage. I'll see if there's anything super adorable to share when we get the video camera hooked up. We were late leaving for Gran and Grandpa's but it was an acceptable delay, everyone agreed.

Saturday Evening: We had dinner at Gran and Grandpa Smith's, they treated us to pizza and Jessie had a bit of pear. She wasn't that impressed. I think eating on her Daddy's knee in a strange place was too much too soon.

Sunday Afternoon: A rusk in the car. Big mistake! No bib, no tray.. rusk everywhere! But she loved it.

Monday Morning: Steamed apples for breakfast!

Monday Afternoon: Apple baby cookie.

Monday Evening: Mushed carrots! Pictures are still on Mark's phone, definitely more messy than the apples. She went straight into the tub post-dinner.

Tuesday Morning Opening a box of baby porridge with a baby in one arm is not recommended. Baby porridge all over the floor. She wasn't even interested in it when I finally got it prepared so breakfast was banana again. The girl adores banana.

Tuesday Afternoon Baby rice cake - apple flavoured. Gummed into submission but not really eaten.

Tuesday Evening Broccoli and mushed potato. Another messy adventure. I'm not sure much went into her belly but she did enjoy the experience and right now that's what matters most. (Straight into a post-dinner bath again!)

Teeth!

I'm sure one day my daughter will look back at these posts and roll her eyes at me.
"A close-up picture of the inside of my mouth? Come on Mom! Was that really necessary?"

It's amazing that she's been in such a good mood recently. (Quick find some wood to knock on!) The teeth just keep on coming and she hasn't showed any signs of distress yet, just lots and lots of chewing on anything she can get her hands on.

As promised: pictures of her very first tooth coming through!



Kinda looks like a mollusk doesn't it?

Dentistry!

Despite a distinct lack of teeth, Babybear had her very first dentist appointment yesterday. why I hear you ask? It's a new governmental program called Childsmile, aimed at preventing childhood tooth decay (apparently we need extra help because there's no fluoride in the water in Scotland.)We had a dental health support worker (what a mouthful!) visit when Jessie was about 4 months old. She gave us some toothpaste, a toothbrush, a tooth-friendly sippy cup and a few other bits an bobs. While she was here she registered Jess with a local dentist, Frederick Dental Practice.

Oddly, the practice Mark and I are already registered with aren't participating in the Childsmile initiative. Or more correctly - they were participating but weren't following through and were thus dropped from the program. I've never been thrilled with our dentist. In and out in less than 10 minutes and that includes a scale, polish and checkup. I always felt a bit like a car in the pit at NASCAR... so after a really nice meeting with Jess's new dentist, Joanne, I switched us all over. She was really friendly and helpful. We'll see how the actual check-ups go next month!

I'm not sure what kind of mystery magic the dentist used, but after examining her mouth and declaring "No signs of teeth yet," Jessica actually has tiny tooth buds showing through her bottom gums today! She's been her normal happy contented self all day despite the new teething progress. Still munching on her hand, my hand, and anything that gets anywhere near her mouth though. The picture we took turned out rather vague. I'll upload it tomorrow so check back then if you feel like seeing an amorphous blob of mouth with a tiny patch coloured ever so slightly different.