dino wash!

when all else fails, water play to save the day!  i used my large sensory bin with a smaller one inside, some warm soapy water, shaving cream, cups, brushes and dinosaurs!  i laid out my plastic table cloth on the kitchen floor with a towel near by and bowie is having a blast!!! 

life tip!

if you are a coffee drinker, you will most likely at some point break your coffee carafe!  whether it be in a move, when washing dishes or banging it into the counter it is bound to happen at some point.  so...do yourself a favor if you are ever in a goodwill or thrift store look in the housewares section for a replacement!  i have had great luck at finding them there for a few bucks and always have a back up one just in case!  you will cringe at what they charge for a new one online, it is almost the price of a new machine?!?!?!?!  you will thank me later...

sensory play!

we love sensory play!  it is a no brainer for me, it takes me no time to set up and bowie could play with it endlessly!  but don't be fooled there is lots of learning taking place.  she is mastering skills like pouring, scooping and transferring.  understanding concepts about volume and capacity.  practicing skills she learns in the kitchen and in real life.  and problem solving!  this sensory bin contains rainbow beans, fine motor tools, cookie cutters, bowls, cups, funnel and muffin tin.

loose parts tray!

loose parts play or building, stacking, sorting and pretend play!

pump time!

i contacted spectra as my power supply cord is broken and my pump is still under warranty.  to my surprise they sent me a whole new pump!!!  i have to send my old one back, but part of me is sad to see it go, after all we have spent 218 hours together!  that is equivalent to over 9 full days!!!!

big girl room???

bowie has been getting up 1.5 hours earlier than she normally does and fighting nap and bed time.  but the hardest time for me is the mornings since i am up several times a night with ryder.  i always say i need to pump, have coffee and take a shower before the kids get up otherwise i start the day off grumpy.  well none of those have been happening lately, so we are trying something new...

i used the old bookshelf in bowie's room for her dollhouse which is now in the play room, so i got a small storage cubby to put some toys in her room so she can play in the morning.  not sure if this backfired because she stayed up last night until 10:40pm!!! playing with her felt dolls and board and woke up at 7:30am (which is a little later than her new norm). 

change of plans?!?!

i have been pumping a lot to increase and maintain my supply but i actually think that it is doing more harm than good for me.  i have been pumping three times a day (morning, afternoon and bedtime) but i am feeling that i would be better off to replace those pump sessions with nursing instead.  see, i pump and it is taking me longer to replenish my milk and if the opportunity arises that ryder wants to nurse he gets frustrated that i don't have as much milk or my "let down" takes longer and he is immediately disinterested (with good reason).

sooooo...i have decided that i am going to take a pumping break or maybe give it up for good (TBD) and replace it with breastfeeding.  he is getting bigger and older so i know it is not realistic for me to maintain my full supply, but if i can nurse for snacks and comfort i would be happy!  i tried this out over the weekend and it went really well.  i am hoping this is the happy medium for us both, while i can't be his sole nourishment anymore i want to give him the benefits of breast milk as long as possible.  also with him breastfeeding his saliva communicates with my body to tell me what nutrients,vitamins and antibodies he needs and also signals my body to produce for him, which is lacking when i pump.

my new plan of attack is off to a good start and i have my la leche league meeting next week where i hope i can get some support and reassurance.

nature nins and play dough!

play dough set up today using grapat nins, stacking stones, shells, leaves and dough stampers!

water blocks!

brought out these beautiful plan toys brand water blocks that we got from christmas.  i put them away since bowie was overwhelmed with new toys from the holiday and today was a good day to bring them out and we all enjoyed playing with them. 

8 months!

my moose is 8 months old!  hard for me to even believe, i feel like i should start thinking about his first birthday!  this has been a month of a lot of firsts.  he has a big interest in food, but not baby food, he wants the real deal!  he is very vocal, has his own way technique for crawling and moving around, loves to pull his sisters hair, adores his family and is still the sweetest snuggliest lil guy around!  ryder lee, you bring us so much joy!

milestones:

