Charis Is Now 7 Months and 8 Days!

People say that children grow up real quick. I must say that yes it is, the days are long but the months and years are fast.

Seven months of training has certainly helped me to be more confident as a new mother. I remember those initial months of clueless guesses as to what Charis wants whenever she cried. Is it because she's hungry? Having wet diapers? Discomfort? Or just seeking for attention? And to top it off, I read that mothers can actually differentiate the various cries of their babies, but I couldn't at that time. All of the cries sounded the same! That was so stressful!

However, as time goes by, I began to pick up certain cues of my baby. For example, if Charis sucks on her thumb or rubs her ears, she is sleepy. If she bites on her fist, she is hungry. If she lets out fussy cries, check her diapers or if she's feeling warm. Nowadays when Charis cries, most of the time instinctively I will know what she's crying for. Ok, this will carry on until she learns to speak :) Not bad for a new mummy ya? Parents are indeed made, not born. The maternal instincts may be innate, but it will require much "trials" to make it sharper and more sensitive.

Oh by this time, Charis has achieved a few "first" major milestones in her development:

First solid food : 9 March 2009 - 5 months 12 days
First successful roll over : 20 March 2009 - 5 months 23 days
First time sitting up (w/o support) : 2 May 2009 - 7 months 07 days

Here's some recent pictures:



Charis's first solid food - Bellamy's Organic Rice Cereal.
Subsequently, she has been introduced to potato, pumpkin, avocado and carrot. Now her main cereal is self-toasted and grinded 五谷米(five cereal-unhusked rice) and 糙米(unpolished rice) prepared by my mum. I cook it over low fire and add some expressed breastmilk to the consistency needed. I tried it too and taste yummy! - totally original :)



Charis at 6 months. Puts a smile on my face to see her smile so heartily :)



Charis at 6 months plus. Hands up!... Oh I mean legs up! Burst out laughing when we first saw her doing this on the rocker. One of her many "patterns".. Ha ha..



This is one of Charis's favourite moment with Daddy, touching his chin and brushing her hands to feel the spikiness of his moustache. Is this infant exfoliation? :)



Charis at 7 months. She can now sit upright on the rocker. So now she can have 2 options - either lie down or sit up.. Ha ha



See the blurred image of the rocker? This is because Charis got so excited when the camera is in front of her, shaking vigorously.. very 激动.