Rice Cereal 8/4/11

 When I was pregnant, I was positive I was going to breastfeed. I never questioned my ability and I never considered using formula. I knew, without researching anything, it was better for our little bear, and I knew it was better for me. Done and Done. I never had an opinion on when to wean, though, except I didn't want to be nursing a three year old (no offense to those moms who nurse their toddlers, it just isn't for me). After G was born, I decided I wanted to nurse to at least 1 year old, and then after that it was up to her...until she was potty trained, then I was putting my foot down on weaning. So with those things in mind, solid foods wouldn't begin in our household until 6 months of age, and that included rice cereal. After a discussion with a close friend, I decided maybe we didn't even need rice cereal at all because it doesn't really have much nutritional value. I figured we would just go straight to homemade baby food that G could feed herself with her hands or a spoon when she learned how to do that.

That all changed this week. G has been watching me eat for a while now, and I've "teased" her by putting the spoon into my food and then toward her mouth. She opens perfectly, and I felt kind of mean pulling it away because she couldn't eat whatever I was having. She also is getting a lot bigger and my mother's intuition just told me she was ready for solid food. My mom was here this week and I thought it would be a nice "first" for G to experience with Grammy here. Wednesday night we sat her in her new high chair (thanks to her great grandparents) while we ate dinner. She just played with toys while we ate. She loved it. She could see a lot better and I could totally tell she felt more included. She is so smart, she just wants to be involved with the big people.
Then on Thursday, we went to Target and ended up buying some baby spoons and Earth's Best Organic Rice cereal (I wanted the organic cereal anyways, but having watched Food, Inc. the night before solidified this decision). I decided we could wait on the dishes, because for now she would either be fed by us or eat off of her tray.
Thursday night, I made dinner for the adults and then pumped some breast milk to mix with the rice cereal. We all sat down to eat together. Grammy, Daddy, G, Momma. G was still in her clothes but had a big bib on. Daddy had the video camera rolling and Grammy had the digital camera ready to go. I made sure G was watching me, just like she does when I eat in front of her. I put the little spoon into the little bowl, feeling a little nervous. I moved it toward her mouth...she instantly tried to grab the spoon so I had to bob and weave a bit to get it to her mouth. She opened wide and as soon as the spoon hit her tongue she closed down. I pulled it out as she opened with perfect timing. It was clean! She drooled a little, but other than that, she ate it all! It only got better from there. She got so excited seeing the spoon come towards her, knowing that she got to eat it now! I made 1.25 tablespoons rice cereal with a little over 3 tbsp of milk. I stopped about half way through, thinking that was enough. But she screamed for more!! We were all very surprised that she wanted more. She ended up eating THE WHOLE THING!! There were some spills on her bib from her trying to grab the spoon, but she didn't spit anything out. She seemed like she had been spoon eating for weeks.
As soon as she was done, I though...now, for the next several years, I will have to make her food anytime she is hungry. Was that a sobering realization or what.... Breast feeding is so much easier!
I am so proud of her though, such a big milestone for us all!