Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash

While I prepare food I put Zachary in the high chair and let him play with spoons, plates and cups.  I like to let him explore and it keeps him busy.



wrong side...right idea

wrong again!

Last week we tried sweet potato.

before

he didn't really feed himself I just gave him a spoon while I feed him with a different spoon.

I put some mush on the tray to see if he would try to feed himself with his hands.

I don't use a bib because he eats the bib and makes a bigger mess.  I figure I have to wash clothes anyway.

after

Today we tried butternut squash.

I bought these because I thought they were really cool.  You put food it it and it squeezes out the mesh.

It didn't take Zack long to figure out how to use it.

I think he loves when I take his picture because he really wants my camera.  BTW the food paci doesn't make less mess...his shirt was very wet.

but he did like the butternut squash

 While he was eating I heard a poo sound and didn't think anything of it until I pulled him out of the chair and his back was soaking wet with poo.  While I cleaned up both messes Zack played...

this is the face that makes cleaning up poop totally worth it.

6 Months

I missed blogging on his first half birthday but here I am 3 days later on the day of his six month appointment.  This has been a big month!  We moved to the US, moved to two different hotels, moved into the apartment and unpacked.  Zachary is such an easy going baby...it didn't bother him that we were so unsettled and out of routine.  He played by himself for short periods of time allowing me to get things done.

He is sitting up (which he LOVES)

 he is getting his first tooth,

we have started solids...he sure is a BIG eater

he rolls from back to belly anytime he is on his back (he does this even in his sleep, which I think makes him sleep a little better)

he rolled from belly to back once which totally threw him for a loop.
Zack loves to play and is even happier if he has someone close to him while he plays.  He has gotten to the point where he really knows when I leave the room or am doing chores and lets me know that he is not happy, but then he laughs and smiles again when I come back.

I put this on his head to see what he would do...he didn't seem to mind.

actually I don't know if he even knew there was something on his head, and if he did it didn't stop him from playing!

We went to Marbles, a Children's reality play museum in Raleigh.  Zack was too young to do much but I stuck him on this cylinder and rolled him back and forth.

He loved having new toys to play with.

Zack and I have really enjoyed playdates, errands, eating and playing. 
His appointment went really well, he is over 18 lb's (which is in the 70th percentile) and over 27 inches long (which is in the 85th percentile) meanwhile his head is in the 25th percentile.  Developmentally he is great and the doctor said his next step is pulling himself up.  He got some more vaccines today and my big boy was very brave.  He didn't cry at all for the first one and cried one big cry like 30 seconds after the second one before giggling and smiling at the nurse.

Weekend in the Mountains

Adam's grandmother has a house right on the Blue Ridge Parkway...two words...peaceful...beautiful!

We all had an amazing time and it was really nice to see Adam's brother Jamie and his wife, Katie for the first time since we came back.  We played games, ate smores, along with massive meals!  And what is a trip to the mountains without stopping at a winery.  We were almost going to stay home because the driveway was washed away in the rain, but we took a risk and it was well worth it.  The driveway needed a little work but we all got in and out without destroying any cars.

 Zachary's eyes followed his cousin Kelly where ever he went, in this picture Kelly was reading a story to Zachary. 

Here we all are before leaving...don't we look relaxed (well Zack certainly is).

Goodbye Old Friend

I have mixed feelings about saying goodbye to my trusty pump.

There have been a lot of up’s and downs (mostly with my milk levels).  My mom thought the double electric pump wouldn’t be necessary since I was staying home with Zachary and he would nurse, but I knew if I was stuck in China and I had any problems with
nursing that my only other option would be Chinese formula…which wouldn’t kill
Zack but the quality isn’t near what it is in the states and nothing compared to breast milk.  In the hospital Zack refused nursing (no matter how much the midwives, nurses, doctors and lactation consultants tried to help).  When I say refused I mean screamed bloody murder at any attempt.  We tried every nursing position, we tried nipple shields, nipple extractors, syringe feeding, tube feeding and finally (two weeks later) went to the pump and bottle feeding.  I tried for two full months to get Zack to nurse (everyone said he would eventually)…after 2 months I gave up trying because I couldn’t take making my baby so upset, giving up was a huge burdon lifted off my sholders.  I came to gripswith my reality and embrased my pump.  It sure isn’t easy to have your baby crying because he wants to be held or played with or fed while you are pumping, but it is much easier than making him scream while doing something that is supposed to be a bonding experience.
Moving really took a toll on my milk supply.  First leaving China, then the plane ride,
then the craziness of car shopping and apartment hunting, then the hanging out
with friends and family (I hated to leave to pump!), then just being in a hotel and lastly moving in.  I have had several dips in milk levels before and it requires a week of power pumping (pumping every hour for 5 min.)…it usually worked when I went from pumping 25-30 ounces a day to pumping 20 ounces a day but this past week I was lucky to pump 15 ounces a day.  I know I physically have it in me to power pump again but emotionally I know I wouldn’t be able to take it if my supply didn’t come back.  Plus I knew I would need to go back to being super disciplined about pumping every 2 to 3 hours and we have 2 fun family events over the next two weekends that I hate to interrupt with my pump.

