Sophia’s first experience with “real” food

At Sophia’s 4-month checkup last week, the doctor said we should start her on food sometime in the next few weeks. She said to try giving her rice cereal for a week, then start introducing one new fruit or vegetable each week after that. On Tuesday evening, we decided to let her try a little bit of rice cereal for the first time.

I opened the box, and while I was trying to pour the recommended “approximately 1 tablespoon” for the first-time feeding, I proceeded to pour about two cup’s worth in a one-cup bowl. That extra cup ended up on my shirt and the floor. Oh, the joys of first time parenting. The next step- adding liquid until cereal reaches desired consistency- proved to be just as hard. I didn’t realize how much it would take to make it suitable for a four-month-old eating food for the first time. When I was finally happy with the result, about 10 minutes later, I asked Cesar if he thought it was okay, to which he answered, “Amanda, she doesn’t have teeth.” Who knew you weren’t supposed feed a four-month-old chunks of cereal?!

After adding some more liquid, we were ready to brave the first “real” feeding. We cleared off the kitchen table, brought in the baby and the Bumbo, and got ready. I would say she loved it right off the bat, but I think this picture of her first bite says otherwise.

She wasn’t really sure what to do with the spoon, so she tried sucking on it like a bottle. When that didn’t work, she got frustrated. But after she got the hang of it, I just couldn’t feed it to her fast enough.

I’d say she only ate about a quarter-cup total, then drank a couple ounces of her bottle when she was done, but it was a good start. We’ve been giving her a little bit of cereal before her bottle once a day, and she’s getting much better at eating off a spoon already. Tonight we are going to introduce bananas…so I guess we’ll see how she likes that!