Some Things

There are some reportable things about Z as of late. First, we are doing about half of bath time sitting up. Which, if I haven't emphasized this enough yet, let me say again, this is the best bathtub out there. We've been using it since about 6 weeks (and could've started even earlier), and as you can see, it is growing with him, and he loves it!

On Sunday, we noticed that after Z ate at around 11, he was still fussy. He had a great nap that morning, so we thought we should try feeding him a second solid meal. Now I know that for most people this is no big deal, but for me it is a sign that my baby is getting closer to no longer being a baby, and therefore, it is stressful. I mixed up some applesauce with rice cereal and he chowed. So, I guess it's time for a second meal. I was going to try and hold out for a bit longer, but the boy's gotta eat!

Sunday was a super nice day. We went for a walk and to Superior Grill. We really never get enough of Superior Grill. Z tried out his hook-on chair for the first time, and did awesome. I loved it, too because I didn't have to have him in my lap the whole time.

Great Friday

I just wanted to take a minute to share what a great day Z and I have had today. After his (short) nap, my mom and I took off with him to the Summit. We felt we were both long overdue for a shopping day. Z did well and enjoyed seeing all the scenes, and more importantly, Mom and I had a great time and found a lot of good stuff. Then we came home and he crashed.

Here he is in the stroller, which admittedly he didn't stay in for long.

Checking himself out in the mirror in the dressing room. Lookin' good

The day ended with a good meal (for Z) and he was out like a light at 7. We watched a movie (It's Complicated) and crashed ourselves. Weekend here we come!

Now This is More Like It

Z struggled with life on earth in his first three months, as I have reported in many blog posts. I am a firm believer in the Happiest Baby on the Block, and Z was a textbook 4th trimester baby! I'm saying all of this to emphasize the complete shift he has made since then. Z has become a laid back, cool babe who rarely fusses, sleeps well, and is a pleasure to be around. I knew he had a laid back personality in there somewhere, and now it's finally coming through. Z is content to hang out on his playmat and roll back and forth or to sit up and bat at the toys hanging from the playmat. He is still happy sitting in our laps, being worn, even playing quietly in his crib in the mornings. The only bit of wild man that comes out these days in when he's in his exersaucer. It's like he gets carried away with the momentum he creates, and it takes over him. It makes me laugh so hard!


One of the sweetest things he is doing these days is that he loves to reach up and play with my face while he's nursing. He's been doing this off and on for the last month or so, but now it is the norm. I mean it's like we sit down, get situated and Bam! There goes the hand. He'll grab my lips or stick his hand in my mouth, but he pretty much has it up on my face the whole time. Makes it hard to do my makeup in the mornings before I feed him. Now, my theory on this is that he is getting me back for always picking at him when he eats, because that is my time to clean out his ears or any crusties on his face. I even usually cut his nails while he's eating. Poor guy, he's got a crazy mom who won't even allow him to enjoy his eating without being all over him, and he never even complains.

I am saying this to remind myself how blessed I am to have such a chill baby. There have been so many nights in our little condo when we have been talking so loudly or watching a movie loudly while Z sleeps quietly just one room over. There have also been many occasions when Nick and I look at each other and say, how sweet is he? Because he is so calmly sleeping through all kind of chaos when family comes over. I am so thankful for my sweet little angel. He is a blessing from God that makes my life infinitely better than it was before.

We had a fantastic weekend. We got out on Saturday and went to the Mount Laurel spring festival with some of our (and z's)friends. The weather was awesome. Then we had dinner at our place with my uncle and grandmother who are visiting from Houston (which was one of those loud chaotic events that Z slept through). Sunday we totally chilled at home then went to whole foods for dinner. We picked up some more produce for the Z man that I am looking forward to trying as well as some organic baby cereal.

This was the best picture we could manage from our outing. Z loved hanging with two pretty ladies.

Everything is going pretty smoothly on the food front, and I am having a blast making it, thanks mostly to the babycook.
So far we have had bananas, sweet potatoes, avocado/sweet potatoes, avocado/bananas, carrots, peas, peas/carrots, applesauce/strawberries, bananas/strawberries and rice cereal mixed in with those fruit combinations here and there. I can't say that he really has a favorite yet. For the most part he has been receptive to all of it. I usually start him out with a veggie then do a fruit or fruit rice cereal mixture for dessert. The constipation has improved since I have been giving him more variety. to put it simply, avocados work!

