A Tad Tardy on the Baby Food

Oh the second child... It was all about timing. Levi was fed almost entirely homemade baby food, whereas with Owen we have been away from home from when he was 6 months old up until just under 4 weeks ago. Needless to say, he has been living off jar food until this week. Figures that he can finally enjoy basically whatever we eat and now gets a whole pile of baby food made for him!

Anyway, you can't go wrong with homemade apple sauce. All you need are apples and a touch of cinnamon. He prefers it far more than the alternative, so it was worth it.

He seems to be loving the Cheeky Chickpeas as well. Levi was a big fan. The recipe is from Lianne Phillipson-Webb, registered nutritionist and founder of Sprout Right. She teaches workshops in the Toronto area. My sister-in-law took a class with her and loved it. Being a little outside of Toronto I opted to buy her dvd's which teach the same basic steps as the workshops and provide you with the recipes.

A Long Drive

Sometimes a long drive is a very welcome thing.





Are pudgy baby fingers & toes not one of the most irresistable things??




All that time to stare at my sweet babes, and nothing to do but knit!

Plane Trip

We're heading off tonight for a much anticipated two week holiday to visit family. This will be Owen's first flight, where air travel is old hat to Levi. Fingers crossed for a flight with a few empty seats, or at least for a big, busy boy to be content sitting on his dada's lap for 4 hours!
We have a few plans up our sleeves to keep the peace including LOTS of snacks, and a new DVD just in case he isn't feeling whatever is on the seat back TV. He doesn't watch much TV at home, so when he does he pretty much loves whatever is happening on the screen, but you just never know. We also will have the always trusty paper and crayons, but it tends to be a short-lived form of amusement at this point in Levi's life.

I think everything is all packed and ready to go. I will continue to post when I'm away, but of course it will depend on all the goings on, so maybe a little less than usual.

YAY!!!

xo

DIY For The Nursing Mom

If you are a breastfeeding mom you already know that basically everything nursing related is kind of pricey. It's nice to have the odd thing that helps you in being a little more discreet, as well as bits and bobs to soothe and assist, so I have poked around for as many nursing related tutorials I could find and here is what I came up with:

A Nursing Cover from Prudent Baby

A hardware free Nursing Cover from Craftbits

A "No-Sew Nursing Top" from DIY Maternity

A Heating Pad to soothe and help with mastitis and or engorgement from Martha Stewart

Aromatherapy and Breastfeeding Massage from Everything Mom and Baby

Nursing Tops from Sleeping Baby.net

Converting a Regular Bra into a Nursing Bra from Mamas Worldwide

DIY Nursing Bras from hourglassy

DIY Breast Pads from The Leaky Boob

Home Remedies for Breastfeeding Problems from Motherwear's Breastfeeding Blog

Breastfeeding Pillow Cover from Make Your Own Baby Stuff

Enjoy!

Another Reason To Toilet Train!

I considered the possibility of diaper removal, I really did. I thought "no way. This guy is WAY too tired for that". And so it goes...

An all too short while later, chatty McChatters is partying it up in his crib so I decided an intervention was in order. When I poked my head in the door I gotta say, it didn't smell pretty, and when he spoke the words "poo poo" to me, I thought "um yeah, no kidding", but I did in no way expect to see what I did.

Yikes! He looked pretty comfortable laying there in all that poo, ankles crossed, feet resting up on the side of the crib. He also looked pretty proud of himself for pulling his nappy off all on his own. Needless to say, it took one full load of washing, one bath, and one clean set of blankets and sheets to set everything right once again.

Note to self: Levi MUST wear onesie over nappy
Note to God: Please don't let him learn to unsnap his onesies!!

Seeking Balance

Balancing my time as I learn about daily livin' with two babes has been a challenge - one I have enjoyed mind you, but a challenge none the less. As the first week with my hub back at work comes to a close, I am discovering many new things, figuring out routines, and learning how to manage leaving my house :).

Most important for me right now is appreciating each moment. You know when you're in a moment where your wee one needs a snug, so there you are sitting with this amazing little miracle resting in your arms, and looming in the back of your mind is that great big pile of laundry, counter covered in dirty dishes, or baskets full of clothes needing to be put away?? It takes some effort to let those things go, and know that at some point they will get done - somehow.


Stop
to
LOVE THIS
moment
xo

Babywearing

I just love the feeling you get when wearing your bub. Having them all cozy and next to you, while at the same time being all hands free and accomplishing. During Levi's first year I regularly "wore" him when he was having an especially sensitive or restless day. He would fall asleep while I carried him about accomplishing laundry and house cleaning tasks.

We currently own three different means of carrying a baby.

