Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Another Aquarium Day!

Joseph and I took the train and walked to the aquarium today - I had him in the ergo on the front and had all his stuff in a backpack! It worked out really well. I was nervous that I'd get too tired, but it was fine.

It'll be even more awesome with my babyhawk, because then I can bring that AND the moby, and have him facing out in the moby, and use the babyhawk when we get sick of manipulating the wrap. It's hard to stow the ergo away when not using it.

I also bought the guest pass today! Yey! I'm looking forward to bringing friends with me. :)

Joseph's 2nd Haircut

Crazy, eh? Not even 7 months and on haircut number two.

Before:
During (temper tantrum ensued when he I wanted the comb back):
After (thank goodness that sticky-up part went away post-bath!):

Sunday, September 27, 2009

I *needed* it, so I got it.


The Baby Hawk, that is! I'm am beyond excited to receive this! It's a mei tai carrier - an Asian inspired carrier that consists of a square of fabric with "arms" and "legs" - you tie those around you and voila! Snug, happy baby! I love the pattern on this one, and it'll go w/ my brown stuff for fall. Convincing argument?

So with this addition, here's what we've got:

Moby: I still LOVE this wrap. It's almost like Joseph is back in my belly when I wear it. Now that it's a bit cooler, I've been using it a bit again, and Joseph is just snug as a bug in it. He loves it. Today I tried the back carry position, and did OK tying it for my first try, but I need to work on getting it tighter.

Ergo: This is my go-to carrier. It's quick, easy, and relatively cool. It is very backpacky and masculine, though. Joseph takes awesome (1.5-2 hour) naps in it on my back, and is such an observer when he's on my front out and about. If it was more stylish, I'd never want to own anything else. OK, that's not true, but I wouldn't *need* anything else!

Ring Sling: I got a solarveil (UV protection fabric) sling from Kim's Kreations on Etsy, and it is a great ring sling. I just don't really enjoy using them. They don't have the support at the waist that the other carriers have, and all the weight is on one shoulder. It was good for really hot days and when I didn't want to be so bulky, though.

Ellaroo Mei Hip: I have only tried this one a couple of times. I don't love it, yet, but I think I'll like it more as Joseph gets more independent. Right now we don't really care for hip carries.

I do love carriers with pockets - the ellaroo and ring sling don't have them and I definitely miss them. The moby doesn't have one, but you can tuck things into the crevices. If I had to choose just ONE, I'd go with the Ergo. If I could have 2, I'd add the moby.

Bath Time!

Joseph had his first "big kid" bath yesterday! Now that he can sit, I think we'll start using the bath as a fun playtime instead of a quick dunk a few times a week. Here are a few cute (internet appropriate) photos:

Little fish in a big pond
Smiling for Daddy
Splashing around
Contemplating volumetrics

Saturday, September 26, 2009

One Year Ago on DomerBaby

September 26 - October 3

Thursday, September 24, 2009

"Photographs" In My Mind

There are some things that, though I have tried, I can't capture on film. Generally, these are the things that I a lot, but they happen while I've got Joseph with two hands. I wish I could have them on film, because I feel like they will fade away and I'll forget as he gets older.

Maybe I can at least look back at this post and remember:

  • His expression after nursing when he was a newborn - "Blue Steel"
  • The feel of him clutching me lately - not digging in to me or pulling my hair, but just hugging me close.
  • Joseph giving me a kiss after the "hug". I don't think the hug is intentional in the way we hug, but I do think the kiss is.
  • When he gets playful - usually after a long nap in the Ergo - and leans way back, looks up at me and his eyes just sparkle. Then I give him a little peck on the nose or mouth and he laughs - he has this low chortle laugh that cracks me up.
  • Joking around while we nurse - he'll start smiling mid-suck. It's so cute.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Missing Daddy

T.J. has started to travel again for work. He spent 3 days in Chicago last week and went back again for another 4 days this week.

Luckily Joseph is old enough now that I don't go insane by 6:30 pm. If T.J. had tried to leave me at 3 months I'd probably have chewed my arm off in some form of insane desperation. Things are substantially "easier" at home now.

But we still miss having daddy around.

He is fun to play with

He makes us laugh

And he gives good piggy back rides

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Applesauce

I had intended to give Joseph avocado for a whole week before moving on to banana and then sweet potato. However, I used all the avocado for guacamole on Saturday, and then yesterday we got rained in, so I decided to give him some applesauce instead, since we had a jar of organic unsweetened lying around for baking.

