Baby does what?

When I was pregnant with the twins, I did some reading/researching. I didn't read as much as I should have most likely but I locked on to some ideas that I wanted to implement with the kids after they were born. One being Baby Led Weaning (BLW). The premise is, you skip the purees and serve the baby whatever you're having off your plate. And then- let them go at it, exploring the textures and allowing them to feed themselves. That way they become more adventurous eaters and develop their self feeding skills as well as regulate how much they want to eat and when. Sounded good in theory, but in reality what was it like?
I asked a couple of friends who'd attempted BLW and got mixed results. One friend who tried it, said she was scared to death of choking every time her daughter put something in her mouth. In fact, she had to do CPR on several occasions. Whoa.
Another friend said she thought about it but knew their daycare wouldn't be on board so she was forced to do purees during the week and out of convenience just continued it on the weekends as well.
A third friend I asked had an AMAZING experience with it. Her little was gnawing on chicken legs at 7 months old! She mentioned she never once had to do CPR at any point. Babies are equipped with a fabulous gag reflex that pretty much forces them to spit out anything thats too big. This gag reflex starts out in the middle of the tongue in babies and then slowly recedes to the back of the tongue as we get older.
There's a big difference between gagging and choking. Don't get me wrong, gagging is super scary and loud. But its perfectly normal and allows the baby to clear his own airway. You only need to intervene if they're silent and can't breathe. This is an awesome infographic thats really helped me know when to panic or not!

I really wanted to do BLW with my kiddos but I had the first time mom jitters so I started out really slow. Giving them a few strips of things like avocado and sweet potato but also smushing them a little first. Looking back I wish I had more confidence in my babes and allowed them to learn it for themselves. I also did some purees with them and sent those with them to daycare.

First bite of Avocado!

Smushed peas

Now they're 9 months old and are champs! I cook all sorts of stuff for them: quinoa, pancakes, frittata, pasta, toast with peanut butter! 9 months is when they start getting their pincer grasp so I can start cutting things up into smaller pieces and not having to worry about if they can pick it up or not. 

Leave a little bit of the banana peel on so they can pick it up easier!

BLW doesn't mean you can't give them pureed foods. We eat pureed foods every day such as oatmeal,  yogurt, applesauce, etc.! I still offer these foods only I pre-fill spoons for them to feed themselves with. It's messy, but that's life at this point. My word of advice is to strip them down to their diapers to make clean up a little easier. That way you can pretty much hose them off at the end! hah!

blueberry yogurt was a huge hit!

So, thats my experience with a modified BLW. I frequent pinterest for ideas as well as the Wholesome Homemade Baby Food blog. Also, if you're on Facebook, join the group FeedingLittles. Its run by a local dietitian and a speech therapist and its AWESOME. It's really helped me get over my first time mom hesitancies. Let me know if you have any questions on my experience. I'd be happy to oblige. Leave me a comment if you've tried BLW! Until next time!

xoxo,

-Melissa :)

Things, they are a changin'

Are you there blogland? It's me, Melissa. Not sure if you remember me, but I'm still here! And man, have things changed! Last time we spoke, it was 3 years ago. That was pre-new house and pre-kids! Yeah, you heard that right- we have KIDS now- plural!

I'm not sure when I'm going to find the time to blog but I have high aspirations. So you'll have to bear with me. You see, blogging is a stress reliever of sorts. Gives me a chance to unload so-to-speak. Not to mention, I feel like every person in my field has a blog these days. Not that I'm going to start a nutrition blog, but I might have a post here and there. To keep you on your toes, you know? This blog started out as a chronicle of my married life and I intend it to be that way. And since I'm a dietitian by trade, nutrition posts are bound to sneak in there!

So, let's jump in! I'll give you a 30 second recap of what you missed over the last 3 years:

Hubby and I love Arizona so we decided to stay a little while! He got a new job which allows him to travel, we bought a house in an amazing area- much safer than our last place, I got pregnant- with TWINS, they were born in February of this year, we lost our sweet dog to old age in April, and now here we are!

Aren't they the sweetest? Fast forward 9 months and these little boogers are cruising around the coffee table as we speak! Its amazing how much your heart grows after you have kids. I can't imagine my life without them. They are such joys! Full of laughter and smiles!

