March 26, 2015 by Stephanie

George-7 months

Weight: 15 lbs and 15 oz. He is in the 11th percentile for weight. His height is 25.75 inches, which is also the 11th percentile. His head circumference is 44.5, and is in the 80th percentile. He doesn’t look disproportionate, but his head is huge.

Health: He had an ear infection this month. He didn’t really seem any different or fussy, but we found it at his 6 month appointment. He just got the all clear yesterday! He had a really runny nose around that time too, but it hasn’t seem to bother him too much.

Diet: He is only nursing one time a day now. I said goodbye to the pump before our trip this last week. I don’t know how long I will breastfeed him for his morning feed, but it probably wont be much longer. He was still at 50% breastmilk until this past Monday. I am glad that I took the entire month to wean him off because it has meant I have had very minimal pain. I have had no engorgement by only cutting out a few minutes out every couple days. (It has been great wearing real bras and dresses this week since I didn’t have the pump attached to me at all!) This kid and food though. If you didn’t see on Instagram, he throws absolute fits when there is food around and he isn’t eating. We cannot eat in front of him and leave him out. It’s both funny and obnoxious at the same time. He will scream when we get to the end of a bottle or bowl of food. He knows that when we put an his SnapBib that it is time to eat and he starts grabbing at everything and whining until we have the food in front of him. So at least he has a good appetite. He has tried a lot of new things this month: bananas, cantaloupe, kiwi, apple, mango, pizza crust, ice cream, eggs, oatmeal, crackers, and tomatoes. He didn’t like the cantaloupe because it was too slippery, and he couldn’t keep it still. He liked it if I held it for him. The tomato however he did not like at all, but there are some adults that don’t like tomatoes so that wasn’t too surprising. He eats solid food three times a day: oatmeal for breakfast, veggie for lunch, veggie or fruit for dinner. He does purees a lot through the week, but he is getting better at holding the spoon on his own. He can’t figure out the dipping part so as soon as it is gone off the spoon he will drop it on the floor unless I am quick enough to catch it. We do a lot more exploring of solid solid food on the weekends, but he does have real oatmeal (not the baby stuff) every morning now. He prefers the purees because he knows he gets the food faster. He gets really frustrated if he sees the food in front of him and can’t figure out how to get it to his mouth. Plus I think he may just expect us to put it in his mouth still at this point. It is really fun watching him explore food. It is also making me rethink what we eat too so we ensure that he is eating healthy from the get go.

Clothes: We are mostly in 3-6 month clothes, but there are some 3 month and 6 month items he is in. He is still a size 2 diaper. He can fit into size 2 and 3 shoes depending on the brand.

Sleeping: This is still a work in progress for us. It seems like he changes every day. We are trying to get into a routine but again he can’t decide when to be awake and when to be asleep. We have found the key to getting him to take naps. We have to take one with him. Not ideal, but on the weekends we take full advantage of sleeping more through the day. He is doing better sleeping when we put him down at 7:30pm. For the past week he has stayed asleep until we wake him up for his 10pm feeding. Our problem now is that he either wakes up every couple hours during the night or will be up around 3am for the day. Either we have to feed him again or we bring him to bed with us to finish out the night. However, last night he slept through the entire night on his own for the first time in months! The night before he was up every 2 hours, so I will take any full night we can get. We do the same things each night, so I am not really sure why his behavior is so unpredictable. Also, we are able to have him sleep on his belly at home now, but that means he rolls in the crib. A couple nights ago I found him with his arm through the bars playing with the baby monitor cord.

Likes: Oogaa teethers! He actually likes a lot of his toys. One of his other favorites is a small blue stuffed elephant with bungee legs. He is grabbing things a lot better now so he actually turns wheels and shakes things. He is mesmerized by my hairdryer. He loves his feet. George loves seeing his dad come home. He also loves the two little girls that go to the same babysitter. He just giggles and smiles at them when we get there every day. So cute! He also likes pens. He holds them really well when he isn’t trying to eat them. He drew on paper for the first time this weekend.

Dislikes: Socks. He will pull them off as soon as I put them on. Ending a feeding session. He HATES when I try to wipe his face clean. He will throw back his head and yell in a rage at the wipe touching his face.