Our most used has been the Ergo. It is quick, comfortable, convenient and our first son loved it. He slept like a dream in it, and always seemed incredibly happy while being carried.
Our one issue with it, came when we spent a month in Italy while our boy was in his eleventh month of life. We found that he was at a stage where he was highly curious and loved checking everything out. Unfortunately the Ergo does not allow the infant to face out, and when carrying the child on your back they don't sit quite high enough to get a good view of his or her surroundings.



Despite this, it is a fantastic little carrier for travel. It has a little zippered pocket in the front to hold a wallet, keys, pacifier etc. There are also little tabs which you can easily attach a small toy to. We used the infant insert in the beginning and loved it as well once we got used to it, and figured out how to comfortably set it in the carrier.


It just maximizes how much use you get out of this carrier. I noticed on their website they have updated the insert and it appears to be much more user-friendly. There is a hood which pulls out and over your babes head for sun protection, or just to create a more sleep friendly environment.

The second carrier I use regularly is the Stretchy Wrap by MamaKangarou.
It fits comfortably, babies dig it, but it is a bit of a hassle when you are standing next to the car trying to tie it around yourself, ends hanging in the slush, rain, dirt, or whatever. It's fantastic just leaving from home for a walk, but can be inconvenient when already out and about. This carrier feels like it provides your baby with such comfortable support, and it feels incredibly cosy for the wearer as well - bonus!

I just received the Little Star sling in the post and I LOVE it! I'm a huge fan of the fact that it is Made in Canada - New Brunswick - and I can order one without worrying about the surprise sum of customs and duty. It is convenient, folds up small to fit in your nappy bag, and is usable with your child of up to 35 pounds. Watch what size you buy, because they fit quite small. The company suggests going by your t-shirt size for a woman, and one size above your t-shirt size for a man.

This time around I intend to become an expert at nursing while carrying my little one. Had my first go today with very low success, actually let's call it what it was - a disaster. I attempted at being subtle, and it did not go well. Practise makes perfect though yes?...

Tongue Tied : The After

It's all done!
The doctor used a special pair of scissors along with a flat two-pronged tool which slides under the tongue and onto either side of the frenulum. She then did a couple of quick snips which I HAD to look away for. There was some blood - not loads, but when we're talking about a newborn baby any blood is too much blood!
With Levi when he was just a few weeks old I was clipping his sweet little finger nails and he had one of those crazy baby reflex things and I clipped the very tip of his precious little thumb. There wasn't actually blood, just a red blood like circle on his thumb, but that was enough to nearly send me into hysterics, while probably stressing him out more with my obsessive, and slightly aggressive apologetic snuggling - like I said, ANY blood is too much. Poor babes!

Owen cried only a minute. It was a pretty sad cry though, and because he also has a blocked tear duct he totally gets teary which is even sadder! Anyway, immediately after I brought him out into the waiting room and fed him, there was a definite change for the better.

I had never heard of this issue of being "tongue-tied" before, which is why I thought I should share. So anyone who hears this about their baby, it is not a big deal, and it's over and done with pretty simply.

Glad that's finished!

Tongue Tied : The Before

So, immediately after birth, our midwife spotted that Owen was what they refer to as "tongue tied". We were informed that it would eventually stretch, but if I was having difficulty nursing we could opt to have it snipped.
Tongue tied means the tissue that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth comes too close to the tip of the tongue, or is too short, not allowing the baby to freely lift his tongue possibly causing breast-feeding difficulties, or complications in speech later.

The midwives did tell us it would stretch, but in the past week I have actually spoken with two people who had the surgery later in life, either recently or within their memory. This tells me that it does not always stretch. I also read that while it is a very simple procedure with infants it can be much more complex if needed later in life.

Anyway, Owen is gaining weight just dandy, and feeds happily, but for me it hurts like mad, so tomorrow we are having this procedure done. He has difficulty opening his mouth very wide, falls off the breast frequently, and because he isn't able to lift his tongue up for good suction he just clicks away in a fairly shallow latch and ouch! I am also wondering since he can't seem to stay awake while nursing for more than a couple minutes if it is a lot of extra work for him, and he just tires of it quickly.

It's meant to be quick, and they believe painless as there are no nerves in the frenulum (as it is called). I am also told I will immediately notice a difference in nursing. So we'll see how things differ tomorrow, and I hope it isn't too stressful for the little guy because whether it hurts or not they will obviously have to force his mouth open which will not be the most comfortable for him.

I'll let you know how it goes!

I'm In Love...

Isn't new life amazing???











How lucky am I to get to snuggle and kiss all these precious baby bits...

Amidst A Sleepless Night...

Between heavy bouts of tiredness from new baby responsibilities and a teething 20 month old, there are those really precious, beautiful moments that no matter how you feel you have no trouble stopping to notice.

After a long night of us going back and forth between two restless babes, I finally found myself staring at the clock and seeing 4:30am still with no rest, and yet - laying there with my nursing baby boy on one side, my sleeping slightly bigger baby boy on the other, and my hubby on the other side of him, everything could not have felt more right, more perfect, and just exactly where it should be.

