Teething and a little "Hippy Magic"

WARNING: If you already feel I have lost my mind... gone a little too "crunchy"... or have gone off the deep end, it's probably best you skip this post and come back another day when the post is filled with pretty pictures of Olivia. :)  You've been warned!

Teething is one of those things that we all have to endure as parents.  You hear all these stories about all the things that could happen.  Rough nights, crabby days, and frazzled moms are often caused by teething.  At least this was my impression.  I braced myself.  I made sure to have a variety of teethers.  I stocked the bathroom cabinet with tylenol, teething tablets and orajel.  I also collected those bibs that are meant to be water resistant.  (Apparently those makers have not met my daughter!)

Olivia started drooling at 3 months.  I knew that it was possible to start getting a tooth as early as 4 months, but I didn't think she was teething.  Around the same time, she also started gnawing on anything she could get her hands on.  One of the "your baby is this old" emails said that extra saliva was normal at that age, hence the drooling.  (I've since decided that her tongue is just too big for her mouth.  It has to be.  She is the only baby in her Little Gym class that has to wear a bib-and sometimes change it mid class!!  Seriously.  13 kids and she's the only one with a bib!)

So on we went.  Drooling. Chewing. Running my fingers across her gums and nothing.  Drooling. Chewing. Checking. Drooling. Drooling. Chewing.  Since she is constantly in a bib, people would ask "Is she teething?" I would say, "Um... I guess?!"  How do I know?!  She didn't seem in pain.  Nothing was ever poking through.  Sometimes people would tell me she was teething.  Like at Thanksgiving when people were insisting her cheeks were red and that it had to be teeth coming in.  Pause that thought.

On to the "hippy magic"... You may have noticed in the pictures that Olivia has a necklace on.  It's not for looks.  It's to help with teething pain.  I had heard about baltic amber teething necklaces online.  The first time I heard about it I rolled my eyes.  (As I'm sure you are doing right now.)  I shrugged it off and went about my business.  It kept popping up though.  People online were raving about it.  I met a few bumpies for lunch and there were some that were "believers".  Sometime shortly after Thanksgiving, the site babysteals had them on sale for 50% off.  I thought, "What the heck, it's worth a try".  I ordered Olivia one and she has been wearing it ever since.  Someone claimed that it was suppose to help with the drool too.  It did not.  I was a little disappointed about that and was wondering if it even worked.

A few days before Christmas, I noticed that her neck was a little red.  This has happened on and off--not from the necklace.  It gets irritated.  I took the necklace off and didn't put it back on after her bath.  Christmas Eve she was miserable.  We had plans to go look at Christmas lights and didn't even leave the house because she was being a beast.  I noticed that her gums were white and swollen.  We tried teethers.  I froze a wet spot on a burp cloth for her to chew on.  I put orajel on her gums.  Nothing was helping.  I was convinced she was going to wake up on Christmas morning with teeth.  Christmas day was much of the same and we were actually nervous to go to our friends house.  She was a mess.  It wasn't really like her.  After giving her a dose of tylenol and trying all the teethers we could, I remembered that I had taken the necklace off.  We put it back on.  We haven't had an issue since.  She didn't get teeth then, but her gums were swollen so I think she was still in pain.

Her first tooth popped through sometime in the night on her 7 month birthday.  I wouldn't even have known had I not looked in her mouth during a diaper change.  She had NO reaction.  She wasn't fussy prior to it cutting.  She didn't have a fever or runny nose.  She didn't lose any sleep.  Her mood never changed.  These are all things you hear about with teething.  She did drool and gnaw on things, but she has been doing that for 4 months!  Her second tooth popped through a few days ago.  Again, I wouldn't even have known except I noticed it when she was eating.  I am a serious believer in the baltic amber now!  Someone on the bump jokingly referred to it as "hippy magic".  Call it what you will, but once again, I'd rather have my daughter wear a necklace than drug her repeatedly with tylenol and orajel.

What is a baltic amber necklace?  Well, I could try to explain it.  I could also copy and paste, but this post is getting too long as it is.  You can check out the site where I got it.  It's not just for teething either.  They make them in youth and adult sizes and it is suppose to help with a variety of ailments such as arthritis, joint pains, headaches, reflux and more.

In order for it to work, it needs to be on the skin closest to the place of pain.  It is also suppose to be worn 24 hours a day.  Yes, Olivia sleeps in hers.  Don't have a heart attack!  I am normally a rule follower and am captain of the safety patrol.  I would obviously not do anything to put my daughter in harms way.  They are meant to break under pressure (without the beads coming off) and there is nothing in her crib that it could get caught on.  It gets tucked under her pajamas and we have never had an issue.  It's not really worth it to me to have her wear it if it's only while she's awake (8 hours a day) because it wouldn't really work.

