Amélie Seven Months

Amélie turned 7 months this week and wow have we seen so many changes in just a few weeks time. She's 16 pounds 15 ounces (7.7 kilos) and right on track being at the 50th percentile for weight. The most exciting development is that she is finally eating! It took a solid month of offering food to her every day until one day she just decided she was ready and now she has three small meals a day along with her normal milk feeds. I think two days of A being very persistent with butternut squash and adding more flavor to her food helped. Her favorites so far are oatmeal with banana and cinnamon, green beans with pear and split pea soup. I'm so happy and relieved she's starting to eat plus looking forward to expanding her palate more.

Milk feeds are still the same as her routine at six months. I've given her water after meals in a sippy cup numerous times, but this week was the first time she grasped the concept and drank some! I'm skipping giving her a bottle completely since I'm with her all of the time anyways now and hopefully by the time I have to go to work, she'll be weaned completely anyways.

As of the past week, Amélie's favorite way to get around it by rolling. If she see's a toy she wants not within reach, she just rolls, spins around on her tummy to get to the right position and rolls again. I'll put her down sitting on one end of the playmat and usually find her on her tummy or back on the opposite end. Her favorite activity lately has been ripping napkins, tissue paper, Christmas catalogs or pretty much anything she can get a hold of. She tried to rip some curling ribbon one day and was very determined, but very upset when it just wasn't ripping like the paper.

Other than that we've been busy this week with a few play dates seeing her baby friends before Christmas. She's still waking up once or twice a night to feed and is up for the day by 7 usually, which means I really need to go to bed now! We're off to the Canary Islands this weekend for Christmas. I remember feeling Amélie move for the first time on a bumpy road while we were there last year and now we get to go with her again, though this time not in my belly!

And a few pictures:

^^She was sitting on the rug just moments before, then decided she was done with taking pics. 

^^From L to R: makeup lesson; bundled in the stroller, Christmas class, opening gifts from Auntie Tiff

^^Cute little shoes, thanks room. 

Happy 7 months Amélie!

Thanksgiving 2014

I'm slowly catching up with everything I need to do now that we have internet again so here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving a couple of weeks back. We celebrated the weekend before with all of the Sensos and then again on Thursday with just our family of three. 

^^A group shot of all of us and all of the food!

^^I made the pies the day before, just your good old classic apple pie and pumpkin pie.

^^Apple pie in the oven.

^^We had turkey chili while Amelie played with some watches. She liked the Rolex the best, of course.

^^Early morning shot of the turkey, 7am. 

^^Table all set and even a little place card for the baby. 

^^I hope Thanksgiving is going to be her favorite holiday too!

^^From the left: green beans with pancetta & onions, baked sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, mashed sweet potatoes, the turkey, sausage stuffing, butternut squash, mashed potatoes, apple pie, gravy, cranberry sauce and a pumpkin pie (the best recipe here.)

^^Amélie loved the pinecone.

^^I had two plates of this.

^^Our little table. 

^^She kind of liked mashed potatoes and butternut squash.

^^I was soo full.

^^And Amélie passed out after the meal. 

^^Then I made turkey everything the next day - stock, soup and salad. 

I can't wait until Amélie is old enough to understand holidays and how excited I am about Thanksgiving each year. It will be so nice to have her help me in the kitchen each year just like I did with my mom. For now, she sits in her high chair and takes it all in :) 

Amélie Six Months

I've been very late writing this post since Amélie is already 6 ½ months old, but we just got internet at our new place! At 6 months, Amélie weighed 16.4 pounds (7.44 kilos) and definitely feels much heavier already. The biggest milestone this past month is that she can sit up all on her own now. She started off very wobbly and then within a week, she was able to sit up without any support! (with the exception of a few pillows around her in case she loses her balance) She can also roll over from her back to her stomach now, but doesn't do this too often. She is growing up to be very curious and is into everything you give her. She is also super smiley, particularly when she sees A walk through the door from work. As it’s getting darker out so early, she really hates being in the car when it’s dark and cries and cries so A and I have to sing the Wheels on the Bus or the Itsy Bitsy Spider very loudly to get her to calm down.

