One Kid and Counting...: SOLIDS

Today we attempted our first try at solids. Well, to be honest, it was the second try. The first try was a complete flop. The very first time happened last week. I had Rome all set up in his high chair, looking like a big boy. I gave him a toy to keep him occupied while I mixed up the rice cereal and we waited on Daddy to get home from work. Looking over this foreign box of baby goodness, I saw there was an "easy to open" pull tab on the side of the box. Cool, I thought. They're gonna make this easy for busy Moms like me. So, I start to pull the perforated tab where it says to do so. A little snug at first, so I give it some grease. All of a sudden....POOF! I'm surrounded by a cloud of rice cereal snow flakes. Holy baby food! Solids? Who the hell calls this stuff solids? It's the lightest, closest to nothingness I've ever seen. Definitely nothing like Rice Krispies! Ugh. I start to clean up the mess I've just made and just as I do, Rome starts crying. I hurry up and wipe the floor down as best as I can and pick him up. I start mixing this "cereal" with some breast milk while holding him and I had the hardest time finding the right consistency. After all, it wasn't just his first time...it's mine too! I worked on it for a while and found a soupiness I thought was just right. I put Rome back down just before Travis should be getting home. Perfect timing, I thought. About that time, Travis called and said he'd be late getting home. I started feeding him by myself, but neither of us had the grand time I had envisioned, so I ended up bagging the whole idea and decided we'd start fresh another day.

Today we had it all planned out. It was a lazy Sunday, so we could make an event out of it. Besides, I had already practiced the consistency thing, so I'm pretty much a pro now. Yeah right! This stuff is so weird. I don't get it. I poured some breast milk in a bowl, added some cereal flakes. Stirred. Too soupy. Added some more cereal. It came pouring out and made a mountain in the middle of the milk. Stirred. Too cereal-y. More breast milk. More cereal. Aaaaahhhh! By the end of this, I had about 10 times the suggested "starter" amount. Oh well. It went much better this time. He made the "what the heck is this" face at first, but then got used to it and I think he even liked it. I can't believe he's eating "big boy" cereal already!