Solids

About a week ago, our pediatrician gave us the OK to start feeding Noah solids. 

On the menu: Gerber rice cereal with Gerber Gentle formula.

We were instructed to start off with a couple teaspoons mixed with some formula. When I first poured it into the bowl, I thought, "Well, that's not enough!" So I ended up mixing three tablespoons. John said, "No wonder our son is so big."

At first, he made a lot of faces. A mixture of confusion and dislike. Eventually, his scowl turned into a face of acceptance, as if he thought, "Ok, Mommy's not giving me my bottle. This'll have to do."

Noah's first bite.

He finished his entire bowl. It took me a solid 20 minutes, and I'm sure half of it ended up on his bib. My friends kept telling me it was going to be a huge mess. I imagined food flung everywhere with remnants stuck to my hair and clothes. However, Noah was a relatively clean eater. He only made a slight mess on his bib and his Bumbo tray. I stayed clean :)

I took the advice of my friend Katherine, who would give her son Liam a spoonful of rice cereal and then quickly put in his pacifier so he would swallow his food instead of letting it fall out of his mouth. I decided to have a bottle of water handy so with every few spoonfuls, I would let him drink some water so he would get the idea that he's supposed to swallow his food. It seemed to work pretty well. And now, a week later, I'm able to feed him almost his entire bowl without having to do this. I think he's getting the hang of eating solids :)

Before and after :)