{in the kitchen} baby's first foods

hello there!

some exciting stuff around here... our little one is trying out some tasty {solid} morsels!

we've been on our breastfeeding journey and starting around 5 months our guy showed so much interest in what was going on at the dinner table... since then he has tried a few bites too {did i mention my baby is 8 months old?!}!

we chose to feed our little j soft real foods that are cut in ways to be easily held. or can be served up on a spoon for him to feed himself. at the beginning - when he was six months old - his daily meal(s) were more about being at the family table and touching real food and less about what nutrients made it into his body. we were still breastfeeding around the clock and family dinner was when we chose to have his meal type experience. my husband and i have always been excited about being at the table as a family, talking and sharing about what happened in our days. this is why we've decided to make it j's social solid foods eating time.

now that we are two months in our guy is a pro and LOVES to eat! sometimes we serve up purees while most of the time we are making sure our foods are provided to him in safe ways to eat {soft, sometimes mashed, often on a spoon} he chats with us and his crazy babbles {plus the few words he says basically daily - mama, dada, and "Ebba" for our dog Etta}

how we knew we were ready...

+we were given the okay by our doctor - due to his head control and subsiding "tongue thrust" our pediatrician shared that she was more than comfortable with him starting to experience some foods. in fact, she was ready before we were! it was so nice to have that go-ahead. and it got this mama dreaming about messy hands and gummy sweet potato smiles!

+he couldn't help himself when mom and pop were eating - grabbing at all the things, staring at whatever was going in our mouths, we knew his interest was there.

+we researched - after throughly reading about 'baby led weaning' we found that we liked the real food, just keep it safe, eat what the family is type approach.

+we took baby steps - once we knew he was interested we had a few weeks where during dinner time he would sit in his high chair (this kid's core strength is unreal) and would touch and play with a little bowl, spoon and cup while we ate dinner and all talked together. he LOVED it from the first meal so we thought he would attend to food once we felt more prepared to start our route to solid foods.


what is working well for us...

+cutting up foods so he can hold it

+foods he likes - he can go with bananas in all the foods! but we also eat avocado, peas, sweet potato, pumpkin, prunes, blueberries, papaya and more...

+doing the 4 day rule - only trying one new food every 4 days or so. this way if a food allergy is present it will hopefully surface prior to introducing the next new food and we will know that we need to be careful around whatever food he ate just before symptoms arrived.

+peanut butter - check with your pediatrician on this one, but ours suggested moving forward with the current thinking that younger babies should try peanut butter (watered down, so no choking hazard); we waited until he had tried many solids and had no allergic reactions to anything.

+having our pup, Etta, take care of the dirty work - our little babe and pup are just such good friends already. and now our girl loves this baby boy even more because of all the snacks she sneaks from the floor under his spot at the table.

any mamas have real food/baby led weaning tips to share? or are you interested and want to learn more? check out this Real Food Mamas Podcast - Episode #49: BLW in the Kitchen

have a good one!!

mama is heading to work...

it's true. my maternity leave has flown by - a blink of an eye and our little guy is six months old and i'm off to the races. we're trying out the whole 'two working parents' idea to see if it works for our family. 

i have very much enjoyed having these important days with my first son. often just us two, discovering new things together. i'm so very lucky to have support from family as we attempt this transition. our little guy will stay home with Grammie or head to the home of our close friends so that i can teach for the last two months of school and j will be with loved ones that he knows well. 

so it is with a heavy, but excited heart {we can be both at once, yes?} i'm off to work and will give my little boy the opportunity to have some adventures without me. 

i'm going to miss him like crazy. good thing summer break is rapidly approaching. 

around these parts {+ my unscheduled break}

hey friends!

i've been missing my time around here. but spending my time doing all good things. here's what i've been getting into...

+lots of family time - daily life with my little guy in tow has been so great lately. lots of extended family visits, working on some homestead projects while keeping the baby entertained and even going outside {because end of winter in Ohio}

+getting active in issues that matter - not planning to get too political on this blog, but a lot of my screen time has been dedicated to researching bigger issues and supporting those who have less of a voice than i do.

