It’s Been One Week Since I’ve Had Sweet Potato or Zucchini

Posted on January 20, 2015 by playinghousewi

After a solid month of eating NOTHING but turkey, sweet potato, zucchini, squash, pear, avocado (added in after 2 weeks), olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary (added in after 2 weeks), I am FINALLY eating real food again. I’m still unable to eat wheat, eggs, dairy (ugh… it’s been over 2 months since I’ve sunk my teeth into a delicious piece of cheese), nuts, or soy. BUT, let me tell you, I really don’t even mind those exclusions at this point.

I’ll get back to the whole food thing in a minute, but the REAL news here is that we went to the pediatric GI doctor and while he believes Charlotte has a protein allergy, he is not too concerned with it (despite her green poops and the random blood streaks we’ve seen). In fact, he said that green poops are a total non-issue. He said that the benefit of me eating a more well-rounded diet far outweighs the benefits of the total elimination diet. So, that’s good news!

Since I’ve welcomed all of the brightly colored, delicious fruits and veggies back into my life (in addition to rice/corn/other non-banned food items), Charlotte’s poo seems to be looking pretty good still. We have had a couple of random poops that look like they could have blood, but other than that, the color seems good and Charlotte seems great.

The doc also gave us the okay to start solids. In fact, he said that she looked more than ready! And right he was.

As for my diet, I’ve been enjoying healthy food like crazy these days. Mark has been on this 21-day detox, so our meals work pretty well together. He can’t have salt or sugar or oil… or a lot of things, but generally speaking, my meals are pretty adjustable to fit his diet.

I’ve been using this cookbook from Real Simple and I absolutely love it (thanks, Kate!). The recipes are simple with clean ingredients, and the food is flavorful and tasty. So far, I’ve cooked Asian Beef & Cabbage Salad (I substituted ground turkey for the beef and used 2 TBPS of olive oil instead of 4 TBSP of canola, I also added a little more rice vinegar) and Salmon Tostadas (I cooked the salmon in 3/4 TBSP of coconut oil, instead of serving the beans/corn/lime separately, I combined all of them and added tomatoes and cayenne pepper to make a salsa… it was awesome). I’m planning to tackle the chicken curry this week, too!

Since the start of my elimination diet, I’ve lost 7 lbs… so, I was able to keep my baby boo safe and drop those pesky last pregnancy pounds! And now, with my current diet, I feel like I’ll easily be able to maintain my weight loss and even better, I feel really great. Energetic, not bogged down by a full and uncomfortable stomach, just good all around.

Introducing Solids to Our Big 6 Month Old

Posted on January 19, 2015 by playinghousewi

Everything I’ve heard from doctors and lactation consultants – confirmed by everything I was reading online – led me to wait until Charlie’s 6-month birthday to introduce solids.

So, with Friday being the big day, I figured when better than on a Saturday at home with the hubs?

I didn’t want to start with rice cereal because from what I’ve heard, it’s not really necessary. Being that I’ve spent the past month or so chowing down sweet potatoes, I figured that would be a great first food for my girl. So, I looked in a baby cookbook and scoured the Internet for a sweet potato babyfood recipe… What I found was pretty dang basic…

Sweet Potato Babyfood

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2) Pierce sweet potato with a fork (all over the potato)

3) Wrap potato in tin foil and bake for 45-60 minutes (it took my oven about 55 minutes)

4) Peel the skin off of the sweet potato (you might want to let it cool a bit because that puppy’s HOT)

5) Once cooled, chop up the peeled sweet potato and put in the food processor (we use our Ninja Kitchen System)

6) Before you blend, add breastmilk or formula. I used a pretty big potato (see photo below) and needed nearly 15 ounces of breastmilk to get it nice and liquidy.

10 ounces!

7) Blend and then disperse into the freezer tray of your choice. I used this one from Mumi & Bubi.

Blending everything up!

This recipe filled up the entire tray (27 (1) ounce cubes) plus two additional feedings. Charlotte is currently only eating a Tablespoon of food per feeding per day, meaning this one recipe will yield 56 (1) TBSP feedings.

So, how’d she like it? Well, you can see for yourself…

OR just trust me when I say that she loves to eat. She reaches for the spoon, opens wide and eats her full TBSP. She’s also drinking water out of her sippy cup. They say babes should only have a couple ounces per day, so we just give it to her with her meal. We’ve only fed her twice, but so far so good! She seems to really enjoy it and loves being in her high chair. All in all, so successful and really cute. Another special thing to share with our girl.

“I want food! I want food!” Waiting patiently for her first bite EVER.

Yummmm

More, more, more!!

Here comes the train!

Mmmm

All cleaned up. That was a successful first (solid) meal!

Feeling good!

Happy after meal two!

