Baby-Led Weaning

When Henry was born, Before Henry was even born, I knew I wanted to nurse. And my goal was to nurse exclusively for 6 months and then introduce food. But as it got closer to the 6 month mark, I wasn't sure if I was ready to give him solids. Mainly because he was thriving so well and I really enjoy the bond you share with your baby through nursing. I didn't want to give that up. But Henry had a high interest in food, so I didn't want to deny him the opportunity of eating solids if he was interested either. Then a friend told me about baby-led weaning. I did some research and I knew that was exactly the answer I was looking for. Basically, baby-led weaning is offering your child (6 months+) food that is safe and age appropriate and letting them do the rest. You feed them the same foods you eat every day. At 6 months, they have the capability to put food into their mouths and they can choose what they would like to eat and how much of it. No purees and no worrying about making a separate dinner just for baby. It is all about following your child's cues and  letting them do the rest. Here is the wikipedia link for those who are interested. And here is a book on Amazon that I would highly recommend. I've really enjoyed reading it. So, because you are letting your child feed themselves, they obviously are going to be very messy at first. Henry has only had a handful of meals with us and it has been very messy, but I can see an improvement already. But because you are letting your child feed themselves, you are allowing them to put what they want in their mouths and at first they are just going to be tasting or playing with their food. It can take a little while before they actually start getting any substance out of it. Which I really like the idea of, because we are still nursing just as much, so I am getting what I want and Henry is able to try eating foods, which is what he wants. (Though he really likes nursing too.) Henry has loved everything we have let him eat so far. Yogurt is super messy because I just put it on his tray and let him go to town. If I give him a spoon with yogurt on it, he will eat the yogurt and then just likes to chew on the metal spoon and splash the yogurt around. The other night we made sweet potato french fries and he really liked those. Not much ended up on the floor that night. P.S. Be forewarned that your pediatrician will probably not agree with you/think you are crazy/ try to persuade you differently. Do what you feel is best for you and your child. As for us, we are going to continue our BLW journey. Enjoy the mess! Oh yeah, and a plastic high chair with no cover is probably best. We now have Henry in a seat that attaches to the table and he loves it. We tried out these two high chairs we already had and neither one worked.

 Carrots and pears. This high chair we got from a friend, unfortunately it is angled weird so you need a blanket behind baby in order to get them sitting where you would like them. This doesn't work when you are letting baby have a free for all with their food.

 Banana, yogurt, and scrambled eggs. Messy! We thought this high chair would work fine because it was all plastic and therefore easy to wipe off when it was dirty. Turns out Henry can reach a vast part of the chair the high chair is strapped to. So the chair became filthy after just a few times of use. Strike 2. I'll post a picture of the third seat later. It's a keeper though. Henry is doing well in it.

Henry is now enjoying being rinsed off/showered in the sink. He has always showered with Kevin or I and doesn't ever take baths. But, with BLW, things can get quite messy. So we just give him a quick rinse when he is done eating. He seems to like it!

6 months

I find it quite amazing that so much can change in a little human being in the course of a month. Henry just amazes me with the new things he does almost daily. I can't believe how fast these past 6 months have gone, but more so how we only have another 6 months and he will be a year old already. It makes me sad, really. I am a stay at home mom, so sometimes I find it funny that I wish I could spend more time with my son. He is with me 24/7. But sometimes I wish I had a maid to wash my dishes and fold my clothes so I could just play with Henry all day long and not worry about making sure we have clean underwear. (I don't need a chef though, I like cooking. Just a maid please.) How do you get them to stop growing so fast? I guess that's why you end up having more, right? Sigh.

Henry is getting so big. He discovers he can do something new almost every day.
At 6 months, Henry...
-is now rolling over
-sitting up
-running in his walker (He chases Penelope down and now has started reaching over the side and petting her) He is getting pretty good at backing up and turning around too.
-pinching (and it hurts sooo bad, especially when he gets your face.)
-gives Momma lots of kisses. Only gives Daddy kisses when Daddy has a smooth face.
-has learned how to blow bubbles/spit. Usually only when he is mad.
-knows what medicine is. He had RSV and a double ear infection recently. You need at least two people to give him medicine. The nurse that had to give him the oral vaccine at his 6 month check up said she's never seen a baby that young put up such a fight when trying to administer medicine. Kevin held him and kept his arms down, I held his head still and tried to keep him from spitting it everywhere, and the lady tried to get it into his mouth. Quite hilarious, actually.
-Henry is so strong. I am starting to see what Vicky(Kevin's mom) is talking about when she talks about how strong Kevin was by 2 or 3. This boy is gonna give me a work out every day.
-loves to talk. He growls and loves to say "baaabaaabaaa". He gets excited when he learns a new sound and will repeat it all day once he figures it out.
-has found his penis. And will grab for it every time his diaper is off. Oh boys... (I wasn't going to put that in here, but Kevin said I had to. It's funny and we'll laugh about it later.)
-loves to rub things(toys,food, your finger) back and forth on his gums. I guess it feels good on his teeth...
-has started on solids. We chose to do baby-led weaning and Henry loves it. I'll blog more about that later.

