Baby Led Weaning: 3 Months In

The difference between how Waylen ate at 6 months versus now is seriously insane! I was amazed at how coordinated he was then but now it’s an entirely different story. He now uses his pincher grapse, he’s SO good at chewing everything, he rarely misses his mouth, and has even started opening his hand to get food out. I used to only know he actually got any food because it would speckle his poop (seriously ha) but now he bites off huge chunks, and chews them right up!

Here’s a list of the foods we’ve tried so far:

Broccoli
Sweet potato
Avocado
Zucchini
Carrots
Greek Yogurt
Eggs
Squash
Spinach
Hummus
Mahi Mahi
Raspberries
Watermelon
Banana
Cauliflower
Peanut butter
Mango
Pears
Cheese (feta, goat, Cheddar, motzerella, provolone)
Tomatoes
Apples
Shallot
Ground beef
Pasta
Bell pepper
Onion
Turkey
Strawberries
Pumpkin
Coconut
Oats
Flaxseed
Kale
White bean
Pineapple
Almond butter
Orange

We are now at the stage where I will offer him some of my meal when we are out to eat. He LOVED everything from the Greek Festival in San Diego. Spanakopita, pastitsio, he scarfed it all down. Clearly he’s a Greek baby! He also regularly eats veggie noodles with homemade sauce, egg muffins, meatballs, snowballs, and protein waffles. We still make his food semi separately from ours because we don’t add any salt to his. ( I’m horrible and add WAY too much salt to mine.) No salt doesn’t mean no seasoning for Waylen’s food though. We roast all his veggies in olive oil and black pepper, season his pasta sauces and hummus with garlic and herbs, and sprinkle cinnamon on his roasted sweet potato fries.

His favorite foods these days are squash (still,) PB banana waffles, egg muffins and sweet potatoes with cinnamon! He will seriously down and entire waffle and two mini egg muffins every morning for breakfast. It’s impressive!

Waylen is still my good little piggy and has yet to come across a food he doesn’t enjoy so let’s hope that continues forever! He eats everything up as soon as I can make it! I would love to hear what you’re feeding your little babes so send me all your BLW recipes!

Waylen: 9 months

Seriously the older Waylen gets the faster time flies. He is officially weighing in at 20 lbs. 8 oz and is 27 inches tall.

He also has a solid head full of fluff these days which I must say makes for a pretty adorable Mohawk.
He’s great at holding himself up while standing, takes steps while holding our hands, and can sometimes pull himself up to standing. He still doesn’t crawl fully though! He will get into crawl position on his hands and knees but only actually moves in an army crawl. That really doesn’t slow him down though. He still books it across the floor on his elbows!

In this last month Waylen flew across the country on his first plane ride and went to his first panthers game! He did amazing at both! Unfortunately though Waylen has definitely got a case of separation anxiety lately! It’s not allllll the time but he is definitely a mamas boy and will sometimes fuss or cry if I’m in the room and not holding him. Mostly it just happens later in the afternoon when he’s extra tired. Because of this though we decided to officially move him into his own room at night! It was a tough decision but we finally decided just to do it in an effort to keep him sleeping through the night. Luckily I think we miss him way more than he misses us ha.

Also Waylen said Mama and mom this month! And not just once or twice, he says it allllll day everyday! Still no teeth though! Ha but again that doesn’t stop him from eating any and everything this we offer him.

I cannot wait to see what this next month will bring! Hopefully some teeth 😝

Flying (ALONE) with Waylen

If you don’t already know, I recently took cross country flights with my 8 month old, ALONE. Before the trip I pretty much searched the internet for any and every piece of helpful information I could find so now I’m going to tell you what worked and what didn’t!

First let’s get into what I carried

Ergo
Diaper bag
Oversized purse
Umbrella stroller
1 checked suitcase

I highly recommend baby wearing in the airport. You don’t have to take them off to go through security so it’s a lot easier then getting them in and out of a stroller! I also have a diaper bag that converts to a backpack and I highlyyyy recommend investing in one! Not just for flying, just for life in general ha. I strapped my baby to my chest, then had my diaper bag on my back and still remained hands free to push the stroller, get IDs out, etc.

Now most importantly what did I actually put in my super cool backpack diaper bag.

Well for starters, way too much ha. I didn’t really think everything through. Since Waylen was a lap child and since I was traveling alone, it was pretty difficult to get anything out from under the seat. I could only really grab the top toy without getting up. So this is what I brought on my second flight for the baby:

1 days worth of diapers
1 new pack of wipes
2 outfit changes
Teether
Burp cloth
Crinkly book
Highchair rattle
Favorite stuffed animal
Plastic bag (to contain any blow out clothes)
Clorox wipes (I almost didn’t bring thing but I’m so glad I did because my tray table was covered in sticky stuff BOTH times)
Now I still breast feed so for his food I just brought my boobs ha.

