6 Months

I can't believe it has been 6 months already.  So much in our lives has changed since Roland was born.  Despite moments of crippling depression, I am happier than I have ever been before.  Motherhood is really this amazing journey and I am loving all of it--even the poopy, pukey, pouty, screamy parts.

I haven't blogged much, and for that I really am sorry.  It's been hard to find the time!  First I had school, and then we took over the greenhouse...busy, busy bees.  I'm hoping to start writing more, just to keep a record of these precious days.

Roland is an amazing baby.  He is definitely getting a little bit spoiled...but other than that, he's been great.  He sleeps 8-10 hours every night.  Once in a great while he'll wake up in the middle of the night, but usually a binky will fix whatever is bothering him.  He doesn't nap very well, but I'd really rather he sleep well at night! His naps usually consist of 20 minute cat naps on the floor...sleeping in his crib just doesn't happen!

He is definitely a people person.  He loves people.  He loves to talk and laugh and smile.  He loves people making over him, and he is a terrible flirt!  He gives kisses and loves and is one of the cuddliest boys I've ever met.  If you are holding him he tends to ignore you...until you pass him off, and then he gives you these huge grins and giggles.  He will sit there and talk and talk and talk, especially if you are trying to have a conversation with someone...and he'll just talk louder and louder until you stop.  And then he stops.  It's so adorable!  Oh, and when he gets upset, he has this slo-mo cry...it starts out with a quivery lip, and then a full-blown pout, and then the wails start up.  Luckily, that doesn't happen very often!  Usually the only time he cries is if he is really overtired and we're trying to get him in bed (kiddo doesn't care for the heat, so bed time is a little rough these days) or if he is hungry.  Cause, you know, we starve him...obviously.

We take him out a lot and he spends a lot of time around new people.  There are very few people he doesn't like...most everyone can get a grin and a giggle out of him.  The other night, we were at a wedding, and he was being his usual cheerful self.  Someone told me that he has, 'Miles of Personality' which really...I think that is the best compliment a mother can get!  I mean, yeah, he is totally adorable...with those cheeks and that one dimple, of course he is!  But knowing that he has PERSONALITY is so awesome for me.

He is a stubborn little man.  He knows what he wants, and by god he'll get it!  He is a little bit spoiled, but he's not a brat.  He just loves to be held and cuddled.

He loves his toys.  He will sit on the floor and play with various toys for hours.

He is a speed roller!  He can get from one side of the room to the other in no time flat.  He is THIS close to getting up on his knees.  He can get each one up and under him, but he usually ends up flopping over.  He can crawl/scoot backwards though!  I think by the end of the summer, he is going to be jetting around the house.

He absolutely adores his bouncer.  He has figured out the bouncing aspect, and he'll spend hours bouncing and playing with the toys.  Bonus if you play with him--peek-a-boo gets a lot of giggles.

He squeals.  It is adorable and absolutely infectious.  If you eat his tummy or tickle him, he will squeal and giggle.  I don't think there is a better sound in the world than a happy baby!

He sits up all by himself now!  It took awhile...mostly because whenever he was on his butt he would flop over and launch himself after a toy or the cat.  But he's figured that if he is upright he can play with his new toy a lot better!  It's really amazing--2 weeks ago, he was still falling over and wouldn't sit very well unless he was being supported.  Now he will sit all by himself and be perfectly content!  It is just amazing how fast he is changing.

Teeth are our bane at the moment.  He is teething--oh man he chews on EVERYTHING--and it is bothering him a lot at times.  We've been chewing on teething toys a lot, but I've found that a frozen wet washcloth is the best thing.  Last night he even went to bed with one!  Only way I could get him to fall asleep...

His favorite stuffie is the dinosaur that his Daddy and I bought him last fall at the Museum of the Rockies.  He thinks it is pretty awesome.  Can't wait til he can make dino noises!

So, in short, my baby is amazing.  I know that all moms say that.  He is amazing and absolutely adorable and just perfect.

The last 6 months haven't been easy, but they have been amazing.  I have learned so much about myself, and my husband, and our child.  I am more in love with him today than I was the day I met him, if that could be possible!

Little Cubes of Joy

            My kid is an eater.

           

            No, really.  He is a serious pork chop.

            From day one, I wasn't able to produce enough milk to keep this little tubbo happy.  We tried exclusively breast feeding for a few weeks but we were both pretty miserable.  Even with supplementing with formula.  He wouldn't latch on well and he just wasn't getting enough off the boob to be happy.  It was great for comfort, but pretty rough for actual sustenance.

