We have a walker!

Tommy took his first real steps today! I was really hoping he'd start walking before going back to daycare since he's the youngest in his new room and I have this fear that he'll be trampled. Plus I wanted to be sure to see his first steps, myself. Thank you Tommy for doing this for Mommy!

ps. Please ignore my voice, I was a little bit excited...

We did it!

Transitioned to whole cow's milk (WCM), that is! After months and months of a dairy sensitivity, Tommy has FINALLY grown out of it! Our pediatrician told us to hold off until 15 months to transition but I really wanted to give it a try before I went back to work in case we were up all night or something. We started with 2oz of milk in one bottle for two days. Then 2oz of milk in one bottle and 4oz in a second bottle. Then slowly added more and more and after a week and a half, we dropped the soy formula completely! I'm so happy. Tommy's now eating lots of different foods with cheese and even ate almost a whole cup of Greek yogurt for lunch yesterday! I'm so happy, and the monetary savings aren't bad either ;)

Dressing my Post-Baby Body

Tommy is one whole year old now and I really haven't bought much in the way of clothes since having him. After he was born, I wore maternity clothes for quite some time. Then, I wore my pre-pregnancy clothes that were all bought over a year prior. This summer, I've worn a mom uniform of shorts and t-shirts. Work starts up again in a couple of weeks and I realized that my wardrobe is looking pretty drab. Luckily, I was given two gift cards for my birthday back in June and my mother in law was dying to take Tommy for the day while Bill went on a day trip with friends.

Armed with gift cards I arrived at the mall. I went to Loft first as it has always been my favorite store. They give a 15% educator discount on regular priced items and occasionally you can get cashier to give it to you on sale items too ;)

I really did not find much there, however. I bought this shirt and sweater. I feel like I spent WAY too much on them but really liked them.

Then I went to a few other stores finding absolutely NOTHING that I liked and/or fit correctly. I looked in JCPenney, Francesca's, New York & Co, Forever 21 (though I walked in and walked back out because I was too overwhelmed), J Crew, and finally The Limited. The Limited was running a 40% off the whole store sale. There, I bought a shirt, two pairs of pants, and a purple infinity scarf that doesn't seem to exist on the website:

And that's it. That's all I found. I'm doing alright for pants because I have a couple other pairs that are still in decent shape but I'd really like to get some more tops. About 45 minutes away there is an outlet mall that has a Banana Republic Outlet where I usually find nice clothes. I think it's time to take a trip out there. 

It's just so frustrating to try on item after item and hate the way they look or having them not fit at all. I'm on the upper end of regular clothing stores, wearing a size ((gulp)) 14 or 16 pants and usually XL shirts. I have a large chest so often, shirts fit wrong either being too tight in the chest or fitting in the chest but being too loose everywhere else. I was hoping to find some looser tops with more fitted pants and it seems like none of the stores I visited carried those styles.

Oh well, I'll keep looking and focus on looking at cute clothes for Tommy, he looks great in everything ;)

Update: Progressive Waiting Approach

I mentioned before that I read Dr. Ferber's book and tried the Progressive Waiting Approach (CIO with check-ins) with Tommy. I am happy to say that it has been an overwhelming success! The first night he cried for 41 excruciating minutes. Every night after that, the amount of time has decreased and now, just over a week later, he goes down without crying at all!

This is the bedtime routine we've adopted:

• bottle while sitting in the chair in his room, lights on, and no going to sleep
• brush teeth
• read a book
• hug and a kiss and lay down in his crib

and that's it! I wanted to be sure to have a routine that could be implemented anywhere, by anyone. I put him down for the first 7 nights and had Bill do both nights this past weekend. I was concerned that he would have trouble adjusting to Bill but because he followed the same routine, it went over perfectly! 

The first night I did check-ins at 3, 5, 7, 10, and 12 minute increments before he fell asleep. By the third night I stretched it out to 5, 10, 15 minute increments and after that, I never had to go past the 10 minute increment. 

I had decided to only use this approach at bedtime and to continue to get him down for naps however I could. After a couple of days he started refusing to be rocked to sleep for naps and either fell asleep while drinking a bottle, in the car, or by being put down in his crib awake. The wonderful side effect of this is that his naps have stretched out some. He was driving me crazy with his 40 minute naps and while some of his naps are still short, he usually gives me at least one longer nap a day. 

Cry it out methods aren't for every baby or for every family but I am so glad that I did this with Tommy. We had a set back last night when he woke up multiple times with teething pain and all it took was a hug and a quick pat on the back and Tommy put himself back to sleep. Prior to using this method, I'd either have to rock him back to sleep which usually took at least 20 minutes, or bring him to our bed where no one would enter a deep sleep.

It has been wonderful for us. I highly recommend reading Dr. Ferber's book, Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems prior to trying this method if for no other reason than the reassurance that what you are doing has research to back it up. When Tommy was screaming so hard the first two nights, having the book there to reference was a huge help.

I'm a big Dr. Ferber fan now!

My baby is 1!

From this

To this!

I can't believe it's been a whole year since we've been a family of three! Tommy is: 

• crawling
• climbing
• cruising
• saying ma-ma, da-da, ba-ba, uh-oh, ba (ball), cl (clock), k (book)
• can clap
• raises his arms if you say hip hip hooray
• claps to "If you're happy and you know it"
• touches his head and belly if you ask where they are
• puts himself to sleep at nap and bedtime (more on this later)
• waves hi and bye
• gives kisses
• blows kisses
• shakes his head no if he doesn't want something
• has 7 teeth with 3 more pushing through
• pets the cat and the dog
• and so much more!

