Nipple Biter

Posted on February 24, 2015 by playinghousewi

I’ve heard stories of babies biting their mommas’ nips while nursing. I’ve read about moms who sternly tell their baby “No!” and remind them to be gentle. I’ve read about babies who break down in tears at this reprimand and mommies who feel terrible for making their baby cry.

That was not my experience.

I put Charlotte down for her nap and after about a half hour, she was still fussing and complaining. I decided to go back in her “nursery” (aka the conference room at work) to feed her a bit more. Typically when it takes her this long to sleep, she’s either pooped in her dipe or didn’t get enough milk.

Anyway, I went in and fed her. I could tell she was in a punchy mood. She was all over the place. Pulling on my necklace, hanging on the spindles of the rocking chair, being a goof.

So, I’m feeding her and everything is fine until… CHOMP!

I instantly pulled her back from my body and very sternly said “NO! That hurts. You have to be gentle with mommy.” She looked at me as if she was really taking in my words, and then got the biggest stinker of a grin on her face and started chuckling.

I repeated myself, “Charlotte, that’s not funny. You hurt mommy when you bite her. You have to be gentle.”

She then reached out and grabbed my nipple, which sent her roaring once again.

Needless to say, mealtime was over.

I fear for my nipples.

Solid Food Success

Posted on February 24, 2015 by playinghousewi

We have had our first streak of positive solid food experiences since we initially started. The streak has only been a couple of days, but Charlotte is doing so well.

Yesterday I let her try my wheat- and dairy-free, rice and millet cinnamon raisin toast. She LOVED it and ate almost an entire slice.

She’s also continued loving apples. Her favorite seems to be when we give her the core to chew on. And before you go crazy about the seeds, we leave about a half inch of Apple meat on all sides and watch her the entire time.

She also enjoys the cooked apples I made for her. All I did was cut the meat off of the apple core and steam it for a good 10 or 20 minutes until it was nice and tender. Then, I scooped the apple meat out of the skin. I saved some apple wedges and made applesauce with the rest.

For the applesauce, I just blended apples with some of the water I used to steam the apples. I’ve been putting the applesauce in a Squooshi (a refillable pouch). It’s working pretty well, although she usually will only eat about a tbsp to two from this.

This morning, Charlotte ate one steamed mini carrot, a quarter of an apple slice and half a piece of toast! Yay!

Not to mention the fact that she had a GREAT poop today! Yeah, I said it. I’m excited about her pastey textured poo that looked a normal color with no mucous or blood!

My mom brought us chicken from her homemade chicken soup today. Maybe we’ll give it a whirl!

Food is fun today.

Moooo

Posted on February 23, 2015 by playinghousewi

Charlotte just literally tried to milk me… Like, manually… With her hand.

Yikes.

I’m REALLY hoping she grasps this whole “be gentle” concept soon.

Grandparents Galore!

Posted on February 21, 2015 by playinghousewi

Charlie has had a big weekend already. She saw Grandma & Grandpa (my parents) at work on Friday… Although not too much, as she slept most of the day. Then after work, she got to see Nana (Mark’s mom). This morning she got to play with Nana again and then this afternoon she saw her other grandparents (Mark’s dad and step mom)!!

What a great two days with Charlotte’s absolute favorite people.

Unfortunately, I only took (and Mark’s stepmom took) photos this afternoon. Next time I’ll take more photos!

7 Months of Lovliness

Posted on February 20, 2015 by playinghousewi

My sweetie pie pumpkin is seven months. How is that even possible? All of a sudden this month she has become a real person… Or maybe the more appropriate way to put it is that her personality has really developed.

She’s opinionated and funny and sweet. My absolute favorite moments with her are when she leans in to hold her head against mind. When she’s tired, she’ll just sit there with her cheek smashed against mine or her forehead tucked into mine. It’s the most perfect, smushy love time and I’m obsessed. Mark, too.

It’s funny, we’re like desperate teenagers sometimes, begging her for a little face smoosh. She often senses the desperation and pushes our head away. Sigh.

This month was the official crawling – and as an update, she’s now a legit crawling baby with a magnetic attraction to danger. Got a wire sticking out? She’ll yank it! Outlet nearby? She’ll cross the room to reach for it. She’s a curious little bunny, that’s for sure. Time to baby proof ASAP.

She also went on two more trips… PA for sweet Pop’s funeral and FL for her first trade show.

She fell in love with Minnie.

She became very daddy obsessed.

She can finally chase the kitty and puppy.

Oh! She’s waving now and starting to get the hang of “high five.”

She’s screaming like a scary baby who gives her mom nightmares… And can very quickly switch to a laugh if distracted… Which gives mom even scarier nightmares.

She’s a pretty awesome little lady.

Take that, puffs!

