Be On the Lookout for a 'Cereal' Eater!

On Monday, October 17, Ryan tried rice cereal for the first time. :)

First we put him in the high chair and put a pillow in there to help steady him, just like we did for the other boys. He wore a new bib from our friends Chris & Lisa (thanks so much!). I thought it was adorable - it says "Hop to it! I'm hungry!" As you can see from the picture below, he was REALLY hungry!

We mixed one tablespoon of the single grain rice cereal with five tablespoons of warmed up expressed breast milk. Caleb never got to eating the rice cereal, and I wondered if it was because we mixed it with formula, which he wasn't used to eating and didn't like. So, I wanted to take out any obstacles for this feeding.

Ryan has been licking his lips when he sees us eat and seemed interested in food. Even still, he drooled most of this eating out - as babies do when they're sucking motion ends up pushing all the food back out of their mouths. I love that you can see his little toes in the picture above and below. You can also see that I had had my hair done earlier that evening. :) :) :)

Shawn did a great job of taking pictures while I fed Mr. Ryan. Ry would open his mouth and try to eat and swallow, but he wore most of it. It was a great first attempt, though. The pediatrician told us to try it and then try again in a week if he didn't eat well the first time round. :) I know he didn't eat much because he still nursed a full feeding afterward, and he woke up overnight to eat again, which he typically doesn't do. I think he was hungry from lack of calories that day while my other boys after their first good feedings slept well from being full of cereal and tired with the work of sitting up, etc.

My little guy is a cutie pie! I love those round cheeks and big blue eyes!

I fed him for awhile and then eventually cleaned him up and got his PJs on him since it was almost bed time for the boys.

Earlier that evening, I had made us pork chops seasoned with carribean jerk seasoning (a recipe from Nonie & Poppy that is AWESOME!) along with potato pierogies sauteed in butter and mixed veggies. Dinner was fantastic! We all ate well that night! Then I made brownies for our next-door neighbors who had mowed our lawn (with Caleb Luke's help!) and brownies for Daddy who smelled the first batch and decided we needed some for us too. :)

I was so tired when I got to bed that night - it had been one of those days that you don't stop moving from the moment your feet hit the floor early in the morning. :) I had even worked out that afternoon during nap time.

I can't believe my little boy is already four months old and eating like a big boy! Please stay little my cuddle bug so I can cherish all of these precious moments!

You're doing a great job, Ryan Josiah! And we love you!