Let's Call A Do-Over

I gotta tell ya, transition to solid foods wasn't as smooth sailing as I thought (check out my half-way-failed-attempt here).  Since Quincy loved solid food for three days, and then abhorred them for the following week, I had to call a Do-Over.  I halted the whole solid foods stuff, switched back to just strictly nursing for a few days, got in some good reading and advice from friends, and started from the beginning.

A dear friend of mine loaned me her copy of Babywise, Book Two: Parenting Your Pretoddler Five to Fifteen Months, which I found to be very helpful.  It has a great approach to raising children and guiding them from the start so as to avoid "retraining" them later.  I definitely recommend picking up a copy; I especially liked the section on Moral Foundations.  Here is a great quote from the book:

"At birth, a child has no functioning conscience.  By that we mean the child possesses no awareness of standards of right and wrong.  From the start, parents should strive to raise a child who regulates his own behavior from within, in accordance with the rules of common ethics.  Until the child internalizes healthy moral principles, parents are obligated to make value judgements and moral decisions on behalf of the child."*

These moral foundations can be applied to every aspect of a child's upbringing, including food and eating, like teaching them not to put their fingers in their mouth while they eat or learning to sit with the family and have a meal together.  They also had a straight-forward approach to starting solids, and since Quincy seemed to back-track on solids, I thought it couldn't hurt to try.

They suggest starting with one meal a day where you give them rice cereal, and always follow the cereal with either nursing or a bottle (much like you would accompany a meal with something to drink).  Since Quincy had taken to solids before, I pretty much started doing three meals a day instead of building back up, though in the beginning he didn't each much compared to a week into having cereal.

Earth's Best Organic Whole Grain Rice Cereal

In order to make the rice cereal, you need to add water, breast milk, or formula.  We used the above whole grain rice cereal, and, hoping that the taste of breast milk would encourage Quincy to eat well, I opted to pump.  You can read my previous post about pumping, the other side of nursing, as this did (and still does) pose some challenges for me.  The instructions for rice cereal said to add 1 Tablespoon of cereal with 3-4 Tablespoons of milk or water, but this made it super runny and wouldn't stay on the spoon.  Instead, I found that a 1:2 ratio was much better (1 Tbsp cereal : 2 Tbsp Milk).

After about a week of cereal, I switched to adding in servings of butternut squash, though at a more gradual pace than the cereal.  (The book recommends waiting two weeks of having all meals with cereal, but again I started sooner since Quincy had already done some solid foods before).  I tried it at lunch before giving him cereal, and then later added it to his evening meal.  Eventually, the cereal servings for lunch and dinner were replaced with vegetables, and the schedule below is what we now generally follow:

The above word generally is used very loosely.  As some of you parents out there have come to find out, babies (and children) can get into a routine and then change dramatically the following day, hour, minute...  Basically, they all come with built-in asterisks with a whole lot of fine print.  Factors like sleep, outside activities, visitors, car trips, teething, and every other component that affects your child's mood can change how well (or poorly) they eat.  But generally speaking, the above schedule has been good to follow for us.

You may notice that I nurse him when he first wakes up, and then he has breakfast, which is followed with another nursing session.  The Babywise II book recommends just giving them breakfast first, but Quincy would get too upset if I tried to do this.  Like scream-crying upset.  I think he struggled to make the connection that rice cereal was something that would fill his belly.  The book did address this issue and said to try nursing some and then giving them cereal, but again, this didn't go over well.  Instead, I found that if he nursed first, we hung out for a while and then had breakfast later, he did much better eating the cereal and some tears were spared.

Happily Eating Cereal

Now at two and a half weeks into this Do-Over, Quincy has gotten used to rice cereal and butternut squash.  I attempted carrots a few times, and must admit this is just one vegetable that might not be one we'll try a lot (Quincy hated them and would refuse to eat anything else at that meal once carrots were tried).  In my homemade baby food stash I also have peas, and am hoping to make some more purees of sweet potatoes, acorn squash, green beans, and lentils.  I think I'll also give baby oatmeal a try, too!

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In related news, the Teething Monster seems to sneak up on the H-G Household, so we've discovered some tricks to combat sore gums during mealtime...

It's hard to see in this slightly blurred photo, but Quincy has two teeth
(finally) coming in on the bottom; the left one has already cut through!

SOME OBSERVATIONS FOR TEETHING BABIES EATING SOLIDS

1.  Keep the Food Cold.  Whether it's baby cereal and milk or a pureed food, don't bother warming it before baby eats it.  In fact, I once had some rather icy squash that had mostly thawed from the freezer that Quincy loved to gulp down when his gums were sore.  One note on the cereal and milk: breast milk should not be microwaved as it can deplete it of important nutrients.  For the vegetables, I've popped them in the microwave for 5 or 6 seconds just to take the chill off, but no need when Quincy has had sore gums!

