CARROTS!

Well. . . I was going to wait until Palmer's 6 mo appointment on Monday to ask the doc what 1st fruits and veggies he recommends, but. . . I got a little antsy, so sue me. Palmer had no major allergic reaction and showed no signs of serious illness after I fed him a very orange meal of carrot puree! It just so happened that I had carrots in the fridge and some afternoon time to kill, so I decided to go for it. (I did consult a baby food making book and check that carrots were OK for a 1st food according to them.)

The book said steaming is the best way to cook the veggies and fruits to make sure all those good nutrients stay intact. After steaming, baking or boiling are the next best alternative, and microwaving works, but is not ideal. I boiled my peeled and chopped carrots because I don't actually have a steamer basket or other steam contraption. They simmered with the lid on for about 15 minutes, went into the blender with some of the cooking liquid, and voila- puree! I did a taste test and man are carrots sweet, even with nothing added!

Since I wasn't planning to make baby food til next week, I don't have my ice cube trays yet to freeze portions in. I ended up using some ramekins and mini prep bowls covered in saran wrap. I have read that a really easy and cheap way to store your homemade baby foods is to freeze them in ice cube trays and pop them out into labeled gallon ziplocs. I have a feeling my freezer is going to be packed! Am I crazy for thinking this is fun?

Palmer LOVED his carrot puree so much that he ate two heaping tablespoons of it! Towards the end I got the bright idea to add some rice cereal in along with a little breastmilk to thin it out. He gobbled that orange goop right up. Here are a couple pictures of my little guy enjoying his meal immensely!

6 months

Palmer is 6 months old today! He is a busy body who loves his teething toys and standing with support. We try and keep a bib on him to curb the drool and have just started cloth diapering (which I am having a lot of fun with so far!) He is still nursing and we are occasionally giving him rice or oatmeal cereal during the day. We go to the doctor on Monday for his well-check and immunizations so depending on what the doc says, we may start fruit and veggie purees soon. I'm not in a big hurry since nursing is just so convenient. . . and there aren't any dishes to wash!

Palmer loves when you make "mamama" or "quack" noises to him and is easily entranced by a dangling sheer Kindermusik scarf. We recently bought him a walker that he can sit up and play in like his exersaucer, but it is portable from room to room. Other new developments include a desire to grab or quickly snatch things on the dinner table, and a new ability to bang and/or fling his toys. We are working on him sitting up since that's one of the "requirements" for the McKinney Parks & Rec swim lessons I've already signed him up for :)

I think Palmer's increasing attachment to me and other people is making him wake up at night. He's been waking between 2 and SEVEN times over the past week and hasn't improved on the nights he has no cereal (so gas isn't the trouble). He wails in a very sad way and I try to give him the pacifier, but he either knocks it out with his hands or as soon as I leave the nursery he starts crying again so it falls out. Picking him up stops the crying on a dime, so I think he's having some separation anxiety when he wakes up by himself in the crib. I tried to practice some tough love this morning and the poor thing cried from 4:30 to 5:30. I went in every 5 minutes to soothe him, but most of the time as soon as I would turn my back to leave he would let out a shriek. (Worse than that though is when you get all the way back in bed and he's completely quiet. . .you think he's asleep! finally! but then. . . like the villain in a scary movie who isn't actually dead, there he goes again with the crying.)

If you've been around a crying baby for any length of time- it's anxiety producing! Those 5 minute waits seem to last forever, but I didn't want to go in more often since it seemed when he saw me and then I left he ended up even more upset. To add to the hormonal anxiety, I just feel bad for my sweet boy and want him to be happy, content, and drift peacefully off to sleep. The good thing is, I know that this "sleep learning" we did a couple months back worked really well. We just have to start being disciplined about it again so hopefully Palmer (and Tyler and I) can be snoozing soundly in just a few days.

Here he is wearing his itti bitti tutto one-size diaper in Aqua Essence! It has 3 different soakers that can be used in a few different combinations and attach according to color coded snaps. When I take them out to put in the diaper laundry bag I can tell he definitely needs all 3 soakers at once! Sunday he wore this diaper from wake-time through his first nap and that was too long (we had a little leak in his crib). Now I put a clean diaper on him when he wakes up and again right before his first nap since he tends to wet so much at that time of day. I have more to tell you about the itti bitti, his bumGenius Elemental, and some prefold/hemp combos I've tried, but I think he's going to be up from his nap any minute now.

cloth diaper day 1

Palmer's first foray into the world of cloth diapers began yesterday evening! I got a couple more diapers in the mail in the morning and spent the day "prepping" them to be worn. For any organic fabric like cotton, bamboo, or hemp you are supposed to wash them 5-6 times in order to reach the maximum absorbency. For polyester covers, microfiber terry or stay-dry inserts, and minky fabric you only have to prewash once or twice. The idea is to strip anything off the fabrics that will keep them from absorbing all those diaper goodies! I did a lot of research online and thanks to the research of many other cloth diapering moms, found a detergent at Sprouts in Plano that is supposed to be really good for cloth diaper washing. I'll write more about this later!

