first snow

there are so many firsts right now. i mean, everything is a first for him. everyday something is brand new. while we traveled back to minnesota, finn expereinced his first thanksgiving, his first snow, his first christmas tree (cutting from the farm and all), and his first official week of crawling.

he was pretty into the snow. very curious and didn't seem the slightest bit cold. i only had him out for a few minutes dressed like this and he sat on the ground for only a few shots. if he enjoyed shoes or mittens, he might have been able to play outside for longer...

he is such a big boy now. look at him in that chair! loves to put his arm on the arm rest of furniture like that :) sure, he's little still. but he has three teeth (and a fourth on the way). he had his first real cold and he's just now getting over that + teething. he moves for real. he runs in his walker, he crawls so fast i can't keep up, and he's into everything. it is so fun to watch him think things through. he learned to go from crawling to sitting yesterday and it's adorable. he eats so much food with his own hands now. he plays with the dogs and they are warming to the idea of baby as playmate vs baby as hair puller.

he so great and while things are tough, still, i am trying to focus on each little thing that passes us by as a first. i appreciate the comments on my last post and feel so much better about my decision now. i continue to struggle with supply but he still nurses 4 times a day and we still only do one bottle of formula. i'm not sure for how long anything will last, but he's so great it doesn't matter.

9 months!

my once teeny, tiny newborn is now 9 months...and not a newborn, not teeny tiny anymore! he has become such a little man! he is full on crawling everywhere now, can pull to stand on anything, got his first tooth (officially showing today), seems to say a variation of "mama" to/at me and "mo" (more, which is what we say at mealtime), feeds himself puffs, cheese, and small foods using his hands, and is in a constant state of happy-sad-happy-sad.

his 9 month appointment was overall good - he is healthy and developmentally on track. our only problem is his size. he's almost 29 inches long and has a big noggin, but he's still pretty small at only 17 pounds. while this isn't too concerning, he continues to drop on the charts and is now in the fifth percentile. i wouldn't worry about growth charts in general but rather than just being small, he drops below a curve at each visit rather than following one. in 3 months he gained less than 2 lbs.

to add insult to injury, my supply has drastically decreased to the point of struggle and fristration on both our parts. finn is a lazy nurser who never took to sucking for comfort - if there's no food freely flowing, he's done. he doesn't take fondly to being forced, so our nursing sessions (4-5 a day) keep getting shorter as i have less and less milk. i've been pumping to try and increase (in addition to fenugreek and mother's milk tea), but i went from getting 5 ounces each time, to 3 ounces...to now just barely an ounce. because of this low supply, finn's pedi is concerned that he may only be getting 12 ounces a day or less and he should be near 16 to 18 oz. i don't have a freezer stash, so she strongly advised supplementing with formula.

i struggled for a few hours after hearing that and was almost in tears over what i see as failure on my part to provide enough food to keep my child at a healthy weight. but i know what's best for him is separate from my emotions and i decided to start earth's best organic formula. right now he gets a bottle of 3-4 ounces one time a day. i will still breastfeed, if i can, until at least a year. but if i don't have enough milk and can't switch to cow's milk, then i will continue to supplement. i feel like a burden has been lifted because i can feed him formula if i can't pump milk. i also feel horrible because i can't pump any milk. i know formula isn't bad, but i wanted to ebf for a year. it was a goal that i couldn't reach and it's hard to come to terms with it.

i try to tell myself that some babies self wean at this age. i had my first post partum period (18 months without) which could affect my supply. i was sick twice in the fall. finn refuses to nurse sometimes and he pushes away when my let down doesn't happen within the first minute or two. so many factors that are working to end this chapter of our lives. he won't nurse forever and i don't want him to, of course. but i'm not ready to be done and i'm not sure what the next week will be like, let alone the next three months.

so, there's that. but, he loves the formula (way to kick me when i'm down!) and we are ok. i have to focus on the good things and not worry about his weight as if it's a direct reflection of my abilities as a mother. because otherwise, we're doing good. i haven't set him in the yard with a for sale sign despite his incessant whining/crying and he rewards me for keeping him by giving me "kisses", laughing at the silliest things, and becoming an individual person with wants and needs beyond survival mode. and maybe formula will be a blessing disguise in some way. we'll see.

