11 months
weight. over 20 lbs or something
height. Still short enough to stay in your first carseat
eyes. big, blue and sparkly. you rub them when you are sleepy.
hair. Red in some lights.
feeding. Your top teeth are so close to be cutting through. Any day now. New foods you've tried - green beans, black beans, chickpeas corn, kiwi, bagel, bran flakes, ham. You seem to like it all but still like the boob best.
sleeping. shorter naps, but longer at night. I guess I can't complain? I think I preferred it the other way. But maybe you are helping me adjust to going back to work.
things you love. banging everything together, exploring the house (especially the plants and bathroom), playing with any sort of paper you can find, talking, peek-a-boo, books, pulling books off the shelf and reading them, laughing, being upside down, playing your bells.
things you don’t love. being sick.
other [new] awesome things you do. pulling yourself up on everything, crawling (and sometimes crawling faster if I chase you), pushing a cart by walking, walking along furniture, lean in for kisses (or nose rubs), dancing (i think?), climbing stairs*
xo Elijah.
*note: For stair climbing you aren't interested to go over and try to climb them yourself... yet.
10 months
weight. you are a 20 lb baby. (They say you roughly triple your birth weight by age 1)
height. The doctor thinks you are tall. I think you are perfect.
eyes. big, blue and sparkly. you rub them when you are sleepy.
hair. Red in some lights.
feeding. Still only 2 teeth. Since last month you've tried cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, salmon, celery, bread... You re-tried peas. This time whole peas instead of puree. You didn't seem to hate them as much in their "natural" form. We shall try some beans next.
sleeping. your naps have started getting shorter and shorter. boo.
things you love. playing with any sort of paper you can find, giggling, drinking from a cup, talking, putting things in your mouth, jolly jumping, swimming, your baby friends, hanging upside down, books, scooting around the room as fast as you can, sitting under the Christmas Tree, squishing food in your hands, discovering how different objects sound
things you don’t love. being sick.
other [new] awesome things you do. pulling yourself up on some things, move like crazy all over the place (it looks like you are either swimming or scaling the wall like spiderman), reach with both hand towards me to be picked up, choose your own toys from the basket, stand up holding on to things without me holding you.
xo Elijah.
9 months.
weight. We'll find out this week. You keep getting heavier.
height. I haven't measured in a while. You keep outgrowing your sleepers. I'd say you are growing.
eyes. big, blue and sparkly. you rub them when you are sleepy.
hair. it keeps growing and growing. Reddish blondish.
feeding. you have two lower teeth to help you chew things. Since last month you've tried egg yolk, turkey, grapes, blueberries, broccoli, pumpkin, cheerios, oatmeal, plain yogurt, peaches... The only thing you seem to really hate are peas (and I don't blame you)
sleeping. you are the best snuggler.
pooping. i haven't mentioned in a while how awesome cloth diapers are, have I?
things you love. giggling, drinking from a cup, talking, jolly jumping, swimming, hanging out on all 4s, your baby friends, hanging upside down, naps, pulling wipes out of the container, reading, playing with kitchen accessories, hair
things you don’t love. being sick.
other [new] awesome things you do. try pull yourself up on me, scootch around and around in circles, reach with both hand towards me to be picked up, choose your own toys from the basket, stand up holding on to things without me holding you.
xo Elijah.
Fee Fi Fiddley.
I've been workin' on the railroad all the live-long day.
I've been workin' on the railroad just to pass the time away.
Don't you hear the whistle blowin'? Rise up so early in the morn.
Don't you hear the captain shoutin' "Dinah! Blow your horn!"
Dinah won't you blow? Dinah won't you blow? Dinah won't you blow your horn?
Dinah won't you blow? Dinah won't you blow? Dinah won't you blow your horn?
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah. Someone's in the kitchen I know-o-o-o.
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah, strummin' on the ole banjo.
Singin' "Fee, Fi Fiddley-eye-o. Fee, Fi Fiddley-eye-o-o-o-o. Fee, Fi Fiddley-eye-o!"
Strummin' on the ole banjo.
This is one of the songs I sing Elijah over and over when he is having trouble falling asleep. xo
I make milk. What is your super power?
This year we have three Halloween shindigs. One super duper local one [with the best invitation I've ever received], one in a far away land [xo Kate&Curt&Joe] and one lunch affair. Oh! and we are going to dress up for our next LLL meeting, so I guess that makes 4 shindigs. Technically a couple of these are "kids parties", but I'm dressing up anyways.
