crunchy mama stuff

well we've almost made it to 6 months.... 6 months! i can hardly believe elliot will be 6 months old on the 19th. i'm so thankful that we've had 6 successful months of exclusive breastfeeding. it has been a long road, but feedings are second nature now. i hope we are able to continue breastfeeding until he is one or longer if he would like.

now, we are gearing up for solid foods! however, the solids will not replace milk just yet. we are just going to try to get him used to new textures and a new way to eat! a new adventure. a messy, messy adventure. we decided to skip the rice cereal recommended by the pediatrician and baby food companies. why? i did a little digging and found out that cereal and carbs are actually one of the worst foods you can start your baby out on. their tiny digestive systems do not develope the enzymes needed to break down carbs until 9-12 months. can you believe people used to give rice cereal to their 6 week old babies? now it's popular to start rice cereal at 4 months. rice cereal is often given to babies to help them feel fuller so they can sleep through the night. it carries no nutritional value since babies get everything they need from breast milk/formula. rice cereal pushing was started by baby food companies....interesting, no?! [most of my research came from the highly trusted www.kellymom.com and la leche league's website www.llli.org. both of these websites helped me when i came up against some serious breastfeeding issues]

am i tired?

yes.

would i like elliot to sleep through the night?

yes.

am i willing to sacrifice his health for a few more hours of sleep?

no sir!

my current mantra is: (that i repeat to myself as i make the short walk to elliot's nursery twice a night to feed him) this is only a season.

he will only need me in the middle of the night to nurse him and cuddle him for this short season. i can make it through the day on 5-6 hours of sleep.

and i know i will miss our late night feedings once they are gone.

so no rice cereal for elliot! we'll go straight to solids... still trying to figure out what to give him first.

*please note, i do not judge anyone who chooses/chose to give their babies rice cereal! every mama does what she thinks is best for her baby!*

in other crunchy mama news, we are getting better at the cloth diapering thing. so far we've been cloth diapering 1/2 the time. if we are home and are going to be with elliot all day, he will be wearing a cloth diaper. my mom watches elliot while i work in the office for 4 hours and she requested that he wear disposables (she watches him for free and i will not force her to handle my son's poo more than she already does!). i just ordered a few more inserts for our bumGenius diapers to push us forward in our cloth diapering adventure. here is our stash so far (stuffed and folded):

somehow i have more covers than inserts, hence the buying more inserts. once we have the new inserts elliot will be able to be in cloth more often and we will have to wash diapers less often!

here is elliot enjoying a Kawaii baby diaper (and his doggie blanket):

i really like this diaper, but i can't find it anywhere!! someone gave it to me. he usually wears his bumGenius (by cottonbabies). i usually buy diapers used from this handy website: http://www.diaperswappers.com/ new cloth diapers can be expensive, so buying from other mamas who took great care of their diapers is really helpful on the wallet!

that is my cruncy mama update for now! thanks for reading, loves!

i've been stopping me

what has been stopping me from becoming the person i want to be,

the person i was created to be?

me.

i've been stopping me.

i can't blame anyone, i will not blame elliot.

he is my little joy. he is my little love.

not anymore.

today i'm moving, i'm going to stop standing in my own way. today isn't a special day and i don't have a reason for moving today. i'm tired of needing to be inspired and in the mean time not inspiring anyone at all.

lists always help me process and be productive, so here is a list of things i'm moving towards:

-simplify [starting with the design of our living space at home-- something needs to change in our living room i think it's because we have too much stuff; followed by my wardrobe-- i hang on to things that i haven't worn in years]

-outdoors [i love the cold, i love cold walks. patio/porch sits are a must in the winter, too. i have not been good about getting outdoors this winter due to elliot's need to be warm. but, i have a capable husband who can care for him while i bask in the glory of the winter sun]

-yoga [starting this saturday morning... i'm getting back on my mat]

-using my hands/creating [this week i've made dinner every night--- this is a feat for me! the thing that surprised me... i actually enjoyed the whole process, from finding new recipes to liking my lips after devouring the dish. i need to keep this up! knitting needs to happen more, but it is also a social thing for me-- i need to knit more with friends/while in church or sipping coffee with matt or a friend. i want to learn how to read patterns.]

