Mommy Monday: Transitioning to solids

Sloane has her 9 month appointment on Wednesday, I'm pretty excited to see how much she has grown! Also I have a few little questions to ask the doctor. Mostly pertaining to feeding Sloane solids. I'm not so concerned on what she can eat but how much she can/should eat.

Should she be having a meal and a bottle? That's pretty much where we are right now. She can eat a whole package/container of baby food but she still wants the bottle after. Should I be trying to feed her more? Maybe make it a more rounded meal with like a thing of baby food and then also a solid to make it more filling. I have started doing that a bit lately cause I feel like we should have cut out a bottle by now.

It has also been a bit of a process actually getting into the habit of feeding her solids. We were just feeding her solids here and there and then I remembered that the doctor said by 9 months she should be half solids half bottle so I talked to Mat and made sure we were on the same page that we should be giving her three meals a day.

We wake up, she will have a bottle and I will feed her typically baby oatmeal with something for flavor mixed in, either a fruit or some peanut butter. Then at her first nap she will have another small bottle and then wake up and have lunch of typically a veggie mix. She will have another bottle at her second nap. She will have dinner some time after her second nap where she will have a veggie and hopefully some meat if we can get her to eat it. Finally she will have another bottle before bed. So typically 4-5 bottles a day and 3 meals.

We will also give her little nibbles of whatever we are eating because she pretty much insists that we do.

She's a very good eater and will eat pretty much anything except the baby food meat. I gave her some lunch meat once and she really liked that so I thought about giving her that but I think it has a lot of salt in it.

I also want to ask about sippy cups. We have one for her that we just keep filled with water so she can try it out from time to time but she doesn't really seem to understand the concept that she has to suck on it to get the water out. I'm wondering if it is just too early to be giving her a sippy cup or if I should be trying a different type. The one we have has two handles for her to hold on to and the sippy part is soft which I read is good for a first time sippy cup.

Then finally I want to ask about her choking while eating. I feel like it is a pretty normal thing to do when first learning to eat solids and as long as she is working it out she is learning. She actually hasn't choked in quite a while and I think it's cause she's learned. She also has gotten very good about chewing/gumming, so that might open up the possibility to other new foods to feed Sloane. The one meal I'm pretty excited/frightened to give her is spaghetti. I just love seeing a messy baby with marinara sauce smeared all over the place!

 

 

 

How did you transition your baby to solid foods? I don't know why this seems like such a hard thing to do but I guess I just don't know what pace we should be progressing at. Leave my a comment below letting me know what you think of how we're going about this. 

Mommy Monday: We have a walker!

OK well Sloane isn't exactly a full blown walker yet but I know those days are right around the corner!

Saturday afternoon, right before I went off to work Sloane took her first steps! She took the first 4 steps to Mat. He has been trying to get her to walk for probably over a week pretty consistently and Saturday she decided to do it!

I sat there watching in complete amazement. I can't believe this is happening already, and she isn't even 9 months old. I was nearly in tears. Then I realized I needed to catch this on camera so I quickly grabbed my phone and caught the second time she walked.

 

She is just adorable and so proud of herself in the video.

She has been walking while holding on to things for quite a while and for the last month or so she has been standing up without holding on. We knew the walking was coming but I didn't really think it would be so soon, I thought for sure it would be after 9 months.

Now I will say she hasn't done much more walking after that. My mom said she took two steps on Sunday while she was watching her. I know we will be working with her each day to see if we can get her to walk just cause it's too adorable!!

Also just a note, Sloane has three (almost 4) teeth now and her smile is just too cute!

I can't wait to see what the next mile stones we will have in store!

May is for Mom's: An interview with my mom.

It is time again for the May is for Mom's blog link up over at Not You Average Crazy! If you don't know, this is a mommy blogger link up. The first three Sundays in May we answer a few questions about mom's. This week is an interview with my mom. If you know my mom you know she is a bit emotional so her answers are a little held back but just so you know she called me after the interview crying because of all the memories the interview brought up.

