Sunday, September 23, 2012

Introduction of Solids

As I mentioned in the Five Month Update post, we've decided to start Rhett on solids. We decided he was ready when a tooth came through and he started eating like crazy. I'm still exclusively pumping for Rhett and it's hard work! So we decided that it's time to try him out on something more than breast milk. This post will probably be pretty picture-heavy. So enjoy!

We have decided to make our own baby food, for a number of reasons. It's much better for the environment to not create extra packaging for baby food. Not to mention all of the energy that goes into creating and transporting the jarred stuff. We also believe that buying and pureeing our own food is healthier--there are no extra preservatives in our baby food. It's also fresh as can be--we can select our own produce and give Rhett he very best food that this green Earth has to offer. And of course, doing it ourselves is a bit cheaper than buying it pre-made. So overall, making our own baby food just really fits into our lifestyle. 
Supplies
I posted a photo of the time we tried giving Rhett and avacado last month. But did you know that there's also a video? Here it is--Rhett's first bit of 'real' food!:



Tonight is the night that we decided to officially start giving him food regularly. We're going to start giving him purees at night, after his evening bottle. Tonight, we tried sweet potatoes. Josh and I go through a ton of sweet potatoes ourselves, so it made sense to bake up a batch for Rhett. 
Ready to go!
Rhett's reaction was pretty typical. He seemed pretty confused at first, but he did swallow it. I was amazed by how much he actually did get down. I've always heard to not expect much for a first feeding, but he seemed to get about an ounce and half down, which I thought was a good amount. Toward the end he started making faces and turning away from the spoon, so I think he's still trying to decide if he likes it or not. We're definitely going to give it another try tomorrow and see how he does. Rhett's reaction to sweet potatoes is really best summed up in picture-form, so here they are. Enjoy!

Five Months!

I decided to go ahead and throw this post up, even though I haven't snapped the perfect 'chair photo' quite yet. Rhett was just a little crabby when I was trying to take his picture the other night, and much more interested in the chair than me. So the photos aren't great. I'll throw one up for now and replace it later.
Five Months~
Rhett is doing so well. According to my bathroom scale, he weighs in at about 14.3 pounds which puts him in about the 15th percentile for weight! I really, really think he's going to catch up to his peers by one year and be about where he was 'supposed' to be before he got all starved in the womb. I'm so happy to be watching him grow and thrive.

Rhett loves experimenting with the different sounds he can make. Blowing rasberries and bubbles is on of his new favorite activities. He is also getting loud! He's learned that if we don't respond to his soft whines right away, that we'll come running when he yells. He's using it to his advantage He's demanding more attention--and food! than ever. Our baby sure can eat! We've decided to officially start him on solids, which I think will be a new and exciting adventure for him.

Pretty much at five months exactly, Rhett hit an important milestone--his first tooth has popped through his lower gums! We're hoping he'll be in les pain now that it's come through--he's been waking up every three hours or so and hollering for us to come and comfort him--poor little baby!

How cute is he?
We purchased a jumperoo for Rhett recently. Though we do try to keep the baby stuff to a minimum, we did feel like he needed something to stimulate his large and fine motor skills and a jumperoo seemed to fit the bill. We bought it second-hand, so I feel a little better about the 'unneeded' purchase. He loves it! When I took a picture of him, it seemed like he actually intentionally smile at the camera for the first time ever.

Rhett's learning to use his hands. He reaches for items that are above him and will arch his back and raise his arms as high as he can to grab at things.

Rhett's hair is also starting to really come in this month! Its hard to tell what color it is, because it's still so thin and find but it look to us like it is going to be reddish-brown. Josh's uncle and grandfather were both redheads, so it makes sense that we would end up with one. I'm looking forward to seeing his hair grow more so we can get a better idea of what it will be like.

We continue to like wearing Rhett rather than push him around in a stroller. He like to be held, and I like to hold him, so this works out much better for us. The stroller is bulky and hard to get through aisles and just a huge pain. So we use baby carriers 90% of the time we're out. Usually I'll wear him in a Moby Wrap or Josh will wear him in the Baby Bjorn. We have no plans yet to start using a stroller exclusively.
Josh and Rhett continue to be adorable together. Rhett is a little Daddy's boy. Josh takes him to chapel with him and they have a great time. I love seeing Josh in some of Rhett's expressions. At the risk of sounding cliche, seeing Josh and such a wonderful dad really makes me love him on a whole new level. But enough of that mushiness. 
I can't believe that 6 months is coming up so soon! That's like, half a year! Recent pregnancy announcements on my facebook feed are excited about April due dates. I can't believe that at this time last year, we were adjusting to the news that we were expecting a big surprise. We could not be more blessed to have Rhett here with us. JUST LOOK AT HOW CUTE HE IS! 

