6 months

Yesterday we went for Rilyn's 6 month well baby check-up.  She is doing everything she is supposed to be doing and continuing to amaze Tyler and I everyday!

Stats:
Weight - 19.8 lbs (94%)
Height - 26 1/2 inches (68%)
Head Circumference - 17 inches (64%)

She is wearing 9 - 12 month or 12 - 18 month clothes depending on the outfit.  Anything that has elastic around the belly or thighs needs to be 12 - 18 months.  I have to admit dressing a little girl is the most fun ever!  I love that she has 2 grandmas that love to buy her cute outfits and I love bargain shopping so Tyler doesn't usually get too upset with me for spending money.

Everyday is seems that Rilyn is doing more and more.  She definitely knows Tyler and I apart from other people and it just melts my heart when she is upset and just needs her mommy!  She is sitting up on her own and rarely tumbles over anymore. She is cooing and talking tons, and I am pretty sure is picking up the sign for milk.  I do a lot of signing with my students, and I am rather good at picking up on non-verbal communication and I am sure she is starting to sign for milk (Tyler doesn't believe me).  She is also starting to go from a sitting position to her hands and knees but can't hold herself up so she just ends up toppling over on her head.  She is rolling from her back to her tummy (finally) and still gets ticked off is she is on her belly for more than a couple seconds.  Although, in true Rilyn show off mode, she hung out on her belly in front of some friends today for a good 5 minutes.  The rolling over has caused some issues...she now rolls over when she sleeps...not a big deal you say??? Well, it is if she wakes up screaming bloody murder every time, which a couple nights last week was every 15 minutes!  She ended up in her swing those nights.....

Sleeping is still kind of wishy washy for her and she doesn't have a consistent sleep pattern.  Some weeks she does great only getting up once or twice, and some weeks she is up every hour although that is occurring less and less.  She really needs her bedtime routine and goes to sleep much easier when we can follow through with it.  She gets her bath, a couple books, nurses, and then rocks to sleep.  She is still napping in the swing and I feel guilty about it everyday!  But, she sleeps there and I am not willing to give that up right now.  I need my breaks and she needs her sleep.  She will fall asleep for naps very easily with her pacifier and a couple minutes of rocking but is up exactly 30 minutes later if she is not in her swing.  She just hasn't mastered putting herself back to sleep yet. 

Eating has been a fun and new adventure for us this last week.  So far she has tried: red bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, green bell peppers, spinach, oatmeal, pear, peach, plum, dried apple, cucumbers, hummus, lentil patties....I think that is it.  Her favorites so far has been the dried apple and cucumber.  She LOVES the cucumbers (probably because we grew them in our garden).  Tyler is doing amazing at this baby-led weaning.  He is really patient and not at all nervous.  I freak out every 5 seconds, but I am doing better and I am trying to relay a positive attitude to Rilyn about it.  We are only giving her solids at dinner right now, and will do breakfast if Tyler is home. We are giving her a sippy cup when she eats, but she just kind of plays with it, which is fine since breastfed babies don't need extra water.  She is still nursing every 2 - 3 hours for me, but if she is with others will go 3 - 4 hours for a bottle.  We are hoping the breastfeeding goes okay now that I go back to work and we are really committed to making it work...I really hate pumping and I applaud every mom that has ever done it because well frankly IT SUCKS!!!

Speaking of going back to work...I start in a week.  I am really excited for another year with my students.  Most of them this will be my 3rd year working with them and it is amazing to see them progress.  Of course I am bummed to leave Rilyn but I am trying to have a positive attitude.  She will be in great hands!

Well, I think that is all....we are loving every second of being parents and really at this point couldn't imagine how we were once happy without her!

getting ready for breakfast

squishy oatmeal

really motivated to get Trixie

she will now sleep on her stomach, but is really mad when she wakes up

eating Joaquin's dehydrated apple ring

playing with Ms. Diana

Decker Adventure Day

Today all the Decker's went on an amazing white water rafting trip thanks to Y-Lo and Jocko (the Decker parents).  We went up to Idaho Springs and rafted down the river for about 1 1/2 hours.  It was tons of fun!
Highlights:

• some time alone with my hubby (Aunt Kristin watched Rilyn ALL day...THANK YOU)
• using Clint as my protective gear against the VERY cold water...aka was snow yesterday water
• Y-Lo hitting me in the back 1,000 times with her paddle and yelling "I don't like the front" over and over again
• watching my husband get that very cold water sprayed on him over and over again
• Ryan thinking we were actually taking Rilyn on the raft and just strapping her in the car seat
• getting taken out to a delicious lunch afterwards
• coming home to a happy smiling baby

Some pics from the day:

And of course a post wouldn't be complete without Rilyn...have a great week!