crawling and standing

my baby boy is now crawling. officially. for a few weeks (less than two, i guess) he was doing an army crawl where his little arms would drag the rest of his body along the wood floor and he'd only do it for something really enticing. i knew crawling was near, though, because he'd be up on his hands and knees just rocking, looking longingly at things just out of his reach.

then one day he got up on all fours - hands and feet. he started pushing himself up like that and suddenly felt more confident. after that, crawling was easy. he just started to move his hands forward and shuffled his little knees to catch up. at first he only crawled to something specific, like if i held out a remote or a pen. but in a day or so he figured out that he can crawl anywhere and grab anything and that's where we're at now :)

he crawls fast and while it still looks a little clumsy, he gets where he needs to go. i cannot leave him to play on a blanket anymore. he is starting to realize that when i leave the room he can either crawl toward me or somewhere else entirely and get into something new.

pair this crawling skill with his ability to pull up on almost anything and we're in big trouble. he now stands in his crib and we find him that way after naps and in the morning. he has gone from a baby stuck on his back to a crawling stander in a month and a half! he pulls up on people, furniture, and toys. i found him standing on his bumbo the other day and less than five minutes after that he had pulled a recently out of reach plant over (not onto himself). let the real baby proofing begin!

see those little eyes there? those are the ones that say "i'm going to crawl right off this bed. gravity schmavity."

and even though i have no idea how to manage a crawler, i love to watch him do it. his little butt wiggles and his exaggerated arm movements are adorable. i know he'll be an expert in no time and these early days of tipping over and getting stuck will be memories all too soon. and you know what else? my little baby is 9 months old today! that's another post (he has a well baby on monday), but today is the day.

pittsburgh pictures

while finn was in pittsburgh he was, of course, adorable. i can prove it ;)

he went to his first football game and got to stunt with the cheer team. i used to coach some of these girls, so we had to get a shot of finley with them!

he really enjoyed the game and everyone loved his little bear suit.

he dressed in authentic clothing and went to banghra in the burgh. he loved the performances and squealed for most of the show. he wore ear protection because it was so loud and he didn't try to tug at the wax and didn't seem bothered except when i had to press firmly to his ear.

while we visited with the adults, he played with his friends at sunday brunch ;) while he looks dramatic here, he really likes playing with children. he's not so into movies yet, but i guess the trance look is yet to come.

and like a big boy, he learned to take a bath in a big tub. we continued this when we came home and he has a blast at bath time. he's so active, splashing and squealing, but he doesn't understand keeping his face out of the water yet. mr. h3b bathes him and every night i hear splash splash, flop, sputter, cough, cry...mr. h3b is constantly picking him back up, patting his back and trying to keep him from swimming face first.

he was such a good traveler, both there and back. we drive so it takes about 7 hours. to do so, we leave at night and mr. h3b does most of the work. it helps to keep finn on a sleep schedule and i pump in the car to feed him a bottle. we've got this down and it's the easiest we've found to drive in a small car, with two dogs, a baby, two parents, and all kinds of gear (flying is usually not an option with all of the stuff and living beings we take). i'm hoping the travel by car and the experiences finn has (like cold football games, cultural performances, and time with good friends) helps to keep him well adjusted. sometimes i wonder if staying at home with me all day makes him bored, so i'm happy to take him places and keep showing him new things.

we're not gone!

well, we were :) we took a trip to pittsburgh and thus, blogging came to a halt. we're back home now but i'm sick. i'm hoping finn doesn't get it because it's pretty bad and i would hate to see him this sick!

he enjoyed lots of fun things while on vacation to visit friends...his first college football game (spent some time with the cheerleaders), a visit to primantis (again!), met a baby bulldog, and had a big boy bath (he did eat some water...).

i'll be back soon to provide more pictures and some recap from the last week or so (things have gotten even more exciting around here!).

first halloween

yep, he was a chubby little pumpkin boy. he didn't seem to mind his costume at all and while we didn't go anywhere special or do any trick or treating, i managed to get his costume on him for pictures and to go out and about three times over the weekend.