Milestones: He has rolled over from his back to his stomach just one time. He can hold a bottle on his own. He sits up really nicely. However, he wants to stand more than sit most of the time. In fact just yesterday, he was sitting on my lap facing me and he pulled himself up to a standing position by pulling on my jacket. He has no inclination to crawl but this kid wants to stand on his own! He also took his first big road trip to NC this past weekend. He met many new friends, and he was the best little wedding date.

Quirks: He is talking a lot more. I feel like everyday he has a new squeal. If he is sleep cranky, George will pull my hand to cover his face and put his hand over mine. He does this a lot in the car when I put his pacy back in. He just grabs my hand and holds it over his face. It looks like I am trying to smother him, but I swear it is his soothing mechanism. (and that I am not smothering him)

We parents are: doing ok. We have 3 more weeks until the Academy is over so we are going to be happy about that. I do feel a sense of freedom not having to pump anymore. I have sooooo much more time in my evenings now that I am not pumping at night or cleaning the bajillion pump parts. I have actually gotten to watch some of my TV shows live! It has completely changed our nights. Tom and I sat on the couch together last night (on a weeknight) for the first time in ages. This is a game changer.

The dogs are: tearing up our couch, but that is a story for another day. They are so sweet with George. I have found Crosby laying in front of the crib a couple times. My emotions couldn’t handle that sweetness. George thinks they are the funniest creatures. He just laughs and laughs at them. I just love watching them interact.

George’s personality is definitely coming out more and more. He is such a sweet sweet boy. Most of the time he is all smiles. It is so fun to watch him learn and grown every day. It is so hard to believe though that he is closer to being 1 than he is to being 0. Crazy!

March 24, 2015 by Stephanie

You Must Be Tripping

I really was tripping this weekend with George. We were on the road for five days. We traveled from Missouri to North Carolina for a friend’s wedding.

So what did I do to prepare to drive an almost 7 month old baby and myself across half the country?

I just though happy thoughts, and made a list.

Honestly, I just went in with very little expectations and tried to make the best plan that allowed for baby flexibility. Which is why we took 5 days to make this trip.

I thought of everything that needed to be in my baby trouble arsenal. I also went through George’s daily routine and thought about what we had to have (diapers, wipes, feeding items (which was a LOT), etc.)

One suitcase, one large Thirty-One bag, and a diaper bag later, I managed to get everything I need for both myself and George.

I also packed the bumbo, boppy, and the play mat in the trunk. They stayed in the trunk for the entire trip.

I knew I needed to plan our trip around George’s peak times, so we needed to be done driving every day around 5pm. I mapped out a good route (where granted we would have to make a lot of stops) but we wouldn’t do more than 7 hours of actual driving in a day.

We stopped every 2-3 hours so George could eat and get out of the car seat a little. I had the play mat set up in the back so we would get back there so George could play a little while I ate. Correction, I only got back there one time after I realized that I am a big person and should not be in my trunk area. It is a good thing I am nimble because I almost got stuck in my trunk space. I underestimated the height of my back seat headrests after realizing I could neither close or open the trunk door from the inside. So after that first time of climbing over the back seat, I just sat in the back seat while George played on the play mat. The suitcase and other bag fit in the front so I could free up the trunk space.

We got into a really good driving routine, and he really only got fussy for the last half hour each day. He was honestly much better than I even planned for. Also lucky for me, George does not mind my atrocious driving singing where I think I am a Broadway star. He slept through all my big numbers. I appreciated his willingness to be a good travel buddy!

I was also really nervous because I have the worst luck getting George to fall asleep. Tom always takes that duty, so to say I was just a little anxious was an understatement. But we managed pretty nicely. He naps well in the car so I wasn’t concerned there. He lived up to that expectation perfectly. He gets car coma just like me. And the night time sleeps, we just rolled with it. I don’t believe there was a night that he didn’t pass out around his normal bed time. I usually just let him lie there alone while I would do the dishes and do my nighttime routine, and he would pass out on his own! We did sleep in the same beds. I can’t figure out how to put the Pack and Play together by myself, nor did I want another big thing to carry so I didn’t mess with bringing it. We managed just fine co-sleeping in queen beds. He doesn’t roll yet so this was easy, and he wasn’t an obnoxious bed hog like our dogs. And for the record, it did not mess him up with his crib last night once we were home either. He actually went to sleep for me quicker than he has ever before in his life!

