Have Baby, Will Travel

It seems like we only just got back from a road trip and we're off again.

Hubby, Little One and I left for the International Plowing Match around 5AM on Saturday. The drive was about 4.5 hrs from the Island. We began our drive in darkness. We also hit a buck on our way to the plowing match. I was devastated! I've been living on the Island for five years and I have never hit a deer! I saw the deer up ahead and yelled, "Oh, dear!!". Hubby braked in time, but the deer ran into our truck! He fell, rolled over, and then bounced back up and ran across the highway. No damage was done to the truck and no one (except for the deer) was injured. Great way to start a trip!

We spent the day checking out all the latest farm technology, chatting with people, meeting up with some friends (we had no clue they were going to be there too), and we ate some yummy food! Hubby drooled over farm machinery and equipment. I say "drooled over" because it's unlikely that we would ever buy any of that equipment or machinery "new". Some of those things cost a quarter of a million dollars!! That's a lot of $$$!!!

It was a fun day with my little family. We drove back to the Island that same night. 4.5 hours is nothing compared to some of the road trips we make to visit family.

Little One is a pretty easy-going baby and loves traveling and long road trips. She pretty much does this for the entire trip:

SLEEPS
PLAYS
EATSTomorrow, Little One, SuperAmazingMommy, M (SAM's youngest son) will be embarking on another road trip. Two mamas, two babies and the open highway! I wonder how the 8+ hr drive to Quebec will fare? :)

I think my family in Montreal will be surprised to see how much Little One has grown and changed. We'll be spending a week away from Hubby. I know he's going to miss he girls. We don't usually travel without him :(

Speaking of growing and changing, Little One's newest trick is pulling at the Velcro tabs on her diaper and pulling her diaper off!!! Little One seems so pleased with herself whenever she successfully removes her diaper. She waves it around and gives me that big, cheeky grin of hers!

How Many Milestones Can a Mama Take in Just a Week?

Dearest Little One,

You are growing way too quickly for my liking. I have to admit that in the beginning, I thought you'd stay tiny for a long time! When you were born, you fit into the palm of your Daddy's hand. Your hand was the size of his thumbnail! At 2 lbs, 3 oz, it seemed like it would take forever for you to get bigger!

How was I to know that you would be more than seven times your birth weight in a few months? You really do amaze me. Our time in the NICU seemed like it would last forever and now it seems so far away.

In the past week or so, you have:

* started sleeping in your own room.
* started napping during the day! Your naps are short-lived, but Mama's still happy you're finally napping!
* continued to sleep from 9PM to 9AM.
* started going to playgroup and socializing with other babies.
* started really feeding yourself. Though you are very messy, Mommy thinks it's good for you to feed yourself.* continued to roll or slither on your belly to get where you want to go.

* started rocking back and forth on all fours in preparation for crawling. Yikes!

* started eating in your booster chair since you now try to escape from your Bumbo chair!
*been teething. Your two bottom front teeth and one on the top are visible below the gum line. They haven't poked through yet, but we can see those chompers of yours!
* been really vocal and communicative. Your range of sounds has increased tremendously.
* been really paying attention to what's on TV! You bop around and "sing" along with the Doodlebops on TV! That seems to be your favourite show at the moment.
* started making your smiley, scrunchy face when you smile. It is the cutest thing ever!
* started standing up (not pulling yourself up on your own yet) . You support yourself against the couch or the exersaucer (or Daddy)! You seem really proud of this new trick.
* continued to sit every well on your own.
* been trying to walk with the help of Daddy, Lola and Grampy. Mommy doesn't want you to walk anytime soon! ;)Sometimes it makes me sad to see how quickly you are growing. Before we know it, you'll be ready for kindergarten! Oh, boy. I don't even want to think how emotional that day will be!

In the meantime, continue discovering all the exciting new things each day brings. Continue being your happy, smiley self. You make us so happy.

We love you.
Mommy and Daddy xoxo

Cutting the Apron Strings

Remember the movie "Terms of Endearment"?

Before the opening credits, the film portrays Aurora as a worried, newbie mother who checks on her baby every five minutes in the middle of the night and imagines the worst. In the baby's bedroom, she stares at the crib of her infant daughter and imagines crib death: "Rudyard, she's not breathing." She shakes her baby out of its quiet and peaceful sleep, causing the infant to wail - and Aurora to claim: "That's better."

