bananas....yummmmmm

giving piper food had been a big topic among family and friends here lately so i thought that i would tell everyone what we have decided to do :) we obviously wanted to do the best thing for her...we want her to grow up loving yummy healthy foods and not grow up pron to processed foods and we were obviously not ready for her to wean...not even close. i have done a lot of Internet reading, book reading and i have even been to a class on starting solids and we plan on mostly just reading Pipers cues. The best information i have gotten is from a book called "the womanly art of breastfeeding" and the La Leche League. Basically they say that the starting of solids is something that happens in the second half of the baby's first year of life...but once the baby turns 6 months old, not to watch the clock...but watch for "readiness signs" which would be....
-the ability to sit up without support
-absence of the tongue-thrust reflex(meaning baby does not automatically push solids out of her mouth with her tongue)
-mastered the pincer-grasp
-increased nursing
Babies usually hit these milestones between 6 to 8 months. In breast-feed baby's there is no need for the tasteless-processed rice cereal...they can go right to the good stuff :) some of the best first foods to try are ripe mashed banana, ripe mashed avocado and cooked mashed sweet potato. There is also no need for jarred foods (or if your baby is old enough there is even no need to mash or puree!). And of course to always try to nurse before feeding foods as your breast milk is your baby's main source of nuturion the first year...nothing can replace the amazing food that God designed!! :)
All that being said.....we gave piper a taste of banana last Saturday night!!!!!!! I'm not sure if she is completely ready, and she didn't seem to like it too much. But i have been giving her little tastes each day of my morning banana...she will take 2 or 3 bites before she gets completely un-interested and starts to push it away.Last night we even gave her a few (baby)spoon fulls of sweet potato that i had frozen is ice cubes...it all came right back out of her mouth and all over her bumbo and clothes...so to me that means either a)she still has the tongue-thrust and is not quite ready or b)she does not like it :) for now will will continue to just give her banana every once in a while and continue to follow her cues :)
WOW that was a lot of info most people probably don't care about...but that is what we are doing...and of course the video....

lesson in parenting...

the day piper turned 6 months old was a Sunday... It being such a special day, i dressed Piper up in the sweetest pink and black striped shirt with a bow and black leggings...before we left we looked in the mirror and i told her how beautiful she looked :) When we got to church as usual piper was sitting on my lap as i Internet surfed while daddy was running around getting ready for the morning...all of a sudden i "feel" her pooping i immediately stand up to go get her bag to change her...the second i stood up i looked down and.....poop was oozing out the back of her leggings...i am not joking...oozing!! I panicked!!!! I yelled for Jake and told him we had a major crisis!! we ran out of the room *like crazy-first-time-parents-style* took her to a Sunday school class room and stripped her down! At this point her beautiful pink and black striped shirt and leggings were COVERED in poop! It took practically an entire tub of wipes to clean her up...by this point i realized...being the mother of the year that i am...that i did not have a change of clothes with me!!!!!!!! I have never carried around a change of clothes with me!?! In 6 months, nothing like this has ever happened!?! I *in tears* looked to Jake and told him that i had to take this precious *poopie* little naked girl out in the freezing cold to take her home for new clothes :( when Jake reminded me just to run down to the nursery, they have reserve clothes for this very occasion! OHHH thank goodness!!! So *naked* piper and i go to the nursery...and this is what the had for my little birthday girl....


I was a little embarrassed to think that people were thinking i was the kind of mom, that puts her beautiful little girl in a blue, over sized, Eskimo Joe's, sweatshirt onsie for church (i promise im not!)....but at the same time overwhelmed with gratitude to the lades at the nursery front desk who helped a un-prepared momma in a time of need (they are blog readers...so THANK YOU!!)...so the lesson....
-always have an extra set of clothes with you...ALWAYS!! :)

by the way...i still thought she was beautiful!! :)

Disney with a 1 year old!!??!!

thats right...we are doing it...going to Disney World at the end of June!!! WHOOOHOOO!!!!!!

pipers diapers...

been doing diaper laundry today...just thought i needed to show the fruits of my labor :)....

ohhh this is also the fruit of my labor ;)

half of a year...

yesterday was Pipers 6 month birthday! the past 6 months has been the most emotional, hardest, life altering, self-sacrificing, world wind of my life. Although before I was pregnant I could fit into clothes much easier and sleep a whole 10 hours straight and before she was born Jake and I could go to the movies without stressing for days about how much I will miss her during those 2 hours when I "have" to leave her and I was able to sit through a meal with out scarfing it down. I would not trade my life with her now for a second of those "before piper" days!!!!! My heart is fluttering right now just thinking about how in love I am with her! I love her sweet laugh, i love how she rubs her eyes when she is tired, i love how she wants to grab everything, i love her curious spirit, i love waking up in the night and feeling her so close to my body and hearing her sweet sleepy noises, i love that she needs me so much, i love when she rubs my chest when she nurses, i love the way she completely lights up when she sees Jake's face...i just love her...

benifits of co-sleeping....

you get to wake up to to this...

all in about 15 seconds...

ohhh and of course....HAPPY 2010!!!!

29 years!!!

Today is my hubbys birthday...so last night we went to a fun dinner out with his family and to see Sherlock Holmes...Pipe slept through the whole movie! Heather made yummy chocolate cupcakes and gave jake a RAD vintage gumball machine for his office, and jakes parents got him two slick black coats and some birthday money...





Piper and I surprised him with a breakfast omelet in bed(parden the toplessness;)...

Piper gave her daddy his birthday present from her....

He LOVES his new scarf!...

Today we have been running around town drinking starbux and spending birthday money!! Its been lovely!!