10 months

I've been bad about keeping this blog updated. Sorry! But I'll share some cute pictures and joyful facts about a sweet boy to make up for this blunder.

I recently put away his activity mat and his exersaucer for good. That was hard to do. I have loved seeing him grow and change, but it's been so hard to realize he isn't my tiny baby any more.

This boy weighed 9.4 kg or 20 lbs, 6 oz at his doctor's appointment in late March. He has a big head; he's only in the 50% for weight, but 98% in head circumference. He's 75 cm tall. (So about time for a new carseat. We got this three-in-one type that looks like a miniature throne and costs an arm and a leg.)

This kid is pretty content. Although he doesn't necessarily like to be left alone, so now that he crawls, he crawls after me. So cute! He started crawling at 9 1/2 month. It was kind of weak sauce though with a bum scoot and a crawl combination, but now he's got crawling down. He has also been cruising. He can pull himself up well, and had been doing that for a couple of months and he likes following me around the kitchen now. 

The hard part about him crawling is when he crawls away midway through a diaper change. Fortunately, I had the foresight to put a blanket down so when he has a dirty bum, I don't have to worry about the carpet.

He's started saying "mama" and "dada" among his other key phrases like "aboo" or "ahgah". He's also started clicking his tongue a lot and laughing. His giggles have been music to my ears. We just laugh and laugh sometimes.

He has four teeth now, but he should have a couple more up on top shortly. 

He likes to play with books and turn the pages. He's been after my books lately, too. Although, we have to keep an eye on this paper eater...

He has soft little curls on the back of his head that I love. He's so cute!        

The things he'll eat! He sat right down on the playground and started eating wood bark. Onion peels, food he threw off his trayonto the floor, his daddy's shoe are thinges he put in his mouth.  So gross! You'd think we didn't feed him!

Anyway, here are pictures of my cutie pie. I love him so much.

           

Co-sleeping: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Yes, Tycho co-sleeps. This was never our intention. We got a bassinet and a crib, and he doesn't use either of them for sleeping. Sigh. I did want to, but long story short, I didn't know how to swaddle or the purpose, Tycho scared me by sleeping on his side, and I was paranoid even though his bassinet was right next to the bed. And I was going to transition sooner, but I was still so tired from multiple night feedings. Get out of bed? Ugh. I had to do that last night and it was the worst. I still nurse Tycho about two to three times a night (he's ten months old). He eats when he needs to.

But I just wanted to give some advice and share my experience with co-sleeping.  First of all, I would like to say that I followed certain rules for co-sleeping to reduce certain risks. I don't smoke or drink, so there's the high risks removed from co-sleeping. I also made sure Tycho was away from pillows, our bed didn't slouch where he and I slept, so okay there. He could kick off the sheet--the only blanket I really had close to him, so no issues.

The good: initially I could only do a cross-cradle position for nursing so I would get out of bed with Tycho to sit in the rocking chair. Let's just say, angels must have been present because I did fall asleep with Tycho on my lap a few times... so dangerous! I was eager to learn how to lay down and nurse him. So I did when he was about four months old. It took time, and we were proficient when he was five or six months old. Huzzah! Once we got that down, I could nurse in bed easy peasy. I loved it. Because before I would probably get out of bed like 4 times at least. Ick.
We both roll over and return back into a deeper slumber most of the time now.
Also, when he's sick, I can help Tycho much more when he's sleeping next to me. He tends to wake up more often when he's teething or sick, so I can usually just stay in bed and comfort him. I'm lazy? Or just desperate for sleep?

The bad:  have you ever slept in one or two positions? Your body aches so much. I would go to bed with Tycho, and take Greg's side of the bed so I could sleep on the other side of Tycho. Bliss guys. I also slept with a pillow in between my legs so my lower leg wouldn't get so much pressure and so I could nurse easier. But it was so hard! Not sleeping on my left side was the worst. Now Tycho is older and we have a king-sized bed, I sleep on my left side but not as much as I would like...
The other hard part is making sure Greg gets adequate sleep. Tycho sleeps like a baby, and he's noisy and climbs on Greg when he wakes up. When we had a queen-sized bed, one of us (me) was always on the edge of the bed, bit a larger bed has made it easier to sleep.

