FOOD!!!!
On Halloween, October 31, 2009 Colin got to taste his first "solid" food.
I put this in quotations because I don't know how it can really be called solids, when you thin oatmeal down with milk until it is runny. But technically it wasn't just milk, so there you are.
And the kid was utterly thrilled. After a brief moment of contemplation he figured out he was HUN-GRY and this was the solution! He was grabbing the spoon and jamming it into his mouth, and chewing on it while looking at me to nom-nom-nom more effectively. Now, against the doctor's recommendation I also gave him some Beechnut carrots. I figured oatmeal and carrots are about as innocuous as possible so it wouldn't be a problem. He liked it all, and was very happy.
Unfortunately he developed a little come-and-go rash. At first it was just on his chin and neck, but on the 2nd day it came back on this whole chest and stomach. :-( So we started over on Monday (11/2) with just oatmeal cereal. We did oatmeal only for a few days and he was fine. But I noticed a pattern... he loves eating dinner, but I just can't get him to wake up in the mornings to eat breakfast. I tried the first day and it was a disaster. He was half awake, all floppy in his high chair, either crying or refusing to eat. Rather than fight him I gave in and just nursed him for breakfast. I was wondering if perhaps he wasn't feeling well from the food and was going to rebel, but at dinner I had a voracious little bird again. The same thing this morning: he utterly refused to even contemplate waking up for breakfast. I tried playing with him, nothing. I tried blowing in his face, moving him around... nothing I did even made a dent in my little Rip Van Winkle... the kid would not wake up. He remained adamantly floppy and asleep no matter what. So I gave in and he had a liquid breakfast.
But then...
Tonight after work I picked Colin up and when we got home I steamed a sweet potato, and then put it through a food mill. Meanwhile Colin was in his high chair, playing with a couple of toys. Finally the sweet potato was done steaming, and his oatmeal cereal had been warmed. And... first bite: 100% sweet potato puree. He looked momentarily perplexed after which... well, picture a baby bird in springtime. He just kept opening his mouth, wide, and voraciously devouring his meal! If I delayed he'd complain, making it abundantly clear that he wanted MORE SWEETIE POTATOES!!!
And while it was certainly more work than opening a jar, I feel good about giving him "regular" food that he liked so much. His reaction made it more than worth the effort. So we have a few more days of sweet potato, then we'll try something new. I've developed a schedule and have him slotted for fruits and veggies over the next couple of weeks followed by his first meat on Thanksgiving day. Turkey of course!
In other Colin news, he started making "buzzies" yesterday, and just started sitting up unassisted on Monday. He still can't get in to a sitting position without help, but if you place him in a sitting position he is happy to stay upright and laugh and play with anything at hand. He's also doing what H and I call pre-crawling. He goes up on to his hands and knees and rocks front and back and just looks exquisitely please with himself.
I know this means crawling is just around the corner, and once he's mobile all bets are off. So I think this weekend will be a thorough house-cleaning followed by a serious child-proofing session. Not exactly fun stuff, but necessary and I have a feeling we'll be very busy. Ahhh, the glamorous joys of parenthood!
I put this in quotations because I don't know how it can really be called solids, when you thin oatmeal down with milk until it is runny. But technically it wasn't just milk, so there you are.
And the kid was utterly thrilled. After a brief moment of contemplation he figured out he was HUN-GRY and this was the solution! He was grabbing the spoon and jamming it into his mouth, and chewing on it while looking at me to nom-nom-nom more effectively. Now, against the doctor's recommendation I also gave him some Beechnut carrots. I figured oatmeal and carrots are about as innocuous as possible so it wouldn't be a problem. He liked it all, and was very happy.Unfortunately he developed a little come-and-go rash. At first it was just on his chin and neck, but on the 2nd day it came back on this whole chest and stomach. :-( So we started over on Monday (11/2) with just oatmeal cereal. We did oatmeal only for a few days and he was fine. But I noticed a pattern... he loves eating dinner, but I just can't get him to wake up in the mornings to eat breakfast. I tried the first day and it was a disaster. He was half awake, all floppy in his high chair, either crying or refusing to eat. Rather than fight him I gave in and just nursed him for breakfast. I was wondering if perhaps he wasn't feeling well from the food and was going to rebel, but at dinner I had a voracious little bird again. The same thing this morning: he utterly refused to even contemplate waking up for breakfast. I tried playing with him, nothing. I tried blowing in his face, moving him around... nothing I did even made a dent in my little Rip Van Winkle... the kid would not wake up. He remained adamantly floppy and asleep no matter what. So I gave in and he had a liquid breakfast.
But then...
Tonight after work I picked Colin up and when we got home I steamed a sweet potato, and then put it through a food mill. Meanwhile Colin was in his high chair, playing with a couple of toys. Finally the sweet potato was done steaming, and his oatmeal cereal had been warmed. And... first bite: 100% sweet potato puree. He looked momentarily perplexed after which... well, picture a baby bird in springtime. He just kept opening his mouth, wide, and voraciously devouring his meal! If I delayed he'd complain, making it abundantly clear that he wanted MORE SWEETIE POTATOES!!!
And while it was certainly more work than opening a jar, I feel good about giving him "regular" food that he liked so much. His reaction made it more than worth the effort. So we have a few more days of sweet potato, then we'll try something new. I've developed a schedule and have him slotted for fruits and veggies over the next couple of weeks followed by his first meat on Thanksgiving day. Turkey of course!
In other Colin news, he started making "buzzies" yesterday, and just started sitting up unassisted on Monday. He still can't get in to a sitting position without help, but if you place him in a sitting position he is happy to stay upright and laugh and play with anything at hand. He's also doing what H and I call pre-crawling. He goes up on to his hands and knees and rocks front and back and just looks exquisitely please with himself.
I know this means crawling is just around the corner, and once he's mobile all bets are off. So I think this weekend will be a thorough house-cleaning followed by a serious child-proofing session. Not exactly fun stuff, but necessary and I have a feeling we'll be very busy. Ahhh, the glamorous joys of parenthood!
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