            At six weeks, we started putting a little bit of rice cereal in his bottle.  At that point, he was eating 4 to 6 ounces every 2 hours.  The cereal did the trick!  He would still eat about 6 ounces, but it was every 3 to 4 hours.  And shortly after that, he started sleeping through the night.

            At just over three months old, it was pretty obvious that he was ready to try something more.  If you were holding him and eating food, you would get the Jedi Mind Trick stare.  It didn't work, but that's only because he's still young.

            First, we started him on cereal mixed with a bit of formula.  He wasn't really a big fan of it.  Most of it ended up on his bib.  There was a bit of gagging on his end, so we scrapped that idea pretty quickly.

            We tried it again after a week, this time with the per-packaged Gerber applesauce.

            It was like the sun had broken through the clouds after a rainy day.  He attacked that applesauce like there was no tomorrow.  This time, there was hardly anything left on the bib.  And he made all kinds of happy giggles and noises.  He downed 2 ounces of it in no time flat.  After realizing that he could have eaten more, and that a 2-pack of Gerber runs anywhere from $0.90 to $1.15, I came to the conclusion that my hearty eater needed to try something different.

            For Christmas last year, my brother bought me a Baby Bullet.  It's just like the regular Magic Bullet (the food blender, not the adult toy, you perv!) except it has cutesy little faces on it and handy dandy 2 ounce serving cups.  I looked at it and told him how awesome it was...all the while dreading having to try it out.  While I loved the idea of making my own baby food, I just wasn't sure if the work involved would be worth it.  After seeing how much food my kid was putting away, I figured it was worth giving it a shot.

            I absolutely love it.

            No really.  It's a lot easier than you'd think!  I started out easy—bananas.  After the first batch was finished, I was hooked.  The food just looks and smells so much better than anything you buy in the store.  It's fresh, and you know exactly how fresh it is!  Since then, I've been a baby-food making fool.  So far we've had bananas, avocado, mango, peas, green beans, cauliflower, apricots and pears.  In my fridge, waiting to be blended, I have sweet potatoes, peaches and carrots.  And best of all?  He's eaten every single thing I've put in front of him!

Getting Started

            While it surely isn't required, I definitely recommend using a blender system of one breed or another.  There are many different ones out there—do some shopping and find the one that best suits your needs!  I have the Baby Bullet (http://www.babybullet.com/) and I really enjoy it...however, if I were to buy another system, I would likely invest in something like the Beaba BabyCook System (http://www.babycookstore.com.)  The Beaba will steam your food and then let you blend it up, all in the same cup!  It is a little more convenient for the super busy mom.

            Once you have your system, make sure you have plenty of storage for the food.     My Baby Bullet came with six 2 ounce cups with lids as well as a flexible freezer safe container that will freeze an additional 12 ounces.  On top of that, I bought four ice-cube trays.  Each cube in a tray is roughly an ounce, so it's a handy way to keep track of how much food you have for your little foodie.

            Oh, and don't forget a spatula!  The Baby Bullet comes with one (in a lovely matching puke-green color) and it's great for getting all of the puree out of the blender.  Of course, a spoon works just as well.

Picking the Food

            This is probably the most important part of the entire process.  If you choose fruits and vegetables that are too ripe, they won't be as good (and may have even started to go rotten.)  If you choose ones that aren't ripe enough, you'll have difficulties getting a nice smooth puree.  Use your best judgment!  If it is something that you wouldn't eat, then it probably isn't suitable for your little one.

            This website—http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/index.htm – has been an amazing resource throughout this journey!  You'll find some great tips on what to feed your baby and when, how to prepare it, and how to pick the best food for baby. 

            If you are going to make your own baby food, I would suggest starting out with something nice and easy.  Bananas are about as easy as you are going to get!  You want bananas that are ripe, preferably ones that are just starting to develop a few black spots.  These bananas will be nice and soft and mushy, and make your job a lot easier!  Don't go for green bananas—they're difficult to blend and don't taste quite right.

            Peel the bananas and plop them into your blending device of choice.  You can just use a fork and go to town, but it is much easier on you and baby to blend them.  Add water (or juice, if you prefer) to the puree until it reaches the desired consistency.  I usually do 2 banana and ¼ cup water.  Sometimes I use pear juice, which I pop out if the little man is having some butt problems.

            There are people who don't add any liquid to their purees and prefer to add it when the thaw the food.  Mine doesn't stay in the freezer long enough!

