Evelynn's Favorite Toys

We love these great toys by Lamaze.

Evelynn's first Lamaze toy was Celeste the sun and moon. I had it hanging where she could see it from her car seat from before we even brought her home. She would stare it at long before she had the motor skills to use her hands. Now, nearly 6 months later it hasn't lost its appeal. She loves to crinkle the little yellow rays around the sun's face.

The next toy we got was Jacques the Peacock. Evelynn loved his little orange beak from the time we picked him out in the store.  We hardly go anywhere without Jacques now.

But now Jacques has a rival for Evelynn's affections. Just this weekend my grandmother and I took Evelynn shopping with us and she picked out her own toy. It was between Stretch the Giraffe and My Friend Emily. Well, Emily won out hands down.  Given both toys Evelynn went straight for the doll and ignored the Giraffe completely.  My baby's first baby doll! So sweet!

You'd think we'd have enough by now, and we probably do. But with the hubs being Canadian and all, we do have an awful fondness for Moose.  So.... Mortimer Moose will most likely make an appearance in Evelynn's stocking at Christmas time.

Isn't he cute?! Plus his ears are teethers so, it's practical. 

Evelynn tried peas for the first time tonight.  She wasn't exactly a fan. This video doesn't really do it justice. We had to stop and switch to apple sauce.  Her little face is so expressive though.  It's hard not to laugh sometimes.

The rest of the weekend...

We got to Kansas City Saturday afternoon and checked into the hotel.  Hubs and been holding on to some Hilton rewards points for a while so we booked a room at the Hilton down town for free! Oh yeah! We got all checked in and fed Evelynn and then it was time to go pick up dinner for ourselves.  We stopped off at Waldo Pizza where I may or may not have run into a friend from high school.  Across the bar there was a guy who looked familiar but I couldn't quite be sure. He said, "HI!" in a way that made me think that I must know him. I said "Hi" back and asked how he'd been. The generic conversation went on like that until my pizza arrived and I pretty well ran out of there before I had to acknowledge whether or not we actually knew each other. I know.  Cowardly. But to be fair, I actually was running late and had a fussy baby waiting in the car with her daddy.  But just in case, if anyone sees Mike McNary send my apologies for running out on him, if it was, in fact, him.

Moving on. I was running off to Krista's house because she and Sarah had so kindly volunteered to babysit for us while we went to the wedding (see below).  Had a great time at the wedding. On the way out Nikki called a KCMO police officer that was escorting us to our cars (bad neighborhood) a jerk. Yes she said it loudly. Yes he heard her. But she was joking and he was in on it and we all laughed.

Little Miss hadn't got to sleep when we arrived back at Krista's house to pick her up. Bad news. She passed out in the car but woke up when we got to the hotel. About the time we got to the room around 11:30 the fussing started and escalated.  She finally passed out from sheer exhaustion around 1AM only to wake up crying again at 2:00. I'm sure the people in the rooms next to ours loved us. We got her back to sleep by around 2:30-2:45 but she was awake again at 5AM. I'm tellin' ya. This kid does not like to have her schedule and routine messed with.

So, after a horrible night, the calm. She was a perfect angel all day long. She took her regular morning nap right on time and woke up just as we were sitting down for lunch.  Lunch was fantastic. Mostly because my dear dear friend Jade was in town and she met us. I hadn't seen her since before I got preggers so over a year!? Really?! That long? Wow. That's too long Jadely. It was the first time we got to introduce her to Evelynn and they got along great. Evelynn tried to eat Jade's hair and Jade didn't even seem to mind. What a girl :)

After lunch we went to visit my old next door neighbors. We stayed with them for an hour or so while Evelynn ate her lunch. Then it was back in the car. Right on schedule with afternoon nap time, Evelynn fell asleep and slept the whole way home despite the very loud pouring down rain all the way. It was so nice. She was good all evening and even went to sleep in time for me to catch the end of Dexter.  Ahh... We paid our dues last night but I must commend the little girl. Today was quiet pleasant. And now, off to bed for me!

5 Months

Evelynn turned 5 months old yesterday.  I go through this every month when I realize how fast time is going by. She's growing so quickly! She now weighs 15lbs 12oz. That puts her in the 74th percentile on weight. And she's 26 inches long. That's the 90th percentile on height.

She seems to be learning so much every day and new skills happen at lightening speed. She can easily reach and grab her toes. Though, she does not bring them to her mouth yet. And she can reach across her body now- right hand to left foot. She can hold a toy and pass it to her other hand too. And she reaches for what she wants and is very curious about the world around her. She loves to grab faces. She also loves to feel different textures. She'll rub her hand across your arm to feel the difference between skin and fabric. She's really starting to like the kitties. As a result, I think they like her less. She's pretty good about petting until she gets excited and then she grabs a big fistful of hair and sometimes skin. Kitties don't care for that game very much. Lucky for them, she's not mobile yet!

