Christmas baking & crafts

I said I would update with a link to the delicious cookies and pastries I posted on my facebook, so here goes. 

My mom bought a Better Homes and Gardens 100 Best Cookies magazine (comes out every year around Christmas) so we could bake together for the holidays. We marked a few of our favorite recipes and got the ingredients we needed. We decided to try out the Strawberry Lemon bars and the Raspberry Thumbprint cookies. The looked amazing and sounded easy enough to make. Below are the recipes! Enjoy!

Strawberry-Lemon Bars

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/strawberry-lemon-bars/

I'm very proud of this picture...looks professional :)
Raspberry Thumbprint cookies
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/rosemary-kissed-orange-thumbprint-cookies-tuscano/The above recipe is the closest I could find to what I used. Just exclude the rosemary and use raspberry jam instead of marmalade.

In looking online and on Babycenter, I got the idea to make salt-dough ornaments and give them out to family members for Christmas (from Michael). The recipe to make salt dough is super easy... all you need is flour, salt and water.. the measurements depend on how much dough you need. We wanted to make handprints and footprints, but his little feet were too chubby, so the imprint was not visible enough. We then spray painted them with glitter spray (found at AC Moore), wrote a little note and threaded the red string through a little hole, and voila! 

Everyone absolutely loved them. They don't look 100% perfect, but they are pretty cute and I'm glad I managed to do this little craft with M. 

Cereal & Baby Food

The topic of when and how to start feeding your baby cereal and "solids" (aka pureed foods) is apparently quite controversial. I learned this from reading various posts on the BBC birth board I am a part of. Even though this is my first child, I strongly believe that with your pediatrician's guidance, you should make decisions that you are comfortable with and not care what anyone else thinks. Everyone should respect each other's parenting styles. (unless it is neglectful or abusive of course) 

On that note, I am excited to announce that Michael is consuming both cereal and "solid food"! Up until his doctor's visit, I had been exclusively breastfeeding him. However, for a few weeks I had started to get the impression that my milk just wasn't enough. He always seemed hungry and had started waking up during the night..hungry. His pediatrician suggested we start cereal in the evenings, so I went out and purchased "Earth's Best -  Organic Rice Cereal" and started that night (Nov 19th). 3 tablespoons of breastmilk mixed with 1 tablespoon of cereal, fed to Michael with a spoon. I was super excited to see his reaction and whether or not he would enjoy it. Well, after getting the hang of eating from a spoon, it turned out to be a huge success! So much so that he tried to grab the spoon and feed himself! The picture below was taken right before we started...he looks petrified!

This is after a few spoonfuls...he was definitely more comfortable with the idea and thought it was interesting that mommy's milk was coming from a strange plastic thing instead of her boobie!

From that day on, he has been getting his cereal once a day around 6:30pm for his dinner. Unfortunately, after a week of feeding him rice cereal, he developed some constipation so we gave him an ounce of prune juice via dropper in order to get him poopin' again. Poor little guy didn't poop for 2 days straight! After that, I switched him to the Earth's Best Organic Oatmeal Cereal which is less binding and easier for his little body to digest. We haven't had any constipation issues since!

Yesterday, I decided it was time to introduce M to solids. I did a lot of research online to make sure I was making the right decision. He exhibited all the signs of being ready...he turns 4 months on Sunday, is able to hold himself upright when sitting in our laps, is VERY interested in my food (constantly tries to grab my fork and plate, stares at my food like he is starving, etc) and no longer has the tongue reflex to push things out of his mouth. He is very good at swallowing food presented to him on a spoon. He has a lot of practice with his oatmeal cereal. I did some further research to see what kinds of foods I should start with. I found this AWESOME website which offered great insight and help. Following the guidelines of beginning with yellow or orange vegetables, I decided to start with sweet potato. Using my amazing Beaba Babycook food blender/steamer, I steamed some chopped up sweet potato and then pureed it. I then added some breastmilk to make it very fine and liquidy. Note: the Beaba is freaking amazing! It is a bit pricey, but I put it on my registry and got it as a gift. I love that it can both steam and blend the veggies or pretty much anything else you put in it. And it is so easy to clean! Love!

