Category Archives: Baby

6 months of Lucille Amelia

And now she’s eating. She can walk with the support of our hands. She pulls herself up on her crib. She laughs and smiles when we walk into the room. How did my newborn become this babbling, beautiful baby? Six months of growth, of tears, of learning, and of laughter.

Lucille Amelia, I love you more each day. I remember the first few weeks we had you in our home. Everything felt new and foreign. So easily I could slip back into “time before you.” Now, six months later, it feels like living only truly began when you came into our world. Our past (without you) grows dimmer by the day. Our family has become this vibrant, growing truth, and years of pain are already being healed by your sweet presence.

Nearly 18 pounds and 27 inches long, Lucy rests in the top 1/4 of the growth chart. I’m convinced she’ll be tall like her mama (I’m 5’9″) but only time will tell. Her eyes are still this unique gray-blue. It’s a color I haven’t seen before but one I’ll always love.

And what does Lucy love? She loves her mama and her papa. She loves cups and blocks. She grabs and scratches and explores the world with her eyes and her hands. Her intensity surprises and delights us. She pulls herself up if we put our hands in front of her, and she took her first assisted steps a few weeks ago. She squeals and giggles when we tickle her toes. She started eating on her 6 month birthday (Christmas) and this first week of solid food has been all about exploration. Carrots, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, chicken, yogurt. Her hands move quickly and adroitly from the plate to her mouth, but she still only explores…she’s not too keen into swallowing yet…and that’s just fine. I’m not eager to let go of our breastfeeding relationship anytime soon. We breastfeed A LOT, and I love it more and more.

These first six months have been exhausting and exhilarating. Thank you, dear friends, for reading and supporting me and our family. Your kind words mean more to us than I can express! Here’s to the months and months to come. And Happy New Year!

Monet

Anecdotes and Apple Cores

Lucy Eats

First things first: I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. We couldn’t have felt more blessed this holiday season. Thoughtful giving, sweet times with family, warm gatherings with friends, and plenty of good food. Lucy also turned six months old on Christmas Day, which means that our world is getting ready to change (yet again!).

Lucy and I have been exclusively breastfeeding for the past six months, but for several weeks now, we’ve noticed she’s been eager to join us at the table. After much thought and reading, we’ve decided to try Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) which counters the myth that babies need to be spoon-fed and instead encourages self-feeding from the start. If you think about it, babies and children crawl, walk, and talk when they are ready. As long as parents provide children with the opportunity to meet these milestones…they will. Why should feeding be different? Healthy babies are able to feed from the breast from the minute they are born (and what a marvelous experience to witness!). We’ve trusted Lucy’s innate wisdom to guide our feedings over the last six months….and we’re going to trust that she will begin to eat solids when she’s ready.

BLW is all about exploration. For at least the first year, babies need to receive most (if not all) of their nutrition from breastmilk. So food is about texture, about taste, about learning the mechanics of chewing and swallowing. Instead of feeding Lucy with spoons and prepackaged baby food, we’re going to let her feed herself. We’ll provide her with the opportunity to eat, and she’ll dictate the rest.

Over the next several months, I’m going to let you follow us on our BLW journey. And today, I’ll share our first foray into the world of solid foods.

How did we know we were ready? It’s pretty simple: Lucy met all the signs of solid food readiness.

-she sits without support

-she reaches out to grab things and takes them to her mouth quickly

-she makes chewing and gnawing movements

-she tries to put our food into her mouth whenever she gets the opportunity

Because we waited to introduce food for six months, Lucy’s system is more mature and we don’t have to worry as much about weird food allergies. After talking to several friends, we decided to try carrots and avocados first. The carrots were roasted in avocado oil until soft. We cut them into pieces that Lucy could easily hold with her hands. She fell in love with her new high chair (thank you Mimi and Poppi) and was eager to take her carrots to her mouth.

BUT….she grimaced as soon as the carrot met her tongue. She attempted to chew and swallow a few times, but I think she mostly preferred the way the carrot felt on her sore gums (she’s getting her two top teeth). And because we’re doing BLW, that’s just fine. She didn’t seem excited about the avocado, and so we didn’t force it. We let her play with her food and then we were done. She happily nursed both before and after our first attempt at feeding…and she seemed perfectly content for the rest of the day.

I’ll share more next week! Thank you for joining me in this journey!