 6 months old!

 Seeing if the toy Grandma and Grandpa Haynes gave him is edible. Thanks for the toy! It's delicious!

Lots of kisses for Mommy!

Hey pig!

We really do love having our Penelope as part of our family. She is 8 months old now. Kevin takes such good care of her. Here are some scenes for your enjoyment from a recent bath she had-

All soaped up! We just use regular baby shampoo and it works great. We also use baby oil when her skin is dry and flaky.

Getting washed off!

All clean!!!

I'll do an update soon on all the things you might want to know about having a pet pig. Some things might surprise you!

5

I know, I've been slacking. It's been a few weeks, but here is Henry's 5 month post-

At 5 months...

-this stubborn little guy still isn't rolling over or sitting up.

-when on his stomach, he pulls his knees up and scoots himself forward. Crawling will be in our near future!

-loves to follow the pig in his walker and has started pushing himself over to things and grabbing anything he can reach(his favorite thing to try to grab is the purple swiffer.) My dish towels are now always on the floor instead of the towel bar.

-claps (doesn't make any sound yet, but he loves to clap!)

-tries to grab any and all food within his reach. I have a feeling this boy will love food!

-sleeps at least 10 hours in his own bed every night, sometimes 12. And this momma loves it!

-has figured out how to pull his mittens off... this might be why he is sleeping 12 hours. Dang it! But recently, I've been putting them on differently and I think he is having a harder time taking them off now, so that is good.

-loves to pet (grab fistfuls of hair) the pig. And she doesn't even seem to mind.

-makes mmmmmmmm sounds.

-loves to give his momma lots of kisses! He holds my cheeks in his hands and goes in for lots of slobbery open mouth kisses! I love it!

-has found his feet, though sometimes I think he has a hard time reaching them because the cloth diapers add so much extra padding.

-right as he was turning 5 months, his first tooth started coming in. It has officially poked through and the second one should be any day now!

I just love being a stay at home momma to my sweet boy and I wouldn't have it any differently!

First time sitting in a grocery cart!

Thanksgiving

We decided to go to North Carolina for Thanksgiving this year since we were in Utah with my family last year. Kevin's parents house just recently was finished with all the remodeling they did. So we were really excited to see it and we thought it would be a good time to bring a bunch of their stuff down to them. We drove Kevin's truck and it was squishy and a long car ride, but we made it. Kevin's mom called like the day before to tell me that they were sick and maybe we should rethink coming or not. But I was not about to not go because it took FOREVER to pack up the stinking truck so there was no way in heck I was not going after Kevin did all that work. We planned on leaving Wednesday evening, but we ended up not leaving until Thursday morning. We got there right as everyone was sitting down to eat. Looking like a bunch of bums, I might add. But we made it and had a nice time seeing family. I know this was Henry's first Thanksgiving, but unfortunately, I was feeling like poo and looking like poo and we were so tired and ragged that there were not many pictures taken. And of the ones that were taken, no good ones at that. We came home on Sunday, so it was a rather quick trip. And all three of us caught the nasty cold. Lesson learned. Next time people say they are sick= don't go. We were recovering from it until just a few days ago. But we are happy we went and were able to spend time with family.

How many looks do you think we got? White trash to the max!!!

Pretty proud of his tie down job. And looking like a train reck, I must say. We were so tired...

On our way! (Side note: For those wondering, I pumped beforehand and fed him bottles so we only stopped once each way to use the bathroom and change a diaper.)

Hopefully next Thanksgiving we will have more pictures and be looking a little more put together. It's the memories that count though, right?

