Just Feed Me Already....

For weeks now Nate has been reaching for food.... sticking his hands in our food, grabbing our plates and the WORST... making eating noises while watching us eat.

There is no doubt in my mind that at almost 6 months and sitting up alone (some tipping over) that he has been ready to eat for some time. Why hold him off???

While researching and talking to our allergist and pediatrician, the 6th month mark is the magic age for introducing foods to help delaying food allergies... over and over and over I've heard it and read it.

We have found that delaying the introduction to the problem foods in our older kids HAS made their sensitivity to it lessen, we think! (Lydia seems to be alot less sensitive to milk/egg products than Chris and Anna!)

Or maybe it's just a different kid, with a body that reacts to foods differently.

Welcome to the Uncertain World of Food Allergies!! Where we may know A Whole Lot more than we Used to Know, but it's still NOT Enough to answer the simple questions like "will my child grow out of her milk/peanut allergy?"

or for us right now "Is it ok to start feeding Nate a week or two early (since he's about to grab the food off our plates and help himself)??

This week we had a funny situation that helped us with an answer....

Remember we had our sweet friends visiting with us - the parents and their crew of 5! They have learned that major events like meals and snacks should be done together to tame the choas:) LOL!!!

So that's what we did!! Here's our 2 crews at a neighbor's house enjoying a quick snack together!!
Nate was awake and ready to join in the fun:) He loved the twins (and the dirt)!!!

And then as I was snapping pics.....

I saw the "hand off"!!!

And what did my little boy do with the apple slice?????

He stuck the corner in his mouth and started to gum it.... of course! He's been watching us for weeks AND he does that to everything he can pick up right now... LOL!!!

(just so no one freaks out... I was totally watching him and if he got any pieces off.... while handing a baby an apple slice isn't the smartest thing in the world, I was watching him, checking his progress with each toothless chomp and I had eaten some the apple myself so I knew it was a very sturdy textured apple!!)

I went to show Brian and Nate was gumming away ( totally MY bite mark in the apple)!

Up the nose!

And you gottta love his expression here;)

So this week, I just went ahead and started feeding him more foods that aren't on the most common allergy lists!!

He was ready.

You can find some other picture posts at Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom and Go Graham Go!!!