A(n) (unorganized) Day in the Life

Beep! Beep! Beep!  Yep- there goes the alarm- at…wait, what?  Why? Oh man… 4:50am.  Yep, you heard it right- 4:50 AM!!!

The time change still won’t happen until Sunday… oh that’s right- that’s in 3 days…. oops.

But really, I don’t have to pump so early….I could just try again tomorrow, sleep another 25 minutes, and nurse like usual…she’s not even moving around!

But, instead we get up!

Time to pump.  Will is off to the gym.  25 minutes later- time to get Annabelle Grace up!

Oh, sweet, smiling, happy all the time baby!  Seeing that smiling face always makes a morning not seem so early.

Time to change that diaper and get dressed and have a bottle!

Oh wait- you don’t want the bottle?!  Come on, once your get started, you’ll see it’s still my milk!  Annabelle Grace, you are going to break your back or neck or really just anything squirming like that! You’ve had plenty of bottles, why not this one?!

Finally, a sip or two, between some grunting and wiggling…  3oz down!

Oh, you’re actually just not having anything else to do with the bottle- fine, fine, we’ll nurse- you have to have some milk if you want real food!

Alright, let’s go play while I get breakfast ready- Dad will be home soon! I guess we’ll have a little greek yogurt, a banana, and some green apple slices.  Daddy’s home!

So much fun watching her eat we tell each other!  Let’s take some pictures!  Such good bites! Looks like we’re all done!

Dad goes to get ready for work….. Why did we have yogurt?  It is EVERYWHERE on her, her clothes, her chair, my clothes.  But she did eat it! ……all right, let’s somehow clean this mess up.  Oh good, you don’t want me to touch your nose?  That’s cool- it’s not like there isn’t yogurt all over it and boogers inside… Let’s say bye to Daddy.

Okay kid, you play, I’ll start laundry.  Okay, time to go down for nap number one! Then I can prep our meatballs for dinner!  Diaper changed, bow off, socks on, let’s have this bottle.

Oh good, you don’t want the bottle again?! Are you really crying because I am GIVING you milk?  How does your body even turn in those positions…?!  It is the SAME.EXACT.MILK!  I pumped this milk from my body!  Finally, two ounces down… okay, okay, enough protesting, we’ll nurse!

Whew, now, let’s start some coffee, and I’ll finish pumping the rest.  …..Seriously Toby and Wells?!  You have to bark RIGHT NOW.  It’s only been 10 minutes.  Come on baby girl, I know you can go back to sleep!  You can do it!  Whew…okay, good- back to getting my coffee cup down and back to pumping.

Five minutes later….you’re awake again?! Of course, you pooped.  Okay, let’s change the diaper and try going back down again.

I’ll unload the dishwasher and wash pump parts while we wait to see if you’ll go back to sleep…  Oh! I still have coffee waiting on me!

Oh, cool, okay- so the answer is no, nope, nada, not happening to the nap.  Figures.

Okay, I’ll leave my coffee in the pot for now.  Let’s just get up and go play some- and I’ll work on laundry, too while we’re at it.

Look at you!  You’re trying so hard to crawl!  You can do it!  Getting closer!  Let’s try to get to this block tower and knock it down!  You’re just so happy and doing so great!  Good job!  Alright, it’s been about 35-40 minutes- you’re getting a tiny bit cranky- let’s go try that nap again.

Okay, diaper changed, bow off, socks on, bottle time!  Oh, I see, we’re still hating on the bottle?  I even changed to a different bottle- what’s wrong with this one?  Oh that’s right- it’s not my boob.  I reallllllly, reallllllly promise it is the SAME MILK!   One ounce in, fine- good enough for me- let’s nurse.

Alright- tell me this will be the nap!  I am so incredibly hungry!  Oh!  I still have coffee waiting on me!  I’ll have a snack and then get started on the meatballs for dinner!  Oh, gross… this coffee most certainly tastes burned…  I don’t even care- I’m drinking it.  Not like it even matters, it’s decaf.  But it does matter.  It is supposed to be for “me time.”  Burned coffee, I’m gonna drink you while I eat this KIND protein bar.

26 minutes?  That’s all I get?  I barely finished this horrible coffee!  Okay, okay, fine- let’s get on up.

Awe, good morning Annabelle Grace!  I just love seeing my smiling baby!  Are you ready to get up?!

Diaper changed, bow back on, time for this yummy, yummy bottle!  Again with protesting the bottle?  You’ve taken plenty of bottles from me…. you stinker.  Oh, ouch! stop kicking my skinned up holes on my knees and legs.  No, really, that hurts!  Look, I’ll even hold you in this position so it seems like you’re nursing!  One ounce down… yeah, you’re smarter than that!  Okay, we’ll nurse.  I’m hungry.