A Christmas Carol

Around this time, two years ago, Kevin proposed to me after we saw A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre. It was at that time that we decided to make it a tradition to go together every year. Last year we went on New Years Eve. This year, we went before Thanksgiving because that was the only time front row seats were available. I actually enjoyed it. It was the perfect way to get into the holiday spirit and start thinking about Christmas. It was fun to enjoy the day, just the two of us. Love you, honey! Can't wait for next year!

Right where he proposed!

Hey peeps. Why you gotta be photobombing our picture?

If you are ever able to go, I highly recommend it!

Penelope

Funniest picture(minus the eye boogies, sorry)

It seems I have some serious catching up to do..... Sigh. Oh well. So I never really planned on getting an animal until my kids were a few years older and could help out some. (Kevin's snake, Daisy, does not count; seeing as she lives where I don't see her and every time I do see her, I secretly hope she is no longer living) But I worried that it would be hard on me to get an animal when I was sooooo incredibly sick during the first trimester of my pregnancy. I honestly don't know how I am going to fare taking care of Henry if I am that sick again, but I'm sure we will live. And eat frozen pizza for 2 months straight, but we'll live. So I worried that we would get an animal and then I would get pregnant or be so busy with a new baby and other children running around, that I would not be able to devote the time needed to take care of another living thing. (Kevin takes care of the plants around here) I have always known I've wanted animals for my kids to grow up with and assumed we'd get a dog first and then I'd have to convince my husband down the road to agree on getting a potbelly pig. But it turns out that it was the opposite with Kevin. He did not want a dog, and he said if we were to get a dog, it wouldn't  be allowed in the house. Because they shed and get on your stuff, etc. But in my opinion, if you are going to have a dog, it has to be an indoor dog. I would feel bad if the dog was never allowed in the house. Insert the potbelly pig.... For the longest time I have wanted a pet pig. I always said one day I would have a pet pig. I surely didn't think it would be this soon, nor that my husband would be on board with it! We discussed getting an animal and he said no to a dog. (We'll get a dog one day, even if he doesn't know it yet) And I mentioned how I have always wanted a pet pig. And he said that would be cool! I couldn't believe it. So I did my research on all things piggy and I found a breeder in South Carolina. I contacted her and she seemed like a great person to get our piggie from. We decided our lives can only get more hectic from here on out, so we might as well take the big step into owning an animal while we had some time. I think I contacted the breeder about getting a pig and she said she had a litter to be delivered in just a few weeks or another a couple months away. I guess we figured I would be way too busy with a new baby to add another mouth to feed, so we decided to get her before Henry came. The breeder emailed us a few pictures and then before you know it, it was time to pick her up! I drove(yes me, 35 week pregnant me) all the way to South Carolina and back. That was like a 20 hour road trip that we did in 26 hours. I still don't know how I accomplished that. Thanks to our friends, the James', we were able to crash at their house for a few hours and didn't have to get a hotel or sleep in the car. (Well, Kevin slept in the car, but you know what I mean.) Plus, it was just nice to see some familiar Utah faces!!! And that is the story as to how we became the parents to a noisy little potbelly pig named Penelope!

On our way home!

Leesburg Animal Park

Recently, we were able to spend some fun and much needed family time together. I had asked around to find a place we should go to pick pumpkins and a friend recommended the Leesburg Animal Park. So we decided to go there. We ended up not being able to get there before Halloween, but it was fun nonetheless.

 These little bunnies were cracking me up. They were just little balls of fluff the size of Kevin's fist all huddled together for warmth. The white one kept putting it's head under the other bunny's bum.

 The three of us. 

 Weirdest looking animals. Apparently the second largest rodent???

 This little calf was just 2 weeks old! So cute.

 No, this is not Penelope, I just had to get a picture next to him to compare sizing with our little piggy.

 Happy boy.

 This monkey sucked it's thumb! A little boy walked up while we were watching the monkey and exclaimed, "hey! You're still sucking your thumb you silly monkey!" His mother said he had recently quit sucking his thumb. They come to the animal park every year, so this year he wanted to see if the monkey became a "big boy" too and wasn't sucking his thumb anymore. But that monkey still was. As he was leaving, the boy said, "Bye Monkey! See you next year! Stop sucking your thumb, ok?!"

 These donkeys were making Kevin and I laugh. They followed us around the entire time we were in the petting zoo area.  One was even knocking Kevin in the leg with it's head and biting his pants because it wanted to get pet some more. I am foreseeing a miniature pony in our future...

"Is your mama a llama?" We had a lot of fun showing Henry all the animals and making memories. I can't wait to take Henry next year and see him really interacting with all the animals.

