Teething

Teething. Gross. That word makes me cringe every time I think about it. Naturally, Jackson is a terrible teether. I mean he is not that kid that wakes up one morning with a tooth and we say wow we didn't even realize. PSH. The first go around was 9 days of fussy, crying, not sleeping hell. Yes. I said it. We were ALL miserable. Everyone. Even the cats. We are now entering round #2. I think.

That's the thing with teething, you are never quite sure if they are or aren't. Is it a cold, ear infection, just being a baby? Jackson was fussy for the 9 days before we even saw anything start to pop through. Then he had 3 more days until they were up. And for the record, we couldn't really feel anything for those nine days. But every baby is different. My new thing is everything people tell you is never right (I can't tell you about your baby). Oh you will feel them and then ya de ya de ya blah blah. You just go with whatever your gut is.

Ok so I gave you my warning of we have the worst teether ever and we were miserable BUT I did find some relief in these things... I feel they saved our lives a little. I mean it could always be worse. In fact if I'm right about these 2nd round we are doing way better.

1. Try to keep your same nap/sleep schedule even if that means they cried for 30 minutes (which means the nap is over in our house). It was easier to transition afterwards. This one sucks but I'm still sticking to my guns on this one. He went right back on track after he got his teeth.
2. We always always start Jackson in his crib for bed and then if he wakes up (and is teething) we would let him sleep with us. For some reason that is just what he needed. He has always needed lots of cuddles so this was especially important. At first we were really against it but someone said hey maybe that's just what he needs right now. Hm why didn't we think of that?
3. Mesh Teether. We put ice in it and he goes to town on this thing. We love it! He loves it. It's really great. Plus with ice in the teether when it melts it's just water so it's no big deal. And if you kid has problems chewing this is a great tool for teaching them to bite/chew.

4. Hylands Teething Tablets with tylenol. Works for giving you at least 4 hours a sleep at a time and helps with naps. I have also heard Motrin but we haven't gotten any yet so I can't vouch for that one. Hylands is all natural and doesn't have medication in it. Really if you could get away with just hylands that would be awesome. We try to avoid Tylenol at all costs but sometimes you just have to use it.

Yes we have tried- cold teethers, wooden teethers, rubbing his gums, cold wash cloth... the list goes on. We do LOVE Sophie but she doesn't really help at the crucial points of teething. The only thing we haven't tried is the necklaces which I have debated but we'll see.

Spring Cleaning

I used to be a super clean and organized person and then you know who came along :) It takes everything to keep the house clean. I also think that playing and spending Jackson is the most important thing so I try to keep his spaces clean and the rest of the house is on the back burner. So my cleaning schedule is by no means a great one but whatever.

My general routine is every Friday:

• Clean all the toys and rotate them. I only put a forth of his toys out a week and then change it up on Fridays that way we don't get bored or overwhelmed with too many toys.
• Clean all of his linens/blankets. This sometimes gets done multiple times a week it just depends.

Mondays:

• Clean the bottle warmer, sterilizer and our boon grass thingy. I use vinegar and water or method soap. Although after researching these pics I saw BabyGanics soap...

Every week:

• Laundry like everyday. ugh. This is the one thing Jamie will actually help with :)
• Clean the floors.. at least the kitchen, living room, and places Jackson goes.
• Vacuum at least 3x's a week...we have cats

Every other week:

• Deep clean bathrooms, dust, windex.

And you know we do do the others- dishes, etc.

My favorite cleaning products:

Baby Ganics Cleaners- It's baby safe! And it sounds silly cleaning your floors with baby safe cleaner but think about it- they touch the floor with their hands and then immediately put their hands in their mouth. Heck Jackson actually licks the floor! And I'm being 100% serious. 

Method Cleaners- If we aren't using a baby cleaner it's Method. 

*When I'm cleaning Jackson's room, I clean it an hour or two before he sleeps in there. I don't know if it's necessary but the idea of him breathing in all the cleaners just makes me ... (can't think of the word) but I have asthma so maybe that's why?

What a boring post! Haha what are your cleaning routines?! Are there any better baby cleaners out there? 

I actually really love cleaning. I can't figure out if it's the process of cleaning or I really like things being clean. Or both? 

