For Cereal

Last night, my baby grew up. When did that happen??? It feels like she spent a long time just hanging out for a few months and then WHAM! She's growing every single day. She goes to sleep one way and wakes up so much older. Time is flying and I'm desperately trying to hang on.

Last night. Last night, we introduced cereal. Now. I know what you're thinking.

"I thought you were going to wait until she was at least six months old."
"You said she wouldn't have cereal until she could sit up on her own."
"What about all of those studies that link to early cereal eating to obesity?"

Sigh.

Another way parenting changes you.

I still believe that Elayne isn't old enough for solids. I still believe we shouldn't rush her into anything she isn't ready for. And I still believe that what/how a child eats in early life sets him/her up for future eating habits. None of that has changed.

However, what has changed is talking with Elayne's pediatrician. Last week he suggested giving her a little bit to help her sleep through the night. She slept through the night consistently before she got sick last month, but since has regressed and still wakes up once through the night. Feeding her cereal right before bed should help with that.

The pediatrician also believes in extremely slow weaning - which I can totally get on board with. We're talking like 2 Tbs of cereal each night guys. And that's plenty for the time being. Gradually she'll work her way up to a full meal, and then adding it to the rest of the day, and so on. We won't start her on other foods for a while. And I am more than okay with that.

So last night we tried it. I anxiously sifted through the millions of bowls/spoons/bibs/cereals/accessories at BRU yesterday. Found the best practical deal. Made sure I picked a cereal exactly in line with the pediatrician's recommendations. Used coupons. And wha-la!

Then came the tricky part. Letting Elayne try it. We waited until she was halfway through a bottle, as directed, set Elayne up in her brand new highchair that came in Saturday, then we were ready to begin.

So without further ado, I give you -- Elayne the cereal eater!