6 months old...

Rilyn turned 6 months old today...I am sort of a wreck...I think I will be a wreck every time my baby turns a month or year older.  Mama guilt starts to kick in and my brain struggles with sane mama and crazy mama...here are some of the debates between the two today:

crazy mama: "what if I haven't spent enough time with Rilyn"
sane mama: "you have only worked 4 weeks in the last 6 months and have spent pretty much every waking moment with your daughter"

crazy mama: "what if the time I've spent with her isn't QUALITY time"
sane mama: "every day you read books, nurse, sit under trees in the grass, nurse, sing songs, play with dogs, nurse, hang with good friends at the pool/garden/park,  and sing more songs while nursing"

crazy mama: "there is no way you are giving enough attention to your husband, house, God, or dogs"
sane mama: "probably true..it's hard to find a balance...but they all still love you (except the house which doesn't care)"

crazy mama: "you are going back to work you HORRIBLE mother"
sane mama: "this is best for our family, Rilyn is with people that love her, and you love your job"

crazy mama: "you are not producing enough b-milk"
sane mama: "you are CRAZY...have you seen the size of your daughter's rolls?"

Yep, those are all things that went through my head today...and that is why I am drinking a glass of wine with my husband, the dogs at my feet, a clean house, and a well-fed sleeping baby.

Rilyn also got her first meal today....veggie fajitas...minus the fajitas.  She had red bell pepper, spinach, mushrooms, and zucchini.  The zucchini and spinach was from our AMAZING garden!     

I will do a full 6 month post once we go to the doc on Monday....I bet she's chunky :)

yep she just stood up from the steps on her own

mommy and daddy's 6 month celebration

she didn't like the mushroom and pushed it far over on her tray and then scowled at it

cheers daddy

brushing teeth

     

Baby-Led Weaning aka Baby-Led Solids

Tyler and I are about to embark on an adventure and we are very nervous and excited about it...we are going to start feeding Rilyn (other than my breastmilk filled with super powers).  I think Tyler and I have spent so much time thinking about this because we both feel that good early eating habits will help pave the road to an adventurous, nutritious, and happy eating child.  We are both usually pretty disgusted with the general eating habits of the general population and quite frankly sometimes our own.  We live in a country where fast food is the norm, school lunches are filled with crap, and food related diseases are the norm.  Like I said, Tyler and I are far from where we would like to be as far as our eating habits and we hope to keep improving.  We will be the first too admit it's not easy!

Here is a general summary of what baby-led weaning aka baby-led solids is:

• you feed your baby whatever it is you are eating (as long as it's nutritious)
• you skip the puree stage
• the baby decides when, how much, and what he/she eats
• you let the baby feed him/herself
• the baby still gets as many milk feedings as he/she wants

Here are some of the benefits:

• baby joins in on family meals and the family can eat along with the baby
• baby gets used to a variety of tastes and textures
• baby gets to decide how much to eat and what to eat (depending on what you put on the tray)
• baby learns about their world
• no baby food preparation
• baby learns to chew food and handle it earlier

Honestly the book mentions many more, but really there is no scientific evidence that these actually occur...we are doing this because we think it will work for our family not because we think it is scientifically proven to be better.

Some cons:

• messier (although I've fed babies purees before and they can get pretty messy)
• scary - the book obviously doesn't think this is the case but ya I'm a little freaked out Rilyn will choke...we will see
• Tyler and I need to make sure we always have something healthy for her to eat (oh wait, this is a pro)

What about the choking you ask....

• babies have less of a chance of choking if they are in control of what you put in their mouth
• the gag reflex of babies is up a lot higher than that of adults so food doesn't get as close to the back of the mouth

We are excited to give Rilyn her first meal on Thursday (her sixth month birthday) and keep talking about what it is we want to offer her.  I have to admit I am getting pretty nervous but at the same time I am excited.

Here is the website for the book:
http://www.baby-led.com/

Disclaimer: We don't think it is bad to give your baby purees (hey if I freak out enough we might end up doing the same).  I am sure your child will also grow up to be a great eater!  You know us...we just like to do everything a little differently...I don't know why :)

Rilyn has had some snacks lately:

 Zoe's foot

 Hummus on a red bell pepper

 A strawberry

July Ramblings

I've had many revelations.

Last Saturday as the U.S. Soccer team was playing in the world cup, I was absolutely devastated when they came back to beat Brazil.

See, I hate soccer more than I love the You Ess of Ay.

