Adventures in Baby Food Making!

A few weeks ago we had our 4 month well visit with the pediatrician. Since our boy is such a giant, and now four months old, she asked about his interest in food, which is extremely high.  She gave us the green light to begin trying out some fruits and veggies of the pureed sort.  I got a few of the gerber organics and ella organics baby food and J – Man was definitely all about eating something other than breastmilk and the occasional formula bottle. Since he was digging all of the new tastes, I set out with my longtime plan of making baby food for him. I love how home-made baby food will have no preservatives and how I can experiment with small amounts of spices and flavors, though I haven’t done so yet – I figure its best to get him used to eating and processing food before going there.  This weekend I went to the grocery store and purchased $3.00 worth of fruits and veggies. That’s right $3.00. I set to work that evening and made around TWO WEEKS worth of baby food with NOT EVEN ALL of that $3.00 worth of produce! I knew that making baby food had flavor, texture, etc. advantages, but I had no idea it would be so much less expensive. Baby food at the store is pretty cheap – around 50-60 cents per jar, but two weeks for three dollars is an average of 20 cents per “jar.” Sidenote: I found the most perfectly sized plastic containers at the dollar store. 10 for $1! Woohooo!

This time around I made Asparagus, Summer Squash, Bananas, & Carrots. I am going to finish up with the Apples and possibly chickpeas tomorrow. Here are a few more of my always beautiful iPhone photos (I know you can’t handle the excitement!):

I am happy to announce that we have yet to meet a food that Jackson doesn’t like!

Babies Can Be Scary – The one time Google has NOT made it worse

Lately a funny thing has been happening to Jackson that freaks me OUT. He will be nursing and begin to fall asleep. Within seconds his little arms start trembling and shaking uncontrollably. It isn’t crazy intense, but it is definitely happening. It is almost as if his little arms are seizing. It doesn’t happen each time he nurses, but happens every couple of days, on the regular. I was hesitant to google, since google always has the worst-case scenario front & center. It happened again this morning, so I decided to bite the bullet and typed ‘baby arm shaking while nursing’ into the search box, held my breath, and pressed enter.  I came across a forum on Baby Center that actually eased my shaken nerves. Apparently this is a phenomenon that happens to babies (not all babies, but quite a few, actually) around 4 1/2 months of age and lasts up until around 7 months. Apparently all of these parents’ pediatricians noted that it is due to them having an immature nervous system and should work itself out. He is perfectly happy before and after it happens, and because he is sleep-nursing, I don’t think he even realizes it. When I break his latch and he stirs a bit, the shaking will always stop.

I made sure to put a call into the pediatrician, and they will be calling me back. Because my younger sister has epilepsy, they may want to schedule a video-taping session of me nursing him to see if they might be able to witness it actually happening. I don’t think it is really cause for concern at this point, since it seems to be happening to other infants as well, but I will definitely be watching him, and taking him into the doctor as soon as they call, especially with a family medical history of epilepsy.

My Latest Love Affair

I have a slight love affair with Shutterfly, Snapfish, or anything like it. This all began when I got married. My friend Emily gave us a giftcard as a wedding gift. She said that she had gotten one as a gift for her wedding and that it was one of the best gifts she could have received. I wholeheartedly agree with her. It was a thoughtful, wonderful gift. When I received all of the photos from our wonderful wedding photographer I realized that I should probably put an album together.  Insteaf of doing the usual black or white cover album that you slide the photos into, I decided to do something a little less conventional. I put that shutterfly gift certificate to use and set to work making a photo book. I loved how I could include every single photograph, quotes, and beautiful pages in a hard-cover, 12×12 coffee table book for around $100.00! Seriously, a professional wedding album could have cost hundreds more, especially after the printing fees for all of the photos.(Again with the iphone photos. im sorry. I promise to stop torturing you with these soon.)

I love that I could add the lyrics to the first song we danced to, the one played when we were announced, and even pieces of our ceremony vows on the pages of this book.

This week I had a promotional offer from my dear friend Shutterfly, and it was for a FREE 8×8 hardcover photo book (insert 100 million exclamation points here!). I had been planning for some time to make all of these blog posts into a photo book, and to do them in yearly increments. Seriously, this thing is the closest thing to a “baby book” little Jackson will probably ever have. This promotion was the perfect opportunity for me to begin doing so by pulling all of my pre-birth posts, from the very beginning of my pregnancy, and document the whole experience on paper.

When I checked the mail today I let out a squeal of delight when I saw the orange box waiting for me! I am in love with this project and cannot wait to put together the memories we are making now that Jackson is here, and to have an entire anthology of his childhood one day filling our bookshelves.

This one is obviously, a lot more text than the wedding album, but it is a perfect way to cherish the memories made during my pregnancy. I can read through these posts at any time and remember the quiet, excited, anxious anticipation I felt waiting to meet my son…for 40 weeks and 11 days, that is.

I ended the book with some of Jackson’s first photos, but saved his birth story to be the starting point of the next book.

I am in love. I highly recommend making photo books, giving shutterfly giftcards, and all things available to freeze memories as a keepsake!

Earth Shakin’

Today started just like any other ordinary day. Jackson awoke around 5:30 or 6:00 AM hungry, so I scooped him from his crib and fed him in bed, and flipped on the news. I was watching stories about the Denver Earthquake that struck this morning (last night their time) and the strangest feeling came over me. I thought to myself ‘we are going to have an earthquake today’  I sometimes get these premonitions and am constantly surprised when they are correct. 

