{Big News...}

Mason is eating solids!!!!

Our Pedi said that he could have them after 4 months and that we would know when he was "ready". He was showing all the signs, so we started him on jar food Tuesday (his 16 week birthday).

Below are some of the signs we were to look for:

- Head control. Your baby needs to be able to keep his head in a steady, upright position. - CHECK

- Losing the "extrusion reflex." To keep solid food in his mouth and then swallow it, your baby needs to stop using his tongue to push food out of his mouth. - CHECK

- Sitting well when supported. Even if he's not quite ready for a highchair, your baby needs to be able to sit upright to swallow well. - CHECK

- Chewing motions. Your baby's mouth and tongue develop in sync with his digestive system. To start solids, he should be able to move food to the back of his mouth and swallow. As he learns to swallow efficiently, you may notice less drooling — though if your baby's teething, you might still see a lot of drool. - CHECK, CHECK

- Significant weight gain. Most babies are ready to eat solids when they've doubled their birth weight (or weigh about 15 pounds) and are at least 4 months old. - CHECK (doubled his birth weight a while ago!)

- Growing appetite. He seems hungry — even with eight to ten feedings of breast milk or formula a day. - CHECK

- Curiosity about what you're eating. Your baby may begin eyeing your bowl of rice or reaching for a forkful of fettuccine as it travels from your plate to your mouth. - CHECK

So, needless to say - he was READY!!

We started him out with Sweet Potatoes and he loved, loved, loved them! We had to make him stop eating. We only wanted to introduce a little to him to see how he would do. After a few bites, he was an eating champ!!

Here are pics from the handy-dandy iPhone. I have video, but will have to upload those later.