-less TV [it's hard to motivate myself to do anything but watch TV after elliot is in bed. he still isn't sleeping through the night, which means i am not either. so by 7:30 i'm ready to veg out. but who says vegging out means watching TV? i have 2 books that i need to finish (BossyPants by Tina Fey and Mocking Jay- the 3rd book in the Hunger Games series)! i vow to listen to music, sip sleepy time tea and read at least 2 nights a week! matt and i are smack dab in the middle of watching Breaking Bad on Netflix, so i must devote the other nights to the goodness of snuggling on the couch and covering my eyes with a warm blanket while watching a drug deal go down.]

-the blog [this space, it has been undefined for so long. a space of ramblings and scribbles. i'm actually a fairly good writer. i've failed to show that here at .marysuz. no more! time to remember that each word can serve a purpose in telling a story. this blog- it's my story. i've been writing here since 2007, but lately i've lost my confidence. i forgot that my voice and my point of view are worth being heard! my story is worth being told. where has this confidence come from ?? riiiiight here]

if you have an iPhone, follow my journey on Instagram my username is marysuzn(photos!), if you don't have an iPhone, follow me on twitter -- i always link my IG photos to my twitter account.

thanks for your interest... if you're out there reading.... are you out there??

if not, its okay i need to do this with or without an audience... an audience just helps hold me accountable to these words

took this pic while in asheville for my birthday this year. this is the view from our friend's front porch.

5 Month Round Up

elliot turned 5 months old on January 19th.

i just can't believe it. he is becoming a little person, his personality is developing, he is starting to assert his own will, he is growing and making me sad because i feel like it is flying by. but, that's how it works i guess so i'm working hard to soak it up! here is his 5 month round up!

teething & drooling

everything, i mean everything goes into his mouth these days. above you see him trying to chew his hilarious barbell rattle. our friends gave this to us and the packaging was hilarious-- 'say goodbye to babyfat forever.' i do feel for the little guy because he gets sooooo frustrated after chewing on everything in sight-- it's not satisfying enough so he just cries until i nurse him or give him a pacifier. he drools massive amounts each day due to his little tooth buds trying to poke through. he is also waking up more at night and i blame teething for this. it could be a number of things, but needless to say we are all a little sleep deprived.


picture is fuzzy because my mom didn't have her reading glasses on while snapping the photo with her blackberry

grasping & bottle holding
elliot now grabs anything and everything. he wants to touch and feel everything he sees. he loves digging his deadly baby nails into my face and pulling my hair... such a sweetie. he held his own bottle for his whole feeding while at my mom's last week. it made me a little sad. but thankfully i don't ever give him a bottle so i don't have to witness said maturity. he can hold all of his toys and recently held onto a small ball pretty well. his hands are now listening to his brain.

finding his voice

my little dude has discovered the joy of screaming and chatting. he almost always wakes up chit-chatting with his doggie blanket. it is quite hilarious. he talks to us the most when he is laying on his back-- getting his diaper/clothes changes, playing on the play mat or laying in his crib or our bed.

elliot likes...

getting a pillow or blanket dropped on his face

his daddy & all of the sound effects that come along with him

his doggie blanket (a little blanket with a dog head on it)

nursing and nursing some more

books

music (specifically the lullaby i made up when he was just days old, 'the ants go marching' song and the 'who's that guy' song from Grease 2)

being outside/in public places

petting Marla

peek-a-boo/being surprised

swinging

flirting with ladies

elliot dislikes...

being woken up

dogs barking

being on his belly for more than 5-8 mins

the bumbo chair

being passed around at family events

wind

being awake in his car seat for too long

when momma leaves the room

getting out of the bathtub

getting lotion put on

i do love my little man and i love seeing him grow and become a little person

he is a joy