Leaps & bounds

A week ago, at the Ravensong baby group, I sat Sprout on the mat in front of my leg & he fell over. He was unable to sit up for more than five seconds without needing me to stabilize him. Today he sat up for three minutes on his own! I know this not because I was timing him, but because I filmed it. I'll spare you the "director's cut" & just post the end where he plays with his toy & then does a face plant into some tummy time. (Don't worry: he's on a thick blanket on a foam mat. No head injuries!)

What's really exciting to me is what the next developmental step is: solid food! Now that he can sit up fairly well, is reaching for things & bringing them to his mouth, he's ready to eat. I'm planning to try Baby Led Weaning, which is a fancy new term for a very old concept. He will pick up the food & eat it himself, no "brrrrr... here's the airplane, coming into the hangar" spoon-feeding. No purees, so he'll experience different textures & flavours, learning to manipulate the food in his mouth with his tongue. Theoretically this will encourage him to be more adventurous with food at a young age & when he's older too. Of course we're not going to be giving him granola or carrot sticks just yet, we'll stick to one food at a time & it'll be cooked & 'gummable'.
It'll take a few months before he's really eating significant quantities of food--the first while he'll just be playing & learning how to get it in his mouth, then how to get it to the back of his mouth & swallow it. I have high hopes that he'll basically be eating the same things we do within about six months.