Thursday, May 30, 2013

Baby Led Solids

When James was 5.5 months old, he got his first taste of food. I wanted to say 'real' food, but Rice Cereal isn't that fabulous!

We were on holidays - it was Canada Day long weekend. We decided to give him rice cereal and to my surprise he loved it. From that day on, James loved his food. Till he hit the 'threenager' age.

We decided for Graham we would wait a full 6 months, and rather than starting with rice cereal, we would try Baby Led Solids. Chris wasn't to sure about this method, but I assured him everything would be fine. (Chris wasn't the only one who thought I was crazy)

Now, Graham had tasted apple sauce prior to hitting 6 months, but it was on my finger and he licked it. I knew he was ready at 5.5 months, but again we waited. His first food was my Grandma's (his Baba's) canned Okanagan Peaches. These are a favorite of J as well...


He squished them, mashed them up, and got very little into his mouth. But he enjoyed it. We let him eat them for about 4 days, just once a day and he had no issues. We then tried carrots and he gaged and choked on one. I got scared and stopped the solids and tried some purees.

We got through about two weeks of purees and he was doing well. Then one day he refused to eat them. I decided to try giving him some Avocado - and he gobbled it up.

We then ditched the purees and continued on with the Baby Led Solids. He's doing really well. He loves his fruit, but definitely loves his veggies as well. Peas are a big hit with him. He also really loves sweet potato and beans.


 Graham's Food List:
  • Peaches
  • Avocado
  • Sweet Potato/Reg. Potato
  • Peas
  • Carrots
  • Green Beans
  • Banana
  • Pear
  • Apples
  • Yogurt
  • Toast
I have a Spaghetti Squash I am going to cook up and let him try that. As well as pumpkin. We will introduce Blueberries as well (no strawberries yet) and maybe some meat. He seems to really love food.

We are up to 3 SMALL meals a day. If he doesn't have food in front of him while we are all at the table he screams! So usually at breakfast he will have a small sliver of toast or a piece of fruit. Lunch is usually a small bit of veggies and/or fruit and dinner is veggies. He still nurses NON STOP, so I'm not to worried about him eating too much. I'm not feeding him and if I remember correctly, James was eating WAY more by this age... Breast milk is still his primary source of food.

All in all we are very happy with his progress. He really loves food, and I think he is a natural Baby Led Solid feeder-er....

I will continue doing updates on Graham's BLW. I'm excited to start making more of a complete meal for him in the coming months!


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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Wordless Wednesday


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Graham at Seven Months

Well that month flew by! Holy Poop! So much has happened in a month too - I have a lot to share.

Graham is just thriving! He's hit more milestones and it babbling non stop! My goodness - time is just flying by so fast.

 
I don't have height or weight yet - I will update after we get back from his check up!
 
UPDATE:
 
Height: 28.25 inches (no change)
Weight: 20 lbs even (Up a pound and a bit since last month)


Sleeping:

Graham is getting better at sleeping. YAY! We have established a nighttime routine that is working for us at the moment. We all have dinner, and then the boys get a bath between 7:00 - 7:30. Chris does that bathing. After that, teeth are brushed and Graham and I go lay down to nurse. I pretty much nurse him to sleep, but for the past week I have been nursing him till he is drowsy and then Chris takes over. He goes in and rocks him to sleep and then Graham is put into his playpen in our room. He goes about three hours before he wakes and is hungry again. At that point I usually go to sleep too. We are still bed sharing and will continue to do so.

Graham still wakes 3-4 times a night to nurse, and it's not comfort nursing. He is actually eating. While we have started solids, we are doing Baby Led Solids, so he's not eating a bunch. Just tasting. I really don't mind, its so easy just to roll over and feed. He falls asleep as do I and we are both happy clams.

We all nap still, but Graham has been getting better with naps. He doesn't go down all the time by himself, but when he does Mama is happy.

Clothing:

We are still wearing some 12 month clothes, but have moved into 18 month onsies and t-shirts. I recently bought him some new rompers from Carter's and they are all 18 months. Pants are usually 12-18 months as well. All 9 -12 month clothing is now gone. So sad.

Milestones:

At 6 months we started solids! We decided to do Baby Led Solids, but at first he had a bit of a hard time with them, so I made up some purees and we got through the main first foods that way. Now he isn't to keen on purees at all and prefers whole solid food. He has had a good variety of fruits and veggies. Also some toast and yogurt. Like his big brother, he LOVES food!

