Visiting Daddy

Today we took a trip to visit Daddy! Eddie had a great time making faces at all of the tellers and bankers. We also took a not so exciting trip to the grocery store, where Eddie got to face out for the first time in his Bijorn. He loved it! And Mommy had a great workout - especially when it came time to unload the massive cart of food.

...sorry for the bad pic, the lighting was horrible! But you can really see how much E looks like Frankie. Can you believe those dimples?

Tomorrow we are heading to Makray Memorial Golf Course to book Eddie's Baptism Luncheon and have some yummy food while we're at it :) (Yes, I know I am very late at the baptism, I've been avoiding choosing Godparents!)

-maggie

Baby Food

Starting solids has been a big topic on the mommy board I frequent. So, I decided to go ahead and post all about making Eddie's baby food.

First, let me say that I chose to make baby food because I have worked so, so hard to give Eddie exclusively breast milk. I am so proud to say that he has never had a single drop of formula. I love that my little man is still so pure - I know that what is going into his body is natural and organic. I wanted the same thing when we started solids. Packaged baby food is full of fillers and preservatives, making it able to stay on the shelf for 2 YEARS. That freaks me out. I want my son's veggies to taste like real veggies - his fruits to be sweet and fresh. I know I've said that I make his food to save money. And yes, I do save money doing so....but, I must say that I would make his own baby food even if it cost more than the packaged food. I would do it to know that I continue to give my son the best. And it is so easy! Don't be intimidated!!

Now, lets get started! Make sure that you have (a) Steamer (b) food processor (or blender or stick blender) (c) ice cube tray. That's it! Super easy. I also got a book (Top 100 Baby Food Purees) but also learned from wholesomebabyfood.com. I like having the book next to me as I do it, just so I can quick reference how long I should steam, how long I can store, etc.

.....a great help

Now, I'm not going to over complicate this. It isn't rocket science and you don't need to go to culinary school. You steam....puree....freeze. How easy is that?!?! Once frozen, I just separate into ziplock bags marked with the fruit or veggie and the day I made it. Some items are best if you make on demand or freeze right away such as bananas (I waited too long to freeze and had to toss), avocados and papaya. The ice cube tray puts the food into a perfect portion to start with and you can increase the number of cubes as necessary. I just pop the cube into the microwave just long enough to mildly heat it (be sure to mix it well to avoid hot spots) and start with a bottle first. Eddie normally takes about 6 ounces with a bottle, so for our solid feeding time (usually around lunch time) I give him 3-4 ounces and then do the solids.

....mmmmm carrot cube

Once your baby gets used to each food (making sure you wait 3-5 days between each new item to check for allergies) you can get creative. Annabel Karmel suggests Trio of Root Veggies (sweet potato, carrots, parsnip), Apple and Pears with (or without) Cinnamon. For the record, Eddie has tried (with success) carrots and pears, both mixed with rice cereal. After 2 days on each, he would take the fruit/veggie on its own, but I still mixed it with the rice. We have also tried (without success) oatmeal. The oatmeal gave Eddie some severe constipation, which stopped the day after we stopped giving it to him. I have read online (dr. google!) that the gluten in oatmeal can cause this in babies younger than 6 months, so I am avoiding it for a while. Everyday I look forward to meal time - I love hearing the noises Eddie makes while he eats, his face when he tries new things and just soak up every minute of it.

There is no doubt that starting solids is a fun new development in your baby's life. Be sure to have your camera ready - there are tons of things to document! While you are beaming with pride as you watch your little one discover new things, why not be proud of yourself as well? You will be surprised with how good you feel knowing that you made their food! If you're still asking yourself "why", ask yourself "why not?". Let me know if you have any questions - believe me when I say that this is pretty fool proof.

.....see? I told you...cute pictures.

-maggie

A heads up

Since so many people are asking about it, I am going to do a long post about making your own baby food. I will work on it tonight when Frank gets home, because it is going to be a long one! I also have a video of Eddie eating carrots, which he loved! If I can figure out how to post that, I will.
So, check back tonight or tomorrow if you want to learn about baby food!

-maggie

It's not easy

...to entertain a baby while cooking dinner.

....tools of the trade...too bad none of these made Eddie happy tonight...so what did?

...sitting in his highchair (a new favorite spot) and playing with a spoon. I guess we all need a change of pace every once and a while....

-maggie

BIG KILO STRIKES AGAIN!

When we were readmitted to the hospital with Eddie, we had to weigh all of his diapers to see what was going in vs. what was coming out. For the record, this is Eddie during those horrible 3 days...

