Parenting Advice

One of the most common pieces of advice I get from parents goes something like this:

"Just when you think you've got them figured out- they change!"

I have yet to use this advice because never once I have I looked at my daughter and thought, "I have you figured out."

Apple Butter 2011

This past weekend was "Apple Butter Weekend" with my family at the lake. This is a 100 year tradition that my family has been part of. It was such a great weekend! Friday night we start by peeling and chopping 8+ bushels of apples. Saturday morning we start cooking the apples at 6:00 a.m. The apple butter is usually done around 3:30 that afternoon. We can it up and and enjoy it all year long! Below is a video I put together of the weekend. Enjoy!

httpv://youtu.be/rirrPqqgB8I

Hehe.

Source

Adelyn's First Solid Meal

httpv://youtu.be/_QONzGfJETI

Make Your Own Baby Food

Because of Adelyn's reflux, we have gotten the go-ahead from the doctor to start solids a little earlier. We're starting rice cereal at 3.5 months and will probably start veggies and fruits in a month or two. Supposedly, the solid consistency will help keep the reflux a bit more under control. (Crossing our fingers!) With baby food on the horizon, I am super motivated to find the healthiest and cheapest ways to feed Miss Adelyn.

In a previous post, I mentioned that I had made baby food all day long.

Here's the scoop on how I did it. I got most of my information from Homemade Baby Food Recipes. I also deviated a bit from some of their suggestions and made it another way. There are a lot of different ways to make most of these kinds of baby foods so it really is your preference.

I started with a big trip to the Farmers Market. Basically, I wanted to have organic foods that were in season. I wouldn't recommend taking on this much in one day. I was a bit ambitious and by the end of the day I was sick and tired of baby food making. BUT I got it all done in one day.

Carrots

First, I peeled them and chopped the ends off.

I then laid them on a piece of foil and wrapped them up.

I baked them at 375 for about 30-35 minutes.

After they were baked, I threw them in the food processor and got them all chopped up. I then scooped them into ice cube trays for freezing. Done!

Green Beans

After washing and cutting off the ends, I boiled the green beans in a big pot of water for about 10 minutes. Basically until they were soft.

I threw them in the food processor, added a little bit of water to make them smoother and then scooped them into a mini-muffin baking sheet. (I ran out of ice cube trays). They shared it with the egg plant I had previously made.

Eggplant

Sliced it up and baked it at 400 for 20-30 minutes. Basically until soft.

After a trip through the food processor, here's what they looked like. (Pretty gross looking in my opinion).

Zucchini

After washing and chopping off the ends, I sliced the zucchini up into chunks and boiled it for about 5 minutes until soft. Threw them in the food processor and then scooped them into ice cube trays. That easy!

Butternut Squash

I bought two of these but found that one gives you PLENTY of food to work with.

I baked them whole (poke holes to avoid explosion) for and hour on 350. I let them cool, sliced them in half and ran them through the food processor. I had to add a little water to make the consistency a little smoother.

SO MUCH SQUASH!

Hope Adelyn REALLY likes squash.

Sweet Potato

Sorry, no pictures for this one. I bought about 5 potatoes, baked them at 375 for about 1.5 hours. After cooling, I cut them open, squished them with a fork and just scooped them into the ice cube trays.

I also have beets and apples that I haven't tackled yet. I'm sure more will be added to this list in the future. I'd love to hear any tips you may have on making your own baby food.

My Pet Peeve

Dear Neighbors and Columbia citizens who slowly approach and stop at the stop sign in front of my house with the base in your car so loud that it vibrates my walls:

You are my pet peeve.

I seriously grow irritated every time you pass.

When I hear your car approaching my house all I hear is someone who is desperate for attention or someone who feels the need to prove themselves through a ridiculous method of loud music. And lets be honest with ourselves, shall we? There is NO way you are enjoying the music that you are playing with it that loud.

And at 3 am, really?

Oh, and somehow you know to approach and stop in front of my house just as my sleep-deprived, nap-fighting child is about to doze off. Thank you. Thank you very much for your consideration of others as you attempt to prove your masculinity to the world.

Sincerely,

Angry Neighbor



 

Webcam 101 for Seniors

This video is SO STINKING FUNNY. Watch it wall the way to the end. I giggled my whole way through it. (Click on picture to go to video).

Surviving Acid Reflux

Notice that I used the word "surviving" rather than the past tense form, "survived." Reason is, we are in the heat of the battle against Adelyn's acid reflux. Some days are good, some just aren't.

What I have found most helpful is talking to other moms who have personally experienced having a kiddos with reflux. So I thought I would share my experience thus far in hopes that it helps others in the future.

