Snack Bags

A few weeks (or maybe months) ago I saw that planet wise, one of the brands we use for wet bags, came out with snack bags. What a great idea!

I always hated using sandwich bags. Felt bad for throwing away barely used and dirty plastic bags, but never felt safe re-using for old food in them. And tell you the truth, those flimsy plastic bags were impossible to rinse out.

Talking to my mom, she said they use a lot of those cheapy plastic containers. Well and fine, but my dogs love to steal them for a chew toy... And I want to phase those out of my house in change for glass since I think it is safer to use more glass and less plastic in general.

So I ordered two of these reusable bags.One snack size and one sandwich size.

They are velcro closure. Easy to use. Surprisingly they actually help my sandwich not get squished! No one likes a squished PB&J. Easy to clean - usually just use a little dish soap and rinse. And the prints are just cute! I think I may get a few more for easy snack toting in the diaper bag (and the prints do stand out when searching through an unorganized bag).

I really like the snack size bags. Good for some cookies, crackers, cheese, etc.

A local mom/baby store has the Itzy Ritzy snack happened snack bags. They also have some cute prints, but I have not gotten one yet. I like how it is a zipper closure instead of the velcro since velcro eventually does not hold.  They don't seem as 'sturdy' as the planet wise ones so I think my sandwich would have a possibility of being squished. Next time I am in I think I'll pick one up to give it a test drive and to have on hand.

I know I will want to pick up more when we have our trip to CA later this summer. Will make it so much easier and less bulky than putting Evie's snacks in plastic containers.

First Tooth!

Saturday, it looked like a tooth was close! We went to one of our mom's group buddy's 1st birthday party! While there, we both noticed something was close. She ate some of my food, and gnawed on everything. That evening, we felt a tooth popping through!!!! CANNOT BELIEVE MY BABY GIRL HAS HER FIRST TOOTH!

The tooth next to it is so close to popping through too!

Yesterday was not fun thought. I found something that helped ease her discomfort. I put cold apple slices in the mesh feeder. She was able to chew/gum the apple without ingesting chunks. The coldness helped her gums feel better. And the sweetness of the apple helped too!

Then she only wanted to be held. So ergo it was! That made her so much more calm! Mom makes everything better :)

Evie's 9 month Dr. Visit

It has been a while since an update. Life is just busy, as is everyone's is.

Evie is now 9 months old! She is such a big girl. I do plan on writing a letter to her, to encompass month 7, 8 and 9. I loved doing the monthly letters to her, just time got away from me and work got busy. Not a good excuse.

May 11, 2011, on her 9 month birthday, we went in for her 9 month doctor appointment! That morning was a little hectic. Dropped her off at day care. Got to work. Sat down, and outlook reminded me that yep Evie's 9 month appointment was that morning! Oooops! Ran to the car, picked her up at day care, picked up the diaper bag at home, and off to her appointment. I guess it is good -1- I get into work early and -2- I make her appointments for later morning so if things like this happen I can still make it!

We got to the appointment early.. And Evie is 16 lb 14 oz (20%ile). Length, I think the nurse didn't measure her right. Evie was crooked and her head was especially crooked looking at something on the ceiling. With a pencil they mark her height on the tissue paper on the bed. Since the crookedness, especially Evie's head being straight, I don't think she got an accurate measurement. But they said 27.5 in (52%ile). I really think she is 28+ inches. But whatever. Her head circumference is 42cm (10%ile).

/***start small rant about units***/
OK it really bothers me that the doctors office cannot make their mind on what units to use! Really keep with metric. You are part of the scientific community. Use Metric Please! kilograms/grams vs lb/ounces, meter vs inches. And what really irks me is that the measurements are done in us standard units till the head circumference. At least pick one and stick with it!
/***end small rant about units***/

She said we could start her on pretty much everything we eat (except peanut butter, honey, and whole eggs, those are all 1 year). So since then this girl has been loving her food! And since starting more and more table foods, her dexterity has greatly improved!

Evie is a little behind on her developmental things, but she is not concerned. No crawling yet. Not too much consonant sounds. Not pulling to standing. Yes every kid is different. Just was hard to hear since her growing has slowed according to the doctor and she is a little behind. May have shed a few tears in the car on the way to day care. But got to day care and they assured me she is not behind at all. She is doing great.  I guess a lot of it is that, working mom guilt, I can't spend a lot of time with her and don't know 100% sometimes when they ask about her words.

But this past weekend I really did know. She is a talker and is saying all consonant . Just only when she is in the mood to talk, which is early morning and afternoon after naps. If we put her on her knees, she rocks. If a toy is beyond her reach, she will stretch and get into the crawling stance, sometimes sit back up or lay down on her belly and play. She is starting to sort of pull up! So not behind at all!

And the best part of the 9 month check up - NO SHOTS! Yep NO SHOTS!!

Sick Baby

The past 2 months have been hard on Evie. She is just not getting a break! Cold after Cold. Diaper area issues. Fevers. Ear Infections. Conjunctivits. My poor baby girl.

About 2.5 weeks ago (April 5) we went in since she had a few days of a fever of 102. Day care called me on a Monday I believe and I went and picked her up early because she had a fever. She still had it on Tuesday, and had stuff in her eyes, as well as green stuff coming out of her nose. Took her into the pediatrician. They had to scrape ear wax out of her ear just so they could look in it! One they could not get a good look at, but she was freaking out when they scraped that one. Ear infection and conjunctivitis and a fever = antibiotics.

