Sammy Starts Solids!

What a fun milestone. I was incredibly excited about starting solids with Sammy. I'm not sure if it was opening him up to the world of food, or if it was getting a chance to see his reaction to tastes he liked or didn't or maybe it was getting a chance to use the fun eating stuff we'd registered for.  As the weeks grew near to his six month birthday, I was getting more and more excited about Sammy getting his first taste of solid food.

As irony would have it, as the weeks leading to Sam's six month birthday became days the worry wart in me came out and my excitement turned to anxiety about whether or not I knew what I was doing. I really wanted to try baby led weaning but also wanted to follow conventional wisdom and use puréed food.  Baby Led Weaning isn't puree friendly, so I really felt conflicted.  In the end, I stuck with my gut and what made me the most comfortable and decided to do purees, trying one food every 3-4 days to watch for an allergic reaction.  Over time, I have added in some baby led weaning and will continue to do so more and more.

Here's what I've learned over the last month.

HAVE FUN!

This more than anything has really taught me to embrace Sam right where he is.  Not longing for him to be itty bitty again (impossible anyways!), not wondering when he is going to roll over or crawl, or better yet take long naps, etc.  Just being in the moment watching him smear food all over himself and everything near him has been so much fun!  Babies are messy, especially when they eat.  I was semi prepared for this, but was caught off guard by how OCD I would be.  I was wiping here and there and quite frankly everywhere.  By about the 5th time trying food, I realized I was fighting an uphill battle and instead of using a billion baby wipes, I could just let Sam have fun and I could have fun in the process.  Every since this epiphany feeding Sam has been AWESOME!

TRUST YOUR GUT
I alluded to this earlier, but I had to do what was going to cause me the least stress.  I knew doing full fledged BLW would have had me in a panic wondering if Sam was going to choke.  I also didn't really like the principle of giving a baby the same meal I was eating right off the bat.  How would I ever figure out what it was in the meal that god forbid have given him an allergic reaction.  Going one food at a time, in pureed form gave me piece of mind.

DON'T RUSH
This goes hand in hand with having fun, but there were times especially in this crazy month with Paul in the hospital and out of town for close to three weeks that I was either way too tired to feed Sam anything but boobie buffet, or we just didn't have enough time in between naps and getting to and from the hospital that if he didn't get solids one day, he didn't.  His primary source of nutrition still was breast milk and will continue to be for the next few months.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
I guess this sort of ties everything together, but for me I was sure that I didn't want to give Sam rice cereal or oatmeal as his first food.  Mainly both are suggested as first foods, for texture and their low risk of allergic reaction; however this can be achieved through more nutritive food such as avocado.  These mashed easily with a fork and he loved them, especially mixed with some breast milk to create a nice smooth consistency.

Here are some pics:
Avocado: 4/11/12

 Bananas!

Banana Flavored Baby Mum Mums

 I did end up a bit frustrated with the purees because I have Mr. Independent on my hands (no clue where he got that trait from...).  Every time I was close to Sam's mouth with the spoon, he was insistent on feeding himself.  Finally, my mom and then my sister later confirmed give him his own spoons.  So, now when I set out to feed Sam, I give him a few extra spoons and a solid (BLW) version of whatever he is eating and we go on our way.  Everyone is much happier!

 BLW: Apple!

 Trying out his sippie cup before I could seal it closed:

Here are our favorite food related products thus far:

Beaba Baby Cook- LOVE this!  It's great that everything is made in one place, simple to figure out and I'm sure with friends having babies and siblings as well it will get used plenty.  If you are going to make your own baby food and are impatient like me, this makes things a cinch.  Literally you put the food in one section, water in the other other section, turn on the steam section, then when the light turns off, you turn on the puree setting. 

OXO Tot storage cubes: These things ROCK!  They are an absolute must have if you are going to make your own baby food.   They come in two different sizes and have great trays to store the food.  They mimic baby food containers.  I've also heard of people putting baby purees into ice cube trays and then popping them into freezer bags once they were frozen.  I'd have done this if I was still working.


Peg Perego Prima Pappa Best high chair: Love that this is leather.  It was also a baby shower present, but with how messy babies eating are, I love that I can just wipe down both the tray and seat.

Boon Catch Bowls-These are great because of the large lip on the side to catch food as well as provide Sam some biting pleasure.  There is an essential suction to the bottom of the bowl.  The colors are vibrant which is catching for him.  Even better, I found them for $4 at homegoods and marshalls!

Boon Benders Utensils: I love these because they are soft, bendy and small enough for Sammy's mouth.  They also are in cool colors.


Tomme Tippie Sippy Cups:  These have great soft spouts and haven't been rejected whatsoever.  We are using a stage 1 cup which has been great considering Sam has probably only had 50 or so bottles in his 6 months of life.