So there you have it.... 2 teeth... no drama... and a little hippy magic! :)  I tried to get pictures, but she doesn't let me see the teeth too often.  She just sticks her tongue out and covers them.  I'm working on it though!  Oh, and they are her two bottom teeth.

Project 366: Week 5

29. Having fun during an early morning play session

30. I had the day off, so we made a trip to a different park.  We went on an hour long walk and then did a little swinging.  This is when we were getting ready to go home.

31. "Standing" on one leg at The Little Gym (TLG)

32. A little blurry, but the head tilt is one of her new things.  She got a new toy from Grandma.

33.  Learning to user her pincher grasp to eat puffs (I found soy/dairy free ones!)

34. Daddy thought it would be funny to put her hood on

35. Happy girl after her bath--posing in her new monogrammed owl towel!

Oh how I long for the day when a bib won't be in every picture!

Making Baby Food

I already told you that I love my babycook.

It makes making baby food so quick and easy.

I enjoy making Olivia's food, and I'm pretty proud of the fact that she is getting the best, most natural food possible.

So I thought for any of you moms out there that may be interested, I'd share how it works.

First, it comes with a little booklet that tells you exactly how much water to use to steam each food and vegetable.  You then just fill to the line.  We use bottled water because sometimes the water is reused (I'll explain that in a minute).

For line one foods it takes about 5 minutes to steam.  For line 2 it takes about 10 minutes and for line 3 it takes about 15 minutes.

You then pour the water into the steamer side.

There is a little steamer basket that sets inside the main compartment.

On this day I was making pears.

I cut the pears up and put them in the basket.

I leave the skin on for apples and pears.  

That is another reason why I buy organic. (Obviously I still wash them well before steaming.)

Leaving the skin on helps keep in more of the nutrients.  You can blend them with our without the skin.  I have blended the skin on with apples for more fiber.  I have also made both apples and pears by peeling the skin off after they are steamed.

Then you just put the compartment on the cooker.  It locks in place.

Then click to the steam side.

It knows how long to steam the food by how much water your poured in.

It's done steaming when the light goes off.

It comes with this little spoon type tool to lift the basket out.

Since I wanted to take the peels off of the pears, I let them sit for a little bit.

Taking the peels off added maybe an extra 5 minutes to the process.

Keeping the basket out, you put the food into the main processor.

Here is where that extra steamed water comes into play.  Pears (and apples) are already pretty liquid-y.  They don't need extra water to thin them out.  Other foods such as sweet potatoes need the water.  So you would take the water that was used to steam the food and use it here to help thin your food out to the right consistency.

Blend to preferred consistency

I used 2 1/2 pears and it made 10 ounces of baby food.

So at most it took me 30 minutes to make a weeks worth of breakfasts. 

(She won't eat pears every day for breakfast.  We'd be having a problem then! :)  I'm just giving an example.)

Besides homemade food being healthier, it is way cheaper!

I bought a bag of frozen green beans for $1. (Remember to look under ingredients if you do this.  It should just say green bean or peas.  You don't want any added ingredients!)  That dollar bag of green beans made 14 ounces of puree.  That is 7 of my little "jars".  If I was buying baby food, $1 would get me ONE jar. Maybe two.

We buy organic for some fruits and vegetables.  Especially ones on the dirty dozen.  We buy frozen for ones that are out of season (i.e. peaches) or would be more work than it's worth (i.e. peas).

About an hour a week and this is what we have

Ahh, this picture makes me so happy! :)

Project 366: Week 4

22. This was from our Sunday afternoon photo shoot--She was telling me something!

23. Apparently everyone and their mother wanted to have a dinner/party with my boss before she switched jobs, so I had to watch Little Man late almost every night for two weeks.  When we watch him, we generally go out to dinner (on the bosses).  Olivia was enjoying her menu.

24. This was one of the pictures from our Little Gym class that didn't make the blog the other day.  It's a super cute picture, but it's a little blurry. :(

25. We can finally just sit her on the floor with some toys and let her play.  She has definitely mastered sitting unassisted. Yay!

26.  Speaking of sitting unassisted...this was her first time sitting in her bathtub instead of laying.

27. After our lunch date with friends, we headed to Target to get some formula.  Olivia loves the wind and sticks her tongue out to "catch it" every time.  As we were walking into the store, this is what she was doing.

28.  We decided to take Olivia to a park.  It was her first time in a park swing.  She loved it.  We couldn't stay long though.  It was a little cooler than we thought.  We'll be back...many times, I'm sure.

Giddy Up!