Now I also really LOVE organizing. Love it. However, that would take Jamie watching Jackson for hours while I do it and that's not happening any time soon... so maybe when Jackson goes to school I'll go back to organizing :)

8 Months!

Jackson,

     I can't believe you are 8 months old! This month might have been my favorite. You are now army crawling everywhere! You love chasing the cats and pulling their tails..although they don't enjoy it. You really love to dump their food and water dishes. Oscar may start fighting you on that one! Your personality is showing through all the time- you are so sweet and cuddly but man do you have a quick temper. Shoo whee if you don't get your way you will throw your head back and scream. Your dad and I threaten to video all these fits to show you when you are older.  You still love to be the center of attention but only in small groups of familiar people. You act very shy in new situations. Being upside down is your FAVORITE thing or flying through the air. Not only are you crawling you are trying to climb over/under/on everything (fireplace). You also really love to pull the chairs or your high chair around which I don't think is normal :) You are still 100% a mama's boy which I LOVE LOVE LOVE and you also really really love your daddy! Between us and the cats you are just happy at home! The sleep situation has gotten much better, typically, 3 naps and then down at 8:30 and up around 5/6ish. The pediatrician did say we need to do some tough love because you should be sleeping longer. You have really shown an interest in My Gym now. You love all the other kiddos, the swings, and the bar...and of course anything that makes you go upside down.

Milestones:

• Army Crawling!
• Pulling to stand. 
• Putting your arms over your head this is really cute. You also like to put your arms up and say "ahh ahh ahh". Too cute for words.
• Picking up small pieces of food.
• Pulling the cats' tails.
• Imitating a few words- Mama, Dada, Ball- (obviously he hasn't has his first true word yet- no I'm not the crazy mom who thinks her kid starting talking at 4 months)
• Possibly starting to imitate signs? It's hard to tell because you do like to clap a lot.
• First bites of puffs and a waffle... we tried a frozen waffle for teething and you bit right into that thing and were chowing down. When I went to take it away from me you threw the biggest fit!!! I can't wait until you can actually have waffles because you obviously love them.
• Eating stage 1-2 and some 3's. 

Health: You had your first ear infection :( But other than that you are healthy! You are now eating sweet potatoes, broccoli, beets, pears, peaches, banana, avocado, yams. I can't tell what you are really allergic to (expect milk, soy, apple) anymore because they eczema is really hit or miss so who knows. Your favorites are banana mixed with sweet potato and avocado. Tonight we are trying chicken! 
Jackson love watching you discover and meet new milestones everyday! We can't wait to see what next month brings!

Cloth Diapering 103

My update to cloth diapering. Yes we are still at it! We do use disposables when we travel, the beach, and I use on in the morning because it just makes my day a little easier. My goal is until he is at least a year but I would really like to go until he potty trains. Anyways you may come across some issues and they are easy to fix.

Problem: What is that smell?! Ok two months in his diapers starting smelling immediately when he would pee. It was bad. I was annoyed (this was during his teething phase).

Solution: Buy different detergent. We bought the Baby Genius cloth diaper detergent. Haven't had a problem since. My first suggestion would be to bleach them and line dry them outside to make sure that isn't the issue. But switching detergents is a common fix!

Problem: Staining. No one sees the part that does get stained and they are clean they just don't look clean.. so you don't really have to fix this but I'm OCD.

Solution: Line dry outside for 1..maybe 2 days if they are really bad. Problem solved.

How easy is that? And if you researched anything about Earth Day (which was on Monday) you would know that cloth diapering is also AMAZING for the environment.. and your baby :)

33 Weeks

Where have we been?! -Teething, weekend in Indiana, weekend in Vegas, Jamie's 30th birthday, Dustin and Laura's baby shower, and now finally a free relaxing weekend!

33 Weeks

Weight: 19.12 pounds, 27.5 inches

Sleep: BOO. HISS. GRR. Awful for the past month and a half due to teething, traveling, and now an ear infection. I will say he now will not sleep in our bed, on us (unless he's eating or sick), or out in public. He will only sleep in his bed which is great! However, he has decided to cry a lot longer to sleep and wakes up more frequently.... and then stays up. His naps are much longer. So some good some bad but we are TIRED!

