A New Experience

Katherine, today you tried “solid” food for the first time. For the past weeks and days you have been more and more curious about the food Mark and I eat (and no, you really can’t have those Starbucks Frappuchinos you have been reaching for). I have been researching which food to start you out with – and the opinions widely vary depending if I research on Canadian or German websites. We even bought a jar of vegetable puree yesterday and some rice to make rice cereal out of… just so we have it when we decided the time is right (after all, you are only just over 5 months old and most research says to wait until 6 months).

But as you are your own person, it’s not up to me - you let me know that you were ready. As I was getting ready to make lunch for daddy and me today, you were in the kitchen with me, watching my every move and wildly waving your arms… aha, there was my clue! So I found the tiniest pot I have in my kitchen, cut up a fresh carrot and cooked and pureed it for you.

There we were, ready with photo and video camera, a tiny spoon and a generous sized bib as you had your first taste of carrot puree. I am not sure what was the bigger experience for you – the taste of the carrot or the fact that there was a spoon instead of a bottle in your mouth… but it was great fun to watch you experience this different sensation and taste.

You are teaching me that new experiences are fun – when we are ready for them. Trying something for the first time is magical… at any age. Be it food, or doing something we have never done before allows us to learn, grow and broaden our horizon. But trying new things can also send us outside our comfort zone and therefore sometimes we hold back instead of leaping forward into new experiences. For today, I am grateful I got to share your first food experience with you and I love that you have many more “first” adventures ahead of you.