Week of July 23

[shauni27]

We survived a crazy wild weekend that started with S being pretty sick and SO miserable (and not eating or sleeping) since Thursday. We had company arrive Friday from out of town and his birthday party Saturday. He was overtired but feeling MUCH better by his party. He had a fun time but slept terribly again on Saturday night. Once our company left yesterday he did great though--2 hour AM nap and 2 hour PM nap AND still clearly wanting to go to bed by 6 pm. We drew a hard line in the sand with his sleep to kind of jump start his good sleep habits last night and it went surprisingly well.

He turns one on Wednesday and I have all sorts of feels about it.

[kellikans]

I can't believe S is a year old already, shauni27!

We did our first weekend away this last weekend with L and he did great! We went Thursday through Sunday and it was so nice. We stayed at a Ritz Carlton (on points and DH's company's dime) and they were so accommodating. We joke that L is going to be so spoiled now since he stayed at such a nice resort for his first vacay.

He also had his 4 month appointment last Thursday and his pedi wants us to start solids/purees when he's 5 months. I have no idea how to go about it. Any advice?

[starryfish]

awww glad you had a good party!!!!! shauni27,
kellikans, so fun that you got a weekend away!

We had a good weekend. Saturday we had a play date at a pool/splash pad and the girls had fun and I love the mom too, so double fun! it was HOT though
Sunday we meet family friends at the beach in galveston. We were there over 2 hours and S had SO much fun! Most of the time we sat in the water in the shallow part and just chilled. My usual ONTHEGO baby just relaxed with us in the water, it was AWESOME!

We also got a FREE swingset last week from a neighbor. It is a cool one with a fort/tower, 3 swings, slide and rock climbing thing. S loves it and I am so happy with it! Our backyard looks awesome now with it! :-)

My DH was home with us this weekend for the first time in a month and it was SO nice to have a nice family weekend. He even organized the garage on Saturday which needed it SO bad! I am REALLY trying to organize everything.

On TTTC front, I go in tomorrow to (hopefully) start our IUI cycle this month! Hoping everything is OK and we can cycle!

[shauni27]

kellikans, we started with baby oatmeal/rice cereal mixed with formula (at this point we were done pumping.) We made it REALLY thinned out and just let S lick at it a bit. He HATED it at first. So after one meal we waited a few days a tried again. He preferred the oatmeal to the rice cereal (and our pedi said oatmeal was healthier so we just ditched rice cereal all together.)

Once he got comfortable with that once a day (and seriously, he would maybe lick a total of like one tablespoon) then we tried pureeing other fruits and veggies. Some were hits and some were misses. We made them thin at first by adding water, but pretty quickly it was thicker and once I saw that he was making "nom nom" motions with his mouth rather than just sucking his food/licking it like he would a bottle, I tried really soft things with chunks.

For some reason I had a lot of anxiety about it and I was really nervous when we first gave him the oatmeal, but within 2 weeks I was much more comfortable with it. Good luck!

[Mushe]

shauni27, yay, so glad the party went well. Glad sleep was good after company left.

kellikans, yay food! With the blog, it’s hrlped us look back at some of those milestones with DS. We made him wait until 6 months, and I’m pretty sure he’ll be in therapy because of that. 😆 We’ll just follow baby’s cues this time. We started with sweet potatoes, which we pureed at home. The big thing is to wait a few days in between trying new foods. It’s fun to experiment, though!

[Mushe]

I have lost all track of time! It’s so weird. I rely on H to know what day of the week it is.

I can’t believe we waited so long to get things wrapped up for DD and the au pair, but I thought we had time! H finished the au pair’s dresser. We need to take all the baby stuff from that closet too. H organized under the stairs, the storage, which is helpful. My parents picked up DD’s dresser, which is so helpful.

[oneslybookworm]

shauni27 , our little boys are growing up!! Happy birthday to him!!

kellikans , like Mushe , we waited until 6.5 months to start solids. We got a few different flavors of the purees (we never did cereals) and tried something new every few days. That lasted a couple of weeks until we moved to baby led weaning. So, around 7 months or so, we just put stuff in front of him that we were eating and let him go at it. At this age, it's all for fun anyways, so just go with whatever method you feel most comfortable with.



Not terribly much going on here at the moment. G still needs bloodwork done to rule out some allergens, but otherwise, he's back to normal! He's been growing into the 1-year tantrums, sadly, but usually we can redirect and get him sorted out quickly. We're trying to plan some trips for this fall/winter, and so far we have a Trip to DC and a trip to New England potentially in the works, which will be a ton of fun. Otherwise, J and I are both training for triathlons (though I won't compete in any this year), so that's been a lot of work in dealing with various training times and coordinating schedules. I know this is likely a UO, but I am so over summer and getting ready for fall! I love fall, it's my favorite time of year!

