The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo,
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo,
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
For children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs;
Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.
-Ruth Hulburt Hamilton
It's hard to believe that a year ago at this very minute, I was hours from meeting the face that would change my life forever.
Liam, you've made all our days brighter and all our laughs louder and all of our minutes are much more treasured with you in them.
Tonight I rocked my sweet boy to sleep for the very last time as a 'non' one-year-old. I cried into his hair and inhaled his scent for an extra long time, and then we sang 'Happy and you know it' and he clapped his hands, like he really loves to do. I lay him down in his crib and he stared up at me with those big eyes and I stared back, wondering how in the world he got so big so fast. Somewhere in between sleepless nights, growing teeth, and eating goldfish for the first time, my sweet cuddly baby turned into a little boy.
And so the cleaning and scrubbing in my house is waiting for tomorrow, because babies truly, truly don't keep.
Can you believe it...this will be my LAST monthly 'Liam' update before my sweet man turns a YEAR OLD!! I surely cannot believe it!
**A little disclaimer/sidenote about the good ole bloggity blog...As you may or may not have noticed, I've not been blogging regularly. A few months ago, I decided that I had too much on my plate. From raising a baby, creative hobbies/outlets, my Etsy shop, keeping a house, having a social life...basically, I just decided to put blogging, as well as many of my other hobbies, aside and focus on my Etsy business. Ultimately, my career will be in graphic design, so I decided to put most of my 'extra' energies there. Since then, my business has skyrocketed, and turned into an actual business rather than just a hobby! I couldn't be happier and I really am living my dream, doing graphic design for several hours every day.
So for now, blogging will continue to take a back burner. I'm going to keep up with Liam updates once a month or so. Maybe eventually I'll get back at it..when I discover more of this mysterious phenomenon called 'free time'...
And a HUGE thank you to all of my customers! Thanks to the many Instagram followers and perhaps even blog readers who have reached out for custom party invitations, wall art, logos, etc. I appreciate your business and support more than I can say!!
Anyway, without further ado..L man is 11 months!!
Weight: 20ish lbs
Height: 28/29
Clothing size: Mostly 9 & 12
Shoe Size: 4...He went through 3's in like, a monthh!!!!!
Diaper size: 3
Feeding: L man is basically weaned from breastfeeding. When I say basically...a few weeks ago, I dropped his bedtime feeding and went to a bottle at bedtime. Liam mostly sleeps through the night, but not always, and he's been teething so he's been waking up. Sometimes he acts like he just wants to nurse, and somehow I still have a little milk left..so I let him nurse for 5 min or so.
A lot of people have asked about my weaning process, so here goes!
Up until 9 months, Liam was exclusively breastfed, and by exclusively, I mean, no bottles of pumped breastmilk, no formula. He did have table food and baby food/finger foods, but as far as a main source of nutrition, it was milk from the tap.
So why did I want to stop? Well...to be honest, it was partially because I just wanted to stop! I wanted my body back!
(NOTHING wrong with that!! Ladies, I know breastfeeding is super controversial, but I don't know why! While I do think that breastmilk is the absolute best nutrition for a baby, and everyone should at least try it, every mom has her own right to choose the way she wants to feed her baby! Breastfeeding is a huge commitment. If you breastfeed, you're a great mom! And guess what? If you formula feed...you're also a great mom!) ANYway. I digress.
The other main reason was because when Liam was about 7 months old, I got mastitis, followed up by an awful case of internal breast thrush (I've also heard of it referred to as fungal mastitis). AKA the MOST PAINFUL thing outside of labor that I've ever experienced. After 5 cycles of an antifungal medication and just as many trips to the doctor....two months later, I still had the thrush. The pain was not as severe, but I was still having to take several doses of Advil, and the pain was always brought on by nursing. So I came to the conclusion that weaning was the only thing that would get rid of it for good! Ok...so Liam was 9 months old when I finally got him to take a bottle. We tried several, and this was the one that worked for us. Great for breastfed babies!
I started by dropping his mid-morning feed (right after his am nap) and swapping it for a bottle (formula). We did that for a month, so we were down to about three nursing sessions: First thing in am, mid-afternoon, and bedtime. Month ten, we dropped the mid-afternoon and swapped it for a bottle. About two weeks later, my husband thought Liam seemed fussy in the morning, and tried giving him a bottle after I'd already nursed him.. I protested, but my husband was right. (first time ever!)
Liam just wasn't getting enough out of me. Since I'd gone from full time BF to dropping feedings, I'd started to dry up pretty quick.
And just like that, morning feeding was dropped. Glory hallelujah, my husband could get up with him sometimes! Around 10.5 months is also the time I started introducing cow's milk. I started slow, about 2 oz a day mixed in with his formula, and just increased it by 2 ounces after a week or so.
A little after 11 months (he's almost 11.5) Liam just started to seem really uninterested in nursing at night. I had been nursing him and also giving him a 4 oz bottle because I didn't have enough milk to fill him, so it was time to drop that last feeding and give him a bottle instead.