Baby Bjorn Bib:  This thing has an incredible pocket at the bottom that saves Sammy's clothes and high chair from certain disaster.  I also began layering it over the top of an aden and anais burpy bib and he stays 90% clean that way.

So far Sammy has tried in the order below:
Avocados
Sweet Potatoes
Bananas
Pears
Zucchini
Peaches
Green Beans

Baby Mum Mums and Plum Organic Puffs

On the list:
Butternut Squash
Acorn Squash
Apples
Peas
Spinach
Broccoli
Carrots

Anything else he should try?  What are your favorite baby food products?

Six Months With Sammy!

Sammy!  Wow, you are half way to one, half a year old, 6 months!  How can it be?  The past six months have been the best six months of my life.  They have been physically and emotionally hard, but they have been wonderful.  The saying the nights are long and the days are short couldn't be any truer.  I find myself lost trying to remember what happened in the past month.  I also am just trying to fathom just how it is possible that you are so big now.  My little baby is now an infant.  Your personality is coming across quite clearly.  You are a charmer.  You use your smile as a mighty fine tool and I have a feeling you'll be doing that your whole life.  It is nice to see how pleasant you are and if it's possible to call a 6 month old diplomatic, you certainly are!

 

You continue to love Bailey and I love that since he helps me entertain  you.

This month was really fun (during the day at least)!  You are giggling all the time.  At Bailey, the cats, Daddy, even me!  You think it's funny when I pretend sneeze.  I don't think you'll find that funny in a year.  We shall see!  You also were a busy little bee.  You went to a bunch of parties.  You find rolling to be quite the fun game.  You only did it twice last month and then one day this month, you did it over and over and over again.  I'm still waiting for you to go back to belly, but in time you will.  Every adult I know can do it, so I'm not worried.  You seem to enjoy sitting up on your own and taking steps much more fun anyways. 

Here you are taking your first steps

The weather was incredible.  We got out and had our first picnic under the cherry trees by the government center.  You, me, Daddy and Bailey had a blast. 

 

You got to hang around with some bare toes and shorts which was really cool!

 You double fisted on the patio!

 You can sit up now like a big boy!

 You've also started to take walks like a big boy without a car seat.  It's quite cute and you seem like you are soaking in everything around you.

You went out to eat with us and I had the best most long awaited margarita ever!

You are the perfect edition to our spring tulip and clearance pansy garden

 You celebrated your first easter, which was so much fun.

I didn't take you to see the easter bunny (next year I will) but I did take you to have a few pictures taken, thanks to an awesome $16 groupon.  You are quite cute if I don't say so myself!

My sweet baby Sammy.  You are so incredibly loved.  I love you, I love you morning noon and night!

Your favorite toy this month is this vetch move and crawl ball.  It is really helping you when you sit up.

You also keep enjoying sophie the giraffe and your jumperoo.

I think you are sort of over your activity mat!

 

Heaven needs babies too

Most everyone loves babies, their tiny imperfect nails, uncontrolled reflexes, chubby thighs, giggles.

Most everyone loves the innocence of children, the funny things they say, the weird things they do, the way they learn and grow into their personalities.

Most everyone loves sweet sixteens or kids graduating college into a big world they've worked hard to be apart of as adults.

Most everyone loves the early parts of adulthood, getting their first job, getting married, becoming parents.

Most everyone loves the wisdom of the old souls that raised us as grandparents.

Each day in our life, whether it be day one or day 200,001, each day there is something more unique about each of us than the last.  We all age at the same rate, yet years are so different in the middle than the beginning and the end of life.

What would our world be like if every person was the same age?  Weird question right?!  That would just be so weird and boring and strange.  How then can we spend eternity with only old people amongst us.  That would also just be so boring.  No wonder God has a different plan for each of us that involves a different age for each of us to reach his kingdom.  I know how much joy there is in holding a baby in my arms.  I can imagine God wants to have this joy too.  The children in heaven must be having so much fun!  They have the world's most patient and loving parent. 

I thought about this a lot on March 23, 2010 when my nephew Jacob was BORNstill, but STILLborn at 35 weeks.   In my deep grief for my sister and our family, as she struggled for her life in the ICU without her first beautiful baby kicking away inside of her, this was one of the first thoughts racing thru my mind as I sat trying to rationalize the horrific event.  A tiny 5 lb 18 inch gorgeous child, that never got to take his first oxygenated breath.  I thought about how much God needed babies and children in heaven just as much as we need them here on earth.  It amazed me how much God wanted her to know he was there, even in the darkest of days.  She was given a tear jerking, page turner in her book of life.