I'm not that bad! I do worry about whether or not Little One stops breathing at night though. I worry about her sleeping in her own room because it's a bit far from ours. It appears that I'm the one having the most difficult time with Little One's milestones. I know I shouldn't be. If anything, I should be thrilled, excited, ecstatic, elated! Obviously, I am thrilled that she is developing so well, that she's such a happy, healthy baby, and that she is very inquisitive and independent.

We kept her in her mini nursery in our room upstairs up until September 15th. She was 10 months old and 5 days (adjusted/corrected age). Hubby just decided to put her to bed in her own room that night. That night, I could not sleep. I lay in our bed awake, listening closely to see if I could hear her. Little One had absolutely no qualms with being in her big crib, in her own room...all by herself.

I should have known. I mean, the kid can sleep anywhere. To top it all off, she sleeps from 9PM until 9AM. Why was I up and worrying? I even ended up sleeping in her room with her that night. We have a double bed in her nursery.

Day 2 of her sleeping in her own room was just like day 1. She was fine. I wasn't. I slept in her room again. However, by day 3 of her sleeping in her own room, I realized that Little One will be fine. She is big and old enough to not let herself sleep with her face smooshed into the mattress. She can also move from her back to her belly and belly to back with ease. She can turn her own head if she's not comfortable. She doesn't wake up in the middle of the night for feedings. She's been sleeping in her own room for almost a week now. She doesn't care if her Mama is sleeping in the room with her or not.

I'm the one who has to learn how to let go.

Homemade Baby Food in 5 Steps

I received an e-mail from a blog reader of mine who said:

"I noticed that you make your own baby food. How ambitious of you! I find it time consuming and well, I don't really know what to do and as a result I end up just getting the jarred baby food from the store. Do you have any tips?"

Thanks for the e-mail! Personally, I don't find it too difficult or time consuming to make Little One's baby food. Whatever fruits, veggies or meat we're eating, I'll just put aside some for her and prepare/cook/puree it for her. I also make batches of baby food sometimes and just freeze it in ice cube trays. When I'm ready to feed her, it's easy to pop out a few ice cubes and warm them up for her. She eats her veggies, fruit and meat with her cereal/pablum and then nurses right after. Little One seems to like her baby food.

So far, she's had sweet potato, butternut squash, green beans, peas, sugar snap peas, carrots, avocado, yellow/wax beans, peaches, apple, banana, and strawberry. She loves everything except green beans. She'll eat them and finish up a bowl of green beans, but she looks rather disgusted when she does.

Okay, 5 steps for homemade baby food:

Today I'll just show you how I made Little One's apple sauce.
1. Wash and cut/quarter apples.
2. Place in pot and cook until tender but not mushy.

3. Place cooked apples into fruit press and mash through colander. If you don't have a fruit press like this (they're not too easy to come by these days), just place cooked fruit or veggies in food processor and puree. I only really do the apple sauce and a few other fruits in the fruit press. The rest I do in the food processor or use my little hand-held blender.

4. With a spoon, scoop pureed baby food into ice cube trays. Let cool.
5. Freeze until needed. You can use ice cube trays with covers or you can remove the frozen baby food from the trays and put into freezer bags to prevent freezer burn. In photo below: Peaches and apples.
**Though I prefer Little One eating homemade baby food, I must add that I DO use the baby food in the jars from the store on occasion. My brother and his wife gave us a few dozen jars of baby food for Little One (thanks, guys!) and if I'm going out (like when we went on our day trip to Tobermory), I pop a jar into the diaper bag for Little One.**

Speaking of Little One, here are a few photos.
We had her sleeping in our room in her playpen/bassinet. Hubby moved her into her room and put her playpen in the living room.
In this photo, I was trying to reason with a 10 month old.

