Photo Update

Demitri is getting big by the day! In just two days he will be 10 months old! I cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by, in just two months we will be celebrating his first birthday! Each day I am reminded just how blessed I am. Our Thanksgiving went great, we spent the day with family eating and watching football. And Demitri has been loving our Christmas preparation! All the lights on the tree just capture his attention! We cannot wait for this first Christmas, it is going to be so much fun!

Pregnancy & Infant Loss Day 2012

I feel that this used to be something I wrote about a lot. 
When my wounds were fresh and my heart was still newly broken. I have journeyed through two miscarriages. I know the heartache and physical pain felt when your dream is taken away in the blink of an eye. I know what it is like to feel so alone and guilty. To feel like nobody understands, that there is nobody to talk to. I know what it is like...but I also know now that it's not true...

Did you know that there is one small day in October dedicated to pregnancy and infant loss remembrance/awareness? October 15th of each year there is something called the Wave of Light. At 7pm (whatever time zone you are in) a candle is lit for one short hour in honor of the life gone too soon. People from all over the world-seperated by time and space- coming together to support each other in one simple act.

Last year a friend of mine set up a large balloon release. There were over 200 names submitted  from people who had lost a child either during pregnancy or infancy. It ended up being an emotional event for her and all those involved. 

If you would like to see more photos or the documentary video created please check out the attached links.

This year I have been able to help her in collecting more names from families who have suffered a loss as well as setting up a walking event! We are walking to honor the lives of those babies lost to miscarriage, still birth, SIDS, birth defects, and any other form of infant loss.

We are accepting the names/dates of babies from anywhere in the world! To submit a name please visit here.

To participate in the day of walking event as either a local (Wautaga, TX) or "long distance" walker please register here. If you are in San Diego area and would like to participate I have set up a walking location in Carlsbad, please check out the Facebook event page for more info. We will be walking for one hour, registration is free and participants are suggested to wear light pink and/or baby blue which are the colors of the Babyloss ribbon. If you do decide to come we also ask that you print out this form with you to the event.

Participants have the option of gathering sponsors to help raise money for Art Cards. Each card purchased will be given to Dr offices, hospitals, birthing centers, and doulas to give to women experiencing a loss. The cards have a beautiful painting on the front and a message of comfort and sympathy on the back, along with available online resources for grief.
If you cannot make it to one of the set events you can still walk on your own in honor of those gone and those grieving.

Having suffered through our own losses, we believe that there is not better way to honor the all to short loves of our lost children than to turn our grief into something beautiful by reaching out and helping other women experiencing the heartache of baby loss. We understand and remember how isolating it can feel and knowing that there are others out there who have gone through the same thing greatly helps!

We would be honored if you entrusted us with the memory of your child. They will not be forgotten!

Little sapling - "legacy tree"

Remember my post about Demitri's first solid food? 

Well this is our little sprouted sapling from the avocado that he ate. We are going to transfer it to a pot soon and hopefully it will continue to grow! I am going to make it a little more special by taking some of my encapsulated placenta and adding it to the soil to "feed" it. So here it is, Demitri's little legacy tree! Maybe one day it will be really big and he will be able to play under it while enjoying some more avocados. 

A friend suggested we try grafting it, since avocados are really weird now and apparently will not produce fruit unless grafted. Not sure why that is... I may look into that since the tree it came from is an old rare one.

Elimination Communication

Elimination communication is form of "non potty training".
Basically from infancy you learn cues as to when your baby needs to go potty so you can set them on the toilet before they use their diaper. There by teaching them to just use the potty rather than having to un-teach using their diaper as the potty.
In our case it's not been so much learn, cues as he gives no sign as to when he needs to go pee only when he needs to poop, so each hour and right after waking up I go and set him on the potty.
So far in my experience this is not something to start if you cannot do it full time because like with regular potty training progress made will be lost if not worked on/with consistently. But over all it is easy to do and he has been loving going on the potty!

We bought him one of the Fisher Price training toilets that plays music each time he goes, and we clap and cheer for him each time as well. So he is always proud of himself and has big grins on his face. It would be great if we could get him out of diapers and fully potty dependent before he is two!

I thought the elimination communication would be really difficult but one day I just went for it, so if it is something you are interested in give it a try! If it doesn't work out then it doesn't work out. But the few people I have talked to about it and have then gotten to try it out have all found it to be easy and that their baby loves going on the potty!

7 months pictures

Over half a year old now! It's all going by just so incredibly fast, and while I'm enjoying every moment I wish it would slow down just a little because I know he wont stay 'this' baby forever. Between being 6 and turning 7 months he started crawling up the stairs all on his own, saying mama, pooping and peeing on the potty more, and starting to stand and balance himself on his own this past week.  My baby boy is growing so fast.