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Rhett (and Hannah's!) First Trip to the Apple Orchard

I know what you're thinking. My sunglasses are cool.

Today was the first day of Fall. I love Fall--the weather, the trees, the food--it's my favorite season. Today was an absolutely gorgeous day--High of 70, clear skies, and a mild breeze. We took the opportunity to go apple-picking--a Fall activity that I have actually never done, despite my love for the season. We headed out to Centennial Farms in Augusta, and had a great time walking around the farm and choosing the perfect apples.
The best apples are at the top
I wore Rhett for this excursion (have I gushed enough about the connivence of baby-wearing?) We picked about five pounds of apples, which we'll probably just snack on, though I do want to try my hand at making a little bit of baby-food with them. I think Rhett will really enjoy apples (don't all babies?)

We lead busy lives now that school has started. But it's really important to us to get to experience things as a family. That might be a bit silly, as our baby can't really process the things we take him to. But we enjoy being together and sitting around the house all day, every day gets old fast. We like for Rhett to experience things and St. Louis has so many wonderful things to offer. We're going to try to go on family outings as much as we possibly can.


Monday, September 17, 2012

Guest Post by Dad!

Josh is dropping in to write down some of his thoughts on fatherhood and marriage. Enjoy!

Being a dad is a lot arder than I ever thought it would be. This weekend Rhett has been sick....or teething.......or something. It's hard to be sure. All we know is that he had a temperature of 100.2 and cried every time he wasn't getting held. Needless to say no one slept well.

But this isn't what I wanted to write to you about. I guess what all this has made me realize is how soft having a child has made me. I thought I had grown a little soft after getting married. Admittedly, I have cried while watching a movie or reading a book about the prospect of loosing her. But still, I have yet to cry as hard as when a song plays or a tv show airs about a father loosing or missing out on his son's childhood. Which is ridiculous. And why when the tears and such begin to flow together off my chin, I begin to laugh. It is utterly ridiculous that I would cry about missing out on my son's childhood while my son has yet to be a child!

My heart has literally shattered this month over the thought that one day Rhett will ask to borrow the car keys. It imploded while reading a book and the author referenced a time when he had to give marriage advice to a couple no loger in love.

I love my family. I am so proud of them. I take every chance I get to brag about my wife's academic prowess. I guess what I am saying is that all the tears become worth it at the point when Rhett is on my knee cooing; and he looks up at me smiles, and with his kind loving eyes he tells me that he is secure. And I see that and even though thats a tall order to fill and my heart wants to sink into the very pit of my stomach, I am so thrilled to be loved by my family.  

First Food!

We gave Rhett his first bite of "real food" recently. As you can see, us newbie parents didn't bother with a bib (that shirt is ruined!)

We've been trying to decide when to start Rhett on solids for a few weeks now. I kept feeling "not quite ready" but when we were slicing some avocado for pizza recently, we couldn't resist giving him a little taste. Avocado is one of the best first foods for baby. So we mashed it up, mixed it with a little milk to make it tastes familiar and went to town.

Rhett really seemed to enjoy the flavor and having it in his mouth. He didn't quite know what to do with it and it seemed to me that he still had some tongue-thrush reflex going on. This is supposed to be one of the signs that babies aren't quite ready for solids yet, so we've decided to hold off a little while in making purees a regular part of Rhett's diet. It breaks my heart to continue to exclusively pump, but I want to wait until we're really sure that he's ready before we start. We'll be starting close to six months/when he can sit up a little better.

He's cute with the green goop all over his face though, huh?

Friday, September 7, 2012

lol

This old picture of Rhett is hilarious

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Lifestyle Changes

We've been making some changes in our household and I thought I'd write about them a little bit. We have gotten into some bad habits over the past few years and I've always wanted to correct them 'when we have kids'. Well Rhett's been here for four months, he's becoming more and more aware of his surroundings and as we're in a new home--we figured--why not now? So here it is:

(1) Drastically limited "Screen Time"--So Josh and I love our screens. I spend a lot of time in front of the computer, Josh spends a lot of time on his X-Box and we both spend a lot of time watching TV and movies. Instead of "spend time" I should really say "waste time" because that's what it really is! I don't want Rhett around the stuff, so we've moved all electronics to the basement (where he is not allowed) and we have cute way back on our time using these devices.

(2) Clean Eating--I've always been intrigued by the idea of clean eating.  We had been talking a bit about what kind of foods we want Rhett to try throughout his first year and beyond and realized that there's a lot of things that we eat that we don't want him going near. So we figured, if we want him to eat at a certain standard, then we should be doing it too. So we are slowly eliminating all processed food from our diets. Our general rule is that anything we buy can't have more than five ingredients, and we have to be able to pronounce all of them. We are already starting to feel healthier on this diet.