~12 month clothes, but not for much longer
~size 3 diapers
~still 2 bottom teeth
~still waking up 2-3 times a night to feed, but getting better about taking a morning and afternoon nap!
~still nursing, but very distracted and occasionally biting
~blonde hair, olive green hazel eyes
~about 22 pounds
~very interested in food, but not so much baby food.  he does kinda like apples, bananas and beans!
~enjoys sitting in the high chair
~claps his hands
~learning to wave
~gets up on all fours to crawl, but has his own technique of army crawling and tucking his left arm under and rolling
~likes books and peg dolls and anything his sister is playing with
~in a convertible car seat now!
~drinks about 35-40 ounces of milk/formula a day!
~loves tags
~likes the shape sorter toy and puzzles
~loves to look outside
~enjoys bath time, which is usually family bath time with me and his sister
~has lots of patience for bowie as she learns to share toys with him
~has eczema like daddy
~loves to blow bubbles
~ hands are always very active

magazine!

thank you auntie jamie and uncle ryan for the peppa magazine!  she is one happy kiddo!!!!

dot stickers!

our first time using dot stickers for an easy activity.  i drew a rainbow and used dot markers to make dots on the page, and gave bowie the stickers.  with no instructions, she placed the stickers on top of the dots i made and in the corresponding color.  great fine motor practice and color recognition!

inadequacy...

i'm not sure when, but it is soon, the end is near and our breastfeeding journey is coming to a close.  at six months old i had the ultimate trifecta that made my supply tank (hormones, sickness and growth spurt) and at this point i had to supplement.  it wasn't a lot, but i had to feed the moose.  we made it past the hump and i was producing back to normal again.  but i was still supplementing to replenish my freezer stash.  ryder is not the best sleeper and he would wake up several times a night to come into bed with me and nurse.  he could do this for HOURS!  this is not sustainable for me as i get very little sleep.  so about two weeks ago (not even) i decided i would heat up water and put it in a thermos and bring up bottles and formula and give him bottles at night in place of nursing.  well, little did i know at the time that would be the beginning of the end for him.  he has gotten very distracted while nursing (developmentally appropriate) and he bites with his two bottom teeth, but my supply is less and he just prefers to eat from the bottle now.  i have been working on getting my supply up with supplements, hydrating and pumping more.  right now i spend 1.5 hours pumping a day and the output is enough to give him 8-10 ounces of milk, but i feel it dwindling by the day.  i am not ready!  i cried about it the other night.  when i quit pumping for bowie i was only producing less than half and ounce per pump session.  so i am not there yet, but i have to decide if the benefit outweighs the time and energy.  i believe breast milk is the perfect baby food, but i also believe fed is best and this guy is hungry and not only hungry for milk but REAL FOOD!  it is only 4 short months away until he will be able to have cows milk and probably only weeks away until he is eating more consistently.

when i dig deep and think of the emotion i feel the most about this journey coming to an end it is "inadequate."  that is exactly how i felt with bowie.  of course there are feelings of sadness, guilt, failure, disappointment and the realization that my last little baby is growing up way too fast!    however, i never expected ryder and i to be so successful with our breastfeeding, given all the previous struggles i had with bowie.  it was a night and day experience.  it's not to say it was always easy, but it was always worth it to me.  i fed him from my body alone exclusively for 6 whole months!  every chunk and fat dimple i gave to him and he thrived and grew from my hard work and commitment.  and anyone who has breastfed or pumped knows that it is a full time job and not easy.

why do i feel inadequate?  well, i wish we could go longer, that my body would produce more and that we could breastfeed effortlessly again.  there is always an envy of those super moms who produce more than enough and can feed multiple babies, are comfortable feeding their babies anywhere any which way, have a large freezer stash, pump lots of milk and are able to breastfeed as long as they wish. breastfeeding is a super power!

i am fairly certain we won't make it to my year goal, but that is not to say i am not proud of myself and if i only get a few more latches in we will make it to 8 months for sure!  i have been breastfeeding him in the morning because that is when i have the most milk and that is it for the day.  i will miss this time with him for sure, and i cherish this experience! not sure when i will give up pumping, but it probably won't be too far behind, as i could use that extra hour and a half for lots of other productive mommy things.

play dough, dinos and rainbow rice!

when my play dough is on its last leg (and mine usually lasts 6 months) i like to set up a fun invite that i normally wouldn't do.  like combining colors (makes my anxiety go through the roof) or adding some rainbow rice.  so today we added her favorite yellow rainbow rice to the mix and when it is all done i won't feel bad about throwing out our green play dough, it has had a good run!

nature bag!

we tried out the toucan box subscription for kids crafts, and i am loving bowie's nature bag she made!

surprise baby shower!

with the help of a couple of lovely ladies, we pulled off a beautiful surprise baby shower for a dear friend!