Our First Family Vacation

So, my family is from New Hampshire and I usually get home at least twice every year, once at Christmastime and once for a week-long stay in the summer. I knew we wouldn't make Christmas in 2013 since Laurel was due just before the holiday, so it was really important to me that we made our summer trip with her. I was super nervous about making the trip for several reasons; a) it would be over six hours in the car, her longest car trip to date, b) how would she adapt to new surroundings sleep-wise, and how would she re-adjust once we returned to our house, and c) how would she do with the large influx of family members wanting to play with and hold her, most of whom she had met months ago and a few she had never met at all!

The view of our private dock

But besides those worries, I was even more excited to share the place and people I grew up with, with my daughter. Now usually I spend a week at the beach, but I didn't think the beach was a super appropriate destination with a seven month old for a week straight. I just imagined wrestling with sunscreen, constantly replacing hats, being paranoid about her burning, eating sand, diaper changes on the beach, not really getting to spend time with family because we'd have to be in the house for naps, etc.. So, we opted for a cabin at a lake instead. I was so pleased with our choice! We stayed in a great, privately owned cottage on a lake that my mom and I had lived on at one point. My mom, and Aunt and Uncle live right in the same town where the lake is, and all the rest of my family is about half an hour away, so it was super convenient for us to go visit people and for them to come see us.

Laurel with her Mema (my mom)

I'm happy to say that Laurel got to see just about everyone in our family, including my uncles, some cousins, and my memere, who had never met her before. By the end of the week Laurel was very comfortable with the amount of people around all the time, and it made me feel more confident about how she'll adapt being with new people at daycare. She didn't sleep well, and most nights we took her into our bed so we could all get some sleep. While sleeping was a challenge, she was a champ in the car, we went about four hours straight before we stopped!

Trying to get her to crawl

We had a beautiful week with family, enjoying the lake and pool, celebrating my memere's 87th birthday, taking some professional photos with my mom, and at the end of the week Laurel was beginning to crawl. Actually, on the last night, with all her grandparents gathered around she crawled for the first time! And when we got home on the following day she was a crawling machine!! More on her crawling adventures to come! I'm so glad we took this trip, it was so special to take my little girl to my hometown and surround her with my crazy side of the family, I really hope we make it an annual vacation!

Hanging out on the dock

A family shot from our photo shoot

Teething Trials

Two saturdays ago L started cutting her very first tooth! It was her bottom right front tooth, and it's been quite a learning experience for this first time mom.
I didn't even know her tooth was breaking through until I was feeding her a frozen sweet potato cube and I put my finger in her mouth to have her eat some of the melted stuff off my finger! I was so excited to feel that sharp little tooth, all of these milestones are really happening!

From what I had gathered from friends and their little ones teething experiences I figured L might run a fever. She hadn't felt warm since Wednesday, and she had received some shots at her doctor's appointment Tuesday, so I figured her raised temp was from that.  I have mommy-friends who have seen everything from bad diaper rash to perpetual ear infections when their baby is cutting a tooth, so I had no idea what to expect! Laurel didn't seem too fussy through the morning, but once the afternoon hit she was tired and you could tell she was feeling some pain. I made sure she had every teething toy we own at her disposal, but it seemed like all she really wanted was her pacifier.

I froze some washcloths because someone had written that they did that for their little one, and then I headed to FB to solicit some advice. My friends gave me a whole bunch of ideas, and I was open to trying them all, since different things work for different kids.

On Monday you could clearly see the tooth emerging from her gums. I give an hour music lesson on Mondays and my in-laws watch L, they said she slept a bit, cried a bit, and wasn't interested in a frozen washcloth or a bottle. They reported that her pacifier was still her go-to comfort item. And I began my quest to find out what would help to soothe my sweetie, here are the things I tried:

• frozen wash cloth - L didn't seem into these until they thawed a little, making them pliable and probably more comfortable to hold. In the future I might try a smaller size, and try scrunching them up instead of freezing them flat.
• Ice cube in a wet wash cloth - I don't think Laurel knew what to do with this, she wouldn't suck on it, or even hold it very long.
• frozen breast milk ice cubes - she LOVED these! It melts almost instantly though, so I gave them to her in one of those mesh feeding things, and that worked well.