Another thing that helped was making stops along the way to visit friends. George got to meet so many people, and it was good for my soul too.

One of my biggest concerns initially was whether George would be mobile or not. I was not sure if he would be rolling or crawling at this point, so luckily neither of those milestones are ones that we have crossed yet. That definitely made things much easier since I was traveling by myself. I could just plop him on the middle of the bed with some Baby Einstein and be sure he wasn’t going to roll off. The game would have been dramatically different if he could roll…

George also made the best wedding date. However I am pretty sure he may have stole the show from the bride and groom. Sorry Emily and Terrance! Their wedding was just darling, and we were so happy to be there for their day. (Even if George tried stealing the limelight with his cuteness.) Although he was definitely a messy attendee. I had to apologize for the mess he made and take him home early because of his shenanigans. Just reiterates that babies are just tiny drunks.

So my basic tips for driving/traveling with a baby:

Bring every toy that they may have found favorable at one time, I guess within reason. I only brought hand toys that are easy in a carseat, but I had a whole grocery bag of them. Keep this bag close to you in the front seat. I would rotate toys every 10 minutes or so if he was getting too squirelly.
Plan to drive around nap times. George’s biggest nap time is in the morning so I drove until he woke back up, even if I desperately needed to pee, to make the most out of his sweet slumber. I also knew that we had to be done around 5 otherwise I would have a baby nightmare on my hands.
Plan for long stops. I don’t think there is a way to do a quick stop with a baby anyway, but it also helped that I planned for a little play time so he could stretch his limbs out of that car-seat. I think this truly helped keep him less fussy.
Try to keep them on somewhat of a normal schedule. We still went to bed at the same time he normally does (except the night of the wedding).
I brought my own bottle brush and soap to wash all the feeding items every night. This is definitely not something to bank on the hotel having, and it saved me from over-packing on the feeding accessories. I just brought enough to get me through one day.
I packed all of his outfits in ziplock bags. This was helpful because then I didn’t have to go digging for tiny socks.
Speaking of outfits, if I were to do this again, I would only put him in sleepers (footie pajamas) on the days we were driving. He wore sleepers two of the five days, and those were much easier stops than the other days where he was wearing socks and pants. Inevitably the socks ended up on the car floor, and it just takes more time to change a diaper with pants.
Take a wrap or baby carrier. I put George in this when we checked in and out of the hotel so I could carry the luggage easier. It was definitely work to carry him plus the suitcase, but I don’t think I would have been able to do it at all without the wrap.
Try to get a room on the first floor or make sure that the hotel has an elevator. Two out of the three hotels we stayed at we were on the second floor without an elevator. You can imagine the horror of carrying a baby and a large suitcase up the stairs. I made several trips like this. It is as awful as it sounds.
Be flexible and know when too much is too much. There were some stops that were a lot longer because I knew he needed it. We also didn’t stay at the wedding as long as I hoped (but probably longer than George wanted).
Have fun! It was the first time we traveled to unknown places with George so we took in the newness, and of course jumped on hotel beds. Making memories is important even with a baby!

I loved our five days together. It has been awhile since I have had this much quality time with George, so it was great to just hang out with him. He is at such a fun age that we could really enjoy our time. It really wasn’t as stressful as I had imagined!

Have you traveled with a baby? What are your traveling tips (baby or sans baby)? What is your favorite road-trip music? (Mine is clearly show tunes and anything Celine Dion. A good belting song is always a good route to go.)

March 16, 2015 by Stephanie

Oogaa Bowltastic

It has been a while since I have baked something, so I wanted to try a new recipe this month.

The Oogaa challenge this month was to try our baking on these bowls.

Y’all seriously.

I cannot speak enough about the high quality and amazingness of these products from Oogaa.

A kid friendly bowl, that you can BAKE in.

No baking in a metal tin and then transferring to a kid plate.

Instead of having to use several dishes, you can just use this one fun one!

I am all about easy clean up!

And speaking of clean up, instead of having to scrape or worry about cupcake liners, it is so simple to get the baked item out of the bowl. You just push it out since they are silicone. Fantastically easy, which I am sure is great for kids who are just known for their patience.

