Never start with fruit

Pediatricians say it, the internet warns you, and they even give you those 'how not to screw up your child' pamphlets, but I always thought it was nonsense. Supposedly, if you give a baby fruit when starting to eat solids, they won't eat the veggies. The theory is that they prefer the sugar (um, of course....have you tasted the baby green beans?!?!).

With Dylan I recall him eating mostly everything, regardless of the order of exposure. He had fruit in the morning (because veggies for breakfast make me gag), and veggies at lunch and dinner time. With Olivia, she didn't (and still doesn't) shy away from many foods, so this was not an issue. BUT, with Grayson it is a whole new ball game. Apparently, the applesauce, pears, bananas, and mango I have been giving him for the past 3 days have made him refuse all veggies. In my head I thought that he was still an infant, and not really able to express himself. That was until I tried to give him a veggie at lunch today. It all started the same, Grayson was was shrieking with excitement as I got the food out, put on his bib, and got the spoon ready. Then, I fed him the first bite and he gagged, closed his eyes, and tried to push the peas out of his mouth with his tongue. I really thought this was a fluke until I went for the second bite. He turned his head and stuck out his tongue. So, I persisted (just for fun) and he refused to eat another bite. I switched it up to carrots and was able to get 5 or so bites down before he started the refusal.

The funniest part of this for me is that I now realize my little baby is getting older and developing a personality with likes and dislikes. Welcome to the family, not-so-baby Gray!