The ugly: spitting up or peeing in bed. Need I say more?

If I had to do this over again, I would probably co-sleep still. Or just put Tycho in the bassinet at his bed time and then bring him to bed later when he gets up. But having a baby and getting up at night is something that go together usually, right? Oh well. We're pretty happy now.          

Thoughts on baby-led weaning

I love doing baby-led weaning so much that I wanted to share some experiences and thoughts. Go read "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook" for additional help and information.

I always wanted to wait until my baby was six months old to start eating foods. I felt that this was the best thing for him to do since you don't need to start solids sooner. Although, it was hard to not try to get him to eat something because breastfeeding around the clock at 5 months does get a bit tiring! But I persevered because I felt like he wasn't ready.

Anyway, we initially started by letting him chew on carrot sticks or apple slices first since he was teething around that time anyway.  I don't think he really swallowed anything, but it gave him experience chewing. I think though the key is to give your baby something they can hold onto while eating. So slices of fruit and vegetables were easy to give him (although he now doesn't care for raw carrot sticks... they were so easy!)

(I then went back to traditional feeding techniques by giving him plain yogurt to help his gut gain good bacteria a few times. Something my Turkish neighbor did with her daughter which made sense to me. Although, I tried to get him to feed himself with the spoon for the most part.)

Gagging is normal, although scary, and much different than choking. Tycho never choked--he gagged. That was the hardest part about starting this process because he would gag at every meal. Tycho got the eating and chewing down within a couple of months. He eats well for the most part now. A baby's gag reflux is a lot closer to the front of the mouth so they can't swallow anything too large--helpful to know, but still disconcerting to hear a baby gag!       

Some first foods Tycho liked trying: 

Bananas: at first in a large piece (1/2 banana), and then it has been fun for him to pick up smaller slices. 

Potatoes/sweet potato. This kid is in love with potatoes. Must have relatives from  Idaho. ;) I cook the potatoes I stew or give it took him roasted usually. Loves it.

Cucumbers. I don't know what it is about cucumbers, but this kid loves them so much. Maybe I'm baffled because I didn't like them until I was older.  

Meatballs: a new shape and texture. So fun when dipped in tomato sauce! He was about seven months or more when I introduced meatballs.  

Cheese: I introduced this around nine months, but Tycho loves it. I give him little pieces of cheddar cheese or melted cheese on bread. But only a little bit because this kid is gassy!
Bread and pancakes. He likes these foods quite a bit, so I go through the little bit of work to make thee from scratch. Gives me peace of mind.  

Thoughts:  

Avocado was hard for Tycho since it's so squishy. Spreading it on toast or just mashing it so they can spread it all around later was easier than slices.

Tycho gets bored with eating the same things over and over again, so I try to switch it up. Eggs for breakfast one day, pancakes another. 

 Regular oatmeal is easy to make and cheaper than the baby stuff, too. I make oatmeal for Tycho and he likes trying to stick it in his mouth with his fingers or I just load up a spoon and Tycho attempts to put that in his mouth. I flavor the oatmeal with unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon (yum!), a bit of butter, and a pinch of salt. Sometimes we switch it up and add pureed pear to oatmeal. 

Solids for baby led weaning don't have to be solid per say. You can dip toast in applesauce, for instance, or even in a stew so the baby will get the flavor of stew without the mess of a liquid.

Rice is annoying. I find it every where after meals with rice, but it gives him some practice at picing up small things, so I give him some.  

I try to keep things healthy for Tycho. Although, one thing I wish we had delayed introducing is cheerios. My son loves cheerios.    

Anyway, pictures of baby being grown up, eating food.

okay... pretty much six months. I felt pressured and I thought I could compromise with something he really couldn't eat.