 

An Interview With My Mother

1. How did you feel the moment you found out you were pregnant with me?

Mom: *Laugh* "oh my gosh", kind of, then "oh yeah!" She couldn't get pregnant for a while so once she did she was excited and shocked. "Elated"

 

2. Was I a wonderful surprise or carefully planned?

Mom: wonderful surprise

3. What was the most challenging time in my childhood? Why?

Mom: when I was going through the divorce and I was trying to get custody of you and your brother. You weren't a challenge ever.

 

4. Did you worry more about me as a child or now that I am an adult?

Mom: I would say I worried more as a child just because you were a child but now you are an adult and you are just great.

5. What is one thing that you thought was deeply important when I was a baby that you now realize did not matter at all?

Mom: tough question... I don't have answer for that... After rewording the question she said that she worried about teaching me how to spell but now in this day in age she doesn't see as too much as a problem for me even though I still don't spell well.

~As a reverse to that question she never thought to instill religion in me and not thinking it would be needed and now that I am grown and I don't believe in God she wishes she would have been able to instill a belief in God in me.

 

 

 

Just for a quick update from my blog yesterday, We did the 5k today. It was so much fun and we got just completely covered in paint!!! I was absolutely bursting with pride for my dear friend Kristin over at Cupcakes and Cosmos for doing the 5K! This is her first and we didn't so any training. I know it was a struggle for her but she made it through just fine. I can't wait to see how much she can improve for the next 5k we do!! I know we want to do the Fremont Oktoberfest 5k but I think I might want to find one before then just to keep myself and her motivated.

 

 

 

Mommy Monday... Swingin Sloane

Sloane has grown so much in the past few months. She can officially sit up all on her own which in turn has opened a whole new world of fun.

 

She can sit in her stroller, without the car seat attachment.

 

 

She can sit in some of the toys at the park,

 

 

her favorite being the swing.

 

 

And bath time is a whole new experience now that she can sit up in her tub.

 

Next up is her actually being able to put herself into the seating position. She changes everyday!

Sloane is 4 months old!!!

To Our Darling Daughter,

You are now four months old and you are continuing to change everyday. You did so great at your 4 month check up. You weigh 14lbs 11oz and you are 26 1/4 inches long which is taller than 98% of babies your age. You're going to be tall like your daddy.

You discovered your feet this month! You always have them in your hands, until you roll onto your tummy of course. It's just the cutest thing to see you holding your feet.

We also went on your first full day outing this month. I took you for a girls day at the NW Women's Show with your aunties. You did so amazing all day, not fussing once. Everyone there said you were the cutest baby and couldn't believe you weren't already 6 months because you are so big.

We fall in love with your every time we look at you and can't believe how big your getting! Let's see what the next month brings us!

Love you lots

Mommy and Daddy

Mommy Monday: Teething begins

So it begins, Sloane had started teething! We gave her a teething ring a couple of weeks ago just to see how she reacts and she loved it and that was our first sign of her teething. Well along with the nonstop drooling! Little did we know what was ahead of us.

Yesterday we spent the day in Seattle as a family and she just seemed fussy even though we fed her and she slept. I thought that it was because she had gotten worn out at the NW Women's Show the day before but when she woke up today she was even more fussy.

She kept chewing on anything she could get her hands on. I gave her a teething ring again and she loved it. I felt her gums and I'm pretty sure that I felt a small little tooth breaking through. It looks like a tiny little pin prick of white in her gum right now on her lower front right side. I got pretty excited when I felt it. I can't imagine how adorable her little smile will look with teeth.

In my attempts to calm Sloane down I posted about her teething on Facebook and asked for any advice people had to offer. I love getting advise from other parents. Things I tried today was a frozen wash cloth, teething ring, infant Tylenol and Hyland Baby teething tablets. Much to my surprise the teething tablets sparked a little bit of controversy.

