When we took Niko in for his 6-month check-up, his doctor asked what we were feeding him. When we explained that he was still eating breast milk, she exclaimed, “Feed that boy–he’s hungry!” For the record, our big boy was weighing in at 18.3lbs, the 65th percentile for his age. Certainly big, but at the six visits prior, he was consistently topping the scales–weighing in between 93rd and 96th percentile for his age. So we took him right home and prepared his first “solid” meal, avocado mashed with a bit of breast milk. We used the breast milk for two purposes: to add a familiar flavor to this first meal, and to create a soft enough consistency for our toothless wonder. He loved it! His eyes lit up and he grunted with delight at every bite. We opted to avoid rice cereal (still haven’t fed him any), despite tradition, because, well, it’s boring. With so many rich and bold flavors in this world, why eat fortified rice puree?