Coconut Oil – the Best Diaper Cream

Posted on January 17, 2015 by playinghousewi

During one of many conversations with a lactation consultant, she mentioned that I should try using coconut oil on Charlotte’s diaper rash. Because of her food allergies, she was getting some wicked rashes. Literally, at any given time, she was healing from or starting a new rash. It was endless.

Enter coconut oil. My little babe’s bum and lady parts are soft, smooth and without rash. It’s crazy how effective it’s been. And the bonus is that I can put the oil all over her (the only moisturizer I use on her face and hands) and she smells like dessert.

I know coconut oil is weirdly solid, but just get a little chunk on your hand/finger and rub it around and it instantly melts to liquid. So easy!

After a quick google search, here’s some science behind it:

Coconut oil contains antimicrobial, anti-viral, anti-bacterial and antifungal properties that help to promote the healing by soothing the baby’s delicate skin.

It has lauric acid (also found in breast milk) that treats these bacterial and fungal problems very effectively.

The anti-fungal properties of coconut oil helps to treat the yeast infection and also it will nourish and treat the irritated skin.

Lauric and Caprylic acids in this oil are the natural yeast fighting substances and all the medium chain fatty acids in this oil kills the yeast and other fungus that causes yeast diaper rash in your baby.

Good luck!!

Night Wakings

Posted on January 16, 2015 by playinghousewi

Our little Charlie has been waking up during the middle of the night every couple of days lately. And of course, it’s not a quick or quiet affair. She wakes up screaming and will seemingly go on forever.

Up until last night, Mark was going in, changing her and giving her a bottle. Last night Mark so generously nominated me for the job (thanks!). I don’t want her to get used to night feedings again since we’ve successfully weened her from them, so last night, I went in, changed her and swayed with her. With her tiny head pressed against my cheek, we rocked back and forth in her room. It was actually really sweet and peaceful.

After about 10 or so minutes, I decided to put her back down (awake). Instantly, she was crying again. I put her paci in her mouth, gave her a dolly to snuggle or gnaw on or whatever and left the room. I spent the next hour watching her on the monitor.

She cried and whined and fussed, but what was so interesting was how skilled she seemed. I watched her as she rolled on top of her paci and thought, “great… She’s never going to find it now!” But after a minute or so, she must have felt it on her neck and worked and worked until she was able to find it with her hand.

She grabbed it and immediately started chewing on it. She was biting the wrong end, but seeming to enjoy chewing on it. Her cries turned to whines and then to chatting. After about an hour, she finally flipped her paci the right way, put it in her mouth and rolled to her side before drifting off to sleep.

While it was 315 in the morning by the time she fell asleep, it was pretty fascinating to watch. And today as I feed my little 6 month old baby, I can’t help but think how old she’s already become. It’s such a crazy thing to watch these tiny infants who just sleep and eat turn into miniature people.

Such a blessing.

Such a Big Girl – 26 Weeks

Posted on January 16, 2015 by playinghousewi

I know, I know… I say this every week, but how is my baby already 26 weeks old? That seems absolutely insane. Time is flying by way too quickly.

There hasn’t been anything too groundbreaking this week. The bunny hasn’t been taking her epic naps this week. She’s still only taking two naps, but one is about an hour (she goes down between 845 and 10) and the other is about 2.5 hours (goes down around 1ish.

She has been drooling like crazy and shoves just about anything and everything in her tiny little mouth. As of now, she doesn’t have anymore teeth, but I have to imagine more are coming.

We decided to start Charlie on solids this coming Saturday. So, in the spirit of that, I let her taste my apple yesterday. Charlotte was sitting on my lap while I was eating an apple (I was nursing her… A dual snack time if you will) and she just would not stop reaching for the apple. Finally, I gave in and let her guide my hand (with said apple) into her mouth. She just sucked on the dang thing until finally I pulled it away. She didn’t make a weird face, nothing. In fact, her only reaction was to whine and reach for it once I pulled it away.

I’m not even a little surprised that she’s going to be a good lover. Hubs and I both LOVE to eat.

What else… We got Charlotte a walker and a jumperoo this week ($30 total for both on Craigslist). She loves the jumperoo… We say “jump and jump and jump and jump…” And she bounces. It’s adorable! As for the walker, she likes hanging out in it (or eating books in it), but no walking quite yet.

We also started to give Charlie a soppy cup! She likes to chew on it and is becoming more interested, but not convinced quite yet. The first time I gave it to her, I put breast milk in it and she was angry. I think she may have accused the cup of stealing her mommy’s milk and banished it from her presence. We waited a few days before introducing it again, this time with water.

Charlie also attended her cousin Judah’s birthday party this weekend. We had been at a Packer (football) party beforehand, where she boycotted her nap, so she decided to shock us and nap for the first 40 minutes of the party… In a gym, with 25 five year olds. We were impressed!

Once she woke up, she had a blast (as did the hubs)!

