He was ready, but I wasn't

I have been putting off giving Isaac solids for a while now because I wanted him to have only breastmilk and delay solids as long as possible since he is growing so well on it alone. The pediatrician had also said to definitely wait 6 months, but I wanted to go longer. I had done the research, and many people feel it is best to exclusively breastfeed with nothing else as long as possible during the first year, because solid foods aren't really needed until 1 year old. I planned to watch his cues and wait until he was interested or needed the extra nutrition. He hasn't been the least bit interested in solid foods up to this point. But then tonight at dinner, he was watching us eat longingly and started making chewing motions, which he's never done before. I have been contemplating giving him a bite of something soon just to see how he'd respond, since the doc suggested at his 6 month checkup yesterday to think about starting something soon. So, this morning, I made a big batch of steel-cut oats (which are so good) in the crockpot for our breakfasts this week. I took a bit of that, put it in the blender, mixed in some breastmilk and heated it. Now, we fully expected him to thrust that spoon right out of his mouth, make an awful face, and spit the food out.

He sure surprised us! He knew just exactly what to do with that spoon. By the third bite he was opening his mouth in anticipation and trying to pull the spoon to his mouth. He loved it. I only gave him 7 or 8 bites and he would have taken more. I haven't even researched how to make my own baby food yet, which is what I want to do. I don't even know how much or how often to feed him. I thought I had much more time, but he is obviously ready. I am so proud of him, but a little sad too. My baby is growing up.

So, over the next few weeks, I will be starting him off by giving him little tastes of whatever veggie we happen to be eating that day, mashed up and unseasoned of course (the doc suggested squash, peas, and green beans). We're going to take it slow for sure, but he sure seems excited about it, even if I'm not so much.