For myself I brought:

extra shirt (sometimes blowouts are intense)
Sweater (I used this to cover while BFing and while bean slept to keep it dark!)
Water bottle
Snacks
Book (I think I read one chapter ha)

For the first flight we nursed at takeoff and then Waylen slept for 1+ hour. When he woke up we played with my water bottle, cookies, crinkly book, then he ate again, played some more, ate AGAIN, then napped for about 40, woke up, changed diaper, played, walked around, (because mama needed to stretch,) then nursed while we landed!

The flight back went a little differently. Bean only napped for one hour in the beginning and then he peed on me ha. So I was definitely glad I brought those extra clothes! We pretty much only played with my water bottle and those cookies they give you for the entire flight- it was just so much easier than trying to get stuff in and out of my bag!

Overall he really did great on both flights! No crying except for a brief whining when his ears popped on one of the landings. Besides that he was happy and playful the entire time. For me though, IT WAS EXHAUSTING! Ha Trying to entertain a baby while sitting for 5 hours is a workout both mentally and physically. In the future if I can avoid flying alone I totally will but come on, I’m sure everyone would ha so I mean it really wasn’t so bad.
I’m guessing though it will only get harder as Waylen gets older and more mobile. So if you’re thinking about flying alone with a babe, do it now! The younger the better!

Oooo and also a really weird thing that happened on my flight home — they told me Waylen wasn’t allowed to be in the ergo for take off and landing because I wouldn’t be able to brace for impact. Sooo I can’t brace for impact when I’m hands free but I can when I’m holding my baby on my lap? Doesn’t really make sense to me but it really didn’t matter since I nursed at takeoff and landing anyways.

But GOODLUCK to anyone about to make a trip solo, hopefully this post is helpful!

Waylen: 8 Months

Eight months! EIGHT FREAKEN MONTHS!

I’m not sure what’s happening but time is seriously flying by! Every day I look at Waylen and am amazed by how old he seems!

In this last month Waylen has made some huge strides. He loves standing and playing with his activity cube and although he cannot pull himself to standing by himself yet he is constantly pulling himself up to his knees. He loves his ball pit, playing fetch with Pickles (aka stealing her ball and trying to eat it,) dancing to Sexy Back by JT, reading The Foot Book, grabbing his toes, chewing on tags (clothing tags, toy tags, tags on blankets… he LOVES tags ha,) and the TV remote.

Lately he’s also been so giggly. Bouncing a blue ball? So funny! Swatting at a fly? A real knee slapper. Saying the word “poop” or calling him “boob dude?” Hilarious! He is just so cute and his laughs are the sweetest things I’ve ever heard.

Some other things he all about these days? Blowing bubbles! He lovesssss blowing spitty spitty bubbles. Constantly. And mostly all over momma. Ha. His favorite foods this month? Zucchini and hummus! Still no teeth though! He is my little toothless babe.

He is still sleeping through the night, his peach fuzz hair is finally coming in strong, and his eyes sometimes look greener than blue. He doesn’t crawl yet but he really doesn’t need to since he just rolls and pivots to get any/everywhere he wants to be. He’s a total mommas boy but still loves daddy time as long as I’m not in sight ha.

Waylen is still our perfect little babe! But really we are seriously so blessed to have such a sweet and easy going baby. I just can’t wait to see what this next month brings!

Waylen’s Wardrobe

So pretty much Waylen is now the most fashionable person in my household. Do I still enjoy buying clothing for myself? Uhhh yeah, but 1) tiny clothes are SO MUCH CUTER and 2) to be honest my ‘mom uniform’ is pretty much just a t-shirt and jeans these days. Lately everyone has been asking where I get Waylen’s clothes so I figured I’d do a blog post to outline my favorite shops.

Let’s start with big chain stores. H&M and Cotton On are my go-to shops for inexpensive basics. I LOVE Cotton On’s zip pjs. They are slim fitting (but not too slim that my chunky monkey won’t fit,) have the cutest patterns, and zip all the way up. I almost never use snap PJ’s or Rompers anymore. In my opinion they take too long, especially now that Waylen is older and much wigglier.

H&M has everything; cute jeggings, t-shirts, rompers, etc. all for relatively cheap. I would recommend just shopping online rather than going into the store. Online has a WAYY better selection and hello, is a lot less messy.

Now let’s talk Etsy shops. Chappy seriously makes fun of me SO much over my favorite shop. He always like “What’s that box, another shipment from Australiaaaa??????” UM YES! Hello Sunny Afternoon’s Clothes are seriously the best. I LOVE all her patterns and the fabrics are SO soft.

Some other Etsy shops I love are The Stitched Co

and Monsters Under My Bed.

Lastly let’s talk about some other small shops that I frequent way too often.

