by Liz | All Things Kids
It always seems that problems come in threes. The last few weeks, poor Lena has been struggling with a cold, teething AND an ear infection. Needless to say, none of us are getting very much sleep! She’s been a trooper and for the most part has been incredibly good-humored despite how she must be feeling. She was on antibiotics briefly but the side-effects seemed to be worse than the ear infection. After a second trip to the doctor I was very relieved to take her off the meds and she’s been a different baby ever since. While still sick, she’s much happier and definitely seems to be on the road to recovery!
On a more positive note, she’s started babbling all sorts of new sounds, desperately trying to move AND has become incredibly opinionated about her likes and dislikes. It’s amazing the progress she’s made in such a short time and she continues to surprise us every day. She’s even started blowing kisses which is just about the cutest thing you’ve ever seen! The key seems to be unending repetitive play. She has so much fun watching faces or our actions and slowly attempting them for herself. We’ve even seen her use a few baby signs though it’s not clear she knows their meaning yet. The sign for “milk” for example, might mean either “mom”, “up” or “milk”. Only time will tell!
That said, she’s no longer sleeping through the night, can be incredibly difficult to put back to sleep AND likes to wake the household up incredibly early with no thought of going back to bed. We’ve been extremely diligent about discouraging any “patterns” involving her sleep habits and continue to rely on some of our old staple tricks but to no avail. She has gone through cycles like this before (though none for such a long period of time) and if we kept to our routines, we found she’d get herself back on track eventually. We’re hoping this method will still work for us and are trying desperately not to encourage any habits to form!
by Liz | All Things Kids, Life Snapshot
It’s hard to believe almost eight months have passed since Adelena was born. Life has a funny way of evolving constantly and yet it’s so difficult to imagine what I did with myself before she got here. Spare time, what’s that?!
I am so thrilled with the time I get to spend with her and going to work every day has not gotten any easier. Our lives are a constant muddle of rushing to and fro, attacking the piles of laundry and trying to get a million things done in the one spare hour or so I have a day. Weekends seem like a distant lifeline to sanity…until they arrive. Despite the extra time we get to spend with Lena, there’s just as much chaos as weekdays. Taking care of Lena doesn’t seem like “work” and I truly enjoy every minute. She’s on a great schedule and for the most part is an extraordinarily easy baby.
Will the chaos ever end? Will it ever get easier to head to work in the morning? I think not. But at least I get to come home to this sweet face every day!
by Liz | All Things Kids, Chaos Hacks
If you have a child anything like mine, they’ll have been drooling like Niagra Falls since the tender age of two months. Fast forward to six months and they’ll graduate to gnawing on every available object that comes within reach, including (but not limited to) fingers, toes, toys, stuffed animals, tables, utensils, limbs, burp cloths, limbs, jewelry and so much more. Add to that the unexplained changes to their sleep patterns along with unprecedented bouts of crying and well, eventually you’ll surmise that your little cherub is finally, at least…most likely, cutting a tooth. That said, any and all of the above can continue for months on end with no tooth in sight. It’s all rather predictable really, I don’t know what anyone could possibly be mystified about.
My new motto: “When all else fails, blame it on teething.”
Being forewarned is definitely being forearmed. Here are a few of my teething necessities:
aden + anais burp bibs – These are amazing. They not only soak up just about anything that comes within a foot of them, they have such amazing coverage. Now that Lena is getting seriously active, she can twist and turn to her heart’s delight and still be covered! Granted, I have to change these out three to four times a day but this has done wonders for her prickly neck rash and keeping her clothes presentable through most of the day.
Sophie – It’s inexplicable…but this is definitely a crowd favorite for teethers. This model is a bit smaller than the traditional Sophie but easier for little hands to grasp and manipulate. We really don’t go anywhere without Sophie in tow!
Fridge/freezer teethers – We have a few of these and Lena’s favorite happens to be a somewhat flat and smooth variety (the keychain was a non-starter). My guess is every child has their preference but it’s a good idea to have a few of these on hand just in case the phantom teeth choose an inopportune time to strike.
Spiffies – Thanks to my sister-in-law (and her parents who are both dentists!), we came across these little gems. When refrigerated, they provide great relief to teething babes and have been shown to reduce cavities. They are just as effective as brushing!