Six months old trying to eat yogurt!

We had meatballs and pasta for dinner. Happy boy giving smiles to daddy.

Pancake, I believe, with banana slices for breakfast.  

Apple, peas, pasta with chicken parmigiana. Good stuff.  

A few things about me

Initially, I wanted to share this at or around my birthday, but I kind of forgot and stopped blogging for a while. I got interested in reading instead.

I skip to the end of books quite often even though it drives Greg crazy. (I'm so glad I did that in the last book of the sword of truth series. Goodkind...you are just as wordy than Ayn Rand.) But as a fellow skipper said, you can focus on the journey once you know the end.

I wanted to be a soprano when I first joined choir. I was so disappointed in learning that I'm an alto.  Prima donna...yes, I know. Don't worry, I'm fine with my voice now and with being an alto.

I don't enjoy telling people where I'm from or telling them my family story 'cause it's too complicated and I like details. In short: divorced parents, military, lots of step-siblings, and I lived all over the U.S.

I love rolling down hills. I haven't done it in a while on account of pregnancy/taking care of a baby and not finding a decent hill without goose poop.

I don't know what to consider myself: night owl or early bird, but something in between fits me best, I believe. Okay I feel more accomplished when I can get stuff done in the morning.

I love lifting weights 'cause bench pressing makes you feel super powerful even when you are just bench pressing the bar. While not lifting weights, I enjoy walking and dancing--zumba.

I wanted to do choreography for a while. I blame N'Sync. Also, I am not the greatest coordinated dancer.

I've always wanted to learn how to weld. I think one of the things that made me most depressed about moving to North Carolina was learning that they didn't have a welding class at my new high school, and by the time I got to my third high school, I ended up taking classes that I was comfortable with except for AP-Stats which was the biggest mistake ever.

I loved wearing overalls all the time, and now I love wearing skirts all the time except in Canadian winters.

I know crocs are the ugliest shoes out there, but I love how comfortable they are.

I dislike the story "The Hunger Games" more "Twilight".  

If there is anything I'd like to change about myself it would be to not quit and/or lash out so readily when I get discouraged and frustrated with a project, etc. I think I've noticed that I just give up because I want to be perfect, and I think I need to be perfect immediately or else. I think my new goal is to be patient with myself.

I love organizing. I considered becoming a professional organizer until I saw the show Hoarders: buried alive. Some of house scared me too much. I think I'll just stick to organizing my house really well.

I have a love/hate relationship with video games. My problem falls under the desire to not look like a n00b next to my husband, who has been playing video games since he was about 4 years old.

Tycho at 7 months

Oh yeah... I have a blog... I've been busy with a baby and reading numrous and enjoying the holidays with my family.

Well, I'll just start by bragging about my awesome baby.  He's amazing. I worried and worried about going to California with him, but he was a champion traveler and a joy to be around. We were surprised the day after we arrived that he had teeth. Teething AND traveling?! No fussing...okay minor fussing. But who wouldn't get bored, cranky, and fussy on a four-hour flight after getting up at 4 a.m.?

  Happy baby with new teeth...I was trying to get a picture of his teeth that just popped in. Unfortunately, they just wanted to stay hidden. He just has two bottom teeth for now.

Anyway, about Tycho:

He wants to walk. Crawling doesn't interest him at much, but he can hold up his body while on hands and knees now.  So Greg and I walk him around. Our poor backs... This little guy started pulling himself up to standing position a few weeks ago. Of course he needs a bit of help getting there. Greg kept telling me he was pulling himself up, and I was getting frustrated because I hadn't witnessed this the first several times he did it. But he does it all the time now.

He doesn't like rolling over that much or being on his back any more. He acts like it's the worst thing ever to roll over even though he knows how to do it.