Now, he's on full cow's milk as of about a week ago.
So his feeding schedule goes as such:
6 oz milk first thing in the morning, and then he eats breakfast about half an hour later. Typical breakfasts might include:
-Scrambled egg with cheese
-Fruit-whatever we have cut up. He really likes papaya, watermelon, grapes, & bananas. I also like to get the little packs of mandarin oranges or pears for when we don't have anything cut up.
-Frozen waffle torn into pieces with peanut butter on it
-Cheese
Lunchtime:
(We don't do a bottle after morning nap)
-Grilled cheese
-Cheese quesadilla
Or often, I'll just heat some leftovers from the previous night's dinner.
Dinnertime:
Sometimes we do a bottle right after his afternoon nap, depending on how hungry he seems.
He usually has what we're having for dinner, unless it's super spicy, or just isn't ready in time. Then, I'll usually warm up some leftovers to tide him over.
Sleep: We've got a great sleep routine for the most part. Unless he's teething or just a flukey night, he usually sleeps through 12 hours. He goes down at 8:30, wakes about 8:30. If he does wake up at night, which honestly I would say happens once a week or every two weeks, maybe every night if he's teething, I try to let him cry for a little while unless he just sounds really upset. I'll go in and rock him and walk around the room with him (still with the lights off) and usually he will go right back to sleep. If he's just not having it, I'll give him a little milk to maintain my own sanity and get us back to sleep as soon as possible!
Morning nap is usually at 10:30 and he sleeps about 2 hours.
Afternoon nap is usually 3:30, and he'll sleep an hr/hr and a half.
Milestones: More teeth this month! I think he's got eight in there right now, with maybe two more coming in. He's been gnawing away on his hands, so hopefully they make an appearance soon!
Liam took his FIRST STEPS this past month!!
Cutest thing everrrrr!!! He's since walked around a little bit, but still seems pretty apprehensive about it and prefers crawling. A funny thing I've noticed...he won't really walk unless he's holding something in his hand! I think he's thinking that whatever he has in his hand is helping him stay up in some way, either that or it helps him keep his balance.
Here's some more of that cute walk:
This month month he also started hugging us back when we hug him. He throws his arms around our shoulders and squeezes! Cutest thing evaaaaa.
Ten months old means only two months until this little bullet's FIRST birthday, and of course, I'm in full planning party mode!
Venue is booked, invites are about half-way, almost, can't-decide-what-I-like, 'done', and I have a nice vision in my head as far as decor, food, & games.
I am. SO excited!!
Weight: Maybe about 19 pounds
Height: 28
Clothing size: 6-9 & 9... 12 months for PJ's
Shoe Size: 3
Diaper size: 3
Feeding: I've finally started the weaning process!! *Shew*! I have loved breastfeeding---Loved the bonding, the convenience, and have loved not paying for formula...but I am also LOVING the freedom I get now that he's taking a few bottles a day. My goal is for him to be completely weaned by age one. Right now, we are down to two nursing sessions a day--first thing in the morning and then at bedtime. We started weaning slowly. At 9 months, I started him on one bottle a day, and then right at 10, have transitioned his other daytime feedings--usually just one or two--to bottles. Thankfully Liam has taken any formula we've given him no problem.
I may try a little bit of whole milk at 10.5 or 11 months and see how that goes.
Other than that, he still pretty much eats whatever finger foods we give him, but just this month I've noticed him start to have a preference for things. He's been spitting out broccoli, and has been GOBBLING up cheese. He will actually pick cheese out of a pile of foods on his tray and eat it first. yeah...that's cute. :)
Sleep: Sleep has been pretty good and routine. We still have a few off nights...Liam's been teething like mad this month so that definitely affects sleep. He usually goes down about 9 and will wake up around 4:30/5. I can typically nurse him right back to sleep, but last night, really randomly he was up until 6 gnawing on his finger. I nursed him three times and he just kept waking up, but he finally went back to sleep until 9:30!
A typical wakeup time for him is 8 / 8:30, but weirdly he's been sleeping in a lot. Same bedtime, but several times over the past few weeks he's slept until 9:30. OF COURSE I slept that late, too...Liam is my alarm clock, and I am not the type of person to wake up early on my own.
No complaints from me!
Milestones: Three teeth popped up this month, bringing us to seven total! Poor Liam, poor mama! Teething stinks, but they sure are cute! A friend recommended these popsicles to me and I'm sooo glad I got them! They're teeny and 'slow' melt and perrrfect for babies, esp teething babies!
He learned to drink out of a straw this month, and learned to wave (SO cute!) but he still won't really wave at anyone but mommy and daddy. He just looks at them like a deer in the headlights.
OH! AND shaky head and squinty eyes. He learned to shake his head back and forth and has been really proud of practicing that all day every day, looking like a little Liam bobble head..and he learned to scrunch up his eyes really squinty. ADORable.
He isn't walking yet, and I kept saying I thought it would be soon, but who knows! He walks along furniture all the time, and walks with his walker, and has even stood unassisted for about 15 seconds at a time...so maybe one day soon he'll surprise us all with a few wobbly steps :)
My sweet boy turned 9 months old last week! *SHEW*!