I also want to point out that in my lack of awareness I attempted to peel the brownie out of the bowl (right after pulling it out of the oven) with my bare hands. While I do not recommend this type of stupidity, I will say that it did not burn my hands as a metal baking sheet would have. So these are much safer, which is a bonus when you have kids helping you in the kitchen.

Tom and I had a severe sweet tooth brewing. After perusing Pinterest, these Pumpkin Brownies just called our names. And it seriously can’t get better than a two ingredient recipe. Sold.

This may sound like a fall recipe, but we are adults and we wanted pumpkin brownies.

We used this recipe here.

To critique the recipe, they weren’t exactly our favorite. They came out more fudgy than brownie. Don’t worry, I still ate them. Also I will note that it had nothing to do with the Oogaa bowl. I didn’t cut the recipe in half, so I had a lot of extra batter. I made some cupcakes with the extra, and they came out the same consistency. So if you want some pumpkin fudge, this is the way to go.

But regardless of if you use this recipe, you all need to get these bowls. I can’t wait to use it more and more once we get past this first stage of food. We started oatmeal this weekend, and these work great to heat that up in the microwave.

If you want to find more out about these bowls, visit their site here. We love this company, and we know you would too!

We did receive receive this bowl complimentary for testing purposes as an Oogaa Brand Partner. All thoughts and opinions are mine, and George’s of course!

Have you tried Oogaa products? What would you like to use from their line?

March 2, 2015 by Stephanie

Spreading That Oogaa Love

George has two teeth that are trying to make their appearance. One on top and one on bottom. We have felt that he has been teething for a couple months now, but now at 6 months there still are no pearly whites. As we enter further into the throws of teething, let me tell you this is not a fun baby stage. My overall happy baby now throws fits. Who is this child?

It has got to be pretty miserable to basically have bones trying to break free. I imagine it is the same affect that Harry felt when Madame Pomfrey had to mend his rubber bones from a silly spell from Professor Lockhart. Agony.

So over the past couple months we have amassed a variety of teething soothers. We have a basket of teething toys that don’t seem to keep George’s crankiness subsided for more than a few minutes. We have to rotate the toys every couple minutes because he gets frustrated and loses interest in that particular toy. He also isn’t the greatest at keeping a hold of things so many of the toys are dropped for us to play fetch with.

We needed something that would help sooth his gums but also keep his attention for more than 2 minutes.

Enter the Oogaa teether.

AKA: the best toy ever.

We have plastic orb balls, twisty-clicky rattles, several different types of teething rings, teething keys, and teething pacifiers (which with his love of pacies you would think these would be his favorite, but no.) Basically if it has teething in the title, it’s in this box of teething wonders. (Yes we fell down that first time parent trap…) We even have Sophie the Giraffe which most moms will swear by as the answer to teething problems. Don’t get me wrong he loves these toys, but after two minutes you have to try to impress him with something else. Even Sophie doesn’t cut it for more than a couple minutes before he throws her off the ledge.

The Oogaa octopus teether was different. I went in with no expectations seeing as he had pretty much said “That’s all you got Mom?” to every other option I have thrown at him.

So when he held on to this little guy for more than 5 minutes, then an astonishing 10 minutes. I was basically in shock.

He adores this octopus.

So let me tell you more about this teether that we are now obsessed with.

First, it is a silicone teether so it is not like most teethers you get at the store. The whole thing is bendy so George can grip it many different ways. The texture is also unique because it is not completely smooth as you can see that there are ridges outlining the octopus shape. He really likes to feel the raised outline with his figure and his mouth. He is at that stage where texture is so intriguing to him.

What I like about it being silicone is that I can easily put it in the dishwasher. Easy washing makes a huge difference with baby slobber and the dogs running a muck. So anytime I think it needs a wipe down, it can easily be run under the faucet for a quick clean and then dried off in a snap. Easy peasy! I am not a fan of the cloth teethers because it just seems like they would harbor germs. So I like that I can easily wash this in the sink or put it in the dishwasher.

I also like that the company strives to be environmentally friendly with their products and are very conscious of what is being put in your baby’s mouth. One less thing this mama has to worry about!

