Rice Cereal

I decided it was time to feed Merek rice cereal. So Sunday night I mixed up some cereal with formula, got out his penguin bowl and green spoon, and put on a bib. He had just nursed maybe an hour before but I thought it would be better to try the cereal when he wasn't starving and ready to nurse.

Bite #1: he opened his mouth for the spoon. But then he kept his mouth open after I put the cereal in, as if he didn't know what to do. He was just looking at me quizzically. The kids thought it was hilarious and started laughing. After he finally swallowed we tried another bite. He still wasn't sure what to do with it, and the kids still were laughing. Then Merek started crying!

After getting him calmed down and shooing away the other kids, I tried again. He cried again. Not a big fan of rice cereal, I guess. I calmed him down again and tried again. Got a few more bites in here and there. A few times I gently blew on his face so he'd breathe in and swallow. But then he started pursing his lips together so I couldn't even get the spoon in his mouth. Then he started blowing spit bubbles.

(A funny thing about calming him down--I tried to put the paci in his mouth but he just kept crying. I had to get his attention to show him the paci, THEN he would let me put it in his mouth. This happened each time I tried to calm him down).

My plan is to keep trying each day this week. If we still don't have much success, I may try oatmeal cereal. Lina wasn't a big rice cereal fan either but she'd gobble down oatmeal without a problem.

I don't know, maybe he isn't ready. We started both the girls on solids at about this age. And he is so big and still nursing so often I thought introducing solids now would be ok. The joys of parenthood :)