[shauni27]

oneslybookworm, we did what you did, too--started with a few purees but really just let him eat what we were eating within a month.

Admittedly, we started solids pretty early--our pedi said we should start at his 4 month appointment because he was already sitting up, eating so much formula, etc. She said he was ready and so we went with it.

[King26]

We started at 4.5 months with baby oatmeal thinned with formula. He would eat a bite or two twice a day but it took him about 2 weeks to get used to the spoon. Once he did I started making purees and did a new flavor every 3 days until he was 6 months at which point we started mixing 2 and 3 flavors. He has a bad gag reflex so he didn't eat puffs or rice risks or anything until he was almost 8 months. Now he eats anything I eat that is soft and in very small pieces. He loves chicken, fries, any #fruit , avocado, pasta, and cheese.

Jul 23, 2018 12:16:39 GMT -5 kellikans said:

I can't believe S is a year old already, shauni27!

We did our first weekend away this last weekend with L and he did great! We went Thursday through Sunday and it was so nice. We stayed at a Ritz Carlton (on points and DH's company's dime) and they were so accommodating. We joke that L is going to be so spoiled now since he stayed at such a nice resort for his first vacay.

He also had his 4 month appointment last Thursday and his pedi wants us to start solids/purees when he's 5 months. I have no idea how to go about it. Any advice?

[thoseareradishes]

E had fun at gym class this morning. She just wanted to go climb, not participate in the singing part, heh. Her schedule seems to be shifting a little - naps moving later, taking longer to fall asleep at bedtime. Not really looking forward to having her stay up later at night.

kellikans, we started purees at 5.5 months adjusted. I gave her oatmeal first, then avocado. Then just whatever store bought purees I thought sounded good, although I tended to stick to ones that were just one ingredient (so she learned what everything tasted like). Eventually I gave her chunky purees (like mashed sweet potato) then bite sized foods. I never did sticks - it made me too nervous.

[cherryvalance]

shauni27, I'm glad he's feeling better and you guys had a good party!

kellikans, we started oatmeal cereal at 4 months, then just random purees every few days. We start3d with simple foods--apples, butternut squash, avocado--and then moved on from there. I made and froze my own purees and we used Gerber for certain things I wasn't into making.

[shauni27]

I also went and made all these purees--peas, sweet potatoes, bananas, different fruits, etc. I froze them in individual servings...

And never used them at all, lol. I seriously switched to a form of BLW like days after I finished the pureeing, lol.

They are still sitting in my freezer. I need to offer them to my neighbor who has a 4 month old.

[cherryvalance]

I sturggle with what to feed DS way more now that hes eating regular food. We don't have the best, most balanced diet, so trying to plan good meals for him is work, lol. Purees were just so easy.

[shauni27]

also, can I be a total AW??

You can see how tired and red his eyes are but man, he is so cute. #biased.


insert code here
insert code here

[cherryvalance]

So cute!! Omg, I can't deal with how he looks like a little boy.

[thoseareradishes]

shauni27 , I use some of E's leftover purees as spaghetti sauce, she thinks it is yummy  Oh, and you can use them in muffins too.  I make mini muffins for E and keep them in the freezer, she has one with dinner most nights.

[shauni27]

cherryvalance, he is SUCH a little boy. You should see him run around. Like, literally running like a little kid. I start crying when I think about it, lol. That and the fact that he wears t shirts rather than onesies a lot now and I cannot believe this is the same baby.

Also, in regards to food now, I struggle too, but mostly because I do not have a lot of time to make him dinner before we go to bed. I give him whatever we eat for dinner as his leftovers in his lunch box for daycare, so his dinners are always something quick and easy. Things he loves are tortellini, black beans and avocado and rice, pasta with homemade pesto and broccoli, couscous, those alfresco chicken sausages, corn on the cob, hot dogs (parent of the year award, I know) and then we buy these frozen sweet potato and cauliflower tots from green giant that he likes. We have also done Dr. Praegers organic frozen "pattys" that have spinach or kale or broccoli. Trader Joe's frozen meals (sweet potato gnocchi is a huge hit for him). I phone it in a lot for dinner for him--like the laziest and easiest dinners because we get home at 5:30-6 and he needs to eat and do his bath all before his 6:30 bedtime. So i might do some of those sweet potato and cauliflower tots with some watermelon and yogurt and call it a dinner. or chunks of cheese, some cherries and chicken sausages. Just a little of everything, you know?

[shauni27]

Jul 23, 2018 15:04:03 GMT -5 thoseareradishes said:

shauni27 , I use some of E's leftover purees as spaghetti sauce, she thinks it is yummy  Oh, and you can use them in muffins too.  I make mini muffins for E and keep them in the freezer, she has one with dinner most nights.

will you share your muffin recipe??