Posted on February 20, 2015 by playinghousewi

The tiny one is really starting to master picking up food with her little fingers. She’s not amazing at it, but she’s making progress.

Tonight, for the first time, not only was she able to get the little sweet potato puffy things into her mouth… BUT she actually ate them! She’s only ever had them in her mouth once or twice and it’s always ended in throw up. Poor little gag reflex.

But, again, tonight she did it! She ate at least 10 of the dang things! And, not only that, but she ate little Apple pieces, too! I had steamed apples for applesauce and gave her a little before blending it up.

All in all, a good meal… FINALLY! And, on top of it, she ate some of my oatmeal today, too! Yay for food progress.

I should also mention that leading up to tonight, I have been in a major food power struggle with C. She literally just does not want to be fed. She wants to be a big girl and hold the spoon herself.

To overcome the power struggle, I decided to try a homemade “pouch.” Now, before you yell at me for letting my baby suck on a ziplock bag, it must be said that I was regulating the whole time. Anyway, I decided to make a “piping bag” our of a ziplock, which actually worked.

So, I ordered some Squooshi refillable pouches to try. They haven’t arrived yet, but I’ll keep you posted.

Holy Temper Tantrum

Posted on February 19, 2015 by playinghousewi

This morning, Charlotte lost her… Marbles. She’s been playing with her voice lately and discovering screaming… But this morning, wow. She took her new skill to new levels.

I had given her a little bite of oatmeal and went to grab her sippy cup so she could wash it down with a little water. When I gave her the cup, I realized that I must not have screwed the cap on correctly, because the dang thing started leaking water all over.

I grabbed the cup to fix it and the little one flipped. I’m talking blood curdling screams and tears. It was absolutely terrifying.

I tried to calm her down, but ultimately, I ended up giving her the paci, which quieted her a bit and then taking her out of her seat to breastfeed her.

It’s been haunting me all day.

I hate to be dramatic because this is the first temper tantrum of her tiny life, but is this my future?

Charlotte’s First Introduction to Disney

Posted on February 17, 2015 by playinghousewi

Now, before you start judging us for bringing a 7 month old to Disney, let me clarify… Charlotte joined us for a trip to DOWNTOWN Disney. For those who aren’t familiar, this is a “free” Disney tourist trap designed to get you to buy tons of souveniers and random crap. But, it gives you a tiny smidge of the Disney vibe and for a baby who was napping or in need of a nap pretty much the whole day, that’s all she needed.

What I will say is that they must sprinkle those souvenier character stuffed animals with breast milk or fairy dust or something because MAN did that Minnie doll make her squirm. Through the severe exhaustion, her tiny mouth opened wide, her arms stretched out and her feet wiggled as she giggled away. Being that there were grandparents within a 5 mile radius of this adorable and joyful display, Charlotte was given her first Minnie doll.

Unfortunately, I was most excited to get little Charlie Minnie Mouse ears (with her name embroidered on it), only to find out that they don’t come in baby sizes. BOO, Disney… BOO.

Regardless, we had a nice little trip!

These last few pictures were right before she conked out for a little afternoon napski. Can you tell??

Also… THOSE CHEEKS!! I just love how they hang off her face. I am REALLY going to miss those delicious little cheekies.

Making Valentines with Homemade Baby Paint

Posted on February 17, 2015 by playinghousewi

After a week away, we had an awesome Valentine’s Day at home… in our PJ’s. We really wanted to do something fun with Charlie… but didn’t want to leave the house (WI winter in a nutshell). SO, we decided to make Valentines with Charlie. This is our first attempt at art with our tiny lady, and I have to say, it was pretty successful. She had a blast.

Recognizing that Charlotte sticks just about EVERYTHING in her mouth, I decided that making a food-based paint would be best. I didn’t want anything with sugar or chemicals, so here’s what I did…

HOMEMADE BABY PAINT

1 cup corn starch
1/2 cup cold water
1-2 cups hot water
1-3 TBSP red beet

I’m sure there is some sort of science to this, but my first attempt failed miserably. My suggestion is to just go slow adding the water. Just put your cornstarch into a bowl. Add the 1/2 cup of cold water and stir. Then slowly add the hot water until it’s just thicker than you’d like it. Then, put the corn starch mixture in a blender with the beet. I used our Ninja Kitchen System. The beet will add liquid to your mixture, so you might need to add more corn starch. I just played around with it until I got the right texture.

This recipe will give you pink paint. I”m sure you coulkd use spinach for green, carrot for orange, blueberries for purple or blue… Just play around with different foods.

Here are the pics…

DISCLAIMER: This stuff is messy.

Florida for the Week

Posted on February 10, 2015 by playinghousewi

I know I’ve mentioned this, but I work for my parents. This week, we are in Florida for a convention. As a perk, not only am I here with my parents, but Mark and Charlotte are here, too!

Here are some pics from our trip so far…