As a last resort, you can always speak to your doctor about using a pain reliever. We found that just one dose while going to bed allowed her to get a good night’s sleep with minimal interruption even on the worst teething days.
At almost seven months old, Lena has two shiny new teeth to show off. She really enjoys smacking her lips or tapping at them with rattles and other toys. She worked hard on those little chompers, she should be proud!
by Liz | All Things Kids, Chaos Hacks
Raising a baby is an expensive endeavor! While we try to be responsible shoppers and search for good deals, there are always those moments when you need a specific item and end up paying full price for it. I have the best intentions of clipping coupons, saving sale offers and other promotions, only to forget them all in a pinch. That said, there are some pretty handy tools out there for helping you to save a little money! Here are a few that I’ve found that involve a minimal amount of fuss/clipping/remembering that will save you a few $$ that will make your checkbook a little happier at the end of the month!
- Amazon Mom: Members receive free two day shipping, 20% off diapers and wipes and various other discounts throughout the year.
- Ebates: Simply by using their site to initiate an online purchase, you get access to additional discounts and cash back on your purchases. They’ll send you a check or gift card from your merchant of choice!
- Retailmenot: Check here before finalizing any online purchase. Just type in the website and any current offers/promotions will be displayed along with the code you need to enter at checkout!
- Groupon & Living Social: Local deals in your area from vacations and family outings to store discounts and gift ideas. I’ll admit I don’t use them often but they’re great for ideas on a rainy day or a last minute idea.
- Gilte, Totsy & Zulily: Deals on stuff for moms, kids and more. Great for finding an expensive item at a huge discount!
Happy Shopping!
by Liz | All Things Kids
We’ve been exploring the brave new world of solids with gusto, watching Lena enjoy each new food as she’s introduced to it. So far…she hasn’t said no to anything.
As we progress from one food to the next, I’ve done my fair share of research on the topic. There is a wealth of information out there, but very little in the way of guidelines for appropriate quantities and balancing milk intake vs. solid food. Most helpful guides simply say to keep the spoon moving until the child refuses it. Well, what if the child NEVER refuses it?!
I think the lack of specifics are mostly due to the fact that every child is SO different. We have an eater and while she’s not overly chubby, she’s well above average for height and weight. We’re tall people so it’s to be expected, but I’m sure our food estimates are far above what many other babies her age are eating. I’m still breastfeeding so it’s difficult to estimate milk quantities, but here are our best guesses.
Also…be sure you read up on which foods are appropriate, especially if you’re making your own food. Babycenter.com has some great advice and you want to be sure to give age appropriate foods that won’t create any allergy risk for your child. If you’re buying food, most baby foods also come labeled with the stage so it’s pretty easy to figure out what to start with.
Warning signs your child is ready:
- Huge milk intake – we just couldn’t keep up with her. She was drinking 9-12 ounce bottles at certain times of the day.
- Sitting fairly well in a reclined position – she couldn’t sit up but could recline fairly upright in a bouncy chair and hold her head steady.
- Tongue reflex disappears – If you tried to put something in her mouth (toy, finger or otherwise) she’d push it right out again. One day, she just wasn’t doing it any more.
- Food tracking – if we ate around her, she’d follow our hands, fork, food with rapt attention.
First introduction (4-5 months):
- Oatmeal, fruit or veg: 2-3 tablespoons.
- Milk intake: shouldn’t alter too drastically just yet, we kept the same schedule and just reduced the quantities a bit. Her 10:30 feeding went from 9 oz down to 7 oz and her night bottle before bed went from 9-12 oz down to about 8 oz. Roughly, 35-40 oz total per day.
- Start with single ingredients with a very smooth consistency, on the verge of being a liquid. Cereals (we opted for oatmeal, best to choose iron fortified), sweet potatoes, peas, squash, apricots, pears, apples, prunes, bananas (beware of constipation), carrots (beware of gas) have all been contenders. Wait about 3-4 days between the introduction of each new food.
- Try a tablespoon or two at the beginning. Lena very quickly ramped up to 2-3 tablespoons of food, but like I said…she never refused any of it. Rather than waiting for her to refuse…we quit when she wouldn’t complain mightily if we stopped feeding her.
- We started with oatmeal and then added the veggies or fruits to it with each new introduction. This worked out great because we could simply spoon a little more of the fruit or veg into her bowl if she was still hungry. At least this way, we didn’t have to scramble to mix up some more oatmeal.