his new thing is "dancing" which is jumping wildy while squealing with delight. in pictures:

8 months

 

 

i'm about a week behind and have some cute pictures to share (it's finley's first halloween, so you know i've documented it), but first....he is 8 MONTHS (as of last tuesday). i can't even go into it, detailing months down, months to go until 1. he is so far from newborn right now and i know the gap is only going to get bigger. but lucky for me, life continues to stay exiting.

he continues to rock on his hands and knees but gets frustrated before he'll attempt any crawling motions. he scoots backwards across the wood floor and i can't trust him on beds or the couch. he rarely rolls from belly to back; he can, he just won't. he seems more interested in standing and walking. he pulls up onto everything and tried (just once) cruising from once piece of furniture to another. he wants to move!

he's been extremely fussy lately, very congested and drooly, with rosy cheeks. i can't figure out if he has a cold or if he's teething. i keep thinking i see a bump on his gums but nothing has popped through. we're on tooth watch, though, because this morning i can feel something hard and slightly sharp on his lower gums.

and, as promised, i'll leave you with finn trying to talk:

(you might have to turn the music off at the bottom of my blog)

firsts

finn's been experiencing some fun "firsts" lately. a big one is his first time swinging! the boy loves to swing :) he gripped on tight and spent 15 minutes taking it all in.

a few more? he sat in the front of the grocery cart! he looked so tiny in the store, while he watched everyone smile and coo at his happy face. 

he had his first taste of mangoes and will be trying quinoa, broccoli, and potatoes in the next few days. new food is nothing new to him, but he seems to enjoy the variety of flavors.

but the biggest first from this sweet boy? his first "word"! i've got video proof, too :) he said mama!

homemade baby food

i decided to make finley's food before he was even born. it was (and is) important to me to feed him good food, mostly organic, and to save money where possible. organic jarred food is expensive, not so much that i wouldn't do it, but i've been saving a ton making my own and i enjoy doing it. i make purees for finn, but plan to continue making baby friendly versions of adult food, incorporating herbs and spices and textures through a variety of ethnic fare. here's one way to make baby food:

i took a few pictures (at night) of my latest puree, made from the last few in a box of organic dried apricots. i decided to add a bit of vanilla bean, since he's only had cinnamon so far.

my supplies include (not just for this, but for most every puree):
pot+lid
metal steamer basket
stick blender
bpa free plastic or glass storage containers (i use tommee tippee food pots and beaba portions)

1. add about 1 inch of water to the pot and bring to a boil.
2. drop apricots into water.
3. slice a portion of a vanilla bean and remove meat from pod.
4. cover and simmer on low for 8-10 minutes, until apricots are soft.

5. remove apricots from liquid (reserve) and place in bowl to puree.
6. use stick blender to puree, adding cooking liquid until desired consistency.
7. allow to cool before serving.
(store covered in fridge for 3 days or freezer for 3 months)

i love serving food to finley that i would eat myself. the colors of homemade food are vibrant and the flavors are true to the actual food. aside from plain green bean puree, he has eaten every bite of everything i've given him.

at 7.5 months finn has had: avocado (raw), applesauce, banana (raw), sweet potato, peas, green beans, squash, pears, apricots, cauliflower, peaches, zuchini, rice, and oatmeal. aside from cooking by steaming, boiling, or baking, everything has been pureed and stored the same way. we give him the same new food for 3 days in a row and then mix and match at meals once he's tried everything.

if you're interested in making your own food, here are some resources: i use this cookbook and love how it's laid out, easy to follow by age and lots of good tips. i love smitten kitchen baby and wholesome baby food. while i haven't priced much out, i do try to buy whatever is on sale to save more than i'd pay on jarred food (unless you buy in bulk or something). i typically get 5-8 servings out of one batch (i don't have the storage for larger), which is just enough for the 3 day trial plus a variety of foods frozen for whenever i need them.

if you have more questions, let me know. if you have your own methods, share!

woods baby needs food

my little woods guy has suddenly become a solid food fiend. he's liked it from day one, but in the one and a half months that he's eaten purees, he's gone from one 2 oz serving a day to demanding more food after two 4 oz+ servings.