I love you Thomas Harrison! I can't imagine my life without you!

Sleep Training: Day 2

I was so tempted to skip today but I knew I had to just do it. With Bill being out of town, I've had dinner at my parents' house both last night and tonight. I sang silly songs the whole way home so that Tommy wouldn't fall asleep in the car. It worked but he was super tired by the time we got home, right before his 8:00 bedtime. Last night I pushed bedtime back by 30 minutes as Ferber recommends for the first couple of nights, but figured that Tommy was sleepy enough tonight that I didn't need to. 

I brought him to his room, changed his diaper and gave him his bottle with the lights on, talking to him the whole time to keep him awake. After the bottle we brushed his teeth and went back to his room to read a book. I read a different book tonight than last night and looking back, I wonder if I should have read the same book for consistency's sake thought I doubt it really makes much of a difference.

After the book, I said, "night night Tommy, I love you" and tried to lay him down in his crib. He immediately started crying. 

8:04 Laid him in his crib
8:07 First check
8:12 Second check
8:21 Third check
8:31 Fourth check. After this his crying was sporadic.

8:37 Crying ends completely and I assume he went to sleep after 34 minutes, down from 41 yesterday.

Tonight he seemed to realize that I wasn't going to pick him up. Each time I went in, he grabbed my shirt and tried to pull himself up into my arms. He would snuggle his head into my stomach and try to soothe himself that way. Each time I left, his crying would increase in intensity. What made it especially difficult was that our dog, Hojo, was being a big pain in the butt. He kept pacing outside of Tommy's room, walking from our room to the hallway and back, nails clicking, because he wanted to go outside. When I finally gave in and let him out, he started barking immediately which was annoying since there is a window in Tommy's room that looks out over the backyard. Then Hojo wouldn't come back inside so I had to run outside after him and try to usher him back in the house (which is why there is a 9 minute slot instead of a 7 minute). 

By the time Tommy went to sleep, my nerves were fried. I see it as a good thing that it took Tommy less time to go to sleep tonight although every minute felt like an eternity. Hopefully tomorrow is even shorter.

Oh, naps! I brought Tommy to my parents' house at 10am and he hadn't napped yet. My mom gave him a bottle at 11 and he fell asleep while eating and took a 2 hour nap. He seems to nap really well at my parents' house which might have something to do with the blackout shades they have in the room with their crib. I'm going to invest in some for Tommy's room in our house and see if it helps. He also took a 30 minute nap this afternoon, part in the car and part in the crib.

Alright, let's hope that he sleeps well tonight. Once I got him to sleep, I poured myself a glass a wine. I'm feeling much more relaxed now and am ready for bed. Night!

Update

We made it! Tommy fell asleep on his own last night and slept through until 7:00 this morning! Woohoo! I've decided to hold off on changing his naps just yet. After reading the naps section of Ferber's book I've realized that we really need to make some major changes to the nap schedule. I think that nighttime sleep training plus a big change in naps would be too much right now. I'm going to continue with the nighttime training until I feel like it has become a good routine then I'm going to work on naps. As it stands right now, Tommy takes a 40ish minute nap at 9:00am and another one at 1:00pm. Then I try and keep him up until bedtime at 8:00pm. He used to take another nap at 5:00pm but it has started to interfere with bedtime. I have tried pushing back the morning or afternoon nap a bit but it hasn't really helped. I think I need to really make an effort to push them both back or cut him down to one, solid nap. I haven't decided which to do yet so I'm going to think about it.

PS. I should add that Bill is totally on board with whatever I decide is best. He really doesn't have time to read Ferber's book (along with some attention issues when it comes to reading) so I've been explaining it as I go through it. When it comes to doing any research regarding Tommy, Bill defers to me!

Progressive Waiting Approach

After putting it off for a while I finally decided it was time to do some sleep training. Tommy has really been fighting bedtime lately, especially on the nights that Bill puts him to sleep, and he's been waking up in the middle of the night again. Naps have been really hard and I figured it was time. I waited until this most recent tooth came through so he wouldn't be dealing with teething pain. He's not currently sick and I didn't give him any dairy today at all. Bill is out of town for a guys' weekend so I decided that this is my opportunity to just do it. I downloaded Ferber's book, Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems and furiously read as much as I could today. That's how I am, I make a decision and I just do it. If I mull it over, I wimp out.

I went to my parents' house for dinner and Tommy dosed off on the way home. I woke him up, played with him for a little while, and brought him into his room at 8:20 instead of his normal 8:00 bedtime (a Ferber recommendation). I fed him his bottle with the lights on and I talked to him and recited nursery rhymes to him to keep him from falling asleep. After the bottle we quick brushed his teeth (something he loves lately) and read a Thomas the Train book that he likes. Then I gave him a big hug and told him that I love him very much and that it was time for him to go to bed. I said, "night night Tommy" which will be our bedtime phrase, turned of the light, and put him in his crib. Of course he started bawling. 

8:37 Put him in his crib and said goodnight.
8:40 First check.
8:45 Second check.
8:52 Third check.
9:04 Fourth check.
9:08 Crying stops and he went to sleep. We don't have a video monitor so I wasn't able to see him but I know he went to sleep sometime after he stopped crying.

A couple of observations: it was really freaking hard to listen to him crying especially because he has really started to say ma-ma this week and he kept yelling it out. What was even harder was when he stopped saying ma-ma and switched to da-da, like he gave up on me and thought Bill could come "save" him. The strange part was when he stopped crying. He slowed some, stopping the gut wrenching screams and moving to more of a moaning cry but still crying with force. Then he just stopped. He must have just dropped with exhaustion.