As it turns out, Michael loves sweet potato! I gave it to him around 11am this way if he has any adverse reactions, I would be able to take him to the doctor while he was still open. He will be eating sweet potato for a week before moving on to another food. His food schedule now consists of nursing in the morning, eating sweet potato with breast milk for "lunch" nursing in the afternoons and then having his breastmilk & oatmeal for "dinner before nursing again before bed. Note: I still breastfeed on demand and DO NOT refuse him the breast at any time. I am getting him used to other tastes and slowly introducing him to solids, not replacing the breast milk. As long as I am able, I'd like to nurse him to at least 6 months, but ideally, one year. 

Below are the before and after pictures of Michael eating sweet potato! His little cheeks were all orange afterwards but the mess was minimal...he still has a thing for trying to feed himself...so independent already!

Speaking of independent, the most incredible thing happened tonight! Background: Michael doesn't take a bottle- he hates it!! I tried pumping and having his dad, and both his grandma's give him the bottle but he screamed bloody murder and just wouldn't have it. I kind of just gave up on the idea and assumed that eventually as he got older, he would become more interested in the idea. Well, as I mentioned earlier, he shows a lot of interest in "big people" food, to include drinks. He finds it fascinating that I drink out of a cup and is constantly trying to grab it. When he succeeds, he immediately brings it to his mouth and tries to drink out of it aka he sucks on the edge. Tonight I decided to see if he would be able to drink out of a little hard plastic cup if I put some breastmilk in it. To my surprise - he LOVED it! I put a little bit to start and he chugged it within seconds... and no mess! I expected him to get some all over his chin and mouth, but nope. He slurped the whole thing up! I couldn't believe it! He even grabbed both sides of the cup with his little hands and tried to do it himself! I, of course, helped him, but it was so cute. I mixed 2 ounces of breastmilk with his oatmeal cereal and put some in the cup a little at a time. He drank everything within a few minutes and then he wanted more! Looks like we'll be giving him his nighttime cereal via cup from now on...he seems to enjoy it so much more! My mom was telling me that some babies skip bottles altogether and go straight from nursing to drinking from cups...so maybe M is one of those babies. I guess as long as there is pumped milk and a little cup, people other than myself will be able to feed him...FREEEDOMMM!

Crocheting - a new hobby?

Even though I have found myself super occupied 99.9% of my day (mostly with my precious baby boy), I decided that I wanted to find a new hobby...something on the creative side...I just didn't know what. Someone on my BBC birth board posted pictures of a beautiful little hat she had crocheted for her daughter and a youtube video that showed step by step instructions on how to do it. I figured I would watch the video and if I felt I understood each step well enough, I would go out and get the necessary items to make M a little hat. I was never a good sewer nor was I ever really into the whole knitting scene so I had my doubts. The video made it all seem easy enough so I decided to give it a go. Off we went to AC Moore. I picked out the correct crochet hook and some yarn. (I had no idea yarn came in different thicknesses!) 

After Michael went to bed, I set myself up on the couch in front of the fireplace, put on some christmas music, and pulled up the youtube video. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but soon enough, I was on a roll. Little did I know, the blue yarn ball was becoming a giant knot and I had to stop for the night. I enlisted the help of my dad and 2 hours later we managed to untangle the entire thing...120 YARDs of yarn!! I finished the hat the next morning and sewed on a little pom pom! Unfortunately it is a bit big for Michael's head, but it should fit him next year probably. I felt so inspired after that, that I actually made a second hat in a different color scheme which fits him perfectly! I still need to attach the pom pom though...check it out! 

Here is a link to the youtube video I used: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3K9nbkOwJQ 

For those of you that are curious, I used a size M(13), 9mm hook and Size 5 yarn...although I think I should have probably used size 4 instead.

Finished product!!

I really don't think I have ever been so proud of myself! While I don't think I'm going to go pro with crocheting, I definitely want to continue for fun and perhaps make a blanket or a little scarf to match his hats :)

The second hat I made.. slightly different style/color scheme. As I mentioned earlier, I still need to attach the white pom pom. Between these two hats, I used both balls of yarn. (120  yds each) That's a lot of yarn! Hopefully I'll be able to find some cheaper yarn at Walmart so I can keep up this little hobby!