Food Graham has tried:
  • Green Beans
  • Avocado
  • Peaches
  • Pears
  • Apples
  • Carrots
  • Sweet Potato/Regular Potatoes
  • Peas
  • Banana
  • Toast
  • Whole Greek Yogurt
  • Mango
We are planning to introduce Blueberries, Pumpkin and Spaghetti Squash this week. I also plan on doing some regular squash, but I'm not a huge fan of it. After we get through that, I plan to add some meat into his diet - but I need to talk to his Pedi first.

Graham in the last month has cut TWO more teeth! His top two teeth are there and my goodness, he looks sooo cute. We went through about a week of crying and irritability, but we are good now.

Graham is crawling ALL over the place. He hit six months, and took off. He is army crawling and is very quick. Along with learning how to crawl and sit up (get into a sitting position) Graham has also learned to pull himself up into a standing position. Now this scares the crap out of me. He will pull up on anything and everything he can. The couch, his crib, the ottoman etc. He looks like he wants to just let go and walk. I think we will have an early walker on our hands - but I can't be 100% sure yet. I know he wants to. He likes to chase after his big brother.


"Ah BaBaBa - Mumumum": Babbles! We have gone from cooing - to babbles. I forgot how stinking cute it is! He really loves to talk now. James loves to play along and "baaba" with him.



Breastfeeding:

While we have introduced solids, Graham is still 98% breastfed. He loves his Mama's Milk... A LOT! Nothing there has changed. He still goes every 1.5 - 2 hours between nursing sessions. I am still on demand feeding, and it's working well for us. Like I posted above, he still nurses 3-4 times a night, sometimes less, sometimes more. We did go out last week and we attempted to give him a bottle. My Mother in Law said he did just ok with it - so I think we will try to introduce a Sippy cup just for practice.

Time seems to be on warp speed. I just can't... I mean it's hard to believe my little Monkey Moo is 7 months old. It's all going to fast for me, but I am enjoying watching him grow and thrive. He is such a curious little one. Full of smiles and giggles. Cuddles and love. James just loves Graham to bits and you can see that Graham looks up to James already.

I am so blessed to have these two wonderful little guys in my life. Every day is an adventure, and I look forward to a new one every morning.
Happy Seven Months Monkey Moo!

Much love
xoxo



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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Love Child Organics {Review}

 


 

I was given the opportunity to review Love Child Organics pouched baby food. Graham wasn't quite ready for solids at the time, but he was going to be soon, so I accepted.

About Love Child Organics:

Like many people, we had never really focused on what food was available for infants and young children. That was until our daughter, Poppy, entered our lives. We were suddenly incredibly busy, and were surprised (and somewhat frustrated!) by the lack of tasty, nutritious and convenient food and snack options available in stores.

In terms of baby food, the supermarket shelves were filled with jars and more jars, mostly non-organic, uninspiring in variety and often quite tasteless. The food for toddlers, even many of the ‘organic’ snack products, contained fillers, sodium and sugars.  Before becoming a mom, Leah spent many years teaching students with special educational needs and behavioural difficulties, and was very aware of the negative consequences of children eating foods containing such ingredients. She wanted Poppy, right from the start, to grow up with an appreciation for healthy ‘real’ food.

Leah, an experienced and enthusiastic cook, began making most of Poppy’s food at home, always being sure to add superfoods to each and every batch. Giving Poppy fresh and nutritious homemade food was obviously the ideal, but at times it simply wasn’t convenient. We still wished there were better ready-made options to choose from.  This desire became even stronger when our family expanded  to include Cameron - now there was even less time to prepare baby food! 

After much discussion, we decided we would start up our own food company for infants and young children. Our company would be committed to making organic, convenient and tasty food, with a strong focus not just on leaving out the "bad stuff", but also on including as many nutritrionally-rich, natural ingredients as possible. Love Child Organics is that company, and we are very proud to bring our products to market. This is just the start for us, and we look forward to growing our product range alongside you and your family.


What initially caught my eye about Love Child is the fact that they are local to me. Located in Whistler, BC, Love Child Organics offers you a great selection of pureed fruit & veggie pouches, made in Canada. Best part is they are Organic. They also contain Quinoa, which is a great gluten free supergrain.

We were sent three samples to try out. Mangoes & Apples, Blueberries, Apples & Bananas and lastly Sweet Potato, Carrots, Apples and Blueberries.