A few friends commented suggesting the Hyland teething tablets and my friend Linnea followed up with a comment about the tablets causing babies hearts to stop. Her comment was then followed up with a previous commenter saying that Linnea was using scare tactics about the tablets and she didn't have any facts to back up the the accusation. Now I do know that the tablets have been recalled, but they have come back onto the market and of course they have improved whatever it was that caused them to be recalled. As much as I trust Linnea's opinion I had heard so many good things about the tablets to not give them a try.

I don't think we have used them enough to say for sure if they work well but she was able to get to sleep for a nap and for bed so I'd say that is a good sign. I'm not really sure why but I feel more comfortable about giving her these tabs over giving her Tylenol so I really hope these end up working.

Another thing that people recommended that I think I'm going to check out is the Amber necklaces. These are necklaces that people swear by that I guess help relieve pain. I'm a little nervous about her wearing a necklace but I think I'll look into them some more.

So do you guys have any more advice to add? I can always take advise so I know what all my options are when deciding what to do for my child.

Mommy Monday; Sloane is 3 months old

 

To Our Darling Daughter

You are now 3 months old and that means you are no longer a newborn but an infant. You have grown so much in the past month I don't even know where to start listing all of your accomplishments.

You are a drooling machine, as you can see in this picture. We have to put bibs on you daily or else your outfit would be completely soaked immediately.

You have become quite a roll over queen. You started with rolling from your tummy to your back, but quickly was rolling from your back to your tummy. You actually seem to prefer being on your tummy these days and that is usually how I find you, in your crib, in the morning.

That's another big exciting thing that has happened this month, you have started to sleep in your crib. It took a few nights for you to get familiar with all the space but once you did you love rolling around in there.

Now we start the exciting time of watching you become a real mobile baby. Can't wait to see all of your developments.

 

Love You Lots

Mommy and Daddy

Mommy Monday: Sloane's development

Happy Monday everyone!

Sorry I missed my Saturday post, I've been busy with working and being a mom. This week had been pretty exciting in Sloane's development. Not only have we gotten her to sleep in her crib, but she has also been a roll over queen.

It took a few nights of more than normal wake ups from Sloane to get her to get used to her crib, but it worked out. I think she is really liking all the extra space she has in her crib. She seems to really enjoy sleeping on her side. Also helping her enjoy her crib is her seahorse from Fisher Price that helps sooth her to sleep with music and a soft glowing light. It's so darn cute to watch her sleep in her crib, she's growing up so fast. When she wakes up in the morning she usually rolls right onto her tummy in her crib while calling for me to say she is awake.

She has really become a rolling queen this week as well. She has rolled from her tummy to her back a while ago but it wasn't very consistent. Now not only does she roll from her tummy to her back but also from her back to her tummy. It's funny, she used to hate tummy time but now it seems she almost prefers it to laying on her back. She will roll onto her tummy more often then she will roll onto her back.

It is so exciting to watch her change and grow. I can't wait to see what she will do next!

Mommy Monday: Why do I make parenting a compitision?

I don't know what it is about being a mom that brings out my competative side but I swear I am always looking for my daughter to win. Now, I don't actually mean she wins, but I want her to be ahead of the curve or at least not behind it.

I have two friends that have had daughters within a month of me and I keep finding myself comparing Sloane to their daughters. Do all mom's do this? I even compare her to older babies that are in mommy groups I am a part of on facebook.

Maybe it all has to do with the stress I feel about if I'm doing things right. I swear I second guess everything I do. When should I make sure she is sleeping in her crib? Am I giving her enough tummy time? Am I putting her into her bumbo seat too soon? And my most recent debate in parenting when should I start giving Sloane cereal?

