Product Update

I may have mentioned before, but we battle eczema and very dry skin with Ethan.  I have tried numerous products, including Hydrocortisone cream, and nothing works.

I was using Dimpleskins Sweet Cheeks Body Balm, and, although it really helps, its darn expensive!  A little tin for $13 doesn't go a long way, and in my opinion, wasteful.  I use it on his cheeks and the bad spots, but for an all-over moisturizer, it just doesn't float my boat.  Plus it's a bit on the greasy side, so I don't like staining his clothes with it either.

So I was using the Bare Organics Healing Balm for a moisturizer.  Again, a bit greasy, but does soak into the skin within 5 minutes, but we don't always have 5 minutes when the Little Mister is tired and hungry lol.

Well we went states side yesterday at good 'ol Target, and I found the brand Shea Moisture.  She has a line for babies.  It's organic, pure, natural and formulated for Eczema prone skin.  SO we have been using it and I love it.  I have the soap bar and the body butter moisturizer.  It smells wonderful too and has some good essential oils - along with Argan oil.   And not very greasy.  Rubs right into the skin.

During baths, we still do the warm, not hot bath, and I wash him every 2-3 days.  His hands and knees always get a wash now due to the constant crawling.

For his bum, I am still using Bare Organics Baby Balm, but only for night time.  During the day I have added Gro-Via Magic Stick.  It smells soooo good and it's organic and provides a very thin coverage.  He is not left long enough in a wet diaper to even think about getting a rash, but I still like to be on the safe side!

Other than that, I don't use much else on him.  I think the less the better, but due to his Eczema, we need to take a few extra precautions.

What my days are like these days...

Ethan is 7.5 months old.  He is a busy baby!  He is so happy and curious, it's fantastic.  But by 8pm, I am WIPED OUT!  Here is what a typical day of ours looks like:

7:10am - Rise and Shine! I hear little squeals and babble and peak into Ethan's bedroom to find him playing with his soother, toy or toes.  When he sees me he give me a huge grin, then scrambles to find his soother so he can put it in his mouth and look at me.  I'm not sure why he needs to do that, but I let him :0)

7:15am - I feed him and change his diaper, and then we go downstairs to start our day.  He goes in his Exersaucer while I brush my teeth, put my contacts in and grab something quick to eat.

(sorry no photos this month of him in the Exersaucer...sad face) 

7:45am - Floor time.  Ethan crawls around the house while I chase him.  He plays with his Fisher Price Sing Along Stage toy, plus various other toys.

9:00am - Nap Time.  He gets another diaper change, I nurse him, and he goes down for a nap.  These days, he sleeps for a minimum of 1.75 hours.  It's great....really great.

During this time, I clean the house, fix something proper to eat, shower, and go on the computer.

11:45am - Wake Up - Nurse - Diaper Change - Lunch (usually some fruit and a Mum-Mum).  If I have to go out, this is the time we go do errands or visits.  If not, we just play again.

2:30pm - Nap Time.  Same routine as the 9:00am section ;0).

During this break nap, I usually prepare dinner, tidy up a bit more, have a snack, and do some scrapbooking, if I have time.

4:15pm - Wake up - Nurse - Diaper Change.  Play time.  Usually at this time, dad comes home and takes over for a bit so I can head to the gym, or go shopping alone, or whatever.  

6:00pm - Nurse - Dinner.  I always nurse before giving solids since milk is his main source of nutrition. He is now finally eating the foods I made for him - we are over the texture thing.  So he gets a vegetable and sometimes meat (chicken).  

6:30pm - Play time.  We have quiet play time to wind him down before bed.  Ryan cleans the kitchen and I play with Ethan.

7:00pm - Bath Time.

7:20pm - Nurse - Bedtime.  If possible, I try to fit in a book to read, but he is so tired at this point, he just wants milk and his bed.

7:30pm  - I usually do laundry, diapers, clean up the toys, shower, relax.

10:00pm - Pumping.  I have been pumping every night for the last month at 10pm.  I finally have a nice little stock pile of milk in the freezer.  I was really running low, and then wasn't responding to the pump, but finally, it's taken charge and I can pump one feeding every night to store.

11:00pm - Bed

2:30am - Up for a feed.  Thankfully these last a maximum of 7 minutes.  So the extra 3 I use the washroom, get a drink and go back to bed.

5:30am - Sometimes he wakes at this time.  I'm sure I can start working on eliminating this feeding because it doesn't really take much.  It's just the effort that is required to eliminate it :0|.