So now he's sleeping. I'm really hoping that he just sleeps through the night because I really don't want to deal with this in the middle of the night! I really hope it helps. I was supposed to go meet Bill tomorrow with the other girlfriends/wives but part of the reason I'm not going is because I don't want to leave him overnight with my parents again. Last time he freaked out for 2 hours while they tried to put him to bed. I feel like it was definitely time to try something. I just hope it works well.

Another dairy update

So, I'm not really sure how it went! I wrote about how I gave Tommy some mac & cheese for lunch on Tuesday. He did wake up in the middle of the night crying but it didn't take long to rock him back to sleep. Could be a coincidence. I gave him some more mac & cheese last night for dinner. Bill gave him a bottle at 6:45 because he was asking for one then brought him to my softball game. Tommy fell asleep on the way home from the game so Bill didn't give him another bottle before bed. He woke up at 4am crying and crying. He finally asked for a bottle so I gave it to him and he went back to sleep. So, was his waking up related to the dairy or just a coincidence? I have no idea. I'm going to hold off on the dairy today and try again in a couple of days. It could just be his body getting used to a new food rather than an issue too. I'm really not sure. I'd like to know one way or the other by his 12 month appointment on Wednesday so I know what to tell the pediatrician. Oh well, we'll figure it out!

Fingers are crossed

We've been slowing introducing dairy to Tommy's diet. He's been eating bites of my muffins and I've been giving him Eggo waffles which contain a small amount of dairy. So far, so good. Last night I gave him a tiny taste of my frozen yogurt and again, no problems. So I decided to be brave. I gave him Mac & Cheese for lunch! Of course, he LOVED it! So now my fingers are crossed that he doesn't have a bad reaction!

Hi There

Oops. It has been WAY too long since my last post on May 20th. After that was the end of the school year (crazy time) and then it felt like I had too much to catch up on but no big event to write about. So here's a quick update:

• Tommy is now 11 months old.
• At his most recent trip to the doctor he weighed 22lbs 9oz.
• We weaned.
• We switched to soy formula.
• Tommy crawls everywhere and is creeping along furniture.
• Tommy says ba-ba for bottle, uh-oh, and gittit (get it).
• His top front teeth came in and he's currently working on many more coming through.
• He has been eating some foods with milk in them like muffins and waffles! So far so good, fingers crossed!
• We decided on a theme for Tommy's birthday party, Baseball!!!
• Tommy refuses to eat anything off of a spoon when we try to feed him so he's completely on table food. The only way I can get him to eat veggies though, is to spread purees on bread like a sandwich. 

T - 13 days until Tommy turns 1. Where did the past year go???

Tommy's 11 month picture

9 Month Update

Sorry I've been stinking at posting lately. Tommy is great. He's growing and changing and is now pretty mobile so I spend most of my free time chasing after him and have little time to be on the computer!

He had his 9 month appointment and he weighs 20lbs 3ozs and is 27.5in long which puts him in the 45th percentile for weight and 40th percentile for height. Bill took him to the appointment and can't remember his head circumference but he was in the 90th percentile. I guess he inherited Bill's giant dome piece!

He is scooting around on his tummy like a pro! He hasn't really had any desire to crawl on his hands and knees but that's fine! On Friday, he just randomly started going from his belly to sitting up! I had never seen him even attempt this and he just started doing it. He is also pulling himself up from his belly to kneeling when he has something to pull himself up on. However, he STILL can't go anywhere when he's laying on his back. He is completely stuck. Our pediatrician isn't concerned since he is doing everything else. 

Our pediatrician also told us that she wants us to try soy yogurt with Tommy and if that goes well, she said we can try soy formula instead of the Nutramigen. We'll see, I'm not going to rush it. The Nutramigen is expensive but it works with Tommy's sensitive tummy. I hope the soy yogurt goes well though, I'd like to get him eating some other foods. If he happens to be sensitive to dairy for his whole life, I'd like for him to have alternatives that he likes and can eat.

Basically, I'm loving my little guy. He so fun and it's crazy how quickly he's growing and changing!

Love his blue eyes!

First night away from home.

Tommy is having his first overnight away from home tonight. My parents are keeping him so Bill and I can go to a birthday party and so we can have a test run sine they're keeping him when we go to a wedding out of town next month. I'm currently laying with him on my parents' spare bed in the room where their crib is. He's asleep and I can't get myself to put him down. I know he'll be fine. I know I'll be fine. I just can't seem to do it. Wahhhh

Ok. Here goes. I'm gonna do it. Really, I am.


......


One for the money.

Two for the show.

Three to get ready.

Four to go.


UPDATE:

We stayed out until 12:30 and I went to sleep around 1. I woke up a little over an hour later having an anxiety attack. I felt like I couldn't breathe and I was shaking. I kept thinking that something bad had happened to Tommy. I woke myself up completely and pulled myself out of it. It was not too much fun though. When I woke up at 7:45 for the day, I called my mom and she told me Tommy was still sleeping! That he woke up at 5:15 and kind of babbled and played then went back to sleep! I'm glad he did well for them. I wish I hadn't been so stressed out.

I've mentioned that I tried reintroducing dairy and it really didn't go well. Eating a tiny bit didn't bother him too much but the day I tried pizza was the last time I tried. He was up all night crying. His body isn't ready and I'm not going to push it anymore.

Basically, that means that I have been dairy-free for 7 months, minus the one week that I tried to reintroduce. I have family and coworkers who are trying so hard to convince me to just give it up. I'm only nursing twice a day now, before bed and first thing in the morning. It's not a lot but it's enough for me and for Tommy. I know that I shouldn't let it bother me but I am SO SICK of people telling me to stop BFing.  