He made the same face as with avocado (makes me laugh to think about it!) but he gagged less on it today. I also gave him a sippy cup to play with, which was pretty hilarious. He is absolutely obsessed with drinking apparatus. Cups, water bottles, beer bottles, wine glasses... it doesn't matter. The more it sweats, the better. And he throws "temper tantrums" when he can't fit the whole thing in his mouth or I take it back.

I'm hoping he'll get the hang of a sippy and/or straw soon. It'd give us more leeway with him, since he can take expressed breast milk that way then. He still has never really taken to the bottle. My child is kinda weird. But we all knew that.

"Weird? Me? Really?"

Jenny Homemaker

I've been on a "homemaking" tear lately at home! In the last few weeks I've made:

pudding
gravy
alfredo sauce
chicken noodle soup

All 100% from scratch and even modified from original recipes! And I have to reiterate that the this chicken stock has completely rocked my world. I honestly have never tasted ANYTHING more delicious. Including dairy queen. I'm not kidding. I seriously considered sending some soup overnight to my dad, my culinary mentor, just to show him how good it really is and force him to make it himself.

On top of that, I've been knitting up a storm trying to get a sweater made in time for Joseph's baptism. After spending way too much on his gown, I didn't want to plunk down more money for a sweater - besides, now he has something "special" from me.

Here is the WIP (work in progress):
I'm actually even further along now - this was from a couple of days ago.

Now if only my homemaking rampage would extend to house cleaning... Hmm.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

First Food: Avocado

Joseph "enjoyed" some avocado today. I just mashed it with a fork and T.J. fed him. He did pretty well!

I had planned to get organic avocado, but they weren't ripe! So I just went with regular Hass avocados since according to the Environmental Working Group, avocados have one of the lowest pesticide loads. We try to buy organic as much as possible to reduce the amount of pesticides in our diet.

You can see the first 6 minutes of his experience here in video before I switched to stills. Photos are here - for some reason blogger isn't letting me upload to the blog!

One Year Ago on DomerBaby

September 19 - September 25

Friday, September 18, 2009

A day at the aquarium

I'm sorry. I forgot my camera.

::dodges tomatoes::

OK, now that I got that out of the way! Don't worry, dear readers (aka grandmas) we will be returning many times now that I bought an annual pass! Yey! I have to use it lots this winter in case we move next spring (I know - you don't even believe us when we say that anymore, do you?).

I think Joseph liked it pretty well - there is lots to look at. It was annoying to have the stroller. Maybe next time I will leave it... but then I need to carry the diaper bag AND Joseph which can be cumbersome. If only I had the babyhawk with pocket. I wonder if the pocket can hold 5 diapers, wipes, wetbag, changing pad, water bottle, snack... hmm. Perhaps this is not the job for my luscious babyhawk. Not that I don't NEED it.

I'll have to work on logistics - or just bring the BOB again. Regardless, it's a fun time! And for all my Atlanta peeps and visitors, I'm going to buy a guest pass, so for a mere $10 (just until I've paid for the pass) you are welcome to come with me. $16 savings!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

6 month pediatritian visit

Joseph and I went to his 6 mo visit today. He got a couple of shots (he's such a trooper) and weighed and measured. Here are his stats:

Weight: 14lb 11oz - 6%
Height: 26.75" - 56%
Head: 42.8 cm - 21%

The doctor said he looks happy and healthy and perfect! I tend to agree. We're going to start him on solids this weekend (T.J. had to go out of town for work, and I want him to do the honors).

Our little man is growing so fast!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Because I don't have to choose!

I took a bunch of pictures of Joseph today after his nap. The lighting was awesome, and I got some great shots of his eyes (and old-man expressions, of course). I couldn't decide which ones I should delete, then I thought, what the heck, I don't have to delete any!

I did delete the obvious duds, but I have a hard time narrowing his pictures down! I'm sure if/when DomerBabyII comes along s/he'll be spiteful of the hundreds of photos Joseph has. Such is life.

Anyway here are a few, but the rest are on the smugmug page (link at the top of the blog)





A reminder of the good ol' days

Apparently teething means waking up (at least) every single hour in our house. But I'm not referencing the newborn stage in the title of this post - I'm talking about when I was young.