I didn't get to any pain relievers (children's tylenol, or orajel) because she seemed to do well with her pacifier, the frozen wash cloths, and the B-milk ice cubes. We also have several teething toys made for the fridge and freezer which I gave her when she seemed to get bored with her paci.

All in all, the teething wasn't as bad as I thought it might be! And now her second tooth is coming through, right next to the other one! (And man, are they sharp!)

Homemade Baby Food : Sweet Potatoes

So, instead of making a second batch of applesauce using a different kind of apple, I decided to skip it and go with sweet potatoes next. I bought one medium sized sweet potato (or yam) and peeled it, cut it up, and steamed and pureed it in the Beaba Babycook. I ended up adding quite a bit of water to the puree to get it to a consistency that was smooth and not super thick. This one sweet potato (and all the water I added) made enough servings for over two weeks!

Day 1, Mommy holds it.

She likes it!

I reserved one serving of the puree to feed to L that day and froze the rest in an ice cube tray. She didn't seem to enjoy the sweet potato puree on that first day, her reaction was very similar to the applesauce (made a face, didn't want anything to do with it after the first taste). The next day I tried something a little different, it's been pretty hot lately, so I figured I'd just give her the frozen cube of the puree and see what she did with it. I thought she might like it better than eating something hot on a hot day. To my complete surprise, she really liked it! I held the cube for her and she kind of sucked on it, which melted the sweet potatoes in her mouth. She must have liked the taste because she kept on wanting to continue sucking on the cube. I held it mostly for her that first day, but in the following days she has been attempting to hold and pick up the cube herself! I'm really excited because to me that seems like a great transition into baby-led weaning! She's had the frozen sweet potatoes every day for the past five days or so and is still seeming to enjoy them!

Day 5, getting real good at holding it herself!

*I've been taking videos of her eating and I hope to upload them to youtube to document our BLW journey, I'll post them when they're up!*

Adventures in Home Made Baby Food

One of the most wonderful things about getting to stay at home with my little muffin for her first 8 months is that I get to try my hand at making food for her. I really enjoy cooking for my husband and myself, so naturally I was excited about the prospect of making my own baby food when the time came. Welp, the time has come!

I have been exclusively breastfeeding Laurel, and I'm really proud of that. Before she was born I attended a breastfeeding class offered to expectant mothers at the hospital we were delivering at, I even dragged my hubby along! (He was very well-behaved, but he told me afterward that there were a lot of boobie jokes he had to hold in). After reading all the positives associated with breastfeeding I was really committed to stick it out through any difficulties and give it my best shot. Our hospital really advocates for immediate skin-to-skin, so I was able to hold her on me right away, and breast feed her within an hour after her birth. The first days in the hospital were a little rocky, and I'm so thankful to the nurses and lactation consultants that helped L and me get the hang of things. Now when I nurse her its old hat for both of us.

Originally I wasn't going to start giving L any solids until 6 months. I was very surprised when our pediatrician told us to go ahead and start with solids at her 4 month appointment. She said that between 4 and 6 months babies are open to trying new flavors and textures, and she said she'd start with single grain cereals, then fruit, then yellow vegetables followed by green veggies, giving Laurel a week with a particular food before moving to a new one. Laurel had been showing interest in what I had been eating, but I still waited a few weeks before starting her on rice cereal.

I made my own rice cereal by grinding single grain organic brown rice into a powder and then cooking with with water on the stovetop. I then froze tablespoon size portions in an ice cube tray. I made her barley cereal the same way. I used recipes found in this book, which I love! (It was a gift from my brother-in-law and his wife, along with a Beaba Babycook). When I fed her the rice and barley cereals I mixed them with some breastmilk, which gave the cereals a familiar taste, and she seemed to enjoy eating, though I don't think she actually got much into her belly! Haha!