He won't take the boob at his 6pm feeding anymore and I'm fine with that. I LOVE our special time together, even if it's only twice a day. Tommy's so busy and interested in the world that he rarely snuggles with me, even while drinking bottles, he wants to sit on my lap and hold it himself. He won't let me cradle him and hold his bottle for him.

I have no idea how much milk he's actually getting from me but I know it's better than none. I have nothing against formula, I use it for 4 feedings a day, but it's been proven over and over again that breastmilk is the best for babies and I feel good that he's getting some, however little it might be.

So, when people try to convince me to stop, I get really frustrated. People at work think I'm absolutely insane for continuing to nurse ESPECIALLY because it means giving up dairy. It's really not hard anymore. Do I miss ice cream and pizza? Absolutely, but it's not that big a deal. It's just food. And food that's not particularly good for you anyway. 

I don't tell anyone else how to feed their child and I'm getting tired of people thinking that it's okay for them to push their opinions on me. I never saw myself nursing this long but it works for us. I don't plan on being the Time Magazine cover-lady but I'm not sure when I'll wean Tommy. I'm not putting an expiration date on my breastmilk.

Getting Tommy to Nap

I like to think of myself as a good mom. I do everything I can to keep my son safe and happy. I tell him many times a day how much I love him and feed him nutritious foods.

That being said, like most first time moms, I have no clue what I'm doing! It's my belief that most of parenting is a learn-as-you-go process. You learn by doing, which includes making mistakes. You take advice from your mom, your mother-in-law, your friends, and your pediatrician and you do what works best for your family and your baby. There is no one-size-fits-all approach for anything.

My grandma, whom I love very much, has been encouraging me to let Tommy "cry it out" since he was about 3 weeks old. She told me that he needs to learn to sleep by himself and that it's my job to teach him by letting him try. I respectfully disagreed with her. My mom told me to try it when he was about 8 weeks old saying that he's healthy and his sleep problems were because I have made him depend on me to fall asleep. I respectfully disagreed with her as well. Come to find out, he screamed and cried and was a terrible sleeper because he had a dairy sensitivity and his stomach was killing him! (point for mommy!)

Of course, my mom and grandma have given me plenty of great advice but I sometimes have to remind them that what worked for them won't necissarily work for me and my son especially because things have changed in the decades since they have had children.

Doing things my way have worked alright. I do still nurse Tommy to sleep at bedtime but he sleeps through the night from 8pm until 5:30 or 6:00am most nights! Naps have been a bit more frustrating. I used to be able to rock him to sleep pretty easily but now that he's so aware of what's going on and interested in everything, he never wants to stop playing! He'll be yawning and miserable but I'll literally have to lay him down in bed with me and force him to go to sleep to get a decent nap on the weekends. I decided it was time to ask daycare if they were having the same issues we were.

I talked to one of the teachers in Tommy's room and asked her how they get Tommy down. She said they give him a kiss, lay him down, and he goes to sleep. Um, what?! Really?! I was shocked. She said that they have to put him down last out of all of the babies because he goes right to sleep and when the other babies fuss or cry, it wakes him up. Seriously?! I realized that it's probably because they have such a consistent routine every single day. They lay the babies down at 9:00 and 12:45. He knows that it's naptime and just goes to sleep. 

So I decided to follow their schedule completely yesterday. I always nurse Tommy when he wakes up in the morning and during the week, I get up and we get ready for the day. On the weekend, we laze around in bed for a while. Yesterday I got right up and we started our day. He ate his bottle and breakfast at 8, just like at daycare, and at 9 I brought Tommy into his room, kissed him, and laid him down. He fussed for exactly 1.5 minutes and was out cold! Today I did the same thing at 9 and 12:45 and he fussed for a minute or two each time and went back to sleep! Who knew? 

So the key was to do the same routine and to LET HIM FUSS! I never do. I hate to hear him cry. I hate to think that he feels abandoned. However, now at just about 9 months old, he is just upset that he's not getting what he thinks he wants. As his mom, I know that he needs a nap. It's my job to make sure he gets it. 

It's kind of what my mom and grandma were telling me so many months ago. I still do not agree with them that he needed this back at just a few weeks old, but now, yeah, I think they are right.

Napping

Tommy took his normal 45 minute nap at 9:00 this morning then went back to sleep at 10:15 on our bed and he's still sleeping. He's usually much more of a catnap type kid than a long nap taker. I hope he's not getting sick...

Food Friday - Crockpot Italian Chicken

I haven't eaten this in many months because of the dairy content but I've been craving it lately so I thought I'd share. It's not particularly healthy but it is easy to make!

Crockpot Italian Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 packet dry Italian dressing 

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending how cream cheesy you want it)

Place the chicken in a crockpot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it. Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat and pour over chicken. Cook on low for at least 4 hours. You can leave it in there all day. If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little milk. Serve over pasta or rice, we serve over bow tie pasta!

Pizza

My first bite of pizza in over 6 months. Project: Dairy Reintroduction is in full swing!

Mmmmmm

First Ride in the Big Boy Carseat

Yikes! Time got a way from me!

It has been WAY too long since my last post! Tommy is now 8 months old.

He is wearing size 4 diapers and size 9 month or 9-12 month clothing (some 6-12 month from Gymboree). He still has 2 teeth and is able to go from sitting to his belly. He army crawls, pulling himself along the floor by his arms with his belly on the floor.

He says mamamama, dadadada, bababababa, and many other sounds. He can give high fives, wave bye-bye, and give kisses. He drinks 3, 6oz bottles of formula a day as well as breastfeeding 2-3 times a day.

