solids

Mom wrote a note in my baby book, saying I had my first solid food (rice cereal) at 2 months old.  I can't quite imagine what my daughter's doctor would say about this, since the "recommended" age now is 4-6 months, and she told us at Annalise's 4-month appointment that we could hold off if we weren't comfortable yet.

Well, comfortable or not, Annalise started grabbing french fries a few weeks ago, and munched on a stolen Wheat Thin yesterday.  We had decided to hold off until we could buy a high chair, which we did before heading out to the Republican state convention last week.  Today, Annalise tried "solid" baby food - basically whole grain cereal with apples.  She loved it, I'm happy to report.

Annalise after her first few bites of "real" food

It does amaze me, the difference in opinions about what is "right" for babies over time.  In truth, I was pretty against the idea of rice cereal at all, because the only reason it has become a traditional first solid is because of allergy fears.  I have met women who think it's literally the only food you can feed a baby at this age, which is just not true.  This weekend I'm breaking out the Baby Bullet my best friend got us and I'll puree bananas for Annalise to try next.  The way she gummed that Wheat Thin yesterday really had me thinking about what expectations we have about children, versus the anecdotes we always hear - my brother, for instance, was one of those kids who skipped purees altogether (and these days that's an actual trend).  I'm not going to hold back with Annalise.  If she's ready for something, she'll let us know.  This has been our way of doing things for awhile now, and all the guilt I felt when one of the "book methods" didn't work for us fled.   And my daughter is thriving to boot.

It would be wonderful to have Mom's opinion on all of this.  She had four of us, after all, and experienced a wide range of tastes, habits, and "firsts."  Thankfully, she wrote some of it down in my baby book - and I try to do the same for Annalise.