(3) Daily Devotions--when Josh and I were dating, we used to meet at our campus cafeteria every morning for breakfast and devos. We didn't really structure it too much--we'd just open our bible and read a passage or two and then chat about it over toast and juice. We're reprising that this year. Starting the morning 'on the same page' is wonderful, and it's always good to be in The Word.

So I'll probably be writing from time to time about these changes. We're committed to being gentle on ourselves--sudden changes are scary and I think they lead to failure. We hope to transition in these changes completely be the new year. I believe that they will make us a healthier and happier family.

Trucking Along

We're doing well so far! Josh has completed his first week of school, and he is really enjoying his time so far. He's going to be writing a blog post soon about some of his experiences in school so far.

I'm honestly struggling a bit to come to a place of peace with my role in our family for the next few years. I want to be a strong support system for Josh while he is at Seminary, and our family really needs me to take on the role of 'breadwinner' for now, but I am really having a hard time with working away from my home. Getting to be a stay at home mom was always a huge goal for me. I think that children and parents benefit so much from having someone to stay with the kids during the day and keep the household running smoothly. Having to leave my baby at someone else's house every day has been difficult me. I'm even jealous of the time that Josh gets to spend with Rhett, because I want to be doing it so badly. I'm just kind of down about it and I feel guilty for not being more enthusiastic about doing my part in this seminary journey.

I do have (yet another!) job opportunity on the table. An ELCA congregation is looking for a Youth Director to run their middle and high school programs. I'm really excited about the idea, but we're unsure of how to work around the issue of it being a different denomination and how we would handle being so involved in a church with a different belief system from our own. I have decided to go to the interview on Thursday and see what they have to say. I think I would be really great at the job, and it would be fulfilling for me personally. So I'm excited to see what they have to say. Just apprehensive about the whole thing.

We're doing ok. Getting used to being on a school schedule again is a challenge, but we're loving each other and remaining true to our commitment to being here together. It's such a joy for me to see my husband so happy in what he is doing. 2011 was without a doubt the most difficult time of our lives and we're excited for what lays ahead. I fully trust that God will guide us through the next four years and we will come out on the other side stronger and with a greater sense of purpose for our lives.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Video....

....that only my parents will watch, most likely

Orientation!

Josh has been getting oriented for Seminary this past week. He's really enjoyed being on campus with the other students and getting to know some his professors and colleagues. We're getting more comfortable with the whirlwind ride that is going to be the next four years of our lives. Keep us in your prayers!

Rhett spent two days at the babysitter's house this week. I gotta say, it has been TOUGH on me to leave him with someone else, but I know that he is well cared for, so that makes me happy. I also like that he's getting to spend some time with other children, and he gets to see and experience new things while at Allie's apartment. So I fully understand that this is harder for me that it is for him. But geeze! I wish staying at home were the best option for us, but I don't think we're going to be able to make it work for a few more years.

Picnic in Forrest Park


As I've mentioned before, we have loved our time in St. Louis so far. Something we did together recently was take a trip to Forrest Park, and picnic around the lagoon. The lagoon has been one of our favorite spots to go walking. It's such a picturesque location. On Saturday evenings, several wedding parties can been seen taking photos around the water. We have also seen a proposal about to take place (complete with flowers, champaign and a GIANT "will you marry me?" sign). There's always couples holding hands and dads playing catch with their kids. It's all very Norman Rockwell.  So we decided to join in on the fun on a lazy Saturday afternoon, and took the opportunity to head down to the park for a little family picnic.





We loaded up our cooler with all of our favorite foods. We made chicken wraps on homemade tortillas, and brought our special homemade salsa for chips--salsa is another hobby of ours. We have made the same one for a few batches--one mango, 2-3 garden tomatoes, a few cloves of garlic, one onion and one habenero pepper with half of the seeds removed. Freaking delicious! If you've never made your own salsa before, I highly recommend it. Check out some recipes online and tweak it to your individual tastes. You won't be sorry!

Rhett slept through most of our picnic. We brought his favorite blanket so that he could sleep on the grass. He was pretty content to soak up the summer heat and lounge around on his blanket. We used his trusty blue hat to keep the sun off of him and also to reduce stimulation, because he did really need to nap. Rhett enjoys being outdoors, which is perfect for us because we both go so crazy if we have to stay inside for too long. I feel like we've been really blessed with a baby who lets us drag him all around town and will sleep just about anywhere. I really hope that our next baby will be as easy-peasy.