He's actually excited in this photo, if you can believe it.

2.  Be Patient.  When Quincy was especially fussy from his incoming teeth, the last thing he wanted was to have a spoon shoved into his mouth.  Unfortunately, he also wasn't too happy of a camper when he was hungry.  I found that at the beginning of a feeding session he was wary to eat, so I just took my time and gave him small spoonfuls, and then didn't push too hard once he had had enough.

Saving some for later.

3.  Keep it Positive.  The last thing a fussy, teething baby wants is an upsetting meal.  Keep it light and happy, and try to get them to eat, but don't be too forceful when they've had enough.

¡Abre la boca!

4.  Rotate Between Acetaminophen & Ibuprofen.  I've mentioned this before, but there is a time and place for medication.  We aren't big on drugging children or anything, but by following the recommended dosing for these pain relievers, it can help a great deal to comfort sensitive gums and/or teeth.  Having a pain reliever in their system before they need to eat has worked best for us.  By rotating between acetaminophen (Tylenol®) and ibuprofen (Motrin®), you don't run the risk of over-dosing on either of the medications with the doses being close together.  As always, check with your pediatrician before administering any kind of medication to your child.

Excuse me?  Next bite, please.

5.  Have a Cold Teether or Icy Washcloth On Hand.  When I couldn't get Quincy to calm down and take a spoonful of food, I would give him a cold teething ring to chew on in order to help chill down his sore gums, and then try to give him food.  Surprisingly, it worked!  Just be sure not to yank the teether from their mouth, which could cause further tenderness.  Gently remove the teether and replace it with a spoonful of food.

OOOH, SO GOOOOOD.
(use a Cookie Monster Voice for full effect)

Some questions for the readers out there:

1. If you make (or have made) your own baby food, what kind of vegetables did you prepare?

2. When did you introduce fruits?

3. What was your baby's favorite kind of food?

4. Any good tips you've come across for teething babies while they eat?

Squash Face

This Do-Over seems to be going pretty well - I mean, c'mon, look at that sweet, adorable face!

Ever had to call a Do-Over?  Share below!

~M

*Ezzo, Gary and Robert Bucknam, MD. (1995). Baby Wise II: Parenting Your Pretoddler, Five to Fifteen Months. Multnomah Books.

How We Became Life, Hyphenated

Image Courtesy of Kate Brown Photography, 2012

Often times, we write about what's going on in the life of the H-G's, but do you really know who we are?  Since (over) a year has passed since our very first post, we thought we would take the time to tell you a little bit about the three H-G's.

Maggie

MAGGIE, a toe-headed middle child, was born in the nation's Cereal Capital, spent summers in Alabama, and loves to consume baked goods, as long as they don't contain any nuts - she considers them wasted space that could have been filled with sugar and/or butter - though almonds, pistachios and walnuts are fair game if served in a heaping bowl all on their own.  Among her strange assortment of talents, she  loves to crochet, tolerates knitting, and can make a good home-cooked meal 40% of the time (the other 60% are made from a box or taste horrifically bad).  She has a passion for languages (formerly working in the translation and interpreting industry, though not as a linguist), loves to travel (has been to 29 states, 7 countries, and never had her wallet stolen), and thinks South Carolina has the prettiest license plates of all.  If you want to bribe her, do so with vanilla lattes, back rubs*, or skeins of yarn.  She is a stay-at-home mom, gets overly excited when successfully recycling something, and thinks chocolate chip banana bread is the cat's meow.

*Only close friends or family; creepy people need not apply.

Brad

BRAD is a metaphorical and literal omnivore. With a day (and night) job as an Internal Medicine PA-C, he imagines himself as a modern day cross between Sherlock Holmes (think more Doyle than Ritchie) and JD (from the first two seasons, before he got ridiculous). At any point, you are equally likely to find him reading NEJM, Bonnie Jo Campbell, or a hockey blog. He enjoys reading smart fiction, working on the house, riding his bicycle, and watching his son smile. In the end, he enjoys a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Quincy

QUINCY, born on Winter Solstice with no snow in sight, is a happy go lucky guy.  A night owl by trade, he enjoys chewing on plastic giraffes, stuffed animals, blankets, burp cloths, fingers, thumbs, hands, towels, and anything else at arm's reach.  Though only in his first year of life, he has developed a love of swimming (while being held by an adult), splashing (in pools and bathtubs), playing airplane, and napping in "his crib".  He has a slight obsession with cats, toes, fabric of all kinds, and the afore mentioned plastic giraffe.  Someday, he hopes to have teeth, object permanence, and a bicycle.

