Pass the Peas, Please!

The last couple of weeks, Ameliya has been pointedly watching us while we eating.  Almost begging for food - kicking her legs, making eye contact, reaching out to grab things while she's on my lap.  Recently she snagged a cucumber and I just let her explore it.

Then, a few days later she reached out for my applesauce cup so I let her play in it...

 Hmmm, kinda tasty...

Dad!  Did you see what Mama just let me do!?

Today, any time I ate, Ameliya watched.  She reached.  She pleaded with her blue eyes.  So I decided to cook her some frozen peas to play in while we all ate supper.  I nursed her first so she was good and full and then put her in her chair...

What's this, Mama?  I want your food, not my own! {sorry Dolly, no grains for you yet, and Mama was eating pot pie!}

Mostly she mashed them around and played, which is totally fine.  This is just for fun.  But then, she did pinch one in her tiny fingers and poke it in her mouth...

Hmmm...

Hey!  Not bad!

I think that may have been the only one that ended up inside before she turned her head in disinterest and decided she was done playing. 

Experimenting with food while keeping breastmilk (or formula) the main source of nutrition is what the baby led weaning concept is all about - playing off of baby's cues and following her lead.  {And quite likely what our parents did for years, except now it has a name and somebody wrote a book about it - ha!}

Mia will continue to get to experiment as she is interested, with only veggies and fruits for now (more veggies than fruits).  There may be days between times when she shows interest and that's okay by me.  Someday soon enough she'll think she needs steak and tators and our nursing days will be all but over.  I'm not going to declare we won't use any homemade purees but I'll re-evaluate that closer to 6 months.  I really didn't think she'd be interested in any of this before 6 months (or was hoping not!) but it turns out she cares a great deal about what everyone else is doing!

And so, the growing up continues...