Today, Eli ate sweet potato baby food for the second time in his life. At first, he didn't like it and made a face. Then I made such a show of eating the sweet potatoes that Wally came over to find out if he could taste them. Eli decided he liked them and ate most of the jar. It could be that he thought he would starve if Wally was allowed to eat his food!
Tonight he finished the jar from yesterday and ate the entire second jar! Of course, not all of it ends up in his mouth. At the end of his dinner, he had sweet potatoes all over his face, hands, neck, outfit and some even made it onto his eyelid. I had to change his outfit it was so bad. Sweet potatoes are a bit messier than rice cereal. (At least, you can see the mess with sweet potatoes. Rice cereal sort of blends in.)
One thing that helped him eat today is having him watch me open my mouth and make chewing noises. Before, he wasn't really opening his mouth -- he would just shove his lips into the spoon. I opened my mouth really wide and he mimicked me. Then he chewed when I chewed. It was super cute, and of course, super smart!
I also gave Eli a teething biscuit today and he seemed to like chewing on it until I saw that his gum was bleeding a little bit. I really think a tooth is very close to coming out. Later in the afternoon, his lower gum was so swollen, it was painful just to look at.
When Michael got home from work, Eli was really happy to see him. After his bath, I carried Eli to Michael and Eli sort of put his arms out like he wanted Michael to take him. Michael was so happy!
We gave Eli some formula before bed tonight and he took 2 ounces. We are hoping it helps him sleep longer at night. Last night was a terrible night (waking every 2-3 hours) and we are hoping that some extra food in his belly will keep him zonked out for a good 5-6 hours. We need the rest...
Eli can't wait for them to come back!