Breaking the Rules

I like following rules. Most of the time. Well, some of the time. Okay, I like following some rules some of the time. Anyway, I broke a lot of rules this evening. According to the baby rule makers, solids are supposed to be introduced at six months. Rice cereal should be introduced first in a very watered down consistency, then vegetables, then fruits. These rules change often depending on current studies or how much Gerber is paying the rule makers.

Tonight I gave Charlotte sweet potato puree. She is 18 days from her half birthday, so I guess I'm not that much of a rule breaker. For about a month she has been watching us eat with such envy and intensity (sometimes even making chewing motions with us). Finally tonight I gave in and gave her something to eat. She sat with us at the table. I gave her a spoon with a little sweet potato in it and she ate away. She would complain when the spoon stopped producing sweet potato, but wouldn't let go of it to let me refill it. She ate one ice cube of sweet potato (about an ounce) before she threw the spoon on the floor and would have nothing more to do with this whole eating thing.

Eleanor was not happy with this plan. When I first gave Charlotte the spoon, Eleanor said, "No, you do it like this." She then proceeded to take the spoon away from Charlotte and feed her. Charlotte didn't mind too much as long as she was getting the good stuff.





This was not my plan for how to feed Charlotte, but I'm learning that babies often have their own plans.