Daddy

I love watching Henry and Kevin together. It just makes my heart so happy. And they are just the cutest. Henry smiles just like Kevin. Pretty amazing the littlest things we inherit from our parents...

I took the absolute cutest picture the other day and it just makes my heart melt every time I look at it. They sure do love each other. Kevin was headed home from work and I was at the grocery store, so Kevin met me there and helped me load up the groceries to take them home. Henry was asleep in the baby carrier at the time so he didn't wake up until Kevin pulled him out to stick him in his car seat. And then I captured the best moment. Kids sure do love it when their dads come home after a long day's work. And this picture shows it.

At church. Just hanging out in the mother's room.

Early voting the other day. They had a little "Daddy and me" time in the bathroom mirror to bide the time.

I love seeing Kevin with our son. He is a great Daddy!

Candid

Sometimes you just need a good dose of candid pictures to laugh about. Oh, and to embarrass your kids with later.

"stop taking pictures of me and just pick me up already!"

Scary skeleton jammies

"Your beard is so scratchy, Dad!"

He fell asleep so fast, I didn't have time to flip him around. Poor kid.

"No, I don't like BYU! Aren't you listening to me?!"

"Nobody feeds me around here, so I guess I'll just eat my toys. Nom nom nom"

4 months

I know I probably sound like a broken record, but where does the time go? I can't believe our little munchkin is 4 months old already. As Kevin said it, "1/3 of a year old!" Which just made me sad to think about. How can he be 1/3 of the way to a year old already?!? I love babies at all stages and always have, even that newborn stage when all they do is sleep all day. But I honestly feel like I am enjoying Henry at this age so much more than I have in the previous months and stages. He is so much more interactive and his personality is just so much fun. I love being a mommy to this cute little man.

His personality is really starting to come out in his pictures and it is so fun to watch him make faces at me while I try to take pictures of him.

At 4 months Henry is---

-not yet rolling over. Little stinker.

-16 pounds(70%) Taking after his daddy in that category.

-sleeping through the night(11 hours) on most nights. If only I would go to bed at a decent hour now. Hmmm...

-has started smiling and talking to himself in the mirror.

-is always trying to put things in his mouth. Whether it's his hands, your hands(or face), his toys, or blankets, he is always trying to chew on something. Just the other day a lady asked if he was teething because he was chewing on Kevin's hand. Nope. He just likes to chew!

-hating his car seat and riding in the car in general. I think we are going to get him a bigger rear facing seat and graduate out of the baby seat since he only stays in it in the car anyways.

-laughing. But only when he is really tired. You have to work to get this kid to laugh!!!

-is super ticklish, but doesn't really laugh. Just holds his breath until you stop tickling.

-loves to watch Penelope and is starting to follow her around in his walker. Sometimes she tries to eat his hand and he just looks at her wondering what the heck she is doing. Don't worry, I always wipe his hand off after she does that. I'll have to try to get a video sometime.

-is in mostly 6 month clothes. The cloth diapers add some bulk, so his jeans and pants fit really snug. 6 month fit easier, but are a little long.

-absolutely loves his papa. He loves balancing on Kevin's hand and will always stop crying if Kevin does that.

We dressed him up as Yoda for Halloween and took lots of pictures even though we didn't really do anything special. Kevin's family has a family calendar, so I knew we'd have to at least get some for that and for memories sake. (Yes Michele, you can steal pictures off my blog when I fail to get you any others for the calendar)

May the force be with you. And stuff.

Going cloth...

I have been doing cloth diapers for about a month now and I actually love it. I decided to get the bumgenius one size diapers. They should fit Henry all the way until he is potty trained. I have 24 diapers which means I need to do wash about every three days.

Overall, it's been great and we've had a lot less diaper rash and no leaks overnight. Occasionally, we have a leaky wet diaper, but that is usually my fault for not changing him sooner. Basically, I rinse out the diapers every evening and put them back in the diaper pail with the washable pail liner until it's time to wash.

I put them in the wash and then line dry the diaper shells and put the inserts in the dryer. Any inserts that are looking a little yellow get laid out on the drying rack as well so the sun will fade the stains.

When I am out, I put the used diapers in a small wetbag I carry in my diaper bag. I can fit about 4 or 5 diapers in it. It holds the moisture and smell in and can go in the wash with the diapers.

After they are washed, I stuff the diapers and put them in a bin under the changing table so they are ready to use when I need to change Henry.

He seems to love them!