We are a family of supers. Rob is superman incognito. Elijah is super Eli, and I am super mom [who belongs to a whole league of super moms]. I love the polyvore outfit inspiration board and so I thought I'd make one of my costume.
My black leggings and tank top and shoes; My handmade cuffs, headband and belt (all made from a t-shirt and fabric glue); My big blue cape; And my remote control. In one press of a button, I can soothe my baby, protect my baby, love my baby, make my baby nap, translate my baby and manage to keep the house clean. I really am super!
ps. In case you didn't know, I'm a new guest blogger for Grey Bruce Kids. Check out my tutorial here on HOW TO MAKE A CAPE (Eli's) out of a t-shirt!
Hey Phil Collins!
Little Tarzan is getting more mobile. He gave me a thousand great shots, but moved on to the next pose before I could capture them all.
Don't forget the other scenes from the past - clicky clicky– Jack, Mario, 3Men, Beanstalk, Superman, Wizard of Oz, circus, skateboard
(and stay tuned . I have a few more on deck)
8 months
weight. 18+ lbs (I have no idea. You are getting heavier though.)
height. 72+ cm
eyes. big, blue and sparkly. you rub them when you are sleepy.
hair. it keeps growing and growing. Reddish blondish.
feeding. you love pears and apples and pumpkin with nutmeg/cinnamon [but still loving your milk best]. You cut a tooth!
sleeping . teething has somewhat interrupted our night sleeping, but not too too badly
pooping. an incredible rainbow of fun. I keep singing this song by the Arrogant Worms. (disclaimer)
things you love. blabbing, mom's singing, toys, drinking from a cup, jolly jumping, swimming, hanging out on all 4s, your baby friends, hanging upsidedown, the sound of the phone ringing, reading books (helping hold and turn pages)
things you don’t love. Teething.
other [new] awesome things you do. talk and talk and talk (you are saying mamamam a lot - but I know it isn't yet directed to me), exploring new objects (aka. gumming, banging, shaking, throwing), move from sitting to crawing position (and visa versa), interact with other babies,
xo Elijah.
thank you for the music
I am thankful for
my family (near & far), my friends (old & new), my job/students (now & then), my health, my brain, our house and yummy food.
I am also thankful for a whole bunch of random goodness like - thank-yous, banana flavoured things, crayola crayons, dancing like a maniac, long & thoughtful emails, mail art, grape nerds, burt’s bees hand lotion, great big sea, strawberry ice cream, internet quizzes, cloth diapers, anne shirley, Canada, typography, lyrics, broadway musicals, peanut butter on a spoon, movies that take place in schools, hand stands, baker’s twine, tivo, paint, Yahtzee, musical instruments, brown sugar, skipping ropes, orange pop, sharpie markers, popsicles, breastfeeding, retro television, funky stockings, surprises on my doorstep, babies, pinterest, cranberry coffee cake, hot apple cider, blankets to snuggle, sudoku, mixtapes and photoshop.
I am especially thankful for my little bearded nature baby.
Happy thanksgiving fellow canucks! xo
chomp chomp chomp.
Last week, Eli cut his first tooth. His right mandibular central incisor. And my cockiness of being a super-breastfeeder slapped me in the face.
He's been drooling and chewing on things for months, but the past couple of days he's been drooling like a faucet and gnawing on things like a dog would with a bone. He has some pimples on his rosy cheeks and his nose has been extra snotty. He's waking up more frequently in the night. He is also acting a little squirrely: extra clinging, rubbing his face (burrowing?) into me constantly and squealing (not crying) a lot. He's definitely working on a second tooth.
Normally when he makes a certain noise, I know he is telling me that he is hungry. Yesterday morning, I was starting to feed him as normal, and oooooouuuuuuuuchhhhhhhhh!! CHOMP! I got bit. And i yelped. And he let go - startled. I knew I would get bit one of these days, but that tooth is mighty sharp and it surprised me. Elijah laughed - he wasn't actually hungry. I have now learned that his hungry noise is also his "I need to chew on something. ANYTHING. Right now!" noise.
Ok. I can do this. I'll be prepared. When he shows signs of hungry, I'll feed. If he bites again, I'll pull him towards me to get him to unlatch. I'll have a teething toy ready. I'll tell him "No biting" gently but firmly. And then I'll let him feed again if he is really hungry. That's what all the websites say to do.
It happened again. I brought him to latch, he clamped down and would.not.let.go. I shed some tears and got him to unlatch. He did that a couple of times. At that point, I got tense and was afraid to try again. I gave him some extra pears.