When Debbie and I were little - probably before we started school, but old enough to have clear memories - we used to crawl into bed with my mom in the middle of the night [dad worked nights then]. The first one in slept next to mom, and the second one in slept across the foot of the bed (sometimes we used mom's bum as a pillow!).

Last night, I got up to grab a diaper for Joseph, but he'd fallen back asleep before I got back so I wasn't going to wake him. Well, he'd managed to take up my ENTIRE side of the bed. Grr. I knew if I moved him he'd wake up to nurse and get his diaper changed, and given my chomped-upon nipples I'm avoiding extraneous nursing. So what's a girl to do? I briefly considered going to sleep on the couch, but that seemed mean to ditch T.J. in the middle of the night. Instead, I assumed the foot position.

I'm actually much too large now to sleep across the bottom of the bed, so I was sort of L-shaped since Joseph only took up the top half of my spot. It was not very comfortable, and I had to change directions once, but it was another hour that my baby slept instead of being awake fussing.

The things moms do for their kids!

And really, can I demand that we upgrade to a king from our lowly full-size bed? I can't wait till we do that. Joseph couldn't take up half of a king-sized bed for at least another two months! Ha!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Beginning Baby Food

I think Joseph is ready. He's past 6 months, has lost his tongue-thrust reflex, can sit unassisted (as of this weekend!) and he's close to, if not quite at, two times his birth weight. And he is interested! I had kind of hoped he'd be disinterested until he could deal with non-pureed foods, but in all honesty, we're ready to try something new with him, too! After we talk to the pediatrician on Wednesday I'll probably plan out his first menu. I think it'll be pretty simple: mashed avocado con leche!

Since before he was born, I've planned on making my own baby food. But trusty Auntie Debbie has given me more reason to do it homemade. Check out this article:

If you've been to a couple of baby showers, chances are you have encountered the horrible game of "guess the baby food." Jars without labels are lined up in front of guests. Guests dip a spoon in, taste, cringe, and then try to fathom what alleged combination of foods produced that hideous bland unappetizing flavor. Whenever I have done this I always thought there was some mystical but highly researched reason for this...that babies were odd creatures with utterly different taste sensibilities.
...
The Center for Science and Public Interest released a report entitled Cheating Babies: Nutritional Quality and Cost of Commercial Baby Food. They find that commercial baby food companies routinely dilute the nutritional content (and value) of baby foods with fillers such as starches and water.
...


"Gerber and Heinz dilute many second- and third-stage fruits and vegetables with water and starchy fillers and sweeten them with sugars. That practice greatly reduces the nutrient density of those foods compared to the pure fruit or vegetable product." These fillers include flour, corn syrup, corn, sugar or chemically modified tapioca. Yum, sounds delicious right?

Another problem with the practice of diluting nutritious food with fillers, which the report authors do not raise, is that several of the most common fillers are potential allergens. Corn and Wheat can both potentially cause allergic reactions in small children, and some recent scientific studies suggest that long term allergies, such as the allergy to wheat (Celiac disease), may be reduced by avoiding contact with those foods before babies are one year old (see Scientific American). So by feeding your baby commercially prepared baby foods loaded with fillers, you may be inadvertently exposing them to large quantities of potential allergens.

Researchers found that adulteration was more common with the second and third stage foods than with the stage 1 foods. Adulteration was so rampant that a "2.5-ounce jar of first-stage bananas or first-stage prunes actually contains more fruit than the 4-ounce jars of second-stage products that are adulterated with water and chemically modified starch." A 4 ounce serving of fresh apricots (such as the kind you could make yourself at home) contains twice the potassium and Vitamin A as the commercially prepared Gerber apricots, and approximately four times as much as the Heinz brand jarred apricots.

...

And all those fillers and water add up to greater profits, "Gerber and Heinz replace up to 70% of their second- and third-stage fruits with water and then thicken them with chemically modified tapioca starch. They also add starchy fillers to all their regular second- and third-stage dinners."

American babies consume an average of 600 jars of baby food by the time they are a year old (compared to 240 jars for Western European babies). The study suggests that new parents spend an average of $300 on baby food by the time baby reaches 12 months. And remember, babies don't begin to eat solid foods until they are 4 to 6 months old. Parents who want to purchase commercially prepared organic baby food that has few or no fillers pay considerably more, often $1-1.50 per jar of baby food.