Me: Little One, please take a nap.
Little One: (squeals in delight and makes funny faces)
Me: You need to sleep so you can grow. Babies grow in their sleep.
Little One (still smiling and babbling away)
*sigh*
Instead of napping, she wanted to play.
Do you see what I see??? Hallelujah!!! She's napping!!!
*sigh* If you look closer, you can see that the cattle are out...AGAIN! That's like every day this week!!!
Close up of cattle. Up to no good, as usual. They're not supposed to be in this field behind our house.
After a very short lived nap, Little One is wide awake and ready to play again. Oh! Oh! This time she wants to STAND UP...On her own!!! Granted, she's using the couch to support herself, but it's still pretty freaky seeing a baby so little standing on her own!
Ha! Ha! Mommy, you're in trouble! Someone's going to have her hands full! ;)
Daddy's finally home from work and gets to watch the news with Little One while Mommy cooks supper.
I love her sweet, cheeky, adorable smile!

Mama Loves

Sophie the Giraffe - classic teething toy from France. Made from natural rubber, it is safe, soft and non-toxic. Perfect for babies to chew on. Sophie is also made with non-toxic food grade paints. Little One LOVES her Sophie. She loves the soft texture and the squeaky sound Sophie makes when squeezed. Little One loves rubbing her gums on Sophie's ears and feet. Perfect for a teething baby!

Sophie sells for $21.99 CAD at Babies R Us. You can probably find lower prices elsewhere, but I've always seen the price around the $20-$22 range.
Bumbo Baby Sitter - made with low-density foam material, light weight, portable, and easy to clean. Perfect for helping babies sit independently in an upright sitting position. "The Bumbo has a favorable orthopedic effect that is important to assist in the correct spinal development of an infant. "

Little One loves sitting in her Bumbo. I feed her in it, she watches TV or plays while in her Bumbo, and it gives me the ability to do other things while she's in the room with me. I even read her storybooks sometimes while she's in her Bumbo.The Bumbo comes in many different colours. It's kind of pricey though. It retails for about $64.99 and can be found in many children's stores nationwide. You can also purchase it online at Babies R Us.
Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder - Quite possibly one of my favourite baby gadgets at the moment. Though Little One has been eating solids since July, I still worry about her choking on her food. The girl LOVES to feed herself! The Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder is amazing because it allows your baby to enjoy fresh food (fruit, vegetables, meat, etc) without choking! It's also BPA free.

Simply open the feeder, insert food into the mesh bag, snap shut and give to baby! It's easy to clean, safe (it locks tightly, so your baby cannot open it) and gives parents the peace of mind that no small pieces or chunks of food will choke the little one!

My Little One loves chewing, sucking, and gnawing at peaches, banana, and other food. Since she's teething, I think it also makes her feel good to rub her gums with it.

I love Munchkin products, but this one takes the cake!

Available at most children's stores, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, etc. Comes in packages of 1 or 2. The 2 pack sells for $9.99 online at Babies R Us.
Baby Mum-Mum Rice Rusks - The company states that Baby Mum-Mums can be given to babies as their first snack and may be given as soon as he or she is ready for solid food. Mum-Mums are made from specially selected fine quality rice and the "crackers" dissolve/melt in baby's mouth.My friend, SuperAmazingMommy gave me a box of Mum-Mums to try out on Little One. I could not believe my eyes when Little One devoured TWO whole rice rusks in one sitting! She loved the texture, the taste (I'm guessing she loved the taste, because she ate two of them!), and just being able to feed herself. I loved that the rice rusks melted in her mouth and weren't a choking hazard. Some moms have told me that they worried about chunks of Mum-Mums being bitten off by their babies, but Little One seemed fine with the Mum-Mums. She just sat there and happily fed herself. I also loved that there was no mess to clean up afterward...unlike with the Farley's Biscuits!

I Will Never Understand

...why my ten month old daughter LOVES this show!


Yes, it's the Doodlebops! Little One goes absolutely nuts when she hears the music and sees them on TV! She starts bopping around, giggling, rocking back and forth, smiling, and "talking" to the TV. I would have thought she'd be scared of the Doodlebops because as an adult, I find them a little scary looking! Don't you think?

Anyway, Little One loves the Doodlebops and that half hour of her bopping along to their music and dancing lets me get things done around the house.

The Doodlebops are DeeDee Doodle, Rooney Doodle and Moe Doodle. They're three rockin' band members who look almost cartoon-like. The show includes lots of music, dance, and fun skits and social lessons. I had no idea, but the show is also Canadian.



