Eat, Play, Eat, Sleep, Repeat

When Durham was 2-months old I posted about our "routine"... I preferred to delusionaly call it a routine so that people wouldn't give me dagger eyes that I had my 2-month old on a "schedule" but, to each their own, and it has really worked well for us. Durham was thriving on his eat, play, sleep schedule until he hit 7 months and he slowly started dropping the third nap. (yes, three naps a day until 7 months, I am blessed). I was more than ready for it though, many times I had told bestie that I couldn't wait till he went to 2 naps so I would have more awake time with him during the day. When he had dropped the third nap for 4 days in a row (about a week ago) I started him on his new "schedule" and now he is in the grove and we are all loving it.

We subscribe to the rule of 'never wake a sleeping baby' so if he sleeps past 7am, so be it. If he sleeps past 12:30pm for his morning nap, so be it. We just adjust the schedule back some. It doesn't hurt anything it just means he'll be up a little later with us. :)

I just thought I would share because I really enjoy knowing/seeing what other babies are doing that are Durham's age, and I now know that there are a few momma's that have a baby Durham's age because they emailed and told me about them when I decided to go private! I'm so happy to have them here! ::waves hi mommies::

We have a crawler!

Durham has been doing the 'up on all fours rocking back and forth then lunging and rug burning his face' thing for a few weeks now. The this past week he started moving a leg or picking his hands up but not all together and not really going anywhere. Then bestie had the idea to pull the old Hansel and Gretel trick and make a trail of breadcrumbs (puffs). Worked like a charm. He crawled along and gobbled them up.

Look at my little crawling baby!

Going Private

Hello to my 250 followers and the other 5,000 or so people that come by that have contributed to the almost 200,000 views my little blog has had. I want to thank you for your encouragement, your love and your prayers as I blogged about our engagement, our wedding, our journey to get pregnant, the birth of our amazing baby boy and his first 7 months. I love being part of a blogging community that, for the most part, has inspired me to be a better wife, mother and friend.

Due to the intimate content of this blog, 

my passion to journal memories for our family

I have decided to make this blog private effective

Wednesday July 25th, 2012.

I would be thrilled if you wanted to still read, watch Durham grow up and keep in touch. If I have your email address, I have already added you to the restricted readers list and there should be no lap in your access to this blog. If you think I don't have your email, or would like to be added to the restricted readers list, please email me at pamela.eaton@gmail.com with your email address. You will have to be signed in to your google account to read.

I apologize for any inconvience this may cause, but I am looking forward to feeling safe and confident posting to a more intimate audience of people that I trust. Thanks!

Feeding Durham

A few people have asked "what is Durham eating now"... 

the answer is: Just about everything!

Obviously this little baby is not starving. Those thighs speak for themselves. And while he is not eating EVERYTHING, he does have quite a variety on his list of allowed foods. I've been using this website Wholesome Baby Food from the beginning and it really made it easy to know what was/was not recommended at each stage of his development. We started making and offering him food (other than his bottle) when he turned 6-months old and he has been such a good eater from the start! Since we waited until he was 6-months to start, we just started with the 4-month foods on the chart and worked our way down, he'll be 8-months old next week and he's had everything except dairy and protein in the 4-6 & 6-8 month charts.

I have this printed out from the wholesome baby food website and hanging on my fridge, when he has finished a food (we do the 3-day rule) we cross it off the list and start incorporating something new. So far he has had no allergic reactions and he'll eat anything we put in front of him. He does have his favorites like bananas and peas, and things that are not his favorites like green beans but he still eats it all.

I do choose to make his food myself, I enjoy doing it and I feel it is a healthy way for him to try flavors and textures that you don't find in store bought food. 

I did buy Gerber Prunes the other day... I couldn't figure out why I couldn't find fresh prunes (I've never eaten one) until my MIL told me they are made from plums... then she made sure I knew that raisins are made from grapes. yeah. I knew that one. :)

Another great resource, if you are looking into making your baby some delicious home made food, is this post from styleberry blog. Not only are the pictures stunning, but I love her passion around feeding and nourishing her baby. beautiful.

You might not even have to buy anything to get started... a few ice cube trays, a blender or food processor (this is the one I use) and some organic fruits and veggies! Now that Durham is trying to master the pincher grasp, we are just cubing his fresh fruits for him to eat with his hands. it is so fun!!

I know this route is not for everyone, I just wanted to share our experience and how positive it has been. Enjoy!

Six Flags over Georgia

Friday we went to Six Flags.

yes. all of us.

For the past few years Chris's parents have taken everyone to six flags. The years past have involved broken rides, 40' weather, lots of throw up, and crying kids. I know, it's hard to imagine why we keep going, but we do. This year, was the absolute best year yet. It was slightly overcast, warm but not too hot. The kids were angles, all four of them ages 7, 5, almost 2 and 7 months. We took turns watching the kids and riding rides, ate $15 chicken fingers and $5 ice cream, and just enjoyed all the company. I'm excited for next year when Durham will be around Ava's age... this was her first time to ride the kiddy rides and she loved it! 

and seriously, watch this video...hysterical!