Our girl (notice I did not say little) ended up at the doctors this week about a week shy of her 6 month appointment (nothing to worry about).  Our good friends the Harms have a daughter that is 15 months.  Payton's weight...22 pounds.  Sugarlip's...20 pounds.

The way that I see it, Rocky could have squatted a horse cart full of boulders in preparation for his bout with Drago, or carried Rilyn around for an afternoon.  Both would have resulted in a rock hard body capable of ending the cold war.

From now on every time I get Rilyn ready for the day I am going to dress her in Broncos gear.  This will accomplish 2 things.

1)  She will develop an unhealthy obsession with all things Broncos.

2)  Anna will no longer let me get her ready for the day.

I've also been trying to convince Anna that it's no longer appropriate for me to see the lady parts of our daughter resulting in no more diaper changes or baths given.

Anna is not buying into my obviously sound reason as I continue having to get Rilyn ready for the day, change diapers, and bathe her.  Damn you Persuasion 101 (which I obviously only took to pick up chicks).

As I wrote this, RGD just took her sock off, put it in her mouth, let out a scream, looked at me, and smiled.

Whack a Daddy is no longer as cute as I once remember it.  I think it has something to do with the sledge hammer of a fist that pummels my back at 3 in the morning.

Just when I think I'm finally ok being a vegetarian I go out to eat and 2 pounds of chicken wings are delivered to the table next to me.  The only possible solution is to go home and watch Food Inc...again.  To date I think I've watched the movie about 33 times.

I honestly think that the best possible advice that I could give to any new couple is this.  Be the first to have a kid in your family.  I don't know if it's possible to have girl that is more loved than Rilyn.  I can't see how it's possible that our second (John Elway willing) will feel as special, but those closest consistently put a smile on my face.

Lastly, and in complete seriousness, a HUGE thank you to Diana, Marcos, and Joaquin.

Joaquin.  Thanks for sharing your mama with Rilyn this next school year.  I promise to show you some leniency the first time you and your betrothed sneak out of the house. 

Diana and Marcos.  Words can't describe how grateful and lucky we are to have you in our lives (and right around the corner).  You  lifted a huge weight off our shoulders.  It's a good thing that when Diana told me what you had decided she left quickly.  I was so overwhelmed the room became unexpectedly dusty, my contacts began bothering me, and the smell of onion overtook the room.

All at the same time.

Love you guys!

Summer Fun!!!!

Rilyn and I are enjoying the last couple weeks of my summer vacation.  It has gone by so fast and I am sad that I already have to think about leaving her again.  Thank God that we have amazing family and friends to help take care of her or I would be more of a miserable mess.  Rilyn is going to Grandma Decker's 3 days a week, Aunt Stacey is coming here one day a week, and Rilyn will go play with Joaquin and Diana the other day.  I feel like Rilyn is getting the best of both worlds with this arrangement.  Some days she gets to be in daycare with a couple other kids (and grandma) and a couple days she gets more one-on-one attention.

Anyways, that is not the point of this post is it?  On to the summer fun.....

We've been spending lots of time at the garden as usual, and this week we harvested zucchini, along with radishes, spinach, arugula, scallions, and basil....next week Rilyn will be getting a meal with some of these veggies.  Tyler and I have decided to wait until Rilyn is 6 months before giving her any solids, and I can't wait to write a post on our adventures with Baby-Led Weaning or Baby-Led Solids.  I am sure a post is coming soon on that; however, last night we were discussing our thoughts and opinions and our curriosity got the best of us and we couldn't resist feeding her some foods.  She is definitely ready (according to all the ready signs in the book we are reading) and loved her first taste of pickle and peach.

Pickles are full of salt...we know we are bad parents...deal with it

Ok...I really didn't think she would LOVE pickles...they are a perfect size for her hands

Managing a whole peach...I took the first bite to get her started

Scoping out mom's plate....she wants food!

She must have got a sour bite

Yesterday I decided to get out of our VERY hot house and take Rilyn for a dip in our community pool.  Well, apparently they fill it with ice water because it was way too cold for the both of us, but she really enjoyed people watching and hanging in the shade.

Today we spent the whole day with Aunt Kristin...we are so lucky!  We went for a hike, got frozen yogurt, and went swimming.  Her pool is a lot nicer and apparently is a normal temperature.  Rilyn loved being in the water and was entranced with the noise, movement, and feeling.  Rilyn is also starting to talk tons...as you can hear in the video at the bottom.

Cooling off from our hike

Eating some more dirt...why not?

Playing Peek-a-boo with Aunt Kristin

Can't wait for a relaxing weekend with the hubby and Rilyn!

Summer is definitely my favorite time of year!