There is so much about Little One's likes and dislikes that really amuses me. I mean, the girl is only ten months old and LOVES watching CNN with her daddy! If she likes watching three rockin' cartoon-like musicians, so be it. I guess it could be worse. At least it's not Barney and Friends!

My Husband Must REALLY Love Me

*Alternate titles for this post: "Weird Things Happen on the Farm at Night", "Who Would Have Thought One Would Need a Chainsaw at 1 o'clock in the Morning?", "What do YOU do at 1 AM?", "The Things We Do For Our Loved Ones", and "Is This Really Happening???"*

My husband must really love me. Why? Because he was fast asleep last night while I was up late doing a load of laundry (yes, I'm one of those weird people who does a load of laundry at night so the clothes are ready to get hung and dried in the morning) and washing the dishes, when I woke him up because I heard horrible yelping coming from the dog outside.My heart sank when I heard Chance's squeals. The last time I heard him yelp and saw him wince in pain like that was when he had an altercation with a porcupine and ended up needing to go to the vet because it was so bad. Almost $400 later, he was as good as new. This time, I had a sick feeling in my stomach. You never know what you'll meet in the dark when you're in the countryside.

Me: HONEY! WAKE UP! DO YOU HEAR THAT!?!?!
Hubby: (no answer)
Me: Oh my gosh! My dog! He's hurt! Go out and check what's going on!
Hubby: (still not stirring from his slumber)
Me: If anything happens to that dog, I'll... (I was going to say "be devastated"!)
Hubby: (grumble, grumble, sigh, huff)
Me: Thank you Honey! I love you!

Hubby sleepily got out of bed and threw a jacket over his boxers, donned his workboots, and headed out into the darkness. I followed with a flashlight. Afraid of what we would find and filled with anxiety, I headed toward the sound of my yelping canine baby.

When we got to him, we saw what all the noise was about. He didn't get skunked. He didn't get attacked by a porcupine. He didn't get into a fight with a coyote/coy dog. He was stuck in the tree! Well, he managed to get one of his paws wedged between two tree trunks. It was so wedged in there that he couldn't release his front leg and every time he moved, it would cause a lot of pain. I was afraid that he wouldn't let us help him, that he'd snap at us because he was in pain, that the circulation in his leg would stop, that he would try so hard to get free his leg would break, or that he would gnaw his leg off.

We tried to pry his leg free, but it was such a tight fit between the two tree trunks.

Me: How on earth did that dog get stuck there?!?!
Hubby: Probably chasing something up the tree. Maybe a coon?
Me: How are we going to get him out?
Hubby: He's got himself stuck pretty badly there.
Me: We can't just leave him there!!!

Hubby tried to free Chance's leg, but to no avail. Then he tried to take a piece of lumber that we were using to build our front deck and use it for leverage to try to pry between the tree trunks and move it enough so Chance could release his leg. Nothing was working. The dog was yelping. Good thing we don't have immediate neighbours!

Hubby: I'm going to have to get the chainsaw.
Me: What?!?!?!
Hubby: I guess the tree is going to have to come down.
Me: (big sigh of relief!) Oh, no! I love that tree. You're getting the chainsaw at 1 in the morning? Think the neighbours at the other farm will hear?

Hubby hopped into his truck and headed to my mother-in-law's farm to retrieve his chainsaw. By this time, Chance was having a panic attack. He was almost hyperventilating. I helped Hubby move the picnic table and a few other things because the tree was huge and would have fallen on them.

Brrrrrrrrrrrzzzzzzzz!! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrzzzzzzzzzz!

Hubby got his chainsaw going and at 1 o'clock in the morning we were outside, cutting down a tree to free my dog. I guess the chainsaw released just enough pressure as it cut through the trunk, because Chance jumped back and freed his paw. The tree didn't have to get cut down after all. It is still intact, though the chainsaw worked itself through a bit. I really hope the tree heals. I love that paper birch.

Hubby: How am I going to explain why I'm so tired to the other guys at work?
Me: (laughing) Well, you can't say it was the baby! She's fast asleep!

Though he never leaves the property without us, I think I want to bring Chance into the house at night. Just to keep him out of trouble.

Our Little Cookie Monster

She loves her Farley's Biscuits!

