Getting the Hang of It

Things flow so much more smoothly and naturally with this second child of ours, just by virtue of us having a much more balanced approach to caring for her.

When Sly was finally four months old, I couldn't *wait* to start him on solid foods.  I thought about it, read about it, planned it out, and talked to every parent I knew about how to do it.  It seemed like such a big deal.  We followed the traditional method: starting with baby rice cereal + breast milk, slowly increasing the proportions of rice for each feeding, introducing one new grain only after a full week has passed (to allow for any allergic reaction), graduating him to "first foods" of jarred pureed veggies, then jarred fruits, etc.

For a $20+  rubber toy, there's no excuse for the fact that my children have been able to suck ALL the spots off Sophie the Giraffe

With Stella, I just sorta shrug and say, "eh - she'll eat solids eventually.  No rush."   I didn't bother to buy any special baby foods for the longest time.  As she's seemed interested, I let her have tastes of whatever I'm eating.  I let her munch on a cracker, gave her a bite of my soup or applesauce or mashed potatoes, or use the food mill to grind down whatever veggies we're eating at dinner.  It's just a lot nicer to not make a huge fuss about it.  I don't think what we're doing is exactly "child-led weaning", but it follows that philosophy much more than the way we did it with Sly.

And as I gain confidence in the way I'm caring for this little girl, the less I think or worry about stuff like that - what specific parenting philosophy or method we may or may not be following [and there are lots of them!  I'm constantly explaining to Tom the meaning of concepts like "child-led weaning", "attachment parenting", "elimination communication", "co-sleeping", "cry-it-out", etc.].  I can just go with what makes sense at the time.

Sleeping anywhere, through anything - alright, second child!

Now, instead of letting my schedule revolve around the baby, Stella has adjusted to fit into the family's schedule.  It's so nice.  My experiences with Sly (my poor little first-born "guinea pig") have helped me to hone my mothering instincts, and now things just come so much more naturally.  Everything's not such a huge deal.

I feel a little bad, because we have a baby calendar for Stella, as we did for Sly.  But I keep forgetting to take note of the exact day she does new things - when she first laughed, rolled over, etc. There are going to be a LOT of the milestone stickers left unused at the end of the year!

We still love you, Stella Bella!