Rice, Rice Baby!

Owen has been showing signs that he is ready for solid foods for a few weeks now. We noticed he stares intently at what we are eating and occasionally swipes at it. He can hold his head up unassisted and has more than doubled his birth weight. Right at 4 months Owen had a growth spurt and was eating around the clock every 2 hrs. We put away all of his 3 month clothes and washed all of his 6-month stuff... only to discover that most of the 6 month stuff won't button/zip!

He evened out his sleeping for a while, but then last week started waking during the night again. We put him to bed at 8pm and I used to pump at 11pm before I went to sleep. Now he eats that feeding instead. Sometimes eats at 9pm and 11:45pm which only gets us to 4:45am (if we're lucky, sometimes we have a 2am feeding). This is making for one tired Mama. I know he is getting full feedings because he pops off the breast and turns his head away when he is full.

I went to see a lactation consultant at our pediatrician this week because Owen has been restless during feedings. Popping on and off the breast and squeezing it with both hands. She said this is typical for babies his age, but she thought he might be telling us he's ready for something more. The pediatrician stopped in and said he was doing great - gained over 10 ounces in the last 14 days, which we already knew since nothing fits! The general AAP guidelines are to wait until 6 months to start solids - but each child is different. Owen is about a week away from his 5-month birthday and we felt he was ready.

I have been reading the "baby food bible" as they call it, Super Food by Ruth Yaron. It is a WONDERFUL read for feeding babies and the people I know that have used this program - their toddlers eat ANYTHING. Here's hoping, right?

We went with Earth's Best organic rice cereal for Owen's first solid. I mixed it with warm breast milk until it was very, very runny. I gave him about a tablespoon of cereal, mixed with 2 Tbsp of breastmilk for his first feeding. He only ate about half, but did a great job.

I had so many mixed emotions when I fed him. Happy that my baby is growing so big and strong, sad that he is no longer a teeny, tiny cub who needs only my milk for nourishment. And in the end, I was so proud - because this boy ate cereal like a champ!

I took a video because Daddy was working and wanted to see Mr. O chow down. Please forgive the wobbly camera and "enthusiastic Mommy voice"



The best part about it was, today, when I put Owen in the bumbo to try again. This is what I saw.

I think he was ready ;)