Introducing...

Owen Geoffrey
Born March 13th, 2011
1:28pm
9 lbs 10 oz 21.5 inches

Baby Day!

'Tis planned! Unless by a little miracle sometime during this fine night (which I AM still hoping for), I will be meeting my little one tomorrow with a little encouragement (induction). I feel so funny about my little guy not choosing his own birthday, but alas I can feel him getting bigger each day and I wouldn't want to wait too long and risk something bigger than birthday selection!
So that is me signing off for a couple of weeks. Of course if I'm feeling up to snuff I will most definitely pop in for a little show and tell. So wish me luck, and I hope to see you around here when I get back!

One last pic as a family of 3!!



xo

Sittin' Here In Limbo...

As it has been a week since my last post I should pop-in and mention that I am still awaiting our new little bundle whom, might I add, is seeming much less little with each passing day.
At this stage it is tough to feel anything but total limbo. A little bit glued to the house, and though a walk would probably help, I'm just too tired to get off my butt. Alas, having my mind totally reeling with "When?when?when?" makes it a wee bit tough to engage ideas for blogging, but I am still thoroughly enjoying keeping up with postings on all my favourite blogs.

Needless to say, It has been a week of couch-bound handwork.





It has been enjoyable, but I am SO ready for my time to be packed full of baby goodness & cuddles, and I am especially anxious to see my sweet little boy meet his new baby brother though, as I have been warned, he may shed a few tears. :(

The Waiting Game...

While I wait for the little guy to join us in this world I may as well start on his blanket.

He'll probably be 1 before he gets it, so sooner rather than later is probably a good idea. :)

ps. if suddenly I disappear off the face of this blog for a couple weeks, don't be alarmed and don't give up on me either. It just means I'm having a little baby lovin' & recovery time! xo

Handmades

How lucky are my babes to have a Granny who knits and a Grandma who crochets!

These BEE-OOTIFUL handmades were gifted in preparation for our new little spud, so the brothers can be all matchy-matchy.
Love it!

Knit Pullovers





Crocheted Hooded Cardi's





Can't wait to see them both looking so sweet in these awesome sweaters. Thank you so much!! xo

"Four Corners" Nursing Top

Another Anna Maria Horner pattern from Handmade Beginnings has reached my completed list. I was really hoping I could get it done before the baby decided to make an appearance, and I did. I figure if it wasn't done it would be sitting on my to-do pile for quite some time probably until it's use had expired. It took me a long time as I worked on it in very brief bursts of time, but it finally came together. My dress-form is not sized for me (clearly) and so I have no idea how I'll feel about it once I can wear it post pregnancy without it being a "belly" top. I tried it on once and thought "wow I wish I made this longer" and then I realized it probably won't be THIS short in a week or two!
As it was, knowing I prefer a longer fitting top I made the S/M size but used the length measurement for the M/L size. It only adds an inch, but still. If I made it again I would maybe add 2 or 3 inches to it.





I am regretting using the orange coloured material. I don't know why I used it because as soon as I started I thought that it would look bad with my skin tone and it kind of does, but seeing as I'm not much of a sleeveless person, I'll likely always wear a cardy with it anyhow.

I'm in love with the patterned fabric which is Kaffe Fassett, and I'm sorry but I cannot remember the name of it. I just browsed his site and he has some other amazing ones. I just love how bold and patterned all his creations are, from his fabrics to his quilts and beyond.

That's four things checked off my list!

{This Moment}

{This moment} is inspired by Soulemama, and beautifully done by so many. It reveals a moment from our week that is special enough to stand alone, without need for expression, or explanation.









xo

Mistake!!

Well, our baby boy wasn't feeling too well last week so we decided to set up a nice tame viewing of the Jungle Book for him. Seemed like a good choice as it lacks the intense villains of many other Disney flicks. What did we know?!? Talking animals are definitely enough to freak out a one and half year old, especially one who has watched next to no television. This I know NOW. He had what we believe may have been his first nightmare, had a few sleepless nights, slowly but surely through hand signals and a few tears ensured that all of his stuffed animals were removed from his sight, and now seems to be back on track and friends with his bed again. Thank God!!
I admit I was panicking. I foresaw the new baby here, and Levi wanting in our bed every night which would mean he would not get proper sleeps and the little we were counting on would probably not happen.
We know there will be more sleepless nights and tough times, but it is always such a relief with a little one when you have a moment of realization that none of these things lasts very long.
But then there is that moment of realization that NONE of it lasts very long :(.
Babies grow up so fast!!!



xo

OH BOY!

Somebody is going to be a big brother in about 4 more months, and he is going to be a great one at that.

The big news is that he's going to be a big brother to a LITTLE BROTHER!!!



In March my tune may change, but right now I'm looking forward to the mad house that will be our home!
xo