Nappies and feeding

We had our 8 month review the other day and found that the Sprout weighs 19.3 oz and is 71 cm long!

We are continuing with the real diapers.  The only thing is, I want ones that I didn't get (Little Lamb), so I am going to buy those and re-sell the ones I bought on ebay (mother-ease one size).  There is nothing wrong with them I just prefer the others.  I have decided that there is no reason not to use re-usable diapers if we are just sitting at home.

The Sprout managed to get by without a rash and we had good luck with leaks.  However, when we were out I used disposables because I found that I have to change him every 2-3 hours or he gets grumpy.

I was using the dry storage method, where I just threw the diapers in a pail with no water.  I did find that the diapers got stained but I haven't decided if I want to start soaking or not to see if I can prevent the staining (because I am not going to use bleach).

When I wash the diapers I use a sensitive non-bio powder detergent at half strength and a half cup of vinegar during the conditioning cycle.  Then I put them in the dryer, because I don't like the feel of them when they have been line dried.

Baby-led Weaning

Have you heard of baby-led weaning?  It is where you feed your kid the same food you eat but made so they can feed themselves.  There is no pureeing or spoon feeding, you just hand the baby the food and he decides what he is going to eat.  I really like this idea because it lets him do what you do and he gets the whole experience of the food (touch, smell, taste).  He isn't being forced to eat.

Eating rice with a pincer grip

The Sprout indicated from day one that he wanted to be in control of how he was being fed.  He wanted to scoop the food off the spoon and into his mouth.  So I let him.  Then I realized he really likes his finger food.  So I was looking at books to get from the library and I checked out Baby-led Weaning by Gill Rapley and found it really interesting.  It goes over the method of baby led weaning, of course she adds her 2 cents about why spoon feeding is bad, but that isn't what I was concerned about, it was how feeding can be fun and interesting.  So we are giving it a try and so far have been pretty successful.

Yesterday the Sprout maneuvered some rice into his mouth and for lunch we had rice, steamed sweet potato, steamed cauliflower and watermelon.  I discovered that he has a super grasp on the "pincer grip" and can pick up things with his thumb and forefinger really well.  I haven't worried about him choking because he is good at passing food around his mouth.  He eventually spits stuff out that is too big to swallow or if too much food is crammed in, he just spits it all up (I think it hits the back of his throat causing him to vomit).

All seems to be going well.