Emily starts solids!

For the last week or so, we have been slowly introducing solids to Emily's diet. It is not replacing any of her time spent nursing, just something fun for her to explore. I know there is some debate on when to start solids, but we feel this is the best decision for our family. Emily has been seriously interested in everything we are eating/drinking. The other day she was determined to share my burger with me, and just this morning she tried her hardest to have some of my coffee (decaf of course!).

We decided to forgo the rice cereal, as it really has no nutritional value and as our pediatrician mentioned, tends to make babies constipated. So, we skipped right on into fruits and veggies! First up, avocados! (Please ignore me being obnoxious...)

Emily got avocados a few more times, and by the 3rd day, she was grabbing for the spoon and trying to put it in her mouth. I think she started to like them! After 4 days of avocados, we moved on to carrots!

Homegirl loves her some carrots! Seriously can't get enough of these! Not sure what we're going to try next, maybe some green beans? I'm not sure anything will top her love of carrots!

Just over here, trying to feed myself carrots!

Emily is 4 months old!

This past weekend Emily turned 4 months old! I cannot believe it. My daughter is 4 months. That's 1/3 of a year! Holy crap. 

Anyway. Here are some updates on our girl!

She loves watching her Layla play with her flippy-floppy in our backyard. Seriously, LOVES it. If Layla goes around the corner, or lies down where Emily cannot see her, Em goes crazy. And Layla's pretty fond of Em as well. 

 Keeping an eye on her sleeping sister. 

She also enjoys bouncing in her exersaucer. When I get around to doing another monthly-favorites post, I'll put up the one we got. She's still a little small for it, but Emily loves it!

We went to the doctor this evening. 4-month shots are no bueno! Glad that's over with. Here are her newest stats:

Height: 25 3/4" - 91% (was 24 1/2" at 2 months)

Weight: 17 pounds 10 ounces - 98% (15 pounds 1.5 ounces at 2 months)

So yeah, big, healthy girl! We were also given the go-ahead to start on solid foods. I know some people prefer to wait until 6 months, or even later. Emily's been showing a lot of interest in our food, so we've decided to try it out. We know it's mostly for fun and experimentation now, and her nutrition will still mainly come from breast milk.  Her first food will be avocados! I've been doing a lot of reading on the topic, and I think that's the best place to start! I'll report back later this week!

Sleepy girl!

Good night, y'all!

Human Milk 4 Human Babies

When Emily was first born, I was drinking caffeine. Not much, maybe a cup of coffee a day. Then, we discovered that Em did not do well with the caffeine, so I cut it out of my diet. She started sleeping better and was less fussy during the day.

I pumped milk during this time I was drinking caffeine and recently tried to give it to Emily. As babies grow older, they are able to tolerate caffeine better. Unfortunately, when I gave it to Emily recently, she was up all. night. long. Apparently, Emily is still not ready for caffeine. Which is fine, I don't mind not having caffeine, but I had about 75 ounces of milk I pumped that I couldn't give to her. Anyone who has ever breastfed knows what that's like. I did not want that milk to go to waste.

Enter Human Milk 4 Human Babies.

HM4HB is an organization aimed at getting babies breast milk whose mother's otherwise cannot provide it for them, or cannot provide enough. Often times you will see women who have adopted or who have twins looking for extra milk. It's a great way to help other women and other babies! Typically you can find a local group on Facebook, allowing you to connect with women locally. I found a woman nearby who was in need of milk, and I was happy to donate it! Maria stopped by and picked up 75 ounces of milk for her 6-month old daughter, Bree!

This is kind of a "buyer-beware" type of thing. Usually the women who are donating their milk are good people and upfront about what may be in the milk (e.g., caffeine, medications, etc.), however, you can't be 100% sure. Given that you usually meet the woman who is donating/receiving milk, it makes everything seem a lot safer. 

Anyone else ever used this or any other organization to donate/receive milk?

Wordless Wednesday Weeks 15 & 16

Two things: 1) I really need to get my life together and post more regularly and 2) my daughter is 16 weeks old. When the hell did that happen?!

Ok, so not quite Wordless Wednesday, but oh well. Here are some pictures!

Week 15

Week 16

Nursery Update!

Some of y'all may remember our adorable little nursery we had set up for Emily at the old place. I loved it! But, thanks to our wonderful landlord who didn't pay the mortgage, we were forced to leave that house. And, along with it, Emily's first nursery. I'm still a little upset about that...

But anyway, with the new house came a new nursery! I'm just now getting it all finalized. Here are a few pictures!

This is the view coming in the room, from the hallway. Complete with baby in crib. 

Y'all may remember the beautiful tree that was on the wall in the old place. I had a branch leftover from that tree, and was able to salvage the owls, so now that is above Emily's crib. 

Here in the new house, Emily doesn't have to share her nursery with the guest room anymore, so there's a lot more space!

Still, owls everywhere!

Emily has a lot of clothes. I have an addiction to buying baby clothes. As soon as I find her chalkboard (still packed away somewhere from the move), it will be hung up to the left of the closet, below the chair rail. 

And the girl, herself! She goes crazy over that mobile! 

What I've Learned as a New Mom

Emily's 3-months old, so I'm basically an expert at this whole "parenting" thing. (I'm also an expert at sarcasm.) Still, there are a few things I've picked up along the way, and I wanted to share them. 

1. EVERYONE WANTS TO GIVE YOU ADVICE. Solicited or not, everyone is going to give you advice. Take it all with a grain of salt. Every once in a while someone will give you a little pearl of wisdom that may help you. Most of the time, it's crap. You've usually already tried whatever it is they're telling you. So smile and thank them, all the while in your head you're saying "Oh really?! Thanks for the unwanted advice, moron!" Or something far more explicit. 

2. WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING IS WRONG. It's true. You're probably screwing up your kid so badly, she'll need years of therapy. Or maybe not. Either way, you will definitely be told you "absolutely shouldn't rush to pick up your baby when she's crying," and "whatever you do, do not let your baby cry-it-out!" The world is full of contradictory information out there. Do what's best for your baby and tell everyone to get lost. (I rewrote that sentence about 3 times. Earlier versions were a bit spicier with a few choice expletives.)

3. TAKE A SHOWER. YOU PROBABLY SMELL. Nope. At this point, you definitely smell. You're probably walking around with spit-up on both shoulders. Maybe even a little poop on your hand. It's fine, we've all been there. A shower can be your saving grace. It's amazing how much better you feel after taking a shower. One night, I couldn't get Emily down and Paul was out of town. So, I brought her changing pad into the bathroom on the floor, laid Emily down, and took a shower in the dark. (Once your kid starts rolling around, this might not be the best move.) I'll be damned if the sound of the water didn't soothe her to sleep. Plus, the shower made me feel human again. Win-win. 

4. FOR GOD'S SAKES, CLEAN YOURSELF UP A BIT. Similarly to the whole "take a shower" thing, you need to clean yourself up every once in a while. If you can get out to get your hair done, absolutely do it. If not, the next time you're going to make your routine trip to Target, maybe take 2 minutes and put on a little make-up. If you're feeling really adventurous, change out of the quintessential new mom uniform (you know the one, yoga pants with a nursing top), and put on some real clothes. Yes, you're a mom. But you're also a woman. Act like it. You'll feel better and a bit more human. 

So there it is. My advice. Probably unwanted. But hey, Emily's 3-months old and I haven't completely lost my mind, so maybe I'm onto something?