Month: November 2012

Categories
Babies Food

Six Month Appointment & First Solids

This is a follow up to both my six month Z & L updates & my overwhelmed post from earlier this week. Stick around to the end for some funny photos!

Here’s their official stats for 6 months. Lucy weighed 15 lb 7 oz & was 25.5 inches long. She’s between the 25-50 percentile in both categories.

Zach weighed 13lb 3 oz & was 25 inches long. Zach’s caught up to Lucy in length for the first time & is in the 25 percentile there. He’s most definitely still our skinny guy though at still under the 1 percentile in weight. He’s following his own growth curve well, so for now the doctor isn’t concerned.

The doctor felt they were doing great or even above where she’d think they’d be for six month but really 4.5 months when you adjust for them being 6 weeks early. She thought they’d be up & cruising & crawling by the time she sees them next at 9 months.

They did great for their standard & flu shots, crying less than before & recovering well in our arms. Only disappointment was they got denied from getting the RSV vaccine. They were deemed too healthy of preemies {this is clearly a good/bad thing}.

The pediatrician at their six month appointment Tuesday said for us to go ahead & start solids. Starting with rice cereal for a couple weeks before incorporating veggies & fruits. I was excited to have a plan.

Since I was already late into work due to their appointment & Tuesday are now my long lunch days for December, I went ahead & checked off grocery shopping off my to-do list at that time too. I hit up Whole Foods {it’s called Whole Paycheck for a reason, people, but it’s damn delicious} for a few items for quick lunches & dinners. I also wanted to buy organic rice cereal there. They had Earth’s Best oatmeal & rice/oatmeal/fruit combo but the doctor had said stick with just rice cereal at the beginning.

I went to Harris Teeter next where they had Earth’s Best rice cereal on sale for $2.50 a box. I bought two boxes as well as the best sub I’ve had for a while & enough food for us for breakfast, lunch & dinner for the week. Plus cupcakes because duh, you don’t pass up on sale cupcakes. I think I’ll plan to grocery shop while my in laws are in town this weekend then go with all the suggestions for curbside grocery pickup!

Z & L {unknowingly to them} all ready for cereal

We tried rice cereal with them Tuesday night. As per the doctor & box’s instructions, we mixed 1 tsp rice cereal to 5 tsp of warmed breast milk. We made that amount for each. We’ll split that amount between the two of them going forward.

First rice cereal face {on the chin & bib!}

Zach was way interested in the spoon & would be okay with Jason putting it in his mouth before he quickly stuck his tongue out & let the cereal fall out. There was definitely more on his Christmas bib than in his mouth. Once we let him hold another spoon, he was better at taking {a tiny} amount. Wednesday night, I think he was still kinda hungry from not nursing so well. He had a little rice cereal before he was crying enough that I grabbed him & solo nursed him til he was full & calm.

Here’s the procession of Lucy’s first experience of rice cereal in photos.

Lucy’s first taste of rice cereal
I can just see her thinking, “hmm what is this? Kinda smells like mommy”.
Then, BOOM. Very annoyed & sad Lucy girl.

Lucy took offense to me feeding her anything other than her beloved boob. She spit it out & more was on the bumbo & blanket than ever got into her mouth. She was pissed. And continued to be upset until I set the cereal down, picked her up & nursed her. First time was quite a fail for her, but I have to say she handled it much better Wednesday night. She still stuck her tongue out {& with it lots most of the cereal}, but she did eat some.

Categories
Food Pregnancy

Lactation Cookies

Alena from Charmingly Chandler emailed me this recipe right before I went on bed rest. I forwarded it along to my mom who had these cookies made for me & brought to the hospital right when the babies arrived. She remade them a couple weeks later.

Did they help create my {over}supply? Who knows, but they are delicious. So if you’re a breastfeeding mom-to-be or know someone who is, it can’t hurt to try right?

Bonus tip, recipe calls for brewer’s yeast which isn’t regular yeast. The first time Mom made them she couldn’t find brewer’s but it’s an important lactation ingredient. They did taste a little different the second time once they were done right.