Little Bipsy carries a bunch of different brands (and seriously just be ready to buy one of everything) BUT if you’re just going to get one thing, GET THEIR BUTTON ROMPER. It is seriously butter. I made the mistake of ordering a size for fall so now I’m stuck waiting until Waylen can fit it. Here’s a Kippkids zip romper that I got from them as well. So stretchy and amazing!
Rags to Raches is all about the pull-on romper. No zips, snaps or buttons!
Babalus by Lucy has the cutest doggie leggings for your baby… and YOU if you want to match. I actually don’t even have a dog pair yet but I did snag these adorable tape pants.

We can’t forget about accessories! Waylen is almost always wearing a hat so here’s a list of my favorites shops to get hats from:

Now get shopping! But seriously, go buy everything so I can’t because I’ve already spent WAYYY to much on Waylen’s Wardrobe. Ha.

Baby Led Weaning: 1 Month

We are knee deep in Baby Led Weaning and are seriously having so much fun! It was a little nerve racking at first but Waylen has proven to me again and again that he is totally ready for all these finger foods we’re giving him. He chomps and chomps away and rarely ever gags on anything. Some of the early days I wondered if he was getting anything but let me tell you, the poop don’t lie. Ha.

So far we’ve introduced broccoli, sweet potato, avocado, zucchini, Greek yogurt, eggs, squash, carrots, watermelon, and mango.

Waylen’s favorites by far are Greek yogurt, mango and broccoli. He will do some serious chowing down on all of those and onlyyy ends up covered from head to toe in Greek yogurt. No big deal ha. I love giving him Greek yogurt too though because 1) he gets to practice with his spoon (which he’s surprising good at!) and 2) I can mix a bunch of different stuff into it. One of our favorites? Avocado! Seriously those little buggers are slippery so mixing it in with his Greek yogurt makes it a lot easier for him to eat! Also since introducing him to his spoon he seems to chew other veggies more. Maybe because he loves gnawing on the spoon? I’m not sure, but whatever it was he now has started to chew his veggie sticks better! (Which is really helpful since he still is toothless!)

We still are introducing foods fairly slow so he’s not quiet at taco night and spaghetti Wednesdays yet but we are slowly working our way towards that.

Here’s a few examples of what meal time looks like at our house:

Breakfast:

Over Medium Egg and avocado Toast for me| scrambled eggs and avocado for Waylen
Greek Yogurt and fruit for me | same for Waylen!

Lunch:

Roasted veggies, Chicken, and Rice for me | Roasted veggies for Waylen

Snacks for Waylen:

Sweet potato pops (roasted sweet potatoes and breast milk blended then frozen)
Greek Yogurt pops: seriously I put pretty much everything in these. Greek yogurt, breast milk, zuchinni, sweet potato | Greek yogurt and fruit | Greek yogurt and avocado or seriously anythinggg you have

Now I must admit, I don’t always eat what Waylen is eating. Sometimes I eat fast food and pizza and junk while I watch my cute little ham chowing down on some serious veggies. Trust me though, it really isn’t hard to roast or steam up some veggies even if I’m not eating them. It is SO worth it and a lot easier than making mushy baby food!

Baby Led Weaning does get messy so I highly recommend getting this high chair from Ikea because you can literally just hose it down afterwards. Plus you’ll need to invest in some quality bibs. This one from Ikea is my jam and I also love these ones from Babpron.

We’re still just beginners at this but if anyone has questions feel free to comment below!

Waylen: 7 Months

Gosh 7 months seems SO old! Where did my squishy little baby go???? We are officially closer to his first birthday than we are to his birth! How weird is that?! Waylen is now around 19 lbs and seriously gives momma an upper body workout. Carrying him in his car seat? Yeah right! It’s so hard ha.

Waylen has made some major changes in the last month. He’s a new man! Well, a new baby. He literally sleeps through the night from around 7pm to 6am which really means I’m a new woman! I’m getting so much sleep I don’t know what to do with myself! Also he is the napping king so I literally can clean the entire house just during his first nap. It’s great! (He is also exclusively a tummy sleeper now 🙄)

We are still chugging along with breastfeeding but now Waylen has also started solids. We’ve gone with Baby Led Weaning and so far he’s tried broccoli, sweet potato, avocado, zucchini, Greek yogurt, eggs, carrots, squash, and watermelon. It’s crazy how well he’s done. Babies are so smart! He knows exactly what to do, even when we gave him a spoon with yogurt, it went right to his mouth!

Some of his favorite things are animal noises, playing fetch with Pickles, his alphabet blocks, the book Roar, Greek yogurt, swinging at the park, and being held by any Panther player. That last one is kind of a joke but we’ve already got three Panther players to hold Waylen for a picture so might as well try for the entire team. Panthers PLEASE hold my baby. Ha

He is a champ at sitting on his own now, rolls from back to front and back like crazy, loves standing up, and blowing spit bubbles. He still is my little toothless baby though and hasn’t master how to crawl yet. Maybe one of those will happen this next month?! Who knows!