Two years after the placental abruption that took his life, he still lives in my heart and always will.  I'm thankful that through his death, he showed our family that we have a genetic predisposition for miscarriages and blood clots.  He saved so many of us, my sister, our Aunt, myself, from medical issues we never could have foreseen.  His life reminds me of God's omnipotent will in my life.  His life always constantly reminds me that life is a gift and a healthy full term baby is a miracle.  It scares me every night that SIDS will come and take Sam from me.  I don't know if this is because I have held a blue baby, I know the grief, or if it is because deep down I know that Sam is on loan to the world from God.  He is God's first than mine.  No prayers for Sam's health will ever change God's plan for his life.  All I can do as his mother is pray that Sam becomes a man who lives by the fruit of the spirit, a man who knows that to thrive in life he has to be willing to adapt and that he becomes a man who loves the God that created him.

Today, in honor of my friend Anna, whose son Jack gained his wings too soon, we let off six balloons for what would have been his 13th birthday.  One from me, one from Bailey, one from Paul, one from Sam one for Jack and one for Jacob.  Jack's tragic death occurred about a month before Sam was born.  I'm sure Jack's passing would have made me a better mother even if I'd been a veteran mother at the time, but as a newbie, Jack has consistently reminded me of just how much of a gift a child is.  Jack's favorite verse "nothing is impossible with God" Luke 1:37, is in my mind on replay whenever things get tough with Sam.  His life and his mother's love for him has like my nephew Jacob had an overwhelming shaped my life as a new mother.  I pray that whoever reads this article, will pray for my friend Anna, her husband Tim, her daughter Margaret, her late son Jack and my sister Ruth and her late son Jacob as well as the other women whose children have been given wings early.  Please be patient with your children, hug them and remember the days are long but the years are short. 

A President's Day Date!

Anyone who knows me, knows I love shopping just about as much as I love using apostrophes!  So it should come as no surprise that my first post baby date with Paul was a shopping and lunch date.  (not to worry, we've been out a lot, just with Sam in tow.  He is surprisingly very portable and knock on wood, an excellent restaurant sleeper).  I thought Paul would have preferred for it to be a winery, shopping and lunch date, but he was actually really excited to go shopping with me sans wine.  Who would have thought.

We headed out on President's Day to the outlets and dogfish after dropping Sammy of with his grandma and grandpa for a few hours.  Spending some quality time with Paul was awesome and much needed. 

I think President's Day may be my new go to shopping day for end of winter sales.  It used to be MLK, but I think retailers aren't marking stuff down as quickly as they had before.  Or, they just aren't low enough yet for my frugal standards.  I stuck with my mantra of buying what I need vs want as well as making sure what I was buying was something I would have purchased even at full price.  Because let's be honest, a sale isn't a good deal if it isn't something you wouldn't buy full price.  Queue in extreme couponing, who really needs 100 bottles of mustard?  Coupons in tow, what I ended up buying were mainly presents.  I got some incredible deals.

• 3 shirts for my sister and sister in laws upcoming birthdays this spring at the ann taylor loft outlet for $3.50 each (retail was $29), it was crazy.  
• 3 awesome onesie's for my niece's Christmas present from the Gap outlet for $1.25 each (retail $18), super crazy.  Sadly, like always there was nothing good for boys even reg. price
• Pair of black corduroy pants for $5 at the reg ann taylor loft.  They had awesome sales all winter (even pre christmas).  When I was headed back to work, I found great cardigans, button downs, dresses, and pants all less than $20. 
• William Sonoma Dishtowels ($4/3 towels) and hand soap ($4) as a thank you to my Mother in Law for watching Sam.
• Most of Sam's fall wardrobe for next year as well as some cute spring clothes from Carters $40, below is a pic of what I got him, sans some cute socks that were being washed.

One sad note is that the pottery barn and crate and barrel outlets have both closed in leesburg.  This really only leaves williams and sonoma as a draw for me to drive out there.  So, this maybe my last Leesburg outlet shopping trip.  I think you can get deals that are just as good at the regular stores. 

While it seems crazy to some that I am already buying presents for next Christmas or clothes for Sam for next fall/winter, it really helps save money and quite frankly my sanity come present giving time.  It is so much easier to have a present on hand: the cost for presents are dispersed throughout the year, you aren't shopping when things are most expensive and stores are crowded.

Buying children's clothes on clearance a year in advanced is a shopping lesson I learned from my mom.  Kids grow way to fast to spend a lot on their clothes.  My Mom, would mostly buy our clothes the year before on clearance in the size we would be most likely be wearing the following year.  I bought Sam 3 18 month pants for next winter for $5 each when they retailed at $30, a ton of shirts including a my first birthday onesie for $2 and even found his Christmas jammies for next year for $3.  I was stoked!  This was great for us because with only one salary now, cutting costs is not just fun now, its a priority.  We actually spent more on lunch than we did buying 5 presents and most of Sam's winter wardrobe for next year.