 

Anyway, I'm making this post short and sweet. My goal is to blog once a week. There may be weeks where that doesn't happen and there may be weeks where I blog more than once a week! We're just going to go with the flow! I don't want to be too ambitious, I am a full time mom and a part time dietitian! Leave me a comment to encourage this renewed endeavor and stay tuned till next time!

xoxo,

Melissa :)

An Eventful Week!

Whew! Its been an eventful week for sure! Started with Sunday- Mother's Day (love you Mom!) and then continued onto Hubby's birthday!! We had so much fun last weekend celebrating with our super fun friends we met here in Phoenix.

Tribute to our favorite show, SUITS! Hubby says he's Harvey.

Fun at Copper Blues with Robin and Saunders!

It's Hubby's Birthday!!

Robin has a painting that gets better with each drink you have...

We had a fun time for sure! Never a dull moment with Saunders and Robin! Can't wait for this weekend too. we have a very busy weekend planned. For our birthdays Hubby and I decided to get ourselves Beach cruiser bicycles!!! You know, the old school looking ones with fenders and bright colors? Tomorrow we're heading all the way out to the East Valley to shop for bikes. Can't wait to show you what we found! :) And for tonight, movie and cookie cake (hubby's birthday cake request)! YUM!
Stay tuned!

XOXO,

Run for the Roses- Arizona style!

And they're off! One thing I really miss about Kentucky is the horses; in particular the horse racing. My family and the court they live on always have a Derby party. Ever since I moved away from Kentucky I have continued the tradition at my house (or someone's house).

This year was a little different. Like i've mentioned before, settling into Phoenix has been a little difficult for Hubby and I. We just haven't been able to meet many people. Not finding a good church we fit into has been a big factor as well as the second shift fiasco Hubby had to endure for 6 months.(Yay for being on first shift again!) My work friends all live in the east valley about 30-40 minutes away and not to mention we haven't signed up for cable yet. Having a derby party just wasn't in the cards for us this year. So, we decided to mix it up a little this year!

Phoenix has their own horse track a little north of us called Turf Paradise. Cheesy name and not at all like Keeneland but it was the best we could ask for. They were having their own derby celebration and with the price of admission to the track you got an official derby glass! The glass came empty and I still had to pay for my mint julep but I was a happy girl.

There were local races going on every 30 minutes at the Turf Paradise track and they offered betting for several other tracks including Churchill Downs.

Hubby and our friend Robin in the Grandstand!

I won the first race we put a bet on!

Me and our friend Robin

We had a lot of fun! We bet on both the local races and Churchill Downs race, including the derby. We lost more money than we bet but that's part of the fun right!?

Next year we might have to go to the actual Derby since Hubby's never been... Who wants to join us!?

xoxo,

Welcome back!

Hello Blogland!
Yep, it's been over 6 months since I last posted. I took a little vacation from blogging.

Ok, ok, an EXTENDED vacation.

Truth be told, I had only planned on taking a small break but then one thing led to another, the holidays came and went and I got bogged down at work. Then the thought of having to go back and re-hash everything for the blog seemed like a daunting task. Honestly though, I've missed blogging! Even though no one reads the blog it's at least a place for me to record the happening of our life so I can go back years from now and read the memories :)

Before I delve into what you've missed, I did want to share a crazy story that happened today.
Hubby and I have been trying to go hiking for several weeks now but things just keep coming up or we get lazy. Well Hubby finally said, "we're going hiking today"- despite my indifferent attitude. Its hot today- 90 degrees but there was a nice breeze and Kane was being a spazz so I caved and got ready to go.

We start our hike and I am not at all enjoying myself. Its spring time here and not quite hot enough to kill the bugs so there are tons of them out with the sole purpose of annoying humans. And they are relentless! You can swat them away and they just come right back buzzing around your face and in your ears. I was already whiny about the heat, the elevation we were climbing and my lack of endurance, the stupid bugs just were icing on the cake.

Just then,I swung my arm at a bug and I hit a Cholla Cactus. Now if you've never seen a cholla cactus (which most of you probably haven't) imagine a short plant with a million stubby cactus branches and inch long spikes covering the entire thing. See the picture below.

Buckthorn Cholla Cactus

Luckily, I only ended up with one giant 2 inch long spike lodged in my hand. These little things aren't poisonous they are just scary looking at this giant porcupine quill sticking out of your hand. Of course I whined about it and babied it. Every time I tried to pull it out, it hurt so I would stop. I must have looked pretty ridiculous.