Storing your baby food

            Homemade baby food will stay good in the refrigerator for three days and up to three months in the freezer.  However, it's best to try to use your frozen food within a month for the best flavor.  Every time I feed our little one a container of the Gerber food, I keep it.  When it comes time for a massive food making extravaganza, I fill up my 6 refrigerator cups, all of my plastic Gerber cups, and then I move onto the freezer trays.  After the food is fully frozen, I pop it out of the trays and it goes into gallon Ziploc bags with a note indicating what it is and when it was made.

            You should not ever freeze anything that isn't made for freezing.  For example, regular baby food jars aren't freezer safe. 

            Frozen cubes of food can be taken out and thawed in the fridge overnight.  You can microwave the food, but be sure to test it before feeding it to your baby!  It will cook unevenly.  I have these awesome spoons that turn white if the food is too hot for little man—definitely worth the investment!

            When I make my baby food, I tend to do two of three different foods at a time.  I will blend up whatever we have in the house and freeze it for when he is ready to move on to trying something new.  It is recommended that you wait at least four days between introducing new foods to your baby.  That gives you time to make sure he isn't allergic or bothered by what you are giving him!  Things such as cauliflower can sometimes give babies terrible gas.

            I've discovered that with just an hour a week, I can make more than enough food to keep my little guy rolling in the puree.  And it isn't nearly as difficult or frustrating as I thought it would be!  I love having the opportunity to make my own baby food.  It gives me complete control over what I put in my child’s body—and it gives me the chance to experiment on him!  How many times have you seen avocado baby food in the baby food aisle?  But it's a great first baby food!  And my kid absolutely loved it!  Now, I keep an eye on the sales at the grocery store.  When produce that he likes goes on sale, I snatch some up.  We also participate in the Bountiful Baskets program (http://bountifulbaskets.org/) which gives us plenty of produce to choose from.

            Our son has shown us that he is a foodie in training.  Everything that we have given him has been promptly devoured.  When he sees his brightly colored bowl with those little cubes of joy, he squeals...and tries to rip it out of your hands.  The satisfied 'nom' noises make me think he really enjoys eating anything and everything.  Hopefully this means he won't be a picky eater like his momma...

Tales from the Blender!

My kid is a champion eater.  No, really.  He loves everything we've given him so far...which is pretty damn awesome.  The hope is he'll be a better eater than I am!

So far, he's had:

Applesauce--I'm not going to make my own applesauce, because it's a pain in the ass.  However.  I can buy a giant jug of it for $2.00, as opposed to roughly $1.00 for 4oz of it in the baby food section.  Totally worth it to buy in bulk.  I have taken to blending it up because it's not quite as smooth as the stuff in the baby food jars.

Bananas--He loooooves him some 'naners.  He gobbles them up like nobodies business.  If you are eating a banana, he'll look at you and open his mouth and make the, 'ah, ah, nom' noises until you smoosh some between your fingers for him.  It's stupidly adorable!  We've been eating a LOT of bananas in our house, so I tend to use the ones that are starting to get a little brown...still edible, but squishy enough that most people don't want to eat them.  They work perfectly!  Oh, and the baby food bananas are nasty looking!  They have that fake banana look to them...yuck.  But, he likes those too...and they're awfully handy when we're travelling!

Avocado--Again, he adores his avocado.  The only issue I've had with this was when I cut up an avocado that wasn't quite ripe enough.  The Baby Bullet had a hard time blending it, so I ended up taking a few chunks out.

Green Beans--I think next time, I need to cook these longer.  They were a tad bit lumpy when I blended them. He likes these quite a bit, even if I think they're nasty.


Tonight, I made up some more food.  Tomorrow, we're going to try Mango and see how he feels about that.  I'm actually really excited to see how he does with it!  I'm sure he'll love it...he hasn't met he a food he didn't love yet!

Yeah.  I'm in love with the Baby Bullet.  :)  It is SUCH a convenient little thing.  I really enjoy making our own food...we can still use the jar food in a pinch, but it's nice to be able to know exactly what he's eating.

Fat kid in Training!

On Monday, we started Young Master Roland on solids.  Of course, by solids, I mean rice cereal watered down with formula.  Gross.  He seemed to like it, though.  He ate really well, actually!  Most of it ended up in his belly (although there was some that ended up on his hands and face when he insisted on chewing on his fingers.) Overall, a pretty good experience.

The next few days, we fed him the watery rice cereal.  He ate it, but he never seemed to be wildly excited about it.