He loves food now. He started solids at six months,  but for the first month or so, he grimaced at everything he tasted. I laughed so many times at his surprised, disappointed face.  Now he's actually happy to be eating. We are doing the baby-led weaning approach to solids because feeding him pureed food is impossible. He is an independent little guy. He wants to hold everything himself. I'm okay with this. I figure he'll eat til he's full or bored, and I don't have to sit around playing airplane. So we've just focused mainly on fruits and vegetables. And meat.

He didn't like taking a bath in a new place which seemed strange. So for the first few times he took a bath at his grandma's house, he was upset. But after talking through it, he got used to taking baths again. That was the only struggle we really had with traveling. And then he didn't want to bathe at our house, but I've found that explaining his next activity and talking him through the process, he actually doesn't mind or isn't nervous/anxious.

He loves eating paper... I'm pretty sure it's his favorite thing to chew on. The last few times we have been to the doctor's office, he has tried sticking the paper that's on the exam table in his mouth. It rips too easily, guys. The day after Christmas, I found wrapping paper in his diaper even though I tried to keep that out of his mouth....

He's a friendly, happy baby. He doesn't like being alone for long. I feel like I have to say, "I'll be right back in a minute, Tycho!" all the time just so he'll stay calm because sometimes I need to grab something from downstairs, but I don't want to take Tycho with me. Climbing up and down stairs with a baby gets tiring.

He likes to play with whatever is in my hands. He'll take it away, too. For instance, I wanted to write in my journal while he played with his toys. So he wanted my pen and then my journal. That's how we play.

He likes giving kisses, although this doesn't happen as often any more. They are usually open mouth with his hands pulling at your hair kind of kisses. It's darling until his hands get caught in your hair.

He still falls asleep on his side. That used to worry me when he was a newborn, but not any more. He'll eventually roll over onto his back at night.

He's starting to fit in 9-month sized clothes quite nicely. I can't believe how big he is now! He's 19 lbs and like 27 inches tall.

He received his baby blessing on 6  December from his daddy. It was beautiful although I started laughing a little because he started getting upset which distracted Greg.  Apparently Tycho didn't like being bounced around. The weird part was when one of the stake presidency members joined in the circle, uninvited, and stood next to Greg. Anyway, his blessing was very special and I'm glad we had family around to be a part of it.

Alright. Pictures to prove how cute he is.

Had to take this off two minutes because he got poop on the back, but he liked super cute in it.

enjoying the sunshine in jammies

Playing with Christmas toys

Trying an orange.

I don't like this!

feeling much better because of medicine. See the teeth?

I really did try purees! But he likes trying to feed himself. He liked his red pepper and meatball at this meal. 

trying to walk with daddy

Well, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll do a better job keeping this blog updated.  

 




      

Homemade Granola and breastfeeding

Okay this will mostly be about granola, but I do want to share why I make granola so often.
Oatmeal! Almonds! Two helpful foods for increasing breast milk supply. I look back on the last few months of my pregnancy, and now I understand my desire to have a bowl of oatmeal so often. Even as I went into labor I enjoyed a bowl of granola with milk. Yum.

What you will need:
2 cups of oatmeal
1/2 to 3/4 cup of sliced almonds
Dash of salt
1/4 cup of butter or coconut oil or a combination of both
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp of cinnamon
Optional:raisins, ctaisins, or other nuts or even seeds
(For the sake of time, I keep this simple.)

Combine all ingredients into a bowl, and mix well. Spread out evenly onto a pan. Bake at 200 degrees for twenty minutes, rotating half way through. Allow granola to sit at room temperature for an hour or so before consuming...or packing it away. You don't necessarily have to melt the butter before --let it melt in the oven.  Mixing it into the dry ingredients as best as you can will suffice. Should yield about 4 cups or so. Add it to yogurt or make a bowl of cereal. Or you can eat it plain.

12-week old baby

Hahaha... so originally I was going to write this post about Tycho when he was ten-weeks old. Hahaha life.

