Taking a bite out of time management

My son has started eating solids. Solids is such a misleading term for baby food since the "solids" he's eating are thinner than that protein drink you just had for breakfast. No matter what the term, he's now eating more than just a bottle.

We started him on rice cereal. It's a cruel introduction to food. It doesn't taste like anything, and frankly it doesn't make him eagerly want to take to the spoon. But he's a trooper and did his best to choke it down. As a reward for all his hard work, last night we introduced him to the next step in solids: his first taste of food with actual flavor. He had carrots, and he didn't hate them.

Whether he likes the food or not, the whole eating off a spoon thing is a glorified mess. Most of the food ends up across his face and the rest is getting picked up by the fist he continuously jams into his mouth. But that goofy little smile on his food covered face is priceless.

With an already hectic schedule, it would be easy to just give him a bottle in the morning, send him to daycare and let them take care of the solids. But let's be honest, I eat breakfast and dinner every day, so should he. So feeding him breakfast and dinner has been added to our laundry list of things that must be done before we go to work in the morning and the second we walk in the door at night.

The hardest part about starting solids isn't getting him to swallow them, it's the time it takes to do so. About two weeks ago, my husband said, "You know, I think we're getting the hang of this parenting thing." I agreed. Both kids were following our schedule to the best of their ability and we were getting things done. We are always busy, but it was starting to flow. Then we introduced solids and the whole thing came crashing down.

In time, we'll get back on track … just in time for the next developmental phase. But that is the plight of the working mother. It sometimes takes a little longer to get into the swing of things. But with every day that passes we get better and better at what we have to do and very soon we are experts at efficiency.