It is official, the Doctor has proclaimed it time and the mother has agreed to try. We all gather around to witness this momentous event. The child is seated and a bib is fitted around his neck. There is a bowl and a spoon. Liam is going to eat his first solid food!

It started with a very little bit of rice cereal which was mixed with some milk to form a very runny Pro-Nutro like mixture. Emily had the spoon and, following the doctor's advice, was going to attempt to place the loaded spoon in Liam's mouth at about the mid- tongue area. Now, as this adventure began we realised that doctors obviously don't do this very often - it's not as easy as it sounds! The first bite had to be forced between Liam's lips because obviously he had no clue what "open wide" meant. This resulted in more of the cereal landing around Liam's mouth than actually in it! The food that did make it into his mouth was promptly spat out with a look of dismay and horror. I could almost see him thinking "what on earth have you given me mom! This is NOT what I eat!" So, with all of us watching and giggling, Emily managed to force a couple more spoonfuls into the mouth of her reluctant eater.

That was a few weeks ago now and there has been much progress since. Liam has progressed to his second grain (oatmeal) and today we introduced his fist vegetable - an avocado. Liam has learned fast. He now opens his mouth (sort of) and he understands the concept of chewing - you need to start chewing as soon as you see the spoon and don't stop until the spoon is far away from your mouth! The latest development is that Liam wants to help. He has spent the last few weeks avidly watching anyone who is eating and while he watches you can see his mouth mimicking your chewing movements. However, now that he has been watching he wants to try and feed himself.

Now, when Emily feeds Liam she has to keep a very firm grip on the spoon. As the spoon makes its way to Liam's mouth he starts chewing and as it gets closer he reaches out and tries to hold the spoon too! This means that he gets food all over his hands, his mouth, his face, his arms, his legs, his clothes and his chair!

The life of a five month old is filled with icky-sticky mess and watching Liam has made me aware of this. It is beautiful to watch him use his whole body to discover life and its joys - and eating is a joy!