They offer six different flavor combos:
  • Strawberries, Peaches and Bananas
  • Mangoes and Apples
  • Blueberries, Apples and Bananas
  • Butternut Squash, Corn and Apples
  • Kale, Peas and Pears
  • Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Apples and Blueberries.



As soon as I opened the package James jumped for joy! "Mum, I try one?" I handed over a pouch with apples, sweet potato, carrots and blueberries. I opened it for him and he gobbled it up. James is a VERY picky eater - but he had no problem chowing down. I was actually surprised, since he's so picky I thought he would have tasted it and thrown it away. He said it was "Yayicious"

When Graham turned six months old (or a couple days past that) we decided to try out some simple homemade purees. Carrots, peas, peaches etc. Graham HATED them. So we decided to try Baby Led Solids. He did amazing (and still is) So I was a little worried that I wasn't going to be able to review Love Child Organics with him. James was pureed fed and loved it, so I thought Graham would love it too.

I usually made my own pureed food for James. Buying it wasn't cost effective for us - but in a pinch - or on the go, the ease of pouched food is great. I have actually purchased some more of Love Child Organics pouches for car trips or when we are out and I know there isn't going to be food that Graham can eat. IE: Like when we went to a BBQ place... #parentingfail!

After we introduced all his starter food, I went back and tried the Mangoes & Apples puree pouch. To my surprise Graham LOVED it. He was so excited and he gobbled up about half the pouch. James took care of the rest. I even tasted it and it's pretty darn good. I can see adding this to plain yogurt to jazz it up. Or freezing it for a Summer treat. I haven't tried the Blueberry one yet as we haven't introduced them, but we will be - next month.



Overall, the boys seem to like the selection of food pouches that Love Child has to offer. I have peace of mind knowing that what I am giving them is organic, nutritious and it tastes good. Also,they are BPA free, also Phthalates free packaging.

I would highly recommend Love Child Organic Food Pouches to other parents. You can find your selection of pouches in your local Wal Mart or check out their 'Where to Buy' section on their website.

Thank you Love Child organics for making a product that eases my mind when feeding my children.

 




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Please note I was sent the above mentioned products free of charge to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are strictly my own and may differ from others. NO monetary compensation was exchanged for this review. Please feel free to contact me if you have any question or concerns.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Date Night!

Last night was my first big night out sans the children. I was so so so nervous about leaving Graham, but knew he was in good hands with my Mother in Law. I have been working hard to pump and freeze as much milk as possible so I was able to go out.

So what did we do??

We saw MUMFORD & SONS!

I posted about a month ago about getting Chris and I tickets to the Mumford & Sons Gentlemen of the Road show in Holland Park. I was so stoked about getting them. I then found out that my sister and her boyfriend also got tickets; so they were going to join us!

The last concert I went to was Britteny Spears. I was fifteen years old... yeah... its been awhile.

The show was an outside venue (rain or shine) and thank the weather gods it was SUNNY! We chowed down on some hot dogs and mini doughnuts, the others went to the beer gardens and we then found our spot to sit. For the time being.





Mystery Jets opened the show and rocked it. Michael Kiwanuka, was second to hit the stage and I kinda fell in love. He was simply amazing.

8:00pm came around and Mumford & Sons hit the stage. Everyone went crazy!!

CRAZY!

For two hours straight, they played song and after song, and everyone was having a great time. We were *excuse my language* balls deep into the crowd. We were quite far away, but I didn't care. I just wanted to hear them play. They were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING live! I don't know how else to say it. They blew my socks off.

There were close to 25,000 fans that attended. The largest crowd to date. I found Chris (he left part way through to get something to drink and I never found him again) He surprised me with a souvenir. A Mumford & Sons sweatshirt! I love it.

The show was done by 10:00pm, and we were all home by 10:30pm. My boobs were going to burst. I HAD to get home to Graham. *HUGE THANK YOU TO MY YOUNGER SISTER FOR PICKING US UP!! LOVE YOU*

From start to end, it was simply... amazing. Totally enjoyed myself. Date night was a HUGE success.

Happy Saturday!

Much love
xoxo


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Friday, May 24, 2013

Transform...ers?

Chris and I allow TV in the house. I would say we watch quite a bit - but that's us, and it doesn't interfere with day to day activities and doesn't deter the boys to be outside.

James LOVES his Netflix. We have it on the computer and streaming through the TV. The kid can navigate through it like an old pro and Chris and I are ok with that. He watches his shows when allowed and all is well.