The bottom line?
It is important that baby's first foods be non-allergenic and easily digestible, but commercial baby foods do not have the market on healthy baby food cornered. They became popular in the middle of the 20th Century thanks to ingenious marketing efforts that encouraged the baby food mystique amid general embracing of all things "scientific" as superior to "folk" versions. But the fillers added to commercial baby food dilute its nutritional content, and they are there for profit, not the science of baby nutrition.

Although I am convinced that home made baby foods are nutritionally superior to most commercial options, and are objectively cheaper, in general I think the world has enough judgment in it already, and mothers take more than their fair share. If you are already frazzled and tearing your hair out trying to be a good mom and you just don't think you can manage to make baby food, breathe deeply and relax. Cause you'll get no judgment from me. I think it is cheaper by a long shot and quicker and easier than I ever thought, so I'd love to see a lot of skeptics give it a try, but if it isn't for you don't worry. There are a thousand other ways to show your kid love, and she certainly isn't going to flunk out of calculus in 18 years just because you didn't puree her baby food at home.

If you want to give homemade baby food a try, check back next week for the second post in my baby food series, where I talk you through the entire process of making your own cheap, fast, easy, organic baby food at home. And remember those horrible tasting commercial jars? The baby food you make at home tastes just like, well, food.


If you didn't read all of that, the gist is that baby foods are filled with nasty fillers and sugar instead of the healthy foods they claim! Gross!

It'd be great if we didn't need regulations on EVERYTHING in this country because of the bottom line [and heck, maybe we wouldn't if they'd cut farm subsidies that overproduce said fillers]. Corporate America makes me so sick lately. I can't believe all the things people have to fight against to preserve the health of themselves their children. Grr.

Sorry for the Yey-Joseph-will-get-solids-turned-political-rant.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

I'm on a roll

Get it? Har har. This one I stuffed with fabric scraps and the top part of a rattle we got from T.J.'s work (it had the company logo on it, I don't feel bad about re-using it!)

So now Joseph has a crinkly sounding ball and a rattley sounding ball. What a lucky guy!

Almost a Snaggletooth

I created this post on Friday night meaning to post it on Sunday. However - things have developed so I have to move it up. Here's the post from Friday:

Joseph has been getting a tooth for a couple of weeks now (the tip popped through in Minnesota). That one is 2 from the center on the bottom. It's still just a little white dot. But on Thursday it looked like his gums were getting thin in front, and sure enough on Friday there was a little white dot on one of his bottom front teeth! Poor dear - it does seem to be bothering him. I gave him some baby orajel on Thursday when we were out taking pictures, but I think I lost it outside. Oops. I gave him some tylenol on Friday and that seemed to help, too. At least it helped him sleep - he took a 2.5 hour nap on my back. Yey for the Ergo! It wasn't nearly as awful as that sounds due to my great carrier. I'm considering getting him Hyland Teething Tablets... anyone have experience with those? Since there are a few teeth popping through, we're enjoying the last of the gummy smiles. How sad!

And here is the photo I took before bed tonight! I didn't actually circle the first little nub, but you can see it (it's the white dot on his gums right near his upper lip on the left side.

PS. Baby teeth are RAZOR sharp. Ouch!

My baby has a tooth!

One Year Ago on DomerBaby

September 12 - September 18

FO: Crinkle Ball

FO = Finished Object, by the way. I learned that at my super-cool knitting group.

I'm making Joseph a few crinkly yarn balls (filled with plastic bags) to play with. They knit up super fast - like in an hour for me - and my first one turned out well:


Two more to go, then I might try my hand at another baby sweater! Hopefully sweater making will go better this time!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Hat Knitting

I finished Joseph's hat last night at knitting group, and I learned a new skill! A really basic one, but I'm so grateful that the woman (Meg) spent the time helping me. Now I can finish things prettily!

Unfortunately, the hat barely fits Joseph now, which means it's too small as it is 80 degrees here in Atlanta. Into the "baby gift" pile it will go! I'm going to try again now that I know what size I should be working towards and I have a "pattern" in my head to use. The yarn is really nice - I love it.




Update: 6mo photos on smugmug

Do you know how hard it is to whittle down 550+ photos of your own child? Every picture seems worth keeping, because it captures some sort of expression you see a hundred times a day, or his eyes are just so, or the picture reminds you of the noise he made when you shot it.

Sigh.

But, I did it. I narrowed down from 550+ to 68 photos. Be proud of me.

