First Meal

After six months, the day has finally come: solid food for the Chubby Monster. He's been motivated for a while, recently taking to lunging at dinner plates (creating what I think of as a "zone of proximal destruction"). Based on the recommendations of friends, avocado won the honors of food substance #1. So, tonight I pureed up one avocado with a few table spoons of mother's milk until it looked like processed guacamole. The thought of chucks was too much for my over-protective heart. I'd actually spent a part of the day looking for a "first" spoon but, unsatisfied with the selection at various boutique stores, I ended up using a disposable plastic spoon that was twice the size of his mouth. That made the process tricky.


The first spoonful ended up in his left fist. The second spoonful was captured by his right fist. Several minutes of cleaning and devising a subtle arm constraint system later, spoonful #3 reached his mouth. Thumper even leaned forward and opened his mouth (thank you instinct). It was at this point that we both realized that he had no idea what to do next. For about 20 seconds, Thumper just looked around the room with a touch of puzzlement on his face.


My face likely showed anxiety or even terror as thoughts of a slimy, green Heimlich maneuver ran through my head. Eventually, though, his mouth started moving and some swallowing seemed to be happening. Most of the avocado ended up on his bib, but it seemed like some actual "eating" had actually occurred. So, we tried another bite and, with his hands incarcerated, another spoonful made lip fall. This time, the mouth started working right away, and most of the green seemed to have gone internal.

Now things were going great. He wasn't just eating (semi-)solid food; each bite brought more and more giggling. Very quickly, Thumper's laughter could only be silenced for another bite. Then, suddenly, it ended. "No more, thank you." Now I have a lot of pureed avocado with breast milk and a giddy urge to bring it in to lab meeting tomorrow with a bag of corn chips and a "help yourself" sign.