today my little porker ate 1/4 of an avocado mixed with half a banana and 1 oz breastmilk for lunch at 1:15. at dinner around 6:30, he ate 2 oz sweet potato puree, 1/3 c oatmeal with 2 oz breastmilk, and 2 peach slices in the mesh feeder, plus 1/2 oz of water.

i have a feeling he's going to swing back up the percentile chart at his 9 month check up. i can already see new rolls and an extra large belly. (also, i've got a quick post about basic purees coming up soon, for those interesting in making your own food.)

october??

not exactly sure how it's october. that puts us so much closer to the end of the year...and into 2011...and into february. when i will have a one year old. i try not to get ahead of myself, but can we please slow down?!

in honor of fall, we visited a pumpkin patch, where finn saw a bunch of animals, too a hay ride, and gnawed on some pumpkin stems. he was afraid of goats in september and after only one bout of screaming, touched one at the petting zoo. (i'll have to post the goat screaming video. hilarious!)

he is, quite possibly, the cutest boy alive, and can often be sweet and charming. he usually saves those moments for when we're with friends and makes me look like a liar when i say he's temperamental and needy at home. but it's true. he's in a hold me stage and turns to me to cuddle close and peer at things around my shoulder. it's adorable and i love that he trusts me and wants to be near me. it's also difficult to get anything done.

at the same time, he's becoming more adventurous. he lunges for objects, rolls over (yes, he rolls all of the time now!), pushes up to hands and knees, and has recently started pulling himself up using the edge of his crib (from sitting). he seems to have no fear, which he often regrets when he bumps his chin or head during his gymnastics.

i'm happy to have fall. i look forward to the layers of clothes (my never ending quest to find cute, affordable options for boys without words and puppies/trucks on every shirt), crisp walks with friends , hot cider, and babies in strollers, and watching my peanut experience halloween and thanksgiving for the first time.

 finley is happy to have fall, too. more things to side eye and chew on ;)

want free shipping on green goods?

if you've seen my nursery, you know i found a number of great items at pacifier, a store in minneapolis with a great selection of modern goods (tea collection, for one!). because the manager is a friend (relative? through mr. h3b.), i've got the scoop on a free shipping deal! to be honest, i knew in advance because i designed the flier, but i had to wait to share ;)

so go ahead, check out their online offerings of some local (to minneapolis) goods and green toys. use the code SHOPLOCAL for free shipping on orders over $49. love green, love local, love FREE!

don't you want one of these for your little one??

or maybe this (i'm getting one for finley!), made in mr. h3b's home town of big lake, mn!

 

you might also notice a certain peanut in the woobie knit hats ;)

if you're in minneapolis, check out the store in person, otherwise enjoy online shopping :)

7 months!?!

i'm told by the calendar that my baby turned 7 months this past sunday. he is more than a half a year old! i watched some videos of his tiny, newborn self and could hardly believe it's the same little being. but i know he's changed. i can look back at his monthly photos and see how different he is...and where he used ot sit and stare, he now does this:

i don't have a stats update, but he remains peanut sized. today, in fact, he wore a 0-3 month onesie. the long sleeved one in his picture is the same that he's been wearing for at least the last few months. he's long and lean, just like i was as a baby. but we're watching him grow in other ways.

while he still doesn't want to roll over, i've seen him do it (just this evening) more and more. he can, he just has little interest in doing so. he does scoot on his belly (backwards) and can turn a full circle. today he let me tip his hips up and he sat and rocked on his hands and knees. just a few hours later he managed to pull himself up on his own (!) and sit in a crawling position for just a little bit. he really want to move, so i think it might be soon...

he continues to eat like a champ. he still nurses 5 times a day and now eats solid purees at lunch and dinner. i've been making all of his baby food (let me know if you want details, i might write up a post if anyone's interested in one way of doing it) and he's rejected only one food for one day. we fed him green beans and watched as he (fake) choked, gagged and made dramatic sighing sounds, but by day three he was eating them just fine.

he continues to have separation anxiety and cries/screams if we leave the room without him. i try to play peek a boo and while he enjoys that, he is not easily tricked if i leave for too long. this behavior carries into his naps, as he has recently only slept for more than 15 minutes or so while being held or pushed (constantly) in a stroller. while the naps get worse, the nights get better. he goes down and sleeps with infrequent wakings until 5:30 or 6:30, when he feeds and goes back down for another 2 or 3 hours. when he wakes in the night, he cries briefly but we do not go to him (our presence escalates the crying rather than calms). i have never let him cry for more than 20-30 minutes (and it's typically about 5 or less) and this works for us. i know he's ok, not hungry, not wet and just needs more sleep, so i feel good about the night now. (finally!)