Photo Gallery

Thursday, September 10, 2009

MWAC: 6 month portraits

Today Joseph and I went down to our local park for some photos to celebrate his reaching the ripe old age of 6 months. I know it's considered obligatory to get professional photography, but when you are a MWAC like me, who needs them?! Ok, so I'm not exactly and MWAC in the sense that I don't charge and I just photograph my own child. I just think the example sentence in that entry is hilarious!

Anyway, I'm still going through all 547 photos (eek!) but here are a few - or 12 - of my favorites so far. They are all straight from the camera - no editing!


Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Joseph is 6 months old today!

I can't believe it! Time really does fly.

As I mentioned before, things really changed this past week. He is turning into this amazing child! He is getting so big and tall, and starting to do fun things.

Yesterday I said that I thought he was a long way from hands and knees, but then he tried to prove me wrong - I think he's starting to get his bum a tiny bit up in the air. Yikes!

He also is mastering the mama sound. Still not sure if he means me, but it was REALLY cute yesterday when I put him to to sleep for a nap in his cosleeper - he was calling out mama mama mama when he started getting tired. Who can resist that? Not me, so I went back in and patted his back...

AND HE FELL ASLEEP! Without nursing! Without Daddy! This is a big thing for us.

Really, he's just become such a joy in the last couple of weeks. Even though he slept like crap last night and bit me (::tear::) in our sleep. Poor child got a rude awakening from that one.

So, we're half-way to one. And we're still alive. And (mostly) sane! He really is the best baby - and cute, too!

Happy half-birthday, Joseph!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Babbling, sitting, and being cute

Joseph now says mamama and bababa and a little bit of la and da! He isn't saying things *to* us, of course.

It's just REALLY cool to see what he's doing right now. He's starting to sit on his own for short periods of time (like 5-20 seconds), babbles, and is working on pushing himself up. He's got a ways to go to get on all fours, though (thank goodness).

I will have some new video up shortly. Just waiting for smugmug to come online! To tide you over, here are some pictures of Joseph I took the other day.

Body surfing - it's what he does best.
Sick of the camera?
Old man face + hearing gesture = hilarious
Happy face!
Pushing up - so strong!

Cool Breastfeeding Campaign

Apparently Spain has a campaign to promote breastfeeding to families there. Here is a cool commercial (translation below the video). It's called "Nada como Mama, Nada como mamar" - [Nothing like mama, nothing like sucking]. Cute!

Texas also has a breastfeeding campaign going - they have lots of cute stuff, including

signs for businesses:

little "business cards" to hand to mothers:

And advertising:

Monday, September 7, 2009

One Year Ago on DomerBaby

September 5 - September 11

Eight Hours!

That is the amount of time that Joseph slept last night without waking! He slept from 7:30pm - 3:30 am before waking up for a diaper change and food. Pretty darn good! I even moved him to his cosleeper when I came into bed around midnight and he stayed asleep. I think the secret is that he is now sleeping on his tummy (apparently OK since he can roll).

This is amazing stuff!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

First ND Game!

We went to the ND Club of Atlanta's gamewatch. It went pretty well. Joseph didn't nap well before hand (only got about 30 minutes) so he was exhausted to start. He got very upset by all the bursts of cheering going on (it was really loud). But eventually he fell asleep in the Ergo, and when he woke up, he was as good as new! All the ladies loved him (of course) and we enjoyed seeing a win!

Mama and Joseph
Daddy and Joseph

Friday, September 4, 2009

Koala Mom

This morning I took Joseph to a "Koala Mom" meeting - it was babywearing nirvana! There were probably 15 babywearing moms at a big coffee shop, tons of different slings/wraps/carriers to try, and people willing to help you figure out any issues. It was pretty awesome. Several of the ladies in my regular mom's group were there, which was fun.

After attending the meeting, I've realize that I don't WANT a Baby Hawk, I NEED one. Need.

I am very needy these days.

Look how awesome I'd be (it comes with great hair and a rockin' bod, don't you know?):



ps. Isn't "Koala Mom" the cutest name for a babywearing group?

Hoarding

Yes, this is my ball. What's it to you?
Oooh, look! My caterpillar!
I'll take that.
Yeah, this is the stuff!
Ah, life is so good.
What do you want? These are my toys. Don't even think about it.
Isn't there anything else I can grab?

ps. Our friend Sian knitted that awesome sweater for him. :)

Related Posts with Thumbnails

  © Blogger template 'Isolation' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP