The conversation has begun.
I don't remember exactly when was the first time I noticed it. It's like everything else with this kid: you don't notice firsts so much as gradations towards new things. The first time he rolled over was on our soft, cushy bed that I was laying on (he rolled towards me), but there were several other times where he was close and we knew it wouldn't be long. Now, we have to ask, "Honey, did you put Mason in the middle of the floor on his stomach?"
There was the first time he sat on his own, but it was more because I was watching the way he could arch his back and I figured he was probably strong enough to sit on his own. He was, but he had little of the balance necessary to do so. After a moment or two of sitting unassisted, like the Berlin Wall, he topples over. Even now, he has gained the strength to sit fully upright, without leaning on his hands, but still mostly lacks the finesse.
Here it is, into his fifth month. Nearly six months from when he was due (I still like to think he is 2 weeks ahead...I am sure this expectancy will pass in time for him to take his SATs). As we hold him in our laps during our meal times (we now refer to dinner as a 'mealtime'), he has this look in his eyes as he watches us plunge a spoon into a bowl of simmering 13 bean soup and take a bite of cheddar and a piece of semolina bread. And, as of tonight, the conversation has begun: when are we going to start him on 'solid' foods.
Audrey already has the spoons (of course) and the rice cereal (of course). Everything we have heard or read was to start with the rice cereal for a few weeks, a little at a time, and move on from there. We have a few packs of pureed organic pears in our freezer and a few jars of organic sweet potatoes in the cupboard. We are still talking about wanting to make his food, as we do our own, but for the time being, I don't even know how to harvest rice and turn into cereal.
Well, other than the obvious ways, of course.
