Evelyn's New Trick

I don't know much about infant development timelines, and eating solid food is no exception.  Babies certainly don't need anything but breastmilk for the first six months as far as nourishment is concerned, and some folks recommend waiting until the 6-month-mark to introduce solids.  Others suggest a broader window of 4-6 months, based on the baby's readiness, of course.  Evelyn's pediatrician happens to fall into the 4-6 month camp and is all about doing whatever works best for you and your baby, a philosophy which we definitely embrace ourselves.

Now again, I'm no expert, but little 4-month-old Evelyn has certainly seemed highly interested in food and eating over the past couple weeks.  She watches intently when we eat, tries to grab any utensils or plates or morsels within reach, and sometimes even mimics us by opening her mouth wide like a little baby bird waiting for a worm.  So on a whim, I picked up a ripe avocado during my weekly grocery trip and brought it home.  On Wednesday, Ev's daddy happened to be home at lunchtime (his school is doing exams this week and he has had a weird schedule), and we decided to give this eating thing a try just to see what Ev thought.  So we plopped her down in her Bumpo chair and put a bib on her, and Dave scooped a little avocado on his finger and offered it to her.  After a couple misfires, Ev went to town on that avocado like she'd been eating solids her whole life.

Note her anticipatory gaze in this picture.  Also note that like any good baby eater, she has managed to smear plenty of avocado juice on her cute monogrammed bib (courtesy of godmother Anna:)).

Crazy how she seems to just know what to do.  Aren't babies amazing?

Mmmmm...avocado....

Where has this been all my life?

We are definitely taking this food thing slow; Ev is still nursing like a champ, and I want her to keep that up for sure.  But trying a little bit of real food this week was such fun for all three of us, and Ev seemed to totally enjoy herself.  She appears to like both the act of eating and the taste of avocado so far; stay tuned and we'll see what she might try next in the weeks to come....