Long time no update!

It has been nearly 2 months since my last update & so much has happened since then. I did have a 2 month blog update for Michael but my computer’s hard drive crashed and the document was lost. I was pretty pissed considering I had spent so much time writing it, and on top of that I was packing for our move, so I never got around to rewriting the post. Oh well. This post will list some updates about our life, the next post will be about Michael’s development now that he has reached the 3 month mark.

Michael and I have had a lot going on since September when I last updated, for one he is officially 3 MONTHS OLD!! I know I always say this, but I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. He changes more and more everyday and I swear he looks bigger each morning than he did the night before.

In early October we made the move down to VA and have been loving it ever since. The day after we arrived, David has orchestrated a little housewarming/welcoming/football party at the house which was great! I got to meet a lot more of David’s family and it was just fun having people over to meet Michael. He was such a trooper and despite all the excitement he never really complained and even managed to nap! The next day, however, he was quite fussy so I definitely paid for it.

It took a while to get the house all set up, but now, a few weeks later, we are pretty well settled in. Target, Home Goods and Bed, Bath & Beyond were where I spent almost everyday looking for the perfect accessories for the house. Especially Home Goods…love that place!! The only things that remain are getting curtains up and hanging some stuff on the walls. All in all, I love the way everything looks and the house feels very “homey”. We even have little pumpkins outside our front door and a house plant to filter the air! :)

Michael has his own room which is awesome. The spoiled little guy got a whole new set of furniture and the original set we had gotten will stay in his room in NY for when we take trips up there. He’s got all his little toys, books, his swing, playmat and his “furry friends” aka his stuffed animals. He doesn’t sleep in his room at night just yet. He still sleeps next to my bed in his pack and play. I try to have him nap in his crib or in the swing, but that usually only works for about 45 minutes at a time. The little guy seems to like napping in mommy’s arms a lot better…hmmph.

One Sunday a couple of weeks ago, we took Michael to his first pumpkin patch outing. Every year, a nursery in town puts together a huge fair/playground with tons of activities for children. It was around when David was little and has just gotten bigger each year ever since. Michael was a little too young to really enjoy everything, but next year he is going to have a total blast! We went on a hayride which he seemed to like, and other than that, David carried him around showing him various bright colored signs, toys, etc. At the end we picked up 3 little pumpkins and then took a picture of him sitting on a hay bale next to one big pumpkin. So cute!

Michael and I have a lot of time during our day, so one of the things we really enjoy doing is taking walks. He had already liked his daily walks when we were back in NY, so I figured we would continue the routine to keep him happy and make sure he was getting fresh air every day. As soon as I start bundling him up in the stroller, he gets all excited. Our walks are anywhere from 20-60 minutes long depending on where we go. He is usually asleep by 5 minutes in. It’s a surefire way to get him to nap if he’s having a hard time falling asleep at home. We can walk to a CVS and a little supermarket which is pretty awesome if I need to pick up little things and don’t feel like driving or don’t have the car.

Michael also really enjoys food shopping…specifically at Giant bc as far as I know, they are the only supermarket with pre-attached infant seats. These allow him to sit, facing me and looking around at everything in the store. It puts him in a great mood and he is awake the whole time smiling and having a good time. Shopping with him is usually pretty easy but stores like Trader Joes piss me off bc their carts are unusually small so I can’t even stick him in the infant car seat in it. I have to either wear him or go in there with his stroller and put everything in the basket underneath. Very frustrating because I love TJ’s.

I got myself a crockpot as I decided that this winter I wanted to make delicious meals that I could freeze and save for a later date. Not to mention, crockpot cooking makes your house smell so amazing! I started with a simple recipe for a ratatouille type meal that my mom came up with. –peppers, onions, zucchini, butternut squash, 2 cans of diced tomatoes, marinara sauce, and Italian sausages…all over rice. Soo freaking good.

Next is his 3 month baby development  update!

