Major (minor) milestones

On the verge of turning 6 months old, our little girl has experienced some more firsts. Last week, Hayley ate her first fruit in the form of applesauce and the week before that, she had her first carrots. As you can see in the video she was not a big fan of carrots, but subsequent feedings changed that. Hayley's repertoire of solids now includes three different foods!



Last night, we tried putting Hayley in a real high chair for the first time. We went out to Chili's for dinner and brought along her chair/shopping cart cover. I was a little nervous about doing this, but it turned out to be a rousing success. She was happy and well-behaved for the whole meal and she never even came close to falling out.




Here's a first I am a bit sad to mention, as it represents a lost parenting battle. Miranda convinced me that it was okay to paint Hayley's toenails. I am generally of the opinion that things like nail polish and ear piercings are not appropriate for babies, but apparently Hayley has been staring quite enviously at mommy's and gramma's painted toenails, so here we are:



For those keeping score, this does NOT mean she gets to have her ears pierced any time soon. Anyway, something else happened recently that isn't really a milestone, but is nonetheless interesting and fun to see. She's had some toys that hang over her bouncy seat for a long time now, the middle one being the only one that is held up by velcro. I guess Hayley has been lifting weights in her crib, because the velcro is no longer sufficient to prevent her from yanking the toy right off the loop.



And finally, a milestone that is of great importance to me personally. Last week, we realized that Hayley can't be swaddled any more at night, since her rolling skills have blossomed. This has been quite a challenge, since the swaddling was so instrumental in helping her sleep through the night. The first 3 nights, we had to bring her into bed with us about halfway through in order for Hayley to continue sleeping. Then last night, the impossible happened. Not only did she sleep by herself in the crib with no swaddle until morning, she slept longer than me! I have never once gotten up without being awakened by a murmuring or crying baby. And it wasn't like I got up early. It was so refreshing to wake up of my volition and start my day on my own. Of course, it only lasted about a half hour, but it was still amazing. Enough so that I felt it deserved a picture:



Side note: it seems Hayley is taking after her mommy and actually prefers to sleep on her side/tummy. Perhaps this will be the key to consistently longer, more sustained sleep.