Jump Up!

Video success via YouTube! Thanks for the tip Erica :) I'm thrilled to post this and a few more videos soon because Lyla is much cuter in action!

6 Months

Half-birthday! Lyla turned 6 months last week. Let me share some things that have been going on:

One of the biggest events this month is that we started some solid foods!

Breastmilk is still her main source of nutrition, so these solids are mostly for practice, teaching her how to eat and introducing different textures and flavors. Some days Lyla is interested, some days she's not. She nurses when we get up, then I workout and make my breakfast before we both eat our food. So far she has tried brown rice cereal, pears, squash, sweet potato, peas, and prunes; I have carrots, apples, and bananas ready to go. My plan is to introduce a second meal at 7 months and a third meal at 8 months.

We're going on lots of walks in the stroller, now that the days are more sunny. This time outside makes for happy mommy and happy baby!

This past week we got Lyla her booster seat. She's not loving the Bumbo much anymore; it's getting small and she no longer needs the trunk support. She's really enjoying being at the table in the seat, either eating or playing with toys. I drag the chair into the kitchen while I'm cooking too.

She has been able to sit in a high chair very nicely at a few restaurants too. I just have to remember to bring plenty of toys for distraction . . . This soft carrot teether is one of her current favorites.

I had packed the playmat away but brought it out again this month because the hanging toys have some more appeal for a sitting baby:

And this girl doesn't need the Boppy pillow to sit anymore.

She can do it quite well all by herself now.

We started going to postnatal fitness class on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:30pm, for some extra exercise and to meet other mommies and babies. We made some new friends! Lyla plays for a bunch of the class, but I usually miss some of abs if she starts to fuss.

Yea I have no idea what she's doing here with her legs. I guess it was comfortable because she stayed this way a long time.

We went to her 6-month doctor appointment- she weighs 15 lbs 5.5 oz, and Dr. Eileen was very impressed with her gross motor and language skills.

If there were a theme for the past month, it would be blowouts. Lots of them. We had a week stretch where there was a major explosion every day. I put together an emergency diaper kit in the back of my car and filled it with extra diapers, wipes, disposable changing pads, and plastic bags. Because on more than one occasion I forgot to replenish my diaper bag and was missing something... I've used this emergency kit half a dozen times already, so it was probably one of my best ideas ever.

I don't have a picture for said blowouts. Be thankful. Instead, here's Lyla playing in her music station, which is becoming more and more fun as she learns to move around and touch all the different objects.

I have so many cute videos of Lyla, but I'm still having issues uploading them on Blogger. Hopefully I can figure something out and will be able to post lots of them soon.

Baths are still fun, especially since she can sit up now and play with toys. That bath sponge has been AWESOME, but it's on its way out. It's getting a little mangy, but the thing cost $5 so we'll toss it and get a new one for baby #2.

If I had to pick a favorite time with Lyla it would definitely be now. But I have a feeling that the best times are still to come, with more fun down the road. Right now two baby teeth are approaching her bottom gums, I can see the outline and the surface is getting white. In the coming weeks (or days!) I may have some tooth pictures to share!

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Happy Mother's Day- A Poop Story

Happy Mother's Day to all the current and future Mommies!

I'd like to share a story about my morning a few days ago. Warning to future moms- this may freak you out. The current moms should definetly relate- and hopefully laugh.

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On this particular morning, Lyla napped for just one hour (sometimes she takes a 1 hour morning nap, sometimes 2 hours, depending on how tired she is). I was just stepping out of the shower when I heard her cry. I grabbed and dressed her (since I hadn't before the nap) in a little dress and diaper cover. I dressed myself, and a trip to the grocery store was on the agenda so I got us assembled and in the car. Turning the car on, I remember that I need to get gas, so we stop there first.

While filling the tank, I notice how much chillier it is. The past few days have been really hot, but it's at least 15 degrees cooler, and windy. After filling the tank, I go back to the house to change Lyla and get a sweater for me. She's fussing a little but that happens sometimes when she's in and out of the carseat. I change her into pants and long sleeves and head out for the second time.

We arrive in the grocery store parking lot; I put on the baby carrier and grab Lyla. A moment later I notice wetness, and realize with horror that it's not just wet. It's poop wet, and a lot of it- as in running down her pant leg and on her foot and on my hand and on the baby carrier. [At times like this I freeze for a second, trying to decide what to do.] I put a blanket in the trunk of the car and place Lyla on top. Poor thing, the sun was in her eyes and I tried to block it with my body while assessing the situation. It's a doozy, the worst blowout we've ever had in public.

Worst of all, I only have the backpack diaper bag with me which is equipped with diapers and wipes only- no change of clothes, no plastic bag for dirty things. Lyla has poop everywhere, somehow it went straight out the side and it's all up and down her legs and back. I clean her up as best I can with the wipes and a new diaper, but I have no fresh clothes for her. All I can do is put her back in the carseat naked, with another blanket over her. She leaked on the carseat before I picked her up, it's soiled and must be laundered asap. I throw all the dirty stuff into one of the many reusable bags I keep in the car, and head home for the second time.

Once there I put Lyla straight into the bath, and pull off the carseat cushion to wash (which I've never done). Spot cleaning is recommended, but there is no way I could get away with that.

In the end we didn't get the errand done (although the gas tank is full), and I've never been more covered in poop in public. It was gross but we survived. These situations require humor, and even in the moment I did think it was pretty funny. So Happy Mother's Day- if this has happened to you I hope I gave you a good laugh. If it hasn't, well, I hope it doesn't but in reality it probably will!

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Making Lyla Food

We decided Lyla is ready to try solid food soon- a big milestone! I have mixed feelings about it; it's pretty exciting but makes me feel how fast she is growing up, more so than other things. There is no rush (our pediatrician recommended anytime between 4-6 months that we were comfortable with), but Lyla has given us the cues that I needed to see to move forward: she has interest in food and the act of eating, and she seems hungry more often despite lots of nursing.

Her main source of nutrition and calories will still be breastmilk until she's 1, but these mini meals will help her learn how to eat. I want to make all of her foods so in preparation, I ordered these covered ice cube trays from Amazon~

The first meals will be brown rice cereal (a tablespoon mixed with 4 tablespoons breastmilk and/or water), but I want to have some other foods ready to try in our freezer. I picked pears and butternut squash.

The process is very speedy and simple, and much less expensive than expensive jars of baby food. I steamed the squash in the microwave before turning my stick blender on to it. I thinned the puree a little with water (it will get more thinning before Lyla eats it) and poured it into the covered trays to freeze. The next day, I popped them out of the trays into labeled ziplock bags.

The following day I steamed the pears on the stove before peeling the skin off and pressing them through the food mill. I think this may be my preferred method of pureeing from now on.

The frozen pears are a little sticky, not hard and dry like the squash or ice cubes. Now these are stashed in the freezer, ready to be taken out one by one.

Now I just have to decide which to serve her first: fruit or vegetable?