9 Baby Essentials

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Now that Elise is coming up on a year, I feel like I have somewhat of a grasp on what we used almost everyday in her infant days.  These are in no way “necessities” but they made and still make babyhood a whole lot easier on us.  So here is my list of 9 things that are great for the first year of life!

1.  Johnny Jump:  When Elise was a newborn, I would have to bounce her on a yoga ball to calm her down and put her down for naps (nothing else worked).  I knew when she was old enough she would love jumping and bouncing.  And I was right!  I absolutely loved this thing and so did Elise.  This allowed me to cook dinner, clean up the house, and have a few moments to rest my arms. 

2.  4Moms Baby Bathtub:  This tub makes bathing a baby a breeze!  The temp indicator is a great feature because our faucet likes to change temperatures on us.  She still takes baths in this and will continue until she no longer fits in it.

3.  OXO Tot Sprout chair: I love the look of this chair and it goes with our house décor.  The other great feature of this is the one-handed tray release.  It is nice and sturdy and wipes up very easily!

4.  Ergo Carrier: The Ergo made shopping a breeze.  At first, I was a little hesitant because it was so darn bulky but as soon as I learned how to put it on, I never left the house without it.  We even had some dog walks with this… I’m sure Chloe and Gracie even apprecialted this carrier.  In fact, when I put it on the dogs still get excited like we are going for a walk.  Lately, I have been putting her on my back and doing yard work and vacuuming (Elise hates, hates the vacuum if no one is holding her.)

5.  California Baby Bath and Lotion:  About a year before Elise was conceived, Mike and I got rid of all parabens, sulfates, dyes, phalates, and animal tested products.  I actually did a lot of research and testing of baby washes and lotions while I was pregnant.  This one wins hands down!  It’s gunk-free and has a perfect baby lavender scent to it. 

6.  Dohm Sound Machine: Hands down, the best sound machine out there.  Mike and I got this before Elise was born and we can’t sleep without it.  As soon as she was born, we invested in another one. 

7.  Little Castle Glider: My mom ordered this for me while I was pregnant.  It was a great gift!  It is a bit pricey but it is so comfy!  And a comfy chair is a necessity when learning how to nurse an infant.  This also will be a good addition to living room furniture once the breastfeeding part of my life is complete.

8.  Hape Galloping Zebras Baby Walker: We just got this walker for Elise and she loves it!  Shes is still a little bit unsturdy and needs one of us behind her but it definetly will help her learn how to walk a lot quicker! I am also a fan of wooden toys.  I read that toys that are not interactive develops a baby’s imagination much quicker and better than interactive and loud toys. Plus, the zebras are just so darn cute!

9.  Summer Video Baby Monitor: Even though Elise does not sleep in her room at night, this is still awesome for her naps.  I love being able to see her and knowing she is ok so I can go about my day.

Monthly Roundup in Pictures

           Goodbye May, Hello June!

My Wild(tree) Adventure

I recently became a representative of Wildtree products.  For those of you who know me, you know that I am not a sales-y type of person and I actually believe this about myself also.  However, I really love and believe in this product and what it stands for.  I love that it can make a person’s day a little bit easier and healthier. 

So what is Wildtree?

For those of you who are not familiar with our product line, Wildtree products are organic, non-GMO, and all natural - no fillers, MSG, high fructose corn syrup, dyes or any other additives in any of our products.  We believe that food should taste great, be good for you, and be simple to prepare.    We realize that everyone is busy, so we make adopting a healthier lifestyle simple by providing great resources to our customers.

A good way to explain what we offer is that we represent the “inside of the grocery store”.  If you go to a grocery store, the perimeter is filled with all of your fruits, veggies, and meats.  The inside is usually all of your processed and packaged items.  We sell hundreds of products that replace your pantry.  A few examples of what we sell are seasoning, oils, dressings, culinary blends, and some convenience food items (boxed cake mixes, etc).

The main focus of this company however, is to make dinnertime a lot easier on those of you who are busy, stuck in a rut, or want to eat healthier but don’t really know where to begin or have the time.

