Just before Liam turned 4 months old, he began to show an interest in eating. His interest progressed to the point where his eyes would track our utensils, then he began reaching for them. He was definitely ready to start!
Now, let's be honest. Even though Liam has special needs, he is doing great. He is also the 4th baby. Which means he has had a sip of soup broth, a dab of mashed potatoes, and little taste of whipped cream. We just hadn't made it to the official first solid feeding yet.
Every doctor will tell you something different. Some say to start at 4 months, some say not until after 6 months, the AAP recommends around 6 months, but most seem to give the 4-6 month range. Every baby is different, and as a mom, you know when your child is ready. I chose to start somewhere in the middle of that range, and his pediatrician agreed that he was ready, so we began on the day he turned 5 months old.
I put Liam in his high chair, put on his bib, and prepared his cereal. I made all of Lily's baby food, and I will do the same for Liam, but I do start with organic baby cereal. Dylan, Lexie, and Grant stood nearby to see his reaction.
Our little guy was thrilled! I can honestly say that he did the best at the first feeding out of all of my kids. He willingly opened his mouth, ate properly off the spoon, and swallowed most of his food.
Liam eagerly ate every bite, and finished the entire bowl. I'm certain he could have eaten more, but I didn't want to give him too much on the first day. He happily ate the remnants off his bib before I could clean him up!
Right now, it's all about teaching Liam how to eat off a spoon and introducing different flavors and textures. We are sticking to one solid feeding a day. I plan to give the same food for 3 days before moving on to a new one, so I can keep track of any reactions. That's how I fed Dylan, Lexie, and Lily, and it worked perfectly.
Now it's time to make his baby food. I have a bag of sweet potatoes ready to be cooked and pureed. I can't believe it's time to do this already! He is growing up so quickly!
He looks so happy with his first food experience.
ReplyDeleteGood job, Liam! We started Alex on organic baby oatmeal at 4 months. I think we will move to sweet potatoes around 5 months. I hope he loves it as much as he loves his oatmeal!
ReplyDeleteHe has such a sweet, smug look in one of those pictures - too cute! Jill is slowly moving through foods too, but is not as enthusiastic :)
ReplyDeleteLook at that smile! He is too cute. I'm glad the feeding went well for you. Fingers crossed it's smooth sailing. Solids should help him put some weight on.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I haven't commented much lately. I'm reading, but usually on my phone and it's a PITA to leave comments on there.
That's great!! His little face, I can't take it! The cutest. Great job on making your own baby food. I did the same and my son eats absolutely everything I put in front of him. Yay Liam!!
ReplyDeleteThat is great!! I have done the same with my 2. Organic cereal then make the food. I know you hear it all the time but he is just so stinking cute!!! He has such expressive eyes too!
ReplyDeleteLove it! David was 5 and half months and he ate like a champ! Looks like Liam will too!
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