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As you can see, this blog is a way for us to share our lives with our friends, family, and pseudo-family-friends that have come across our page and decided to follow our posts.  Want to learn more about the H-G's?  Here are some hi-lights:

In 2011, we conducted the White T-Shirt Experiment to watch our first child grow in the womb, and happily welcomed him into the world in December (see a video introduction at this post).  We encountered mishaps in the kitchen, shed a few tears, discussed some of the perks of pregnancy, and shared a tale of brothers, among other things.

In 2012, we have so far admitted we love granola, loaded up the motherhood tool belt, learned how to nurse like a ninja, made some important promises (y una promesa), flew on five airplanes, and mulled over a big decision.

How did we become the H-G's?  Well, Brad was the H, and Maggie was the G.  When getting married, Maggie didn't want to lose her name because it had been with her since birth, identifying her, linking her to her own family, and representing her achievements thus far.  She opted to hyphenated, but it was Brad that suggested, "Why don't we both hyphenate our names?"

In true H-G Fashion, here's a mini slide show of the H-G Timeline...

The Engagement
Image Courtesy of Kate Brown Photography, 2006

The Wedding

Image Courtesy of Kate Brown Photography, 2006

The Pregnancy
Image Courtesy Kate Brown Photography, 2011

Life, Hyphenated.
Image Courtesy Kate Brown Photography, 2012

So Brad added a G, Maggie got herself an H, Quincy was born an H-G, and that is how we came to share this Life, Hyphenated.

Thanks for reading!

~The H-G's



P.S. As you can see, we LOVE Kate Brown Photography.  She does amazing work (we've used her for EVERY big event), and you should do the same if you haven't already!)

The Other Side of Nursing

We've talked previously about breastfeeding challenges (and how to channel your inner ninja), but we have reached a point where we need to talk about pumping.  If ever a nursing mom needs to get out of the house without the baby - whether it be for errands or a day at work - pumped milk is a necessity.

I won't touch on every point of pumping, but thought I would share some challenges I have faced**.  But, DON'T WORRY.  No demonstrations or creepy footage - this will be approved writing for all ages, though I'm not certain all ages will find the topic riveting.  Here goes:

TOP FIVE CHALLENGES OF PUMPING

1. Breast milk does not have an unlimited supply available all the time.  Some women can produce large quantities, but it's all about telling your body to produce enough.  Nursing is a curious and amazing thing because your body will produce milk as it is needed.  When baby goes through a growth spirt and they need more, your body will kick into gear and produce more over the next few days (or until whenever the growth spirt tapers off).  Similarly, if you begin to ween the baby from nursing (or they begin to ween themselves), your supply will begin to decrease.

Rice Cereal + Milk

So what does this mean when you need to pump in addition to nursing for a night out or to add to baby cereal?  You have to tell your body to produce more, which means pumping when you don't have any left or adding in extra sessions outside of nursing.  For me, this usually means midnight pumping or ridiculous-middle-of-the-night-why-am-I-awake-at-three-A-M sessions.

On a side note: I have to give props to my dad on this one.  He babysat Quincy when Brad and I had our first date night out, and I had pumped ahead of time to ensure Quincy would have enough food.  Upon returning to my dad's house to pick up Quincy later in the evening, he told us how Quincy did eating, sleeping, etc., and then told me, "Don't forget the extra milk in the fridge.  I know how hard you worked to get it."  He may not have noticed, but I got a little choked up after hearing those words.  Having someone recognize the hard work put into setting aside sustenance for my son really resonated with me as a new mom.  Often times, that hard work goes unnoticed (when milk is warmed up, never eaten, and tossed; when milk is pumped and forgotten in the diaper bag without an ice pack, and tossed; when milk is refused by a fussy baby, and tossed...), which can be heart-wrenching when you've spent a lot of time and energy producing and collecting it. {Thanks, Papa!}

2. Pumping is a lonely chore.  At least with nursing, you have a cuddly baby hanging out with you.  As for pumping, you have to find a place suitable for pumping (especially when at work or out of the home), hook yourself up to a contraption, sit up, be relaxed, wait for milk to come, wait for enough milk to be gathered, watch for when pumping is done, store the collected milk (bottle or bag; cooler, fridge, or freezer), and then hope beyond hope that every single drop will be consumed and nothing will go to waste.

Pumping isn't quite as acceptable to do in front of others like nursing can be, so typically you have to isolate yourself in another room or area.  For working moms, this could mean using your breaks when you usually meet up with friends and colleagues (or just take a break to eat and relax) to hide away in a bathroom or office to pump.  Or, if pumping while company is over, this means going off to a different room, and missing out on the conversation or social time with friends or family.