I wish I had more to write about but I really don't feel like I do. There is so much going on these days but I'm so busy that when I do finally have time to sit and write I just draw a blank as to what to say. Maybe I'll start getting better at blogging again soon...

D.I.Y Star Wars Halloween costume pt 1

Just a little over a moth before Halloween is here. I've been working on making Demitri's Halloween costume and so far it is coming along great! It has been easy to do, super cheap (we have spent NO money so far!), and I am having fun doing it!

Demitri and dada will be going as Yoda and Luke! I can tell you're not all that surprised. Which is ok, but Daniel has had baby's first halloween costume planned since we found out I was pregnant!

We're on a "lets not spend any money" budget right now so I had to find a way to make him a Yoda costume that....fit in that budget so here is what I did.

1) I found an OLD large white kitchen towel, and while looking at it thought "hmm this texture would be great for making his Jedi robes.

2) I took the towel and dyed it using tea. I tossed it into a large bowel, threw 4 or 5 regular tea bags in with it and poured boiling water over top allowing it to brew and absorb into the fibers for probably 15 minutes.

3) Once it looked close to the color I wanted I took the bowl and dumped the tea out then let the newly dyed towel dry out flat in the sun. If the color ended up being lighter than what I wanted once dried it would be easy enough to dye it again either with more tea (or coffee for a definite darker appearance).

4) That evening I took my dyed towel upstairs, folded it in half, and laid it flat so I could draw my pattern on it. I did three different drafts of lines before cutting, and to draw the lines I used sidewalk chalk. In this picture you can see the three different colors I used. First green, then purple, and finally red. Then I taped it down to keep both sides even and cut it out.

5) I don't have a functioning sewing machine right now so I hand sewed it together. And the side of the body that was cut off, I used the scraps to make a hood!

6) And here is part one of his completed Jedi robes. I'm so proud of it because I did it ALL from scratch with zero help from anybody or anything.

The Belt.

1) For the belt I took a pillow case that I do not need/use (due to the odd large square shape) and cut it up. 

2) I took just a long strip that was only dark brown and sewed it together inside out then flipped it to hide the stitching. I found some old watch links sitting in a jewelry box in the closet and added those to the center of the belt for some cool unique detailing.

I was going to add some velcro to the ends as a fastener but decided to just leave it as a tie belt so it can stay nice and snug on his skinny tush.

Next we will be working on his cane and hat (the Yoda ears). It's mazing what you can do with stuff you just have lying around the house!

6 months

I'm late getting these posted because I did not have my good camera. My lens got a crack in it and had to be sent of and fixed, so it was a long two weeks without a proper camera. But, little man in half a year old now! I cannot believe how much he has grown over these six months. We made it a fill six months with only breastmilk as his food which I was so happy and proud of! He's started crawling, saying DaDa and knowing who he is talking to. He pulls himself up on his crib and playpen and will just hang there. He gives kisses when you make a kissy face and "Mmmmm" sound at him. He has now tried avocado, banana, strawberry, and kiwi. Six months means we're half way to his first birthday and it's going to go by and be here so fast! I'm just enjoying everyday and each moment of snuggles, giggles, and fun that I can.

  

No more photos please!

These toes!

First solids + Giveaway!

Demitri is 6 months old today!
I can hardly believe that half a year has flown by since he was born. He has grown so much!
As of today he weights 15 lbs 3 oz and is 26 inches tall.

Since he turned 4 months old I've been asked when I was going to give him his first solids. I decided to wait till he was 6 months old. By 6 months the gut is closed and the risk for food alergies is greatly reduced. The AAP now also follows WHO guidelines and recommends only breastmilk for the first 6+ months. The AAP used to say between 4-6 months but with more research now say to wait till at least 6 months.

I did a lot of thinking and searching as to what Demitri's first solid food should be. We are not doing purees so I wanted something I could cut up small enough for him to eat, soft enough that he could just mash it with his tongue, and tasty...so what?

Avocado! It met all the requirements listed above, and we can get them super fresh out here in CA!

I contacted the Avocado Diva and told her about Demitri's up coming 1/2 year celebration and that he would be trying his first solid food and she sent me a special avocado for him. Here is the box I got in the mail. Just look at the size of that avocado! I've never seen one so big.

She sent it to me under ripe so by the time today rolled around it would be ready. I cut into it and it was perfect! The colors of the meat were beautiful, it was smooth and creamy, and had zero brown spots. 

Daddy gave it his approval. Since you know he HAD to make sure it was good enough for his little boy to eat.

So what is so special about this avocado you ask. You can read the whole story here, but here is a little background for those who do not have time to go read. 

