Success!

Tonight was a major break through on "operation nap/bed time change" of putting the little man to bed without mama laying beside him. Usually for him to go to bed for the night it requires me to lay down and nurse him in bed. I love co-sleeping and nursing, neither of which I'm looking to change right now. The goal right now is to work toward the little man taking naps without me being beside him the whole time, and being able to be put into bed without me being there for at least a couple hours. He seems to like to go to bed around 8pm, which is great, except I want to go to bed around 10pm. Those 2 extra hours a day I would love to be able to spend with my husband without one of us holding a baby, or even get some cleaning done and some prepping for the next day (meals, laundry, ect). However, as things are the little man needs his mama to lay down and nurse him, then stay beside him while he sleeps. We haven't had much success, yet, with the napping alone because he has been teething, which requires extra nursing and cuddles. I do think we are on the right track though. He is been unlatching and rolling over so that is a step in the right direction. However, tonight we had a major break through! The little man accidentally skipped his afternoon nap (it got late in the day and then dad came home, then it was dinner time) so he was ready for bed at 7:30pm. I took this opportunity to try something. I sat in the rocking chair and nursed him, he very quickly fell asleep, then unlatched. At this point I took him to the bed and laid him down (something that hasn't been successful since he was about 2 months old). He opened his eyes, and then fell right back to sleep! It was amazing! It lasted about an hour before he started looking for me. I still count this as a major success because dad and I got to hang out on the couch and hold hands just the two of us for an entire hour! Also, the little man was laid down and stayed asleep! I am so excited! I think this is the beginning of "operation nap/bed time change" being successful.

Baby-lead weaning.

Baby-lead weaning is simply amazing! The little man decided to start eating food when he was 7 1/2 months old. I knew he was ready because he reached out to my plate grabbed a handful of food and ate it. It took another few weeks for him to start eating regular meals. I know people get pressured into giving their babies food early or "cereal" crap so I want to be clear. My extremely healthy, thriving, and large boy had ONLY breast milk for 7 1/2 months. Now at 8 1/2 months he eats at least 3 times a day (not counting the times he nurses). I did fairly mushy stuff at first that had just enough texture he could pick it up and then squish it in his mouth. It only took about 2 weeks of doing that so he could learn to chew instead of just swallow. As soon as he figured out he needed to chew I have been able to give him pretty much anything. Keeping in mind he only has front teeth, so nothing hard. Right now he likes sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, pears, bananas, avocado, hummus, oatmeal, bell pepper, quinoa, zucchini, venison, chicken, beef, pork, blueberries, and peaches. He is a big fan of eating! Just for lunch today (after oatmeal this morning and 3 nursing sessions) he ate; pot roast, zucchini, quinoa (with orange bell peppers and onions), and pear. He had quite a bit of food, but since he fed himself I knew he wasn't over eating. Of course he had water to drink along with his meal. He will look at the food and pick out what he wants to eat and get a drink as needed. It is so easy and such a wonderful thing. He can also eat crackers. I had some graham crackers on my plate today, and he reached over and started taking bites out of it. It made his dad a little nervous, but I knew it would be fine. He didn't take too big of a bite, and took a drink of water now and then to wash it down. BLW is simply the only way to go for us.

No more dyes!

After reading this article : 100daysofrealfood Blog

Washingtonpost.com: “Beyond the behavioral problems and cancer risks, the greatest hazard that dyes pose for children may also be the most obvious: They draw kids away from nutritious foods and toward brightly colored processed products that are high in calories but low in nutrients, such as fruit-flavored drinks and snack foods. Those types of foods are a major force in America’s obesity epidemic.”

I have decided to make a conscious effort not to purchase foods that contain dyes (other than dyes that are made naturally). If we are visiting someone, or the little man is attending a birthday party for example and the host provides foods with dyes we will partake in the festivities and enjoy a cupcake (or whatever the treat happens to be). However, for my home and the foods I purchase with the intent to feeding my family or guests I will be doing my best to avoid dyes. I am so disappointed that we live in such a world that these types of dangerous things are so easily obtained without so much as a warning on the package. At least if you were to buy tobacco products there is a warning label telling you that they are unsafe, and children under 18 years can not legally purchase these things. Yet, a child with a little bit of change can purchase a package of candy with very harmful substances inside it, and most people do not think a thing about it. I hope everyone reading this will do their own research about the harmful effects of dyes. Even if you choose to continue to consume them at least you will understand the risks you are taking. As for me and my family we just can not look at a package of skittles the same way again.

Teething.

There is just no other way to put it...teething sucks! My little one is working on getting more teeth (he has 7 already). It just makes him feel so uncomfortable! He usually sleeps really great all night, however, when teething he wants to nurse all night. This isn't so bad since we co-sleep, except for the fact that when he is teething his latch changes. Normally he has a great latch that is very comfortable, but while he feels so bad it is more shallow and the teeth he already has kinda scrape while he nurses. So not only does teething make the little man feel badly, it makes mama feel badly as well. No one gets the "normal" amount of sleep, the little man doesn't get as much play time in because he just wants mama to hold him, and I end up getting behind on just about everything. Like I said...teething sucks! Hopefully, the new teeth emerge soon so we can all go back to our regular rhythms.

What do you use to ease the pain of your little ones when they are teething? Our solutions tend to be: a lot of nursing, frozen wash cloths, Sophie, wooden teethers, whatever he finds to chew on (that is safe), hylands teething tablets, Motrin. He usually always has his amber necklace on which seems to keep the use of the tablets and/or Motrin to a minuem.

As for me I add a little extra coconut oil to the milk jugs (aka boobs) to keep them healed and help them feeling better while the little mans latch is different.

Tonight's co-sleeping story

Tonight is a co-sleeping success. My sweet baby is sound asleep beside me with his hot little feet on my leg, with his arms all sprawled out taking up most of the bed. It is so precious! It is nights like this that I see him so happy and peaceful that I am extra thankful that we decided to bed share/co-sleep.