What It's Like

Before Adelyn was born, I remember hearing some moms talk about how horrible acid reflux is. Honestly, I thought they were exaggerating and needed to toughen up a little. Could it be that bad? There are such worse things a baby could have! While that is true, I now have a lot more compassion for moms whose babies struggle with this. It sucks. It's hard. It's heartbreaking. It's frustrating. You feel more helpless than ever and powerless to make it better. It puts your baby in a bad mood. They can't easily soothe themselves or settle down. They don't nap long. They wake up at night frequently. They cry cry cry when eating. You don't want to feed them in public because of the crying. They eat less so they want to eat more frequently which only flares up the reflux more. It's stressful to leave them with someone else but it's absolutely exhausting to be with them 24/7. You feel like you provide no comfort but know that you are all they have. It's easy to grow apathetic towards the crying. It messes up any type of routine you are trying to establish. It makes you wonder if they are hungry or just in a bad mood. It just sucks.

Medication

We were initially put on Zantac. We had to squirt this liquid into Adelyn's mouth 3 times a day. Luckily, she didn't mind the taste so she usually complied. They told us Zantac could take up to 7-10 days to see results. So we had to buckle down and get through that week in hopes that the medicine would kick in. Her symptoms seemed to get a little better but she was still very bothered by the reflux. After 9 days of Zantac, we moved Adelyn to Prevacid. We have to split a capsule in half and give it to her in the morning and evening. These expensive little pills are tricky. You have to dissolved them in water, suction them up in a syringe, and then squirt it in the mouth. Some of the dissolved tablet remains in the syringe so I usually a second shot of water to get it all out. We were told to give it to her before meals so we did this for a few days seeing little results. After doing some online research, I learned that the medicine is much more effective if given 30+ min prior to a meal. Since we started doing this, we have seen better results. In fact, today was the first day in over a month that Adelyn didn't cry at all while feeding!! In addition to that, she slept from 10:30-6:45 last night (a first!). So I think we are moving in the right direction.

Tips on Coping

• Elevate 30 minutes after eating. Even though we aren't sure if this makes a difference, everything I read tells us to keep her elevated. I often put her in her bouncy seat or prop her up on a boppy pillow to hang out for a while after she's chowed down.


• Elevate the crib. Again, who knows if this helps but we've stacked some text books under one end of the crib to give it a tilt. She ends up towards the other end of it by the end of a night but at least her esophagus isn't being burned.


• Bottle Feed (with breast milk). This actually goes against online advice but we've found bottles work better to get more ounces in her. In fact, Adelyn hardly ever eats straight from me anymore. Often times when I try, she instantly goes into a fit and won't latch on. So (not really by choice) we've moved to a lot of bottle feeding. I've been getting my money's worth out of my pump! I've also read that formula can actually make reflux worse so I'm pretty motivated to keep on pumping as long as I can.


• Use the pacifier. To get her calmed down during eating, we often gave her the pacifier so she could soothe herself a little. After she calmed down, we'd do a quick switch-a-roo to the bottle and she'd be more likely to take it.


• Swaddle while feeding. For some reason, this really worked with Adelyn. She'll be super wound up until we swaddle her up and try again and she'll sometimes take the bottle after that.


• Distraction is the key! Again, since we bottle feed a lot we are able to walk around, go outside, stand under the fan, move room to room, etc. Anything we could find to take her mind off of her pain helped her to gulp down a bit more. I also would make up songs to sing, pray out loud with her, or just talk about anything.


• Take a break. Often times we found that Adelyn would take two ounces or so and then be thrown into her crying fit. At first we tried to push through and continue feeding. What we've found more helpful is to stop as soon as she starts to get upset and take a 5-10 minute break. She was a lot more likely to finish her bottle after she's had time to take a breather. This can be frustrating though because it seems like feeding takes forever!


• Have others feed the baby. This was more for my emotional stability than anything. It helped so much to not have to go through it over and over again. When possible, I'd have Austin feed her or anyone else who was willing. In fact at a baby shower when I was having a hard time and was to the point of tears with her in the back room, I flagged my friend Sara down and had her take over while I emotionally recovered. Having someone else take over who isn't worn down and hasn't been stripped of their patience is key.


• Hold the schedule loosely (but still hold it!). Austin and I love structure. We've had this gal on a 3 hour feeding schedule since day one. She adapted to it quite easily actually so when the reflux hit and she was wanting to eat every 2-2.5 hours we were thrown off a bit. Her sleeping and naps went all wacky too. We initially resisted the change but eventually realized we needed to adapt to what the little lady was telling us. It's been good for us to let go of our expectations and hold everything loosely. At the same time, we haven't completely quit trying. I think it's important to not let reflux be an excuse for everything. We are still working on establishing a routine, taking good naps, self-soothing, independent play, etc. We're just more graceful in the learning process of all these things.


