James has been in this world for 1/2 of a year

 I know I say this every month but I really can't believe James has been here for half a year already. It is going to be no time and we're going to be celebrating his 1st birthday. These are the most precious days of my life. 

Height and Weight: 17 lbs 12 oz (55%) and 26.5 inches (45%)...I'm proud to say his head is down to the 91% :) Started size 3 diapers today. 

Health: Health is great. I'm proud we've made it to 6 months without any sickness! I think breast feeding has a lot to do with that. (And that he stays home with me or my parents and doesn't get out into the germy world much.)

Sleep: Sleep is awful. It got better and then got worse again. Bad, bad, bad. I am one tired Mama. We had his 6 month appt yesterday and I talked to the doctor, in combination with sleep books I've been reading, and it's time to sleep train this little one. We are going to do the Ferber method and Austin and I decided we will hold hands in bed while we do it. Poor little guy, he is going to be a mess when Mama doesn't come rescue him. But he's got to learn, I've got to stop and we've got to make some real sleep progress. He is totally on a newborn schedule (up every 3 hours) and that is NOT necessary for a 6 month old.  Pray for us that we have some success and minimal tears!

found him under his crib. excellent. 

Clothes:  6 month PJ's and 6-9 month outfits. He is pretty much right on track with his age and clothing size.

Social: He is the smiliest baby in the world and I LOVE it. He has started really babbling and it's so cute. He is totally talking and saying words and it's so cute to watch. I feel like he changes every single day. When he is in the tub he just talks and sings and splashes. So darn sweet!

Diet: We have introduced solid food! Woohoo! It is so much fun. He's still nursing about 6 times a day and eating two meals - late morning and early evening. We started with avocado and he loved it. He's now had butternut squash, blueberry applesauce, sweet potatoes and broccoli. He LOVED broccoli. He eats so well and sometimes fusses when it's over. He is still nursing well too and I'm proud we've made it to 6 months. At 2 weeks I honestly didn't think we would make it another day, let alone to 6 months. It's definitely a ton of work but I think it's so worth it  - here's to 6 more!

Baby Gear Love: He loves his jumparoo, his play mat, his new bath ring, baby paper, Sophie the giraffe and the O-ball. He is obsessed with cords! We obviously don't let him play with them but he gets so excited when he sees/touches one.

Crying: James has stopped crying when he gets in his car seat. He seems totally content in there now. He cries when he's tired and lately he's just been fussy. I think it's the 6 month developmental leap and I'm hoping this fussy period is over soon. He cries in the middle of the night when he wakes up and wants his mama to get him back to sleep! Wahhh!

Likes: He loves being outside, bath time, eating, when we blow on his belly and kiss his neck, being thrown up in the air, strolling in his BOB, sitting up on his own and trying to pet Molly and Baxter.

 

Dislikes: He is starting to notice when I put him down and leave the room and he isn't a fan. He likes to be held or given attention at all times.  

Milestones: He can sit up now and I love it - I think he is so cute sitting there all by himself!

Baby food...nom nom nom!

Solid Food. What a big milestone my sweet baby has achieved! He is now eating real food, well kind of, and enjoying more than just mommy milk. As of October 3rd James had his first experience with food. We started with avocado and he LOVED it. He was kicking his feet and yelping with excitement after his first taste. We did avocado for a few days and then let him have chunks of banana. I gave him a big chunk to hold and let him gum it and he got it down to almost nothing. He's now had butternut squash and blueberry applesauce too and loves that as well - what can I say? My boy loves to eat!

This weekend I set up some time to make loads and loads of baby food. I wanted to make a bunch and freeze it so I didn't have to think about it and I could just pop it in his bowl each day. I wanted to share with the internet world how I make his food and encourage all you mamas to do the same - it is so. easy. and SO much more affordable than those baby food tubs!! What a rip off!

Not only is it super easy and affordable but I also love knowing exactly what he is eating, organic fruits and veggies without a bunch of preservatives and crap that comes in the store bought baby food.

First thing I made to freeze was butternut squash. I spent a whooping $3 on a butternut squash and got almost 25 meals for James. I cut the squash in half, took out the seeds and strings and laid it in the dish with about an inch of water. 350 degrees for 45 minutes and it came out nice and mushy. I scooped the squash into a bowl then used my emulsion blender to puree it. I added a little water as I pureed to get it to a perfect consistency. Viola!

This weekend I made carrots, broccoli, peas, sweet potatoes, pears and blueberry applesauce. Yum! 

For the carrots I peeled and chopped them then placed them in a double broiler to steam them, then pureed them with the emulsion blender. Once they were nice and pureed I put them in the freezer trays to freeze. I also put a few in cups to have for meals this week. Once the cubes were frozen (about 5 hours) I plopped them into freezer bags and into the freezer they went. They are good in the freezer for about 3 months. 

Broccoli - same thing. Chop, steam, emlusion blender and then into freezer trays to freeze. The broccoli took a little longer to freeze (weird?) but once it was frozen I put that in a ziplock freezer bag as well. Easy as pie! 

Next I made some blueberry applesauce! Yummy! I almost wanted to eat it myself. I used 3 gala apples, peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes. Then put them in the pot with 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of blueberries. I cooked it on medium until the apples were tender. Then I used the emulsion blender to puree it and divided it up into food cups to freeze. 

 

Aaaand at this point I got sick of taking pictures. :) 

I also made sweet potatoes - done very similar to the butternut squash. Put them in the oven for about an hour and then peeled and pureed. I added quite a bit of water, maybe 1 cup for 2 large sweet potatoes, until the puree was at the consistency I wanted. I put those into freezer trays as well. 

Pears - very similar to the apples. I peeled those and put them on the stove with a little water. They took much longer to soften than the apples, probably about 30 minutes. Once they were tender I pureed them and divided them into freezer cubes. 

I also made green peas. I bought a bag of frozen peas, put them in the microwave covered with 1 cup of water. Then pureed and put into freezer trays. 

My freezer is stocked and I love it. I spent about $15 on food at the grocery store and one afternoon and have probably 100 meals for James.