Half birthday

Ewan was exactly six months old today (gestational not corrected). I've started solids at six months with the other three. For Ewan, the medical advice was that I should start at 4-5 months corrected, being led by his cues.

I'm in no particular hurry to get him onto solid food. He doesn't seem ready. His upper digestive tract is maturing (we have the drool!), but he hasn't really got the hand/mouth co-ordination thing going yet.

And yet - he is certainly interested in what we are up to at the table.

Today he was sitting on my knee as I peeled a mandarin for myself. He was really focused on my hands, and got more and more excited as the fruit was revealed. He started drooling and his hands started to pump up and down. I started eating, and he started fretting. I experimentally put a sector into his hand but it was as if he just couldn't get everything co-ordinated. By this point he had worked himself up into such a frenzy of frustration that a breastfeed was required immediately.

The mind seemed willing, but the body was weak. (Or just a bit little!)

A couple of hours later he sat on my knee as I started a golden kiwifruit. He started getting agitated as I spooned into it. And as I started to raise the spoon to my mouth, he leant forward, mouth open, tongue out. I put the spoon to his mouth and his tongue flicked further out. He clearly tasted the fruit - the surprised expression on this face said as much. He sat back, as if to say "Well I never!" and was quite content to watch me eat the remainder.

He watched Daddy eat pizza for tea with much interest.