   I love my baby. Although, I recently realized that I would rather deal with dirty diapers then trying to calm him down all the time. Not that he's cranky all the time, but trying to persuade someone to be happy is HARD. Bad? I know. I just find it hard to keep putting out fires all the time. I've been reading in the Old Testament lately, and I've learned that even Moses had to delegate and receive help while interacting with the Israelites. God supports Moses, and gives him guidance in his approach to dealing with the Israelites. For instance, Aaron helps out as well as seventy elders. God also helps me and gives me guidance. I'm also positive that God doesn't want us to be alone in raising kids. So, we have family support. I'm pretty sure I'd go insane if I were single. Not that Tycho is super difficult, but I get tired or cranky because I essentially spend all of my time taking care of this little fellow. I need a little break here and there. I won't deny that the few moments I have for myself are lovely. Moses, I have found your patience, example of prayer, and delegation of duties to be reassuring in motherhood. Also, Daddy is amazing at putting out the fires, and "doing all the things".

Okay about Tycho.

   Okay, I find it frustrating when people ask if he sleeps through the night. Yes, he does. When I get him to bed (the last few week  forever days have been hard since he's had a cold and has been cranky at night) he sleeps all night. No crying, no fussing...just kidding. Although, sometimes, he gets upset because of gas. He eats every two to three hours. I'm not getting as much sleep like some moms who breastfeed because I can't stay semi-asleep while fedding Tycho and I don't breastfeed in bed because we aren't good at laying on our sides and eating. I usually sit in my glider rocker, and feed him. I go to bed at the same time as Tycho so I attempt to get adequate sleep, too (he usually sleeps for 10 hours or so at night).  

   Tycho loves his changing table-- he always has. He loves getting his diaper changed and getting dressed. He smiles so much on that table.
   I'm not sure if Tycho likes taking baths or not because he doesn't smile really, but I think that has to do with the time of day--too tired to smile in the evening. I'm pretty sure he tolerates it. He also pees every single time he takes a bath. Crazy kid.
   He loves a blanket. He doesn't have a favorite, but if you throw a blanket on him, he smiles, grabs a hold of that blanket,  and goes crazy kicking up a storm. (I need to get a video if this 'cause it's so stinkin' cute.)
   Tycho actually enjoys going out in his stroller. He usually falls asleep despite the fact that the stroller isn't a smooth ride. He doesn't mind the car seat.
   He started to wear 3-6 month sized clothes around 7 weeks of age. (He weighed about 13 pounds at the time, too.) Since Tycho was circumcised and then got a cold promptly, and we still begging for a family doctor, we weighed him using our neighbor's scale a week or so ago. He weighs more than 14 lbs. I was surprised he didn't weigh more, but having had a cold, I think that slowed things down? I still changed the same amount of diapers. He recently had a feeding frenxy/growth spurt, so he has gotten kind of chubby again which makes me happy.
   Tycho has different cries now which makes me happy because loud, piercing cry isn't on the menu all the time. He also talks and coos especially when he is lying down on his back. When I sing the song "the wheels on the bus" to calm him down (since that sometimes works), he will atempt to do a duet with me--also something that needs to be recorded. We sometimes call him Mr. Smiles-a-lot, Tiger, or Mr. Toots a lot...
   Tycho rarely spits up, but when he does, I'm never prepared. Instead he drools a lot. And starts making bubbles and foams at the mouth or sucks on his hands when he's hungry. He doesn't like a soother, and after a week of attempting to introduce it-- I really didn't want to introduce it anyway--I gave up. I'm glad I don't have to worry about them 'cause they are kind of gross in my opinion. And he looked ridiculous with a soother in his mouth. Some babies can pull it off, but not Tycho.
  
  Anyway, I think that's all I have to say. I will share some pictures, though.

matching socks! I know moms like to share making toe nail polish, but I have a son. I like this so much.

Tycho waking up daddy. 

had to document Tycho's super long nap...this hardly ever happens

Playing. He can grasp the objects now. I think he likes his mat.