Golden Ages to the Dark Ages of Teething

On average, a baby will cut their first tooth at 7 months. Which is around the same age they become these dangerously fast paced curious little creatures who may bite, pull hair and twist nipples when given the chance. Such busy bodies with equally busy brains. Adelaide got her first tooth at the beginning of August, and now she is working on her 5th one. For teething pain I just give her frozen berries and icecubes or frozen cubed cantaloupe in her Nuby mesh thing and she really LOVES it. She also loves her cthulhu's frozen tentacles, lol. And when the pains really bad, at night before bed I'll cave and give her a half dose of baby pain reliever. You could try Camilia. I get to brush the little teeth every night when we're in the bathtub! They're just the cutest little things.

I've noticed Adelaide eating more since she got her first tooth. So I get vegetables and fruits (homegrown and organic as much as possible) and puree batches big enough so there's plenty left over to freeze a few meals. Here is a super helpful and encouraging site to keep you from feeding your baby boxed or jarred instant food from the grocery store. http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com. If you wanna make batches and freeze them like I do but need a bit of advice, just read THIS. We kept her on a gluten-free dairy-free sugar-free diet at first (mainly because of the yeast rash.) She's since had plain yoghurt which I add fruit to for a sweetener (because she still remains sugar free), and organic brown rice and organic oats which I just process to a fine grain in the food processor. The way I see it, it's only an hour and a half per week to make baby food. You could make bigger batches so you only have to make it every 2 weeks. Whatever works for you and your schedule!

When we started giving Adelaide textured lumpy food and finger foods, it was a little scary at first. I was so afraid she was gonna choke. I also wanted to avoid sugar and gluten filled prepackaged foods that some books recommend. Chopped banana is an easy choice, especially if you're on the go. Or soft fruits like plums, cantaloupe, berries, pears, or avocado without peels of course. Or bake small cubes of sweet potato adding cinnamon and nutmeg until they are super tender (and of course you can omit the spices.) Or slice an eggplant after peeling it and add minced garlic with a dash of pepper and let the eggplant sit and sweat for about an hour or more, then bake for 40 minutes on about 350F, let cool and dice in small bits.

I can't wait til she can eat what we eat! Curries, stews, soups, BBQ! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!! I'm even going to attempt making breast milk ice cream!! Sugar-free of course! So babies can eat it. Perfect for teething!!

Soups Up...Save Room for Dessert!

Welcome to my cooking space! I spent a lot of time here last week cooking up a storm making soups to freeze for when baby gets here so we have fast nutritious meals when we need them! Of course I have also been making baked goods in between to fill my cravings!

I photographed some of the delicious foods I made last week! If you want any recipes just let me know and I will gladly pass them along if I have one for what you're looking for. Sometimes I make things up and don't follow recipes, lol. Don't drool too much while looking at these. I certainly had a hard time with the post, it made me very hungry!!

Apple Cinnamon French Toast

Roasted Cauliflower Cream Soup

Curried Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

Rice Pudding with Custard

Creamy Potato and Dill Soup

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Apple Strudel Muffins

Our freezer is now full of delicious soups and I am sure I will add more. Julian boiled a bunch of beans and froze them yesterday too. We are rich with black beans and kidney beans perfect for chili's and he made re-fried beans and a black bean with tomatoes, onions and spices perfect for things like burritos!! If we keep this up, we'll need a deep freeze!

Oh Boy, 30 Weeks!!

So, I have reached 30 weeks. I don't know where the time is going, but it is flying by. I can't believe that sometime in the next 8 to 12 weeks we will have a new person added to our family. It's so surreal for me sometimes. I am overjoyed and anxious and a little terrified...I imagine these are all normal feelings for first time parents. I have been raised around children and babies my whole life, so this should be no problem...but when it's YOUR OWN child, it's a little different. Sometimes I wonder if I know what I am going to do with this little person when she gets here. Obviously I will feed her, clothe her, love her, etc. But I've never been a mother before (other then to 3 spoiled cats) so as time is ticking closer and closer to that due date, I am trying to educate myself in the areas I lack confidence.
My husband and I start a couple prenatal classes at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto in October. I feel like they it might be full of obvious information, but hey, if anything, it will boost our confidence, and it will better prepare my husband who has never changed a diaper before.
I continue to read books on childbirth, preferably natural childbirth. I have been reading this blog too, which I find enjoyable.
I have found a midwife from Seven Generations and I have my first appointment coming up. We are going to go ahead with the plan to have a homebirth, but if our minds change and we decide that we're more comfortable in a birthing centre (oh how our society has put fear in us), Sunnybrook has just renovated and opened their new and improved birthing centre. So if you want a virtual tour of the place, click HERE. My midwife would be with me of course and a doctor can step in only if she feels it's necessary, but I am sure since everything has been running smoothly, everything will go just fine. I just have to trust myself, trust my body and of course have a great support system (which I have.)
I have such beautiful light in my new apartment in Toronto, so I had a fun photoshoot. It's important to me to document my pregnancy through photos. Maternity photos are some of my favourites to shoot. Before I was pregnant I thought pregnant ladies were SO cute and it was hard to understand how some people feel unattractive when their pregnant, but as I sit here with a large 3 pound eggplant sized baby in my belly, I completely understand. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable and unattractive, especially as I run out of clothes that fit properly, as all you other beautiful pregnant mama's have probably felt. My veins are more noticeable, I have what looks like cottage cheese growing on my butt and thighs and sometimes I get weird red bumps on my belly. But, when you look at maternity photos, man, pregnancy is a beautiful sexy thing. I have a collection of maternity photos here on my Facebook page, so become a fan and take a look!!
http://www.facebook.com/artist.heatherbays

It's A......

So, we had our ultrasound just over a week ago that checked to make sure baby is growing okay and could determine the gender if we wanted to know. We knew from the moment we found out we were pregnant that we would want to know the gender. I am not one for surprises and for something like this, I really needed to know. Thank goodness I live in today's western world because a little over 20 years ago this just wasn't possible and for many people in many countries, this still isn't possible.

We got the photos from her "photoshoot" and most of them look like blobs of gray and I can't really make out what it is. But some of them are pretty obvious. Like this one here shows that it's a GIRL!!! Those are her legs and butt and as you can see, there is no willy. I know that these things aren't 100%, but they are pretty accurate.

This next one is a face only a mother could love, lol. It sorta looks like I am pregnant with Jack the Pumpkin King, lol! But there she is, laying on her side looking right at you.

These ones below are my favourites. She has her arm up covering her eyes and you can see her little lips and her tiny nose nicely framed by her arm.

This one is a little closer.

And here is the last one I will post, of her cute baby feet.

So of course there are all these numbers and letters and I didn't know what they meant. Was this a normal looking ultrasound? I didn't know. My appointment with my doctor isn't until the end of next week, so I wouldn't get the results until then. So, I researched like crazy on how to read an ultrasound. What things meant. This was the most helpful website:
http://www.baby2see.com/medical/charts.html
So, you gotta study your ultrasound and find the numbers and find the averages and then ta-da! What I discovered was she is doing just fine. Everything is in the normal ranges and that for me was SUCH a relief. I know that they can't tell everything from the tests and ultrasounds but nothing wonky has shown up yet so there is no reason to think that this baby will have any problems. THANK GOODNESS we didn't listen to the first 3 doctors that I saw. It just goes to show that you are the best person to listen to. Now time to make an appointment with my homeopathic doctor to detox me from this ultrasound!