Little One just turned 10 months old (chronological age), which would put her at 7 months old corrected/adjusted. Her Neonatologist told me that I could nurse her exclusively if I wanted to and that breastfeeding is the best thing for her. I agree and Little One is still being nursed, but...the kid loves food. Whenever she sees people eating, so goes nuts! She starts opening her mouth, panting (yes, panting!), rocking back and forth, and her arms and legs just go like crazy! She clearly gets excited by food.

Because she's a preemie, I didn't want to rush her with eating solids. Like the Neonatologist said, babies can thrive on breast milk alone. Because she was born three months early, I didn't want to rush her digestive system. In July, we started giving her cereal (rice, oat and bran pablum) and she then progressed onto homemade veggie, fruit, and meat purees. Just recently, I noticed that her gums have been really bothering her even more than before and when she feeds herself, she rubs her spoon on her bottom gums. Just to see what she'd do, I gave her a Farley Biscuit. I remember my Mom giving that to us when we were kids and some of my friends who have kids have said that they use Farley's Biscuits as teething biscuits.

Little One was so excited and just went nuts! She devoured gummed up the biscuit and when she was done, she looked so proud of herself. I made sure to keep a close eye on her, because I was worried that she'd choke. She gummed up the biscuit pretty well, so there was nothing left for her to choke on! All that remained was a slimy, sticky, drool-filled mess...and a baby who was all smiles!

As if one milestone for the week weren't enough, we moved Little One into her own room last night. She slept very well and slept through the night like she normally does. The reason it took us so long to put her in her own room is because we were worried about her not breathing (as is sometimes the case with preemies, especially if they have had respiratory issues due to their prematurity) or us not being able to hear her (because her room is down one floor from us and at the end of the hall).

She was fine. She slept very well. The girl sleeps through the night and she can fall asleep anywhere. It was me who had attachment issues and couldn't sleep! I must confess that I finally crept into her room at 3AM and slept in the double bed we have in her nursery.

*sigh*

My baby's growing up!

Honest Scrap

Without fail, whether I'm having a great day or a not so great day, Robert always knows the perfect thing to say to offer encouragement and some positive thoughts.

This has been proven once again when I blogged about this city girl's life on the farm and testing the limits. Thank you, Robert...for your kind words and for the wonderful blog award you have just bestowed upon me.

I did some research and found this out:
The award has two components. You have to first list 10 honest things about yourself (and make them interesting), and second present the award to seven other bloggers.

I guess it's time to come clean and give you my list of 10 honest things about myself.

1. I sometimes suffer from "open-mouth-insert-foot" syndrome. I tend to speak before I think and not think of the consequences sometimes.

2. On the flip side, I don't speak up for myself nearly enough. I'll speak up for others, for causes I believe in, for things that I think are not right...but not for myself.

3. I'm very strong-willed persistent stubborn at times.

4. I don't know how to say "no" to people. I get guilted into doing things sometimes. It's entirely my fault. Sometimes I need to have some cojones.

5. As a result of not having any cojones, I often end up having too much on my plate.

6. Having too much on my plate results in my getting super stressed.

7. I try to please everyone all the time...usually at the expense of my self.

8. I try to do it all and often get burnt out in the process.

9. I'm hypersensitive and get defensive when I feel I'm being backed into a corner or when I feel I'm under the criticism of others.

10. I'm finding this blog a good way of helping me voice my thoughts...and learning how to better myself.

The one thing I hate about receiving blog awards is having to select only a few of my favourite bloggers to pass the awards onto. It's always such a tough decision! I am now passing on the Honest Scrap Award to:

J @ JellyJules- for always being open and honest in her thoughts and ideas.
Cherry @ Cherry Extract- for sharing her experiences with us.
Ms.Mamma - for her witty posts and the wonderful way she tells a story.
Veronica @ SomedayWeWillSleep- for saying things the way they are and not sugar coating life's not so great moments.
Jimmy @Uncivil- because he is brutally honest.
Momisodes - because she too can tell a story in the most beautiful, yet honest way.
Maria @ Notes from a Brown House - I'm curious to learn what her 10 honest things about herself are...plus, Maria's posts are also so open, honest, and I just love her blog!