I know that the experts say is to wait till 6 months. My mom on the other hand insists that Sloane seems hungry and would be much happier with a little bit of cereal. (She, however, thinks me breast feeding is totally weird) Another well respected mom figure to me suggests putting a bit in her bottle and she will sleep through the night. Sloane is almost 3 months old and I am leaning toward trying it out. First try feeding her with a spoon just to see how she reacts then I think put some in a bottle of breast milk for Mat to feed her before bed (I only breast feed her when I'm home) Another question that comes with that however is how do I know how much cereal I add to the bottle? Then I start second guessing myself and comparing to my friends with babies. How will Sloane turn out differently if we feed her cereals too soon? Ug! I wish parenting was a little more cut and dry cause I want the absolute best for my baby, but who can say what is the best?

Do you guys have these same struggles? Any advice you can give? I love knowing all the options to help make decisions.

Date night

One thing we knew was very important when becoming pregnant is to make sure that we made time for us, without baby. We made a rule that we would have at least one date night a month. Even before Sloane was born we had out first date night planned. A night out in Seattle in December.

Mat had gotten tickets to see Louie CK close after we had found out we were pregnant. We are lucky enough to have my two best friends as baby sitters. We enjoyed a fancy steak dinner at Sullivan's in downtown Seattle and even splurged on a bottle of wine. We kinda pulled out all the stops knowing that we wouldn't be able to have many nights like that again. We also were celebrating that we had survived the first month of being parents! After dinner we had time to enjoy a drink before the show so we hit up Vons, one of my fav places downtown. It was especially nice because it was just before Christmas so all the wonderful holiday lights and decorations were up, adding to the magic of the evening! The comedy show was at the paramount theater and Louie CK did amazing! Our faces hurt from laughing so hard!

Tonight we are on date night number two, planned by me. (I'm actually writing this in the car on our way cause I choose to get pedicures with my girls over blogging) We are first going to the Snoqualmie Brewery cause I got Mat a groupon for Christmas to there. After we are heading to the casino. If we lose our money too fast at the casino we will probably go somewhere close to home and play pool. It's a simple date night but it brings us back to things we used to take advantage to be able to do in the past.

I'm so glad that we are making these date nights a priority. It's nice to have time just us to reconnect and be a little hit care free. Next month is February's so of course we are looking forward to going out for valentines day!

To all you parents out there, what did you do to keep a good grasp on your relationship or your sanity? Do you have any fun date night ideas for us?

Mommy Monday: Baby socks

One of the biggest headaches of being a parent is baby socks. They are constantly falling off and getting miss placed, because of this you quickly become an expert in socks. We have socks littered all over our house, in all baby beds, in between couch cushions, under the couch and in our bed. Luckily since it is winter and we always have a blanket on Sloane when we go outside we have yet to lose any socks.

The fluffy socks that seem to be the most warm are also the one's that cause the most headache. They typically need to be stretched onto the babies foot to fit properly but due to their soft texture they quickly slip off. It doesn't help that a baby is constantly kicking their feet and rubbing them together. I really don't even understand why they make baby socks like these. The only thing I can think of is that the socks get lost so often that people have to buy more and that's how the manufactures makes money.

Thin ankle socks seem to be a bit better cause they aren't as fluffy and easy to slip off. You don't typically need to stretch them as much to have them fit properly so that is helpful but the fact that they are so short give them little to hang on with when the baby is kicking and rubbing her feet against everything.

We found some socks that are a bit thick but come up to be knee high and have a good amount of tightness that when worn as knee socks they stay on for a good amount of time. We were given these as a baby gift. They are from baby gap and they are pretty adorable but come in bright colors so they don't match many outfits as I would like.

My favorite socks that I have found is are the thin socks that fold. They fit babies foot just perfectly without having to be stretched out. The cuff of the sock hold them in place and I have found that they will stay on all day even when taking her pants off and on for diaper changes. I know the Circo makes these socks but I'm sure there are many other brands of these socks as well.

