Adventures in baby feeding...

When I was pregnant with Norah, I decided that I was going to do the best that I could to give her the most wholesome food possible. Good eating habits begin early on, so I really wanted to get her used to healthy food. We went straight from milk to veggies and fruits, bypassing the white, refined rice cereal. I am not one of the those people that gets all anal about organic, but when choosing between pre-packaged food, or making my own baby food from fresh fruits and veggies, it seemed like a no-brainer. Plus, it is so much cheaper (which means more money to spend on etsy.com or at Gymboree, my two weaknesses)

I highly recommend www.wholesomebabyfood.com for anyone interested in making food for their baby. This site has lots of great recipes and tips on introducing solids, menus and how to do BLW (baby led weaning). Making baby food is super simple- steam, puree and freeze (sounds like an infomercial, right?) Here we are in action:



Norah's stash: bananas (top, kinda brown-ish), pears (light yellow), winter squash (dark yellow), green beans (green in the bag) and peas (green in the ice cube trays).


As of now, she uses most food as a facial treatment rather than nourishment, but we are getting there...slowly.





Trying BLW...she can get food into hands, and hands to mouth. We are still working on food INTO mouth...



And finally, I have to show off the new stylin' seat cover from Sewplicity:

Sew what?

As many of you know, I enjoy doing a little sewing in my spare time. I've made lots of home decor items (window treatments, pilliows, bed skirts, etc.) but I've ventured into a new arena...kids clothes. Norah, as well as the recent rash of babies among my friends, have given me an excuse to learn a new skill.

Here's some of my recent work.




For Norah

For my friend's little girl
>

A future gift (I'll of course make a matching one for Norah ;0) This one will be reverseable..

Little Clothes for a Little Girl

Norah's coming home outfit- Ducky gown and hat and monogrammed blanky


The squirrel onsie- what every well-dressed legacy will be wearing to recruitment!


I found this on etsy.com and thought it was so cute, so I ordered it

Nursery Pictures...Still a Work in Progress

Looking in from the door towards the closet that Brad put in (he's so handy).


Close-up of the window treatments


Crib wall


Close up of her name (dark green square with light pink solid border and dark pink dashed border. The letters are light pink and mounted on a brown shelf)



The crib and bedding (minus mattress)


Changing station and hutch



We still need to order the chair, get the mattress and finish the closet so there is a clothes rack and shelves. I can't wait to start filling it with baby stuff ;0)

More Nursery Work...

This weekend, we found the perfect chair for Norah's room. The style is super cute AND super comfy. You'd be surprised how many nursery chairs we sat in this weekend were NOT comfortable, I mean, what's the point of picking an uncomfortable chair to sit in at 2 a.m. feedings? Our new friends at Baby Junction in Acworth were a tremendous help- I highly recommend visiting them if you're in Atlanta.

Here's the chair:


And here's the fabric:


I made Brad go to the fabric store with me (which he NEVER does b/c of the flashbacks he has from the many trips to Lewis Textile with his mom as a little boy) and we picked out a really cute pink, yellow, green and white striped fabric for the curtains. They'll be lined in a pink and white houndstooth. He was really disappointed to learn (as we were leaving) that there was a "customer lounge" with a TV, sports magazines and leather couches (AKA a man-retreat) where he could have sat while I looked at fabric, but I think he enjoys helping pick out stuff for Norah's room.

If there is some of the houndstooth fabric leftover, I think I'll make Lila a bed in Norah's room. Brad has it in his mind that she'll want to sleep in there to "protect" her little sister. He also saw a little sign at the fabric store that said "Sisters make the best friends" that he wanted to get to hang over Lila's bed.

All of the fabric is cut, I just need to break out the sewing machine.

I can't wait to post the finished pictures...

Just call me Donatella (Versace, that is)

As you know, I am tall. And even when I'm not pregnant, I struggle to find pants that are long enough for my legs (I know, real tough problem to have is what my short sistas are thinking). However, I have discovered that a 34+ inseam and a baby belly just doesn't make for fun times at the maternity stores.

I have basically lived in dresses and my old pants unzipped with a Bella band (the greatest invention EVER). A few weekends ago, I finally broke down and went looking for maternity work pants. Big mistake. The day ended at store #5 with me in tears. So Brad asked whether I could rig something up with my handy sewing machine. I swear, sometimes the man is a genius (I said SOMETIMES...;0)

The next day, I sat down with a pair of pants, the machine and a bella band. After 30 minutes of blood, sweat and tears (and maybe a few curse words), I had created something great...





I cut the top off the pants just below where my belly starts, and up around over my butt in the back. Then, I sewed a Bella band to the top of the pants so I can wear the band up or down. I have done several pairs of work pants, and compared to the one pair of maternity work pants I have purchased, these puppies rock! Here's a pair of jeans that I did this past weekend:



I am thinking about selling my services to other soon-to-be mommies who are also struggling to find maternity pants...maybe I can become independently wealthy providing this service to my fellow preggos. At least I have pants to wear to work now...