According to medical journals, world-renowned pediatricians, and better yet, BabyCenter.com, excessive drooling is the number one sign that it's time to start introducing solid foods to his diet. Now I know what you're thinking, because I was thinking it too: Finally we can get a $10 sack of tacos from taco bell and those last two won't go to waste. But, apparently when they say "solids" they actually mean "mushy-rice-cereal-that-isn't-solid-at-all-and-looks-more-like-watered-down-eggnog."
Sorry, Grayson. We're just as disappointed as you are.
While on the surface this task sounds like fun, it's not. Feeding your child solid food for the first time is much like riding a Slip'N Slide: It seems like a good idea as you make that long run down the yard, but the minute liquid hits your face you know that you've made a giant mistake.
The first time we made a dinner date with Grayson, we plopped him in his Bumbo chair...naked. Several veterans of the parenting field informed us that the first couple of tries are messy, so we prepared ourselves. We wrapped the largest bib we owned around Grayson's neck, laid a giant burp cloth over his lap and hung painter's tarps on the walls and over the floor. :) I braved the situation with my normal everyday weekend wear. Kevin, on the other hand, made sure to put on gloves, goggles, and a poncho for good measure.
I took my first stab at feeding him. I dipped the tiny spoon in the tiny bowl, waved it in front of Grayson's face and explained what I was going to do. "Grayson, this is big boy food. I'm going to place the spoon on your tongue and let you eat." I think Kevin was waiting for our child to respond. Instead, without hesitation, he licked the spoon clean. No mess. No anything. It was as if he had been eating solids his entire (though short)life.
Ecstatic about this turn of events, Kev took off the gloves and goggles. For the next few minutes he watched as Grayson pleasantly gummed the rice cereal. It was a tender moment for our family to share and we couldn't have been more proud of our darling little man.
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About half way through the bowl, I turned to Kevin and asked if he would like a "go at it". He practically jumped up and did somersaults. I could see the excitement in his face as he buried the spoon in the bowl of mush and with one gentle swoop placed it in Gray's mouth. For a special moment like this, there is only one word that can capture its sentimentality:
DISASTER!
Instead of eating it like before, he blew bubbles in it, spitting all over his face and Daddy's. We learned quickly that this wasn't mere coincidence. It was actually a cleverly designed deceptive move on his part so that we would let our guard down. As Kevin wiped his face with his sleeve, Grayson flung what was left on the spoon at me. ME! His Mommy! With his free hand he took the bowl and dumped it all over his chest. Ah ha...we tricked him...he had a bib on. As if to say "Take that", he rubbed his grubby little paws in it and smeared it through this hair leaving him to look like a baby Billy Idol.
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I'd like to say I was mad. I'd even like to say I was surprised. I was neither. As I finished wiping off my face I looked down at our little angel giving off the biggest smile of his life. He was proud, not because of the mess he had made but because, in his eyes, he was helping. I looked at Kevin and he was smiling, too and I couldn't help but do the same.
So, there the three of us sat, one happy, rice-covered family.
The next day was Grayson's four month Dr appointment. He told me that we could start introducing solids to Grayson's diet.
I just nodded and smiled.