The shape is also important here. Some of the other toys are somewhat awkward for George to hold. Either they are too big or they have too much going on that he doesn’t really know what to do with it. This teether is pretty simple. I think the flexibility helps as well as the unique shape. When George gets bored with one way of holding it, he will just rotate it for a new option. And he does that himself! (I like things that make him more independent.) And very rarely do we have to go chasing after it because he dropped it. This is the first toy that if he does drop he attempts (mostly successfully) to pick it back up. He likes trying to bend it, which is great for a kid who is just figuring out what is fingers and hands do. Several areas can serve as a handle for him and are easy for him to grip. I also like the hole on the side which he loves to hold with his hands and his mouth.

Or his feet.

As for the chewing part. This teether is like the perfect mixture of being hard enough yet soft enough to be soothing to his gums. It’s not like he is chewing on hard plastic or yucky cloth. It is a nice pliable middle ground! And the size isn’t so awkward that he will a) get it stuck in his mouth or b) not be able to put it in his mouth.

The colors are also really great for these toys. They are bright and vibrant. And I like that it is just one color which you don’t always see in baby toys. They are just a fun to look at toy! Also another plus on the shape/size is that they do not take up too much space in the diaper bag. Win! Because seriously this thing now goes with us everywhere.

Oogaa has two options for teethers: an octupus and an elephant. Aren’t they just adorable? We may have to look into getting the elephant to match his elephant room. Plus those handles look great!

I think we need to come up with a name for this new pal because George just loves this thing.

If you have not heard of Oogaa and you have children, or you need a good gift for someone else’s children, I suggest you head on over to see their products. Here is their website. This will be one of my go to gifts from now on.

To purchase this teether does not cost you any more than the average teether out there. But seriously who is with me on the fact that with teething you would pretty much shell out any amount of money to sooth those gums (and your sanity). The $8 is well worth it folks!

We love this company, and love supporting this mom’s vision come to life with her products. We are also using their utensils as we dive further into this feeding adventure, but I will save that excitement for another post!

We did receive receive this teether complimentary for testing purposes as an Oogaa Brand Partner. All thoughts and opinions are mine, and George’s of course!

February 26, 2015 by Stephanie

George-6 Months

Weight: Right under 14 lbs. He is still pretty lanky but he is definitely getting longer. We will get updated measurements next week at his 6 month check up.

Health: He is doing pretty well; no health concerns as of late. He is full on teething now. Still no teeth, but I feel one on the top trying to make an appearance.

Diet: This has been a big month diet wise! It is the last month he will be primarily fed by breastmilk. We are going to start the weaning process next week. He still is mostly fed with breastmilk with one formula bottle right before bed. We do have formula on hand for when we are out an about on the weekends though. He is really difficult to nurse right now, so when we are going to be away from the house it is just better to feed him with formula. When I do nurse him, he will only latch for a minute, then yank himself off and scream. Then latch for another minute before he pulls himself off in a fit again. It is a cycle that goes on for awhile. He will only get about 5 minutes of actual latched on feeding (even though the whole experience may be about 20-30 minutes) done before he is screaming so hard that we are both in tears. The real kicker is that he will then be hungry again in an hour or so. This has been going on for the last two months. So doing this out in public is not ideal. This behavior paired with the fact that I am barely scrapping by with making enough milk for him throughout the day (with extra pumping on the weekend and nights) is why we will be stopping our relationship with breastfeeding this month. Some days I feel really good about this decision, and others I feel really guilty. But the reality is, it is just not working for us, and we are both pretty miserable about the experience. On the plus side, we started REAL SOLID food this month. George could not be a bigger fan of real food. He attacks it with such ferocity. We have done a combination of purees and the Baby Led Weaning approach. Right now he is much more favorable of the purees. His pincer grasp is not the greatest, so feeding himself usually ends up with more of it on the floor. He does grab it (after sufficiently smashing it into the tray) and attempt to bring it to his face. He usually drops it before he can knosh on it. When he does get the food pieces to his mouth, he usually spits those big pieces out more than he does with the puree. So we are experimenting with both the puree and whole foods. He is getting a better grasp on holding a spoon for himself though, but he doesn’t understand dipping it in the bowl to get more. So I dip it and then he takes it from me to put in his own mouth. He honestly just tries grabbing the bowl itself and tipping it into his mouth. My mom got a great video of this and shared it on Facebook, but I can’t figure out how to save it for myself. He growls at you if you don’t get him food fast enough, which then turns into crying if you are really slow. He just wants the food now! He is also known to lick it off his bib once we are done with what is in the bowl. This kid LOVES eating real food. So far we have tried sweet potatoes (his first real food), peas, pears, squash, bananas, carrots, mashed potatoes, french fries, and pizza sauce.

