Presley: 5 Mom&Dad: 2

That is the score from this week. Presley is in the lead. We are starting over tonight and hoping for a comeback. I am pretty sure that teething is the root of our little sleeping problem. So, after a little research, I bought some Hyland's Teething Tablets. They are a combination of natural ingredients that are supposed to relieve fussiness, pain, and restlessness from teething. I have heard from a couple other moms that they work and the reviews seem to be promising. I am also reading Sleep Sense, haven't gotten very far; I mean when do I have time to read? Hoping to pick up a few tricks. Stay tuned for updates!

Wondering what Presley is up to?

I found my feet.....and I really like them

I love this picture. It's the little things, like learning you have 2 feet and you can play with them.

Presley discovered that she can pull on her feet this week. Every time we put her on her back, those hands are grabbing her feet. 

She is learning to sit up too. Last weekend she was still pretty wobbly, this weekend she is much more stable. She will sit unassisted and reach for toys in front of her. 

I try to have the boppy around her because I am deathly afraid that she will fall to the side or backward and bonk her head on the wood floors. I would NOT win mom of the year if that happened. Oh wait, pretty sure I lost my chance at that award when I (we) was putting her in her car sear completely wrong ( I will tell you that whole story one day), or when I got her stuck in the car seat, or when I bonked her head on the door knob, or the millions of times she has worn her headband as a blindfold. Oh wow, I could go on forever. I should make a post about all the funny things we have done as 'newbies'.

She definitely focuses on one thing and won't take her eye off it until it is in her mouth. Everything goes in this girl's mouth. Again, the teething thing.

Sitting pretty in pink

 And closing with one of my favorite pictures of late. I hardly get any pictures of her laughing. She sees my big, black lens and gets real serious. Clearly, I am learning how to trick her.

TRAINED

Looking at my previous posts, I realized I have made it seem that we have this whole parenthood thing down to a science. Let me tell you, we absolutely do not....just when we think we know what we are doing, something changes. And now, this little gal is beginning to train us! These past few weeks, she has been waking up during the night about 3-4 times a week.  We are really good about taking turns going into her room, patting her, talking softly to her, turning on her sleep sheep, and trying to sooth her back to sleep. Usually this works for a few minutes, but we are starting to notice that as soon as we walk away...she's awake, crying again! There are many mornings that she ends up in between us after 4am. (Yes, we are guilty) We hate this, we do not want to be 'those' people that have their kid sleeping in there bed...for many reasons. I love cuddling with her, but it isn't safe or a good habit to get into. Neither of us sleep well when she is there because we are only half asleep. However, Presley seems to sleep wonderfully. She is seriously training us. Last night, she and I slept on the couch because that was the only way she would go back to sleep. See...trained. We are hoping that this is just a short 'stage' and she will be back to her all night sleeping soon. It's pretty tough to do our life on little sleep, but don't get me wrong, it's oh so worth it.  I wonder what tonight will bring? Any tips and advice from experienced trained parents is greatly appreciated!! :)


In other news:  We had a great, relaxing weekend. We actually went on a date...without Ms. Presley. She had a great time with GiGi and Gramps. It's surprising that we don't get out more just the two of us. What with 2 sets of grandparents, 4 aunts & uncles, and many other willing babysitters all within a 20 mile radius. Honesty, we just like spending time at home.  We are waiting for the ground to dry up from all the rain so they can begin the foundation for our house. Should have something to look at within 2 weeks. (YAY)

Official 5 Month Post

After a long week of sleepless nights, runny nose, watery eyes, and awful cough we are finally on the mend over here. There is nothing worse than a sick baby. Presley is feeling much better, sleeping much better, and eating like she used to. 

Presley's Stats

 Weight: 17 pounds

Eating habits: Takes a 7 ounce bottle or nurses 5 times a day. Eats an ounce of rice cereal at breakfast and then has a veggie and rice cereal at dinner. So far she has tried sweet potatoes and butternut squash. Both are 'likes.' We will start other veggies & fruits later this month.

