Jumping High and Sitting Tall
It's been a while since I posted last, so I thought I should at least share some new pictures. The last month hasn't been too eventful, but Evie's been growing and changing every day.
Evie will be 6 months next week (so hard to believe!) - we are looking forward to starting solid foods. Hopefully she'll enjoy them. She likes putting everything else in her mouth, so I'm sure she'll be happy to have some flavour soon. I'm also looking forward to having a little bit more freedom - as much as I love breastfeeding, it will be nice to be able to leave for longer than a couple hours once she is eating consistently. I think we figured out part of the reason she won't accept a bottle though - one day I decided to taste some of the milk I had frozen (after watching Evie act like acid was burning her lips when a bottle touched them) - and it tasted just terrible. I was sure that wasn't normal so I compared it to fresh milk and sure enough, my frozen milk all tasted sort of rancid. I haven't seen our doctor yet, but from a bit of research, I'm pretty sure it's due to excess lipase in my milk (lipase is an enzyme that digests fat, and it can start to digest the fat in stored milk). Anyway - I'm pretty sure that has promoted Evie's aversion to bottles. I think my milk lasts a few hours without going bad, so it will just need to be fresh pumped - glad I didn't make too big of a stock pile in the freezer!
On the plus side, she will drink milk from a cup with lots of assistance, so I think we'll just work on those skills over the next little while.
Craig helping Evie to drink from a cup.
Our last month hasn't been too busy, but that changed a bit this week. We started our Mother Goose class at the library on Tuesday and our Mommy-Baby boot camp on Wednesday. Combine that with daily dog walks, a couple play dates each week, and a grocery shopping trip or other errand and our schedule is pretty full! Both these classes run for about 10 weeks.
The Mother Goose class was very well done. It is offered free through the Calgary Library (at most branches), and there are about 16 other attendees. Evie really liked to look around at all the other babies in the room. The two facilitators did a great job teaching us new nursery rhymes and songs (It seems like a lot of the songs are new lyrics to familiar tunes, so they were pretty easy to pick up). They also do a good job of making it a social environment for the mothers. Several of us stayed after the class to look at some of the books and CDs the librarians were profiling and chat about babies - definitely nice to have some adults to talk to when you spend most of your day talking to a baby and two dogs :)
The boot camp class was also really fun - I signed up more as a way to get out and be social, but it turned out to be a really great work out (I'm definitely not in my peak shape right now, but I'm probably 75% there). The babies just hung out on the mats and looked around, and seemed pretty entertained by their moms marching/jumping/squatting/lunging etc. Sometimes the babies are incorporated if you want the extra weight while doing a lunge or squat (I opted not to incorporate Evie...too much extra resistance!). The class is offered by our community association, so it's right down the street which is very convenient. I'm definitely feeling the burn in my legs today, which is what I like after a work out.
Evie is growing fast - I'm sure she's close to 20 lbs. She has her six month appointment on Monday, so she'll hit the scale and we'll see. We changed her out of the bucket seat and into the convertible seat the other day (ended up going with the Diono Ranier seat for those of you who may have been active in my Facebook post about car seats the other week). She spent much of the last month grabbing her feet, which she likes to do most when she is naked (taking off her clothes seems to cheer her up right away). She still won't roll, but she is getting better and better at sitting. She will sit unassisted for a couple minutes now but still isn't reliable enough to be left unattended. She also got the hang of the jolly jumper and has a few jumping sessions each day.
That's about all I've got to share other than some updated pictures and videos:
Little jumping bean (also note how she hits herself in the face with those rings haha):
She also likes to exercise her voice in the jolly jumper:
Evie putting those strong legs to good use - she likes to stand now, but is pretty wobbly.
Craig's Aunt Diane and Cousin Michelle came for a visit on Easter weekend - it was great to see them and was their first time meeting Evie
Our clan on Easter (We were dog-sitting Layle while her 'parents' were off getting married in Mexico)
We love this hat made by Grandma Sue
And, angry bunny (not sure what happened to upset her so much, but I thought I'd capture in on camera)
Eating her spoon - soon it will be more exciting Evie!
.