[Mushe]

kellikans, it’s certainly cheaper to do your own, particularly if you don’t buy a bunch of equipment! We ended up with a lot in our freezer too, because we switched to BLW.

[shauni27]

kellikans, I think that either is fine. I did do pouches because there is a specialty store here that sells the organic ones for 50 cents each, so I buy loads of them, still.

For banana, again, mash it or puree it REALLY good and maybe add a little formula or milk to thin it out. applesauce is another easy one!

[thoseareradishes]

www.babyfoode.com/blog/2013/9/12/peach-blueberry-vanilla-bean-mini-muffin - you could probably throw in some banana instead of sugar or honey.

www.babyfoode.com/blog/15-healthy-muffin-recipes-for-baby-and-toddler

www.babyfoode.com/blog/3-fall-blender-muffins-for-baby-toddler - I want to try these but she's super scared of the blender right now

thebakermama.com/recipes/baby-food-oatmeal-bites/ - this one was kinda weird but she liked it.

cookieandkate.com/2018/strawberry-oat-muffins-recipe/

[loira]

I think we started cereals and purees around 5-6 months? We did the puree thing for a long time because A hated feeding herself, but we also always let her try our food, even the spicy stuff. She's really great about trying things now - although I also have a rule about always trying new foods which is probably unpopular on these boards.

[cherryvalance]

shauni27, noooo Why do they have to grow? DS is still only cruising--he's so freaking cautious--so he still seems lile a baby, but omg, he's so determined and stubborn.

I also phone it in with dinner and pack our leftovers for lunch, but those sound like some excellent choices to add in. Thanks!

kellikans, we did a mix. It really only took about two hours to make 2 or so months worth of food, so it was easy for me, but there were things I wasn't willing to blend. I was definitely not trying to blend meat, vom. So we did a mix of homemade and store bought, especially once he moved on tok the chunky ones and mixed flavors. We never did pouches, though.

[thoseareradishes]

For dinner, she has sweet potato and banana like, 5/7 days. With chicken sausage, pasta or ravioli, mini meatballs (Earth's Best brand), cottage cheese, or cheesy beans (pintos with cheese). And a muffin. Nothing fancy, but she likes it!

[cherryvalance]

Jul 23, 2018 15:14:57 GMT -5 thoseareradishes said:

For dinner, she has sweet potato and banana like, 5/7 days. With chicken sausage, pasta or ravioli, mini meatballs (Earth's Best brand), cottage cheese, or cheesy beans (pintos with cheese). And a muffin. Nothing fancy, but she likes it!

He does love meatballs and meatloaf. Maybe I'll make a bunch of mini ones and freeze them to pop in the oven.

[shauni27]

I mean, tonight my kid had cheddar cheese, crackers, watermelon and a pouch for dinner. so...lol

[cactuscookie]

Jul 23, 2018 14:56:36 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

I also went and made all these purees--peas, sweet potatoes, bananas, different fruits, etc. I froze them in individual servings...

And never used them at all, lol. I seriously switched to a form of BLW like days after I finished the pureeing, lol.

They are still sitting in my freezer. I need to offer them to my neighbor who has a 4 month old.

I did this too! Some of them I managed to use in our meals, like pureed black beans, but I eventually just threw a bunch away. It was particularly annoying because I didn't like making baby food at all.

I'm so glad S was feeling good enough to enjoy his party! Poor guy.

[grover]

starryfish, good luck this cycle!
shauni27, I feel like you just gave birth. How is he 1 already?


2nd beta today was 663. I'm terrified it'll be 2 or 3 babies at the u/s, and I won't be able to handle them plus DD. And the finances would kill H and I.

[konapoppy]

Jul 23, 2018 14:59:06 GMT -5 cherryvalance said:

I sturggle with what to feed DS way more now that hes eating regular food. We don't have the best, most balanced diet, so trying to plan good meals for him is work, lol. Purees were just so easy.

Gah, me too. Like shauni27 said, the time crunch is a killer since we eat later. I almost can't wait until they can have sandwiches - it will make things so much easier (I think?!).

[belovedbride07]

We just got back on Friday from a week visiting DH's family in the midwest, so I've been with my kids nearly 24/7 (including over 1000 miles of driving and two plane flights) for more than a week. I was ready for a break today...but our nanny called in sick. And today we decided to start getting up early to exercise; I'm exhausted!

Tomorrow is our first monitoring appointment for our FET. I got to start Lupron while on vacation, which was TONS of fun as we had to hide it in a lunch bag and change out ice packs about every 8 hours while trying not to get caught by my various inlaws. Coincidentally, when we went on this same trip 6 years ago we were sneaking around trying to get pregnant the old fashioned way. I think that was a lot more fun.