Rename My Blog: My First Giveaway!

Do you read my blog? Do you like free stuff?

If you answered "yes" to the above questions, read on for more information!

When I decided to redesign my blog (formerly Love and Lattes) and make it into a mommy blog, "Fallin' for Colin" was the first title that popped into my head. I always sort of thought of it as a working title until I could come up with something better. But, so far the creative juices just haven't been flowing.

Which brings me to my first contest/giveaway. I'm giving YOU a chance to rename my blog. All you have to do is comment with a suggestion for a new blog title. If I use your idea, I will reward you with 25 free 4"x6" prints from Snapfish.com. Most of my readers are mommies, too, so I know you've all got tons of digital photos just waiting to be printed!

When thinking about a new blog title, keep in mind that Colin will most likely have a sibling (or two, maybe) one day, and this blog won't always be just about him. For now, though, it's all about my baby boy.

Please have all entries in by Saturday; I'll announce the winner then.


Here's a recent photo of Mama Bear and Baby Bear for inspiration:

Ready, set, GO!

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Avocado Take 2: Success!

Linking up with Mama G and Kristin today for Toddle Along Tuesday.

Welcome, Toddlers!

****

Yesterday evening, I decided I had to do something with the leftover avocado in the fridge before it went bad. I had bought it especially for making baby food, because I'm not a fan of the stuff myself. I wish I liked it, because it has a ton of great benefits! But, alas, it's just not for me.

Since the fork-mashed version did not go over well with my little man at all, I decided to try pureeing it in the blender. I removed the pit, chopped up the "meat" into smallish pieces, and dumped it into my trusty blender with a little water. I blended and added water until it was smooth. It came out beautifully! I spooned it into an ice cube tray to freeze and saved some to feed right away.

Because Colin didn't love it the first time, I decided not to feed it to him by itself. I mixed it into some rice cereal made with formula, and ended up with a lovely green mush. I removed Little Bear's shirt (I've learned my lesson... feeding solids is messy!) and offered him a spoonful. He ate it! Swallowed it and everything! Then I got another spoonful ready and he actually opened his mouth for me. He liked it! Hooray! :)

I'm so proud of my kid for liking healthy foods. I am determined to raise a boy with good taste - literally!

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Feeding Solids

I never thought I'd be so excited to spoon feed a baby, but so far, feeding solids has been fun! I'm easing my way into making homemade baby food, so we've done a combination of storebought and homemade foods so far.

At Colin's 4 month checkup, Dr. G. gave us the green light to try rice cereal. I bought a box of Earth's Best organic whole grain rice cereal, and decided to give it a try.

The first time we tried it, Colin wasn't sold on the idea. This was his reaction:

What IS this stuff, Mom??

We played around with the texture of the cereal over the course of about a week, and finally got a good formula to cereal ratio that Colin seemed to like. He prefers it a little thicker than the box recommends.. that way he can move it around in his mouth without having it spill right back out.

Funny story... I didn't actually get to see Colin eat his first non-cereal food. Our back-up childcare provider is a sweet lady, but she can be very opinionated, and one day when I dropped Colin off with her, she mentioned it was time to start mixing fruits into his cereal. That afternoon, when I came back to pick him up, she told me that she had fed him a jar of pears.

I was surprised, as I had not yet fed him anything besides cereal, and she didn't ask if she could give him fruit. But, I figured I'd be starting different foods soon anyway, and she gave me some more pears to take home, so I brushed it off and continued to feed him pears for a few days. He did indeed love them, and he gobbled them up without a second thought.

Since trying cereal and pears, we've also tried the following foods:

*Homemade roasted carrot puree - Colin wasn't sure about carrots at first, but grew to love them. The only downside: weird orangey poops.

*Sweet potatoes (organic, storebought) - These went over pretty well, too.

*Homemade yellow squash puree - I roasted the squash, just as I did with the carrots. They came out a little runnier, though, and little man wasn't a big fan. I'm hoping he grows to like them, though, because I have quite a few cubes frozen!

*Avocado (raw, mashed at home) - Made Colin gag.. I think it was too thick for him. I may try to puree this with a little formula or water to thin it out next time.

*Peaches (storebought) - Peaches seem to be the favorite so far. I mixed some into cereal last night, and Colin ate the whole bowl. If I waited too long between spoonfuls, he would fuss at me. It was so funny!