3. Babies are more efficient.  What a baby could take 10-15 minutes to complete, pumping takes much longer (at least for me; maybe other moms out there have better luck).  To fill a four ounce bottle, it could take me one 30 minute session, or four 30 minute sessions, or 1 late night hour; it all depends on the time of day, when the last feeding took place, etc.

From left to right: 9:00am, 5:00pm, Midnight.

4. Some pumps are better than others.  I first purchased a manual pump since I would be staying home full-time and expected to only need to pump for occasional babysitters.  It worked alright, but I found I needed to concentrate a lot more on using the manual pump, and it took a lot of time for me to get a minimal amount of milk.

Medela® Harmony™ Manual Breastpump
Current Price Tag at Target: $34.19

Medela® Swing™ Single Electric Breastpump
Current Price Tag at Target: $159.99

Eventually, I broke down and purchased a single electric pump, which made the task go a little bit more quickly, though a double (both sides at once) pump would have been more efficient, but cost a heck of a lot more.  Obviously, the manual pump was much cheaper, but with needing additional milk for rice cereal, the electric pump has saved me some time.

5. It's okay to cry over spilt milk.  As number one above proves, it can be tricky to find the time, and energy, (and milk) for future feedings.  For number two, it can be emotionally and socially distancing to isolate yourself in order to collect milk.  Number three shows us that it's a time eater, while number four let's us know the equipment can affect how quickly the task can be completed and at what cost.  

With all that said, it's tough when the milk doesn't get used when it took a lot of effort to get it!

And here are just a few ways I've found it helpful to keep track of all things milk and pumping:

I use a permanent marker & circle stickers
to label when the milk was pumped.

Stickers are fine in the fridge or freezer,
just be sure to peel them off before washing.

I use this 31 Bag™ to store my pumping gear (main section),
user manuals (side pocket), stickers & marker (other side pocket),
though you can purchase really nice pumping bags
that are specifically designed for pumps and storage.

We're big fans of glass bottles - no BPA's, fridge & freezer friendly,
and recyclable once baby grows up! We use these
Evenflo® Four Ounce Glass bottles for feedings and storage.

So there you have it.  Hopefully, this was helpful to the new and soon-to-be mommas out there, and educational for everyone else!

~M

**These are just a few challenges that I have faced, but I'm sure there are others out there!  There can be added complications with pumping when the mother's supply is low, the baby isn't nursing well, the cost of a pump is too great, or the baby refuses to take a bottle.  Feel free to share any insights in the comments below!

Hey Friends, Let's Share!

A while back, I mentioned that I have crafting urges from time to time, and am especially a fan of yarn and yarn related projects.  Instead of typing tons of words to tell you all about why I love making things, I thought I'd just share some photos of some of my recent projects, in no particular order...

Bow Tie Bunny - Notre Dame Colors {For Baby B.}

Giraffe & Bow Tie Bunny - Mustard Yellow & Medium Blue {For Baby I.}

Guess How Much I Love You Bunny {For Baby F.}

Ladybug Slippers & Newsie Hat {For Baby F.}

Sailboat Beanie Hat {For Quincy}

Crocheted Blooms (my pattern found here)

Mrs. Giraffe {For Baby K.}

Mr. & Mrs. Giraffe {For Baby K.}

Momma Slippers {for Momma N.}

Spring/Summer Wreath {For the H-G Front Door}

Teal & Grey Giraffe {For Baby L.}

I need to point out that I only made the circles for these pillows on this next project.  My friend, Kristin, made these beautiful pillow covers and wanted to add a few crocheted circles for a splash of color.  Didn't they turn out great?!

Crocheted Circles for Pillows

Great layout & design, Kristin!

Special thanks to my friend, Megan, for working on these sewing projects with me... (I love Meg/Mag Time!)

Baby Shoes {For Baby K.}

Two Yards of Fabric, plus...

One Old Shirt Pulled from the Goodwill Pile, equals...

A New Summer Dress with Matching Sash! (tutorial here)

This next project I have to explain a little bit (obviously, if you've already peeked ahead at the pictures!)  I had seen a pattern of a bearded beanie for children on Pinterest, and purchased it through Etsy (find the pattern here).  I had intended to make one for Quincy, because - let's face it - it'd be adorable.  Well, it turned out to be huge.  So I put it on, and took a few photos.  Don't I make a manly lumberjack?!

Excited Lumberjack Maggie

Happy Lumberjack Maggie

Pensive Lumberjack Maggie

Now, my question for you is: Got anything you're working on?  This doesn't have to be limited to yarn and fabric.  Do you do wood-working, glass-blowing, or design your own lampshades?  Share in the comments below!  I (and the few dozen followers of this Life, Hyphenated blog) would love to hear about it!

May your life be filled with creativity,

~M