Monet

Anecdotes and Apple Cores

5 months of Lucille Amelia (and a Buttons n’ Blossoms Giveaway)

So Lucy is actually five months AND one week today. My tardiness in writing this post is due to both Thanksgiving and the oft repeated parental mantra: “it goes by so fast.” I can’t believe that in a matter of weeks, Lucy will reach her half-year birthday. It feels like just yesterday that I found out we were having a little girl. In the past months, my life has been transformed and my squishy newborn has grown into a baby girl with heaps of personality.

Lucy’s fifth month has been nothing short of magical. Our big accomplishment? TEETH. To a new mama, two teeth in a week’s time was simply miraculous. I felt her first while waiting in a check-out line. “She has a tooth!” I proclaimed to the strangers standing beside me. They smiled, and I have to believe that most of them were parents or aunts or godparents because smiled like they understood. Besides being adorable, these two bottom teeth have also made breastfeeding VERY interesting. I’ve yelped and hollered more times than I can count. This girl CAN BITE.

Can you spot those two bottom teeth?

But I’m happy to say that despite these new challenges, Lucy and I are still exclusively breastfeeding. We hope to continue until she’s at least six months old…and we may wait even longer. Lucy loves to nurse, and I love it too. The look on her face when my milk starts to flow is priceless. Talk about bliss! She has, however, been showing extreme interest in all things edible. Dinner at our house has become as much about eating as keeping Lucy’s hands out of our food.

Another big change? Well, I’m writing this post while Lucy is playing on the floor beside me. She shows such interest in toys now, and she finally has the motor skills to manipulate many of them. She’s always been ahead on the developmental curve, and she’s sitting by herself like a champ now. We’ve only had a few minor tumbles, and we’re all placing bets on when she’ll start to crawl. I’m also having to learn that it’s okay to let her play on her own. It’s an adjustment to leave that newborn phase…there are many days where I feel like she needs to be in my arms all the time…but then I remember that it’s good for her to learn how to occupy herself.

In order to celebrate five months of this lovely girl, I’m happy to be hosting a Buttons n’ Blossoms Giveaway. Sara and I went to college together and it’s been wonderful to reconnect with such a beautiful and creative soul! Sara makes the most gorgeous hair accessories for women…and she’s expanding into the realm of babies! Each of these blooms are hand cut, pressed with a vintage milliners iron, and then hand sewn together. Stunning is only one of many words that could describe her creations. Lucy loved modeling these headbands. They’re surprisingly comfortable (which is a must for baby head gear) and they always elicit oohs and ahhs from friends and strangers.

Sara and I are thrilled to be giving away one of these gorgeous baby blossom headbands. They’d make a perfect Christmas gift for all the little lovelies in your life. How do you enter? Follow me (@cakestand) and Sara (@buttonsnblossoms) on Instagram (if you have an account) and then leave me a comment with your favorite of the above blooms.

This giveaway will close on Saturday at 12 PM MST.

And what’s even better than a giveaway? Sara is generously offering all my readers 15% off any purchase in her Etsy store! Just use this discount code: ANECDOTESAPPLECORES and enjoy!

Monet

Anecdotes and Apple Cores

HEIDI walks giveaway

And in a matter of weeks, we’ll be hanging lights and stringing popcorn. It’s hard to believe that December is just around the corner. Having a little one means that time flies like never before. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was hobbling around our neighborhood in 90 degree heat, begging and praying that Lucy would decide to make her grand entrance into the world!

She’s almost five months old, which means we have a very active and engaged baby in our house. She rolls over. She sits on her own. She attempts to “scootch” across the floor. It won’t be long before she’s crawling…and it won’t be long before she’s walking either.

We were lucky enough to receive a beautiful pair of HEIDI walks a few weeks ago. I fell in love with the baby shoes online, but it took me seeing them in person to realize how special they truly are.

According to the lovely folks at HEIDI walks:

Crafted from one piece of soft leather, HEIDI walks is our seamless shoe range offering absolute comfort for little feet.

The unique flower petal design creates a beautiful well fitted shoe, which gives children the ability to move their feet naturally as they grow.

They help socks to stay on, they give a good grip for crawlers and they protect toddlers feet when walking.

Every shoe is adjustable by loosening the knot in the front to adjust the width and make the perfect fit for every little foot.