Snuggle time on the couch - I can't say that I like it when she is tired/grumpy, but I definitely enjoy the snuggles
Naked playtime and grabbing her feet
Hanging out with Hudson and Ruby - Evie is probably so intrigued by other babies because she is usually just surrounded by these guys (we might have to actively teach her that she isn't a dog :)
Riding on Daddy's shoulders
Enjoying this amazing weather we've been having on the back deck
Learning to sit in the nice soft bed
...and the nice soft grass
And finally on the floor (still with a pillow behind, just in case)
Happy girl during playtime
The cow returns (she isn't afraid of it any more)
All dressed up for our trip to the Farmer's Market with our monthly mommy-baby outing group
What Ben did after we told him to give Evie a kiss - he was pretty close :)
Waiting for Daddy to come home from work
Evie will be 6 months next week (so hard to believe!) - we are looking forward to starting solid foods. Hopefully she'll enjoy them. She likes putting everything else in her mouth, so I'm sure she'll be happy to have some flavour soon. I'm also looking forward to having a little bit more freedom - as much as I love breastfeeding, it will be nice to be able to leave for longer than a couple hours once she is eating consistently. I think we figured out part of the reason she won't accept a bottle though - one day I decided to taste some of the milk I had frozen (after watching Evie act like acid was burning her lips when a bottle touched them) - and it tasted just terrible. I was sure that wasn't normal so I compared it to fresh milk and sure enough, my frozen milk all tasted sort of rancid. I haven't seen our doctor yet, but from a bit of research, I'm pretty sure it's due to excess lipase in my milk (lipase is an enzyme that digests fat, and it can start to digest the fat in stored milk). Anyway - I'm pretty sure that has promoted Evie's aversion to bottles. I think my milk lasts a few hours without going bad, so it will just need to be fresh pumped - glad I didn't make too big of a stock pile in the freezer!
On the plus side, she will drink milk from a cup with lots of assistance, so I think we'll just work on those skills over the next little while.
Craig helping Evie to drink from a cup.
Our last month hasn't been too busy, but that changed a bit this week. We started our Mother Goose class at the library on Tuesday and our Mommy-Baby boot camp on Wednesday. Combine that with daily dog walks, a couple play dates each week, and a grocery shopping trip or other errand and our schedule is pretty full! Both these classes run for about 10 weeks.
The Mother Goose class was very well done. It is offered free through the Calgary Library (at most branches), and there are about 16 other attendees. Evie really liked to look around at all the other babies in the room. The two facilitators did a great job teaching us new nursery rhymes and songs (It seems like a lot of the songs are new lyrics to familiar tunes, so they were pretty easy to pick up). They also do a good job of making it a social environment for the mothers. Several of us stayed after the class to look at some of the books and CDs the librarians were profiling and chat about babies - definitely nice to have some adults to talk to when you spend most of your day talking to a baby and two dogs :)
The boot camp class was also really fun - I signed up more as a way to get out and be social, but it turned out to be a really great work out (I'm definitely not in my peak shape right now, but I'm probably 75% there). The babies just hung out on the mats and looked around, and seemed pretty entertained by their moms marching/jumping/squatting/lunging etc. Sometimes the babies are incorporated if you want the extra weight while doing a lunge or squat (I opted not to incorporate Evie...too much extra resistance!). The class is offered by our community association, so it's right down the street which is very convenient. I'm definitely feeling the burn in my legs today, which is what I like after a work out.
Evie is growing fast - I'm sure she's close to 20 lbs. She has her six month appointment on Monday, so she'll hit the scale and we'll see. We changed her out of the bucket seat and into the convertible seat the other day (ended up going with the Diono Ranier seat for those of you who may have been active in my Facebook post about car seats the other week). She spent much of the last month grabbing her feet, which she likes to do most when she is naked (taking off her clothes seems to cheer her up right away). She still won't roll, but she is getting better and better at sitting. She will sit unassisted for a couple minutes now but still isn't reliable enough to be left unattended. She also got the hang of the jolly jumper and has a few jumping sessions each day.
That's about all I've got to share other than some updated pictures and videos:
Little jumping bean (also note how she hits herself in the face with those rings haha):
She also likes to exercise her voice in the jolly jumper:
Evie putting those strong legs to good use - she likes to stand now, but is pretty wobbly.
Craig's Aunt Diane and Cousin Michelle came for a visit on Easter weekend - it was great to see them and was their first time meeting Evie
Our clan on Easter (We were dog-sitting Layle while her 'parents' were off getting married in Mexico)
We love this hat made by Grandma Sue
Happy bunny....
And, angry bunny (not sure what happened to upset her so much, but I thought I'd capture in on camera)
Eating her spoon - soon it will be more exciting Evie!
Snuggle time on the couch - I can't say that I like it when she is tired/grumpy, but I definitely enjoy the snuggles
Naked playtime and grabbing her feet
This is about the extent of her rolling skills so far (she still despises tummy time...so front to back rolling also doesn't go over well)...
Hanging out with Hudson and Ruby - Evie is probably so intrigued by other babies because she is usually just surrounded by these guys (we might have to actively teach her that she isn't a dog :)
Riding on Daddy's shoulders
Enjoying this amazing weather we've been having on the back deck
And finally on the floor (still with a pillow behind, just in case)
Happy girl during playtime
The cow returns (she isn't afraid of it any more)
Evie with Ben and new baby Jacob - I still can't believe how tiny Jacob seemed - I was scared to hold him and I can hardly even remember when Evie was small like that (so sad!)
What Ben did after we told him to give Evie a kiss - he was pretty close :)
Waiting for Daddy to come home from work
Super cute pics Ellen. I especially like the "Happy Bunny" pic.
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