Baby Teething Biscuits

I have the "do it myself" attitude lately and I am afraid my daughter already has that too! She is too funny. Scanning Pinterest during nap time got me thinking that I could make a healthier more natural teething biscuit. I ended up finding a few different ones and making it work for me. Simple swaps like white flour for whole wheat flour and vegetable oil for coconut oil, I think I have a winner, baby tested and approved :) Once this batch is gone I will work on other flavors and combos! Eeekkk exciting. This is a one bowl wonder! Start with 1 large bowl. 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of baby rice cereal. I use this cereal.

Next add in 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Melt it down first, then measure out 2 tbsps. Gotta love Trader Joes!

Add in rest of ingredients. 4 tablespoons of water, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1 medium sized ripe banana, mashed. Mix all together. The "dough" is very dry, do not add more liquid! Just take off your rings and mix it with your hands until it is all blended, it will get there. I did not flour my counter but you can. Roll it out to about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thickness and just like cookies, pick the shapes of your choice. I dug out quite the variety because I wanted to see what was easiest for her to hold and eat. I did stars, bunnies, candy canes, apples, and moons. This batch of dough made approximately 20 teether cookies. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place your cut outs on a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes. Yes I did the taste test before I let her chew on it....seriously not bad! I mean, if I get hungry in the car and it's all I have on hand, I wouldn't put it past me to eat one :) Once they are done cooking, let them cool and store in an air-tight container. I kept some out and froze the rest!

Later that evening I couldn't wait to see if she liked it...she loved it! We tried the candy cane shape first so she could grab it easier and it has rounded ends in case she hit her face. We are not that graceful yet. I may rethink the whole pointy star thing :/ The entire time she was chewing on it and my husband kept warning me they make the biggest mess and he couldn't believe I was letting her "eat" it on the couch. Who cares right? Babies are messy but these biscuits are not! At least not yet! I made a believer out of him too! Enjoy!

Next we will try out the bunny for Easter!

Holy Week

No I am not referring to Ash Wednesday, I am simply stating what a week and it's not even Friday! Like holy moly, holy toledo, and holy crap. Lots of ups and downs and yes, I still blame hormones? Is that allowed? In my last post I talked about how it annoys me when people comment on how "tiny" my baby is. I can let a lot of things go but this I couldn't. Nothing makes you feel worse than someone thinking you aren't caring for your child. I know this sounds stupid but I seriously started thinking, am I doing something wrong? Or not doing enough? What's a girl to do when my princess won't take a bottle...still, and can't eat that much cereal to boost calories significantly? I started wondering about my milk supply. I saw a FB post of someone's 12 ounce pump and know there is no way I could get that. That is dairy cow status and that must make me a baby cow. Darn you Facebook. Maybe my baby is not getting enough milk? Well, I will start eating more protein, butter, and carbs, that shouldn't be a problem :) I also know people swear by Fenugreek pills. So I bought them. WHY WHY WHY do they make me freaking smell like Mrs. Butterworth's syrup! I even made my hubs smell my pits (lucky guy) to see if he could tell...Yep. Awesome. Does this happen to everyone or am I special? On top of all of that, I am going to increase my water/fluid intake. We shall see if any of this helps. If you have other tricks..help a sister out! Holy moly.

Wednesday's doctor appointment couldn't come soon enough to prove to myself that I was doing a good job with my baby. Yes I know how to care for her but I had and still have my doubts. My poor hubby is probably tired of me asking if she's getting bigger or growing like she should. He probably wants to cover up people's mouth when they start to say how tiny she is because he knows that's one more blow to my already beaten heart. How can something so cute and "tiny" cause me this much stress? First blow of the day came when the doctor's office called me at 12:00 when her appointment was at 1pm, stating I need to reschedule (if I don't want to wait 2 hours) because they were behind. Lady, you have NO idea how anxious and upset I have been about this appointment. Plus I rearranged her naps for this and now you want to switch me to tomorrow? Good thing I have no life. Talk about tears. Ridiculous I know but I had mentally preparred myself for her shots and wanted to put my mind at ease about her growth. Now we wait until 9:30 am Thursday. Holy toledo.

I think my baby knows how to make me feel better because she decided she would start rolling over. Kind of like " see mom, im getting bigger and you are doing a good job." God I love that baby girl. Sorry I didn't alert the FB media with that milestone but I don't want any other moms thinking because their baby isn't rolling over there is something wrong :) Oh and some more tears came with that too, hormones again. Mom now equals mush.