Fall is here!

I haven't gotten the chance to update in such a long time...not that an enormous amount of things have been going on with M and I...but still.

For one, Michael is getting SO BIG! At least to me he is. Every morning I look at him and he looks bigger than he did the night before. Crazy! He now officially weighs 12 lbs and measures 23.5 inches. Overall, he's been doing so well. Since about 4 weeks old, he "sleeps through the night" aka 5+ hours straight, and it has been amazing. Every morning we cuddle and snuggle and he lays next to me in the bed. One of his favorite things is when i wrap him up in my blankets. He smiles like crazy and kicks and bats his arms out of excitement. He could lay there for hours without being fussy.

With the beautiful weather we have been having, M and I have gone on quite a few walks. A couple of days ago we had an outing at the local state park. It was beautiful out and I dressed him up for the occasion. He looked like he was going camping! Also, the jogger Grandma Mimi got me is amazing. I love love love that stroller. So easy to steer, push, etc. Today, on the other hand, it has been cold and rainy. So we snuggled in my bed extra long. He loves lazy days.

This past week I also bought a Moby wrap. These things are amazing. They look daunting to put on and entail a ton of fabric, however, with a baby that loves being held, it was a necessity for me. Michael loves being in it and he falls asleep almost instantly. It recreates the feeling of being in the womb and keeps him warm and snug against me all the while allowing me to get things done since both my arms are free! Love it!

With fall, comes football season! As you may already know from the poll I had posted on my blog awhile back, David is a Redskins fan and I'm a Giants fan. Up until yesterday, M only had 'skins gear (& a ton of it at that). Some of it I had gotten, and the rest were given to us by David's friends. Yesterday, M's Giants jersey FINALLY arrived! Now we have matching jerseys! Too cute! I can't wait for the game on Sunday so we can debut our matching outfits.

With a big move coming up, I've been getting kind of lazy about packing. I really need to make a list of what I need to get done and just buckle down and do it. I've only got 2 weeks now and the only time I can really do things efficiently is when M naps. Erghh. So much to do, so little time! Regardless, he and I are very excited for our new adventure!

In terms of myself, I've been slowly getting back into shape going on long, fast paced walks with Michael either around the block or at the park. I ran the other day and it felt amazing, however, I desperately need to get a well fitting sports bra to hold my ladies in place, bc OUCH! I've been eating a ton, yet all this breastfeeding is helping me shed the pounds at a record pace. I'm now down to 113 when my pre-pregnancy weight was 120. Yikes. I desperately need to build up my muscles so I don't waste away.

Just like she did for me in her blog, I'd like to give my friend Dory a big shoutout and congratulations on her new little man! Hopefully our little ones will be able to meet someday!

Thats all for now! Next update will be about the last 2 months with Michael!

Month 1 Favorites

While our first month went by relatively quickly, there are some items that I definitely could not have done without - and would have made the month go by a bit slower. Even with all the previous experience I had with babies, I'm still learning every day and Michael keeps me on my toes. What's exciting is that these items will (for the most part) change every month! Can't wait to see what becomes indispensable for month 2!

Swing - (Bright Starts Ingenuity Swing) This contraption is essential to Michael's day time naps. We swaddle him up, turn on the swing, put on some of the nature sounds - ocean waves are his favorite - and within minutes he is asleep! It swings, vibrates, sings, has white noise, timers, etc. He also likes to just hang out in the swing if I'm doing something, and just look around and quietly observe. Love it!

Swaddle Wrap - (Summer Infant SwaddleMe) These are amazing if you have a strong little man who can easily break out of home made swaddles in ordinary blankets. I would swaddle him to put him to sleep in his bassinet, and would wake up to find him all unwrapped and probably feeling a little cold. These have velcro and are nice, soft fleece. He can't escape! Plus, you can pull down the bottom half to change a diaper without unswaddling completely. They're great for fall/winter weather. 

Nursing Pads - (Medela Nursing Pads) What's worse than having your boobs leak in public? Nothing. It's extremely embarrassing and bound to happen if you are a breast feeding mother. These may be a little uncomfortable to wear, but will save you from that moment when your shirt has two wet spots on it. Trust me. 