+discovering an interest in yoga - i've always wanted to start a practice of yoga, doing a few DVDs and such, but recently i've been attending classes to learn poses and even took little j out for a Momma + Baby series! so fun! it was a good excuse to get out of the house and meet a few other moms in my area.

i hope you all are doing great and thanks for checking on me! happy start to the week!

mama hood mondays {nap time edition}

a hush in the house. everyone is sleeping. doesn't matter the time to me.

so grateful for a little rest, quiet and knowing that this babe is growing in ways that babies grow while napping.

don't mind me, i might catch a little shut eye too.

hope your week is restful and fulfilling!

mama hood mondays {halloween 2016}

good morning dear friends!

i decided today was the perfect day to share a little halloween love from last week. {a perfect, albeit a bit late} my husband and i have historically been pretty into the halloween scene, usually having a few costume ideas by the end of august each year! of course we never make our costumes until the week of halloween - leave it open incase a last minute idea rocks our world!

after a realizing that little j is a wrap-lover we knew he really only needed a hat for a costume. we decided to be three blind mice for the first of many fun family halloweens!


to stick with our more recent traditions of trick-or-treat night we passed out candy, ate snacks and drank cider with dear friends (they get so many trick or treaters at their house! including most of my students!) and our little j had his first big night out!

hope you and your loved ones have slept off the candy hang over! it can be hard to let that last bit of chocolate go after beggar's night is over.


happy monday!

::our little one arrived::

hello dear friends!

just popping in this morning to say our little one arrived!!

our son, "little j"
arrived at 10:56 p.m. on October 7, 2016
after 42 weeks and 5 days womb -side
and made this mommy + daddy just so very happy + proud.

we are more in love than we ever imagined and can't wait to share more about this new person we already know so deeply but have so much to learn about.

keep us in your thoughts - we are all well and are enjoying some slow days of healing + bonding.

hooray for our little family, that is now just a little bit bigger!

::momma hood mondays:: overdue musings

hey there folks!

that's right - we've got a 41 weeks + a few extra days mama over here. oh my is it work supporting basically a full size newborn inside the womb! i don't know why, but i wasn't expecting to be so hungry and tired at this stage in the game!

all is well, we've been checking on the baby and all our gathered information points to waiting on this little one to get labor going. we've really been hoping for labor to start on its own and plan to only help it along if something seems unhealthy or unsafe. and at this point both mama and baby are cleared to continue with our low risk/low intervention birthing plan... we are thankful and will continue to be watchful of any changes.

i have started my maternity leave so i really am just waiting.  i think i've wiped our counters and vacuumed the couch more times than i care to count just to have something "productive" to do.

so here is to a birthday coming soon! {or maybe a birthday was selected last night and i already posted this blog -!!- we can hope, right?!}

i'll be sure to let y'all know soon!

big hugs at the start of a new week! it is October, oh my!

{update}::my 16 in 2016 + what is new over here...

This year I decided to live with the word "cultivate" in mind. I wrote 16 goals/prompts for 2016. And wow, 2016 has been pretty fantastic so far. I know I've been pretty quiet around here, but life is never quiet and we all know this. I couldn't find the time to dedicate to writing on the blog because I was busy doing so much and my energy was elsewhere.  I suppose I was cultivating the whole time...

If you ever read this blog or peek at my instagram you know that in November 2015 my husband and I purchased our "forever mini-farm" and started trying to settle in to the big plans we've always dreamed of - the homesteading, maker-paradise, big romantic dreams that we two are guilty of. {I think it has something to do with two creatives making a full-time life together.} We always are saying "we are so fortunate" and throwing around the word "lucky", but we also make some pretty great plans {slightly over-detailed plans} and keep running towards them. Anyway, buying this property {which we lovingly refer to as "our farm haus"} prompted the word "cultivate" for 2016. Well, the mini-farm along with some other plans I wasn't ready to share a few months back - you've probably already guessed it - but we are talking about cultivating life and growing our family to be bigger than two people. Yes, we are expecting and I am growing a tiny human - !! - my oh my, it is hard work! We are due late September and all is going along just fine. I'll save more of this story for a day in the not so distant future :)

I guess I really got this post together to redirect my focus of writing and reflection that I enjoy so much that is part of blogging for me. So, I am updating my 16 prompts with links below. I hope to get back into a routine, that will surely change again and again many times. But I'm okay with that, and I hope you are too.  Thanks for popping by to read about what is new with me! What is new with you? Leave me a comment below!

My 16 in 2016

1. Grow.

2. Improve.

3. Read.

4. Taste.

5. Rest.

6. Photograph.

7. Save.

8. Appreciate.

9. Make.

10. Move.

11. Plant.

12. Do.

13. Share joy.

14. Learn.

15. Create.

16. Simplify.