What are your favorite days of the year to shop?  Did you find any good deals recently?  Have any good baby clothes shopping tips?

Five Months with Sammy

Sammy, this past month has been awesome!  It is amazing what the lack of stress can do for a person!  All the months leading up to the end of my maternity leave, I was stressing about how I didn't know how I would leave you, then last month I did leave you and that was even more stressful.  This month, my only stress was how to get you to sleep well again. 

You reached tons of fun milestones.  You giggle all the time, you found your toes, you are completely in love with Bailey, you're ticklish, you love to read before your bath and bedtime with Daddy, you rolled twice now from belly to back (we keep eagerly waiting for you to do it again, but you're stubborn), you give big smooches on demand and just in time for your 5 month birthday you showed us you can sit unassisted!  One thing, that is funny but annoying that is new is how distracted you are.  You can barely eat without stopping to survey the scene.  We couldn't get much more than outakes for your 5 month photo shoot today, because you were busy looking at everything else but me and Daddy.  Please note how you were very distracted by Bailey's wagging tail in the above photo.  So many changes, I love it, but at the same time I can see your babyness slipping quickly from me as you grow and develop which makes me a little sad.

 One thing that amazes me about you is your ability to teach me to go with the flow and follow your lead.  I was stressing about how you were sleeping and eating.  I kept reading that babies do best on a eat, awake, sleep (easy) routine or feed/wake/nap and wanted to try.  I just did it (go nike) and you took it like a champ.  I also needed to start teaching you to nap in your crib and was worried.  You have also taken that like a champ.  You don't nap long in there, maybe 45 min max which is frustrating, but we're working on it.  You pull your pacifier out of your mouth and when you cycle into another sleep stage you get frustrated with your hands not soothing you in the way you like.  By the end of last month you were greeting the 45 minute intruder in your swing too, so I figured if you aren't going to sleep well in your swing you may as well sleep badly in your bed.  Besides if you can go 12 hours of sleep at night in your crib with a break at 9 or so hours to eat, you def like sleeping in your crib!  I'm perplexed as to why you can sleep well at night but not during nap time, hopefully as you get older things will get easier.  The part of the EASY routine I'm missing is the Y which stands for You, meaning mommy time.

It was so warm this month, that we even got to go out in the ergo and played fetch with Bailey a lot.  Every time I bent down with you to get his stick and he jumped around trying to get it before I threw it, you just giggled and giggled and than giggled some more once it was thrown and fetched.  It's one of those magically simple moments that make me know without a doubt that not being at work was the best decision I ever made.

You did a lot of celebrating this month, First you celebrated your first valentine's day.  Unfortunately, I was mean and scheduled your 4 month appointment that day so you had to get shots which resulted in you not being too happy a camper. Grandma and Grandpa came over to wish you a happy first valentine's day.

I'm pretty sure you are thinking shots suck

Then, it was your Auntie's birthdays.  We skyped Auntie Anita in the morning and then you went for your first truly awake trip out to a restaurant to celebrate with Auntie Christine and Grandma.  By the time your nap time was rearing it's head I was getting nervous, but eventually after lunch was almost over I managed to get you to take a nap so I could stay out and shop for a little while with your Auntie and Grandma.

You also celebrated Bailey's 5th birthday by going with us for the first time to Wylie Waggs (Bailey's favorite store).  The girls there who love Bailey were also so excited to finally meet you!

A few weeks later we went to our friend Andie and Hideki's house to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Andre and Mandie's new baby, their new nephew!  The first boy born to our circle of friends.  I'm so excited for you to have another baby to play and grow up with.  It's been a blessing that so many of our friend's and family have had babies all within a year of your birth.

Wine, Bon Chon, Friends and You, what could be better?!

 To round out the month, we celebrated your birthday with awesome warm temps in the 70s so we headed to grandma and grandpa's for a 5 month birthday celebration bbq.

I forgot to list your favorite products last month.  So these are four and five month favorites:
Fisher Price Jumperoo: You LOVE this and I can see that soon as you are stronger, this will replace your activity mat as your favorite place to play
Vulli Sophie and Chan Pie Gnon Rubber Teethers :You love to gnaw on these things.  The little alien looking teether isn't as well known as Sophie the giraffe but you like it even more.
Bebepod: I bought this at a yardsale a few years ago for $5.  You love it and I think it helped you
learned to sit up.
Sassy Rings: You love having something in your hands and these are light and can get thrown in the dishwasher.  Plus if you lose them, they are cheap to replace.
Pretty much all toys, you looooove toys!
Booginhead pacifier clips: Helps me save your pacifier from the floor.  You love to spit it out, but hate to not have it when you are tired. 
Wubbanub: Awesome since you love to hold something when you are falling asleep.
Twinkle, Twinkle Elmo Bedtime Book: You love reading at night and this book is awesome!