Solid Food: Week 3

Dinner got an upgrade! The doc said that once we are well established on cereal then we can move to stage 1 vegetables. So, cereal is going great. We've gone from not much thicker than formula to something roughly the consistency of oatmeal. I hate oatmeal. But, Grant seems to be a fan and that's all that really counts here. He gets excited now when he sees the bowl and if he's a little bit pissy when we put him in his high chair then usually the first few spoonfuls make him happy. He grabs for the spoon now like he just can't get enough and I swear he sometimes makes "Mmmmm" noises.

Everybody said "Oh, rice cereal is going to change your life. They sleep SO much better when they get food in their little belly." Um, ok. He still wakes up at 3 a.m. crying but the only difference now is that we can stick the paci back in his mouth and he'll usually go back to sleep (whereas before he needed a bottle). But I'm just pointing out that at 3 a.m. there are three people in this house...and all three are awake (although Husband usually puts out the fire and I go back to sleep...ish). It's not like he's not getting enough to eat. I honestly can't belive this child doesn't just explode when we burp him. Maybe he's just a night owl. Although, if that's the case then we're going to have to teach him to use the DVR so mommy and daddy can get some sleep. Maybe we can record some Leno for him, that always puts me to sleep.

So, on to the veggies! We started with green beans. They pretty much look like we decided to feed him what we found in his diaper. But I will point out that I got some on my hand when opening the container so I tasted them. Not bad...it tasted like green beans minus all that delicious sodium that accompanies the canned variety (no, I did not add salt to Grant's green beans).



Poopy looking green beans

He gave me a big open mouth like he was expecting his goopy rice cereal and when I stuck in the spoonful of green beans his face immediately told me "Um...that is not cereal. Oh no, what in God's name did that awful woman just shove in my mouth?"



Um...I'm not sure about this business in my mouth

He got over it pretty quick. He swallowed the first spoonful, thought about it, and then immediately started grabbing for the spoon.



I can help!




That, right there, is my favorite thing. Ever.




Oh, oh, more beans! Give me more beans!





Messy and adorable.




He finished the whole container on the first try! Yay Grant!



Tonight we did just cereal (the beans from above were last night) and I let him play with the spoon for a minute. This situation went downhill very quickly after taking this picture.

 As a side note I just want to say that this whole learning to eat with a spoon thing isn't easy. And you get so many people giving you "advice". I put that in quotations because I use that term loosely. People tell you to put the cereal in the bottle - even when the doctor tells you not to because people can't admit that they don't know more than the doctor. They tell you to mix things (like fruit) with the cereal - even when the doctor tells you not to. People like to point out things like "Your grocery bill is going to skyrocket soon!" as if you were not aware that a baby required food. And, just when I thought I'd heard it all, someone actually said to me "Oh, you better get some baby spoons. A regular spoon will cut his lip." Thanks, that's valuble advice right there. I hadn't considered baby spoons.

However, I am so proud of my little man. And I'm proud of me too...yes, that's right I'm giving myself a pat on the back. We're having fun with food and I can't wait try more vegetables with him!





 

Cereal: Week 2

So here we are again with the rice cereal. I have to admit...I took a two day break from it. I just didn't have it in me. I tend to take it personally when Grant doesn't pick right up on something. I'm going to blame that on breastfeeding since that went so well. I am learning - slowly - never to expect anything to be easy. So when we tried cereal that first time and he hated it, it was funny. When we tried it the next time and he hated it I called myself a horrible mother (insert my comment "F*** it! I guess he'll just take a bottle for the rest of his life!"). I can be ever so slightly dramatic at times.

On Sunday, after my two day cereal hiatus, I had low expectations. I knew that as soon as the spoon touched Grant's lips he would scream as if I was jabbing his lips with a paring knife rather than the offending spoon. Well, there was minimal gagging and only a general fussiness. Hmm...maybe I don't suck at this. Yesterday, I had to make him laugh and then quickly shove the spoon in his mouth...but again, no screaming as if he's being torn limb from limb.

Today I got to play proud Mommy! Not only did he OPEN his mouth for the spoon but he reached out for it! And when the spoon was heading back to bowl for refills he made noises like he was trying to say "Gimme it!" Eureka! It was retarded how proud I was of him - and a little proud of myself and my perseverence. And can I just say thank God! I totally flashed forward to Grant at the age of 8 or so and a relative calling wanting to talk to Grant. I pictured myself having to tell this person "Oh, you can't talk to him just now, he's having a bottle." And there would be Grant, laying on the couch, drinking from a bottle roughly the size of a coffee thermos.



"Get in my belly!"

 

Spoon in the mouth - no tears!





I can wipe my own mouth, thank you very much.

 

He is not as coordinated with a spoon as he seemed to think he would be.





All gone!




Some of it even made it in his tummy (the sad face is because he wanted more)




A bottle followed the cereal and this is what followed the bottle. Which meant Mommy got to spend some quality time with Private Practice. Thanks Grant!



Grant + Cereal = Funny Faces!

Four month check up today! Grant has not gained as much weight as we thought he had. He's just under 13 pounds (was 10 pounds 5 oz. at his two month check up). I was surprised to hear that he's 25 inches long now! He's getting too big and it's not fair! But, as they say, life isn't fair. So, aside from measurements and vaccinations (always a treat) we were given the green light for solid foods! So - after a trip to the DMV to renew my expired license - I headed straight to the grocery store for the requisite rice cereal!


Please disregard the flashlight and other husband debris in the background.

It looks like instant mashed potato flakes:



Again with the husband debris...

Which you mix with formula until it's "soupy but not soupy". Oddly, I completely understood that.


Yummy...

 Getting ready for the big moment:

"Here comes the airplane..."

And...



No thanks Mommy.

Evidently the spoon explodes on impact because I don't
recall getting the spoon near his nose...or anywhere near
his hair but it ended up there too.

And it pretty much continued like this:

I think he was over it before we even started. But I had to keep trying! I was so excited and he just burst my bubble. It wasn't a good day to start something like this. After being messed with by the doctor and then his shots he was a cranky little man. But we shall try again tomorrow! And after we get him used to the cereal (the pediatrician said a week or so) we can start on stage one vegetables so stay tuned for our next feeding installments!