How does Wildtree make your life easier?

We offer Freezer Meal Workshops!  The big trend in today’s family life is meal planning.  I, myself, had no idea where to even start with meal planning.  I thought it was too much of a hassle and I didn’t have the time (and quite frankly didn’t want to) to make a meal plan, grocery list, and prepare everything.  I didn’t want to spend a whole day doing this.  That’s where Wildtree comes in.  They do all the planning, grocery list making, and recipe deciding for you!  All you do is buy your meat and veggies, put them in freezer bags, and come to a workshop with some of your good friends, and knock out 10-20 meals in ONE hour!  You go home, put them in a freezer and you have easy meals to put together on busy nights.  It couldn’t be simpler!  You also get to go home with 5-7 full sized Wildtree products and recipes on hand to use them. 

The meals are delicious, healthy, and simple.  I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want that.

This is also IDEAL for new parents or soon-to-be new parents.  I made a few dinners before having E and stuck them in the freezer... I really wish I had so many more meals that were ready to make. I also really wish I knew about Wildtree so I had healthy meals ready to go.  

Becoming a Rep:

If anyone is interested in making some extra money or even if you just want a fun night once or twice a month, you might want to consider becoming a Wildtree Rep. My team leader is on her way to replacing her nursing income with working very part time and our executive director made $83,000 last year and she has been doing this for a little over 2 years. 

I will be having a launch party in late June (invites will soon go out), but in the meantime, if anyone wants more information on this product line, would like to be included in a workshop, would like to try some product, or if anyone would like to join my team and become a rep, you can email me (kbelle873@gmail.com), go to my website at www.mywildtree.com/katierobertson, or comment below!

Happy eating… and Happy Friday!  Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!

Elise is 7 Months Old!

Goose,

What a month does!  You have suddenly become your own little person who knows what she wants.  You are a curious, happy, demanding, cuddly, and above all, oh so loving.

You are a mama’s girl but your face lights up when you see your daddy.   You give him the biggest smile (one that I only see when you see him) I read somewhere that babies seek fun and excitement from their dads and love and comfort from their moms…that fits you to a T.  However, I think we lose out to your pups.  They get the biggest smiles and happiest laughs from you.

You hate when your dad or me walks away from you.    In fact, you are typing with me right now because you didn’t want to be one foot away.  You have become very attached this last week and it is hard for us to get anything done.  I love that you love to cuddle.  You reach for me in your sleep and if you don’t feel me you wake up (which has its own problems) but I still love it no matter what.  Speaking of sleep… what is sleep?  I am chalking it up to teething and I hope this new found hate for sleeping of yours ends soon.  It takes about 45 minutes to get you to take a nap and go to bed.  Whatever it is just make it end soon… mommy is tired!

You absolutely love to eat.  You still despise avocados but everything else you love.  You love feeding yourself already and will get mad if I try feeding you.  I have recently started giving you whatever we are eating for dinner.  Last night, you ate chicken, pasta, and veggies.  I blended some at first but you weren’t having that, so I cut little pieces up and you gobbled it down.  You were happily eating away for about 30 minutes.  Your other favorites are HappyPuffs and Little Yums.  You also love sharing my morning bowl of oatmeal.

You are sitting up like a pro now.  You are pulling yourself forward so that you end up on your belly, which I think is a good start to crawling.  I’m thinking that by next month you will be mobile.  We need to get going on baby proofing!

You absolutely love being outside.  Whether it be in the yard or out for walk.  I can put you in your bumbo and garden away and you’ll be happily pulling at the grass, watching the dogs, or just watching what I am doing.  If you’re having a particularly bad day, I can take you outside and you will stop crying instantly.

You had your first trip to the zoo this month and your first ride on the carousel. Daddy was so excited…get ready to go with him a lot!

You also celebrated your first Easter and dyed your first Easter egg. We went on an egghunt together.  So far, that has been the best holiday with you! 

