William Eats - Peas

I have a list of four foods that are on my personal "will not eat food" list.  That list consists of mushrooms, salmon, broccoli and......peas.  I hate peas.  I've hated peas my entire life.  Since I was such a picky eater growing up (much less so now) I am determined to do what I can to let my children try lots of food and hopefully like more than I did.  Easier said than done.  Over the weekend was another new food that I introduced to William - peas.  I used frozen peas - steamed, pureed, froze in ice cube tray.  Easy.  The last picture below is really all I need to show you how well he liked it.  No words necessary.

I didn't completely understand why William DID NOT like sweet potatoes.  He liked avocado and bananas - makes sense.  I absolutely get why he doesn't like peas.  They are horrible!  I figured I would give it a try but I think I'll be just fine if peas aren't a food we bring into our house.  hehe

Any foods you hate but you give your children?

Wordless Wednesday - Giggles

I love baby giggles!!

William Eats - Banana

Another food that William likes and so easy to make fresh - banana.  Mama and baby shared a banana over the weekend.  I just took a ripe banana and mashed it up for lil' man.  Added a little breastmilk to smooth and thin it out a bit.  Couldn't be easier.  After a few bites I mixed in a little rice cereal too. 

William seemed to like it. 

Next up....peas....

My man....

Cloth Diapers - trial and error

I would go ahead and say that using cloth diapers (heck, disposable diapers for that matter) is definitely a trial and error process to figure out what works. It might take a little time to figure out what brand you like, how to stuff them, how to put them on correctly, snaps or hook and loop, size settings, any number of options to figure out.  I have been using cloth diapers on lil' man for nearly six months and we've learned quite a bit. 

Lately, we have been having leaking issues.  It didn't seem to matter what brand of diaper or when it happened.  It just kept happening.  We stripped the diapers by doing a few hot washes without any detergent.  This didn't help.  I was double stuffing the pockets at night and for the morning nap - no luck.  What the heck?!  I was getting sick and tired of changing pee clothes multiple times a day!

So since I felt I had tried several options, I figured I would try another.  This might be something that is in some cloth diapering manual somewhere out there and everyone already knows this, but I just figured it out.  Previously, when I was stuffing the pockets I folded the excess material and put it in the front of the diaper.  I figured since I had heavy-wetting boy, we could use all the extra absorbency up front.  So I changed it up - I put the excess material in the back.  No more leaks!! 

OK, I'm officially confused because this seems completely counter intuitive.  I'm not going to question it too much since it's working.  No more pee clothes - mommy is a happy lady!

Has anyone else found this to help?  What other cloth diapering lessons have you learned through trial and error?

William Eats - Avocado

Although I'm slightly behind on posting, I still wanted to continue to post about what William is eating.  Since William was less than interested in eating sweet potatoes, I decided to give avocados a try.  If I though making sweet potato puree was easy, avocado is the easiest thing ever.  Cut away skin and mash a bit.  I added a little bit of breastmilk to thin it out a little.  Easy, peasy.

Verdict - William loved it!

I am sad...

There is now only two weeks left of the Oprah Show.  This makes me sad.  I have been watching her since I was probably too young to watch the show.  I have learned so much from it and I absolutely believe that her show saved my life. (more to come on that at a later time) 

Only two more weeks....

My Favorite Things - 6 months

When William was three months, I made a list of my favorite baby-related things that you can find here.  Three more months have gone by and that list has already drastically changed as far as how William is developing.  So I figured I'd update with my 'new' favorite things at six months.  Some of them are repeats from three months because I still love them and it didn't feel right leaving it off!

1. ERGObaby carrier - Umm....yes, please!  I mentioned last time that I loved my Moby (still do), but as William started to grow, it wasn't as comfortable and the material started to sag (yes, he's a big boy).  At the recommendation of...well, everyone, I got the grey Performance ERGO and I absolutely LOVE IT!  It is so easy to use and absolutely comfortable whether I'm wearing lil' man on my front or back.  Hubby loves it too and probably uses it more than me!  MUST HAVE!
2. Jumperoo - I'm pretty much convinced that this thing was invented by a genius.  I'm guessing while Einstein was messing with all that relativity mumbo jumbo, he was drawing up plans for this magical invention.  This gives lil' man absolute JOY!  You can hear him squealing in excitement every time he's in this thing.  We can use it to wear him out so he sleeps better and I know it has to be working out those legs muscles.  a.ma.zing.
3. Boppy - Even though it's much easier to nurse lil' man now that he's gotten bigger, I still love it and use it every day!
4. B Snug Bugs - William is only six months old, it doesn't take much to entertain him.  He would be content rolling around on the floor and playing with a fork and rocks (let me clarify, I do not actually allow my son to play with forks and/or rocks).  However, he absolutely LOVES these bugs!  They are the perfect size for him to hold or chew on and he will crawl around the whole living room chasing after them.  Seriously...LOVES them.
5. Flip cloth diapers - Rumparooz were my favorite diaper previously, however they run super small and William is about to outgrow them.  That makes me sad.  Flips are slowly becoming my new favorite!
6. California Baby Calming Diaper Rash Cream - Still love it!
7. Video monitor - Since William is sleeping in his crib, this is nice to have.  When we were deciding what to register for, we both thought it would be unnecessary to get a video monitor...until we saw it.  Just a nice piece of added comfort when lil' man is now fifteen feet away instead of just two.  hehe
8. Beaba Babycook - I've only used it once, but I have a feeling it is going to come in so handy.  I already know that is makes making baby food super easy!