And then this morning, we moved on to Applesauce!  At first, he made a bit of a face, since it was something different.  And then there was this, 'Holy Crap, this is AMAZEBALLS' look on his face.  He then proceeded to eat.  A lot.  Like, the entire 2 1/2 oz container of it.  Yeah, someone likes him some applesauce.  Can't really blame him...it IS amazeballs.  He was great at eating it, and hardly any of it ended up on his bib/hands/forehead.  I get the feeling this shit is like GOLD to him...there will be no wasting!

After food, he ate 2oz of formula to wash it all down.  He is currently in his exersaucer, bouncing around in happy, pudgy, healthy glee.  I have a feeling my boy will be an excellent eater.

Oh, and before anyone tries to say anything...No, he is not yet 4 months.  However, experimental little bites have shown that he was more than ready for this step.  Yesterday, we were out of the house, and I forgot his cereal.  He didn't eat any cereal until yesterday evening...and he didn't eat a ton of it.  Yesterday?  He drank 45oz of formula.  With a bit of cereal in every bottle.  So...yeah.  It was definitely time to start the kiddo on solids.  He has tolerated them amazingly well (no puking, no diarrhea, no nothing...other than wanting MOAR) and I think he is doing great.  Every baby is different!

An update? No way!

Well, the past three months have been kind of crazy.  But I am going to attempt (though I may fail) to update the blog more often.  Roland is changing so much every day, that it's hard to keep up with him!  He is, however, the love of my life!

Our first ER Trip

So, yesterday, Roland's cough got much worse.  By the evening, he was coughing a lot and wheezing.  I steamed up the bathroom and took him in there, but it didn't help much.  He was also being REALLY fussy, which is very abnormal for him.  Around 10, I decided that I wanted to take him to the ER...as my mom said, better to take him when we're all awake then at 3am.

We were the only ones at the ER, so we waited less than 5 minutes before they called us back.  The nurse was very nice, kept talking about how adorable Roland is, how big he is, and how well he was tolerating getting poked at.  He kept flirting with her, too.

She weighed him...my kid is a whopping 14lbs,3oz.  He's HUGE!

The Doctor came in and listened to his chest, heart, tummy...said everything sounded good.  They tested him for RSV, which he did NOT like.  Then they got him a breathing treatment, which definitely helped with the wheezing.

And then, the Dr. told me that they wanted to do a chest x-ray, just to rule out pneumonia and make sure his lungs were clear.

If I never have to put my infant through an x-ray again, it will be too soon.  It was absolutely horrifying.  I didn't cry, but it was really hard not to...

They sat him upright on this little seat thing, raised his arms above his head to hold his head.  Then the x-ray tech strapped this hard, clear plastic tube around him.  Needless to say, he did NOT like this.  At all.  The poor little guy screamed and screamed.  It was absolutely heartbreaking...I wish it wasn't necessary, but I understand why they did it.

The x-rays were clear of anything serious and the RSV test was negative.  That coupled with the fact that he didn't have a fever gave them the diagnosis of bronchialitis.  Which is good, or better than it could have been.  The Dr. told us that if we weren't comfortable going home, he'd admit him because he's so young, but that there wasn't anything they'd do at the hospital that we couldn't do at home.  His wheezing and coughing cleared up after the breathing treatment, so we decided to go ahead and bring him home.  We got a prescription for a nebulizer and albuterol, just to help him breath a little easier.

We went down this morning and rented a nebulizer and got his meds, and it really does seem to help.  We're doing treatments every 3 hours, as needed, and it really is a relief to know that it makes him feel better.  Today when I gave him his treatment, he actually seemed to enjoy it...he was grinning and giggling and kept trying to eat the mask or push his face into it.

Oh, and the Lincare people in Havre are amazing...they're not open on Sundays, but the guy came in especially for us so that we could get his equipment set up.  He also gave us some free masks that we can pass in front of Roland's face.

Last night was very stressful for me.  Roland was SO good in the hospital.  Yes, he screamed during the x-ray...but I couldn't blame him one bit.  It was really painful seeing my baby boy so sick...but after the hospital, I felt so much better.  It was just good knowing that it wasn't anything serious, that it will pass, and that he is going to be ok.

Oh, and my kid is GIGANTIC!  :)

Really hoping Roland and I figure out our nighttime schedule soon.  Tight now hes up every hour or so...but will happily sleep 3-4 hours at a tome during the day.

So sleepy...

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