Which Came First? For Liam, the Chicken

For the first time, Liam was allowed to explore the kitchen after we gave the floor a good scrubbing. We think his crawling style resembles swimming.


As you can see in this one, sometimes Liam loves to rock in place (and since these shorts are a little big for the moment, he's almost wiggling them off!). He also loves following us or the cats around anywhere around the first floor. You'll see at the end how he is fascinated by the metal vent covers. He also still often goes after shoes, the spring-action door stoppers, the trash can foot petal, and paper or cords if any are within his reach.


Recently, the babe who first seemed to only want to nurse forever has finally begun eating solid food regularly. He currently eats breakfast and dinner with us most days. I have been recently able to get him to eat a little banana and peaches in the morning (neither are his favorites, but he'll eat a little of both). For dinner he recently enjoyed a full serving (one section of an ice cube tray) of sweet potatoes, and a few little pieces of sirloin roast. He sometimes lets me feed him with the spoon, but usually just tries to wrestle me for it. Most of the time I find it easier to just feed him with my fingers (if I don't want a huge mess to clean up), or let him try to feed himself. Here is a video of him enjoying his first favorite solid food, chicken. I gave him a few bits of rice noodles from our soup, but those where just for play when there was chicken being offered!


Just since yesterday, Liam now "helps" with diaper changes by frequently undoing the velcro strap on one side. I have to be careful though, sometimes he does this quickly then tries to crawl around his room half naked with the diaper hanging off!

I have enjoyed being a sleep detective recently, and slowly but surely everyone is getting more sleep in this house. The first step for us was getting a regular routine established. This has involved establishing regular wake up, nap times, and bedtimes. They aren't always exact times around here, but a regular time range works well and lets us adapt. I also have set, and now practice more consistently, a fairly simple and short bedtime routine. When he goes to sleep relaxed, he sleeps 10x better and stopped waking up frequently early in the evening before we go to bed. Some nights, like tonight, he is still wound up when it is time to set him in his crib. After reading Sleeping in America, I have begun practicing a few techniques to help him relax when I can tell he's unable to fall asleep on his own. Tonight, first I came in relaxed as possible and laid down with him. I nursed him just a little, and tried massaging him a little. Then I put him in his crib and I just experimented, kept doing what relaxed and didn't push what didn't. I ended up slowly and rythmically carressing his back, I slow tapered it down as he got more drowsy, then let him fall asleep on his own. This is the first time I was able to take him from wired to sleep without just nursing or rocking. Yay!! It is rewarding to me to help him fall into more restful sleep.

I have my theories to what caused him to be wound up tonight (a walk after dinner too close to bedtime that might have been too stimulating or being awake too long of a time span after his second nap). Continued observation will allow me to spot patterns. In time, I may be able to accurately predict when he's going to need extra assistance winding down or I might even help him avoid things that overstimulate him too close to bedtime. Somehow, all this also has gotten me more in tune with my own needs and what helps me relax and fall asleep easier too.