"A very nice man emailed the Diva (after reading that story) to say his mom had a tree that was very old, produced some amazing avocados, and that soon the tree would probably have to be cut down. Sad! Avocado trees don't move well - it's not like you can dig it up (the root system would be several dozen feet wide, for one thing) - plus they just stop producing fruit after several decades. The great news is -- in February -- Brokaw Nursery called Mr. Davis and (yippee!!) the grafts worked well! They had several small trees growing - and Mr. Davis was SO kind - he gave the Diva one! Mr. Davis and his family will all attempt to grow them, as well as several other friends. So this tree will live on through the traditional process of cutting, grafting, and growing more "baby" trees - just like we've been doing in California since the Spanish landed near Dos Pueblos (above Santa Barbara) since the 1800's."

This avocado she sent us came from the tree that she was given, she even went and picked it herself! Talk about special.

So tonight I cut up the avocado and gave it to Demitri to try.

It was the first time he has tried anything other than mommy's milk (and I was nervous he would LOVE it and decide "to heck with nursing when I can have this!") he wasn't too sure about it at first. He liked the feeling of it squishing in his hands and sliding it around on his tray, but when I put a piece in his mouth (so he would get the idea it was ok to eat) he made the most funny (disgusted/shocked) face ever! 

After a few other times of putting some more tiny pieces in his mouth and making faces he seemed to start enjoying it. 

He tried picking up some of the avocado pieces himself and getting them into his mouth, but hand feeding it one of those "fine arts" he has yet to learn. He got it into his fist but then could not get it into his mouth. He still did such a good job!

Messy avocado face!

He got avocado everywhere. In his hair, his ears, his nose, up his arms, on his legs. A bath was a much needed thing tonight.

Thank you Avocado Diva for the yummy avocado!

Giveaway!

The Diva has a Baby's First Avocado kit it comes with 4 in season avocados, a special wooden spoon, and an avocado saver. One lucky reader will get this kit either to use for their own baby or to give to a friend as a special unique gift! More about The Diva: The Avocado Diva is ALL about getting the best, unique, avocados from small ranches and farms up and down the California coast... and then shipping then to your door!  (note she can ship them outside of CA) You can try 2 or 3 varieties of avocados for a taste test! Or sign up for our "avocado of the month" club and get the variety that is in season FIRST! ...In all cases, we work with the local ranchers and farmers to ensure you get fresh, just-picked fruit, at the top of their season. ...We research recipes and ingredients, tools, oils, spices and more - and bring them to you on our website. Here you'll find tools to slice and mash your avocados into delicious sauces and "mole-s". Storage solutions for this precious fruit. Salts and spices to sprinkle on your heritage avocado's golden-green flesh."

Rafflecopter widget is not currently working, to enter please follow the link below and you will be able to complete the entry form! Thank you, sorry for the inconvenience, I am talking with Rafflecopter to resolve the issue ASAP!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/NjhhOWQyM2NlMDU4ZjM0MzYyMmE2Y2RkZjg3NjQ5OjM=/

Growing too fast!

My little baby boy you are growing too fast!

Over the last couple weeks you have started: crawling, sitting yourself up, saying dada (and knowing who you're talking about), and this morning you decided to stand up by grabbing onto part of the crib and pulled yourself.

You just want to do it all.

In just one week you will be 6 months old! 

Half a year. How has half a year gone by so quickly? 

We'll have been exclusively breastfeeding for 6 months that day as well. Mommy is pretty proud of that. It was a rough start for us with breastfeeding but WE stuck it out and you are a champ now! On your half birthday you will be trying his first solid food! Mommy is a little nervous about that. I am worried you will decide you like "real food" better and decide you don't "need me" any more.  That said, I am excited to see how you react to trying something other than mommy's milk for the first time. We have something special on it's way to you so hopefully you will like it, if he doesn't I know dada will.
I am not looking forward to the solid food poops though. Tossing those water soluble breastfed poops into the washer is much less of a hassle than having to rinse first.
Following my post about Demitri's first food I will be having a giveaway to go along with it, so be sure to check that out! It's going to be a unique giveaway that will either be good for your own baby's first food or a shower gift.

Since you will be 6 months old you will be starting swim lessons soon! You already love being in the water so daddy and I want you to learn to swim young and grow up knowing proper water safety. I'd almost positive you will love swim class.

You don't know it but so much has been going on. Dada has decided not to continue with school and is working on an enlistment package for joining the Air Force, we have been praying that it all goes fast and that he will be in by September, or October at the latest. So far it's all looking good.
It's going to be a huge change, for everybody, but after much talking and weighing options it looks to be the best thing for the family right now.  And it is work that dada enjoys doing. Mommy is nervous that dada will be gone too much and that he will miss out on so much of your milestones as you continue to grow; and you already hate when you see daddy getting ready to leave the house you start fussing at him. I cannot imagine how much it is going to break his heart when you start crying and crawling or running after him trying to get him to stay. But it will all work out for our little family and we will all adjust, and after a while daddy will be able to have more time off to stay home and just be with you which he wants to do more than anything.
Seriously little boy you have got that dada of your wrapped around your finger-that saying doesn't just apply to little girls and their daddy's.