Boppy Pillow - (Boppy) Huge help when breastfeeding. Great for tummy time; comfortable lounger for baby. Overall, it is a great multi-use pillow. 

Burp Cloths - (Babies R Us Burp Cloths) Can never have too many of these. Milk, spit up, snot, etc; they are absolutely necessary and easy to have handy to clean up all sorts of baby messes. If you don't feel like shedding out $6 for a pack of these, just cut up some old fabric - does the same job. 

Water bottle - If you're nursing, you NEED one of these to just carry around with you to stay hydrated and keep up your milk supply. It's crazy how thirsty you get; I sometimes feel like I've been wandering the desert when I don't drink for an extended period of time.

Bathtime soaps/lotions - (Mustela Bathtime Essentials) Mustela is a French brand of amazing body products for adults and babies and smells fantastic! My mom used it for me when I was a baby. I primarily use the 2 in 1 hair and body wash, body lotion, face wipes and face lotion on little Michael. So far, he smells amazing and seems to like it. 

Nightime nursing bra - (Medela Sleep Bra) Pretty much a soft, stretchy sports bra, but it is super comfy and extremely convenient for nursing. I got myself a whole ton of them. 

1 Month

Happy 1 month Birthday Michael!

It’s hard to believe that 1 month ago, today, I was getting ready to give birth to the most beautiful baby boy. Time is flying by and it’s blowing my mind! I look forward to so many more weeks, months, and years with my little man- just watching him grow up to be absolutely amazing in every way. Being a mom is pretty exhausting but extremely rewarding. I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

David came up to visit Labor Day Weekend, and we all had a great time together. M got to bond with his daddy and loved sleeping on his chest and wearing matching Redskins gear. Michael also had a couple of big outings, on which he was very well behaved. Soon enough we’ll all be seeing each other much more often – more Daddy & M time to come!

Now that I’m feeling a lot better and more recovered, I have discovered how much work I have to do on myself. Today, Monday, is Day 1 of whipping my butt back into shape. I gave myself 1 month of recovery time and I think it’s time for me to buckle down and slowly regain all the strength, muscle and endurance I lost. Weight-wise, 1 month later…I went from weighing 143 to 116 – less than when I first got preggo.  Woohoo! Now it’s all about toning up. I also need to tan. I’m soooo pale. Yuck. Next, I need to shop for some new clothes. Let’s just say my hips got a bit wider pushing out a baby and all so now my super skinny, skinny jeans are history. Boo.

Temperament

I may have spoken too soon during my last post when I said that M never cries…hmph. He is certainly developing his own little personality and crying so happens to be a part of it. Not surprising, as afterall, he is but a baby. He is generally in a good mood, although I am discovering that he really doesn’t like being put down by himself.  When he isn’t napping, I find myself snuggling with and feeding him for the majority of the day. Setting aside his bouts of fussiness, he is usually very easy to please and like any baby, loves being held. He likes to sit in his swing and just observe everyone around him, wide eyed and intrigued. When he has had enough, he lets us know. He is certainly not shy about vocalizing.

I started reading “Happiest Baby on the Block” by Dr. Karp, and his “5 S’s” method, has become a total lifesaver in helping Michael get to sleep without needing to nurse or be in my arms first. I won’t get into the details of the book, but anyone with an infant should make it a priority to get this book. I promise that you will sleep better at night!

Feeding

Michael is a CHAMP when it comes to feeding. He loves to eat, and can easily switch back and forth from bottle to breast – no nipple confusion whatsoever. We have kept with the routine of giving him one bottle a day in order to help him practice taking a bottle and it is working perfectly. He sometimes tries to hold the bottle with his little fists on either side of it. So cute! I guess the only problem he has in this department is that sometimes he is so hungry and so excited to eat that he can’t relax well enough to latch on perfectly on the first try. Other than that, 90% of the time, his latch is right on. The amount he can eat is also rather impressive. Nursing, I’m not quite sure how much he gets, as he eats until he is full, but bottle feeding, the most I’ve given him in one sitting is 7oz! Wow. Little glutton…!