• Take one feeding at a time. There would be mornings where I would wake up and dread the day. However, when I took one feeding at a time, it made it seem more doable.


• Find scripture and pray pray pray. I often pray out loud or sing worship songs when feeding her. I also quote scripture that helps me. Here are some verse suggestions that have helped me a lot: Isaiah 43:1-2, Romans 12:11-13, Phil 4:4, Isaiah 40:10-12, 2 Cor 4:17, 2 Cor 9:8, 2 Tim 1:7.


• Document. This sounds weird and slightly anal but it helps me a lot to write down how each feeding went. That way I can remind myself when she did have good feedings as opposed to just remembering the bad ones. I write down the time she ate and either put a smiley face next to it or a check mark if it went bad. Looking at my notes, I can see that the past few days have gone a lot better! It's also good to have objective facts to talk to the doctor about if needed.

Gosh, I just wrote a lot. Hopefully you'll never have to reference this blog post but in case you do, I hope it helps. I've found that mom's who have had reflux babies are so compassionate towards other moms who do. I feel the same way so please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about all of this.

Like I said, I think we are only in the beginning of this so I'm no expert. I can only tell you what has worked for us and our sweet girl. Hopefully we keep moving towards healing and pain free feedings!

 

Hiccups: The Midnight Intruder

It's 4 am and I wake up to Adelyns weak little cries telling me she's hungry. I drag myself out of bed, stumble around eyes half open, trying to find my way to the door without running into anything. Meanwhile, Austin sleeps peacefully without even knowing our daughter has woken up.

I pick her up, change her diaper and proceed to the living room where I nurse her. She of course is taking her own sweet time enjoying the quality time with mommy. Mommy however, is doing all she can to keep from nodding off and trying to keep Adelyn alert enough to eat to the point of satisfaction. I am always careful to keep the night feeding as "nightlike" as possible. I don't hardly talk to her, I keep lights low, and make my movements slow and gentle. The goal: keep the child sleepy.

Adelyn finally finishes up. I gently wrap her back up in her blanket and quietly walk back to her nursery where I rock her into drowsiness so I can put her back in her crib and return to my precious slumber. So I'm rocking my sweet girl, her eyes are drifting off, I'm soaking up the sweet moment and then all of the sudden I hear it. "HICCUP." "Oh no... please only be one... please only be one..." HICCUP. Adelyns eyes peel open as she is jerked awake by her own body. "Maybe it is only two... Lord please make it be only two hiccups..." I'm (frantically) doing my best to soothe her and keep her sleepy. Then another squeak escapes my daughter and she is now fully awake. Her eyes are wide looking around trying to figure out why she has been jerked awake. "Well, crap."

See, I've learned from previous experience that the hiccups in the middle of the night are one of the worst things. It not only wakes a drowsy baby up, but it KEEPS them from falling back asleep. They also seem to last longer in the middle of the night than they do in the day. I loathe the midnight hiccups.

So I had a choice: continue to rock Adelyn until the hiccups pass? Lay her down in the crib knowing she won't fall asleep and will end up crying? Both options sounded painful and threatened my sleep. I opted for another alternative. I headed to the guest bedroom, crawled under the covers, snuggled Adelyn up next to me and dozed while she worked the hiccups out. I'm not sure how long it took but I just remember waking up thinking, "huh, I think she's asleep." So I oh-so-carefully lift her up and take her back to the crib. I lay her down and her eyes don't open. Praise Jesus.

I stumble back to my bed almost an hour and a half after waking up to find Austin in the exact same position I left him in. The next morning when she woke up around 7 to eat again, he excitedly thought she had slept through the night. I informed him of the previous night's intruder and we both resolved to accepting that our child will never sleep through the night. Ever.

Growth

Here is part of a blog post from Passionate Homemaking that really put words to what I've been thinking and feeling lately...

Am I growing in my ability to flex and simply enjoy the ups and downs of motherhood? I find myself being able to embrace the challenges in a new way. When I asked one sweet friend of four little ones how she managed it all, she smiled and laughing said, “someone’s always crying.” The realization struck me. We can embrace and laugh at the challenges or we can fight and whine. Which should I choose? God has assigned me to this role.

It is easy enough to focus on the difficulties…but how much better to realize that they come with the territory and God has designed them to sanctify and purify our hearts. This is reality. Or as another mother said, “I’ve come to realize that I will always be tired.” She spoke not in a negative way, but in an embracing way. Motherhood is tiring. Why complain about lack of sleep? Does it get me anywhere? Is my home more peaceful as a result? No. But when I chose to rejoice that a sleep deprived mother can depend upon the full bountiful strength of a good God, then my heart is at rest.