Sleeping Habits: Sleeps through the night 8:30pm-6:30 or 7 (usually). She gets to come in our big bed around 6am and cuddle with daddy while mommy gets ready. (see picture below) 

Takes an hour and a half nap in the morning and afternoon. She has been on a really good schedule with naps for the last couple weeks.

Morning time with daddy

Tricks: Rolls over, sits unassisted for a couple minutes, does baby push ups on her tummy & tries to scoot, chews on everything, pulls toys towards her mouth, looks in the direction of noises, finds her feet, loves to look at books, makes all sorts of new noises, giggles

Personality: Such a sweetheart! Presley is such a calm, laid back baby. She sticks to her routine and is just as content as can be.

Look what I can do!

Nobody said this food thing would be clean

"Butternut Squash is my favorite!"

Happy 5 Months Baby Girl

That's right...5 months! That's almost half a year. Presley is growing so fast and getting to be such a big girl. I will post her 'stats' with her pictures this weekend. Normally, I am really good about doing pictures on her 'day'. However, she is a tad under the weather today. She has been fighting this nasty cold all week and today has been the worst yet. We went to the doctor to confirm that it is just a cold and we were instructed to treat the symptoms and keep her comfortable. How are you supposed to keep a 5 month old with a snotty nose, icky cough, watery eyes, and zero appetite comfortable? We are trying.....saline, nose frida, elevated mattress, steamy baths, baby vicks, humidifier, boogy wipes. Exhausting. Praying that our sweet girl starts feeling better tomorrow.  If not, it might be back to the doctor!

Doesn't that break your heart? This cold needs to leave very soon. I need my happy baby back!

On another note.....She LOVED the sweet potatoes! They are going on the list of "likes."

On another note......We are officially under contract on a new home in our neighborhood. So this will soon turn into a 'first time home builder' blog. That should be interesting, huh? It's going to be such a great experience for us.  We're very excited and there will be many updates as we watch our first house go up. Estimated move in: Beginning of July

Nutricious & Delicious

I have had it in my head that I was going to make Presley's baby food for a couple months now. I had read a lot about it when I was on maternity leave and had learned as much as I could about the tips and tricks to making healthy food for my baby. I found a great website, wholesomebabyfood.com....it's pretty much the bible as far as homemade baby food goes. 
I decided to make her food because:

• Anything that can sit in a jar for months, can't be good for you
• It is a lot cheaper
• Organic
• Free of any additives and extra stuff she doesn't need
• Introduces her to the 'real' tastes of foods right from the start

      Now I will say that Presley has yet to try any of this! I am just practicing the art of making it. Trying out different methods of pureeing to see which is easiest and most efficient. Efficient being a key word here....I am a working mom. Personally, I think the butternut squash and sweet potato that I whipped up last night are pretty delicious. Presley will be the final judge and I will report back to let you know how she liked it!

My first attempt at Butternut Squash Puree and Sweet Potato Puree

Start by cutting the squash in half and laying them face down in about an inch of water. Wrap the sweet potatoes in foil and roast all veggies at 400 degrees for about 1 hour. Then scoop out the 'meat' into a blender. You could also use a food processor. I might try that next time just to see. Blender worked very well though.

  

Puree using liquid to thin until you have the right consistency. I used breastmilk at first, but found it was taking quite a bit to thin it out so I used a few ounces of water.

 

Scoop into ice cube trays to freeze. This is the perfect serving size for baby. 

After freezing overnight, store in bags freezer bags. These will be good for 1 month. All you do is pop one out, thaw it and voila'.....dinner is served!

From one squash and 2 medium sweet potatoes I got about 50 servings of vegetables. Which would last us just about a month right now. Not to bad for $3.00 worth of vegetables.

I am so super excited about creating yummy delicious creations for little P!