So if you haven't figured it out already, this blog has gone from book reviews, recipe raves, craft examples, and my opinions to a giant MOMMY BLOG.  I can't help it.  I don't have much of a life outside of working and being a mommy.  Plus, my daughter is just too cute! :)  Sorry for those that are just over the pictures of Olivia. (Ok, I'm not really sorry... you don't have to read it every day!)

My friend Laurie got Olivia a shirt that says "This Ain't My First RODEO" with a picture of a cowboy on it.  It was a size 12, but I figured I'd give it a try.  I hate when I wait too long for clothing of the next size and then it doesn't fit.  It fit perfectly.  I'm glad I didn't wait any longer.

I paired it with her jeggings and the cowboy boots from Little Man.  I also added my cowboy hat.  

We did a quick photo shoot before heading to lunch with a friend.

The boots are still a little big.

She thought the cowboy hat was hysterical!

She kept cracking up whenever it would fall down and I had to fix it.

Cutie

Funny faces

More cracking up at the hat

And since she couldn't wear the cowboy hat to lunch...

we replaced it with a Texas sized bow

A true Texan for sure!

The Little Gym

The Little Gym was one of the first things I signed Little Man up for when I began working with him.  He has always been pretty athletic, but we could tell that it made a difference in his motor skills, agility, and balance.  In fact, now at age 6 he consistently wins the balance game at TKD.  He is also does some of the moves better than others and I know it's because of his years at The Little Gym.  I knew it was going to be something that I wanted to do with Olivia.

Besides the physical benefits, it's a great way for her to be social and be around other babies AND adults.

We took her in for a "free preview class" this week.

Honestly, I wasn't exactly sure how it was going to go.  She has been having a rough time in the church nursery.  She can go either way when it comes to loud noises, and at library story time she just sits and looks stunned, in awe, and maybe a little overwhelmed.

Thankfully, she LOVED it!

She was smiling from the minute we walked in the door.

 So much so that the workers kept commenting on how smiley she was.

Clapping her hands for the opening song.

They did an introduction game where they went around the circle asking for names.

After every child's name the adults would lift up the parachute and say "Hi (Olivia)"

This is her watching the parachute go up

We were singing some song with hand motions and such.

I can't even remember what it was teaching--eye hand coordination?  

There was so much information!

She watched the teacher intently.

Doing shoulder stretches

Doing a flip.  As soon as the teacher explained it, I passed Olivia right back to Michael.

20 pounds over my head and then not drop my child?!  I'm not sure how I would have done.

This is suppose to help with their inner ear and balance.

Hey Mommy, I love this!

Strengthening her core

(Most of the class is set to music)

Sitting/bouncing on the air track

Bouncing/standing and bearing weight on her legs

Watching the bubbles come down while doing some leg stretches

More core strengthening

Ball time

Baby foos ball! :)

More bubbles before the bye bye song

We will be adding The Little Gym to our Tuesday routine thanks to Olivia's grandma.

We are so excited!!

Eyebrows

It always amuses me when people say that Olivia looks like me.  I'm 100% convinced that they see the cheeks and nothing else.  She doesn't really look like me.  She has Michael's hair color, light eyes whereas mine are very dark, Michael's baby cheeks, Michael's forehead, Michael's chin and Michael's/Michael's mom's nose.  I have said from the very beginning that the only thing I can see that is mine is her mouth.

Every once in a while I see a little Gjertson in her.  And by Gjertson, I don't even mean the Gjertson characteristics that I have.  I mean I see my brother Jared.  She looks a lot like his baby pictures as well.  I even pulled them out at Thanksgiving to prove my point and all the naysayers agreed.

That brings us to this last Sunday.  We were all dressed up nice for church so I thought we should take some pictures.  I mentioned to Michael that we have a ton of Olivia, but not a ton of pictures with us in them.  We took a few pictures while playing on the the floor with her.  Michael uploaded them to the computer and I was browsing through them.  Then the conversation went something like this....

(Looking at these pictures)

ME: "Man, you guys are twins.  You practically look identical.  I really don't understand how people say she looks like me."

MICHAEL: (glances at the picture) "We don't look exactly alike"

ME: "Pretty darn close.  Look!  She looks just like you"

MICHAEL: "You don't think she looks anything like you?"

ME: "NO!"

Then I scroll over to this picture

ME: "See!"

MICHAEL: (looking....looking...looking...pause) "Well, like I said, she has your eyebrows"

Really?  My eyebrows?!?!  Then he clarified that she doesn't even have my eyebrows...her eyebrows are just "spread far apart" like mine.  To which I responded, "I PLUCK!" LOL!!!

Anyway, here are some other cute pictures from the day

In her cute dress and shoes that I got for cheap at a consignment sale back in August.

Relaxing--Church is stressful! ;)

I LOVE this picture!  This is what she does when Michael kisses her with his scruffy face.