Around our house lately there have been great joys as well as tearful moments. Every day is different. Two days ago was one of the worst and hardest days we've had in a long time. Missed naps, fussy feedings all day, a restless night and a very tired mommy. The next day was one of the best we've had. Tons of smiles, lots of snuggles, precious eye contact, learning new skills, and lots of good napping.

Life around here is unpredictable. I'm learning that throwing pity parties and complaining does absolutely nothing to make things better.  Nothing changes when I get frustrated. Nothing changes when I whine about being tired. I'm learning to embrace the punches. I'm also embracing the precious, sweet moments with our baby rather than stressing about feeding schedules, nap times, or ounces eaten. I want to look back at this stage and have few regrets. (Probably not going to happen but one can hope, right?)

I feel a shift in my heart. I'm embracing the hardships rather than resisting them. I'm choosing to enjoy my fatigued days rather than just get through them. Life has been so much sweeter when I embrace this is what God has for me right now.

On a lighter note, check out how much Adelyn is loving her little bouncer/entertainer. She has been cracking me up in this thing!

(Click on picture to see video)

And a few extras...



 

Labor Day Weekend

Wow. Did we have a great weekend or what?! I feel like we got to experience the transition from Summer to Fall. One day it was 90+ degrees and the next we were wearing sweatshirts all day!

We spent the weekend at my parents house at the lake. It was a blast! Here are some highlights from the weekend.

My brother got a new dog, Axle. Good thing he's so stinking cute because this puppy is a trouble maker! My brother is going to have his hands full. Despite his lack of bladder control, insatiable desire to chew, and constant need of being around people, (sounds a lot like Adelyn, doesn't it...haha!) we fell in love with him.

Here is a family picture! I think it's the first with the dogs included.

Adelyn also had a pretty good weekend. She enjoyed the extra attention and holding she got from everyone. She also slept like a champ at nights which a pleasant surprise for us. We are still crossing our fingers that the reflux medicine is working. She's a much happier child when she isn't in pain when eating. Weird, I know.

Here is Uncle Will holding little lady. We've nicknamed him "Uncle Slick." Will hasn't had too much experience holding babies so it was enjoyable to see him grow more and more comfortable with Adelyn over the weekend. I imagine they will be pretty good buddies as she grows older.

Ah, the official family picture with the two new additions: Peter and Adelyn.

She remained amazingly pleasant through all the picture taking. Way to go girl!

OK, so get this. We all brought our dogs to the lake which in the end totaled to 7 dogs. Yes, seven. It was a circus. However, they all got along for the most part so they easily entertained themselves and enjoyed the extra land to run around on and lake to swim in. It was humorous to get them all together for this picture but we managed.

A snapshot of our Sunday night BBQ.

Here's one of Cooper jumping off the dock after a stick. This happened quite a bit all weekend long. I don't know how he didn't wear out.

So there you have it. Our weekend was great. I get so spoiled when I go home. I have so much help with Adelyn, all the meals planned and pretty much made for us, plenty of things to do and places to relax.  It's sometimes hard to come back to a quiet house and get back in the groove of doing things solo. But we're back, unpacked, baby sleeping soundly, and settling in for the night and a full week.

Hope your Labor Day Weekend was great!

Here's Whats-a-Happening...

Guess who is 12 weeks old?!

We're celebrating the graduation from the 4th trimester by a weekend a the lake with the whole family. It's been great to be here! I love seeing my family enamored by Adelyn's new habit of smiling and cooing back to those who talk to her.

I'm also happy to report that her reflux has gotten much better after a prescription switch to Prevacid. The Zantac she was on helped a little but since we've moved to Prevacid, she seems to be almost a different baby. Last night she slept 7.5 hours (a record breaking night for us!). I woke up at 6:30 and realized I hadn't heard her all night. I jumped out of bed to go make sure she was ok. She was and I was then kicking myself for waking her up by my unashamed entry into her room.

Here are a few more pictures from as of late...

Look at that smile!

 

I couldn't help but share this one. Adelyn woke up from a nap like this. Poor thing- she probably thought she was blind. We had to snap a pictured before we rescued her from her temporary disability.Last week, Adelyn and I got in a pretty great morning routine. She typically wakes up around 7- give or take an hour. After a breakfast and a 45 minute nap, I plop her in the Bjorn and go for a walk. She LOVES it. This gal will hang out (literally) for 45-60 minutes without a peep. I love it too because I get some exercise and some quality time with my little lady.

Meet Everett Meyer. Adelyn and Everett are travel buddies. Last weekend, my friend Bonnie and I packed the kiddos in the car and headed to St. Louis for a baby shower.

Can you guess how old Everett is? In this picture, he is 5 weeks old! Yes, he has Adelyn beat in the size department. What a little chunker!

This picture was actually taken a few weeks ago but I thought it was worth sharing.

Lastly, check out the video below to see Adelyn's latest trick! (click on the picture).