We also have some socks that look like shoes. These are a favorite of mine because they are just too adorable and I have found that they seem to stay on quite nicely also. They are also thin socks. I really think that makes a difference. The Nike Jordan socks we have fit in a completely unique way. They are loose on the foot but get a bit tighter at the ankle to hold them on. They still don't stay on that long but I have hope they will fit better when she gets bigger.

We rarely put the thick socks on Sloane anymore, unfortunately we have quite a few pairs and I don't want to waste them. I'm thankful that we got so many socks as a gifts that we were able to experiment with which socks we liked without having to go out and buy them.

Finally how do you fold your babies socks? I fold them together like I would my socks but I find that it makes the one sock on the outside stretched out and that is what makes one sock fall off all day while the other happily stays in place. What are your thoughts on baby socks? Am I just completely over analyzing this?

**please forgive me for not listing many brands of the socks, I was given all our socks as gifts and the only way I know who has made the socks is if it says on the bottom as a grip**

 

Mommy Monday

Well I'm in the middle of day two back to work. (I'm lucky to be able to sneak in blogging at work) First day was quite a struggle.

First of all I forgot my nipple shields for my breast pump so by the end of my 8 hr shift a was a leaky mess. (I attempted to hand express but that takes way too long to make any difference. Secondly Sloane was still struggled to take a bottle which added to my stress of leaving her. Mat said she cried for nearly 2 hrs straight then fell asleep. Luckily mat attempted to feed her right as she woke up and she finally took the bottle. She was fine after that.

I'm so thankful for modern technology that allows mat to communicate with me. He was able to send a picture to me of her sleeping and once she has happy and fed he sent me a video of her sitting in her bumpo. The video nearly made me cry knowing that they had made it through an were happy.

Day two it seemed that she ate a bit easier but was still a bit fussy. Do you think she is stressed because I'm not home with her? I'm happy that Mat has this time to bond with her cause I just know she is a daddies girl in the making! I also successfully pumped at work. I think by the end of the week we should have routines down and we will all be less stressed.

The night before returning to work

Well it is the night before I return to work and man am I a bundle of emotions! We are trying to get Sloane to take a bottle from daddy so that I feel confident about him feeding her tomorrow while I'm at work for 8 hours. So far it has been almost two hours of her screaming, falling asleep, taking the bottle for two seconds then screaming again. I want to know that she will eventually take the bottle so we are holding off nursing her for as long as we can stand it. I've been told that she will eventually eat.

Right now daddy is in Sloane's room with the door closed trying to feed her while I am out in the living room trying not to cry my eyes out! I read that if i'm where i can be seen or heard she could refuse the bottle. Writing this blog is my distration, before this I picked out pictures for the new frames we got for the living room.

I am going to leave mat with a dropper, a spoon and a sippy cup tomorrow cause I've read those are other ways to feed a baby that refuses a bottle. If going back to work when Sloane is only 9 weeks old isn't stressful enough, her refusing a bottle is just adding to my anxiety!


** Later that night we gave up, gave her a bath and put her in her bumpo seat for the first time. She watched an entire episode (25 minutes) of Blues Clues, eyes glued to it while sitting happily in her bumpo!**

Parenthood can be hard but all the fun things make it 1000x worth it!

 

What kind of struggles have you faced and how did you ge through them?

Sloane's birth story Part 2

This is the second half of my birth story. If you want to read the first half click HERE.

The nurse arrived to take me to my room and we slowly followed her back, stopping once to let a contraction pass. Once we arrived to the room it seemed like everything was flying by. We were asked a bunch of questions, my vital signs were checked and I was hooked up to monitors for my baby's heart rate. While checking in, lunch arrived and the tray looked so good with an amazing looking lemon bar calling my name. I had only eaten a pack of peanut butter crackers so far that day. I so badly wanted to eat it but the nurse strongly suggested I didn't because it was likely I could get nauseous during labor. I sadly agreed not to eat. Once we were checked in I decided I wanted to labor in the tub.