2 weeks later (April 19) I brought her in since her eye goop was still there and a lot greener. She still had a cold, may have been a different one since I think we had a 1-2 day break over the weekend. Gave us eye drops for her conjunctivits. Cleared up very soon after that. But the cold was still going on.

Yesterday (April 25), I got a call from day care. She has a fever of 101.7. YIKES! She is drinking her bottles at day care fine and is nursing fine. Just was not interested in solids yesterday. She had tylenol when we first got home and motrin before bed since it lasts longer. She did not sleep well. But did not have a fever this morning! But that is normal for her, if she has a fever it usually pops up late morning / early afternoon.

Kind of waiting to see what I should do. Maybe this is just one long continuation sickness and I need to bring her in to get better meds for her. Maybe these are all unrelated and I will be the paranoid mom. Plus our copay is kinda high, they always comment on it when I leave. And I don't want to bring her in when they will say...just wait a few days. Ehh best bed to call the nurse's line. Going to do that now.

Evie Art Projects

I got inspired by this blog, Paint and Prozac, to do some art projects with Evie.

Last weekned we did our first art project. In a soup container, we put some paper around the edge. Put some paint in the bottom of the container with 4 marbles. Secured the top. And let her have at it. She had fun shaking it, rolling it, and knocking it over. It generated some great art!

Today was a snow day. So we wanted to do another project! Put some paint on paper. Put it inside a ziplock bag. Evie got to squish and play with it. And generated some great artwork! Here is the finished artwork before I took it out of the bag. Second picture is the finished project!

Jambalya

On Fat Tuesday Nick made Jambalya for us (great day to have it)!  Was sooo good.

Tonight I had to make it myself since it was soo good the last time.

He based it off this recipe, my changes will be italicized.

Simple and oh so yummy! Just takes some time cleaning the chicken and chopping up the veggies. (OK after loading the picture, I see why people make sure the bowl is clean)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cleaned and cut up into large bite sized pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound smoked sausage, sliced into circles
• 1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped thyme
• 2 cups long grain white rice
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, we found that you really need 3 - 3 1/2 cups
• 1 dried bay leaf
• Shrimp, about 1/2 pound, deveined, shelled, etc
• 1 tsp cajun seasoning
• sprinkle of cayenne pepper - depending on how much spice you like
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (we left out since we forgot)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (we left out since we forgot)

Directions

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to the Dutch oven and brown on each side, about 8 minutes total. Remove to a plate and reserve.

Add sausage, onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and thyme and saute until translucent and sausage is browned, about 8 minutes. (you may want to brown sausages seperately like chicken)

Stir in rice, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, and reserved chicken, and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook on low, covered, for 20 minutes. Add the cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper.

Last 10ish minutes, add the shrimp, once the rice is almost done since the shrimp does not take long to cook.

Turn off heat and let rice stand, covered, 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Fluff rice with fork and stir in green onions and parsley.

Where to Eat...

"So I was in the bathroom this morning, eating an awesome fried egg sandwich and...What? You think there's something wrong with eating in the bathroom? Did that gross you out? Then why do people suggest breastfeeding mothers feed their babies in the bathroom? If you're a fan of parents and babies rights, put this up as your status."
. 
This is a line going around facebook. I love it. When I first read it my first reaction was.... gross why are you eating in the bathroom.... until I finished reading the update.


But it is true. As you all probably know, I am 1000000% for breastfeeding. I love it. Evie loves it. We have learned to do it discreatly out in public, most of the time. If I am around people that I don't think are comfortable with it, I do use my nursing cover. But, I would prefer not to. I still use it and will continue to use it since my dad or inlaws don't want the possibility of seeing that.


I have learned how to breastfeed without anything showing. Ahh the wonders of layering a tank under any shirt!


I have not gone out much when Evie is starving. Usually it is Mom's Group that I nurse her in in public. I learned how to do it gracefully (as if I could ever use that word...I am anything but gracefull). 


So I guess the point of this post is pretty much to say.....


People should be allowed to nurse their children where they want. As long as they do it subtly. Like no whipping out your boob for a minute while you posistion your baby. If you are getting the hang of it, a nursing cover helps. Practice at home and get used to doing it out in public without much showing. I am all for anyone should do it how they want to and educate everyone around, but can do it without a full on boobs would be preferable for most (but I do want one of those boob hats for Evie one day!). I don't care if someone whips their boob out, but I know there are people out there that would be uncomfortable. But a few seconds of it out, ehh who cares. It is anatomy and it is a feeding device! 

And on that topic, I love being to go out, not have to worry about bringing enough formula/bottles. Not lugging extra things around. Not having to warm anything up. Not having to worry about bubbles in formula I shake. Just to be able to feed my daugher so easily, and satisfy that hunger so quickly (thought she wants me to feed her quicker....she loves her food).

I would never give up breastfeeding. I so love it! Love looking down at her big eyes (whos color change daily). Her looking up at me. Stroking my hair. Playing with my shirt. Moments I will never forget. 

I want to get a good picture of Evie and I nursing. Just not sure where. I have taken some with my cell phone, but not sharable. It is just something I love to do and something we both share that I would love a good picture of it to always remember. One of my online friends has a fantastic picture of her nursing he daughter out on a hike. Nothing but nature around, but her sitting on a rock (I think) nursing. Just something so perfect about that. I want a picture like that too. One to look back on and be proud, happy, full of joy.

Starting to go of on a tangent now so  I am going to stop.

Just my 2 cents.