Well, this week I made applesauce. I used 1 McIntosh apple (this cookbook recommends McIntosh, Pink Lady, or Gala apples, as they tend to be sweeter and less tart than say a Granny Smith) and made it in the Babycook. It was super easy, and the applesauce came out beautiful (and delicious - I had to try it!). The one apple made enough applesauce for about 5 tablespoon size servings, which I also froze. So far L doesn't seem to be liking the applesauce! She makes a horrible face after the first taste, and then doesn't seem interested in having any more, unlike with the cereal where she happily opened up her mouth and kept coming back for more! I think it's because the apples are a little tart, and its a completely new taste for her, the cereals probably tasted mostly like breastmilk, but this apple flavor is totally different. I plan on making a new batch of applesauce with a Gala apple and see if she prefers that one better, if she doesn't then no big deal.

 When she hits the six month mark in a week or so I plan to start Baby Led Weaning (BLW). It's not really weaning, it should really be called Baby Led  Self Feeding. Pretty much the idea is you don't give the baby pureed food, you give them a soft but firm item and let them go to town. If they like it they'll eat it, if they don't then they won't (which is where I got the mindset to not stress about the applesauce). As the baby's teeth emerge and their pincher grip develop you change the size and firmness of the food you give them. BLW is said to help develop a strong pincher grip, and to expose babies to different flavors helping them to be more adventurous and less picky in their food choices. Right from the start you give baby a softer version of something you're eating, there's no need to make a special meal for him or her (which can become a whole other thing later on!) And just like making your own baby food, since you are the one preparing dinner, you know what is going into your baby's body (there's an article in the July issue of Parents Magazine about food dyes - it's pretty intimidating). Another plus is that the baby feeds themselves! The parent doesn't have to sit there and spoon feed, which means its likely we can all enjoy eating at the same time! I'm really excited to try it, and there's really no downfall if it takes her a while to get it since she will be getting her main calories from breastmilk still. I can't wait to try it and let you know how it goes!

Has anyone else tried making their own baby food, or tried BLW? How did it go? Any tips, tricks or resources you'd like to share?

What's in a Name?

Personally, I think choosing a name for your little bundle of joy is one of the most exciting parts of becoming a parent. The name you choose for your child becomes such a huge part of their personality, and it's crazy to think each of our names is chosen by our parents. Its truly one of the things you don't have any control over whether you love it or hate it.
My husband and I had agreed on our girl's name much earlier than a name for a little boy. Don't get me wrong, we disagreed on a number of names before we came to our decisions but it's like a wedding dress, you just know when it's the right one. So how did we get to Laurel?

I wanted my daughter's name to have some significance and to stand out, but without being too obscure. It's a lot of reponsibility to choose what another person is going to be called for life, you want to make sure you're not setting them up for mockery or limiting their potential success. I was named Jennifer because at the time everyone on my dad's side of the family had the initials J.C. He wanted to carry on that family tradition, and that has always made me feel like my run-of-the-mill name has some special meaning. I was able to have a name that wasn't "weird", since Jennifer was easily one of the most popular girl's names of the mid-80's, but still had meaning behind it. We chose Laurel because it represents a phonetic combination of our mothers' names, Lori and Carol. We went with a traditional spelling, instead of combining how we spell each of our mom's names, so Laurel wouldn't have to be correcting people for the rest of her life. Some other positives of Laurel are that it's not a super common name (I only know one Laurel) and it's also a beautiful flower! Her middle name is a tribute to my husband's late grandfather, whom we were both close with.