My last post about introducing solids is now something that has become a little bit discouraging for me. We've been trying to introduce solids for about a month now without any interest from Amélie. I've tried just about every food from the calendar I created and even some jarred food, but nada. She’s learned to seal her mouth shut, make a grossed out face and bob her head from side to side when she’s in the high chair. I've tried before a feed, after a feed, halfway between a feed, morning, afternoon, evening. I've given her food to play with and her own spoon and bowl, but still have been unsuccessful.

The one time she actually opened her mouth for more was when I let her try some mashed potatoes from our Thanksgiving meal, which was very exciting and I thought a start, but then trying a few more times with some more mashed potatoes (sans butter and milk) later on, she decided she was not interested at all. I know I need to look at this time as exploring/playing rather than the way she gets any nutrition, but I feel like I’m out of ideas on what to do. I know she just may not be ready and it feels like the day she will start to actually open her mouth for food will never come, but I have to keep telling myself to stay positive. It’s hard when she rejects it multiple times a day, every day, but all I can do now it to keep offering it so she eventually gets used to it and hopefully will start to have enjoyable food experiences!

These past few weeks, she’s also developed a pretty regular schedule waking up around 7:30 and going to bed around 7:30. She still wakes up once or usually twice for a feed in the middle of the night and throughout the day has her milk feeds roughly every 3 hours. She naps in the morning, then early afternoon and finally around 4ish, but only for about 30 minutes, maybe an hour if I’m lucky each time.

All in all, I can generally get everything I need to get accomplished done and go to bed at a reasonable hour, which I think is definitely helped by the fact she can sit up and play/entertain herself for longer periods now. I’m still dreaming of the days where I will get a full night of uninterrupted sleep, but that will come eventually right?

^^Hanging out in the rainforest

^^"Please don't make me eat any more." 

Happy 6 months Amélie, you bring us so many smiles and happiness each day. 

Preparing for Solids

Husband and baby are still fast asleep and I slept an uninterrupted 6 hours last night so I feet great! It also gives me a little time to do a short post on what has been on my mind lately, starting Amélie on solids. I feel like Amélie has been ready for solids for a while now. She is showing all the signs - birth weight (more than) doubled, feeding more at night, good head control, great interest in my meals, etc. I've been doing my research the past couple of weeks by talking to other moms and reading a couple of blogs and books and I think I finally feel ready. I wanted to wait as close to the 6 month mark of solely breastfeeding, but I think 5 1/2 months is close enough and I kind of am excited to start Amélie on her way to becoming a foodie :) 

Since waiting a few days in between the introduction of new foods is recommended to pinpoint any allergies, I decided to make a calendar showing what we'll be feeding Amélie. It's your typical first baby food fruits and veggies plus some oatmeal and brown rice mixed in. I decided to skip baby rice as her first food and start her straight on fruits and veggies instead. When I introduce the grains, I will probably end up mixing them with other foods that have been previously introduced. After her first month, I'll probably become a little more adventurous and add some finger foods as well. 

*Edit: After writing the two paragraphs above yesterday morning, everyone woke up and I'm just finishing the post now!

^^Here is some of the "gear" we bought. 

Sources: 

Baby Bjorn Highchair

Philips AVENT Combined Baby Food Steamer and Blender

Philips AVENT Baby Food Storage Set

Lillypot

Tommee Tippee Explora 1st Weaning Spoons

Tommee Tippee Explora Easy Scoop Feeding Bowls

OXO Tot Baby Food Freezer Tray (forgot to put into the picture!)

Boon Squirt (forgot to put into the picture!)

^^Give me some food now please!

We're off to a castle near Manchester for a wedding the next couple of days and I have 20 minutes to get ready and packed so I should hurry! I probably won't be able to post any updates for a couple of weeks since we are moving and will be internetless for a while, but I'll be sure to keep you all posted on how introducing solids is going once we are back online. Here is a goodie from the other night: 

^^She wanted to sleep in the big bed :) 

