Solid Foods & A Big Boy Cup

On March 15th, we started Henry on his first solid foods.  The doctor said we could start at 4 months if he was showing certain signs, but a lot of the websites and online resources say 6 months now.  It's kind of like EVERYTHING else related to babies - there is a TON of information out there and it all pretty much contradicts itself.  Turns out, you just have to go with your gut and do what you think is best for your child.

We made the decision that 4 1/2 months was a good time to start and if he didn't seem ready we would revisit it at 5 months.  He was definitely ready when we tried and we were so proud of how well he did.  I fed him rice cereal mixed with breastmilk to a fairly runny consistency at first, and once he did well swallowing that, we worked our way to a thicker consistency.  The first picture is of that very first feeding session, and the next two are from the following morning.  By the second day, he was grabbing the spoon and trying to feed himself - this boy was very ready for solids!

First feeding!

Second feeding - already a pro!

At first we did rice cereal once a day, then worked our way to twice a day.  After about two weeks of only cereal, we started him on vegetables.  A friend of ours had made some homemade baby food for her son, and was so sweet to give us some.  Henry had sweet potatoes first and LOVED them, as you can see in the picture below...

Up until this past week, we were doing Henry's feedings in his Bumbo seat on top of the kitchen island.  He was getting a little too big and stubborn for the Bumbo, so we had to move him to the high chair where he can be strapped in better.  Good thing he likes it better than he did at first...

We rarely get him to day care by the time they feed breakfast, so he usually gets his cereal when they do lunch at 11:00/11:15AM.  Then we feed him "supper" before we get him ready for bed around 6:00/6:30PM.  I talked with the day care on Friday about starting him on vegetables at lunch so we'll see how that goes.  So far all of the food we've tried he has loved - sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, avocados, peas, green beans, plums, apples, pears, and peaches.  I haven't ventured to making my own baby food yet - maybe one of these days when I have some free time :/

At the encouragement of the day care, Henry is going to start using a sippy cup at daycare during lunch this coming week.  They tried it once before, but I asked if he could get used to it at home first.  Mama and I bought him some training cups when she was here this past week, and I finally tried one this morning.  

He immediately grabbed it from me

Trying to drink - just couldn't quite get it tilted by himself

Getting some help from mommy

Just couldn't get it out

He tried and tried, but just kept trying to chew on the spout instead of suck on it.  I'm not really sure how to teach him, but we tried twice today and he just couldn't figure it out.  He was getting pretty frustrated and wanted the milk - kept looking at me like "why won't it come out?".  Guess we'll try again tomorrow and see how it goes!

  

We've had some issues with Henry not wanting to nurse these past few weeks and spitting up a lot, and I thought it was because of the solids.  Turns out, after several doctors appointments and weeks of trying everything under the sun to get him to nurse more, he was diagnosed with reflux :(.  I'm going to do a whole separate post about our struggles and what we're doing with all of this, so check back soon for more details.