Feeding Your Baby for the First Time

Joaquin started his Baby Foodie Adventures, starting with baby cereal.

When we started: Hubby and I spent month 4 arguing about whether or not we should start Joaquin on cereal. It was a big debate because some people think 4 months is just too early. I disagree, especially when you have a chunky monkey baby on your hands who is obviously getting tired of his milk.The LA Times came out with an article, conveniently during our argument, which talks about mothers giving food too soon. They say 6 months is the earliest you should give your baby food, including cereal. We compromised and waited until 5 months. I feel confident about our decision.

Choosing the goods: After surveying all of my mommy friends and co-workers, I took the advice of a co-worker who brought up the idea of probiotics. I take probiotics myself, so I know the benefits it can have.There are so many great benefits to probiotics and I feel great knowing he can partake in the probiotic party! Before this, he was so constipated from the soy formula we had switched to. I did some research and found Happy Bellies Brown Rice Cereal. I was so happy that it was at my local Target, too! Joaquin LOVES it and he is pooping to his stomach's content.

Target.com

Feeding Fun: We started off feeding him in the Bumbo and soon learned that it was too messy. We received this First Years Portable High Chair from our Baby Shower so I was excited to finally put it to good use. You can recline the seat just a smidge which is extra supportive for baby's back. It's a nice pick for someone who doesn't want a full on high chair.

Apparently it's a good idea to have the right type of spoon. I did not know this until I went to the feeding products section and saw a crap load of spoons. I was just going to pick the cutest of the bunch but I picked these Evenflo Zoo Friends Soft Tip Spoons because they are soft for baby's little teeth. This is important when they are learning to chew. These spoons are also nice because they change color when the food is too hot.

To limit messes, I also picked up these Neat Solutions Easywipe bibs. They are large enough to shield baby from disasterous spills and easy for me to wipe down afterwards. They have ubercute patterns, too.

While I was having fun purchasing all this junk, Joaquin was clueless and probably could care less about the excitement of trying something new. I'd like to think he appreciates his fancy spoons but who knows if he even noticed. But I do know this, he loved his cereal. He loved it in the cutest way possible. I loved watching him take his first bite and making a crazy crazy mess. THAT, is priceless.