He has recently begun to sleep through the night, like for real sleeping through, not the 5+hour straight stretches that the doctors like to tell us counts. He goes to bed at 8pm and sleeps until about 5 or 6am. He is sooooooo much fun and I'm loving this stage!

A New Favorite "Food"

Tommy isn't crawling yet but I decided to let him try puffs. I think they taste great, Tommy thinks they're weird. He just kinda smacks his mouth if I give him one but won't put one in his own mouth. He does, however, LOVE pop cakes!

I bought a bag to try for myself since the grocery store where we shop was sampling them. They are very bland but I noticed that they pretty much just dissolve in your mouth so I thought I'd let Tommy try a piece. He went nuts over it!

Now I give him a piece every morning to munch on while I get my lunch made and his bottles put together for daycare.

Food Friday: Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

So this recipe was recommended by some girls on the TB Aug 12 board and they were pretty good! I was able to make them dairy-free and they came out pretty delicious!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter or Earth Balance to make them dairy-free
1/3 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce or any other favorite hot sauce
1 pound ground chicken, preferably thigh meat
1 large egg
1/2 celery stalk, minced
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt

Yields: 40 3/4-inch meatballs

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the vegetable oil into a 9 x 13- inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.
Combine the butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, whisking until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.
Combine the ground chicken, hot sauce mixture, egg, celery, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.
Roll the mixture into round, 3/4-inch balls, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.
Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F.
Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.

New Food!

Last night my mom, sister, and Granma went to dinner at Red Lobster and we brought Tommy along. Bill HATES all seafood and can't even stand to be in Red Lobster because of the smell. Even though he hates seafood, he made it clear to me that he wants me to make sure to feed Tommy, and any subsequent children, seafood in hopes that they'll like it.

I ordered fresh Haddock and after double checking Wholesome Baby Food that it was ok to give him fish at this age, I broke off the tiniest of pieces of fish and fed it to Tommy. He chewed and made some funny faces before swallowing. It was hard to tell if he liked it or not so after a few minutes I gave him a tiny little piece again. After this piece, she started diving toward my fingers for more and yelled when I stopped. I think it's safe to say that, for now, he loves fish!

I wasn't really into the idea of Baby Led Weaning as a way to introduce solids but I think a few bites of whatever we're eating here and there along with purees might be the way that works best for us.

Food Saturday?

Oops, forgot to post my Food Friday post yesterday. I had a hellish week at work and it slipped my mind last night.

This recipe has been suggested by a few people on message boards and I pinned it on Pinterest as well. I finally gave it a shot and let me tell you, it's a keeper! We mixed it with rice and veggies, we put it in tacos, Bill made it into quesadillas, and I'm sure there's more we could have done too!

Crockpot Chicken

1 envelope Taco Seasoning
6 pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 jar Salsa (16 oz)

Dump everything into a crock pot and stir to blend the seasoning with the salsa. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours (I actually cooked it for almost 10 because I didn't get out of work as early as I wanted to, remember I had a hellish week, but it was fine! I really need to get a crockpot with an automatic shut-off!). When done, stir with a fork or wooden spoon and the chicken should shred easily.

3 in one day?

Last Saturday, Tommy really ate terribly, like only a couple ounces of formula in each bottle then only nursing for a short amount of time. He was super fussy and was chewing so hard on his hands, toys, toes, and anything else he could get in his mouth. He was eating his solids normally so I just assumed it was his teeth bothering him, that sucking on the bottles (or boobs) was hurting his teeth.

He ate terribly on Monday and Tuesday so on Wednesday, I called the nurses line at the pediatrician's office to see when I should start to be concerned. He was having plenty of wet diapers but I was worried about him getting the nutrients and calories he needs. The nurse suggested bring him in to have his ears checked. The doctor mentioned that if he ran a fever at the end of the cold he had a couple of weeks ago, to bring him in to have his ears checked. He never ran a fever and wasn't pulling on his ears or anything so I didn't really think it would be his ears.

Bill was off of work so he brought him in. Turns out he has an ear infection in his left ear and was wheezing again. He's on antibiotics (which he LOVES) and is now on oral steroids twice a day and the albuterol, both through the nebulizer. They said that they are pretty sure he has asthma now that he's had issues with wheezing so many times already. I know it's not a severe case of asthma and it should be pretty manageable, but it makes me sad that he has to deal with this.

At least we know how to help him and hopefully it's not a big part of his life.

Food Friday: Guinness Brownies (not dairy-free)

So I mentioned below that the dairy-free brownie recipe was not the best brownie recipe ever. This is. I make them around St. Patrick's Day and they are always a huge hit. They are VERY rich and almost more like fudge than brownies. OMG they are soooooo good.

Ingredients
4 eggs

3/4 C. superfine sugar

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

4 oz. white chocolate, chopped

6 T. unsalted butter

3/4 C. all-purpose flour

3/4 C. cocoa

1 1/4 C. Guinness stout

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Butter an 8-inch-square pan (I use a 9x9)
In an electric mixer, combine the eggs and sugar.
Beat until light and fluffy.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the bittersweet chocolate, white chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth.
Remove from heat and beat into the egg mixture.
Sift the flour and cocoa together and beat into the chocolate mixture.
Whisk in the Guinness.
Pour into the pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
To serve, dust the cake with confectioners' sugar and cut into squares.
Source: "The New Irish Table" by Margaret M. Johnson

Food Friday: Dairy-Free Brownies

Another dairy-free recipe. This one was really exciting to find because I was really craving some baked goods. These aren't the best brownies I've ever had but they are definitely tasty. I brought them into work (to keep myself from eating the whole pan...) and my coworkers raved.