Today launches a series of special giveaways leading up to the holidays. The gifts I’m sharing are made with love from talented folks around the world, and they’re perfect for new and blooming families. I hope you’ll take the time to visit HEIDI walks and enter the giveaway. We loved the blue hue but there are SO MANY LOVELY COLORS to choose from. Lucy loves her shoes, and I know another little one will be just as happy as she is soon!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m telling you: she’ll be walking before we know it. And if you didn’t get a chance…take a look at these DELICIOUS and FLUFFY Potato Rolls. Perfect for Thanksgiving!

Monet

Anecdotes and Apple Cores

Healthy Baby Healthy Home

So I was the child toting around an inhaler on the playground, wheezing after tag and developing headaches from the shampoo my school used to clean their carpet. At an early age, my pediatrician announced, “Chemically Sensitive” and since that prognosis, my entire family has been wary of what comes into our environment and our home.

So when Seventh Generation and the Motherhood invited me to learn more about what we can do to protect our homes and our children, I jumped on board. I’ve become even more concerned about environmental toxins since getting pregnant last fall. And we’ve been very choosy when it comes to the types of products we use on Lucy.

As many of you know, Ryan and I cloth diaper Lucy 90% of the time. When we don’t cloth diaper, we use disposables made by Seventh Generation. Yes, they’re more expensive, but the cost is SO WORTH IT to me. Last week, I was able to join several other bloggers to talk about chemical exposure and ways we can keep our families healthy and safe. These are some of the startling facts I learned:

-There are over 80,000 chemicals registered for use in the United States and comprehensive pre-market safety testing is not required under any federal law.

-In the European Union, over 1300 chemicals have been banned for use in personal care products….in the United States only 11 chemicals have been restricted.

-Scientific evidence continues to point to daily chemical exposure as causing or contributing to the rise in childhood beheavioral disorders and diseases.

-Chemical exposure begins in the womb! In a recent study, more than 230 chemicals were found in the umbilical cord blood of ten newborns.

-Studies have found flame retardants, bisphenol-A and other chemicals in breasmilk.BREASTMILK!

And I could keep on going…seriously scary stuff. But the folks at Seventh Generation believe Knowledge is Power. We need to protect our kids from unnecessary chemical exposures (just like we protect them from a host of other dangers in this world).

Here are a few easy steps that I learned about:

1. Take shoes off at the door. We don’t just track dirt in on our shoes….we’re also tracking in toxins like lead, pesticides, gasoline residue and more.

2. Buy safer body care! Children are exposed to an average of 27 care products on a daily basis that haven’t been found safe for developing bodies.

3. Open a window. Even a few minutes a day can improve air quality.

4. Eat more whole foods. (You know I’m a big proponent of this one!)

5. Ban canned foods. BPA is in the plastic resin that lines most canned goods–from soups to sodas. Avoid canned food for lower exposure.

And there’s more…the folks at Seventh Generation are encouraging us to host our own Healthy Baby Home Party. You can do this in person (or you can hold a virtual party…much like what I’m doing right here!) We need to share this information with each other and empower our communities to say NO to the lax regulations on chemicals in the US. I’m urging my senators to strengthen and pass the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA) and you can too.

I’m also buying Seventh Generation wipes and cleaners. We cloth diaper, but when we do buy a bag (for travel) I always make sure to buy a brand that is free of chlorine (and many other chemicals that just aren’t good for our little ones!)

If you’re interested in hosting a Healthy Baby Home Party…please follow this link. I received a host of products and information that I’ll be sharing with friends and family in just a few weeks!

As a blogger, I receive A LOT of requests to share products or agendas with my readers. As many of you know, my site is free of advertisements and I don’t accept these outside requests often. But I TRULY BELIEVE THAT THIS IS IMPORTANT. For those of you with children and for those of you without them. We all need to join together to make our communities and our world a safer place for the generations to come.

If you’d like to learn more, please join me on November 14 at 1 p.m. ET for a Seventh Generation twitter party to talk about all-natural baby product options. And if you join the party, you’ll have the opportunity to win a MONTH’S SUPPLY OF DIAPERS AND WIPES. (Five winners will be picked! You just need to join the party and answer the fun trivia questions correctly)

Invite: http://twtvite.com/healthybabyhome

Hosts: @theMotherhood, @TheMotherhood25, @CooperMunroe, @EmilyMcKhann

Hashtag: #HealthyBabyHome

And I’ll be there too. I hope you’ll join!

This post was sponsored by Seventh Generation and the Motherhood. All thoughts and opinions are my own.