Hubby stopped at the top of the hill to examine my damaged hand and check to see where we were supposed to be going next. All of the sudden out of the corner of my eye, I see Kane lifting his leg to pee on another cholla cactus. Right then he loses his step and literally SITS in the cactus.

Source

I immediately forget my stupid hand and looked to see Kane's rear-end covered in these spikes- ranging from 2 inches long to a few centimeters long. That poor dog was a champ as Hubby and I immediately delved in to try and pull the 100s of spikes out of his skin and fur. He had them in his pads, in between his toes, under his belly, and all up and down his legs. He was bleeding around a few of the really deep thicker spines. Hubby and I worked on him for a good 15 minutes right there until we could get enough out so Kane could walk safely out of the area to some shade where we pulled out the rest.
I hope he's learned his lesson. No peeing on cacti- no matter how bad you have to go! hahah

In the spirit of time, I think I am going to post about our Derby Day- Arizona Style tomorrow. So, don't forget! Put a reminder in your phone or something. It'll be worth it, I promise!

Until tomorrow,

We will miss you, Jason!

I can't decide what I think about Arizona. Some days I love it and some days I hate it. The weather has been beautiful here, 80s and literally not a cloud in the sky for weeks. Sounds perfect right? Well, I work in the east valley and live in Central Phoenix. I drive east every morning to work and west every evening home.
No clouds.
Bright sunny sun in my eyes For. The. ENTIRE. Drive.
Awesome.

Well, it's been a full two weeks since I started work. Things have been going well so far! I am slowly getting settled in and comfortable with my job tasks. I think I am really going to like it here! I'll definitely keep you posted =)

On a sad note, we said goodbye to my brother in law, Jason, earlier this week. =( He has been battling Leukemia for 3 years. I've known this day would come eventually but it doesn't make it any easier. I didn't know Jason all that well but the times we did spend together were always fun!  We will miss you Jason, Rest in Peace.

Kane sure did love Jason!

RIP Jason. We will miss you always.

Jason's memorial will be held Thanksgiving weekend. Jason really wanted to make it to Thanksgiving so it seems appropriate we should wait to have it then. Here is a link to his obituary. Sorry to leave you with such a sad story but our hearts are at peace that Jason is in a better place now, free from pain and suffering. We are happy! Happy he is in heaven with Jesus! Looking forward to seeing the family in November =).

xoxo,

Life as a Trophy Wife

As many of you know, since moving to Arizona, finding the right job has been difficult. So, I’ve spent most of my unemployed months lounging by the pool and eating bon bons….

 …..Bahahahah ok ok I can’t keep a straight face while saying that!

There have been NO bon bons.

Haha! All joking aside, there has been some lounging by the pool but mostly just boredom. After the house was unpacked and set up for the most part, I ran out of things to do. I mean even pinterest gets old after awhile, especially when you don’t have the money to do any of the projects I pinned. So what has this girl been doing to keep herself busy??

Well, I’ve done some cooking. I’ve never been that great of a cook in the past- mostly from lack of experience. So, I took this downtime to practice! I have mastered quite a few amazing recipes as well a few doozies.

Spiral Pasta Vegetable Salad

Summer Vegetable Crepes

Corn Chowder

Gazpacho

Asparagus Frittata

Mango Black Bean Quinoa

Roasted Vegetable Stacked Enchilada Casserole

All of the above I HIGHLY recommend. They were delicious! Let me know if you want the recipe for any of them.

I’ve also been trying to learn the manual setting on my new DSLR Nikon. I took an introduction to photography class to try and get a grasp on all the different manual settings. It’s overwhelming at first but I’m still learning how everything works together to create the best picture!

There are several blogs I’ve stumbled across that have photography tutorials and they’ve helped as well! Click the link below the picture to go to the blog.

Digital Photography School Blog

I heart faces blog

My next plan is to take a creative photography class. Thanks to a groupon, I have that already lined up as soon as I get the hang of the shutter speed, aperture and ISO!!

So that's pretty much been my summer! 

That's all about to change though. I am hanging up my trophy wife shoes because... 

I GOT A JOB! Yep! I have been waiting to tell you all and now I finally can! My first day is Monday. I will be working as the dietitian for a home tube feeding company and I am SUPER pumped! I love tube feeding so I know I am going to love this job. I'll have to keep you posted =)

xoxo,