Chow time

I'm ashamed to admit it, but more than a week after we introduced Alex to solid foods I finally sat down to read my baby books about how you're supposed to do it. I was pleased to discover that although we're not doing things the "American" way, we seem to be OK. As with everything else in Alex's short life, the major milestone of eating has been easy and fun. We had sensed for a couple of weeks that he wanted to eat and wasn't getting enough milk to satisfy his hunger. He would forlornly stare at us while we were eating, carefully following the food from our plates into our mouths. So, we took him to our lactation consultant and after questioning and poking and prodding a bit, she declared it was time for him to eat. She uncerimoniously whipped out an apple and began scraping it onto a spoon. Instant applesauce! What a sight--Alex gobbled it up and didn't spit out a drop. Since we decided to do things the Brazilian way--fruits first--meal two was papaya and banana. Little Alex was like a baby bird--he just sat there with his head tilted up and his mouth wide open. Since then, he's had peaches, pears and a bit of melon and carrots. He also gets agua de coco (coconut water fresh from a green coconut) on our daily beach walks and orange juice made from special "baby oranges" (laranja lima). Up next--avocado. We're not adding sugar to anything as some Brazilians do, but we will follow the Brazilian customs and introduce beans in a couple of weeks. Anyone up for a diaper duty?!?

Opening his mouth at the sight of the spoon.

Feeding himself (just kidding!).

Spoon tricks.