My little foodie

At a little over 4 months, B was showing all signs of being a foodie, just like J and myself. Now, almost 5 months, she's definitely one :)

Its been almost a month since B started puréed food. We've done carrots, apples, bananas, avocados and courgettes as of now, and she seems to like all of them. When the apple's a little sour,she crinkles up her eyes and mouth but then swallows the purée before reaching out for the next mouthful. It's very encouraging to see how open she is to new tastes and textures (I only mash food by hand, no fancy appliances, at least not yet) and so adorable to see her sat there, spoon in hand, purée all around her mouth!

Both J and I can't stop marvelling at how excited she gets when she's in the kitchen or at mealtimes, when we are all holding platefuls of food. She has that typical look in her eyes and her lips are pursed in rapt attention. I really can't wait for her to be old enough to cook and bake with me in the kitchen. Oh, such fun awaits us!

B is also unbelievably but adorably lazy at times - specially when I try to gently roll her over. Her motto these days seems to be ' Try hard till you succeed, then chill'. She rolled over for the first time before she was even three months and did a few more times until the novelty wore off. Since then, she's content lying on her back, holding her feet, sometimes chewing on them and having long immersing conversations with her hanging rainforest play gym friends. If I try to roll her over, she resists vehemently, spreading her hands out and refusing to move her legs, all with a mischievous smile. If I place her on her tummy, she holds up one arm and smoothly rolls over to her back again. The very few times she actually chooses to stay on her tummy, she sticks her little bum up and pushes herself forward for a little while before rolling over to her back.

The more I see her playful side, the more I'm becoming aware of this feeling within me - I don't want to share B with just about anyone. I want to play with her all the time and feed and put her to sleep and talk and learn and go for walks and do everything with her. I am aware that I am possessive. I don't want to be and I know I shouldn't be, but I am having to work consciously to get rid of this instinct. She is my baby, but she is her own free person. I musn't suffocate her. More importantly, I musn't limit her.

I'm learning, my little one, I am. Hopefully, I will rovep myself worthy of you.

Love and peace.

The first swim lesson

B had her first swimming lesson today, and, my, what fun we all had. I think I'm slowly learning the joy of doing something as a family. It was so much fun sharing the experience of her first day at the pool, I couldn't stop grinning even an hour after returning home. It was J's dream to take her to a baby swimming class, something he would rave about before we even know we were going to have her!

B has the most adorable swimming costume - a blue frilly polka dotted top half that's attached to her blue happy nappy.She looks like such a doll in it! We were told by someone earlier that photography is a strict no-no in pools, which I sort of get, given that people are in a state of undress, but we found out today that everyone else at the pool was clicking away while J and I had both left our camera and cellphones back home! So we had to make do with my mom's low res mobile camera. Well, a low res camera is better than no camera at all, so soon I was clicking away as well. J was going to get into the pool with her, because, well... I can't swim. 

B was a natural in water. The instructor was friendly and helped J and B get into the routine quickly. B loved the splish-splash and basically the extended bath tub and had a field day splashing about and looking around. Even when she was introduced to the underwater manoeuvre, she coughed but she didn't so much as wince! I am so proud of my little girl! 

After the 30 minute session, she came out with a look that said, well, that wasn't too bad, was it? We wrapped her and changed her quickly. If there was something that I was even remotely unhappy about on the day, it was the changing room - there wasn't any. We had to make do with a tiny store room with tons of plastic boxes in it, and - the part I was most unhappy about -lay her on the ground and change. You'd think they'd be a little more mindful of something like that when they organise these sessions for babies, right? There was a nagging fear in the back of my mind that she may want to be fed right then and there because I could see how intensive the swimming session was for the babies, but she was a trooper and was calm and collected (much more so than J and me, we were excited like kids in a candy store) and waited patiently till we drove home before she could feed.

I had heard stories about how babies tended to have marathon sleep sessions after each swim and I was geared up for a couple of hours at least, but no! B was B, as usual, and woke up smiling within 40 minutes of falling asleep. Sometimes I wonder, what it would take to tire B out, but then, really, I don't want to find out. I love her energetic ways and miss her so badly when she's asleep. If she's asleep past the 30 minute mark, I can't resist checking on her and just lingering a little longer to caress her head because the house is suddenly so silent when she isn't awake! 

All in all, a lovely day. I have my own little family now and it's so so rewarding. And we've only just begun! J and I have so many firsts waiting for us, I am excited just thinking about all the little and big things we will get to do with B as she grows up. We're so so lucky. We're grateful. For every single moment. 

Love and peace.