After Owen's 6-month checkup in August, we found out that we had to start feeding him. OK, so I know that not long before that I posted a cute little picture of him eating some rice cereal. But that was kind of fun and casual - oh look, he's so cute gagging himself with a spoon. It wasn't REAL. At his 6-month appointment, though, it turned out that our hungry little bundle of joy was drinking twice as much milk as he needed to, and was more than ready for three meals a day. I asked the doctor what sorts of foods he should eat, like, which pureed vegetables and fruits he might enjoy. And she said, yes, all of those, and also, Cheerios, and... meat! It was a difficult moment. The thought of having to think about his nutritional requirements, and balancing his need for food and milk, made me almost miss the days of nursing him every three hours around the clock.
Finally, almost two months later, we have introduced rice cereal, oatmeal, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, squash, apples, bananas, peaches, pears, Cheerios, barley, corn, and (today) beef. He strongly prefers food to milk, and it's a struggle to get him to drink the 20-24 oz of breastmilk or formula a day the doctor recommends. But he loves food, and he's not at all picky. He opens his mouth wide for every bite, and cries, or screams, if the bites don't come fast enough.
A few weeks ago we started giving him Cheerios. After observing him grabbing toys for months, we had thought of him as a rather dexterous baby... he could get just about any toy into his mouth. But the Cheerios were a whole new world. We learned, for example, that he has absolutely no idea that he has thumbs. I don't just mean opposable thumbs. I mean any thumbs at all. And there is no error correction - once he manages to pick up a single Cheerio, usually between his index and middle fingers, he gives that Cheerio one - and only one - chance to make it into his mouth. If it misses, which it usually does - sticking to his chin, or his cheek, or staying on his hand - it doesn't matter, he just dives right in, reaching for the next Cheerio (with his index and middle fingers, of course).
One of the most fascinating aspects of parenthood is that you know when it's the first time they roll over, or grab a toy, or sit up, or wave, or successfully swallow a Cheerio. You know how hard they've been working on those things, and you can share in the excitement when they finally get it. Owen is extremely focused and approaches new tasks with a clear determination to conquer them. Sometimes it can take months, and sometimes he gets frustrated, but when he gets it, something just clicks, and his delight is infectious. And then he'll spend days doing his new trick again and again and again.
After Owen's 6-month checkup in August, we found out that we had to start feeding him. OK, so I know that not long before that I posted a cute little picture of him eating some rice cereal. But that was kind of fun and casual - oh look, he's so cute gagging himself with a spoon. It wasn't REAL. At his 6-month appointment, though, it turned out that our hungry little bundle of joy was drinking twice as much milk as he needed to, and was more than ready for three meals a day. I asked the doctor what sorts of foods he should eat, like, which pureed vegetables and fruits he might enjoy. And she said, yes, all of those, and also, Cheerios, and... meat! It was a difficult moment. The thought of having to think about his nutritional requirements, and balancing his need for food and milk, made me almost miss the days of nursing him every three hours around the clock. 
Owen has started "eating" "solid" food. It's quite an ordeal for all involved. We mix some rice cereal or oatmeal with milk, put him in his bumbo chair (a chair that helps babies sit before they can do it alone) wearing a bib and as little else as possible, and then try to get some of the food in his mouth. For the first several attempts he refused to cooperate, taking the opportunity to close his lips - tight - and blow bubbles. Then, about halfway through the fifth or sixth session, he suddenly "got it" and started opening his mouth wide for each bite and fussing if they didn't come fast enough (which for him was continuously). Now he tries to help, which means that in order to get any food at all to its designated target we have to hold down his arms for each bite. We tried giving him a spoon to hold, but he keeps gagging himself with it.