3/4 of a year!
Weight: 18 pounds, 4 ounces
Height: 28
Clothing size: 6-9 & 9... 12 months for PJ's
Shoe Size: 3
Diaper size: 3
Feeding: Liam LOVES FOOD. The kid will. eat. anything. Like, absolutely anything we put in front of him he eats. I haven't found a food he dislikes. We've been trying different finger foods everyday, and most of the time he'll just eat whatever we're eating.
He still nurses about 4-5 times a day. I'm in the process of trying to wean him, and he had his first bit of formula this month. (I felt a tad bit of that 'mom guilt' but guess what? He lived to tell about it!) Ideally I would like to nurse to a year, but about two months ago, I got mastitis. Mastitis turned into a bad case of internal thrush, and I STILL have it. They say it's really hard to get rid of, especially in Hawaii where it's nice and moist. I've been through five cycles of an anti-fungal medication to no avail., and I'm afraid that my only hope may be to stop nursing.
Anyway, up until a few days ago, Liam would not take a bottle. At all! And we'd tried several different types. Here's what we did that somehow worked: He woke up one night around 11, which he doesn't usually do. Keith was trying to calm him, but he only wanted me. Well, I'd had a few drinks, so I didn't want to nurse him. I made a bottle, and then held him in the position that he usually nurses in, but I had the bottle in place instead. He latched right on and guzzled it! I think it probably helped that it was dark and he was so sleepy anyway, but he's latched right onto the bottle for us every day since then!
These bottles came highly recommended for breastfed babies, and they are what finally worked for us!
Sleep: Sleep has been great this month. Liam normally sleeps from 9-7:30 straight, with the exception of a few random times where he'll wake up once in the night. I wait a few minutes to see if he'll go right back to sleep. If not, I nurse him for 10 and then I can usually set him back in his crib and he'll go back to sleep.
Naps have been wonderful. I put him down for his morning nap around 9--he usually cries for 5-10 minutes and then zonks out, usually for 2-2.5 hours!
Afternoon nap is anytime between 2 & 3:30, whenever I feel like he's acting really sleepy, and it will usually last an hour to hour and a half.
Milestones: Still crawling all over, still pulling & standing on everything. The big one this month was that he starting cruising furniture and walking with his walker! He can also stand on his own for a few seconds, but he's very leery of doing so :)
Overall, a very fun exciting month! This is my favorite age!!
Happy Monday! I know I've not been blogging lately--
I've been getting a ton of custom design orders, (shameless plug here! Check out my Etsy shop if you need anything custom-designed! I've got lots of awesome pre-designed invites, too, as well as Save-the Dates, Nursery, Art, & More!)
Anyway so that, coupled with other day-to-day obligations, have become my priority!
I had a spare few minutes this morning though, so I wanted to toss up our menu for the week.
Looks amazing! I've never really used spaghetti squash, but I'm excited to give it a try.
Marinated Pork Tenderloin
We eat pork tenderloin a lot because it's a pretty lean cut a meat, is inexpensive, and really, really delicious. One of my favorite ways to do it is to marinate it in our favorite marinade or rub (I usually just buy a 'grill mates' packet from the spice aisle!) and then grill it! (Or broil if we don't feel like firing up the grill).
Who doesn't love chicken legs? They're super cheap and super easy to prepare? Again..A lot of times I'll just buy a bottled marinade (Lawry's are awesome!) and throw on the grill/broiler.
Never made it, but looks super delicious! I'm definitely a fan of these 'one-pot' meals where you can throw in pretty much everything you need for dinner.
Awesome and awesome! SO SO many recipes you guys, and everything is organized so well by category over on the right hand side...I seriously did almost our entire meal plan for the next two weeks from this site. And I have to say...I'm suuper excited about some of the grub we're in for!!
Ok. I made this already. OMG. OMG. I can't even say how good it was! I'm actually really disappointed there weren't more leftovers... my husband LOVED it too. Like, really really really loved.
It's soo healthy, too--so many fresh veggies, and you can really use whatever veggies you like best--red potatoes, but sweet potatoes would be awesome too, and the SAUSAGE, man the sausage. I used spicy italian turkey sausage and it was to DIE for.
I ate mine with a small side of light sour cream.... perfect.
(this whole skillet would be great for breakfast, too!)
Had last night. Also awesome. I really modified this recipe, though-- I didn't notice that the directions asked me to bake it for an hour, and I didn't have time for that, so I did it like a stir-fry. I cooked the chicken in a skillet, and then did a separate pan of fresh veggies--broccoli, zucchini & yellow squash-- and then served everything over brown rice with the sauce on top.
I didn't love the sauce-- it was really sweet for me, so next time I'll modify it with much less sugar. Or, just use your favorite bottled sauce!
A friend recommended this one, thanks Amber, and I can't wait to try it! It's not exactly 'healthy', but I'll use veggie pasta and serve lots of fresh veggies on the side to make up for it!
