So now that my big boy will be six months old tomorrow, it is time for him to start eating solids and honestly, I have mixed feelings. I am a little bit sad that he is getting so big and find myself with a lot of questions and a little bit of stress. The stress comes in because I am not sure how it will affect my supply.
We started giving him rice cereal earlier last month because everything I read said that he was ready; he had doubled his birth weight, could hold his head up, for the most part he had lost the tongue thrust reflex, so we decided to give it a try.
The first time he struggled a bit but it made for some great pictures. The next couple of times he really got the hang of it. But then the more I read, the more I felt like I needed to wait until he was six months old, mainly because of the breastfeeding benefits. From what I understand, there really is no benefit to starting them earlier and that really the only reason to start feeding them solids is to get them use to eating with a spoon. They could be breastfed and get all the nutrition that they need just from this alone for the first year (not that I would do that). Basically, I didn't want to fill him up on rice cereal, which is pretty nutritionally dense, making him less hungry for the good stuff. So, we stopped feeding him cereal but now one month older, it is time to start again.
I am turning to the moms to answer my questions. Rice cereal once a day and a vegetable? Cereal twice a day, no vegetable? Vegetables first over fruits? Is it OK to mix the cereal with water? I hate to use breast milk when everything I pump is for the next day. I can always pull out some frozen, but am curious what others have done. Juice? There is apparently a lot of controversy over juice. What about water? Do they even need anything else to drink besides breast milk this young? When should you start giving them a cup?
Let me tell you based on what I have read what I am thinking. For now, I am thinking of doing rice cereal at night after I feed him. Once he gets the hang of that, two weeks maybe, we would up it to twice a day and add cereal after a morning feeding. Then maybe at seven months, start vegetables at one feeding, up it to two feedings and then start with fruits. I have heard to start with vegetables first because if you start with sweeter tasting fruits, he won't eat the vegetables, which is also what I have heard about juice. What have been your experiences?
Friday, November 6, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
An Evening with the Jazz
Another surprise this week that involved tickets was tickets to the Jazz home opener game. Marco bought them on e-bay, his guilty pleasure that sometimes gets him into trouble when it comes to designer jeans and Jazz tickets.
He was so excited to go and to take Mateo to his first Jazz game, let's just hope that this doesn't become a habit as it has in previous seasons.
Mateo was yet again fascinated with the sights and sounds of the crowd and the game. Everyone around him, as usual was drawn in by his charm and his jabbering. His yells were perfectly timed with the bad calls and bad plays, which got some laughs. All the excitement eventually got to him and he took a short nap to catch the end of the game and to watch the Jazz defeat the Clippers, 111 to 98.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thriller
Marco surprised me with tickets to Thriller, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite Halloween traditions. He didn't exactly surprise me though. I think he was so excited he told me a week before, but nonetheless, I was surprised and excited. This was to be our first date since Mateo.
We were planning on grabbing something to eat beforehand, but it just didn't work out so Marco picked up some pizza and we dropped Mateo off. His crazy aunt Brandee watched him and together they watched scary movies. She said if someone would scream, he would scream right back. He is quite the little screamer now.
One of my favorite things about Thriller is the zombies that walk around and sneak up on people. They have no shame and I love it. They always sneak up on the suckers who have no idea they are there. Some one will be talking to the usher to find their seat and will turn around to find that a zombie has been staring and lurking over their shoulder the whole time. They jump and scream. It's good times! I love the people that avoid eye contact with them at all costs...don't they know that makes them a target. This was one of my favorites this year. She creeped a lot of people out! This picture just doesn't do her justice!
As always, I loved the Thriller dances, which is of course, danced to Thriller. It was more impressive this year. I think they were dancing their little hearts out for MJ. My other favorite is, "Dem Bones." Typically, I am not a huge fan of tap, but the stage is completely black and then out of nowhere, you see nothing but stark white skeletons dancing, tap dancing. It is the coolest thing.
And yet again, my not so favorite was the Lorena Bobbit numbers. This may have been somewhat funny the first year, but every year since, not so funny. I looked around the audience and really no one was laughing. For those who haven't seen it, they have a woman come out and sing songs that have a not-so-subtle nod to cutting, knives and, "Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!"
Marco really liked it too. His favorite part though, he didn't even see. He was so disappointed that while he went to the bathroom during intermission, he missed a girl falling down the stairs. Let me first start off by saying she was OK and she was laughing. In fact afterward, she asked her friend, "Did I really just fall down the stairs?" I didn't laugh, but when I told Marco what he missed, he couldn't stop laughing and that got me going. She was one of the suckers that was scared by the zombies before the show. Who knows, maybe she thought one was behind her as she rushed down the stairs!
