Last Weekend of March

We had a great weekend!  Ava tried some home-made applesauce, which she tolerated but (surprise, surprise) decided that she liked much more if mixed with bananas.  I have been very surprised that she has not been more excited about solid foods - she has been such an enthusiastic eater since she was born that I expected her to gobble down these new foods.  She is just not a fan, and is still taking just a few bites of food twice a day. 

Ava also really enjoys Emmitt, our black lab mix, and he loves her as well.  She giggles and squeals every time that she sees him, and loves to "pet" him (or grab a handful of fur).  He tries to lick her every chance that he gets, especially on the top of her head.  As soon as she is placed in her highchair she starts looking for Emmitt, cranking her neck to see him.  I think these two are going to be bestest friends! 

The highlight of our weekend, of course, was Grandma Pasek visiting.  Ava and grandma played with her new piano, and of course, did lots of snuggling!  Grandma was nice enough to watch Ava while Josh and I had a lunch date out to celebrate my new job - it was wonderful to get away and have a little adult time.  Grandma was able to go to church with us as well.  Ava went to the daycare and played with her BFF Amelia (her friend that is 3 days older and wiser - they go to daycare together as well!), and came back with a sticker that said she had been prayed over that day - love it!!



Playing with Grandma




 

Grandma Pasek and Ava



Coming soon: well rested parents

It's official - Ava is sleeping through the night!  For everyone who has known our sleep struggles, this is a MAJOR milestone.  Every night for the last week she has slept until 5 or 6 every morning, and this weekend she ate and went back to sleep until 7.  I don't know if this has anything to do with increasing her solid food intake, or if she was just ready to do it.  Her sleep has really just been like that: at 4 months, she decided she could go to sleep on her own at night, then shortly after she started taking naps on her own.  The lesson learned here is that Ava can do it, she just does it on her own time when she is ready.  I am so glad that we haven't pushed her or tried to make her do things that she was not ready to do, just because people said that she should be doing it. 

Sweet taters

Food for thought.

I had always thought that I would exclusively breastfeed Ava until she was 6 months of age (per AAP's recommendations), but of course as I became a mom my pediatrician-rigidity went out the window.  I know this is a hot topic, so just hear me out.  I did some literature searching my self, and found that there really is not any good evidence supporting either waiting or starting food early.  Here was my thought process: Infant's do not need anything other than breastmilk/formula for the first 6 months of life, and I did not want food to take the place of her milk intake.  I am a strong believer that mommy's milk is perfect for her and exactly what she needs.  Secondly, there is research suggesting that starting foods after 4 months but before 6 months decreases the risk of developing food allergies (which run in my family).  I also spoke with some women in child care who noticed that children who had started solids before 6 months seemed to take solids more readily, even at 9+ months.  So we decided to start a small amount of cereal a few times a week.  Not enough to decrease her milk intake, but just enough to allow Ava to practice eating and experiencing textures and tastes.  

(Ava eating cereal for the first time at 41/2 months) 

At first, she spit out most everything that was placed in her mouth, but after a few weeks she started to get the hang of it.  
(Eating at 5 months of age)

At 6 months, we started introducing vegetables and fruits.  I spent an evening making her baby food - it was so much fun!!  I used a website that I highly recommend for the baby food recipes: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/.  There is a ton of great information on this site!  Anyway, I baked and boiled peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and carrots and blended them in my handy-dandy new food processor.  Then I froze them in ice cube trays and placed them in zip-lock baggies.  Now we have a couple months of food in the freezer!  And of course, I had to try it and it was all super yummy.  I'm now trying to figure out how to add more butternut squash and sweet potatoes into our diet!

(Not loving the peas!)

 

So far, her favorites are bananas and avocados, followed closely by sweet potatoes.  The squash and green beans are tolerable, but she purses her lips and turns her head if offered peas!  Recently I made a great discovery: hide the foods she doesn't like in bananas and she'll eat it up!  Tonight, we are going to try carrots; next week I will be making homemade applesauce and pearsauce, and we are going to try turkey and peaches as well! Yum!  Over the last 2 weeks her milk intake has increased dramatically (from 5 ounces to 7 ounces a feeding), so it's time to amp up the food intake - now we are doing two meals a day! Watch out!

(6 1/2 months old, loving avocados!)

She did make mommy proud - her favorite is Chipotle's guacamole!  LOVES it!  Although last week she did get a spice in her bite of food and made some funny faces for about 5 minutes.  Ooops. 

This is the day that the Lord has made....

Sunday was the first day of Spring, and it was an absolutely beautiful day outside!!  I felt so blessed to be able to spend the day with the family (and not at work!).  We started the day at church, and Ava went to Sunday school for the first time.  I was a tad nervous, but she did great and the volunteers said that she snuggled up to them and gave lots of smiles and giggles.  I think she liked the children's music service the best - this kid loves music.  
[Side note: We attend a non-denominational church called Heartland, if you are interested in joining us some weekend let us know! http://www.heartlandchurch.org/]

That afternoon, we took a family walk to the neighborhood park - Ava's first time!  She loved the swing, and giggled as dad pushed her higher and higher.  Video to follow.

I think that we may have a dare-devil on our hands.  She wasn't happy unless she was swinging high!

We tried a trip down the slide as well, but she wasn't quite as excited about the slide as she was the swing. 

Looking forward to even more beautiful days outside this spring!

First Blog!

FINALLY!  After thinking too hard about this for too long, I have finally started a blog for our family.  There are multiple reasons for starting this blog: the first and main reason is for our friends and family to follow Ava as she grows up.  We have so many loved ones that do not live near us, and I know they will enjoy her updates and watching her grow. 
Secondly, I have learned so much in my first 6 months as a new mom and am excited to encourage and lift up other mothers as well.  There is power in numbers and in knowledge.  The greatest thing that I have learned since becoming a mom is that every single mother does the best she can with what she has.  Not everyone does things the same way, and although many women feel that their way is the right way, I have learned that there is little black and white and much more grey when it comes to parenting.  The most important thing is to educate yourself and to feel comfortable in your decisions.  Now that being said, my greatest difficulty has been blending the heart of a mom with the knowledge of a pediatrician - too often these things seem to be fighting each other! 
So here is our family's journey - welcome, and I hope that you enjoy the madness....