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the cocoa and baking soda.
Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and boiling water.
Mix until well blended and thickened.
Stir in the sugar, eggs, and remaining 1/3 cup oil.
Finally, add the flour, vanilla and salt; mix just until all of the flour is absorbed.
Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

I knew this day would come

The day when I would become envious of my daycare provider. Tommy gives kisses and they are so cute! At first he would give me one if I made kissy noises at him and asked for one. Now he gives them out from time to time. He'll grab my face and attack me! I love it :) Well today I dropped him at daycare and kissed him goodbye. I handed him over to Rosa, the lead teacher, and he immediately started kissing her over and over. It took all I had not to cry right then and there.

I love our daycare and I love that he loves his teachers. I just don't want him to love them more than me. I know I sound childish and ridiculous, of course he loves me, I'm his Mommy. But there is part of me that feels guilty about working. I feel guilty that given a choice, I'd probably still work. I love my job and I love going to work. I love being a mom, but I really don't think I could stay home full-time and feel fulfilled (please know that I don't judge stay-at-home moms, I truly give them so much credit, it's easier for me to work than be home all day).

I'm rambling now. Basically, I want Tommy to love me and this morning I felt replaced...

Breastfeeding Update

Who would have thought that I'd keep breastfeeding at 7 months? I had planned on breastfeeding but had no idea how it would go. After a few weeks, I hated it. After 2 months, I had to give up dairy and went back to work. Well now, at 7 months, I've decided to night-nurse.

I gave up my mid-day pumping session and I feel so much more free at work! I nurse Tommy when he wakes up in the morning, he drinks 3 bottles at daycare, then I nurse him around 6pm and again before bed. If he wants to eat overnight I nurse then as well. So far, it's going really well. I was really sore the first few days of not pumping but my body seems to have adjusted. It means that Tommy is getting full formula bottles while at daycare and during the day at home but it doesn't seem to bother him. It's expensive since we us Enfamil Nutramigen but this is way to keep breastfeeding at least some without being tied to my pump. I was starting to get really frustrated at work. I was losing my whole planning period to pump which meant staying later at work and getting less time with Tommy in the evening.

I hope to continue with this arrangement for as long as we can!

7 Months!

Tommy was 7 months old on March 7! I can't believe how fast the last month went! I know February is a short month but since it was a leap year, it really was only 1 or 2 days shorter.

• Tommy is now wearing size 3 diapers during the day but size 4, overnight diapers at night.
• He has outgrown most of his 6 month size clothes and is wearing some 6-9 months and a bunch of 9 month clothes.
  
• He still isn't rolling from back to front and rarely rolls from belly to back. He's typically content however we lay him.
  
• He sits up unassisted but we have to put him that way.
  
• He will stand and hold on to things for about 30 seconds on his own before he loses his balance.
  
• He has 2 teeth!
  
• His belly has decided to accept oatmeal and Tommy loves it!
  
• He's still drinking his milk and eating 2 solid meals each day.
  
• He laughs and gives big sloppy kisses!
  
• When he's not sick, he rarely eats overnight though he typically wakes up at least once for his binky.
  

I love him so much!

Food Friday!

So I know I haven't posted Tommy's 7 month update yet but I swear I will soon! Until then, here's my recipe for Food Friday! Another dairy-free idea, though I've been making this for years, long before I started my dairy-free diet!

Chinese Chicken Salad

1 bag prepared coleslaw, rinsed & drained
3 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 bag sliced almonds
2 pkgs. crushed top Ramen noodles (do not use seasoning)
4 to 6 split chicken breasts, cooked & shredded (I boil the chicken)
1/2 c. vegetable oil

In 1/2 cup of oil brown almonds, sesame seeds and crushed noodles. Let mixture cool. Mix with greens and toss with dressing. Add chicken and refrigerate.

DRESSING:

1/2 c. oil (1/4 c. sesame oil & 1/4 c. vegetable oil)
3 tbsp. rice vinegar (do not substitute)
Top Ramen season packets
3 tbsp. sugar

Wisk together and pour over salad. Toss and serve chilled.

Food Friday

I'm linking up with Lauren at Our Little All-American Family for Food Friday. I've done this once before but kind of slacked off when I started my non-dairy diet. I realized I really should post some things I've found that are dairy-free!

Crockpot BBQ Beef

3lbs beef cut into 2 inch cubes
8 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1 med. onion chopped
1/2 cup celery
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp Worcester sauce

Brown the beef then dump everything in the crockpot. Cook on low for 7-8 hours and serve over rice (or mashed potatoes but I did rice and it was great!). That's it! Super easy and delicious!

Oatmeal Success!

If you have been following me for even a short amount of time, you know that Tommy has a sensitive stomach. He has a dairy sensitivity and we had no luck with rice cereal or oatmeal at 4 months, 5 months, or 5.5 months. Our pediatrician wanted us to feed him cereal of some sort for the iron content which he would need after 6 months but we really didn't want to put him through the awful stomach pains he seemed to experience after eating rice or oatmeal. I started making spinach for him and luckily, he loves it.

Last week was February break for me and since I had a couple of days where I had no where I needed to go, I decided to give oatmeal another try. The first day I fed it to him (Thursday), I mixed it with peaches and fed him in the morning. I followed it with a couple of spoonfuls of prunes. That night he did great! I braved it again the following morning and again, no stomach pains!

Since then I've given it to him once a day either in the morning or in the evening for 6 days straight and ::knock on wood:: we haven't had any problems! Wooohoo!!!

My Big Boy!