Extra bonus tip, other family members & nurses enjoyed my cookies too. No one else started lactating. 🙂

Ingredients
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 3/4 c whole oats {not quick oats}
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 c peanut butter {almond butter works here too}
1/2 c butter, softened
1 c milled flax seed {typically in grocery stores}
4 tbsp brewer’s yeast {found at oraganic grocery or beer stores}
1/3 c water
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 c {or 12 oz} chocolate chips
1 c chopped nuts of your choice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon & salt in small bowl.

In a large bowl or mixer, beat peanut/almond butter, butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, brewer’s yeast, flax seen & water until creamy. Add the eggs.

Gradually beat in the flour mixture.

Mix in the chocolate chips & nuts. Then slowly add the oats, mixing as you go along.

Scoop out dough onto greased baking sheets or stones. Press down lightly on each dough ball with a fork.

Bake for 12 minutes. Enjoy!

Categories
Babies Everything Else

Overwhelmed {2.0}

Since I use this blog as my therapy, my place to vent, I thought I’d list what’s stressing me out & overwhelming me at the moment.

  • The babies crazy drooling.
  • Amber necklaces or no? Where to buy? Used available?
  • Teething.
  • Starting Solids. When? How? What food? Scheduling that in our {already crazy} mornings & nights. When I’ll have time to make food. Heck, when will we have time to put together the high chairs. We have the breastfeeding routine down so well that I hate to change it even though I think they’re ready.
  • Solids poop. And cloth diapering solids poop. And washing solids poop diapers.
  • Zach’s blisters from using disposables over Thanksgiving weekend.
  • Night tine Routines. Our current routine is an attempt at organized chaos until they konk out. Night weaning? Sleep training?
  • Decorating for Christmas.
  • Grocery shopping. Takeout is impossible for me to do alone with both babies. We can’t live on restaurants with drive thrus. Only possibility of grocery shopping is going during my 45 minute lunch.
  • Cleaning my house. Heck, having the time to empty my dishwasher is overwhelming much less, the thought of vacuuming, changing sheets, mopping & cleaning bathrooms.
  • Finishing up Christmas shopping. Again, this will have to be done at lunch or online. & if you’re the recipient of a gift from us, it’ll be thrown in a bag if you’re lucky.
  • Downloading the Thanksgiving photos from the DSLR. I know I took good ones that the family wants. When will I have time to do this?!

Whew. Seeing that list makes me feel a little better that it’s out there verses rolling around in my head. If you have any helpful advise on the above, I’d love to hear it in the comments, tweets, emails or texts.

Categories
Everything Else Family/Travel

Moekitty Update

Confession.

I judged the hell out of new parents that got rid of their animals. their pets. their furbabies when they brought the baby{s} home.

I thought it was ridiculous. You know when you get that animal that it’s for {their} life which would/could include the time when you have children. I thought it was lazy & reckless & careless & just plain mean.

And then I got pregnant with a lot of babies. Then I had two babies & no free time. And Moekitty went from the top of the totem pole to way below it.

He went from getting fed twice a day before I was pregnant, to me not being able to reach the floor to feed him, to me holding a baby {or two} & being unable to feed him. Now he gets fed when he lays in front of the bowl & stares at us & when I have a free hand {typically once a day}.

He went from having all our attention {& pets, & rubs & cuddles} when we’re home to having none of it. Except for me to push him off the couch so I could nurse right where he is lying. Or for Jason to shoe him away from the corners of the den where their toys or blankets are kept. Occasionally he’ll now curl up at my feet when I have the babies in my lap & I love that.

He went from sleeping next to me for 7 years to when I was pregnant, sleeping next to Jason, to when the babies were tiny, sleeping in the den. Now I’m not sure where he sleeps. The den sometimes I guess or the guest room when it’s not occupied.

He went from a bathroom of his own to do his business, to his litter box being shoved into the hallway since that bathroom is now for guests & babies’ baths. And that litter box used to be changed a couple times a week, now poor guy has it changed when the smell starts to follow me into the nursery.

He went from having the office window to view the front yard, to having that turned into a nursery & him being locked out of it. He lost the back yard views to the changing table & a pack-n-play being placed in front of the French doors & instead of his perch under the window, there’s now a weight bench that he’s too big to comfortably stretch out on.

I still {& always will} love the hell out of that cat. But he pukes more than before now that there are additional blankets, sheets & clothes for him to find & eat. That means more for us to try to keep out of his reach & more cleaning up for Jason to do.

