Open wide!

Addison has officially started her journey into the world of SOLID FOODS. We were planning on waiting until she hit the 6 month mark (recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics) to ensure that her gut is fully matured due to her lactose issues, and also it's recommended to wait because of a higher risk of food allergies. However, it's not an exact science, and if babies are showing signs that they are ready such as good head control, starting to sit up, no tongue thrust reflex, fascination with watching mom and dad eat, grabbing at mom and dad's food, good hand-eye coordination, etc, then these are good indications that a baby is ready, rather than waiting for her to turn 6 months. (this all usually happens around 6 months anyway! She's only 2 weeks away!) So.....we gave Addison some oatmeal cereal last night! She wolfed it down! Mouth wide open, wanting more and more! This is a good sign! My parent-baby instructor told me today that we should give it to her in the morning instead of evening, that way she has all day to digest it and we can avoid upset tummy and gas (if she gets it) during the middle of the night. I've been getting tons of advice to start her on cereal, lots of well-intentioned people swear that it helps them sleep better at night. However, after reading endlessly about it, consulting with our pediatrician and my parent-baby instructor, it's just a myth that introducing cereal will help them sleep. What they do say, however, is that introducing solids and babies sleeping better often coincide with each other because the solids are introduced around the same time that babies tend to figure out their sleep patterns, around 6 months. So people aren't crazy when they say that it works! It might not be the cereal, that's all! No magic bullet last night, Addison was still up at 2 am, and 4, and 6.

Now my obsession will be baby food...watch out for lots of postings on the topic! I've already checked out a few books at the library and asked for recommendations. The big question now is: What will Addison's first food be after cereal? Chris is itching to start pureeing...