6 month mini shoot

he sits. he has cute little shoes. he smiles and charms with his big blue eyes. he melts my heart (and mr. h3b's) and i am so lucky to be his mama!

i took these in our yard on sunday. 6 and a half months old.

he sits!

finn started to sit up a few weeks ago, but he wasn't very stable and was mostly doing a tripod. his favorite place to practice was on the changing pad after a clean diaper, reaching for all of the goodies on the table.

he's since progressed into full fledged sitting, but he still falls down consistently. he is strongest in the tripod position and will sit to play like that for a few minutes at a time.

he easily reach for things to bring to his lap and it is so cute to watch him consider which toys he'd prefer holding.

most of the time the reaching results in toppling forward, so we have to be near him at all times. i learned my lesson when i was just a few inches to far and couldn't catch him. of course, that same time he was just a few inches past the layered quilt and managed to hit his head on the wood floor. crying resulted, but i'm sure that's not the last time he'll bonk his head.

for now, he's safer on his tummy. he's just started to lift his body up off the floor, but he hasn't been able to move or bring his knees up under himself yet. so many things mastered, so many yet to come!

sir sleeps-a-lot. not.

for how many pictures i have of finn sleeping, you'd think he does it all the time. alas, no. he struggles before every nap. i know he's tired when he fusses and rubs his eyes with tiny clenched fists. where i used to be able to lay him in his crib or pack and play at this early tired point and he'd fall fast asleep, that now results in a screaming fit. rocking him gently with a pacifier and silky also results in a screams. standing and bouncing with a paci and silky results in screams as well. he fights to take naps and sleeps between 15 and 30 minutes. it is a daily chore to get him much needed sleep.

i've resorted to the back carry in the ergo as a go to sleep inducer. aside from one major meltdown, he falls asleep quite easily when accompanying me in my household chores. now that it's not so hot, i can handle walking and carrying and working. sometimes i'll keep him there, but often i'll drop him onto the bed. he clearly does not mind the transition from back to bed.

for now, i continue to rock him through the tears and hope that i can get him to sleep 3 times a day. once in the crib, once on the go, and once in the pack and play.

today he slept for almost 2 hours during one nap, but i never get my hopes up. he's slept for 4 minutes before, so our sleep troubles do not end with the night time.

small fry - 6 month stats

i forgot to update in my 6 month post finley's current stats. we took him to his well baby on his 6 month birthday, so this was a few weeks ago.

weight: 15lb 3oz (10th percentile)
height: 27" (75th percentile)

he is just a skinny, long little guy. his dr. didn't seem concerned that his weight hadn't continue to increase much in 2 months (he gained less than 2 pounds). she was pleased with his development overall. more tummy time, more sitting up practice (more on that in another post) to help with his strength for both rolling and crawling (of which he does neither). he can roll. i found him on his stomach in bed once and when he's pushed up far onto his arms and off his belly a bit, he topples over and rolls by accident. but he will not purposely go from tummy to back or from back to tummy.

we are also concerned about plagiocephaly/brachycephaly. he has an extremely flat head (to me) and a moderate case, according to the dr. we have to make an appointment with a specialist to see if he might need to wear a band/helmet and what the pros/cons are to something like that. everyone kept telling me the flatness would "pop out" as he was off his head more, but it hasn't. so we'll have to see what happens next.

in the meantime, we're feeding this boy to keep him growing. he is so into dinnertime. he's eaten rice cereal, avocado, sweet potato, and pears and he loves every single one. can't get enough of those organic, mom-made purees :)