- We moved into our new apartment on August 1st...unpacked rather quickly and settled in (still a few boxes lying around and no pictures on the wall yet, but it's a work in process)
- Chad began his internship in pastoral care and recovery ministry on Aug. 5th. Throughout the summer we attended both The Rock (campus church) and Woodcrest (our new church where Chad is interning). Around this time we began attending Woodcrest full time and really diving in to this new community...this has been a huge blessing in our lives! They have great pastors and leadership teams, amazing childcare facilities for Elias and incredible programs for me connect and grow with God and others! I'm excited to see where God will take us through this opportunity!
- I began my new teaching job on Aug. 8th. I had 7 full days of preparing and planning with meetings and time spent in my classroom before students arrived. This was my "test run" with Eli in day care and me pumping at work to continue providing him breast-milk. He did great...it was difficult for me to leave him, but knowing he's in great hands is very relieving! He stays with a good friend who is a stay-at-home mom to a 17 month old little boy (whose husband works with us at The Rock). This is a transition for all of us, as she is getting used to caring for 2 babies and her son is getting used to sharing his mommy! But I cannot express how thankful I am for this arrangement! As for pumping, it's not exactly fun, but my teachers are very accommodating and i've gotten good and quick! This may be too much info, but i'm proud of it...I can send students down to break with other teacher, set-up my pump, pump with my Medela double electric pump (about 7-8 oz total), pour milk into storage bag, label bag, and clean up and get back to my students within 10 minutes!
- Aug. 14th my grandma (dad's mom) passed away and funeral was set for Aug. 18 (my second day of school). So, I survived my first day of classes with kiddos and left immediately after school to go pick up Eli and drive the 3.5 hrs to be with family. Those of you who have babies know that traveling with a 5 month old isn't always easy...he did great for most of it but cried his little eyes out for about 45 minutes at the end of our trip. I finally arrived in Mound City, MO with a worn out red-eyed baby.
I created sub plans for my second day while I was absent and came back in time to finish off the week on Friday with my class. My first day of school while I was on duty, one of my 6th grade students got stung by a wasp on the playground...just my luck! I'm now almost done with my second week of school and it seems like this past week and a half have been forever...but i'm beginning to adjust and get the hang of all the ins and outs of my school (much to learn, this is a never ending process)
- Eli is 6 months old today and after school I took him to his 6 month check-up where he weighed in at 20 lbs. 10 oz. (93rd percentile) and 28 inches long (92nd percentile)...he's our awesome BIG baby and I wouldn't change our life for anything! He's been eating rice cereal from a spoon for about 3 weeks now (just a few times a week really) and he's getting great at it and totally loves it...imagine that! I'm excited to start introducing a few new foods to him and see how he likes it...pretty sure he'll love it! Another thing to add to my to-do list, but it will be fun to experience with him. By the way, I would love any ideas and recipes for homemade baby food if you want to share!
As usual here's some photos from the last month of Elias' life...
My adorable, rolly little man!
He loves to chew/suck on dad's finger...just waiting for those teeth to come in!
Working on his crawling skills
Rock superhero stress ball doesn't stand a chance with Eli
Big eyes and open mouth...the norm for Eli if you haven't noticed
Standing with daddy
Smiley!
Getting himself into funny positions is another new skill...if you turn your back for even a second he is often in a new spot or position on the floor (couch is only when supervised these days)
Hanging in his firetruck pj's
Can't decide between his thumb and big toe
His feet are one of his new favorites this month
Hey Cassie! Wanted to share what we've done with solids, because it's worked really for us, and I hadn't ever heard of it (my cousin introduced me to it). We're using modified baby-led weaning (two good links -- http://www.babyledweaning.com/some-tips-to-get-you-started and http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/babyledweaning.htm).
ReplyDeleteBasically, it means no purees. I'll peel a banana and mash into into yogurt, or just give her slices to play with and feed herself. Or I'll julienne carrots and steam them soft, then give her the pieces. I steam green beans whole and give them to her. Fruit can be raw as long as it's ripe (and I break the skin on things like blueberries so it's easier for her to gum/chew with her two teeth).
The supposed benefits, all of which we've seen (but it's obviously hard to draw conclusions from one kid): they learn to chew and handle textures more quickly (even without teeth), and they develop fine motor skills and verbal skills more quickly. I've also heard it makes kids less picky later, but we're not there yet -- she'll eat anything!
I like it because she's getting "real" food and learning how to handle it herself. She gets more control and independence (even though we're obviously watching her super closely), and also gets to pick which foods she wants. Even now, if I put pieces of whole-wheat English muffin and smashed blueberries on her tray, she'll eat all the blueberries first. We feel like it's helping develop a healthy relationship with food early, where she is in control of what she eats, within options we're presenting.
We also spice her food -- not heavily, but she's eaten cinnamon, cardamom, curry, ginger, basil, oregano.
Instead of rice cereal, we've been doing this "super porridge" from "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. I can send you the basic recipe if you want, but it's basically combos of whole grains (oatmeal, couscous, brown rice, quinoa, barley, millet...).
Regardless of anything else you decide, I recommend buying a cheap yogurt maker. We spent $20 for one on Amazon, and it saves a TON of money.
OK, two of our favorite recipes -- steamed peas, curry powder and a bit of yogurt. Second -- bananas, yogurt, cinnamon and cardamom. Delish!
That was long!! Sorry!