Flip (with stay-dry insert)

I tumble dried the inserts and draped the covers over our porch swing! Hopefully you can't tell from the street what they are. . . haha. Palmer wore a Flip diaper with a stay dry insert to dinner at Fuzzy's and it worked great! When we got home I tossed that insert in my Kissaluv's Antibacterial Pail Liner and wiped the Flip cover clean with a wipe (it has a waterproof coating, no fleecy fabric). Once the rest of my Flip inserts arrive I'll be able to use the cover a couple of times without washing it! This is what makes the Flip system more affordable than the fancier all-in-one and pocket diapers that have soft fabric inside and must be washed after each use.

bumGenius 4.0

For nighttime I decided to try the bumGenius 4.0 pocket diaper. It has a pocket opening at the back in the fabric lining to put your inserts in. I stuffed it with the adjustable insert folded to medium and a Hemp Babies diaper doubler underneath that. I was nervous his footie pj's and sheets would be wet when I went in to pick him up this morning since he really fills up a disposable Pampers size 3 at night, but he was perfectly dry! 8:00pm to 9:00 am with no leaks in a cloth diaper! The Flip system and bumGenius 4.0's are one-size diapers meaning they are not only adjustable in the waist, but can also be adjusted in the rise to fit a baby from birth to potty training. (Although most cloth diaper users will tell you that it's better to have a separate stash of newborn sized diapers that truly fit the tiny ones best).

I have more diapers to try today- yay!

back in the swing of things

It has been a busy last few weeks! For those of you who don't know, we have taken in a mommy cat and her two kittens as foster animals and have been working on taming them so they can be adopted (and I do mean "working", it's been like a part time job!) With managing them, our other two cats, Palmer, and piano lessons, time is flying by! I can't believe Palmer is almost 6 months old.

Some of Tyler's extended family was in town last weekend and then I went on a 3 day trip to Fredericksburg with a few friends. It was hard to be away from Palmer for two nights, but I made it! I couldn't resist waking him up when I got home Wednesday night to snuggle a little. I am REALLY done with pumping for a while now. Phew! I think since I have so much in the freezer I'll just start thawing that for his rice cereal instead of pumping a little each morning. Good riddance Medela! (Though I do recommend the electric and manual ones I have.)

Palmer started a new unit of Kindermusik today and it was the most fun we've had at class yet! Even in this short 2 week hiatus he has changed so much and is even more into the other babies, instruments, and music. I love to see him smile and laugh at the other kids in the class- it's actually the same reaction he has to the cats at home. I get a little exercise there too, plus it makes me get dressed. I can't wait til the weather cools down so we can get out more during the day- Palmer loves a change in scenery!

Here is a picture of Palmer with a new favorite toy. . .


and looking like a big boy in the Bumbo!

new adventures

I drive past a landfill on the way to and from my parents' house each time I go. Tyler and I recycle quite a bit, probably more than we trash volume-wise, but I am starting to get a little disgusted thinking about Palmer's diapers stacking up day by day at the dump. So. . . I ordered two cloth diapers online this afternoon! One bumGenius 4.0 snap and one Flip. They should come by Wednesday or so. Everywhere I read recommended getting one or two diapers to try before investing in a big stash. That way you can find out what you like and what fits your baby the best. I'll start with these two and see how things go- there are hundreds of options out there so it is a little overwhelming at first!

4th of july speech

hormones

I heard that this happened after you have a baby, but when I hadn't experienced it for 4 months after Palmer was born I thought it wasn't going to happen to me. I was WRONG! My hair has been falling out by the handful! This does not bode well for our finicky plumbing.

Apparently you don't shed hair hardly at all while you're pregnant so it gets really thick. When those hormones start to subside, your hair starts to fall out and make up for all that time it stayed put. Maybe it took a while for mine to get going since I'm still nursing? Anyhoo, the volume is a little disturbing. Hope I have some hair left to get cut for Locks of Love in a couple of months!

This little guy is worth any more postnatal side effects Mother Nature would like to throw my way. . .