Growing!

The little dude turned five months old last week.

All the tiny developmental milestones are too numerous to count but here are some of the more important ones:

1. autonomy. He has developed limited but much appreciated ability to hang out by himself which means that I don't need to hold or carry him all the time. It is such a big thing for me - gone are the days when I would sit on the sofa, a sleeping newborn on my lap, waiting for an hour for S. to come home from work and give me a glass of water. It feels like I am getting back a certain degree of bodily autonomy. Suddenly I can do things again. I can dust and I can eat and I can cook simple food that does not take much prep time (the fact that this is the only food I can cook in general is a different matter). He is happy just being on his blanket, rolling (from back to tummy - check!), looking around, testing his vocal cords (the high pitched screams will probably leave us half-deaf), playing with toys. And he lights up like a little sun every time I go by. If there is anything that can melt a heart...

2. toys. I remember trying to get him interested in toys. The first months were hopeless but now, little by little, he has developed interest in certain toys. Right now, we have two favourites: Konn ('frog' in Estonian) which he likes when he is awake and active, and Nils Holgersson which he keeps nearby when taking naps and sitting in his car seat. 

Konn

Nils Holgersson

3. food. Now this is absolutely fascinating for me. The first time our nurse visited us after L's birth, one of her questions was, "What kind of food allergies / intolerances do you have?" I think it is a known fact that there are a huge amount of people in Scandinavia who can't tolerate one food or another. So now the official medical position is that you should start with potential allergens as early as possible. And as S. has a long and impressive list of allergies it was decided that L. needed to get going with certain foods very early. So, as soon as he turned three months old, this was what we did: the first week, boiled egg every other day, the second week, peanut butter was added to this, the third week, wheat, and the fourth week, lactose. I kind of freaked out in the beginning - can you imagine giving peanut butter to such a tiny human? But we got used to it very quickly so now my only worry is that I would not forget which day it is - whether it's an egg and peanut butter day or milk and wheat day. And as soon as he turned five months old and our good neighbors gave us their old kitchen highchair, I started testing with a little bit of solids. The first day (which happened to be a milk day), he got some boiled carrot with a bit of saltless butter in it. The food disappeared in seconds! Give me more, give me more!

I was documenting my food experiment last week. As you can see, it is safer to taste food when Konn is nearby.

These are L's big milestones. When I think of my own, the main thing is that I have entered the big and cozy baby bubble and I never want to come out. The same simple routine every day, the same walk, the same podcasts as I walk round and round our matchbox village, the same evening routines, the same books and songs with L. It is all just so lovely! (the fact that L. is a calm baby and sleeps through the night with one pit stop helps a lot, of course) Can I please stay here indefinitely? Pretty please?