Sorry I haven't taken any more reaction photos! I keep forgetting to do that.

For anyone who might be wondering, I use my plain old blender to make baby food. I soften veggies by roasting them with a tiny bit of olive oil in a stoneware pan (who wants to eat boiled veggies??), and blend them right out of the oven. I add water to change the texture as necessary.

Once I've made baby food, I pour it into an ice cube tray, freeze it, and then pop out the cubes and store them in a ziploc bag. I pull out one cube at a time and heat it when it's time to feed.

We've been using Nuby baby spoons, and they're awesome. If the food is too warm, the end of the spoon turns completely white to let you know it needs to cool down a bit. Warning: homemade carrots permanently stained a couple of these. They still work, though. :) They're dishwasher safe, too!

I think I'm going to try some green veggies next... green beans or peas, maybe.

More to come!

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Look what my kid can do!!

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What motherhood has taught me (so far)

Before I had a baby, I thought I knew a lot about babies.

I come from a pretty huge extended family, where there were always little ones running around.

I babysat a lot in high school, and I've worked in the church nursery countless times.

But really, I didn't know nearly as much as I thought I did.

I've learned a lot about babies -- and mostly, I've learned that each and every one is so different -- since I became the mother of a beautiful baby boy.

Here are some of the things I've learned over the past 5 months, starting with labor and delivery.

You don't always get the birth experience you imagined.

If you haven't read Colin's birth story, you can read it here. Long story short: my labor was long, I had an emergency c-section, and my little man came into the world 3 weeks early.

Breastfeeding is hard. No, really. It's hard.

Lots of women in my life have breastfed their babies, and they always made it look so easy. Well, it most definitely was NOT easy for me. You can read about my short-lived breastfeeding journey here. I still have regrets about how things went down in that department, but Colin and I are both healthy and happy and that's all that matters.

Not all babies sleep through the night from the get-go.

In fact, most of them don't. Learning to sleep through the night is a gradual process for many babies, as it has been for Colin. The first couple nights in the hospital he was up every 45 minutes, no joke. Those first few weeks were a total blur for Justin and me. It has gotten better though, and last night I am happy to say that little C-man slept from 8 pm to 6:30 am without making a peep. Yeah! All three of us were well rested this morning, which is an awesome thing to be able to say.

It really is different when it's YOUR baby.

We've all heard people say it: "I love being a ____ (grandparent, aunt, uncle, friend, whatever) because when the baby cries, I can give him back to his momma!" Well... it's very different when you are the momma. When baby gets fussy, you're the one he turns to for comfort. And when he can't be comforted (which for us is rare, I'll admit -- but it does happen), you're the one who gets to hold him and wait for the crying to subside.

Alone time? What's that?

Being a parent is a full-time job, it's true. And when you have an actual full-time job on top of being a parent, you end up with very little time to do what you want to do. Since we planned for this pregnancy, we knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into... but imagining it and actually doing it are two very different things. Colin is so little (although he's getting bigger all the time) and so dependent on us that he is our top priority. We have to make sure he's fed and happy before we can think about ourselves. Even first thing in the morning, or right after work. I can't remember the last time I blow-dried my hair or painted my nails. I'm so busy being "mom" these days that I don't have a lot of time to think about just being "Katie."

Becoming a parent is good for the soul.

It's true. I love being a mommy so, so much. Yes, it's hard work sometimes. Yes, there are certain little things I miss about my "old life." Yes, my life has done a complete 180 since our bundle of joy entered the world. But I wouldn't change a thing. I love my husband very much, but there is something special about the way you love your children. I loved my sweet Colin the moment I knew he existed. When I saw him on ultrasound for the first time, that love grew even more. When I heard the swisha-swisha-swish of his heartbeat, I knew I would never be the same. The joy of being a parent isn't something that can be put into words. It's something you have to experience to really understand. I love my child unconditionally and immeasurably, and nothing will ever change that.

 

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Wordless Wednesday: Listening to a story read by Daddy

 

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Toddle Along Tuesday

Choo choo! All aboard for Toddle Along Tuesday!

Today I'm linking up with Mama G at Growing Up Geeky

and Kristen at Our Growing Garden.

Have a baby blog? Go link up on one of their sites,

and check out all the fun mommy blogs!

