8 Months Old & First Food

Today Imogen is 8 months old and we thought we'd celebrate by giving her her first food! I know some people think it is crazy that a baby can last 'so long' on just breastmilk alone, but really, before 1 year of age, any food at all is just for taste and carries no nutritional value. Our doctor said we could start feeding her babyfood when both we and her were 'ready'...and although I can say that we weren't necessarily ready, Imogen was giving us all the signs that she was. We started her out with some tasty bananas! My guess is that maybe she actually ingested a teaspoon worth? A picture tells a thousand words below:

I tried giving her some so innocently at first. She didn't open her mouth, but rather sat there staring at me as if to say, "what am I supposed to do?!?!"
I dabbed a little under her upper lip and tongue. You can see how much she liked it above. Her faces were priceless!
Chris decided to give it a try next, and got just about as far as I did.

So, we let Imogen explore on her own. She played in it and was happy!

Although she didn't put her fingers in her mouth at all, she did lift the jar and put it in her mouth one time and looked shocked to find a new taste! It was quite the event -- which was succeeded by a bath, of course.

Other fun things about Imogen at 8 months old:

* She weighs right over 18 pounds
* She is wearing 9-12 month clothing
* She goes from sitting to the crawling position and back (but no crawling yet)
* She gets around inch-worm-style. She can go anywhere this way!
* Her pincher grasp is in full force. She is able to focus on something very tiny and grab it!
* She tries to pull up on anything and everything
* She calls me "na na" and Chris "da da"
* She loves to give hugs to people she knows and recognizes
* She continues to love the bathtub and doesn't cry when water goes in her face

Imogen is generally a happy little girl and we have been very blessed to have her with us. She makes us smile when we're sad or upset or angry, and she adds to our joy at all the happy times. We cannot imagine our lives without her!