Clothes: We are still in 3 month clothes and size 2 diapers. He is definitely growing so we may be into 3-6 month range here soon.

Sleeping: Sleep is a funny thing right now. George refuses to take naps at home. At the babysitter’s, naps no problem. Actually, he will take naps with us, but only if you are holding him for the entirety of the nap. We aren’t good at the transfer to the crib part so we always wake him up. And once he is up, he is up. So I guess it should be a testament that he doesn’t want to miss anything while at home and loves snuggling in our arms. But it poses a real problem on the weekends when the no napping means he is cranky or that we have to hold him all day. We have tried a lot of different things to get him to nap, obviously none of them seem to work. So suggestions are welcome at this point. As far as bedtime, it has been interesting this month. I had several suggestions over the course of last month with the nap/sleeping through the night situations that he needed to go to bed earlier. He was going to bed around 9pm and getting up at 4am, with very little napping throughout the day. So we tried the earlier bed time, and are still trying it. We feed him around 6:30, give him a bath, then put him to bed around 7:30. Like clockwork, he never sleeps longer than a half hour. Only two times in the past few weeks has he stayed asleep longer. At first we tried consoling him to sleep for the next TWO hours. We would take turns every 15 minutes trying to get him back to bed. We are silly parents, obviously this was not working. So the last week we have been still putting him to “bed” at 7:30. But now after he wakes up from the only nap we ever can get him to take, each of us will take one turn to try to get him to sleep before we let him stay up with us. And he seems pretty content and calm staying up until that last feeding that we do around 9:45. And now he has been staying asleep from 10pm until we wake him up at 5:30 am. It is one of those things that we have to follow his cues instead of worrying about doing what the books say. My only concern for his sleep is on the weekends when we fail to get him to nap. During the week this process seems to work just fine, and he seems happy with the amount that he is getting.

Likes: He is generally a really happy baby. He loves to watch us dance, and he will laugh so hard at us being silly. He likes it when you bicycle his legs. He gets a kick out of it, pun intended. Basically any funny noise you make at him will make him giggle. George loves to be in the baby wrap so we spend a lot of time with it. He has several toys that he loves now, his favorite being this plastic ball thing. FOOD. He loves to stand. He would rather be doing that than sitting. Speaking of sitting, now that he is able to sit up more, baths are a little easier for us all. He is starting to like it more because he has more room to kick his feet around in the water. He loves to munch on his own feet too. I swear his foot is in his mouth a majority of the day.

Dislikes: Naps. Being alone. Not getting food fast enough.

Milestones: He rolls from stomach to back on both sides. He has not rolled from back to stomach yet, but he is flailing around a lot so I think it will happen in the next week. He does roll to his sides, just not completely over. While he is on the floor he will scoot himself around in circles whether he is on his back or stomach. He seems pretty content not being mobile and does not show any signs of wanting to move forward or backwards. No rush. He will move when he is ready. He is ready to sit on his own now though! He sits unassisted for a a few minutes. He also likes to bend all the way forward like he is doing the butterfly stretch and then bend back to a seated position. It is like he is mocking me with his flexibility.

Quirks: He gives neck hugs now. Best moments of the day. The night my grandma died, he held my face with his hands for the first time. I was leaning over him, and he just reached up and put his palms on my cheeks like he knew I needed it. I cried big fat ugly tears all over that sweet face. He likes to hold my face a lot now. He makes all kinds of humming and squealing noises now.

We parents are: ready for the academy to be over. Tom is itching to get on the road with the police department, and I am itching to have my husband back. I am also in shock that this little fella is 6 months now.

The dogs are: have bad cases of cabin fever. So we have been having some behavior issues. They do however love to help clean George at dinner time. They are interacting a lot more. It is really fun to watch them play together. Watch this video for some surefire giggles of George trying to eat Grace’s nose.