He has a few sips of water here and there. He seems to like a regular cup more than the sippy, although the Nuk sippy seems to be a good transition cup.

He still all about some playmat time!

 Chillin with his Jido. He can actually do this for a while with his Jido and his Grandma.

Just the 11 of Us

This weekend was the much anticipated Pacha family reunion. I say it like that because it really is rare that we (and by we, I mean the six of us in my immediate family) are ALL together. My brother Tarek and his son Jude came down from frigid Michigan and my sis and her kids Amira and Adam from warm sunny P'cola. We all gathered at the house where we grew up in Sylacauga. The weather was amazing and we had a blast together. Something about reuniting with your siblings makes you feel like a kid again. Oh, and maybe the fact that my 4 year old niece and nephew were running around like crazy people the whole weekend had something to do with it too.

My parents were beside themselves having almost all of the grandkids (my 16 month twin nieces stayed in Michigan with my sis-in-law) in one place, and I attempted to capture some of the moments with my camera. Although it was on fully automatic basically the whole time, I still felt somewhat like a photographer. You have to admit I had some good material to work with ;)

Here is my dad with our first borns Jude, Z, and Amira

This is Amira, my sister's oldest. I told her to freeze. I love this picture, although my sister says Amira's hair needs to be fixed.

This is Jude's first day of school pose. I could eat this kid up. He is SO smart and sweet, it's ridiculous

This was what he did when I said make a crazy face

Of course this is my boo. He was an angel the whole weekend (until last night, I think he was overstimulated from all the chaos, and arguably, so was I).  He slept in a pack n' play in the laundry room, and did it like a champ, I might add.

 

Just a little sweetness here

Look at those beautiful green eyes

 

Our little monkey!

The four of us (Dima, Tarek, Me, and Faris)

 

An attempt at a group shot, minus my mom and Nick. This is by no means the entire group. My sister's husband also had to stay in P'cola to work.

Me and my older sis. Even though I'm taller, I look up to her

Daddy and Z

This is a great picture to illustrate how different my brothers are

Family is everything, and I am so thankful to have mine. I love them all very much, and I can't wait for Z to get to know his amazingly cool aunts and uncles. 

Solids... An Update

My pediatrician is probably about ready to renounce me as a patient. I'm not the most compliant of moms, but I'm working on it. At our 4 month check-up she gave me a clear plan for starting solids: 2 weeks of rice cereal, 2 weeks of baby oatmeal, then veggies, then fruit (so he won't develop a "sweet tooth"). She also told me to start sometime before Z turned 6 months. 6 month check up-the first question she asks, so how did he do with the rice cereal? Wellll... (I had been thinking for weeks about how I would tactfully tell her I didn't listen to a word that you said/wrote down so I wouldn't forget it) we didn't start with rice cereal. Why, you ask didn't I start with rice cereal? Because being the kellymom, LLLI, babycenter, consult the internet on every little thing person that I am, I came across several articles that said it isn't necessary to start with rice cereal and that it may even be better to start with some real whole foods. Well, of course the internet is smarter than my doctor. I know I love it when patients try to tell me how to do my job. But this is my child we're talking about here. I think I should be in control, right?

So, we began our journey. Bananas... bananas were the clear best first choice for breastfed babies, followed by sweet potatoes, applesauce, carrots, and at some point avocados (which I personally think are disgusting). Okay, so disregarding aforementioned advice we began on his 6 month birthday with... bananas, day 2-bananas, day 3-bananas, day 4-sweet potatoes and bananas. Enter doctor, telling me I must incorporate rice cereal to ensure babe is getting enough iron. Internet check: false... Now, what do I do? Because I know I will have to answer to her again soon, I put my internet research to the side, and I begin incorporating rice cereal in with the bananas. Note, this is still in opposition to the advice I was given, which was to start him on an iron supplement, which in the kellymom world might as well be poison.