Things you love:

Eating

Cuddling

Your pups

Anything that is not a toy (my wallet and hair especially)

Walks

Your Ergo

Jumping

Your mommy and daddy (but that goes without saying)

Things you hate:

Napping

Sleep in general

Being left alone for 0.3 seconds

One of the funniest things you have started to do when you’re mad is turning really red and putting your firsts up in the air and yelling.  All I can do is laugh.

You are my angel, my star, my darling! Mommy loves you!  Happy SEVEN months!

Day in the Life with a 6ish Month Old

I see these posts on blogs all the time and I always like reading them to see how much our schedule delineates from “norm.” Plus, I think they are kind of fun for family to see what we do all day.

We will start off the night before:

7:30-8:00pm - E goes down for the night

8:00-10:00pm – Mike gets home. We get to watch our favorite tv shows or if he gets home really late we will just eat dinner and talk at the dinner table until we get tired

2:00-5:00am – E wakes up for a feeding

7:30am – E is up for the day

8:00am – We finally get out of bed and start our day

8:05am – E plays around with breast feeding and decides she would rather not

8:10-8:30am – Dogs get fed, I drink coffee, and E either gets held or jumps in her jumper.  She starts to complain so we move onto something else

8:30-9:00am – We go into the playroom and see if we can waste some time.  I usually get more interested in her toys than she does and I often catch myself pushing every single button on a toy while E is chewing on a block 3 feet away

9:00am - Nurse E to sleep

9:10am – E doesn’t want to take her nap.  I put her in her crib… she cries… I take her out… she stops… I put her back in… she cries… I take her out and she starts to suck her thumb and lays her head on my chest and falls asleep 6/10 times like this.

9:30am – E is finally asleep.  I speed clean the house.  Sometimes I get a spark and deep clean the entire house in 45 minutes (I would really like to see myself during this time… I probably look like the old, tanned neighbor from “Something About May.”  I usually wait to run on Mike’s days off but sometimes I’ll run on the treadmill during this time.  I take a shower.  Do LOTS of laundry

10:00am – I am starving.  I eat breakfast… oatmeal, berries, and maple syrup

11:30am – E’s naps vary and she will wake up anytime between 10 and 11:30

11:30am – Nurse E

12:00pm – Change E and put her in day clothes.  Take 300 pictures because she looks so darn cute

12:20pm – Feed E real food.  She gags, I laugh, she laughs, and then she is done

12:50pm – E is starting to get bored again and so am I.  We take the dogs for a walk and I curse the fact that we did because Gracie is pulling and Chloe gets scared of her own shadow.

1:20pm – Get home.  E starts to rub her eyes.  I take that cue and nurse her again. This time she falls asleep

1:30pm – E is napping and I get the much-needed break.  Can’t really tell you what I do during this time but I try to be productive.  Today, I made pear puree for E next week.  On hard days, I lie on the couch and catch up on DVR shows.

3:00pm – E is up and gets nursed

3:20-6pm – We roam around the house.  I snack, E jumps, sits in her high chair, I snack, we play in the playroom, and I snack some more. 

6:00pm – E is done

6:01-6:30pm – I try to entertain her until bath time and minimize crying.  I also try to cook dinner during this time.  Not the easiest feat.  

6:30pm – E’s bath time.  Her favorite time of day

7:00pm – Nurse her and try to get her to sleep

And we do it all over again, tomorrow!

This is typical day for us.  We will sometimes venture out or have a Grandparent come over; but for the most part this is E and I’s life without Dad.

Of course, as soon as I hit publish on this post she will change everything.

Why I Make my own Baby Food

Now that E is starting solids, I want her to have and taste REAL foods.  I really have nothing against store bought/jarred baby food and it is definitely a route I would go if I had less time on my hands.  This may sound funny or silly but since I have been “making” her food since she was born (and even before that, I suppose) I wanted to keep the trend up.   I make dinner for Mike and I so what is so difficult about making my daughter food, too?  Seriously though, it is ten times easier than I thought it would be.

