Sink Bath!

 

 

 

co-sleeping

we never started out planning on co-sleeping, but as with a lot of plans and ideals we had before Cedar was born, it became obvious after he was born, that he had other plans, and sleeping alone in a cradle was not one of Cedar's plans. so far, our tiny double bed has been sufficient for the three of us, but at nearly 2.8 feet long and as squiggley as a worm, it has become a feat to get a good nights rest for us.

so last week, my mum took a quick pop over to the mainland to pick up a bed for Cedar from Ikea for an early birthday present to him (us)! we chose the Ikea Gulliver cot (vs. the cot with a side that is removable). with a mattress pad on top, it is the perfect height to fit flush against out mattress and boxspring on the floor! so far we have all been sleeping much better, and Cedar is much happier having two beds to hog versus just the one. 

our co-sleeping must haves:

1) Cedar's bunny "Tumnus" - from Jellycat

first thing we ever bought him, we slept with it until he was born so it would smell like us. it keeps him company until we come to bed

2) Ikea Gulliver Cot

gives us room to enjoy our sleep!

3) Candela nightlight - Oxo
just enough light to find your way around in the dark, or change a diaper. the base has a small light and no exposed electrical so it is safe for kids. it automatically lights up when lifted from the base. we love this light.

4) Baby Blend essential oil mix - Eco-Me

trying to create a relaxing environment for a baby is tough enough, but for three people, sometimes you really got a work at it, so we always try to have baby essential oil either in a diffuser or we put it in our humidifer - which is another thing we really rely on for a good resnt. (we don't always use this brand but i do like this company)

she also picked up one of the new Ikea quilts! i LOVE this one. it isn't up on the site yet, but it is adorable. its a woodland scene with a stream, fish, foxes, owls, a frog, hedgehog and ants. it makes a cozy blanket and a great playmat as well.

here are some examples of other people using the gulliver cot as a side car cot. happy c-sleeping!

source

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Wordless Wednesday

Diptic Tuesday

Squirrels! While at the park the other day a man was kind enough to toss us one of his peanuts to lure a squirrel over for Cedar. Cedar managed to maintain his excitement long enough for the squirrel to snatch it out of Erik's hand and then proceeded to whole body wiggle with joy. And the squirrel stashed his treasure away.

Little Drummer

with the sun finally shining, and the air warm, Cedar and i have been trying to play on the lawn in the evenings as much as possible. saturday we spread out our blankets, and basked in the sun with daddy too! Cedar seemed particularly in rhythm that day so Erik brought out his drum, and he and Cedar practiced for a while.

Lately

I cannot believe how big Cedar suddenly is. He's as fast as lightening when he crawls, can pull himself up on just about everything, and can spot something he isn't supposed to have in mere seconds. He's getting good at waving hello and good-bye (he especially enjoys waving buh-bye to things he drops off his highchair). He calls all cats "ba!" as in Berlin, our cats name. He's desperately trying to say bird and says "bama" for grandma.

And yesterday he said "up!! Mama!" and I almost died from my heart exploding.

Solids are still going really well. Mainly bananas still but that's ok. He's really digging oranges as well and tofu desserts. He begs for pretty much everything we eat or drink and I'll be glad when I can share.

The weather is finally turned warm so we've been spending a lot of afternoons in the yard. This kid is getting mega fun. 

Wordless Wednesday (a few hours late)

Diptic Tuesday

Something I try to practice...

(source)

Duckies!

My mum and her partner have been kind enough to spend all their days off this week with me and Ced while the mister away. Saturday we went to the park to see the ducks. Cedar is pretty smitten with birds or "baas!" so he was in heaven. It was a lovely morning.

Buh-Bye Paci!

before cedar was born, i had pretty firmly decided we would not be using a soother. neither my husband or myself used one as a baby, and we struggled for a decent part of a year to separate my step daughter with her's when she was a toddler. and that was a battle i really had no desire to repeat.

at a few days old though, it was apparent this kid had a strong need to suck. he nursed close to non-stop, and i was in pain, and exhausted. our midwife assured us that they do not recommend letting infants suck on anything but mum (fingers, pacifiers, etc) unless they have a very strong physical need to do so that goes above and beyond the norm, and that we shouldn't feel guilty to give myself a break and replace a nipple for something else. i still had a lot of reservations despite trusting our midwife's judgement, so i opted for letting him suckle my finger.

for a few weeks. i lasted over a month and then it became obvious that if i was ever going to be able to put him down, clean, cook, eat, do anything, i couldn't keep my finger in his mouth. so i swallowed my pride and bought him a soother. 

i made sure it was as natural as i could find, going with the hevea, made of natural rubber. and i celebrated a little bit of freedom! since he outgrew his reflux and had the ability to hold toys/teethers and put them in his mouth, he only used his soother for sleeping.

 i kept joking that he should just ween himself off his soother since he was so good at reaching all his other milestones on his own.

and he did.

he had started spitting it out once he was asleep, and then one day he just refused it all together, and he still will not touch it! i am so thankful that he has outgrown a pacifier at such a young age and on his own. now i just need to ween him off nursing to sleep, which i enjoy very much, but sometimes need a break from our new marathon nursing sessions. one thing at a time i suppose.

wordless wednesday

Our Journey to Solid Foods

 cedar seemed pretty ready for solids at an early age, showing all the signs (trying to grab our food, opening his mouth, increased nursing, etc). we introduced barely cereal just after he turned 5 months old. we went slow and didn't really start trying "food" until he was 6 months. we tried lots of food in a variety of ways. we had frozen fruit in a mesh feeder- especially during tough teething. mashed veggies mixed with cereal, and a few straight by themselves. with little success.

anything too textured, too sweet, too savory, too much in proportion to cereal, pretty much anything besides banana, sweet potato or avocado he would choke and gag on.

he still seemed pretty receptive to new foods until he turned 8 months old. and then i tried to give him parsnips.. and it was bad! i had tried before with no success but this pretty much pushed him over the edge of new-food-patience. he would only open his mouth to eat after delicately tasting what i was offering him (to insure it was not parsnips aka poison). i'd consider myself to be a pretty patient parent. never really worried about milestones or how he compared to other kids, but i suddenly had visions of serving him a bowl of baby cereal at his first birthday party, and a bit of panic set in.

i finally realized i may need to change my approach. my mum suggested more playful foods, and mixing pureed fruit or veggies with something other than cereal- such as tofu! i'd been feeling pretty envious of my friends who's much younger children were eating little bits of peeled fruit, but was far too nervous to try with cedar after his recent choking accident. but progress takes chance!

so that night i steamed up some tofu and served it up with some tiny chunks of banana... and he loved it! it was amazing!

 

i think he just needed more involvement, more control and a change! he's been mashing more solid foods, and really starting to enjoy meals. cubed tofu and banana are currently his favourite. sucking on apples, and in absolute love with naval oranges! i've been pureeing tofu and veggies as well, and although he still prefers it mixed with a bit of cereal, we're finally making some real progress.

i could not be prouder. of him, and me!

Diptic Tuesday

blooming beatiful