On Wednesday, Tommy couldn't sit on his own. We have been practicing for a couple of weeks now but he would just tip one way or the other. On Thursday, he sat for a few seconds at a time as long as he didn't try to turn one way or the other. By Friday he could steady himself and hold himself up for a minute or two at a time. Today, he sat for about 15 minutes on his own. It's amazing how quickly they change!

Last night, Bill was playing with him and he stood, holding his jumperoo, by himself, for almost a full minute. He's such a big boy!

Spending time with my little guy!

This week is Winter Break for my school district which means I get to be home with my little buddy all week! I give stay at home moms a lot of credit, it's exhausting! Tommy's at a stage where he wants everything in his eye sight: remote, my phone, computer, my soda bottle, his toys, the boppy, his jumperoo, his bouncy chair, the rug, the dog, the cat, the mail, etc. He wants them all RIGHT NOW but don't you dare just hand them to him, he wants to get them himself. But he can't crawl yet. He can only spin around in circles on his belly. If he can't quite reach whatever it is that he wants, he gets very frustrated.

It becomes a constant game of redirection. Hey Tommy! Look at this! Ok, you're bored with that? Look at this! Reach for this! Don't hit it out of your reach! On, and on, and on. He has also decided that naps are for suckers. I have a hard time getting him to lay down and end up nursing him to sleep, something that I know daycare never has to do! Then he stays asleep for about 20 minutes and is up and ready to go again!

I know part of this is his teeth. One has pushed its way through but there is at least one more close to breaking through, if not 3 more. His first to break through is his bottom right tooth. The bottom left tooth is right there and the top two look dangerously close too! Poor guy.

He's also not sleeping great at night. He had been sleeping straight through from 7:30-4:30 then some days going back down somethings being up at that time. Not fun but at least no getting up several times. The last few nights we're back to getting up 3 times a night BUT he's been sleeping until 6:30 or 7. Who knows. I've stopped trying to figure him out. He'll straighten out eventually!

Ok, Little Dude has had enough of the Jumperoo. I better go get him and start playing!

Oops (6 months old!)

It's been 2 weeks since my last blog post. Wow, time got away from me! My baby boy is 6 months old already! He is wearing some 6 month sized clothes, some 9 month, and some 6-9 month sized clothes. He's in size 3 diapers and weighed in at 17lbs 12oz at his 6 month appointment which is the 54th percentile for his age. He was 26in long (33rd percentile, although I think he has stretched out since that appointment) and his head circumference was 17.5in (71st percentile, yikes!).

The pediatrician suggested trying barley cereal since we're still having trouble with rice and oatmeal but I'm holding off for now and feeding him spinach to give him the iron that he needs. She also said that if I wanted, I could try and introduce dairy when he's 8 months old. I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be breastfeeding for though. Things are still going alright so I'm going to keep going but we are up to 12oz of formula a day.

Two days ago we had a tooth break through! It's just one little needle-sized piece but Tommy's been teething non-stop since then! Luckily, he hasn't been too fussy or anything, just drooling and chewing everything. Yesterday, he was laying on his belly playing with some toys and he pivoted around and started nomming on the leg of his bouncy chair!

Tommy isn't crawling but he is trying! He tries to pull himself forward by his arms and he tries to get up on his knees but when he is able to, he face-plants! I don't think he's super close to being able to crawl but he is starting to get very interested in what's around him and trying to get to everything!

He is also starting to get weary of people he doesn't recognize. He will let them hold him but he looks around for Bill or I to make sure we're near.

I'm so in love with my baby boy!

Teething Tabs Review

I mentioned last post that I was planning on getting some teething tabs to try and soothe Tommy rather than using Tylenol. I went out last Sunday to Target and picked up a bottle. Luckily, we didn't have any episodes of teething pain for a few days after we bought the bottle so I wasn't able to update on whether they worked or not.

However, the last 2 days have been pretty rough. Tommy is chewing on everything. He's fussy and drooling. And the teething tabs have done nothing.

Boo.

Yup, sick again

Ugh. Tommy has been sick again. On Thursday morning he woke up just in time for me to change his diaper, get him dressed, and take him to daycare. I did so, then out the door we went. I had taken the morning off of work to go to the dentist to get a crown for my root canal. On our way to daycare, Tommy pooped (which he never does) and needed to be changed. I took him out of his carseat and laid him on the changing table in his room. The lead teacher came over and insisted that she do it (bless her) so I finished putting his bottles in the refrigerator and signing him in. I went over to kiss him goodbye as the teacher pulled up his onsie to reveal a nasty rash all over his torso.

The director of the daycare came in and suggested that I get it checked out so I cancelled my dentist appointment (they were not happy with me but oh well, they'll get over it) and was lucky enough to get a 9:00 appointment at the pediatrician's office.

I got in to see Tommy's specific pediatrician and she diagnosed him with roseola due to his lack of any other symptoms. At the last minuted, she decided to do a quick strep test to be sure she wasn't missing anything and was shocked when it came back positive. The diagnosis was changed to Scarlet Fever.

So I called work and took off the rest of the day and picked up Tommy's prescription for Amoxicillan and we snuggled for the rest of the day on the couch. The daycare policy is 24 hours of antibiotics but since we had our first dose at 9:45am, they let me bring him on Friday at 7:30am. He was in good spirits and napped well. His first two bottles went well but he flat out refused his third bottle. No big deal, I figured I could just give it to him when we got home. He drank about a half ounce before he spit out the nipple and cried. I laid back on the couch and he laid his head on my chest and we cuddled.

And then it happened.