Recently we noticed he was watching Transformers: Rescue Bots. Now please note that if he starts watching a show not suitable for his age or we feel its not appropriate we turn it off. Anyways, I watched an episode with him and thought it was ok to watch. I feel it's more geared towards younger children. There is very little violence if any, and the story lines are gentle - if that makes sense. he's watched the whole series and is now OBSESSED with Transformers.

He knows the opening song, all their names and likes to pretend he himself is a Transformer. It's so cute!

When we play outside - he becomes a Transformer. He gets down on all fours and crawls around and then 'transforms' in Jimmy. Or 'Boulder', his alter ego. It's so amazing to see his imagination at work.




He's been lugging around a wooden Bulldozer that Nana got him and even though its not an actual Transformer, he thinks it is and is constantly saying...

"Boulder - transform! Autobots...RROLLLL OUT!"  
 
He sleeps with it, wakes up with it and would take it into the bath with him if we allowed it! If he misplaces it, he's on the hunt till he finds it.
 
I foresee a Transformers theme birthday in the future.
 
Oh how I love little boys!! 


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Thursday, May 23, 2013

Chris' First Blog Review - Armor All Car Products

I was recently contacted by Armor All to see if we would like to review some of their products. At first I was hesitant - then looked into the car and thought "why not?"

I asked Chris if he would be willing to do this review as it is 'his' car, and he is the one that made it filthy. He agreed!

So, here is what he had to say:

I was sent three samples of products. I was able to use two of the three on our car. (The third one I gave to my Dad. I will be sure to put an update once I hear back). The family car is also my work vehicle. Alisha doesn't drive, so it comes with me. I work construction so things can and do get very dirty.

 Up first: Armor All  Car Cleaning Wipes:

Your car's delicate surfaces are too important to trust to a household cleaner. Get that natural, "just detailed" look with Armor All® Cleaning Wipes — from the most trusted name in quality car care. Meticulously engineered for your car's special needs, they lift away dirt and debris, revealing your car's rich, natural beauty without harming delicate automotive surfaces.
Effective cleaning in a convenient, disposable wipe
Natural, matte finish
Easily removes ground-in dirt, dust & grime
Great for the whole car (dash, vinyl, fabric, carpet, consoles, leather, and more)
Won't dry out, damage, or fade automotive surfaces
Lint-free / Won't leave greasy residue on hands 


I took some before and after photos of some of the dirtiest places. Starting with the front cup holders.



As you can see, the before picture - they were dirty. It took one wipe to clean up this mess. I did have to scrub it, but it came out great. I liked the size of the wipe, and that it didn't rip while I was cleaning.

My arm rest is another part of the car that gets very dirty. Grease, dirt, oils etc collect there and looks down right nasty. To clean it, it did take a couple of wipes, but again Armor All Clean Up Wipes took care of it and it came out spotless.

Our car's dashboard gets dusty. I've seen Alisha go at it with a wipe and it always looks better. I feel like the Armor All wipes did just an Okay job at collecting the dust. I felt like because the dash is textured dust was still trapped in the texture.

Overall, I would be willing to keep a can of the Armor All Cleaning Wipes in the car if the price was right. I'm a practical kind of guy - so to me a roll of paper towel and a bottle of fantastic would do the trick. But for convenience - Yes, I would use these wipes.

The second item up is the Carpet and Upholstery Wipes: *I couldn't find these on the website - but did find them online*

Carpet Upholstery Mini Wipes are specially formulated for cleaning spots and stains from fabric surfaces and carpets
Thicker wipe for tough stain removal

Fits into vehicle cup holder and glove compartment

Twelve wipes in each container

I really wanted to like these - but in the end I couldn't give a fantastic review on them. While they did work a little, I didn't see much of a difference. NOW - if it was a more recent spill on the front seat and I cleaned it up right away - it may have done a better job, but Alisha's seat is terrible (not her doing) and the wipes just didn't get it clean. I did however see the crap that came up from it.


There wasn't much else in the car for the upholstery wipes to clean. I will keep them in the car and see how a more recent spill cleans up with them.

I don't think I would purchase these for myself. But I am glad I got the chance to review them.

Overall, Armor All products are my go to car products. While, I didn't get a great result with one, I did get great results from the other.

And now.... back to you Alisha.

So there you have it! Chris' first blog review. Thank you for taking the time to do this for me!

Thank you Armor All for sending samples for this review.


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Please note, I was sent the above mentioned products free of charge to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are strictly my own and may differ from others. NO monetary compensation was exchanged. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concers.