Clothes: Moving into 12 months. :( I went out to buy him 12 month pajamas yesterday and almost cried when I couldn't find footed onesies! 12 months apparently moves onto two separate pieces. I can't handle that! He is still a baby! 

Vistors: Great Mimi was here this week. And Uncle Dustin and Aunt Laura last week. It's funny he acts all shy when new people come around but then he will warm up.. as long as he can still see me of course.

Out and About: We finished up swim lessons, still going to My Gym (which he LOVES), and still working on playmates- which is all my fault because I've been pretty busy lately (and tired).

Milestones: 

• Sitting up all the time with no pillow to fall back on
• Pulling to stand even in the crib
• Variegated babbling
• Started to army crawl
• Will rock on all fours..if we put him there
• Lowered the crib :( And took the mobile down :(
• Turns and looks for all sounds- doorbell, cats, etc (he's been doing this for awhile but I forgot to add it)
• First ear infection 

Baby Gear Love:

Play Cube Zany Zoo: This is a great toy for babies who are just starting to sit- it keeps them motivated to sit up and play. This is also great for standing or pulling to stand. Jackson loves this toy!! There is so much to do- four different sides and the top. Great for language too :) My only dislike is that it isn't heavy enough for Jackson, he can easily pull it on top of himself so we have to really watch him with it. It is expensive but we got ours at Target on sale. 

Shopping Cart Cover: Eddie Bauer. LOVE IT! It's not the cutest one out there but it is awesome because it has straps to keep them in the cart... which is especially helpful when they are still learning to stay upright or if they get lazy and try to snooze in the cart or eat the sides... It works well for highchairs too. I had really thought about buying a cuter one but no way it works too well! 

Crying: Getting his diaper changed, if I am out of sight, going to sleep (every. single. time).

Mealtimes: He is eating sweet potatoes, broccoli, beets, pears, and now peaches. We tried apples again and that was awful so we are done with apples. This week we are going to try banana! Keep your fingers crossed!

Medical: Same allergies. And now an ear infection :( 

Postpartum: The weight is gone! It has been for about two months.. I think. I just started the Julian Michael's 30 day shred to tone. After having a very frustrating month and half (mostly due to not sleeping) and just the stress of getting everything done in the day and working... I had to rethink so things. The first thing was I HAD to start working out again (our jogger stroller tires went flat which lead me to a string of curse words and throwing my phone out of frustration- after Jackson was napping of course). I love working out and it's the one thing I can do for myself. So I bought the Julian Michael's 30 minute DVD's and we got new tires for the jogger stroller. Whew. Sanity saved. I think mother's tend to give up everything for everyone else and then where does that leave them? Imagine husband with his six pack and wife with her pooch...You can't loose yourself because you have a family- not to say you should continue being selfish either. But I think 20-30 minutes of working out a day isn't being selfish! Besides it is a great way to start showing your kids that working out is fun! I try to talk to Jackson while working out.. heavy breathing. He looks at me like I'm crazy. I made the mistake of saying "ohhhh man!" and he got really concerned. hahha 

Making Baby Food for MSPI

MSPI=Milk, soy protein intolerance

I will be completely honest (aren't I always) this is a pain. No it isn't easy to keep up with (especially if you are working) because you could spend a couple hours making squash only to find  out your little on is severely allergic to it or the cats decide to lick all of the sweet potatoes.... And no you cannot just blend your dinner unless you too don't eat any dairy or soy (squash, carrots, apples, wheat, etc) in your dinners. I mean I can't blend up tacos for Jackson to eat. Half the foods we do eat for dinner aren't on the approved baby eating list until he is much older. It's not easy to find 100000 organic sweet potatoes so if that's the only food your baby isn't allergic to good luck (now drive all over town to find them and hope your husband doesn't decide to cook/eat the $10 worth of XYZ you drove all the way to the organic food store for. true story.). And I really don't like that it has to take time away from playing with Jackson, doing work, cleaning, hanging out with Jamie or my sleep which I already don't get enough of. OK vent over.

I do like it because my food tastes much better than the can. And you can make different combinations of things that the cans don't. And it actually isn't that much better than canned organic baby food so don't try that one with me either.** I do enjoy cooking and making food for Jackson but I would like to be able to do half/half so I'm not so stressed with the a million things I need to get done in a day.