And 7:30am comes again, and we start all over again.... :0)

So that is my day.  It's very busy, very tiring, and soooo rewarding.  Being a mom is the best gift that I could ever receive and I wouldn't change a single thing about it or Ethan.

xoxo

A Day at the Winery

Today we headed out to Viewpoint Winery.  Ethan is pretty good on the drives out to the county so we decided to go for lunch.  It's a good 40 minute drive, but he got pretty fussy during the last 10 minutes because he was hungry.  He didn't nurse before we left so I was expecting it.  But after he ate, he was happier than a bug in a rug :D

 Always so happy...

 Look at that view!

 Mama & Baby

 Cheers - we found 2 wonderful wines and bought 2 bottles to bring home!

 Ethan now loves water and is learning how to swallow it better every day.  He always has to have what I'm having, but he slobbers in it, so I always tend to bring one of his own glasses to share my drink with :)

Big boy glass.... no he just won't drink out of a sippy cup so the glasses will have to do.

 Gone are the days where he's contented to just sit with us.  Now we have to bounce him, or let him jump and do many things to keep him occupied.

 Our lovely perch lunch

Ethan's exciting Mum-Mum

On the way home, he fell asleep, but only got about a half hour nap, so we sure did have a cranky baby that just wanted to go to sleep at about 6pm.  I managed to keep him up until 7:15 but it was definitely not easy!

That was pretty much our day in a nutshell.  It was fun but it's definitely tiring.

I'll update soon...

But for now, here is a few photos for your viewing pleasure :)

Wow it's been a while!

Sorry I have been so MIA.... we have just been so busy, that when I have a chance to sit down, the last thing I want to do is go on the computer!

We have had lots of progress in the last month.  Ethan is a champ at eating solids.  We are focusing more on the purees right now.  He seems to do very well with them.  We still do some baby led but he is not interested in very many items.  He is starting to grab the spoon after I load it up with puree and does well.  Maybe that means he is not ready, as the "books" say, but the fact that he LOVES eating makes me second guess that.  It is to the point that if we are eating in front of him, we HAVE to give him something.  I try to keep the Baby Mum-Mum's on hand, but sometimes I forget and then we are in trouble. I truly think he will be a "I wanna try everything at least once" kinda baby.  I'm so thankful for that because, if you know me, you know I love to cook.

I think I've mentioned before, I was making his food, and he wouldn't eat it.  So I tried baby food jars (organic) and he loved them.  Well I started to make his food again and he is eating them well.  I think it was a texture thing because jarred baby food is super smooth and mine is not.  So I guess this is good for transitioning from puree to slightly textured, to lumps.

He is also drinking water now - directly from a cup!  He needs assistance holding it, but he is doing well.  He clearly does not like sippy cups as he throws it on the floor, but give that boy a cup and he's all over it :D

We have upgraded to the shopping cart seat at the grocery store.  He loves that too, but he needs to be entertained.  My mom bought him a cute shopping cart cover that has some toys attached to it - of course he has no interest in those though!  So far he has sat in a buggy at our regular grocery store and Costco.

Crawling is going well.  He isn't quite there yet.  He will move his legs, cinch up, then flatten out, then start the process again.  I'm definitely not in a rush for him to get moving just yet!  I feel it will be coming in the next couple weeks.  He is also starting to go from laying down to sitting up.

I took him to an Early Years Centre yesterday and he enjoyed it.  Now that he is older and can sit up, he can play with toys and watch other kids.  I met my cousin with her 7 month old and a friend with her newborn.  Ethan and my cousins son interacted a bit.  It was cute.  I think I will be bringing him more often now that I know he enjoys it.

We are pretty set on naps now.  He doesn't have a "schedule" per say, but definitely a routine.  He always goes down about 1.5 to 2 hours after he wakes up.  and then again between 2 and 3pm.  He naps for either 40 minutes or 2 hours in the morning and then same in the afternoon.  So if he naps 2 hours in the morning, he will generally nap 40 minutes in the afternoon, or vice versa.  It works out well for us.

We have been spending a lot of time in my parents pool.  He is great in the water.  Seems to be more confident each time.  We have this floatie thing he sits in.  I'm amazed at how fast he grew because when we first put him in (June), he was too little, and now he can sit up like he is supposed to in it.

 He also loves what we call his "hot tub".

If you see a pattern, this kid is ALWAYS SMILING and always happy.  He just seems to go with whatever we do with him.  It's great! He can definitely put you in a good mood :D

So that's what's going on with us.  I can't believe he is already 7 months old!  

I have been having fun with my Mac's iMovie (movie maker).  Here is another one I did with him in his new duck bath.  This is great for when babies sit up because they can play and they have room to stretch their legs....may not be so good when he is starting to stand though!  This was for his grandparents).  Enjoy!