Again I say, all of these things are nice to have.  William is happy enough just laying on the floor with his mommy and daddy without any fancy gadgets to keep him entertained so far.  That time is kind of amazing. 

William Eats - Sweet Potato

So William seems to enjoy the cereal he has been getting for the last week.  We have decided to move him on to some simple purees.  We decided to start with sweet potato.  Excellent source for so many nutrients and fiber.  Since this isn't one of the disgusting stronger-tasting veggies and not one of the sweeter fruits, I figured it would be a good place to start.

Since my awesome mom got us a Beaba Babycook for Easter (thanks, mom!), it made it super easy (although a steamer or oven and food processor would work just fine).  I peeled, chopped, steamed and pureed the potatoes.  Super easy.  Freezing the rest in ice cube tray.

How did William like them?  He was ducking his head down to avoid me putting the spoon in his mouth.  There was gagging involved and I'm pretty sure he would rather have eaten his bib.  Ha!

Cautious, yet curious....

Hmm...not sure I like this.....

No...definitely sure I do not like this....get the taste out of my mouth, please!!

Make it stop...make it stop...

We will try something new next week.....

My son's got some smarts...

There are few things that are capable of making you feel dumber than when your six month old son figures out how to work a toy before you do....and you have actually tried. 

All that time and money on my engineering degree and my six month old shows me up....

....that is all.

"Oh, mom....not always the brightest but I guess I"ll keep you around because I like your milk."

Parenting is...

I recently read (OK, listened to the audio book) The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama.  I'm not a fan of politics in general and (shame on me) don't follow all that closely.  I figured it would be interesting to read a book by the President and gave it a shot.  He gives quite an interested perspective on things and discusses topics from government to economy to family.  I probably couldn't go into too much detail on any of these topics, I guess they really didn't 'sink in'.  There was something at the end of the book, when he was discussing family, that stuck out and I adore it.  He began discussing his daughter's fifth birthday party -

"...the gymnastics instructor gathered all the kids around an old, multicolored parachute and told Sasha to sit at its center.  On the count of three, Sasha was hoisted up into the air and back down again, then up for a second time, and then for a third.  And each time she rose above the billowing sail, she laughed and laughed with a look of pure joy. 

"I wonder if Sasha will remember that moment when she is grown.  Probably not; it seems as if I can retrieve only the barest fragments of memory from when I was five.  But I suspect that the happiness she felt on that parachute registers permanently in her; that such moments accumulate and embed themselves in a child's character, becoming a part of their soul.  "

I guess I had always believed this, but I love the way he put it - "...such moments accumulate and embed themselves in a child's character, becoming a part of their soul."  As a new parent, it's a wonderful idea and a huge responsibility to think of it this way.  To think that every smile and laugh I help to create with my own son is being embedded in his soul.  And the same might be true for any unhappiness or tears that I help create.  What an amazing responsibility to have....

William is eating!

I feel like my mother when I say, "My little baby is growing up so fast."  But seriously...he's growing up so fast.  So yes, I do realize I've become a mommy cliche.  What of it??

William is quickly approaching six months and we have decided to start him on food.  He still loves his mommy's milk, but it seems like he could be interested in something more - sounds familiar, I get it.  We started him on organic rice cereal Friday evening and I think we'll plan to try a new food each weekend (yes...because I'm selfish and want to be able to make it and be there when he tries it hehe).

Verdict on cereal?  He loves it.  Lately he has had this funky discovery of his tongue going on and at first he was content holding the cereal on his tongue and sticking it out.  Then he realized he liked it and was fussing for more.  He's my son for sure and loves food already. 

We will be making our own baby food and we still aren't sure what we will try this weekend - I think we'll see what is fresh in the store.  We don't generally use organic, but I think we are going to buy organic for the dirty dozen.  

Stay tuned....

Pregnant flash mob

Oh, I love this! Flash mob with pregnant women at King's Island to support March of Dimes! So cute!

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Electronic Recycling

So this weekend there was an electronic recycling drop-off near our house.  We had a dusty, broken TV and VCR that we have been holding onto for the longest time not knowing what to do with.

It might be easy to just dump these things in the trash to be hauled away with your weekly trash collection, but consider this for a minute.  All your old and obsolete electronics (like cell phones, computers, TVs, refrigerators, DVD players, etc.) will not only be contributing to the growing landfills, but may contain hazardous materials, like lead, mercury, cadmium and other substances.  If you have unwanted electronics, you might first ask yourself if it can be donated for someone else to use.  If not, look for a recycling center near you.  Many electronics can be used to build or upgrade to new ones or components can be used as secondary scrap.

To find out where you can recycle, you might try checking your state's environmental agency.  If that doesn't get you anywhere, I found a website that might help you to look for electronic recycling near you - here. 

You can even see Tressel, our dog, in the front seat ready to go - he's totally on board with recycling...hehe