Baby's First Christmas

Brynn had a wonderful first Christmas :) She received many wonderful gifts from her family and of course Santa. She made her first ornament for her grandparents (the first of many many more!) and got her first cell phone (also the first of many many more).

From the top: Uncle Andrew and Brynn, my cousin Matt and his wife Melanie (come visit again soon!), Great Grandpa and Grandma with some new xmas toys, the grandparents on xmas morning, Santa comes to visit the Vold family Xmas, Brynn and her new rocking horse, and Great Grandpa Vold with Brynn examining her new silver bell.

Baby Led Weaning

Brynn had been interested in our food a few weeks prior to her 6th month but we held off until then at the recommendation of our doctor. Baby led weaning in a nutshell is skipping the jar baby food and purees and giving baby appropriate "real food". Even though this might come across as a "new" concept it's really technically an old concept as this is how babies were fed prior to the Gerber generation. The concept works best with breast-fed babies as they are used to the concept of managing their intake where bottle fed babies are used to being given a set amount. The other principal is that "food is fun until 1" which means she doesn't actually need any calories from food until then. Instead it's a sensory and fun experience!

I read this book and took the experience of a girlfriend who had also followed this concept. The biggest benefit is that you don't have to make anything different for baby you just modify what you are already cooking to avoid spices and salt.

Brynn has tried the following:

• Pears
• Avocados
• Apples (in her mesh feeder)
• Broccoli
• Sweet Potato

She seems to like everything but really liked the broccoli probably due to the fact that she could really hold onto it. We can even confirm she actually swallowed some :) but I'll let you figure out how!

Update: We had more broccoli tonight and it still a clear winner in Brynn's book! She was a big fan and  chewed away at the florets :)

Wordless Wednesday

Brynn: 27 weeks

Merry Christmas!

Top Baby Picks: 3-6 months

Most of my picks from birth to three month are still in use! These months are all about keeping baby entertained and our life a little easier :)

1. The Baby Einstein Jumper: I'll admit I didn't register for one of these but you need one. Brynn loves to jump around and it entertains for a long period of time. We occasionally switch out the toys to keep her engaged.

2. Chewbeads. These little necklaces are meant for babies to chew on and I decided I had to have one when Brynn was about 4.5 months old and putting everything in her mouth...and dropping everything on the floor. We'd be out to eat and she'd go through all the toys we'd brought by dropping them on the floor. With this necklace it stays clean because it's around my neck. I always get compliments on it and some people don't even know it's meant for babies!

3. Woolino sleep sack. This thing is pricey but worth it. It grows with baby saving you from buying multiple sizes and it made of merino wool so it's safe. Fleece gets far to warm at night and overheating is a SIDS risk so wool is a good choice. We've used it since 3 months. The downside is that you have to wash is separately and line dry or on low but it doesn't have to be washed frequently

4. BOB jogging stroller. Even though we haven't actually jogged with this stroller (you should wait until 8 months before running with a baby) it works really well on our city sidewalks. It also is necessary for going for walks with the snow (even though right now only the Ergo works for getting over the snowbanks!). I look forward to using it in the spring to actually go for a run!

5. Green Toys Twist Teether. We got this toy from Stork Stack which is a monthly subscription service that delivers a surprise box of baby things to your door monthly. I subscribed during my maternity leave mostly because it was fun to get mail! The company makes the toys from recycled milk jugs and have a whole line sold at Creative Kidstuff in the Twin Cities.

6. Medela Breastmilk labeling lids. I'm not shy to announce that nursing is the best decision I've made and not just because I lost the baby weight while eating everything in sight :) These little lids are super helpful when I come home from work and can't remember what time I pumped each bottle.

Wordless Wednesday

26 weeks and teething (number 2 is through as of today!)

6 months!

 Brynn- You are such a joy. If I could pause time this is the month I'd pick. You have such a little personality yet remain mostly immobile ;) It's easy to get you to smile and when you laugh it melts our heart. You had a very busy month with your first Thanksgiving and plane ride to Florida. Six months really caught me off guard..time is just flying by. We won't have stats on your for a few more weeks as your doctor was pretty booked up this month. You learn things so quickly now, one day you're barely sitting up and now you're a pro. You got your first tooth (bottom right) over our trip to Florida, you were a little more fussy than usually and had some pretty impressive diapers but overall it wasn't too bad. You are a very strong little girl and like to lunge back and forth which I assume will lead to crawling. We have big plans to start some solids and celebrate your first Christmas as well as your second trip to Florida for New Year's.

We're back!

It was a trip of firsts: first plane ride, first swim in the pool and toes in the sand, and first tooth! But now we're home and knee deep in snow. 

Wordless Wednesday

Santa Baby!

She looks a little tired no? This will probably be the best shot we get for a few years as many kiddos start to be pretty fearful of jolly ol' Santa Clause after the age of 1. We went to Macy's elf display with both sets of grandparents for the big meet and greet. Kyle and I both agree that the Macy's display is nothing like what is used to be...maybe we're getting old...or maybe Macy's is cutting lots of corners....but it's probably a combination of both. We bought Brynn in the Ergo carrier as we didn't know how busy it would be and if you've tried to navigate a stroller in a busy place you know it's no fun. It's also nice to use a baby carrier and you can use escalators as it's a huge pain to always have to find an elevator. We had a nice dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery with both sets of grandparents to finish off the evening.

Baby's first foods...

...will start at 6 months :) But since Brynn has been so fascinated with what we are eating we decided to give her a little treat! We set up what will be her high chair (an early Christmas present from us!), the Phil & Teds Lobster, strapped a bib around her neck and gave her a momsicle. What's a momsicle you ask? Why it's frozen breast milk! We froze some milk in an ice cube tray and put it in one of those little mesh feeding bags and she really enjoyed it. Sure it was messy and she dropped on the floor a few times but that is going to be the story of lives when start real foods in a few weeks. On a side note the P&T lobster seems really nice. It folds up small enough to hide under our little kitchen table and is a necessity in our small house. I got it at the store Pacifier which opened a new location not far from our house and as it turns out the store manager is someone I knew in high school! We'll see how it goes using it on a regular basis but since high chairs are so big and unattractive (except for the Stokke Tripp Trapp and the Nuna Zaaz. Those are so pretty and so pricey!!) I'm not sure why more people don't use a smaller option like this.