I feel really bad about giving up and I wonder if it’s the best thing for my baby and I know that there is really no turning back.  Then I think about it and I am relieved that
I don’t have to consider how I will pump with my cousins wedding or store my pump parts in the refrigerator at the mountains.  I am relieved that I don’t have to give
myself 15 extra min to get ready for something because I have to pump last minute
or 30 extra min before going away because I have to pump, clean the pump parts
and pack the pump before going on vacation.  Meanwhile as I write this I second guess my decision.
I used my manual pump Sunday morning (after 48 hours of not pumping) because…well any breast feeding mom knows…I REALLY needed too.  I was able to pump 5 ounces (I used to pump 3 ounces every 2 hours).

I plan on using my experience to support other mothers with feeding issues…in the long run what’s best for your baby is a mommy who is happy in her situation and who loves, laughs and nurtures him. 
My short term goal was 6 months and my long term goal was a year…I made it 5 months and 2 weeks…I think sometimes; it’s OK not to meet your goal.

Solids Update

By the way Zack…how do you feel about rice cereal?

Uncle Scottie and Aunt Bethany

My brother hasn’t spent much time with babies, however my sister-in-law LOVES babies.  Both were super excited to meet their new (and only) nephew.  They loved playing with Zack and of course Zack LOVED having two more people wrapped around his little fingers.

Baby Showers

There are so many things I missed being pregnant in
China…shopping for furniture decorating and painting a nursery, having everyone
fawn over me and baby showers.  I got to
go to target and register!  I was so
excited when both my mother and mother-in-law wanted to throw me a shower…it
was a great way to show off my baby and to see wonderful people who have prayed
for and supported us while we were in China. Everyone agreed that it is way more fun to have a baby shower after the
baby is born.  The ladies (and a few
gentlemen) loved playing with Zachary and as a mother I knew what I ACTUALLY
NEEDED and what Zack preferred and hated…for instance spend over a hundred
dollars on a Baby Bjorn…NO WAY…Zack hated the one we borrowed.

Hotel Life

As much as it’s nice to have maids make your beds and leave
you fresh towels daily I am not going to miss washing bottles in the sink…

or my “kitchen”…

Zack didn’t mind his small play area…

but he did mind his small bath…

and I was not a fan of our handicap shower that made the
whole bathroom floor wet and slippery…

we are so happy to be in a home…even if it is temporary and
after moving, packing and unpacking twice and almost a total of 3 months living
in a hotel I am so happy to know we will NOT be moving or living in a hotel for
at least a year.

Moving in...part 1

It was nice to walk into the apartment and not have to scrub and disinfect from top to bottom like I did with both apartments in Huizhou.  That sence of releif didn't last long because everything that had been sitting in storage for almost 2 years (some almost 3) needed to be cleaned and we had to try and fit 2 houses worth of stuff into an apartment and a small storage unit. 
Our morning started off with a few hiccoughs...first the key to the storage unit was not actually the key to the storage unit so Adam had to make the movers (who already came early) wait while he went to Lows and bought something to cut through the lock.  We also didn't do the one thing that we were supposed to do before we signed the lease...call the power company.  We realized this before business hours so we just hoped that things would work out.  They did but it did give us a little scare first thing in the morning.
I went to sign the lease get the key and bring in the stuff we got at the baby shower. 

Here is a little peek at why I love our apartment...

I washed my first load of dishes in the dishwasher (I did 3 total today...then I realized that I am much faster at washing than a machine and washed some by hand.

The movers were pretty quick and very helpful.  I was really impressed at the contracption they had for the door and door jam so they didn't nick the paint.
Zachary played...

and napped...

While I washed and unpacked...

Honestly it was better than Christmas!  I had forgotten what we got as wedding gifts and it was so much fun to take everything out of it's box.
I actually went to Crate and Barrel the other day and saw some glasses that I LOVED, I really wished we were getting married again so I could register for them...then I opend a box marked glasses and guess what...

I am so excited to eat off my red dinner wear and throw parties so I can use platters, and bake so I can use my pans.  I loved opening every box, even the ones that weren't full of new things...and I have to say Red Kitchen Aid Mixer...I think I missed you most of all.

Everytime I made a cake that wasn't as fluffy as I knew it could be, every time my arm cramped from trying to mix batter like a machine, everytime I decided to make brownies insted of cake I thought of my trusty old friend that can do AMAZING things.  Plus it sure does look nice as a focalpoint in my kitchen!