No, I am not planning on stopping breastfeeding anytime soon. "When your baby is latched on correctly and nursing actively, getting milk from your breast and swallowing, it's physically impossible to bite. This is because your baby needs to stop sucking in order to bite. When latched on properly and nursing, your nipple is far back in your baby's mouth. In order to bite your baby has to adjust his tongue and allow your nipple to slide forward towards his teeth." - La Leche League International
Which tells me that Elijah isn't biting because he is hungry, he is biting because he is teething. He'll eat when he's hungry and bite when he's not. If he's hungry, he'll cry when I unlatch. If he isn't hungry, he will laugh and move on to something else.
We will get through this. [everything is a phase]. My mantra for the next little bit.
Nursing will not be my automatic baby soother anymore - I'll try to read his actions and sounds more closely (perhaps a finger first to see if he sucks or chews?). I'll keep cold teething toys/cloths nearby. A hungry tummy doesn't rule the world of a 7.5 month old quite like it did for a newborn. He'll be okay.
When I offer to nurse, I'll be extra careful about positioning, listen for the sound of drinking and pay attention to mouth movements. No pinning or chatting or sudoku-ing! I will enjoy and savour our time together.
I will offer smiles, hugs, and kisses. Try not to yelp - Even if I am in extreme pain. The last thing I want is a nursing strike.
I'll be extra careful with unlatching.
I will try to relax (but know that shedding a few tears is normal until we become champion breastfeeders again.)
(thank you kellymom.com and llli.org)
Global Breastfeeding Challenge
All over the Internets in August, some of my favourite mom blogs were writing heartfelt posts about World Breastfeeding Week - but I didn't. Canada's breastfeeding week (why is it different from the rest of the world? no idea) is happening now!
To kick off the week my awesome La Leche League took part in the Global Breastfeeding Challenge. On October 1st communities around the world gathered together to raise awareness about the health benefits of breastfeeding and getting the public more comfortable with the idea of nursing mamans (No we don't have to leave the room! No we don't have to use a cover! No it is not sexual!). Breastfeeding moms latched on at 11am at the library and our supporters supported. We had over 45 people show up and 12 nursing moms whose babies latched-on at 11am.
Of course, my creative and inspirational group couldn't just have a latch-on. Oh no. We had to make it more fun than that! We created an art exhibit (inspired by this video) for the walls. We asked moms, dads, grandparents, friends to hold share their thoughts (positive or negative) around the theme "Talk to me about Breastfeeding". We had over 70 people submit photos for our exhibit. They were displayed in jewel cases around the room.
The pics were also used for a video, we made cupcakes and 1-inch buttons and had door prizes (and all participants got 20% giftcards for nursing bras from our local lingerie store and 5$ off at Momzelle).
Below is a mosaic sampling (30 of the 75), and if you'd like to see how the video turned out - leave a comment and I'll let you see it in it's exclusivity. xo
Here is a photo of some besties (minus a couple). I hope you stay friends forever.
7 months.
weight. 18+ lbs
height. .
eyes. big, blue and sparkly. you rub them when you are sleepy.
hair. it keeps growing and growing.
feeding. loving bananas, avocados, apples [but still loving his milk best].
sleeping . Rocking the naps (see previous post!)
pooping. uh-oh. With the start of solid food comes the start of (solid) poo.
things you love. jumping, swimming, hanging out on all 4s, reaching for things, playing with your feet, singing, mom&daddio.
things you don’t love. Not too much. You're pretty chill.
other [new] awesome things you do. sit straight up, drink from a cup, roll from your back to tummy as often as you can, say different sounds, play sitting up, sing to yourself.
xo Elijah.
Yes, we have a family bed.
How is your baby sleeping? Does he sleep through the night?
As I've mentioned before, Eli has become a champion napper when he is at home - but he does not "sleep through the night".
We don't have a set bed time, so Eli happily falls asleep anywhere between 7pm or 10pm. Sometimes we take a bath, sometimes we don't. Sometimes he nurses himself to sleep, sometimes he doesn't. He often falls asleep snugly on my lap or cozily in Rob's arms. We try really hard to read a book before bed, but sometimes it doesn't happen. We are okay with all of this.
Eli shares our bed with us. Originally i thought I would never ever ever bed share (Many of the books say it is bad! He'll never gain independence or learn to self-soothe! Where is the privacy? I'll roll over on him!), but with a c-section recovery and a hubby who sleeps very soundly I was not able to bend over a cradle or crib and lift my baby, it just seemed to be the most practical solution. Having a baby in your bed makes you hyper-aware of every little movement and breath. It gave me the peace of mind that I didn't know I needed. Having him close by didn't keep me awake all night, it made (makes) me sleep better. (and the original "concerns" have all been deemed myths.)