Actually one of my reasons for choosing Laurel as a name for our girl was the possibility of calling her "L" as a nickname. I often refer to my husband by his first initial, and when I had been creating my list of possible girl's names I liked "Elle". However, knowing my husband's taste, I was pretty sure he wouldn't agree to that name. So I knew if we used a name that started with an L I would reap the benefit of a slightly sneaky by-product. What's really funny now that she's here is that my husband calls her "L" much more than I do, and I have ended up with all sorts of other nicknames for her! And, just the other week my hubby made a comment about how much he likes being able to call her "L" :)
How did you come up with names for your little ones? Do remember the other contenders, or the names you had for a baby of the opposite gender? (We were debating on Finn, or Seamus for a boy) Do you think your child fits their name? I'm always interested in how people come to land on their children's names!

Roll Tide! (if we were in Alabama, but we're not so just go back to sleep!)

This is my daughter, Laurel.

Five months ago I became a mommy to this wonderful little girl, and I've been spending a lot of my time reading fellow mom-blogs. Lately Laurel has been growing so fast and hitting some developmental milestones, and I've been thinking I'd like to write about our experiences. So here we are!
Specifically, it was last night that really got me thinking, "Wow, I should be blogging about this". Here's the back story: Laurel just turned 5 months old on Monday, and she was starting to worry me a little bit because she hadn't yet started rolling over. Now I know, everyone says, "Every baby is different, and you shouldn't compare your baby to another, they all develop at their own rate." And I know Laurel is developing fine, but I know close to ten women who all had babies within one month of me having Laurel, and it's hard to see their babies rolling over independently and what proud momma wouldn't want to brag about that? So part of me was beginning to think, Ok Laurel is just NOT going to ever roll over, she'll just magically start crawling one day...pshhtt yeah, right. Also my pediatrician said not to place too much emphasis on the roll, she said some babies don't like the spinning sensation and therefore don't roll like most babies (anyone ever had a pediatrician tell you that?) She reassured us at Laurel's 4 month appointment that things like sitting up, reaching for items, and transferring items from hand to hand were more reliable milestones. 
Let's jump ahead to this week. Laurel has not slept through the night since Tuesday. Today is Saturday, and in my world that feels like eternity! Up until this week she had been sleeping great through the night, not necessarily EVERY night, but most nights she would sleep for at least 6 hours before needing a pacifier replaced and then would go back to sleep right away. **I also can't stand (probably out of a combination of jealousy and utter disbelief) those moms who write about how their 1 month old is sleeping 12 hours straight - ugh. Come on, either you're full of it, or keep your good fortune to yourself because you're making the rest of us feel like failures** Wednesday and Thursday nights she was up almost every hour after her first couple hours of sleep. I've been researching the four-month sleep regression, and I was mostly attributing her out-of-the-usual sleeping to that, even though she's five months. The things I read said that she could be up because of developmental leaps, or a changing sleep cycle. Each said this is a phase that will eventually pass, but when you're up for the fifth time between midnight and 3 a.m. the end of that phase can seem pretty far off. To me it seemed especially far off, as I hadn't seen any developmental changes in our darling daughter. 
Well, apparently I wasn't looking hard enough because Friday morning my husband went in to find Laurel sleeping on her stomach! Now, I've seen her roll over all on her own less than five times total, so I was shocked and thought it was a fluke, but literally overnight Laurel has become a rolling maniac! Last night she was waking up every hour because she would find herself on her belly. As exhausted as my husband and I both were, we are excited that our little girl has figured this out (especially since I was convinced she never would). Today she's been rolling onto her belly all day, showing off her new moves. 
But last night as I lay in bed, listening to my hubby try to get our little one back to sleep on the monitor, I was thinking to myself, "This is totally ridiculous, does every mom go through this? I can't be alone, right?" And that brings me to our first blog post, seeking support from other moms who aren't always sure of what they're doing, who don't have it always figured out. That's me, but with laughter, love, and Laurel I'm hoping I can figure it out as I go! 

Please feel free to comment, and let me know if you've gone through something like this!