Part of me is excited to start giving my son solid foods (he’ll be six months old on Tuesday) and the other part of me hesitates because it means a lot more food prep, a lot more laundry, and a lot more time in general. Up until now, feeding him has been so easy and convenient. No warming up bottles, no pureeing vegetables, no bibs, not post-lunch bath, no nothing!
A few weeks ago I started him on rice cereal. We only got through three days before I realized it was the rice cereal that was shooting through his system. We burned through a lot of diapers during those three days, and I immediately stopped giving him rice.
After some online research, I found some other moms who had better luck with Oatmeal, so the other day I mixed up some oatmeal for him and he gobbled it up! Yesterday he didn’t eat any because (1) I wanted to make sure there was no diarrhea and (2) I didn’t feel like pumping the necessary milk to make it. (I’m just being honest!) In the end, he digested the oatmeal just fine and I plan on regularly feeding it to him once I stock up on enough milk to mix it with.
Today I had no intention of giving him anything because of reason #2 and really, it’s not like he needs it. (Breastmilk is sufficient for the first 12 months of life.) But he had other plans at dinner. There I was, eating breaded Tilapia, mixed veggies and a bowl of just-thawed mixed fruit, when I noticed that Micah was getting increasingly fussing and was lunging at my plate. When I picked up a peach and plopped it in my mouth, he had a fit. I’ve let him suck on fruit before, so I picked up another peach slice and let him suck on it a little bit. It was really cold and so I figured it probably made his gums feel good (he’s been teething). This time, however, he did more than suck. He started chewing and nearly pulled it off my fork, so I took it away. Big mistake!!
Micah screamed pitifully while I hurriedly mashed the peach with my fork and as soon as peach mush touched his lips, he gobbled it up like a starved child. His face exclaimed, “why have you been holding out on me?” He whimpered and cried between bites, I couldn’t mash and feed fast enough for his ravenous appetite. While I was mashing, he was trying to grab the big pieces off my plate. Well then he finished off that slice of peach…. the only fruit I had left in my bowl were half frozen grapes. Probably not a good idea…. then I remembered I had peach baby food in the pantry from one of my baby showers.
In less time than it takes you to sing the Peaches song by The Presidents of the United States of America, he had practically inhaled half of the carton. This kid is a genius, too, because he grabs the spoon from my hand, sucks the food off of it, and throws it back down in his lap empty, waiting for me to refill it. I never taught him how to eat off a spoon, so the only way he figured this out was either through intuition or by watching us eat for the past six months. By the time he had finished, peach was on his bib. Peach was on his pants. Peach was behind his ear. Peach was everywhere! I’m pretty sure I wiped it from his nose, as well. But don’t be mistaken, 98% of the peaches were in his belly. He was kicking peach and taking no prisoners. I’m fairly certain that if he knew how to lick around his mouth, he would have. He then cried until his hands were wiped clean (is this an indication of future behavior?).
The sad part of this story is I cannot find my camera anywhere (even now). My mom-brain must have set it somewhere in the house that makes completely no sense, and as a result, I do not have a photo of this peach fiasco. Fortunately, I’m pretty sure there will be plenty more photo opportunities where eating is concerned.
“I got the hint, Micah, you’re ready for solids!”
Obviously, I’m talking about something much bigger than apples. When we desire something in life, anything really, we have the choice to simply hope it will arrive, “plant the seeds” and pray for success, or take a chance by pursuing our desires completely on our own ambition and resources. I’m come to realize that #2 is probably the best method. I really don’t think God operates under the principles of option #1. Throughout scripture we see the Lord give his people instructions and take things one step further. For example, Jesus told the servants at the wedding at Cana in Galilee to fill jars with water before he turned it all into wine. He did not make wine appear from thin air and he did not instruct the servants to go purchase the wine.