Testing Limits

When my grandfather died, one of my closest friends once told me that "God never gives us more than we can handle". She reminds me of this every time life seems a bit overwhelming. Surely, God must think that we can handle a lot then! I'd like to have that same faith in myself, but some days...I just don't know.As a city girl, I knew that once I became a farmer's wife, life wouldn't be too easy. It's a hard life sometimes. Sometimes it feels like a thankless job. I mean, people need to eat. People need food. People need farmers. Then how come farmers have to work so hard and not really see the riches of all the work they've done? Anyway, that's an entirely different post all together! ;)

I've been helping Hubby get some of the square baling done. The PTO shaft broke. The draw pin broke. The knotting device on the baler wasn't working properly.It seems like every day there is some kind of breakdown or something needs to be repaired. Hubby didn't have another draw pin, so he had to make one! He welded together some pieces to make a new draw pin. Pretty crazy. I was looking at him in awe, as though he were The Alchemist or something. He created a part for the farm equipment out of something that started off looking nothing remotely like the part he made up!

I took the baby off-roading through the bush (in city speak, that means the forest/woods) in my jeep to get to the far field where we were baling. Hubby met us there with the tractor, baler and wagon. Normally, I would not take the baby with us when we work on the farm because I worry about her safety. Farm equipment + big machinery + baby = a lot of anxiety for me. We had absolutely no choice this time, since my parents weren't home, hubby's mom wasn't home, and the nieces were busy.While I operated the tractor and baled , Hubby was on the wagon loading the square bales with Little One (asleep in her car seat).

The surprising thing is that I actually love being in the field, operating the tractor. It's so quiet and so beautiful out there and when on the tractor, you have a lot of time to think. I saw a deer and her fawn, as well as a family of Sandhill Cranes. As odd as it may sound, working on the farm can sometimes be therapeutic. That's when all goes well and there are no breakdowns!

After spending the day working in the heat, I raced home with the baby so I could get supper ready. Being on the Island, I sometimes miss Greek, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Chinese, Italian, and French restaurants. However, when on the Island, we make due with what we have. I ended up making homemade souvlaki and homemade tzatziki sauce.Of course, I had to make some food for Little One as well! She is still being nursed for most of her feedings, with the exception of solids twice a day. She gets cereal (rice, oat or barley) and veggies and fruit.I thought it was going to be an early night for me, but I was wrong. Since Hubby took on another job off the farm, he has to get up super early. I slept down in the guest room so he could have some uninterrupted sleep (and so I didn't have to get up super early when his alarm went off). Little One ended up getting an upset tummy and I was up with her from 2AM to 4AM. Then the cows decided to test their limits again by bulldowzing through the electric fence! Of course, this had to happen when Hubby was not on the farm! The dew was still on the grass and it was misty when I went out to chase them back. They didn't go where I wanted them to, but I was able to keep them at bay before Hubby came back to take care of things. *sigh* All of this before I even had time to have breakfast and change out of my pyjamas!

We've got a few orders for fire wood that have to get delivered. Ummm...I haven't even had time to finish splitting all the fire wood! We intended on having it done a long time ago, but there just seems to always be something that tosses a monkey wrench into things. We don't even have fire wood done for ourselves for this winter! As a result of all the craziness going on here, the house is a disaster. What worries me is that if I'm having a hard time keeping up with the house, the farm, the baby, the other jobs on the side, how am I ever going to manage all of this and then some when I have to go back to teaching ESL?

Because I'm in a sharing mood, here's a recipe for you :)

Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients
1 Small (100 g) Cucumber, seeded
250 ml (1 Cup) Greek Yogurt (I didn't have any, so I just used sour cream)
2 Cloves Garlic, minced (I love garlic, so I used more than just two cloves!)
2 tsp Finely Chopped Fresh Mint Leaves
2 tsp Finely Chopped Fresh Dill
Lemon Juice to taste
Sea Salt to taste

Method
Grate the cucumber and sprinkle about ½ tsp of salt. Let it stand for about 10 minutes. Then squeeze the excess juice from the cucumber.

In a medium bowl, mix cucumber with yogurt, garlic, mint leaves, dill and season well with lemon juice and sea salt. *I also used some finely chopped fresh parsley.