She still hates her tummy time. But she loves to sit up and stand. When she's seated she often falls forward while reaching for an object. Then she ends up falling into tummy time and gets mad. Part of me hopes that will motivate her to learn how to coordinate that whole crawling thing. But the other part of me hopes she won't get it just yet, because it's so much easier when I can put her down and she stays in one place!

She can roll over from back to tummy. She just won't. She'll easily roll to her side to work her way around her toy gym but when she starts to fall towards her tummy she sticks her foot out to hold herself up. She does NOT want to be on her tummy!

We've tried solid foods again recently with slightly more success. I won't go so far as to say she likes it but she doesn't cry anymore. Getting her to open her mouth for the spoon isn't all that easy though. She really likes to sit her in high chair while we eat dinner. I think she likes being included at the table.

I think she's beginning to understand what we say a little more so it's time to start introducing a few sign language words. She started imitating me the other day when I stuck my tongue out at her. So cute! So I think she may be able to start imitating signs too. We want to teach her a few basic signs like "More", "Milk", "Eat", "Drink", "Hot", "Cold", and "Pain". I have a friend who has done this and it has really helped their communication before she can talk.

Oh yes, and I made her another little hat:

I think she liked it. What do you think?!

Hats

It's gotten cold here in Munchkin Land so it was time to break out the winter hats. Only problem was, we didn't have any for Evelynn. With Hubs being home I had a little extra time with two hands so I figured I'd just make her a few using yarn I already had around rather than spending money. I found a few patterns and made my own up too.

Cherry Hat 

 I used this pattern. But I used Bernat Softee Baby yarn in green and pink. It's what I had on hand. Here's the view from the front.

Jester Hat

I wanted to make a jester hat but I couldn't fine a pattern for a crochet one and I didn't want to go dig around to find my knitting needles. So I sort of improvised based on this pattern.  I used Bernat Softee Baby White and a size G crochet hook. It was really very simple.

Chain 60

Join chain with a slip stitch being careful not to twist it.

SC in each chain (60 stitches)

SC in each stitch until your piece is about 6.5 " tall

On the wrong side join with a SC 20 stitches

create the next point with another 20 stitches SC together

Slip Stitch back to the center and join the last 20 stitches.

Weave in ends.

Flower Hat

 

I really had to make this one up since, as I said, I didn't want to go find my knitting needles. It was loosely based on this pattern and the pattern for the Cherry Hat linked above. The top flower applique came from here  and the small flowers on the ear flaps came from here.

I used Bernat Softee Baby Green, Yellow and Pink with a size G crochet hook for the appliques.  And I used Patons Melody Quick & Cozy White and a size K hook for the hat.

Follow the Cherry Hat pattern until the hat is the right width around. Evelynn's 17" head it took 7 rounds to get the right width and then several more until it was the right size. After the last round create ear flaps:

SC 6

Turn SC 6 Repeat until you have 4 rows of 6 SC stitches

Decrease by SC 1, SC two together Repeat and Turn.

Work decreases until you have one stitch.

Slip stitch down the flap until you get back to the hat, SC around until you are on the other side of your flap making the hat symmetrical Repeat Ear Flap directions above. Slip stitch back to the hat but then weave in ends.

Attach appliques with a couple stitches.

To make the ties:

 SC in bottom ear flap SC.

Chain 15

Chain 3

In the 15th Chain SC 1, Chain 1, DC 1, Triple C 1, DC 1, SC 1

Slip Stitch in the 14th Chain

Chain 5

in the 4th Chain from the hook repeat leaf directions above.

Slip stitch up the chain to make a thicker cord.

Weave in ends.

Repeat on the other ear flap.

I have no idea if that's the correct or easiest way to make those, I just made it up and it worked for me.

Go Hogs Go!

In honor of the Razorbacks beating Auburn today, Evelynn would like to teach you all how to call the Hogs.

Step 1: Hands to the Side.  "Woooooo..."

Step 2: Raise hands over your head and twinkle fingers. "...oooooooo"

Step 3:  Bend elbows. "PIG"

Step 4: Raise hands above head again. "Souieeeeee!"

Step 5: Pump right fist. "RAZORBACK!!"

Go Hogs Go! My little Razorback and I are cheering for ya! :)

Rutabaga Bunny

At my Baby Shower Mark and Mary Wilson gave me this adorable little bunny named "Rutabaga".  It has quickly become Evie's FAVORITE.  Rutabaga Bunny lives on the changing table and when Evie gets her diaper changed or her outfit changed she usually gets "BUNNY KISSES!"

Bunny kisses are when little Rutabaga there sits on Evie's chest and then "kisses" her all over her face.  They are usually preceded by Mommy exclaiming "BUN-NY KISSES!" Evie has learned what's coming and just grins even before she gets kissed.

If you're looking for a good baby gift I highly recommend Bunnies By The Bay products.  They're super soft and just adorable.  Thanks Mark and Mary for Evie's favorite little Rutabaga.

