Her first meal

Tonight was a very big night. We've been building up to this moment for weeks - acclimating Madeline to her high chair and letting her join us at the table during our meals. Increasingly she would watch us eat with interest and excitement, and when she sat in our laps at the table she would reach for the plate. We also gave her a baby spoon to practice holding and sticking in her mouth.

Tonight the preparation culminated in Madeline's first solid food. Until now she has only had her mother's milk, anywhere from six to twelve times a day for the last five months. In recent weeks she's been showing all the signs of being ready for solid food, including her interest in watching us at mealtime and her propensity to put everything she can grab into her mouth.

Tonight's meal was a small bowl of rice cereal, mixed with a bit of water. From the first spoonful she seemed to know what she was doing. After a couple more, she was keeping the entire spoonful in her mouth instead of letting some dribble out. When she saw the spoon coming she would lean toward it in anticipation. She finished nearly the entire bowl.

Madeline didn't seem to concentrate too much on the taste of the food. She pretty much took it in, noshed it up for a couple seconds and then swallowed it down. Granted, rice cereal is probably one of the blandest foods available, and the doctor said Madeline was already familiar with different tastes since the milk she's been drinking to this point reflected the foods Lacey had eaten. We'll stick with rice cereal for a while, starting once a day and then adding more feedings as warranted.