Elijah and I sleep facing each other, belly-to-belly. Our breathing is in perfect harmony. It is so sweet and warm.
Usually at around 4am, he "wakes up" for his dream feed. He doesn't fuss, I scoot him a bit closer, he starts to eat and I fall back asleep. I am not sure how long he feeds for. He takes what he needs and falls back to sleep peacefully without waking me up again. Do I mind? Not at all. We are both well-rested and happy when we wake up in the morning.
The other day, though, he didn't wake up for a feeding. I don't know if it was that he had some solid food later in the day than usual or that he stayed up later that night - but it made me sad. Many parents dream of not having to wake up in the night to feed - and middle of the night feedings are usually the first to go, but I was sad. I was awake at 4am, but nobody else was. I didn't realize how much I loved it until it didn't happen. [**That was the only day he didn't wake up. He is back to waking up again. yay!]
I don’t ask for your criticism about bed-sharing or co-sleeping (or research "against" it). As a parent, you discover what works best for you and your family. This is what works for us, and we love, love it. Don’t knock it until you try it, and always do it safely.
ps. Have I mentioned that our wee little plum is sitting up straight on his own now? xo.
sweet potatoes for my sweet potato.
Since the avocado post, Eli has also tried bananas, and avocado's mixed with nanners (surprisingly yummy!). He has loved all three. For both avocado and banana I gave him chunks to explore, but I also smooshed some up and put it on a spoon for him. He tries to feed himself - but the spoon just ends up on the floor, so sometimes I hold the spoon for himand he grabs it and brings it towards his mouth. nom nom nom. Once he finishes swallowing, he opens his mouth and almost "pants" for more. It is hilariously adorable.
So yesterday I baked a sweet potato (my favourite!) for him and scooped out the guts into those little baby cubes. One potato gave me about 200+ml 0f goodness. I stuck some in the freezer and got Eli ready for a snack. He was so excited to taste it.... but.... He vomited a wee bit and kept spitting it out. He'd hold it in his mouth and ask me (with his face) - what the heck is this, maman?? He made funny faces and stuck out his tongue. What??
Many of the books and websites that I have read about feeding baby says to try again, even if your babe doesn't seem to enjoy it. So, today he tried it again. Look at how excited he is to eat! (yes that is a napkin tucked in his shirt. I was too lazy to get a bib.)
And then I got this face.
And this one.
And this one.
He swallowed a bit more and eventually "got used" to the flavour and texture, but I don't think he loves it as much as he loves avocado and banana. Today's adventures with sweet potato were a little more positive than yesterday. We'll try again tomorrow (and mix in a bit of breastmilk perhaps?) - and then on to pears!
ps. I just got a message from a friend with "information" about sweet potato boogers and poop. Isn't mommyhood grand?
Skipping out of School – Maternity Style.
Today Aly & Lannaia hosted a "Let's Play Hooky" Party to celebrate the First Day of School. Nine teacher moms and babes celebrated the first day back. What a great afternoon!
Aly, like myself, is not only a teacher, uber crafter and a maman, but also a self-proclaimed Pinterest addict. She pinned like crazy for this event, and made everything she pinned. I was so amazed and excited!
1. Chalk Board, 2. Schedule, 3. Apples for Teacher, 4. Banner & Chalk board, 5. Chalk Board cups, 6. Milk martinis, 7. Virgin Mother Drinks, 8. Play Hooky, 9. Water bottles, 10. apple cookies, 11. Test cookies, 12. Chalk Board menu, 13. Chalk board sammies, 14. Buttons, 15. Banner, 16. melted Crayon art, 17. Smarties!, 18. Kisses!, 19. Rolo Pencils, 20. detention, 21. pretty silhouette banners, 22. bathroom decor, 23. sammies, 24. veggies, 25. cuties
Surprisingly there aren't a lot of parties that come up whilst searching on google for "back to school" or "first day of school" or "playing hooky" "skipping out" or "maternity leave" parties - so hopefully in the future, people searching will stumble across my little blog, click the photo links above and be inspired by Aly's creativity. xo
(Laia and Eli got a little fresh in the back of the classroom...)
live to skate.
After a bit of a hiatus, I (with the help of my dear sister Andrea) created a new scene - in honour of Rob: ex-skate boarder extraordinaire.
Don't forget about - Jack, Mario, 3Men, Beanstalk, Superman, Wizard of Oz, circus
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