Too Smart for My Good

Evelynn is going through a phase where she is just a pain in the bootie to feed. And I'm not even talking about solids (see post below).  No, my smart little girl has figured out that if she spits out her bottle and listens for bubbles, when she goes back to it, the milk will come out faster. She likes milk.  She likes milk NOW.  So, she spits that bottle out a lot.  Of course that means that she ends up with more of a mess all over her face and clothes.  And she exclaims, "Ah! Ah! Ah!" while she waits for the bubbles- not so pleasant or cute in public. It takes an extreme amount of patience to give her a bottle these days and has become very frustrating for her daddy and others not accustomed to it to deal with since it's so confusing. You think she's hungry but then she's constantly spitting the bottle out but then she cries when you stop feeding her.

But all of this is bearable.  The real problem is that I am still nursing and want to continue for a few more months at least. Evelynn doesn't differentiate between the bottle and my breast very well.  When my milk isn't flowing as fast as she'd like, we play the off and on fussing and waiting for bubbles that never come game.  Which leads to the latch on and attempt to turn head game.  Not. Fun.  I am dreading her getting teeth mostly for that reason.

We've been working on a solution for this little problem.  So far we've discovered a couple things.  1.  Fast flow nipples.  She likes them and Man can she power through a bottle when we use one of those.  BUT, as I said, I'm still nursing.  They really make her frustrated when my milk isn't nearly as easy to get.  So,  I'd rather stick with the slow flow.  2. Taking the bottom off the bottle.  We already use Playtex VentAire bottles which have holes in the bottom with little silicone washers to prevent leaks (most of the time).  But they don't re-pressurize fast enough for Evie.   Taking the bottom off keeps it even with no bubbles and a steady stream of milk.  But of course then you're holding a full bottle with no bottom.  If she moves or grabs the bottle, like she loves to do, milk goes everywhere.

Suggestions?

Solid

Evelynn tried her first solid food tonight. She's four months old and the doctor told us we could start her on rice cereal to help with her spit up. So tonight was the night. I was covered in spit up and had had enough.

Things started out promising

 

I thought for sure she would love it... yeah, not so much.

Mommy! Why do you keep putting that in my mouth?

 

Things weren't going well, so I tried mixing in a teeny spoonful of pear baby food. That didn't seem to help much, so I figured, why not let her try pears straight.

Ewwwwwwww!

 

Wow that was bad. Her little face was so funny when she tasted it.  It just sat there on her tongue and her face got all red.  Then she spit it all out. Every other bite from there out ended up on her bib. She didn't even eat half her cereal and was a red, crying, shaking mess by the time we gave up.

Poor baby. I guess we'll try solids again in a few weeks.

Breastfeeding vs formula

I thought I was done posting for the day but Evelynn has fallen asleep in my lap and I can't bear to move my sweet little snoozer so here I sit.

When I was pregnant I told myself "Of COURSE I'm going to breastfeed!"  It's without a doubt the best food for baby.  Plus it comes with all that great snuggly bonding time.  Not to mention helping quickly shed that baby weight.

But after the first month I started to realize something wasn't right.  My daughter hadn't regained her birth weight by her first check up and she was crying constantly.  We called her pteridactl baby. I pumped during the day and by evening would have around 4oz of milk in a bottle that my husband would feed Evie.  She'd take all of it and want more.  I knew I was probably only producing an once or two at each feeding.  That's when we realized, she wasn't a fussy baby.  She was hungry! So I called the doctor and he said it was okay to supplement with formula. It was like a tremendous weight had been lifted.

That was the first time I'd even considered that formula was okay for my baby.  But then I started thinking about it.  I heard from my mother that my brother and I were exclusively formula fed.  And I would much rather have Evelynn full, happy, growing and healthy than just be able to brag that she was exclusively breast fed. With the full support of my family and physicians we decided to supplement.

Typically Evelynn nurses until both breasts are emptied and then takes a bottle of formula to make up the difference.  Sometimes she doesn't need the bottle at all and we don't force it on her.  Sometimes she takes an 8oz bottle after nursing.  It just depends.

Since we have started giving formula our lives are dramatically easier and much more pleasant at home.  But when we're out people seem to think what I feed my baby is their business.  There are so many women and sometimes even men out there who condemn me for my choice.  I just want to say to them, "It's great that you (or your wife) didn't have the same issues I did.  I would love to be able to exclusively breastfeed.  But I can't."  I certainly respect their choice.  Why can't they respect mine?

Typically when I have this conversation I get bombarded with "solutions" to my problem.  I've heard everything from staying in bed and nursing all day to special teas.  The only thing that I have found that actually seems to help is pumping for 20 minutes after each feeding to make sure my breasts are completely empty.  Then pumping every hour that she doesn't nurse.  You'd think after all that I would be overflowing but, in fact, I've never pumped more than 4 ounces at a time.  Additionally my supply is ultra sensitive.  If I don't empty my breast one time the supply is drastically cut almost immediately.  You can see how all this would make it difficult to leave the house!

Anyway, I'm sure that's a little TMI.  I just wanted to get that off my chest (no pun intended).  I'm tired of being judged by my fellow mothers. I wish we could all just support one another and respect well intentioned and thoughtful personal decisions.