Today was the day. 9:30 am is not an ideal time for us but the earlier the better for me and my crazy brain. Well folks, I am not starving my child and her growth is not stunted. Her weight was 11lbs 14.6 ounces still trending on the growth chart. Her head and length have taken a huge leap! I guess I will have a smart string bean?? No worries from the doctor and no more craziness from me until next week. Kidding. Funny how that one person can put your mind at ease. I especially loved it when I asked the doctor for advice and she told me to wake her up every 3 hours at night ( to make me feel better) and feed her. Ummm lady, we already do that. Next. Try a bottle or extra feeding. Ummm won't take a bottle and is on the boob 24-7. Next. Hello Diva! That is one thing we agreed on. Holy crap.

If any of you watch the Bachelor, I am kind of like Jaun Pablo. Except I'm female, speak English, and not looking for love. But right now my favorite thing to say is, " it's ok." Seriously though, it is. She will only wake up every few hours and nurse for such a short time. I love rocking and feeding her, holding her tiny baby hand and kissing her sweet cheeks everytime I put her back to sleep. It's okay that she doesn't take a bottle right now. Before I know it she will be taking a sippy cup. Yes, I want a date night, yes I want a break, but I will get all of that and more soon enough. Before you know it she will be getting into the car and leaving for college, then I will give anything to get back that every 2 hour feeding and that time just to hold my sweet baby. Each time I nurse her I notice her legs get a touch longer. She now dangles them on the chair as compared to how she simply fit in one of my arms when we brought her home. I will never get any of that back and that's ok, I will live in each moment and take joy from it all. I need to learn to trust myself and my instincts, besides, momma knows best.

Enough Already

Since before I can remember people have been asking me when was I going to have a baby. You know exactly what I am talking about. It all starts after you graduate high school with, where are you going to college? When are you getting engaged? When are you getting married? And on and on and on. Really? I am starting to believe that people really have nothing else to talk with you about so they blurt out crap, kinda like that awkward moment when you are talking about the weather with someone. Boring. Do you really care when all that happens for someone? Hey, I am totally guilty of this and will be the first to admit it. I don't really care when you get married or have kids or if you don't have kids. I am just happy that you are happy but that's as far as it goes. I honestly can't wrap my head around why people feel the need to tell me I can't just have one child, I should have more, and I don't want them to be an only child. Newsflash! They clearly do not know me! God gave me one baby girl and knows my heart is full. Just because my arms are not full of kids doesn't mean I need to fill em. I would like to know if they are coming home with me to care for them, pay for them, and play with them? Not every only child is an unsocialized nerd. Plus I love nerds, I married one! Just because you tell me I should have more doesn't make me want to do it again, I promise. And when you ask me now that she is getting older, doesn't it make me want another? H E double hockey sticks no. One little girl that could potentially be like me is plenty good. Enough already. People, yes I gave birth, well kind of, and yes this kid is mine. Mall walking has opened my eyes to a whole other world of stupidity. People ask me daily, is that your baby? I smile and say "yes she is mine", but what I really want to say is no, I stole her from the play area. Why would I be smooching on someone elses baby? If it is a ploy to get me to stop walking so you can peek at her, it doesn't work, my Keds keep on pushing forward. I mean seriously, I don't look 12 years old, I am clean, I wear a wedding ring (you single Moms rock, seriously!), and I am usually holding her, why wouldn't she be mine? Enough already.

To add to the above pet peeve, I am really at a loss for words when I am told that I am so skinny, how did I have a baby. Well, I gained less than 20lbs, she came 4 weeks early, I breastfeed, and I watch my intake, but instead I manage to let out a "ha thanks." Thanks? Awkward in the least. What the heck else do you say? I find it polite and flattering when a woman can compliment another woman or when they simply say, "you look great." Thank you. Not like the loud lady in Godiva as I am standing in a line of 6 people buying overpriced Valentine candy yells out, " I hope you adopted that baby, you are skinny!" Ummm nope she is mine. "But you look like you never had a kid and you're buying chocolates." Thanks for noticing the obvious, I have had a soild 3 months to loose 15 lbs people, stop the madness. What would you say if I hadn't lost the weight? Or geeze am I too skinny? My old clothes fit me just fine, nothing has changed, well nothing has changed about my waistline. Enough already.

