Warning. This article contains cute baby pictures and a few “I-am-a-mother-and-this-is-how-I-did-it” paragraphs.
So, baby Mark is starting to eat solid foods. This is a big milestone and a learning curve. Seriously, never take any basic life skill for granted—watching a baby discover a spoon and the concept of eating is pretty hilarious.
At five months old, Mark started to get really interested in food. At mealtime, he was watching us eat intensely and trying to grab food within reach. Anyone who somehow didn’t notice his chubby cheeks would have thought we were starving the poor kid, the way he was eyeing our plates eating at the restaurant!
I started to make him lick my spoon/chopsticks/fork whenever we were going out. He liked anything sweet—ice cream, cake—and somehow enjoyed Asian flavours.
Ready for solid food? Well, why not? I decided to give it a shot.
We bought a high chair, baby cereals and I washed the baby spoon and fork he received from a good friend as a gift when he was born.
The first few trials were painful but the look on his face was very funny. He didn’t seem to enjoy the taste of baby cereals and swallowing was hard. He quite didn’t get the “spoon goes inside the mouth” concept, so I let him play with it instead.
After about a week of our daily lunchtime routine, he got it and started to enjoy the cereals and the occasional mashed banana. Yippee! I started giving him green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, pureed fruits, etc.
He ate well for about two weeks until he decided it wasn’t fun anymore. Or rather, that fooling around with the food was more fun than actually eating it. I admit it, the “setback” is frustrating, but I decided to take a little break and see if he asks for more solid food experience later on. There is no point in forcing him to eat and after all, he is working on many other new skills. He can take a break!
So cute!! Especially the last pic – he just looks so proud of himself! Happy little Mark!
Thank you! Yep, he can be cute 😉
haha he makes such funny faces
It was so funny to watch at first! Less funny when he spits out the food though.
Oh Zhu… you’re doing so well. Just go at his own pace and have fun. That’s the clue for parenting! I love Baby Mark’s pics, but I can’t wait for pictures of the messy table! 😉
At least now it’s warmer, so cleaning the mess is less of a chore. I’m trying to go at his own pace and to take it easy… eventually he will get there!
I really think you are doing the right thing by not forcing Mark to eat. My parents often pushed me to eat and now I don’t think twice about finishing what is on my plate… even when I am not hungry.
Thank you for your input, seeing your perspective actually helps a lot. For real -) I was lucky I was never forced to eat, because my parents had awful memories of being forced to always clean their plates.
These photos are so cute! I like the vertical one with the big smile!! 😀
Thank you! Messy but cute 🙂