Alright, you play here on your belly for a little bit.  I’ll get lunch ready.

Time for some chicken, zucchini, squash, and sweet potato!  It’s good isn’t it!  Yum, yum!  Wait, are you pooping WHILE you’re eating.  gross….

Okay, looks like we’re both done… I’m a little scared to pick you up…but I don’t smell anything, so that’s a good sign.

Oh yummy, sweet potato and squash on your legs!  And now on me!  I think we’re just going to change clothes before this next nap.

Silly girl!  Playing with your pajamas!  Good idea though, we’ll just put those on!

Alright, bottle or no bottle.  Oh, I see, still no bottle.  Well I’m over it too.  We’ll just nurse, {HOPEFULLY} take a good nap, and try again after.  Don’t worry, I didn’t really want to workout today anyhow.  I know, you’re just looking out for my legs and hands where I fell- so sweet!

Look how sweet you look sleeping.  Alright sweet, sweet girl… take the best nap ever!

Whew, what a day! and it’s only 1:15pm.  Oops….still need to put laundry in the dryer, still need to work on dinner, still need to do something else I’m sure…

But for now, I’m going to watch this sweet girl who has been sleeping for an hour and fifteen minutes, eat these delicious pancakes, and finish this post up!

 

I write all this to say, some days just seem hectic!  I’ve been so busy, but still can’t help but smile when I see my sweet baby’s face.  Will and I have decided that I will continue breastfeeding up until a year, assuming it continues to keep working.  That’s about as long as I care to go for, plus, she’ll be eating even more food by that point.  I’ve been fortunate enough to have a pretty easy time with breastfeeding- and I’m sure it helps a lot that I am able to stay at home.  Pumping is not for the weak!  I actually kind of hate it, mostly because it’s so time-consuming!  Obviously, as you can tell in this post- I tried bottle feeding before nursing today.  It has proven to be more difficult than I realized it would be.  She has always taken a bottle from Will fine.  For a while now she has done perfectly fine taking one from me too now and again.  I guess when that is all she is offered though, she is not a fan!  We talked about me bottle feeding today, just to make sure she is taking in enough milk since she has been such a champion eater.  You can read more about that below! (She is showing NO signs of not getting enough milk- we just are making sure we stay on top of things to prevent anything from happening!)

 

Annabelle Grace has been doing SO incredibly well with Baby Led Weaning- better than we could have imagined.  She eats breakfast, snack, lunch, (sometimes another snack), and dinner with either just me, or both of us, if Will happens to be home.  If we go out to dinner, she eats with us.  She absolutely LOVES picking her food up and going straight to her mouth with it, even if we pre-load a spoon.  She is biting and chewing as well as can be expected, and her diapers prove she is actually eating and chewing pretty much everything!  I let her try two sips of water after any snack or meal- though we still haven’t coordinated that part completely!  We have tried multiple different {sippy} cups and bottles with milk to try to help her get better at holding one on her own- this is still a big work in progress!  (Any time a baby is weaned- whether traditionally {soft foods first} or baby-led {solids first} it is important that the baby still takes in as much milk as before, as that is how they stay hydrated, and still get so many vitamins and minerals!) Most babies progress at a normal speed, and may even play and explore their food for the first month or two- completely normal.  Annabelle Grace is going straight for the food and chowing down!  If we eat in front of her, or eat something different than what is on her tray- she can tell and will get mad! We have had many people witness this now!  As soon as she gets her food, she is quite content and happy!  Because she is eating so well, and so often- Will and I decided to try to do more bottles of my pumped milk now, just to ensure she is getting plenty of fluids.  So far we have NO reason to believe she isn’t- she is still peeing and pooping regularly, growing well, and hitting milestones!  She still sleeps through the night and has PLENTY of energy during the day!  As for solid foods that we all eat- we have a very healthy, balanced diet- plenty of fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, and meats/proteins.  We hardly use any salt and the bit of sodium she does get is mostly found in foods naturally, or things like cheese and bread- which are limited.  Added sugar of any kind is also not used/limited.  She gets plenty of fruit, eats PLAIN Greek yogurt, and is perfectly fine.  Meats are seasoned with anything we would season our food with- with the exception of salt.  She eats raw and cooked fruits and vegetables, and the only “processed” type of food she really gets is the KIND pressed bars- and the only ingredients are apples, bananas, pineapples, kale and spinach!  So far we are loving this route!

Of course I can’t write a post and not include any pictures!  So even though today has been a little more unorganized than usual- here are some of our sweet pictures anyhow!