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Daddy's First Father's Day

Justin's first Father's Day as a daddy was apparently too busy for us to take any pictures. Sorry for that! It was nice, though. Colin woke up at his usual time, around 6:30, and I got up to feed and change him. We let Daddy sleep about an hour later in honor of his special day. Once he was up, we hung out together, got ready for the day, and went to church. The service was nice; Pastor Matt preached about the significance of communion and we took the Lord's Supper. I don't know why, but communion always makes me feel God's presence in a special way. Colin hung out with his "buddies" in the nursery and did really well. He was sleeping in the crib there when I went to pick him up. Such a good boy!

After church, we got some Personal Pan Pizzas at Pizza hut for a quick lunch, and headed home. Because he made a deal with me to handle all the dirty dishes and hand wash a crapload of dirty bottles As a Father's Day gift to Justin, I mowed the lawn. By the time we got everything done that we wanted to do and snagged a little time to relax, it was time to head to Justin's parents' house to swim in their pool and grill out. The pool water was perfect. Colin spent most of the time we were there in a swing under a canopy in the shade. He loved watching everyone swim, but wasn't a fan when we tried to put him in the baby pool they had bought just for him. Oh well-- maybe we'll try again when he's a little older. I'm thinking it was just a tad too cool for his tastes. He likes his bathwater warm. :)

After all of that, we took a quick trip to Wal-Mart to buy some necessities for the week, and made our way back home for the evening.

Justin didn't seem to mind that his first Father's Day as a daddy was so busy. He said something along the lines of "well, I got to kick off Father's Day by washing a bunch of bottles... yep, I'm a daddy now!" with a smile on his face. I love that man so much.

Happy Belated Father's Day to all the dads and dads-to-be out there!

And now, your reward for stopping by: a picture of the cutest 5 month old ever!!

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5 Extraordinary Months

At five months old, Colin...

*weighs 19.2 lbs and is 28.5 inches long!!!

*is wearing 6-9 month clothing.

*loves the sound of his mommy and daddy's voice.

*smiles constantly and laughs occasionally. (It is the BEST sound!)

*has eaten rice cereal and pear puree from a spoon.

*still prefers to be swaddled at night.

*usually (but not always) sleeps through the night.

*has switched from the pacifier to his fingers for comfort.

*can sit up with some help.

*can get from his back to his side, but still hasn't rolled either way yet.

*absolutely LOVES bath time.

*is constantly growing and learning new things.

*is constantly teaching ME new things, about parenting and about myself.

*is the cutest little boy in the whole world... see?

Happy 5 Month Birthday, little stinker man!

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Wordless Wednesday: Beach Baby!

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Toddle Along Tuesday

Today I'm linking up with the Toddle Along Tuesday blog hop,

hosted by Mama G and Kristen.

Go check out all the fun baby blogs, and add a link to yours, too!

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Wordless Wednesday: Behind the Wheel

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Friday Funny: Instructions for Parenting

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Sleep, what's that?

I'm tired this morning.
Colin woke up fussing several times last night, and I'm racking my brain trying to figure out why.
Is he unhappy because his arms aren't swaddled anymore?
He kept breaking out, so we thought this was what he wanted.
Is he waking up scared because his room is so dark?
Maybe we need to get him a night light.
I'm considering trying the escape proof swaddle tonight, to see if that helps.
Perhaps I just have a little boy who loves to be wrapped up tight,
and the breaking out was accidental. Hmm.

It's funny how elusive sleep becomes when you're a parent.
Especially when you're a first time parent, and you've never done this before.
It's all so new.
Sure, everyone told you when you were expecting..
"Sleep while you can! Soon you'll be so tired you won't know what to do with yourself!"
You rolled your eyes, got tired of the comments.
And then you became a parent.
And now you find yourself longing for a full night's sleep. Just once.
You get super jealous every time someone talks about how their baby slept through the night
from the very beginning.
You consider slipping a little Benadryl into baby's nighttime bottle (kidding!).
But then you realize that maybe you don't have it too bad.

Colin does sleep through the night every once in a while.
He does have a pretty consistent bedtime, and usually goes down without a fight.
He is cute, even at 3 and 4 o'clock in the morning.
When he does wake up, it usually isn't for long, and he goes back down pretty easily.
Yes, it could definitely be worse.

I have heard all sorts of things about the "four month wakeful period," or "four month sleep regression" as it's sometimes called. But I choose to think that this is just a phase, and we'll get it straightened out soon. You gotta be optimistic, right?!

More to come.

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Wordless Wednesday- Cousins

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