What no one, internet, doctor or otherwise, told me was that I was putting my poor helpless child on a path to constipation. You can stop reading now if you care nothing about baby poop, but if you are a mom of an infant, you probably care a lot about it! Change up my search words in google a bit and I find out that almost everything he has been eating, including rice cereal, leads to constipation. HA! Now, I have the perfect come back for my next appointment when I'll get the inevitable question. How has he been doing on the rice cereal? Well, doctor, not so good, he's constipated. Then, I'll ask what should I do? Knowing that I will likely disregard whatever she says if it doesn't coincide with my trusty internet findings. In my defense, she is basing this iron deficiency solely on the fact that he hasn't been eating rice cereal for 2 months, and it is documented that the iron babies receive from breastmilk is the iron that is absorbed the best by their little bodies.

So, back to the food. After our bout with bananas, sweet potatoes, applesauce, carrots, it was mission: poop. Hearing that avocados have a laxative effect, I decided it was time to introduce them. Now, what you should know about Z is that whenever he begins a meal, he gives me the I smell poo face, and usually gags a couple of times. I believe this is part of his dramatic personality, but I digress. I knew avocado was going to elicit a similar response because when I tasted it myself (which I always do), I felt the pain, but as soon as I mixed it with the sweet potato (which is arguably his favorite new food), the boy went to town, and I have to admit it was a tasty combo. No results yet, but I'm hopeful, and I made enough for him to have for the next few days.

So, mom knows best? Well, at least we think we do ;)

Here's my big boy with carrots on his face

Spring is Here!

The weather is getting beautiful around here. Despite our obsession with our new ipads, and when I say "our" I'm referring to myself, Nicholas, Faris AND my dad, we managed to get in 2 walks this weekend (and long ones I might add). Z has been loving it, especially since we have found our his new favorite hold in the ErgoBaby. I especially like it because Nick is the one doing the carrying.

He's in there, I promise. He actually falls asleep rather peacefully in this position even though we are all running our mouths constantly while we're walking.

We cannot wait to take Z out in the nice weather as the spring and summer approach. Oh, and his thighs will be making their official debut in some shorts outfits very soon! In the meantime here are some more pics from this weekend.

Us on "The Trail"

 Clearly we have a whole new appreciation for the car

The "oh crap" handle

Here is another random picture. It documents that we are now swaddle-free and loving the freedom! This was after his doctor's appointment when he was exhausted.

6 Month Check-up and New Gadget

This has been an exciting weekend already. I was off Thursday and Friday, and we had our 6 month check-up on Friday. Okay, that wasn't so exciting, but thankfully everything went well. We had to wait for 45 minutes in the well baby waiting room, and Z was a perfect angel. There were a couple of older kids, and Z was just sitting peacefully checking them out. One mom even looked over at us and said, mine used to be sweet and quiet like that too as her 2-ish year old boy was banging his plastic light saber/sword into the wall repeatedly after she asked him twice to "hit the floor, not the wall." Needless to say, I spent the rest of the time praying that Z would retain a little bit of his calm and peacefulness into his toddler years.

Everything went fine with the doctor visit. His growth has slacked a little. Despite the obvious chunkiness of his thighs and cheeks, he weighs 15 pounds 11 ounces (35%) and is 26 and 1/2 inches (55%) long. He was so brave during his shots. He stopped crying the minute I picked him up, and this time I actually watched while the nurse gave them to him. Those needles are big! Anyway, I was so proud of my little man! Then we went home, and he slept it off, for 2 hours!

Saturday was Nick's birthday AND the release of the much anticipated Apple ipad. As if that weren't cool enough, it was perfectly paralleled with one of the characters on our new favorite sitcom Modern Family. In the words of Phil on the show, "it was like God and Steve Jobs got together and said, 'We love you, Phil.'" Anyway, Nick was determined, so he got up bright and early and stood in line with my bro Faris and came home with 2 brand new shiny 32 gb ipads! Apparently, his birthday was cause for me to get a gift too ;)

We sat around and played with our ipads for half the day on Saturday, then went out to eat at Bonefish to celebrate Nick's birthday. We decided to feed Z his solids before we left. He ate sweet potatoes and half a banana mixed with rice cereal! That was the most he'd ever eaten, and he crashed! He slept through half our dinner, which he has done maybe one other time since he was born!

In other news Z is sitting up unassisted (sort of). Here is the proof.

He still loves his tummy time