Mason and his new enemy... Rice Cereal!!!

So, on Monday at Mason's 4-month check-up, Dr. Hain gave us the go-ahead on starting Mason on rice cereal. So, the proud momma that I am, I drove straight to the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market (Target is too expensive... thank you) and purchased my son his first box of food. Marc and I fed it to him together Tuesday night this week. Mason was already a little fussy because he was hungry and tired, but we were just so excited about this new little adventure that we couldn't wait until the next day. We just couldn't wait to finally put Mason in his little blue booster seat that I got at a consignment sale!! We had already waited one day, because Monday night Marc and I were both at church for different stuff until late. So, we attempted to feed rice cereal for the very first time to a fussy baby. BAD IDEA!! First of all, I found it a little challenging to really be able to pump all the milk I needed to to mix with the rice cereal. Between nursing Mason so many times a day after hearing how low his weight percentile was, and trying to have pumped bottles ready for when we go out, it's hard to have enough breast milk left over to mix with the rice cereal. So, it was a challenge to get that little tiny bowl of rice cereal we fixed for Mason Tuesday night. So, both momma and baby were fussy! He was just confused the entire time. He was sucking on the spoon thinking that's what he was supposed to do to it. Then, he would kinda smack his lips together trying to figure out what in the world this stuff was. It was ALL over his face, hands, bib, onesie, etc. He looked so sweet during all of this though! We got just two bowl and spoon sets as gifts; one from sweet Mary Ann Hooper and the other from Janet Cates, both from church. We busted out the one Mary Ann got him for his first feeding. It is just the cutest little bowl & spoon ever!! After the feeding, we burped him and let him sit up for a while to digest it all before we put him to bed. He slept soooo soundly and looked so peaceful. So, at least the end result was good! We were afraid he would have an upset tummy after this new eating experience, but he slept as well as my mom told me he probably would (she tells me the stories of the doctor telling her to give me rice cereal when I was 2 weeks old to help me sleep... and it worked! thank you).

BUT, Wednesday night's feeding didn't end up so well. The feeding itself went well and was so fun because we could Mason was really kinda getting in the hang of this bown and spoon situation. We decided to let him sit in his bouncy seat while eating, since it was familiar to him and not as hard as the booster seat. Plus, he could just relax and not have to worry about falling over. We thought that could be the first step in making it better for Mason. We also mixed the rice cereal with formula instead of breast milk so I wouldn't have to worry about squeezing the life out of me trying to get enough milk pumped. We have lots of free samples of formula that we've been receiving in the mail for about 2 years now, so that really helps out! We might as well get some use out of it. Plus, I hear formula is good for fattening babies up, which is just what Mason needs. He didn't cry at all like he did during the feeding Tues. night. He was so excited for each and every bite and as Marc would put the spoon in the rice cereal bowl, Mason would already be opening his mouth wide! It was so cute!! He was squealing with excitement throughout the whole thing. He seemed to have love it. It got all over his face, but that was okay. That's what our one million bibs are for!! However, the aftermath was not good. Mason seemed so sick to his tummy when it was over. I was up with him until midnight, then decided to nurse him because he seemed hungry again. Plus, I wanted to soothe him. He finally fell asleep at 2 am, then was up again at 4 am wanting to be comforted. I'm sure it was his tummy. Tuesday night we used breast milk, and Wed. night used formula, so surely it was the formula upsetting his tummy and not the rice cereal. What do you all think? I need some advice! We're going to keep trying the rice cereal mixed with formula for a few more days just to see if this upset tummy-ness is consistent. Hopefully it's not, because I was so hoping my formula idea would work!

Round One: Tuesday night

Props Used: Rice Cereal, breast milk, booster seat

See, you can tell he's already mad at the very beginning of the feeding!

Let's led Daddy try for a couple of minutes... Well, it seemed to have worked... for a minute!

Mommy's back!! Oh, he was so mad at me!

Round 2: Wednesday night

Props Used: Rice Cereal, formula, bouncy seat

Look at happy he was while we were feeding him! The arms all spread out like he wanted to hug us for giving him rice cereal!

He's looking at Daddy like, "Okay, I'm ready for my next bite. What's taking you so long!?!?!"

He was helping us hold the spoon!! Thank you, Mason, thank you.
Mommy's turn!
Hmm... I look so happy in this picture, like "Honey, I'm so glad this round is going so well!! What a relief!!" only to end up staying up with him almost the entire night after this meal!

Okay, so does anyone have any advice for me after reading this post? I wanna hear stories of y'all's first exeriences with rice cereal!! Is this upset tummy business normal right at first?? How often do you feed rice cereal during the first week or so? Thanks! Marc and I need all the help we can get with this one!!