Push ups

Check out this crazy push up that Bradley has been doing.

I dont know what he is trying to accomplish by doing this but he sure is a strong little guy!

Bananas

I decided to give Bradley bananas as his first try at baby food. Partially because I thought he might enjoy them and partially because the local grocery store doesn't have Avocados. I mashed up a small amount of one banana and let Bradley try it. He made a crinkle nose face, spit some out, and did a funny little shake like he had the chills. I gave him a couple more spoonfuls and let him be done for the day.



Apparently, I am supposed to feed him the same thing for three days in a row to make sure he doesn't have any allergic reactions so that is what I did. Day two had the same reactions but finally on the final day he ate the whole bowl full that I gave him. I guess he doesn't hate bananas after all. It is a pretty frustrating process. Feed one food for three days before moving onto the next one. It just seems like a precaution I shouldn't ignore but one that people didn't worry about years ago. I have to wonder if we are set up to become afraid of everything these days when it comes to raising children.

Baby Food

Bradley is going to be 6 months tomorrow and I am finding the idea of starting solid food a bit daunting. I have been reading up on recommended serving sizes for his age and they all just seem to be too much food for a small belly. I cant see that the difference between today and tomorrow would mean adding 2 more servings of cereal, 3-4 servings of fruit or veggies, and 1-2 servings of meat. Like I mentioned in a previous entry, I am going to try to make some baby food myself rather than buy it all. A great website I have found is called www.wholesomebabyfood.com and they seem to have a little better grasp on the reality of how much food a baby can eat. I don't know if Nestle is trying to sell more food or something but there is no way I am giving Bradley that much food to start out with. Of course, even this website has some different views than what I have so I will be changing their meal plan to match what I think will work best for us.
We are going to give him his first taste of baby food tomorrow and I am still debating between a banana or an avocado. Both are loading with nutrients and do not require any cooking or food processors, just mashing with a fork and as I haven't yet prepared for making baby food, I will go for one of these two fruits. The only thing that is really stopping me from going into this with both feet is the question of pesticides. I don't know if he is less likely to get pesticides from store bought baby food than the kind that I make. I know that I can always buy organic but the tiny grocery store in my town doesn't carry everything in organic. I will just have to make a drive into Windsor for everything it seems. Becoming a mom has sure made me worry about things I have never worried about in the past...

Nightmares

I really and truly believe that Bradley is having nightmares a lot lately. Sometimes when he has been sleeping for a little while he will all of a sudden cry for about 2 seconds and then stop. By the time I get into his room he is all peaceful again. This morning he had fallen asleep eating and since I was really into my book I decided to let him lay by me for a bit. He got the saddest face and starts whimpering and so I try to wake him up. He wont actually wake up but I think he calms down with me talking to him but his breathing is funny for a couple minutes afterwards like he had been crying really hard and is still trying to relax. I don't know what he would be dreaming about that would make him that upset though. We don't let him just cry when he is upset, he doesn't go hungry, and he is a happy baby when he is awake. Just last night before bed Scott was making him laugh harder than I have ever heard before. I thought when it happened on vacation it was just unfamiliar surroundings and that the room was darker than he is used to but now it is happening at home too. At least he seems completely fine after waking up and doesn't seem to remember a thing.

Baptism

We had Bradley baptized on Father's Day yesterday at the church that Scott was baptized in and in the same gown. I am a sucker for tradition so I made sure that it was OK to use the baptismal gown for our little guy even while I was still pregnant for him Of course, Scott's Mom was only too happy to oblige me.

My Mom and Step-Dad came over the night before so we could all ride together to the church since it is in Scott's hometown about 40 minutes away. We left a little late because Bradley didn't want to eat despite my best efforts and ended up getting to the church with only a few minutes to spare. My Mother-in-Law still had the gown because she took it in to get cleaned so she met us out front and Scott and I quickly changed Bradley into the 3 layers of silky material. We rushed to get seats and find the family all split up so Scott just took a seat in the front row. I felt bad because I wanted everyone to be close on this special occasion and my Mom and Step-Dad were all the way at the end of a pew with some congregation separating them from the rest of the family and Mike and Jen were in a completely different section. I wish we could have arrived a little earlier to make sure that everyone had seats by us.

The baptism was done in the middle of the service so the first half was me trying to prevent Bradley from chewing on his gown and standing on it since it was so long. The actual baptism went really well and he seemed to not mind the water at all or being in front of crowds! It was funny when the minister asked everyone to raise their hands like they are placing them on Bradley, he actually raised his hand as well. Smart little guy! The second half of the service was a bit more difficult than the first. By this time, Bradley was getting really warm in his outfit and as a result of that started to squirm and whine. At one point I took him over to the side of the church and held him because he seemed to like me standing up better even though he was more slippery that way. We stayed behind and got some pictures taken after the service was over and the church had a cake for us for the occasion with Bradley's name on it.

After all of that was over we headed back home to make a big breakfast for the entire family. Scott was really concerned about the timing for everything but between my Mom, Jen, and myself we managed to get food on the table at the same time so nothing got cold. It was a pretty successful day and I was so happy that most of our family were there to share in it.

Open House

My brother had his graduation open house on Saturday so we packed up the car again and headed the 3 hours over to my dad's house. We got there early so that we could help set up and spend some time with everyone before people started to get there. I don't think that I got to see Bradley at all that day except to feed him, for naps, and to rescue him from the crazy chain smoking lady who was getting too close in my opinion. I know it was an outdoor party but I still don't like Bradley to be around smoke. As I made my rounds to talk to family I kept hearing about how they saw Bradley and he was so cute, happy, and chatty but how they weren't allowed to hold him per my step-mom, Deb. I was glad that she was being like that with people though because I don't know everyone there and would rather know who has him at all times and every time I looked for him he was with Deb. The ride home went well after I popped into the backseat to feed him and then he slept the rest of the way home.