The nurse filled it up and I quickly climbed in and turned on the jets. This tub is the only thing that got me through my labor is believe. The warm water and the jets really helped to relax me. During this time I was also receiving texts from family and friends letting me know they were on their way, I wasn't really able to concentrate on texting back however but Mat was letting me know what they were saying. Linnea was the first to arrive followed by my Grams and then my parents and Kristin were soon after. They all gathered around me in the tub as my contractions were rapidly getting stronger. I remember getting annoyed that they all kept offering their seats to each other and quickly I made a rule that there would be no talking while I was going through a contraction. While in labor I remember yelling "I don't like this" and "I'm so stupid, why didn't I want drugs?" It was hard for me to remember why I was going for an all natural birth while in pain. I wish I could discribe the pain I was in but it was really just a lot of discomfort. They say you forget how much pain it was and I will agree with that. I know it was a lot of pain but I can't really remember what kind of pain it was and so, in a way, I have forgotten how bad it was.  It was nice because Mat was being so supportive and not letting me give into the pain. I thought for sure once I started saying I should have taken drugs that my nurse would have offered them to me, and I would have given in, but she was didn't really make it seem like drugs were an option which was good. I feel like having my birth plan really helped with the way my nurse treated the experance. The headline was; "I'm just dramatic, I'm sure I'm fine." I also stated to not offer me drugs, that if I wanted them I would ask for them. I hear from friends that my nurse was a bit rude, luckily I don't really remember that. I was brought cranberry juice to drink and it was very tasty but quickly the contractions became so strong that I started puking from the pain and I couldn't even keep down ice chips. I was happy that I hadn't eaten that lemon bar earlier. My Dr arrived and started talking to me about my options. She suggested that we could break my water to get the process moving a bit quicker. I was a bit nervous about that so I decided to wait it out a bit longer. By the time my dilation was checked I think I had been in labor for 4 hours. I was at 7-8cm and it seemed like things were progressing pretty well on their own. I climbed back into the tub to make it through the rest of my labor.
I decided I wanted my water broken a little while later so I got the nurse and let her know. They got me back out of the tub and checked me again, I was 9 and 3/4cm so the Dr broke my water and a few minutes later I was pushing. My mom and grams where holding my right leg while Mat was holding my left. Pushing was the hardest part of labor by far, so exhausting having to push so hard. I pushed for 30 minutes total. The last two pushes were the worst, I felt like I was literally ripping in half, I sat up, screamed and nearly jumped off the bed but my Dr grabbed my attention and very firmly told me that I had to push and that it was almost over. With the last push I felt the most amazing relief I've ever felt. There was suddenly no pain just pure relief. When they broke my water they had noticed that Sloane had pooped while still inside me so they had extra nurses in the room in case she was born with issues. As soon as Sloane was out she cried and we knew she was all right! Sloane Lori-Lee Evans was born November 7th, 2012. She was 8lbs 8oz and 21in long. My labor totaled 6 hours (not including the time I spent at home feeling light contractions.) They quickly placed her on my chest for skin to skin while they worked to get out the after birth. Sloane promptly pooped on me, she is quite a poop machine still.

The first few moments after Sloane was born is a bit of a blur after going through so much pain. There is video of me holding her to my chest talking to the Dr about when she should get her ear pierced. (for the record I vote for her getting them when she is around 10 yrs old, as a right of passage.) After getting me all stitched up it was time to start breast feeding. Sloane took to it quite well, and once I was comfortable at what I was doing I let all the rest of my family and friends gather back in my room. It was amazing how many people came for Sloane's birth. I'm so grateful that she has so many people that love her. I was especially excited that Mat's aunt from California was able to make it up here for the birth.

I'm so proud of myself for making it through an all natural child birth. I hasn't known that is what I wanted until I was pregnant. It just felt right to, I don't know, earn my child. Like people say the best things in life you have to work for. Now onto the best adventure of my life. I can't wait to see who our beautiful daughter will grow up to be.