I also love the fact that I get to choose the ingredients and actually see/do the process from start to finish.  I select, wash, cut, steam, and puree it and I know there is no contamination.  I’m “processing” her foods but I am not buying and giving her processed foods.  The hope in doing this is that she will grow up loving the taste of non-processed and fresh foods instead of junky, processed foods.  Also, by introducing her to textures and flavors at 5.5-6 months (instead of giving her “one texture” purees and at a later age), I hope and believe that she will not be a picky eater into toddlerhood.

Processed and fast foods have become such an epidemic in our society, and I am victim to it.  My teenage years were spent eating fast food and drinking pop.  I fell into the slump of eating a lot of processed junk during my pregnancy and after having E and I am just now slowly transitioning back to eating whole organic foods, again.  I’m not going to withhold food from my daughter, but my hope is that she will CHOOSE healthy foods over junk.

I know… high hopes!

So far, E has only had sweet potatoes, avocado, and green beans.  She basically despised avocados (Heck, I hated them until I was in my 20’s), but seems to really like the potatoes and green beans.   I tried rice cereal about 3 or 4 weeks ago but she seemed to get really cranky the rest of the day so I basically skipped the cereals altogether.  I’ll introduce oatmeal later on. 

HATES avocados!

Theres is also the fact that making my own baby food is cost effective.  I can make 10-20 servings for the cost of 2 or 3 of those store bought pouches.  This isn't a huge reason I do this but it is a cherry on top!

The process is really quite easy:

1. Choose organic, in season produce

2. Peel skinned veggies and fruits

3. Wash thoroughly (before being cut and once it is cut)

4. Steam

5. Blend in a food processor or blender (adding cooking liquid to get the texture suitable for your baby’s age)

6. Divide into ice cube trays and freeze

7. Take food out of trays and place into freezer bags (veggies and fruits are good up to 3 months in the freezer)

The only two exceptions are bananas and avocados.  They do not need to cooked and can just be mashed up with a fork as long as they are ripe enough.  They also cannot be frozen.

Veggies need to be cooked until the child is 12 months old to reduce choking hazard.

Foods suitable for 4-6 month olds:

VEGGIES: sweet potatoes, green beans, and squash (acorn or butternut)

FRUITS: pears, apples, avocados, and bananas

GRAINS: whole grain organic cereals (oatmeal, rice, and barley)

Of course, always follow your instincts.  If you don't think your baby is ready for solids then wait.  E loves to breastfeed and nothing has changed from before we started solids. 

Elise’s Baptism

I’ll admit that before Elise was born, I wasn’t at all religious.  I believed more in science and concrete evidence.  But now that I have this perfect baby girl with the best little personality that came from happiness and love… I can’t help but think there must be something more. 

I was brought up Catholic and it was my parents’ request that we get Elise Baptized, we, of course, agreed.  As the time drew near, I was more and more excited about it.  I do not want to raise Elise to think that there is nothing else out there and that there is only this life and then it is over.  I want her to have faith and hope.  I want her to know right from wrong.  And above all, I want her to believe in something.  She can believe in whatever she wants to, but I want to give her the tools to choose the right path in her life. 

We chose, in our eyes, the perfect Godparents for our little girl.  Two people that we look up to immensely (both as parents and as husband and wife) and who will help us teach Elise so that she can choose her own path once the time comes.  Godparents who will love her always, no matter what she chooses in life. 

The day was perfect!  Elise wore my baptismal gown.  I was always so excited for my child to get to wear this gown.  Every time my mom would show it to me, I would get giddy about how special it will be for me to have my baby wear it.  And it was just as special as I believed it would be.  I hope she will feel the same way.

She had her closest family there with her on her special day.  Family, that (I think) before she was born, had dwindled on their beliefs. 

We returned home for a brunch buffet and cake… that turned out just how I pictured it!  

I’m so excited for our little girl!  She does and will make so many people smile throughout her lifetime.  I know she makes me smile more than I ever thought possible!  She, alone, has brought faith back into my life.