Sleeping position

I've noticed lately how much Bryce starts to like sleeping on his side. I can not figure it out yet if he does it consciously or not, but as he's sleeping in between us through the night I've witnessed as he was actually turning on his side, almost like a grown-up, I could say.
Very cute to watch!!!

Bryce's first trip

It was nothing planned. My husband was working on this Tim Burton's project in a VFX facility 2-3 hours away from LA (BTW, very hard not having him home all this time) but as this week was his last one, we thought why not make a small trip out of it?

So, mama Clara loaded her small beetle ( I don't want to give you details about the way I travel - just 2 words - NOT LIGHT-:)) and on the road for the small adventure.

Mr. Clifford - the doggie - on the front seat, little Bryce in his car seat. He slept all the way, no issues, no problem.

We got to the hotel around 6:30 pm and he was all fresh and awake and ready to play. Which he did for about 2-3 hours ( while we enjoyed a fresh Domino pizza - oh, life on the road) and probably @ around 9:30 pm he was ready to go to sleep again. We had a smaller bed than the one we have home ( Queen size as opposed to the Cal King from our bedroom) but we shared it gladly, didn't ask for a baby crib and just cuddle the three of us, Bryce kinda of taking up the whole bed. :))

Things we enjoyed on the trip:

-being all of us together ( I feel so complete when I see my husband playing and adoring his son)

- going out and visiting new places ( we particularly loved this little danish town, called Solvang, as it made me feel like being home, in a way, back on my Old Continent);

-interacting with people and seeing new faces ( Bryce was just adored everywhere we went) ;

- shopping :)) ( I admit- my guilty pleasure)

- experiencing new foods ( and in this way, watching Bryce's reaction and behavior in a restaurant - he sat gladly in a high chair and we shared with him whatever foods from our plates were appropriate for him);

- BEING ONE LITTLE HAPPY FAMILY - OMG, having a baby is giving so much sense to your life, I love him from the bottom of my heart and THANK him for enriching my life every single day.

That was our little trip. I look forward to the longer ones. :)))

Bryce is crawling...backwards

This is Bryce's new trick. He figured out how to crawl but in a very original way... backwards.

And now the floor is not enough for him. He travels from point A to point B in a very fascinating way.

I can not believe that we are already there....And his mobility will gain strength.

Watch it, momma, here I come!!!

Apple's on our checklist

So, we finished our 6 days trial with apples;

Conclusions:

- overall, he really liked lit;

- he opened his mouth, dipped his hands in the stuff I've made;

- no allergies or some other weird reactions;

- good poop ( I could see bits of apples in it, the color became darker);

We will take a 2-3 days break and next week we will try something new. This time: bananas!!!

I'm still reading and trying to gather as much information as I can about the BLW method. I've also joined the BLW yahoo forum where I can have a glimpse into other's people experience with this method.

I still believe this concept is really interesting and developing some of the baby's skills, the only thing that I'm a little bit scared of and concerned about is his ability of swallowing little pieces of food, my ability of being cool when I will see him gagging ( that most of the time looks like choking) with his face turning red and his eyes being in tears, my ability of just knowing how to react on the spot if something would have happened etc.

So, discussing these issues with my husband too, we came to the conclusion that a mixed approach at this stage would be more appropriate for our family, meaning that we will combine the classic method with the BLW; so like for example, when I will make the pureed carrots I will also try to offer him a boiled finger carrot son long and so forth...I know it is not true BLW anymore but who cares....What cares is that our family feels comfortable, safe and happy...

The thing that I know for sure is that I will not force food into his mouth.

So, we will meet next time with some banana experience until then enjoy some "apples" pictures...:)))

PS: One more thing that I would like to add about spoon feeding. Sometimes I get intrigued and irritated by some of the statements that I read in different books. This time it happens to be the one that says that spoon fed babies are more likely to choke that BLW babies because with the spoon fed babies you pushed the pureed food back in his mouth.

Well, let me tell you my experience with Bryce. Bryce DOES NOT slurp the food from the spoon, Bryce DID NOT choke on the pureed food ;what Bryce DID DO was to start to chew on what went into his mouth. Just like that, as natural as it can gets!!!!

PLEASE, let's not make moms feel bad about their decisions!!!!

I think I like apples...

Today my son is 5 months old. Yuppiii!!!!! Happy B-day kinda of my little sunshine!!!

Because mommy can not bake yet a cake for him, we thought we will celebrate with some apples-baby style!!!

So:

- I mixed 1/3 of a raw Gala apple ( looks like the Romanian "Ionatane") and one tablespoon of rice cereal; the result had a nice consistency and a good taste ( as I tried it);

*these apples are not too sweet but not too sour either, somewhere in between, my favorites ones and I'm picky when it comes about apples;

Well, I was pleasantly surprised to see that he ate everything I made. He opened his mouth in delight, I didn't push the sauce all the way in the back of his mouth but left it somewhere in the middle of his tongue and he started chewing and eventually swallowing all that it was to swallow; I loved that he didn't push it out with his tongue nor turn his head away.

Of course, this is his first day trying this new thing; I'm planing in having a six days trial, than take a little break and after that continuing with something new.

As we are approaching 6 months, I will also want to see how he will handle the BLW method. I didn't give up on it.

It is hard and challenging to raise a child but the rewards are priceless; this is one of them.:))

Rolling over is my thing

I could not but notice in delight how much he likes rolling over lately. It is like his favorite thing. He likes to do it everywhere I laid him flat, in our bed, in his crib, in the playard.

I will try to upload a video as soon as my hubby will teach me how. :)) With You Tube is so much easy.

Lately, he also loves to lift up his head like an attempt to raise in the sitting position from the back position.

He's doing and saying so many amazing things and it is so hard to catch him on camera 'cause when I turned it on he becomes very, very aware of it. I wonder if he will be as much interested in this object in the future as he is now. Remember, his father started making movies when he was only 5 so there is a gene right there. :)))

I'm so thrilled with his development and there are so many more thrilling moments to come.

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...