Fast forward to this afternoon. I was at my friend Ali’s house having a play date with my niece, her daughter Zoe, and Jackson. Ali & I were sitting on her couch and at almost 2 pm there was a rumble like nothing I have ever felt. The canvas pictures above my head were shaking and I instinctively stood and stated calmly ‘earthquake.’  My knees got so weak and my heart began to race. Ali was like what WAS that? What should we do? And then immediately we both tried to call our husbands when the phone lines were not working (overloaded).  I said, ‘OMG what if it is an attack’ which is the exact thought she had at the time the earthquake hit. I left that thought and said ‘look. I’ve never felt an earthquake, but if there is anything I can imagine it feels like, that was it.’ I went to the computer to the USGS website, and saw immediately that a 5.9 magnitude quake hit Mineral, VA, which is about 60 miles from my house. 

Then we took to the social media and saw, literally, hundreds of people reacting to the earthquake.  The news is reporting that this is the largest quake in our area in over 100 years! Apparently it could be felt as far north as CANADA, and as far south as South Carolina! We came across this hilarious link of the ‘destruction’ from the quake: http://www.flickr.com/photos/highway/4814931249/ and laughed. Then, on the 4:00 news there were some actual destruction photos from DC note: all of these pictures are from the WUSA 9 Website: 

Also, the roof of my nephew’s school is either cracked/collapsed (I have heard both stories). Pretty scary for a kindergartner!  Luckily there have been no reports of injuries or fatalities! 

I got to thinking this evening that while I am experiencing many of Jackson’s ‘firsts’ alongside him, there are very few firsts that we are having together, at the same time. An earthquake is definitely one of them. Though minor quakes hit now and then, I have never felt one. This one we both felt, together. Aside from visiting Disney in the future (I have never been), there aren’t too many incidents in which we are both doing, being, feeling, seeing something for the first time together. 

I am beyond thankful that it was no worse for wear, and that no injuries are being reported! 

Jackson just had his first earthquake! So scary!

Jackson’s New Outfit

Some photos of my handsome little dude from the weekend. We made our way over to my Dad’s on Saturday for a cookout. My sister, Katie, was nice enough to give little Jackson a ride in the pool. He was in love, and I had to grab my phone to snap as many pictures as I could.

Adventures in Sewing | Throw Pillows!

I was browsing the home decor section of a local store today, and thought it would be nice to get some new pillows for the couch. It is such an easy way to change the feel of a room, whether with the changing of the seasons, or just to brighten things up a bit. My old pillows have been here for quite some time. I always look at the pillows and always hate how the ugliest of crappy cheap is a minimum of $15.00 per pillow. Even at discount stores like Ross or TJ Maxx. If you want nice ones, get ready to shell out some cash. I got to thinking that maybe I should try to make them. I mean, I make other stuff all the time, so why not. Off to the craft store (aka my bff) I went.  I bought 1 1/2 yards of material, three zippers, and a heavy fabric needle for my sewing machine. All of this cost UNDER $15.00! I am proud to say that they turned out just fine. I just took the covers off of the pillows I already had and replaced them with the ones I made.

I loved the striped fabric. I also chose a solid blue, that has almost a denim look to it to go with.  (Next time, I think I need some brighter colors and more colorful patterns).

The zippers were great because I can remove them for cleaning or to switch out with other covers at a later date.

Voila! The finished product!

This one is my fav. 🙂

Dearest Jackson,

Four months. They say that time flies when you’re having fun, and man is it true.  It seems like just yesterday I was staring into your eyes for the first time, yet also like you have been here for much longer than a mere four months. I am just as enamored with you as ever. It has been a crazy, busy month! You have spent a lot of time with your cousins, Carson, Bailey, & Abby. They all adore you and love to help out with you, especially when you cry. You weigh 18 pounds now and wear size NINE MONTH clothes! It amazes me just how big you are! You have learned to roll over both from front to back and from back to front (your favorite). You have even started to roll over in your sleep, which scares me a bit. I worry that you might suffocate, so I wait until late at night and turn you back onto your back. I feel silly when, in the morning, you are on your tummy again. In the past week or so, you have been really laughing out loud a lot. It is the most special sound, and I can get one out of you with a few tricks I have up my sleeves at any time! You have also become really into interactive playtime. You love, love, love your exersaucer and playmat, but now really can’t stand your swing, which was all the rage up until now.  You are becoming increasingly mobile and when I place you on your play mat and look down a minute or two later, it is not uncommon for you to have scooted all the way across the room!

To date, you have had two well-visits at the pediatrician that involved shots. Today, you had three. You don’t love them. I don’t blame you. Today, you turned a dark burgundy color and let out a single wail. You are also working pretty hard on getting some teeth. You awoke at 2:00 AM this morning, and were in so much pain. You cried and cried and stuffed your little fist into your mouth over and over. Moreover, you did not nap today because of it. You have made your mama pretty tired! I went to put you to bed this evening, and woke up, two hours later, still rocking you in your room. I am hoping for an easier night tonight, but when you are in that kind of pain, I don’t mind comforting you one bit. No matter how long or at what time.

I study you each day, and spend a good majority of my time marveling at how I could have possibly created such a perfect, sweet, big, chunky, delicious boy. I truly am enamored with you, and am on the edge of my seat waiting to see where this love train is headed next!

Always,

Mama

I am so beyond excited to be guest blogging over at Jet’s Journey today. E is a sweet mama to a baby J, just a few weeks older than Jackson! Check out her blog, but I warn you, you might become addicted to reading about her adorable family!