I love getting pictures of you and daddy together! My two handsome men.

Looks like you are still napping so I'm going to go get something started for dinner for dada and myself.
Love you bunches!

Babywearing snuggles

I love babywearing. I love snuggles. I especially love babywearing snuggles on my birthday! I know I have said it before but babywearing has made life much easier while out and about. I get to keep baby close and still have my hands to do what I need to. Plus I get pretty accessories like this beauty you see here-Gira Night Rainbow 2 shorty with fringe. The cary I am using is called the Kangaroo cary and has become my go to for a fast wrap.

5 month pictures!

I'm such a blog slacker here lately that almost two weeks have gone by and my little boy is now 5.5 months old. I cannot believe that he is almost half a year old. He has grown so much and is really on the move now. He loves being in his jumperoo and last night he started crawling! Not pushed up on his hands/knees but up on his elbows/knees. He was really on the go last night so we really have to watch him now since he can move to get into thing he shouldn't be now.

As you can see from this picture Demitri got his little hands on the chalk board and smudged a good bit of what had been written on it. After the 3rd time of fixing it I gave up.

New tattoo

I got a new memorial tattoo this week. It turned out amazing. The idea came to me after my brother died last year, and my second miscarriage. I planned to get an iris, narcissist, and poppy flower bunched together. The narcissist  (Decembers flower) stood for my brothers birthday and when we lost the baby. The iris (Februarys flower) for when he passed away, and the poppy for when the baby had been due. I had an appointment set up to get it done when a few days before I found out I was pregnant and was no longer able to.
It ended up being some crazy sort of fate that Demitri's due date and birthday was February 10th, exactly one year after my brother died. So my tattoo idea changed. I decide to get two iris' to represent my brother and Demitri, and two butterflies to represent the two babies that were miscarried. I looked for pictures of iris' and found a picture of a painting (or what looks like it would be a painting) and loved it. It was what I wanted right there in front of me!

My artist did an amazing job my tattoo is really a piece of art on my arm, and has such deep meaning to me.

Teething

His right side "K9" tooth. 

Oh teething, what a pain. Both of his "K9" teeth are coming in. The one on the left has been working its way in for the last couple months now and I recently discovered the one of the right as well. I'm really hoping that at least one of them breaks through soon, so hopefully he will have some relief before the next ones decide to start coming in. He's sure going to look cute when both of these break through.

For pain relief we have been using:
-Baltic Amber
-Hyland's Teething Pills
-Frozen toys
-Massage
-Gripe Water

The amber works well so long as I either A) do not take it off or B) put it on right after he wakes up in the morning. I can definitely tell the difference of when he has it on or doesn't (or has it on too late). Honestly while I love amber for myself and it really helped with my aches, it is not working as well as I was hoping it would with him. I'm not sure why but I just figure it's because teething is a BIG pain. That said I would still recommend trying amber as a natural pain reliever because it could would fantastically for your baby.

Out of the frozen toys that we have, frozen Sophie (the giraffe) is his absolute favorite. He already loved trying to chew Sophie's face off and once I tossed her in the freezer and gave it to him he went nuts. I've suggested this to a few other moms as well and they found it was a great idea for their baby as well. He have the gel filled circular/textured chewers too, but those are second rate to frozen Sophie!

Here he is gnawing on his frozen Sophie, wearing his amber necklace, and wearing fluff.

Hyland's Teething Pills are also not as effective as pain relief for him as they are for other kids. They are great though, so I would still recommend them to other parents who have a fussy teething baby! they're small, fast melting, and fast acting. Once they melt under his tongue they seem to work right then but that relief only last about 30 minutes, and you cannot give the pills too often. Again these are natural based pain relieving pills so these would be my first choice over over-the-counter Advil or the like.

Yes, I did say massage used as pain relief, and yup you guessed it daddy and I are just massaging his gums. Talk about a happy baby! He smiles and babbles the whole time we do it...then tries to chew on our knuckles. Slobbery fingers are worth it to have him feel better!

Gripe water has been a hero at night in our house. Teething has made him so wrestles, he is not wanting to nap during the day, and then he is exhausted but has such a difficult time falling asleep. One night, after he tossed and turned, and I rocked and snuggled him, tried nursing him and just about anything else I could think of...I gave him a dose of gripe water and he was out a few minutes later. Gripe water has never helped him till he started teething, now it works like a charm!