My husband’s over being a cat parent when he busy being a twin babies parent. He’s very nervous now that the babies are becoming mobile what interaction Moe will have with L & Z. There has previously been little interaction & no lashing out by Moe {who has front claws} so far. We do not believe in declawing.

So this past week, when my husband came home from daycare drop off to find two new puke spots & Moe eating the bottom of the pack-n-play, he was done. He wanted to throw our indoor only cat outside then & there. I insisted we get him checked out at the vet & up on his shots {which I handled last Tues morning} before we made any decisions.

I’ve cried. Multiple times over this decision. Moe is my first ‘real’ pet. {I don’t count hermit crabs, fish & a bird.}

I don’t 100% agree with our decision, but I know we’ve got to do what’s best for Moekitty. And best for the babies safety. And best for my husband’s saniety.

Jason’s sister, her husband, three children & their horses, dogs & cat live on 30 acres. They’ve agreed for Moe to move down & live with them. He’ll most likely be an outside cat there. But unlike being an outside cat here where he’d rarely see us {because we’re at work or busy inside with babies or sleeping}, he will get a lot of interaction with their outdoor loving family.

We don’t know when he’ll be moving away, but probably soon. I already think they’ll be more trips to GA in our future.

And I’ll be biting my tongue before I think or judge someone’s choices when I haven’t yet been in the situation. {Heartbreakingly sad} lesson learned.

Categories
Babies

Lucy: Six Months

Happy first Thanksgiving to Lucy! We’re so thankful & grateful for her arrival & health. And thankful to the joy she’s brought to our lives.

Six months {& exactly one day from the time this will post} since Lucy girl arrived! It feels like she’s been here forever & at the same time, like no time at all! This month has been another big month for developments & changes.

Lucy loves her feet. She has a blast on the changing table playing with her knees & reaching for her toes. She loves to stick out her long tongue & ‘chat’ L & B sounds while we’re getting her dressed too.

She will bust out the biggest laughs when Jason’s blowing raspberries on her tummy or when I give her loud cheek kisses. She isn’t as quick to smile at everyone, but it’s worth it to work a little for her smiles & the best sounding laugh.

I place them on blankets in the middle of the floor to play when we get home at night. She’s been rolling from back to side to belly around for a little while. Now she’s doing full on rolls where we can’t leave her on a blanket without turning around to find that she’s rolled off. She’s also having fun playing with toys now. Y’all saw her having fun with the NA Bear Co squeaker in that review post. She’s a fan of this toy elephant & this colorful ball/rattle too.

She likes tummy time more now {thanks daycare} & will push herself up pretty high on her arms. Her knees though, aren’t quite pulled up under her yet.

We broke out the exersaucer this month & Lucy’s a big fan {especially when she turns herself to be able to watch TV too}. She still likes the swing & is okay in the bumbo seat although I think she’s outgrowing that as she tries to push herself up & out of it.

All the sudden Lucy has hair. It’s very fine & whispy & light brown. I can’t wait to put {little} bows in it, if she’ll let me.

And speaking of accessories, Lucy’s firmly wearing 3-6 month clothes. I’ve squeezed her in a few Carter’s 3 mo separates still & she has one pair of Circo 3 mo pjs that still fit. Carter’s & Old Navy 6 mo clothes that I thought would be too big for the holidays fit her great. We’re putting her in wearable blankets at night over her pjs to keep her warmer.

Lucy still loves food. I’ve bumped up her bottles from 4 oz to closer to 5 oz for daycare. She takes her time nursing with me as she thinks it’s serious business that can’t be interrupted.

Lucy is our better sleeper at night. For the past week or so, she’s going to bed around 8p {sometimes 730, sometimes 9}, and about once or twice a week, she’ll sleep until we get her up around 730. Hallelujah! Although my boobs don’t mind it if/when she wakes up for a quick night feed around 330a.

She’s wearing size two Luvs diapers overnight and mostly our AIO cloth diapers {loving the AC size ones still but she’s starting to outgrow the itti bitti smalls} during the week. I tend to use the Flip inserts & covers & BG AIOs with her for the weekend.

I plan to take her 6 monthday photos before we head out for our family Thanksgiving weekend. I’ll update with photos when I can.