Stella is 5 months and 2 weeks and starting to track our cutlery from plate to mouth. She watches me like a hawk when I drink my morning coffee and then this afternoon she made me feel downright uncomfortable while I was enjoying a chocolate biscuit. All this combined with the fact that she is getting grumpy and chompy at her 11am feed is making me think I might start her on some rice cereal this week rather than waiting another few weeks. She is still sleeping through the night without needing a feed so I am adding to my frozen supply of breast milk which gives me a feeling of great satisfaction whenever I go to the freezer to help myself to another bowl of ice-cream. (Thats a whole other post for another day!) Amy was just over 5 months and 2 weeks when we were on holiday down the coast in South Africa and although she wasn’t that sure about her first mouthful of rice cereal, she soon got into the act and was a great eater for those first few months. Once we arrived in Australia and settled into living with Ron’s parents I was able to cook up a storm and stock the freezer with a variety of food to make Amy’s first months both tasty for her and easier for me.

This week I have managed my time really well and kept on top of the housework and cooking and still found time to do some extra cooking. Now my freezer is stocked with two bags of pear puree for Stella’s first meals, also come carrot puree and a big batch of red lentil savoury which is high in iron to replace Stella’s own iron which starts to deplete at six months.

Depending on how we go this weekend I will introduce some rice cereal mixed with breastmilk after the first half of Stella’s 11am feed and then within a few days add some pear at that lunchtime feed until she is eating lunch and dinner. Phew, I can’t quite believe we are already at this point, my baby is growing so quickly! To reward us for growing up so fast she is now laughing frequently, rolling around on the floor at every opportunity and generally just delicious and delightful!