Notice the paddle on his arm? That held in his IV. The eye guard he had to wear the whole time he was under the bili lights, which he had to be under all the time, except to eat. When we took him out to eat, he had to have a "wallaby" or a paddle of lights under him. It was rough. Frank and I didn't sleep for those 3 days, until a nurse finally came in and forced me into the bed. I got a couple hours of sleep but don't know if Frank did. We were so scared, but we made it through with some humor.....ANYWAY....back to the story.....so as tired as we were, we changed Eddie and put his diaper on the scale. Frank, in his sleepy haze thought that the scale said it weighed a kilo. We've called him BIG KILO ever since. Whenever he has a massive diaper, Big Kilo strikes again!

So, since I stared the oatmeal, Eddie hasn't pooped. For those that are counting, it was almost full days. Since Eddie gets only breastmilk (not formula) he poops about 3 times A DAY, normally. We knew this was bad news....so the pedi said to give him 1 tsp. of Karo Dark Corn Syrup with 2 oz. of nursery water (But did say that they were comfortable with him going 5 days with no poo!). Can you guess what is coming? This morning, we had the BIGGEST SMELLIEST POOP EVER. Up his back and sides, down his legs. And it smelled sooooo bad! Now, we're going to get all into the poo now, so beware. Breastfed baby poops are normally watery...this poo was like peanut butter. And it was EVERYWHERE. And I was puking in my mouth, to which Eddie laughed hysterically. I think I'm a pretty tough momma, I've only (almost) puked once when I got pooped on....but this morning, I was full on puking in my mouth, that is how bad it was.

I've stopped the oatmeal and am not going to give it to him for a while. He was fine on the rice cereal, no constipation on that. Once we started the oatmeal, major blockage. I also made my first batch of homemade baby food (carrots, apples, pears) and can't wait to try those! This morning, I mushed up some banana (after reading that banana could help regulate - this was pre-poo, obviously) and tried to give that to him. FAIL. He pushed it right back out. So I tried some pears, which were also supposed to help with constipation. FAIL. This man likes his food bland, let me tell you. Determined to get some poo inducing food into him (man do I regret that) I was able to mix the smallest amount of pear with some rice cereal and give that to him. If the pear to rice ratio was too high, he would push it right back out. Looks like my homemade baby food is going to stay in the freezer for a while....

-maggie

oh, as a reward for making it through all of the poo talk, here's a new picture!

Isn't he a little angel? You should smell what he's got cookin' next to me... :)

A Revalation

The past couple nights have been, to put it lightly, hell. Eddie has been sleeping very badly, wanting to be snuggled all night which means that I don't get a bit of sleep. Last night, in my sleepy haze, I had to get up and walk out of the bedroom and have myself a little breakdown. I'm tired. And then, it hit me. When he sleeps with me, he is on his side...if I am not holding him, he will relax to his back and wake up screaming, but still asleep. A-HA! Eddie is apparently a side sleeper all of the sudden. As we speak, he is asleep in his Arm's Reach ---- get this ----- WITHOUT HIS PACI!! If you know Eddie, you know how much he loves his paci. He would wake up tons of times in the night to get his paci replaced. But with a rolled up towel propping him up, he is sound asleep, again, WITHOUT HIS PACI!! (and yes, I need to yell this!)

Here's hoping I get some sleep tonight.

In non-sleep related news, we have introduced Eddie to oatmeal and he is in love! He likes it even more than the rice! Just 3 days of this and then he's going to get some carrots...I can't wait to see what he does with that.

He also enjoyed watching the inauguration of PRESIDENT Barack Obama while I cried. It feels so different watching this as a mother....I truly believe that President Obama will make the world a better place for my son. Today, January 20, 2009 is such a beautiful day. Anyway...back to baby...Eddie had to watch the inauguration standing, his new obsession. He has gotten so strong in the last couple of days, he just holds one finger in each hand and stands, stands, stands...and laughs while he does it - he loves it! I am so in awe of my little man....he has gotten so big. I love to look at this picture, for scale:

The first day Eddie came home...don't mind the fact that the next morning we brought him back to the hospital for 3 nights...

And this is Eddie on our trip, playing with his ball. Look at how different the plastic clip looks - it ate him up before!

Sorry for the totally rambling post....I am sooo tired. Keep your fingers crossed that we get some sleep tonight!

-maggie

Time for another wedding!

Eddie's girlfriend, Lillie Buchanan, was born yesterday 1/16/09. She is 7lbs, 8oz and 21 inches long....she has a beautiful head full of brown hair....Eddie is already in love! If you say "Lillie" he smiles and coo's. Ah, young love. Too bad it will be a long distance relationship, as Lillie lives in Utah. Hopefully we can visit her or she can visit us, soon!
In other news, Eddie is busy scooching himself is circles - I'm thinking this is just step one of me being in trouble with a mobile baby. He is already grabbing everything...we used to be able to hold him on our lap while we ate, but that isn't happening anymore - he has already gotten a handful of yogurt - I promise I only looked away for a second! Luckily, I was able to clean up his hand before it went into his mouth, which is where everything else ends up.

-maggie