- One feeding per day after her 5 pm milk feeding quickly became two feedings per day (the second added after her 10:30 am milk feeding).
Solid Food Pro (5-6 months):
- Oatmeal: 2-3 tablespoons, veg/fruit: 2-3 teaspoons plus an extra spoonful or two if she’s still hungry.
- Milk intake: bedtime bottle is down to about 6 oz and her afternoon bottle (2 pm) went from about 8 oz down to 6 oz as well. Roughly, 30-35 oz per day.
- Once the child has a bit of practice and relishes eating as much as Lena, thicken up the consistency a bit. Lena never really took to the runny version of things, so we combine everything with oatmeal to give it a bit more texture but still very smooth. She loves it.
- Move on to the highchair. We stuck our Bebe pod in the highchair and quickly realized she’s a much happier (and less messy!) eater when she’s sitting upright. She still can’t quite do it on her own but having the Bebe pod for support and the arms and tray of the highchair to hold onto…she’s a happy baby.
- Watch those hands! Now that she’s upright and able to look around, she’ll try to grab anything that comes within reach. That includes a full bowl of baby food if we’re not careful!
- We haven’t moved to three feedings per day yet simply because we’re still a bit rushed in the morning, but that will likely come very soon and will be after her 7:30 am milk feeding.
Stage 2 (6-8 months):
- Oatmeal: 3-4 tablespoons, veg/fruit: 3-4 teaspoons, meat: 2-3 teaspoons (just a best guess at this point!)
- Milk intake: to be determined! I’m guessing we’ll likely lose one of the milk feedings during the day which will land us around 25 oz per day.
- Now that she’s handling solids so well, we want to be prepared for the next stage. I’m planning to make a lot more of this stage of foods. She’ll be sixth months old in a few weeks so we’ll get the go-ahead from her pediatrician at her next appointment.
- By most accounts, once you’ve gone through the stage 1 foods with no reaction…it’s definitely ok to start on the next stage.
Feel free to weigh in with any other tips and tricks you’ve found! There seems to be such a wide range of suggestions so I’d love to hear what others have found to work for them.
by Liz | All Things Kids, Chaos Hacks
Now that Lena has started eating solid foods, there’s a been a scramble to dig up or buy all the accoutrements that are necessary to manage this new endeavor. In our infinite wisdom (and total lack of space) we opted not to buy a highchair since we had absolutely nowhere to put it. My husband’s aunt kindly loaned us their traditional wooden highchair that was much smaller than its modern counterparts and we were very happy for this addition. We prepared for the fact that we wouldn’t be able to use the highchair until Lena was sitting up and thought we’d cross that bridge when we came to it.
Cut to the present day…
Lena has taken to solid foods with a vengeance and is absurdly happy whenever there is a colorful spoon traveling toward her mouth. She proves this point again and again by exhibiting the same open-mouthed grasping as a baby chick and humming a contented ‘mmm’ sound all the while. Any pauses in the spoon’s trajectory are met with squawks of protest until she is satisfied the last mouthful has been scraped from her bowl.
A dear friend had kindly loaned us a bouncy chair which was pinch hitting for the highchair until Lena was good and ready to upgrade to a sitting position. At the very least, we thought we’d be able to sub in her Bebe pod (similar to a Bumbo seat). Well, our bouncy chair loan expired and we were forced to consider our options. The Bebe pod was a good one…except for the fact that our child’s love of food had landed us with a 20 pound baby at the tender age of five months. She was quickly learning muscle control but her efforts in the Bebe pod might lead some to suspect we were spiking her milk.
My crafty husband devised a plan! He quickly realized the Bebe pod could be strapped into the wooden highchair, lending Lena the added support she needed to remain upright. Eureka!
If needed, we can even tuck a pillow behind her for added support. The relatively small size of the highchair is ideal as it hugs the Bebe pod and allows the baby to hang on to the arms or tray. The modified highchair takes up much less room than most of the more modern, reclining highchairs. Lo and behold…Lena actually prefers sitting upright while eating and has managed to create a good deal less mess while she’s at it.
Finding creative solutions is the name of the game with parenting as we’re quickly coming to realize. My next step will be recovering the original seat cushions so that we’re ready to transition again once she’s sitting up on her own.
For now, we’ll count this as one of our small victories toward raising a baby on a budget!