Whew. Ok so you need:

1. A good cutting knife
2. A good peeler
3. Cutting board
4. Filtered water
5. Steamer/blender- I really like the This Especially if your baby is MSPI because there is no way you can get dairy or soy in it if you are only using it for their food. It's all in one. Easy to clean. It doesn't fit a lot of food which is the only down side.
6. Ice cube trays- BPA free. I really like the Beaba food storage but if you get a bunch of them it's $$$.
7. Foil, baggies, permeant marker

YUM! I do like mama's food!

I try to make all of Jackson's food during his 45 minute nap that I'm actually home for... but basically
1. Peel your fruit or veggie
2. Chop it
3. Steam it (2 cups of water for fruits, 3 for veggies)
4. Blend
5. Stick in the ice cube tray- label it. Freeze
6. Then stick all the cubes in a plastic baggie and label them.
Vola! It doesn't seem like much but once your little one starts eating 3 times a day- 6 ice cube amounts it adds up. And like I said you may end up making 1000000 sweet potatoes and trying to figure out what they can and cannot eat. Our freezer is full of food he can't eat. Boo.

*My other advice is don't try cans until you have gone through all the homemade food first. We couldn't do this because we were traveling but I am pretty sure even though the jars have no D or S listed in it caused him to have allergic reactions (to sweet potatoes)! From what I read Healthy Times is the best cans for MSPI and Earths Best is second (which is what we have that's not working out too well).

**I also know you cannot add any seasonings or anything like that if you are concerned with allergies.

So far we have tried:

• Squash
• Carrots
• Plums
• Beets
• Sweet Potatoes
• White Sweet Potatoes
• Broccoli
• Apples
• Pears
• Avocado

The biggest pain to make is squash and the easiest is avocado. I always mix a little water for consistency and I chose water because if you add milk/formula it takes away from the taste of the food. I think the whole point is for them to get used to different textures and flavors. I want the beets to taste like beets not purple formula. Gross. I taste everything to make sure it's good. And so far so good :)

He is really enjoying it! In fact he screams when I tell him all done. Jamie always comes in and is like what is going on in here?! Umm the bowl is empty duh. 

7 months!

Jackson,

      You are seven months old! This was one tough month on everybody. You got two teeth at once (it too nine days)..yikes! Poor baby, you were miserable- crying, fever, not sleeping, I hated every minute of it. The only way to comfort you was lots of snuggles..and tylenol and hylands teething tablets. And then I took you to Indiana which was not a good idea. You did great on the flight there but the rest of the trip you had trouble sleeping and napping. My happy, easy going baby was nonexistent in Indiana! I felt so bad! Then on the flight back you screamed the whole way- most likely because you were overtired and your ears hurt. Needless to say we will not be traveling for a long time!!! You like your routine, your own crib, and just being home which who can blame you? 

       You are still 100% mama's boy. You prefer to be held by me at all times and I cannot leave your sight without you crying! I'm getting really good arm muscles :) 

Milestones:

• Clapping! You do this all the time! 
• Waving! The first wave was out the airplane window- totally prompted by yourself. Since then you haven't waved to people to say hi or bye but you are practicing.
• Blowing kisses. Hello adorable! You love to imitate our mouth movements and sounds. I took you to work one day (where four women just sit and stare at you). One of them blew you a kiss, you worked really hard and then blew one back! Of course everyone cheered! Now you do it all the time.
• You are sitting more and more but I still have to watch you because you like to throw your head back.
• First attempts at riding in the grocery cart and sitting in a high chair at lunch (out to eat).
• Inch worm crawling. Seriously you look like an inch worm it is quite entertaining.
• First Play date! You loved the little boy. You tried to take his socks off apparently since you don't like them he shouldn't either. You were very chatty. You also tried to hold his hand and take his jacket off at lunch- quite the helpful little burger aren't you?!

     Health: Healthy! We are still trying to figure out what you allergic too which has been extremely frustrating. So far you are allergic to: Squash, Apple, Avocado, Carrots, Apricot (not 100% on this one), Plum... basically all you can eat are sweet potatoes, broccoli (which you don't really like), beets (not to crazy about this one either). This week we are trying pear... Your favorite foods were apple, avocado, and sweet potatoes. 

       Jackson love watching you discover and meet new milestones everyday! We can't wait to see what next month brings!