Charlie also got lost in her toy box and got to cuddle and love on her Great Grandpop! It was a great week!

And here are her 26 week pics (taken a day late)…

Post-Work Perfection

Posted on January 14, 2015 by playinghousewi

As soon as I write this, it’s bound to change, but my post-work time with Charlotte has become my absolute favorite time with her.

Sometimes this time is laced with crabby fussing, but overall it is a time for quiet play, tons of smiles, and an insane amount of cute.

The majority of the time, it is just Charlotte and I, but every few days, daddy joins. During our time, I strip Charlie down to a onesie and let her crawl and roll all over the place. We tip over her toy chest so she has easy access and we just play.

This is when I get the most laughs and the best smiles.

It only lasts for about an hour before it’s time for bed at 530/630ish, but it’s pretty amazing.

The Opposite of Yesterday

Posted on January 10, 2015 by playinghousewi

I had an absolutely great day with my girl. She was so sweet and silly and loving. She napped wonderfully. She was wonderful.

Since we had her on formula for a couple of days, nursing her has been challenging. I’ve been working hard to overcome my supply issue and as a result, she has been a bit frustrated. My milk flow is now super slow – or at least it is compared to the flow when I had an over supply.

Anyway, most of our feedings are interrupted 3-10 times with blood curdling screams. It sucks. Especially because I LOVE nursing. It felt so sad to have our rhythm totally out of whack.

Well, tonight, even though Charlotte stayed up a little late to play with daddy and I, she nursed so well. It was the first time in almost 2 weeks. She held my hand and rubbed my arm and was just sweet as can be. It just melts me.

A lot of the time I’ll play on my phone or “like” every post I see on Facebook while I nurse. Tonight, I just watched my sweet baby and cherished our time together.

When she was done eating, she sat up and fussed a little. I gave her the paci and stood up, holding her against me. We swayed, hugging for a few minutes before I kissed her and put her in her crib. There were no tears, no fusses. She just laid in bed like a good little angel, and within minutes, she was asleep.

Total perfection.

Tonight I have a glowing heart and more for love for that sweet little girl than I know what to do with.

A BIG Week 25

Posted on January 10, 2015 by playinghousewi

This past week has been crazy. Our little Charlie has made leaps and bounds.

The first obvious momentous milestone was her new little pop up crawly bounce. I’m pretty much obsessed with this adorable, excited new movement. I think we still have a short amount of time before she actually crawls, but I’m just loving this first step.

The second more obvious milestone is the tiny one’s new teeth! Charlie was super crabby leading up to her teeth, but didn’t show any other real symptoms otherwise. However, since those teeth have come in, she’s been a drooly, chomping mess. I wouldn’t be surprised if more were coming.

Now, those two things in themselves made for a big week, but beyond that, Charlie has seemed to make jumps developmentally, too. This week was big for object permanence. She’s suddenly looking around people or objects to see what’s behind them. It’s super cute. She’ll lean very dramatically past me if there is someone behind me who strikes her interest.

She’s really just all around older this week. And I feel like she’s grown a lot. She seems so big now… And heavy. Oy. My baby is growing up.

Crabby Little Princess

Posted on January 9, 2015 by playinghousewi

This is the best way to sum up my day…

Truly, maybe it wasn’t THAT bad, but it was a little rough. If I’m being totally honest, I had the thought, “am I going to be able to make this work?” With this being me taking Charlotte to work.

I think I will… It was just one of those days where a ton of little things went wrong, Charlie girl was super crabby and demanding (and of course, refusing to nap like she should), and I was super busy with work. Not the ideal combination.

HOWEVER, Charlotte must have sensed my desperation, because she threw me a brief, but much needed, bone before her bedtime routine. When we got home, I put C in her nighttime diaper and put her on the floor. Instantly, she was my sweet little angel. She was smiling and laughing and giving me love all over the place.

It was perfection. She rolled all over her room, hopping up into crawl position sporadically, while I folded and put away her laundry. It was by far the best 40 minutes of my day. What a pumpkin.

I must have missed (or ignored) her “I’m getting sleepy and am going to crash soon” signals, because in a matter of one little roll, things went sour.

But at least we had that perfect time together 🙂

Back to Pre-Pregnancy Weight

Posted on January 7, 2015 by playinghousewi

So the positive of being on a crazy total elimination diet? I am back to – and actually below – my pre-pregnancy weight! Not quite at my wedding weight, but I officially fit in my tiniest pair of jeans, so I’m calling it a success!

My hubs and I have a thing where we make it our goal to be within 10 lbs of our wedding weight on our anniversary. It’s something a friend told me, and I really love it. It’s a good gauge and a reminder to keep yourself in good shape for yourself (and your spouse). I’m within 5 and super proud of that fact… Especially because last anniversary I was close to 25ish weeks pregnant!

Hopefully it will last once I’m able to eat enjoyable food again 🙂