Pinch Me! Elise is 6 Months Old!

Goose, you are 6 months old!!!  It feels like you have been with us forever but at the same time I cannot believe it has been 6 months since you have been born!

It just keeps getting more fun with you.  Even though I miss your cuddling, sleepy days, I love being able to play with you and make you laugh.  You make me laugh and smile more than I thought possible.  Your personality is really shining through and I think you are a good mix of both your dad and I.  I can tell you are going to be a talker around us (you’re a little shy around other family members) and you definitely like things your way.  You definitely love your parents and the life we have given you.

Look at those beautiful blue eyes!

You finally have rolled over both ways.  I think you think you don’t know how to do it because it happens spontaneously and you get this surprised look on your face.  You are sitting pretty well on your own but still sway a bunch so we keep the Boppy behind you.  You’re starting to react to your toys, which is really fun to watch.  You shake rattles, hug and kiss stuffed animals, and reach for your favorite toys.  You have also found your feet and love them!

Bath time is still your favorite time of day.  You have taken up splashing and water is starting to get everywhere.  I have a feeling that once you are sitting up better we will have to move you to the big bathtub. 

I have started running with you in the jogging stroller and boy is it hard.  You don’t seem to mind it much but get a little annoyed with bumps and if it is longer than 20-30 minutes.  You have to be well rested and fed to enjoy things like that. 

This is one of my favorite pictures.  It tells my story...

You grab everything that is in your reach.  You love your door bouncer.  You have just started really enjoying eating.  You love your pups.  You love being read to and looking at the books.  You love being sung to and talked to.  You love mornings.  You love the Ergo (and so do I… I wouldn’t be able to get any shopping done without it)! You love being close to your parents.

Your first time at the park... you aren't too sure about the swings yet.  No tears though so that was good!

You do not like not getting what you want.  You do not like not being able to move from point a to point b.  You do not like when I walk away from you.  You HATE the carseat and “long” (more than 5 minutes) car rides. 

We got a camera this month and I have been having so much fun playing around with you as my favorite model. Here are some of my favorites...

You like life… what can I say?!  I love watching you grow and learn about yourself.  And, I love that you are mine!  

You are my angel, my darling, my star and my love will find you wherever you are!

Love, Mom

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.

5 Months Old!

To my sweet baby girl,

You are 5 months old!  You are my little buddy and we do almost everything together.  I love this stage so much. 

One day, you decided that laughing was the best thing ever and some days all I have to do is look at you with a funny face and you crack up!  It is so much fun.  The things that make you happiest are your pups.  You love watching them wrestle and play together.  You especially love pulling on Gracie’s hair but you are so gentle with Chloe (I think you know their personalities already). 

Reaching out for Chloe

You love being held by your daddy or me.  You are also letting others hold you as long as I am beside you. You still are not rolling over (probably because you like being held so much) but you are able to sit up for about 5-10 seconds unassisted. 

You are growing so fast and becoming your own little person.  It is hard to believe that you have changed so much in these 5 months and I cannot believe that you’ll be ½ year soon.  I cherish every single second with you because they are going so fast.  I never wish away moments because I’ll never get them back. 

You wake up every morning with the biggest smile on your face.  You are just so eager to start your day.  And thanks to you, I am now a morning person… it is your happiest time.  I love waking up next to you every morning and I think you love waking up next to me, too!

We tried solids the last couple of days but I don’t think you are quite ready.  You were extra clingy and a bit of a crank…. I think we might forgo the cereal and start you on veggies next month, but we will see.  You seem really interested in food but your tummy might not be ready for it. 

You are quite the talker… and complainer… and yeller… and singer.  You like to talk (you get that from dad). You love singing in the bath (you also get that from your dad). If something is not going your way you will complain… and if it isn’t fixed you start to yell (you get this from my side).  I love everything about you.

You love breastfeeding… and I love it too.  At night you will nurse then snuggle into my arm and fall asleep… this is my favorite part of our day together.  It is my little slice of heaven. 

We do things our way and it is working for us.  We are a team; I listen to you and you hear me.  Every decision I make revolves around you.  I’ve learned not to force anything upon you… you have your own mind and you tell me what works for you. 

Valentine's Day!

The love I have for you is something that I will never be able to explain to you.  One thing I have learned is that you never know just how much your parents love you until you become a parent yourself.  Every day I love you more and more…and I know it will just keep growing. 

I believe all moms and babies have this special connection that as long as you nourish and love it, it’ll last forever.  I know, because your grandma and I still have it.  My bond with you is forever… never forget that.