maddux' first meal

i just can't take it any more.  we decided that maddux needs to start eating solids - today.  i was going to wait until saturday so that matt could be there too, but he insisted that i not wait.  maddux went from sleeping 12 hours a night to getting up two to three times a night about two weeks ago.  i thought that it might be his tooth/teeth bothering him, but we really think that he is just ready to move to solids.  we started solids with madelyn and mason practically the day after their four-month check-ups because the pediatrician said to start when they stop sleeping through the night and they both stopped within a week.  just like with mason, i have put it off because feeding an infant solids and breastfeeding takes a lot of time - and my days are already pretty full.  but the time will be well spent if i can get at least four hours of sleep at a stretch (that is my minimum for normal functioning without caffeine).  i am currently drinking two cups of coffee a day just to stay alert enough to get everything done that needs to happen everyday (more on that in a separate post).

i felt better about getting him started the second i put him in the highchair.  he sits up just fine all on his own!  the other two had to be supported by rolled up blankets and towels on each side to make it through a meal.  madelyn and mason were extremely excited to have him sitting in the highchair (i missed mason standing next to madelyn saying "hi" in a high pitched voice).

maddux did pretty well for it being his first meal.  i started him out with oatmeal cereal and breast milk.  he wasn't crazy about the texture and actually gagged a little on a few swallows.  i got out some sweet potatoes to see if he liked them any better.  he ate more of them but decided that he was done for right now. (mason only ate oatmeal cereal for two days and was eating three 'meals' by the end of his first week.) 

all in all, i am not sure that he ingested much (he spit up quite a bit when i tried to lift him out of the chair - he is just a big spitter, it didn't have anything to do with the solids).  but we have begun and hopefully he will follow after his older siblings and go back to sleeping through the night in about 4 weeks (although they both slept 8 hours their first night of solids as a teaser, but i don't dare even think that possible with maddux for fear of the 'blog effect').  love.