Closet feeder

What do you do when your child is ready to start solids before you are? You start solids, of course. So, for the past month we have been introducing Caleb (slowly) to the world of solid foods. Yes, we have been closet feeding Caleb solids. I didn't want to make a big deal about it so we haven't even posted pictures of his feedings. He LOVES it. It makes me partially sad- he's really eating solids?! Months ago that seemed so far off, and now it is here. I also have realized that my favorite age with him so far was between 3 and 4 months. Not moving much, babbling, smiling, feedings going well, and no solids. That doesn't mean I don't love the stage we are in now, because I do (he's laughing and being all around silly), but I feel like there is this greater responsibility on our shoulders to make sure he has a well-rounded diet now, which is way more concern that I even have for my own diet. I digress. We decided to start him on solids because he was showing frustrations while we would be eating- really wanting to join in on what we were doing. For example, Josh and I were eating chicken nuggets and french fries one day for lunch (example of our not so great diet...) and Caleb was moving his arms around like crazy and kicking his feet. I playfully gave Caleb a french fry. Out went his paci, in went the french fry, without any hesitation. Oh, and I rushed to get it out of his mouth. So, we started him on rice cereal within a few days. Our experiences so far have been good, he loves eating and gets so excited- opens his mouth super wide, makes "uh uh" noises when he is ready for the next bite (although I'm trying to start sign language with "more" and "please"), and even yesterday he started grabbing the spoon to feed himself (which I did allow as long as I had ahold of it too- he's got to learn to feed himself eventually and if he's exploring that now.. by all means!).

We are (mostly) following the Super Baby Foods book, which has been a great and overwhelming resource- that girl is serious about her babies and solid foods and super porridge (no thanks, at least not yet)! We have only introduced rice cereal and just last week bananas. In both occassions, his first two nights of "sleep" were rough. In fact, the first go around with the cereal we stopped feeding him for a few days to see if it was the cause. Yes, it did seem related. We decided it was probably too thick, so we thinned it out and tried again. Much better! I didn't stop with the bananas but we still experienced a few nights of uneasy sleeping. His system is just sensistive to new foods. Imagine, after all that trouble we had the first 2 months with discovering dairy being the big issue! But he does love it, and we have loved the experiences of feeding him. He is also doing really well at taking his sippy cup at the end of each feeding (only doing once a day at the moment), which is excellent! So thankful we haven't had to battle him being picky with bottles or cups. Up next on the introduction schedule is avocado then sweet potatos. That should do us til he is 6 months then we will start with some other fruits and veggies. I'm all for any questions and comments and ideas as we continue on this path of solid feedings with him. I'm sure I will eventually be asking some of you questions, too! Here's some shots of him over the last few weeks- I'm going to try and add a video here shortly.