Starting Solids

At 5 months, I started Scarlett on 10+ hours of work of homemade organic baby food. She refused ALL of it, so I tried organic cereals and fruits/vegetables. Well, after every jar sold at Whole Foods, there was one or two she tolerated, but mealtime was more of a game of "how-quick-can-we-shove-it-in" more than an eating experience for her. We thought maybe she'd prefer the disgusting gerber pudding type foods, but it wasn't that she was anti-organic, the kid just hates anything without a distinct taste/texture. Biter biscuits, toast, zwieback...anything cookie like she took to like a champ, vigorously shoving it down her throat so I KNEW what it looked like when she was enjoying eating.

We discovered she tolerated yogurt and tried mixing fruits/veggies into it and she'd eat a few bites depending on the mix. That's what we gave her for her whole 6th month of life, but life was still 90% bottle. The doctor told me he'd like me to start weaning her from the bottle so much and to try and have established mealtimes so that by one year she'd have the bottle only at bedtime.

Last week she turned 7 months. I thought maybe she'd like to try meats so I bought some grain-fed ground chicken in a jar for her. She promptly attempted to return it to the jar.

That evening, we went out to dinner. My husband and I are always eating out at ethnic restaurants, so I debreaded my chicken tempura, tore of a flake and fed it to her.

I thought the child was going to fly off the chair.

She hungrily grabbed at my arm for more as if I had fed her flaked nirvana. She ate an entire chicken tempura tender and started on a second. I watched closely for a reaction and there wasn't one.

Since then, we've debreaded and diced everything we've eaten (that's neither spicy nor salty nor sugary or made with honey) and she'll gobble it up. From coconut soup to eggplant to lentils, if it has a flavor, my kid is into it. If we feed her grownup foods all day she rarely wants a bottle.

Is she a weirdo or am I being paranoid? Anyone else have this problem? I know she's *technically* not supposed to be on flaked meat until 8 months, but she's got teeth and making good use of them. I've seen no reaction thus far.

Thoughts?