Oink Oink

I got a call today from The Girl's daycare. They told me they needed me to bring more milk. "That's impossible," I told them. "I just brought you a bag of 40 ounces yesterday morning."

"Yes, we know. She drank it. She needs more..."

"Wait. Stop. You mean to tell me that in less than 2 days my daughter has consumed 40 ounces of milk?"

"I just looked it up on her chart. She drank 20 ounces yesterday and so far today she has had 16 ounces (it was like 2:00pm), so we have 4 ounces left. That will get her through the next couple of hours but we either need you to bring more milk, or else pick her up early today."

Holy crap.

So I did both. I brought over another 50 ounce bag of breast milk and took the little porker home with me so that I could nurse her.

When I picked her up the daycare ladies said, "I know you are waiting until she is 6 months old, but we think she might be ready for a little...ummm...food?"

I know everywhere nowadays it is recommended that babies wait until they are 6 months old before introducing solid foods. I tend to agree with that. No need to rush into anything. But I have also read that each baby is different and you should follow the cues of your own baby to make the decision. This gulping of my pumped breast milk at a ridiculous pace coupled with the fact that for the past 3 or 4 nights The Girl has woken up in the middle of the night to eat tells me that it is time. She hasn't woken up between 7:30pm and 5:00am in over a month. The last few days she has gotten up to eat at around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning and then also ate at 5:30am. She is less than 2 weeks away from being 6 months old, and I believe it is time.

I tried a little rice cereal experiment on Saturday to see how it went and the results weren't all that stellar. And then based on all you smart ladies from the internet, last night I gave her a mashed banana with a little bit of rice cereal. That went over MUCH better. And then tonight? I busted out my home made apple baby food (I am SO not the cooking type so I give myself major props for attempting to make her food) and gave her that and some rice cereal. It appears we have a winner. She loved it. She ate all that I made for her (which wasn't much). And compared to the rice cereal picture, what we have below is a very happy, not starving baby. Behold:

It appears it really is time to feed my baby. I made it almost 6 months giving her all the nourishment that she needed but now it is time to add some healthy food into the mix. This is the beginning of the end of babyhood. Sob! I can't believe how fast it is all going. She is almost 6 months old! S-I-X MONTHS! Dear God at this rate she will be getting her drivers license next week. Slow down my girl, slow down...I need to soak in every last moment.