The play with solids

So, we're slowly approaching 5 months of age. One more month and we will be kinda of ready to start on solids.

Thanks to a great mom, I got introduced to the concept of BLW or Baby led weaning. In her blog, she is writing notes about how this method works as well as her experience with her baby.

The book is called " Baby-led weaning" and is written by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett. As the authors agreed themselves, this is not a new concept at all, moms used it involuntarily or not during the years. This method makes so much sense and gives the baby the chance of choosing and playing and discovering and having fun and all with a great result: LEARNING TO EAT!!!

The first thing I did was purchasing a high chair; Bryce was already joining us at the table, but he was either in the bouncer or in our lap. He LOVES being around us and watching us doing stuff but wait: WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO IGNORE HIM!!! He needs to be a part of what we're doing!!! :))) Geez, so much personality, already!!!!

So, since we got the chair, I tried to see if he was interesting in some other edible shapes. So, I peeled a banana and offered it to him. He grabbed it and after that it was a crazy chase of the banana in the tray, on his face, on his lap, on his clothes etc....

In the book, they kinda of advise you not to: stare, laugh, appraise....Believe me it is very hard...

I look forward to more food adventures...Good bye clean kitchen....And, oh, BTW, we do have a doggie ( MQQM, you know what I mean -:))) - my alive mop. LOL!!!!

More stories to come...until then.....HAPPY NEW YEAR AND AN AWESOME 2010!!!!

The first turnaround

SENSATIONAL!!!!! My Baby just turn around from the back to the belly!!! A full turn around not halfway as before!!! He's not even 4 months!!!

I'm THE HAPPIEST AND PROUD MOM IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE!!!

Way to go my little sunshine Bryce Mihai!!!!

4 months check-up

Last Thursday, December 10th we had the 4th month check-up. @ almost 4 months, my baby is:

- 14 pounds 10 ounces

- 25 3/4 inches

We, also, repeat the 2 vaccines from 2 months : Deptacel and HIB. No side effects.

Today, December 14th as we were doing our morning routine, more specifically, the tummy time, my baby started to crawl....ok crawl is too much to say, it was more "warm-wl", meaning from the tummy position he started to push his legs moving forward. So funny to watch but in the same time one more step in his development.

Oh, wait, I have to go, he pooped BIG TIME.:))))

We will be back.

My baby is very active

Oh, yeah, ladies and gentlemen, my baby is uber, super, duper active. He wakes up @ around 6:00-7:00 am and first he starts by talking: "Inghh....guuu...." , I believe it means: " Ok, let's go and play" as he says it every morning. So, here I am @ 7:00 am, leaving my warm and comfy bed, eyes still closed, taking Bryce and putting him in the playard. That's the first stop, after about 20 minutes it's time to play with mummy: he lays on my knees and we have different conversations and plenty of smiles, all culminating with some tummy time. That's our schedule @ around 4 months. And we like to be persistent.

Recently, I purchased a Bamboo baby sitter, a foam, blue kinda of chair that presumably helps him sit. We will see. People are inventing so many gadgets lately, more or less useful. But, anyway we are playing in there for like 3-5 minutes.

All in all, next week, December 18th we will be 4 months old, and we kinda have a routine already:

- 6:30-7:00 am - wake up time ( maybe some food)

- 7:00- 9:30 am - playing time

- 9:30-10:00 am - food and sleep

- 11:00 - 11:30 am - wake up and more play

- 1:00- 1:30 pm - food and lunch sleep

- 2:30-3:00 - wake up and some more fun for the rest of the afternoon (maybe some short naps)

- 7:00- 9:00 pm - food and preparing for the night sleep

- 11:00-11:30 pm - one more bottle

- 3:00-3:30 am - more food

- 4:00- 6:30 am - another sleep

after that, another day starts.

I love my baby with all the tired days and crazy schedules, he is a bundle of joy and smiles.

PS: I forgot to mention. He likes to eat his big toe, too. Mr. Patato.

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De la PATIENCE, s'il vous plait

You know, while you're pregnant, you have plenty of time to inform yourself and read books about babies and whatever comes along with them. But I didn't yet find the book that would start like this : YOU NEED PATIENCE. LOTS AND LOTS OF PATIENCE.

In my experience with Bryce so far, I found that this is a MUST HAVE:

- patience to understand his/her fussiness

- patience to hold him/her even if you didn't sleep in days

- patience to drop everything you do and attend the baby

-patience to put aside all the inner cravings and focus on the little one

- patience for waiting for him/her to grow up

- patience for the first smile to happen

- patience for the solids

-patience, patience, endless patience.....

I think that is the most thing that I struggle with: learning every day to be a little bit more patient than the day before.

Wouldn't be nice just to go to the supermarket and be able to buy some patience: "De la patience, s'il vous plait".

Do we really have to go out???

It's a fact!!! Bryce hates the car seat. And whatever comes with it: shopping, walks, going out...He is rarely quiet in it. Maybe when the car seat is actually in the stroller and the stroller is moving!!! Otherwise, BIG ISSUE!!! So, what is left?? To "peacefully" not leave the house until he's...what....one year old????!!!! Or use one of the new inventions: infant carrier, sling, pouch etc. But wait, not even those ones are easy to use:

1.Infant carrier: for some (unknown) reason you need 2 persons to use the carrier: one- is the person that actually wears the carrier, the second is the person that helps you to take

the baby in and out the carrier.

2. Sling/pouch : for Christ sake, do you really have to use tons of yardage to make something like this??? I mean, literally I look like a mummy once I wrapped it around myself and now you have this bulky material around you plus a wiggly baby. Not so comfy.

So, it's either that I don't know how to use these baby wonders or there is something more out there to be invented.

Did I tell you that papa is the guru of Amazon??? Oh, yeah, he totally is. So, in this respect, we got a big, colorful book , and baby Bryce was very interested in it. If, there is one thing that I LOVE the most about him is the way he pays attention to everything. He just looks interested in things that happen around him. Like, for example, watching Cliffi, our hairy dog, passing by: "hey, dude, who are you? I would love to poke you. I mean, wait, I WILL poke you, very soon."

Yeah, my life (with Bryce) just doesn't get boring anymore!!!! And there are so many more un-boring moments to come.

The first 3 months

I've waited for these 3 months to pass. Just because everybody speaks about them as the milestone, as the forth trimester, that basically is a time of fussiness and acknowledgement of the new world.

Bryce only cried if hungry, not even dirty diapers seemed to bother, slept quite ok for a baby ( so not so many sleepless nights, almost any for papa).

Now, that he's already 3 months and half ( Geez I feel he's so big already), I've decided it's time for me to start and write some thoughts, day to day data, basically record his development with a little bit of fun, laugh, poop, milk and rock'n roll. So, let the fun begin...

Pregnancy and Delivery

9 months of waiting or maybe 10....planing....dreaming....creating....guessing features and than finally the Day....B-day...his B-day....August 18th...7:27 am....around 4,30 hours of hard labor, no epidural...the shy cry...8pounds8oz....HE'S ALREADY SO PERFECT...I'm relieved, all my discomfort will go away, but wait....THE ADVENTURE JUST BEGINS...

The beginning

It all began in Romania. The love, the feelings, the butterflies in the stomach, the office shared together, the glances, the visa, the plane, AMERICA.

Who would have thought that HE was the one. And I'm pretty sure he didn't know either I was the one. But.....

Some months later....the proposal...Catalina....the marriage....Napa Valley-Auberge du Soleil...and by the end of the year THE FRUIT OF OUR LOVE....We really moved fast, honey....

So this is how MY LIFE WITH BRYCE begins.....