First Solids!

At our four-month well visit with the Pediatrician, he mentioned that we should look for signs that Benjamin is ready to start solid foods. The signs would be waking early from naps, having trouble sleeping as much as he had been during the night, and seeming hungry after finishing nursing. In the last few days, all those things started happening. That, coupled with the fact that he is able to sit up and hold his head up, and is showing lots of interest in Mommy and Daddy's food led us to the decision to introduce solids into his diet. I plan to continue nursing Ben through his first year of life, but we'll start to add solid foods slowly over the next few months. I also plan to make most of his food myself. We'll start with rice cereal, and after a few weeks will move to green and yellow veggies, followed by some fruits. That should get us through and beyond six months. I haven't though past that yet, although I do believe by the end of the year, he will be eating small portions of our table food - wow! That is going to get here fast! I am going to enjoy the pure and simple goodness of this pureed food stage and not let the mess get me stressed! (I think that may just become my mantra because it looks like it will be getting messy folks!)

Here is a video of Ben trying out solids for the first time. Both mom and baby need to get used to the spoon and the overall process, but I would definitely give Ben an A+ for effort on this first go-round :)

 
First Solids! from Katy Lee on Vimeo.

As a side note, after we thought we were done and took him out of his seat, he was staring the bowl down and reaching for it, so we put some more on the spoon, and Ben opened his mouth wide and did a head-lunge straight for it! He was learning already :) And THEN on our second day of solids, I had the spoon resting in the bowl on Ben's tray while I cleaned up some cereal from around us, and Ben reached out, grabbed hold of the spoon and brought it to his mouth! I just about fainted I was so shocked and of course completed excited and proud. I could not believe he was already trying to do it on his own after only one feeding session. (Keeping my motherly pride in check and lest you think I brag too much, I will admit that the coordination was off and he didn't get the front of the spoon into his mouth ... he doesn't have those fine motor skills down at this point.) Maybe this is totally normal, but I certainly didn't expect him to pick up on it this soon.