A BIG morning smile (as usual!)
Followed by immediately rolling over, grabbing the closest thing (a pillow in this case) and CHEWING on it- pretty sure she's teething!
Two "big girl" things happened today for my Annabelle. We moved her crib into her bedroom and she tasted her first solid food!
Phew! Talk about a lot of emotions for Mommy! I know a lot of people do both of these things a little sooner than we are... But that doesn't make it easier. I have greatly enjoyed the sleeping/feeding arrangements we have had for the last 6 months of her perfect little life.
First off- let's talk food! I have enjoyed so much being able to breastfeed Annabelle. It is a very comforting feeling knowing that all that her little body needed to survive came right from me. What an amazing thing! I originally said I wanted to "make it" six months with the breastfeeding. In the beginning, I honestly thought that would be a huge challenge. For anyone who doesn't know- breastfeeding is ridiculously hard at first. I never would have imagined how something that is talked about as so "natural" would be so dang hard! It was frustrating and disappointing and just plain painful! Snd there were many times that I thought I would have to give up. But as we got the hang of it- I became so in love with it. The bonding is indescribable. And even now, 6 months later, I still enjoy every single time she nurses. It's so nice to have an excuse a few times a day to just sit, quietly and stare at her. A couple weeks ago we had to introduce a little bit of formula. I am not able to pump ad much as I need to while at work and my "freezer stash" just wasn't keeping up with what she needed during the day. So we have been mixing formula with breastmilk fir her bottles for daycare. At first I was bummed about it, really bummed. I felt bad that I couldn't give her what she needed. But right from the first bottle of formula- she took it without hesitation- and that made me feel so much better. It wasn't a fight at all. She's a trooper, my girl, she goes with the flow.
In other food news- Annabelle had her first taste if solids today! We started her with some baby rice cereal.
I'm not really sure how she felt about it. A lot of it ended up on her bib-probably more than she actually ate! kept making faces if disgust but then she would also keep leaning in toward the spoon. I think she was more interested in chewing on the spoon (I'm pretty sure she's teething). Either way, it was a good first attempt. I think I'm going to try giving her some pureed sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving! I'll let you know how that goes!
Here's a video clip Grandpa took! (if I can figure out how to get a video on here- never done it before!)
Now- as for the sleeping arrangements!
Tonight is the very first night that Belle will not be sleeping right next to Mommy and Daddy's bed. That's right we moved her crib into her own bedroom! I think I'm going to have a harder time with it than she will! I am going to miss having her right next to me! I know a lot of people do this sooner- but having her on our room and sometimes on our bed, has really been great for us. I always felt I slept better when I could just roll over and peek at her. Plus when she would wake up hungry in the middle of the night I could easily reach over to pull her into bed, and nurse her in bed as we both fell back asleep. We don't co-sleep all the time- she has always gone to bed in her own bed- but in the middle of the night, it sometimes allows all of us to get the most sleep, plus I love cuddling her! But lately we have felt it's time to move her crib- we wake each other up with every move, she wakes us up with every whine, roll and grunt :) So we did it- her crib is now in her big girl room! She went to bed at 8pm and had been sleeping pretty well- it's now 11:30 pm and she's in my arms on the couch, nursing. I def think she's teething- she's been super clingy all day, lots of drooling and lots of chewing (on everything!) so between her being in her own room and the teething- tonight could be a long night! I'm probably going to be up all night- waiting for her to wake up just so I can go in to her room, scoop her up and bring her to my bed to snuggle!
Now that her crib is in her room, I LOVE her room! When a woman is pregnant- she dreams of and puts lots of work into the nursery for her baby. I never got the chance to really make my dream nursery come to life until now. When I was pregnant/she was born- we lived in a one bedroom apt, plus we knew we were moving to FL so I didn't have the chance to do her nursery then. Since the move things for her nursery have slowly been coming together. And now, besides a few things (like a rug) it us done. Since I finished the room earlier today I have constantly been going in to look at it. It makes me feel so good! I know Belle is 6 months old, but sometimes it's still so hard to believe she's real, that she's actually here, she's ours and she's here to stay. I don't know, it's like I feel that her having her own room kind of makes it more real in a way. Like it's her permanent place in our home, in our life. And I love it.
A few pics to show the progression of her room!
One thing that is going to make this night ( and all future nights) easier? Technology! I might sound extremely pathetic, but I am in love without new baby monitor! We just bought it on Sunday- it's amazing! This is not your Grandmothers baby monitor, folks, it's a video monitor! Haha! I used one of these when I was a Nanny a few years ago and thought it was cool, but never could have fully appreciated how awesome it is until now. As a Mommy I always worry about my baby girl- being able to see and hear her from wherever I am in the house us truly comforting and absolutely amazing! Even when her room is completely dark, we can see her! Haha- I know I'm sounding very crazy right now, but I love this thing.
She's sleeping in here...
But I can see and hear her from any other room- she's basically right at my finger tips!
Or! I can hook up the monitor to the TV of were sitting in the livingroom, listening to music, blogging, etc, and watch her on the big screen. I can see her gorgeous face and watch her chubby belly rise and fall with every beautiful breath- something every parent knows is very comforting! Plus if were watching tv, we can watch her picture-in-picture! We got the Samsung SmartVIEW- and I am in love!
I will let you all know how out first "night apart" goes!
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Eve! My sister-in-law, Camille is arriving for the week, and I am getting a very quick visit from a good friend, Tenny, and her mom. They are flying in to Tampa to visit her grandmother for Thanksgiving and I am highjacking Tenny for the night! So, awesome sister-in-law plus amazing friend (plus a little "piece of home") makes tomorrow an awesome day! I am going to try to post tomorrow- bur if I can't- I hope you all have a very, very-
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
I hope it's an adventure you'll remember and cherish forever! <3
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