"Oh my gosh she is so tiny!" Another one that gets my goat. I feel like a total piece of crap for not having a "healthy" looking baby. I know she is healthy and growing perfectly on her own curve but why would I ever care what anyone says? Maybe because everyone points it out. Obviously they have not noticed how "skinny" I am (sarcasm) and clearly haven't seen her Daddy! Haha. She is petite. But once again I find it necessary to tell people that she came 4 weeks early everytime. Then I get a "Oooohhhh that makes more sense," comment from them like they all have medical degrees or something. I just commented on a Facebook post today about her still being in size 1 diapers and how guilty I was feeling about it. I have great friends and now feel much better about it but see how easy it is to get that new Mom thinking she isn't doing something right by your stupid comments? Enough already. I am almost over the stares I get when she is crying, almost. Enough already.

Well my skinny butt needs to end this blog post and feed my growing baby genius so she can show off at her next doctors appointment. Nap time and rant time is over. We both feel much better :) Until next time....

Homemade Baby Food-Sweet Potatoes

Yes you can do this! It is much easier than I ever thought it would be. I know what you may be thinking, " You only have one child and no job away from home, you have time." Am I right? Hopefully by the end of this post you will be able to judge for yourself and if you have the time to read this, you have the time to do this :) I did a little trial run so that when I am ready to actually stock up and make food in bulk, it will go nice and smooth. I have been taking tidbits and suggestions from the internet and from other moms who make their own baby food too. I decided to start with sweet potatoes. I chose to buy Organic because I wanted to use the ends for a starter in my garden this coming Spring. Yes, I am going to overachieve and try to grow some of the produce I will be feeding my baby. I have had a garden for the past 3 years and thought why not change up my crop! If you are just starting out on solids, make sure you are only introducing 1 new food at a time with at least a week between foods to observe for any allergies your baby may have. If you are going to make your own I found this chart on Pinterest to be helpful of when you should buy organic. You may have heard of the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen.

What you will need:

Steam bags- Glad brand or ZipLoc Zip'N Steam bags is what I have on hand and worked great Food Processer- I was going to buy the Baby Bullet because I thought I needed it, wrong. I have a regular Magic Bullet AND a food processer which worked perfect. I used the Bullet because it was going to be an easier clean up, just throw it in the dishwasher (except the machine part). There are so many cups and sizes with the Bullet I will be able to puree multiple things in the future without stopping to clean each cup. Knife Vegetable Peeler Cutting Board Saran Wrap- to cover your ice cube trays while they freeze ZipLoc Freezer Bags Baby water if you don't want to use tap water or filtered water from your home (your choice), formula or breast milk.

Ice Cube Trays- I used  these silicone because the food pops out easier then banging the plastic ones on the counter until it comes out, plus that may wake the sleeping baby! P.S use a 20% off coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond to save extra money on these trays!

Directions: Wash your produce. This should always be the first thing you do before you eat something so obviously you should do this before feeding it to your baby.

Peel your potatoes and chop into cubes. Place into steam bags and microwave according to package directions. Glad bags states 3 cups of potatoes, steam for 7-8 minutes.

While you are waiting for your taters to steam, set up your Bullet. I used the large cup with the 4 prong blade. The flat blade did not puree as well, leaving chunks. Once your microwave dings, remove and let cool for a few minutes! DO NOT BLEND POTATOES PIPING HOT OR IT MAY EXPLODE. I know this from watching Chopped on the Food Network :) I blended this into 3 batches so I could make sure it was all pureed, plus I had no idea what I was doing. If you have any liquids leftover in the bag from steaming, use them, they have some nutrients from the potatoes. You will have to add more liquid of your choice, a lot more than I thought initially. I chose to add water because I did not want to use my already pumped milk and because the formula we have on hand expires in June. Add water a little at time to achieve the consistency you prefer. Once pureed, pour or spoon into ice cube trays, cover with Saran wrap and freeze.

My 2 large sweet potatoes made 26 "cubes" of food, which is plenty to start with because I need to see 1.) If she likes it 2.) If she has any allergies toward it 3.) She won't start out eating more than 1 or 2 cubes at a time, that is already almost 2 weeks of taters! Now throw your Bullet pieces, knife, peeler, ice cube trays when food is frozen, cutting board, if it will fit (mine does), into your dishwasher and you are done! Once frozen, about 3-4 hours later, pop out of trays and put into your freezer ZipLoc bags. Make sure you label the bag with the date and what you are freezing! Your food should be good up to 3 months in your fridge freezer and 6 months in a deep freeze. My husband told me to start looking for a deep freeze before I take over our fridge freezer. Haha.This little taste of making my own baby food seriously gets me excited to make my own concoctions and to puree what we are eating. She will hopefully develop a diverse palate and learn to love food!

So ya think you can handle this?? Let me know if you try to tackle homemade baby food and please share your favorite baby recipes with me! After she starts eating her sweet potatoes we will be tubbin more often in our pink whale!