Tommy picked up his head and projectile vomited all over my chest. I mean, this child is 17lbs and the amount of vomit would have rivaled the amount I had seen adults lose. It seeped through my shirt, my tank, and my bra. It was all down the front of me, in my jeans and even my underwear. The couch under me was coated in vomit. I yelled for Bill to come help me (he was conveniently in the bathroom when this all occurred) and he rushed in with a towel which he used to wrap up Tommy and proceeded to get him cleaned and changed while I showered.

Tommy pretty much slept on and off all of last night. He just could not seem to get comfortable. He didn't want to eat. He didn't want me to hold him. He didn't want me to put him down. He was just miserable.

This morning I tried to feed him several times and every time he would nurse for about a minute or two then refuse. Bill tried to give him a bottle and he drank less than an ounce. This really started to worry me so I called the doctor and they got him in at 10:45.

At 10:00 I tried to feed Tommy again and this time he ate hungrily for about 5 minutes before falling asleep.

The doctor checked him all out and noticed that one of his bottom front teeth seems to be trying to poke through. She determined that this was the reason he wasn't eating. She told us to give him Tylenol and to feed him whenever he seems hungry.

We gave him some Tylenol when we got home and for the next 4 hours he cluster fed. He was probably so hungry! Then he took a long nap and woke up almost a new baby. He was a little fussy this evening but is now sleeping.

It's so hard knowing something isn't right with your baby but not knowing just what it is. The worst part for me is seeing him uncomfortable or even in pain and not knowing what to do. I gave him some Tylenol before bed in hopes that he'll get a good amount of sleep tonight. I'm planning on going to get some teething tabs tomorrow. I've heard good things about them and I'll update on their effects on Tommy.

For now, I'm going to see if I can catch up on some much needed sleep, myself!

A Day in the Life

Jen over at Stay At Home {Mom}ents challenged the Bump mommies to a Day in the Life blog post. I thought, why not? Let's give it a try! So here goes. (By the way, all pics are from my iPhone and not amazing)

5:45am My alarm goes off. I was already awake because Tommy woke up at 5:30 looking for his pacifier.

6:00am I drag myself out of bed and begin to pump and do a little lesson planning.

6:30am Tommy wakes up for the day.

I get him dressed and ready for the day.

Tommy had some morning Jumperoo time while I finish getting ready for work.

7:15am All of our bags are packed and ready to go, my pump, my work bag, my lunch, and Tommy's bottles and food for daycare.

I pack and start the car,

because it's a balmy 14 degrees outside with a windchill of 3. Brrr

7:20am We're all bundled up and ready to brave the cold.

7:25am We arrive at daycare which is located in a wing of another elementary school in my district.

It's for kids of employees only and I love it!

7:35am I'm off to work. I have a very typical morning, prep for the day, meeting with my grade level team, greet my class as they enter, and a small group reading lesson.

10:00am The kids are at their special (gym day) which means time for me to pump.

I pump in a small closet in the school. It's not cozy but it locks and has an outlet!

10:40am Back to teaching!

12:05pm Lunch which means it's time to pump again.

4:45pm My work day is finally over. I return home to my sister playing with Tommy! (Bill was able to pick Tommy up from daycare)

5:45pm I nurse Tommy then he takes a short nap while we snuggle. I missed him all day!

6:15pm Tommy wakes up and Auntie JoJo feeds him some pears. Mmm

Then we play for a while.

7:30pm PJ time then nursing again before bed.

8:00pm Tommy is asleep. I make up bottles for tomorrow.

8:15pm I make a bagel with E arth Balance for dinner since I' m not super hungry.

8:20pm A little bit of American Idol then bed.

So there it is! A day in the life on Longmeadow! Nothing glamorous but I love it!

Continuing to Breastfeed Pros & Cons

While pregnant I just assumed I would breastfeed my baby. I didn't have any clue how it would go and even though I went to a class, I had really no idea what I was getting myself into.

One week in, things were going ok but I was crazy emotional. When Tommy was 2 weeks old, I told Bill I would only nurse until he was 3 weeks old, then I was done. I hated it. At 3 weeks, I decided to stick it out 1 more week because I was afraid that if I stopped, Tommy would get his days and nights confused again (I read somewhere that BFing actually helps to get babies on the right schedule). When Tommy was 4 weeks old, I took him to the doctor for a clogged tear duct and mentioned to the nurse practitioner that I was thinking about stopping. She was very supportive. She said that if I wanted to stop, then I could, that I had given Tommy 4 solid weeks and it wasn't for everyone. She gave me a sample of formula and wished me luck.

I started giving Tommy 1 bottle of formula a day but it wasn't going well (wrote about it here, here, here, here, and here). Once I cut dairy out of my diet and realized what a difference it made in Tommy, I was determined to make it to 6 months.

So here we are now, 3 weeks from my goal and I can't decide if I want to continue or stop in February. I decided I need to make a pros and cons list and see if that helps.

Pros:
* Perfect food
* Contains antibodies that will (hopefully) keep Tommy healthier
* Is easy at home, just whip it out and feed
* Easy in the middle of the night when Tommy's hungry
* Is comforting for Tommy, especially in the middle of the night
* Free

Cons:
* Pumping in the morning means I have to get up 30 minutes early
* Pumping at work means giving up my planning period and not feeling fully prepared
* Not eating dairy is HARD
* Others can't feed him without me needing to pump
* Not convenient when we're out of the house, either have to find a place to nurse or make sure to be home in time.
* No sex drive, may be related to BFing

Hmmmmmmmm 6 points for each side. I don't know what to do. There are some moments where I'm so not ready to stop. Then there are others where I don't know if I can continue, I'm so done with it. Crap. I was hoping for a clear-cut winner...