Amélie Five Months

Miss Amélie turned five months old on Thursday and we could not be more in love with her. She weighs 15 pounds 8 ounces (7.08 kilos), which is up a whole pound from two weeks ago. I think a lot of the weight is going towards her length because her tummy has been much skinnier these days. She is so much more curious nowadays and wants to grab everything in sight/put it in her mouth. She's also found her feet and loves grabbing them both especially when she's on her changing table. Her favorite is flying in the air, which makes her giggle loads. I can see already that Amélie is an explorer because though she can't crawl, she does make her way around her play gym whether when she's on her back or doing tummy time - she always ends up doing a 180 and/or reaching for her favorite toys. Even when she's in the Bumbo, she will reach her for toys if they fall off the tray (ex. see below)

I'm not sure if you can tell from the pics above, but Amélie is also losing her hair! One day I picked her up from her crib and thought one of her stuffed animals was shedding, but I soon realized it was actually Amélie. I know it's pretty common for babies to lose their hair and for it to grow back, but I hope she doesn't lose any more. It's mainly in the back, but her bangs seem to be shorter too. 

Feeding wise, I'm still nursing her roughly every 3 hours (though it always seems like less than 10 minutes per session because she gets distracted very easily), but I think we are very close to starting solids. Amélie seems to be hungrier during the night and sometimes wakes up three times to eat. I usually have her on my lap when I'm eating lunch and dinner too now because she is so interested in what I'm doing. She had a few licks of an apple and banana I was eating one day and she seemed to like it. I'm just trying to wait as close to 6 months as possible of solely breastfeeding, but I'm thinking the beginning of November will be the likely time we start. I also think she is starting to teeth and has been loving the Sophie the giraffe teething toy these past couple of days. 

Her baby sensory and swimming classes are still going very well. I am having to sometimes pretend I know the words to some English nursery rhymes in class (and then go home and google them!) Jelly on a plate anyone? Plus, I've picked up some new vocabulary this month - gilet (aka puffy vest), faff and dungarees (overalls) are the ones that stand out. I've figured out what they mean from the context of the conversation, but I still double check with A when I get home to verify.  

Other updates - A is finally finished with a few weeks of business trips, we are officially home owners as of Monday (moving in a couple of weeks!) and we had some fun and dressed Amélie up like a panda today. It's close enough to Halloween right? 

^^It's tiring being a panda

^^5 month smiles! 

Happy 5 months baby Amélie, we love you. 

US Trip: Pumpkin Patch & Apple Picking

I love fall in New England. It's definitely my favorite season of the year so I am happy that we were able to visit just as the leaves were starting to change color and apple picking season was in full swing. The Friday before the end of our trip was a perfect sunny day with a visit to Lyman Orchards - my favorite place to go apple picking. My family has been going ever since I could remember and I'm sure we'll continue to bring Amélie as she grows up too.

^^Amélie was seriously not impressed with the pumpkins. We couldn't even get one smile out of her with all of the silly faces, singing and dancing we tried to entertain her with. She did just wake up from a nap in the car and found herself in a field full of pumpkins or maybe it was because I dressed her in white pants that were too small for her? 

^^"Sighhh - why is mommy making me do this?"

^^A on the hunt for some good looking apples. 

^^Amélie was kind of interested, maybe? 

^^I made us take a family pic, several actually. 

^^Such a beautiful and clear day in Connecticut

^^Tiff and A carried the apples, I carried the baby and then it was off to the Apple Barrel to buy some treats. 

^^Just chilling with some pumpkins. 

^^Our fall family photo, that exposed belly is too cute. 

^^So many pumpkins! I love the white ones. 

^^Waiting in line for some cider donuts, though I wanted one of everything. 

^^Just hanging out with daddy while mommy buys pies and cider (the American kind!) 

^^The apples on Tiff's table

The next day, it was already time to leave. Our bags were just at the weight limit mainly filled with baby clothes and toys for Amélie. We had a last little get together on Friday night with friends, way too much food and a fire to make s'mores. We wanted to go to the diner the next morning, but we too lazy and opted for a big breakfast at Tiff's instead - Pepperidge Farm Pumpkin Spice bread made into French toast, yes, please with bacon, extra crispy and why not throw in some left over crab rangoons and potato skins too. 

^^Exhausted and taking a nap on daddy before leaving for the airport. 

^^Finally home with a huge pile of clothes and toys, though all washed and organized now! 

and that's it for our trip to America, I already can't wait to go back for our next visit.