Feeding Frenzy!

Our daughter started on solids just over a week ago. She went to see the health visitor at the clinic, and I explained how feeding times had deteriorated into a tug of war - she was NOT interested in feeding, it was boring, and she wanted to be doing something else thank you very much! Also, everytime N or I sat down to eat, all activity would cease, and she would stare at us with rapt attention. Never has such a shouty baby been so silent!

I had planned to breastfeed for at least 6 months, but apparently my daughter had other ideas! The health visitor recommend we start with baby rice at lunchtimes and then gradually build the meals up from there. Now, I had never heard of baby rice (clearly I am already a failed parent) so got some from the shop - well, actually, I added it to the next home delivery; let them search the aisles for it!

So we were armed with baby rice, and managed to find some bibs, a suitable container and a soft spoon. We were all set.

Then we hit hurdle one. No high-chair. As we hadn't planned to start solids for at least another 2 months, we hadn't worked out which set of grandparents was going to cough up help with the chair. No problems - we had 2 options. A weird bath seat thing which our daughter can't really sit in as she can't sit up yet, or her beloved kicky chair (like a baby bouncer, but interactive), without the bit that has the light and sound show. We opted for the former, as it has higher sides and is a lot easier to wipe clean.

Then came hurdle two. How the hell do you make up the baby rice? I mean really, I have no idea! The health visitor had said one thing, the box another, but neither actually gave me a useful comparative measure, such as "mix until the consistency of runny porridge" or "until there are no lumps at all" or whatever. So I mixed it up until N & I thought it looked ok and we went for the first feed.

There I was, baby rice at the ready. The look on our daughter's face was priceless - we even managed to capture it on photo (yes, we are already planning her humiliation when she brings her first boy/girlfriend home to meet us - is that wrong?). She looked at us as if to say "What on earth is THAT?" swiftly followed by "OK, I'll try it, but I'm not making any promises".

Her first meal was, how shall I put this, not successful. Apart from the fact that she had to get used to the fact that this food wasn't all runny, and she had to keep waiting for it while Mummy refilled the spoon, it tasted horrible and she let us know about it! Now I know why I had never heard of baby rice. It's like eating soggy cardboard but with none of the excitement. She ate about 3 teaspooonsful and then refused to eat any more.

We knew we had to persevere however, and so the next day we tried again. This time we used the adapted kicky chair as we could strap her in more securely so she couldn't fling herself out (probably trying to escape the vile rice). I mixed the rice, this time with formula milk to see if that was better, and we tried again.

Well, if anything, this was worse. She knew what was coming, and wasn't having a bit of it. Each spoonful started out with huge promise, and each one let her down, by still being filled with that yucky gunk. We gave up the baby rice for that day, but just out of curiosity I decided to try a jar of mushed veg baby food that I had in preparation in the cupboard (no, I haven't mashed my own - obviously I am aware this will contribute to her delinquency later in life).

The difference in the reactions had to be seen to be believed! She shovelled that orange goo down her throat like it was nectar from the gods. It was almost as if she was saying "Finally! I knew that this eating thing was more fun than that!" So we abandoned the baby rice and have moved to varying selections of vegetables - not least the more *ahem* interesting jars brought back from France by my mother (she's doing the nappies after the pulverised artichoke - I kid you not).

10 days on, and she's happily on 2 meals a day, and she hardly even covers herself in the stuff anymore. Mainly, I think, because that would be a waste of good food and if she's anything like N or me she'll be able to eat for Britain. The really fun bit is when she tries to help with the spoon and sticks her own fingers in goop, and in her mouth, and then, in a devastatingly cute display of affection blows parsnip-flavoured raspberries at us. Damn, that kid is gorgeous!