Thursday, May 30, 2013

6 month photos

Here they are!  I have been waiting ever so patiently to see the results of our 6 month photo shoot.  I stressed out for weeks about these for some reason.  I wanted Kennedy to have the right outfits and of course I wanted myself and my husband to match too, but not too matchy.  :-)  All the stressing was for nothing because they turned out great!  A big thanks to J Design Studios for always capturing the good pics!  These are a few of our favorites!

 
Little Justin...

 
So girly! I love it!

 
She has no idea what is going on behind her! :)


 
She was not thrilled about this picture, and seconds later she was screaming! :-)

 
Love this!

 
Moments after this picture was taken she toppled over and hit her little head on the wood.  Opps!! 

 
I love her smile here!

 
She was also not loving this basket, but at least we got one cute one! :-)

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Baby Food Making

It's baby food making time!  I am such an amateur when it comes to making baby food.  I have friends who have tried it and were successful so I thought I would give it a try.  I think it is a great idea!  When it comes to the first "real" food that your baby will eat it feels good knowing there are no chemicals or additives. 

 The first vegetable we tried with Kennedy was organic sweet potatoes/yams.  I definitely should have done my homework before hand, but instead decided to wing it.  How hard can it be right?  I chose to boil the sweet potatoes, then peel, then cut into cubes, then puree in my blender.  Once you get your consistency of puree you pour it into your ice cube trays and freeze them.  Each cube is 1 oz/1 serving of food for a baby. 

After I made my first food I decided to do a little more research to make sure I was doing everything right.  This website is a fantastic resource and answered all of my questions!  Even questions I didn't know I had until I started reading. 

After reading I realized I didn't necessarilly do anything wrong, but I could have done a few things differently.  For example, boiling is not the preferred method.  Steaming is the first choice, with baking coming in second, and boiling coming in only before microwaving.  This is due to the fact that certain methods retain more nutrients than others.  I also learned that you can add water and even breast milk to the mixture to get the desired consistency.  If you steam you can add some of the water that is left in the pot from the vegetables. (except carrots due to nitrates) If you add breast milk it needs to be fresh and not milk you have frozen and thawed.  As most moms know once breast milk is thawed it is not suppose to be re-frozen. 


Since we do not have an actual steamer I found this product from OXO that was only $17.00 from Bed Bath & Beyond and it will fit inside any pot.  Cheap fix.  My next attempt was organic carrots.  They turned out great and I even added a little breast milk so Kennedy would be sure to love it! :-)

This batch is organic butternut squash.  One squash made 22 servings!


Once the food is frozen in the ice cube trays you can pop them out and put them in freezer bags.  They are good frozen for 1 month.  We take out one at a time the night before and put it in the fridge to thaw. 

Serioulsy, this is SO EASY so far!  It took me less than an hour to make each of these and it is so much better for your baby.  It is also very cost effective, even purchasing organic vegetables.  With that being said, it is not for everyone.  Not everyone has my work schedule and has extra time to plan and prepare.  So I am not saying that everyone must do this.  However, if you do have the time, it is worth it! 


Kennedy enjoying her first night of carrots.  It may not look like she liked them, but we could not get it to her fast enough! 


Monday, May 13, 2013

Advice please...

My best friend is FINALLY getting married.  :-) After she decided it would be a destination wedding we were convinced flying would be the best way to get there.  Once we looked at ticket prices and considered just how much more we would have to pack/check when traveling with a 6 month old we decided to look into other options.  My husband and I are taking on the challenge of going on a very long road trip with our 6 1/2 month old in a few days.  I would love to here any advice or helpful hints from moms or dads that have traveled with anyone under the age of one.  Thank you!
 

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

6 months baby!

Stats:
Weight: 14 lb 12 ounces
Height: 26.25 inches
Clothes: 3 months, 3-6 months, and some brands of 6 months
Diapers: Size 2
Feedings: Oatmeal every night and she still nurses every 2.5 to as long as 5 hours in between. Still 100% breast fed and I met my goal of nursing for 6 months.  Yay!!!!  I am going to keep it up as long as I can with 1 year as my max.
Sleep: all through the night and usually a few small naps during the day.
Dislikes: getting shots!  She has a special scream she saves just for them!  She also dislikes being hot.  She is very hot natured and it does not take much to see sweat on her little nose:-) 
Favorite activity/toy: Loves bath night and splashing around!  She also likes her rubber ducky during bath time.  She likes going on walks/runs with mommy and daddy. 
Firsts: We went to a Springfield Cardinals game and she loved it!  She was very happy the whole time!
Teeth: We have 2!  The 2 bottom teeth are in and at our 6 month check up yesterday the Pediatrician said the top 2 look like they are not far behind.  I tried to get a picture of her teeth but she was not ok with that. :-)  We had one day that she bit me when I tried to nurse her, but I think it was just because her teeth were hurting her that day because she has not done it since. Thank God!  That hurt!  :-)
Mom is already starting to plan her 1 year birthday because it will be here before we know it! 
We are looking forward to her first beach and ocean experience at the end of May when we go to Florida for my best friend's wedding! 


Our 6 month baby cakes!

Miss serious

The many faces of baby K...

Hanging out outside for the first time! 

Sleepy baby

She loves her Wubbanub! 

First time riding in the Bob without the car seat.


First time in the big girl high chair!