He still eats on a schedule of about every 3 hours now, to include nights. The stretches are occasionally longer depending on how long he decides to nap for. I don’t wake him up, I’m still feeding him on demand which just so happens to be around every 3 hours or so. Thing is, once he lets me know that he’s hungry, I better hurry up and feed him within minutes or else he gets quite upset -_- Thankfully though, the growth spurt is over, for now, so no more cluster feeding at night! I finally get to sleep a little! Next growth spurt is around 6 weeks…sigh…

Sleeping

Again, reading the book by Dr. Karp has proved to be a total lifesaver in the sleeping department. While he was never a bad sleeper, he would often fight sleep throughout the day and then be over tired and just unable to sleep at all. Swaddling him up, putting him in the swing and turning on some white noise, gets him to sleep within minutes. It’s amazing to see! We only follow this method during the day. At night, we have found that giving him his bath, followed by a feeding, swaddling him up and putting him in his bassinet, he will fall asleep right away. He’s still young, so he sleeps a lot, not to mention, he is growing at a rapid rate! His big naps are in the afternoon for 3-4 hour stretches. He is most awake in the mornings from about 7am to 11am and in the evenings from about 5-8pm. At all other times, he will awake randomly, eat, look around, and go back to sleep.

Health/Milestones

Birth

Height: 22 in

Weight: 7lb 4oz

9 days

Height: 22.25 in

Weight: 7lb 13oz

17 days

Height: 22.5 in

Weight: 9lb

27 days

Height: 23.25 in

Weight: 10 lb 4 oz

1 month

Height: 23.25 in

Weight: 11 lb

He is still a perfectly healthy little baby. He poops all.the.time. Big, loud, obnoxious, smelly farts, sharts, etc. Yuck. He will occasionally have the hiccups, but they go away pretty quickly. He is growing super fast and gaining lots of weight. At his 1 mo appointment, doctor and nurse were impressed with his rapid growth! All good things :) His next appointment will consist of his first vaccinations…probably won’t be a very fun visit.

His first official social smile took place on Sept. 7^th. He spent the whole day just responding to us when we smiled at him, tickled him, made funny noises…he loved it! Now he smiles at us all the time! I have yet to snap a picture of it though. He is still doing tummy time every day, and is constantly getting stronger. He can hold his head and most of his upper body up by pushing with his arms. Very impressive. He has made some very small attempts at rolling over, but nothing too solid yet. We’ll see what happens with that.

Size

With all the eating this little guy has been doing, he can no longer fit into NB size clothes, and 0-3 month clothes are getting to be a bit snug. He is in that in between faze where the 0-3 are barely fitting, but the 3 mo sizes are still a tad big. He has so many cute outfits in that size; I can’t wait for him to fit into them! (Onesies are getting kind of boring) Diaper wise, he graduated to Size 1 a couple of weeks ago, probably right after my last post. Those should continue fitting him for a while.

Activities

We’ve continued with all the activities I listed in my last post, but now he takes big boy baths in his little tub in the sink (which he LOVES). We have also ventured out of the house and to a few different places – Babies R Us, TJ Maxx, the mall, TCBY, the big park, petting farm, and another fro-yo place in town. He is generally really well behaved on outings as long as I’m armed with his paci, and as long as I’m ready to feed him. I pack his diaper bag with everything I could possibly need, resulting in a heavy bag. To keep curious people (and germs) away, I’ll cover up the carseat or stroller with a blanket. He usually just sleeps anyway. Yesterday, we were at a fro-yo place and I had to BF him in public as he got quite hungry. It wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be, and no one said anything to me or made any rude comments. Score!

Updates

Mastitis SUCKS! I have had it twice now and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Now, I’m just trying to get over a cold. Wahhh. I forget if I mentioned this in my last post, but I decided to post-pone Grad school for a few different reasons, and so far, I am quite happy with my decision. No regrets – I have the rest of my life to go back to school. 

My next update (provided I have the time) will be about our 1 month favorites - the items I and M could not live without during M's first month at home! Stay tuned :)