All in all, it was a great night. Thanks Brandee for watching him! Oh, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to smile in this picture. Oh so serious.
We were planning on grabbing something to eat beforehand, but it just didn't work out so Marco picked up some pizza and we dropped Mateo off. His crazy aunt Brandee watched him and together they watched scary movies. She said if someone would scream, he would scream right back. He is quite the little screamer now.
One of my favorite things about Thriller is the zombies that walk around and sneak up on people. They have no shame and I love it. They always sneak up on the suckers who have no idea they are there. Some one will be talking to the usher to find their seat and will turn around to find that a zombie has been staring and lurking over their shoulder the whole time. They jump and scream. It's good times! I love the people that avoid eye contact with them at all costs...don't they know that makes them a target. This was one of my favorites this year. She creeped a lot of people out! This picture just doesn't do her justice!
As always, I loved the Thriller dances, which is of course, danced to Thriller. It was more impressive this year. I think they were dancing their little hearts out for MJ. My other favorite is, "Dem Bones." Typically, I am not a huge fan of tap, but the stage is completely black and then out of nowhere, you see nothing but stark white skeletons dancing, tap dancing. It is the coolest thing.
And yet again, my not so favorite was the Lorena Bobbit numbers. This may have been somewhat funny the first year, but every year since, not so funny. I looked around the audience and really no one was laughing. For those who haven't seen it, they have a woman come out and sing songs that have a not-so-subtle nod to cutting, knives and, "Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!"
Marco really liked it too. His favorite part though, he didn't even see. He was so disappointed that while he went to the bathroom during intermission, he missed a girl falling down the stairs. Let me first start off by saying she was OK and she was laughing. In fact afterward, she asked her friend, "Did I really just fall down the stairs?" I didn't laugh, but when I told Marco what he missed, he couldn't stop laughing and that got me going. She was one of the suckers that was scared by the zombies before the show. Who knows, maybe she thought one was behind her as she rushed down the stairs!
All in all, it was a great night. Thanks Brandee for watching him! Oh, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to smile in this picture. Oh so serious.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sports Firsts
Mateo is always up for new things so when we were able to get tickets to some sporting events recently, we decided to pack up the diaper bag, and the slew of crap that is needed to cart kids around and head out to support our local teams.
The first was the Real Salt Lake game, which was last week. I was really excited to go and thought that we would be home in plenty of time before his bedtime and then the day of, I found out that it started at 8:30, 30 minutes past his bedtime. Yikes!
I fed him, got him all bundled up and we headed out. Once we got there, Marco put him in the carrier on his chest and Mateo was fascinated watching the crowds as we walked to the stadium. Byron and Mandie along with Marco's parents and Derek met us at the game. We had a lot of fun and Mateo actually did very well considering it was so late. He loved looking out onto the field and seeing all the lights. He was so quiet and was just in awe. He also met some friends.
There was a family sitting next to us and the mom couldn't take her eyes off of him and was playing with him. Her husband was sitting next to Marco and told him that he wanted to have one more baby but that his wife didn't want to. She explained to me that she is so busy with girl scouts, soccer and a lot of other activities with her older kids and was always exhausted. After seeing him though, she said she was thinking about it. She said she would give her husband one shot. Her husband thanked us!
Back to the game. It wasn't looking good for awhile so we were heading up to the press box to say hi to Marco's old boss and right when we got up there, they scored a goal. I think there was a minute or two left of the game and we were heading out and right as we were passing the part of the stadium by the goal, they scored again.
Next up, the Utes! I was able to get some tickets from work to the U game on Saturday. I got four tickets so we took Byron and Marco's cousin, Carlos, aka Chuck. I was a bit more nervous about this game because of the weather. It was supposed to rain and it was looking pretty chilly. We bundled him up yet again and packed the diaper bag full of things that we may need. This was a longer game and we had tickets to the hospitality tent and were going to eat and hang out there before the game, so we needed to be prepared.
We were running a little bit late again, (this seems to be occurring pretty frequently now), but today, it was because Marco waited in line for 5 hours to get the H1N1 shot. I had mine last week, fortunately because I would not have waited in line that long with Mateo. At least he had some company. Derek and Tony also went to get the shot, all because they love our little dude as much as we do!
When we got there, everyone was starving so we went and ate and it was soooo good. They had Tuscana cater it, which is a Brazilian steakhouse. Ironically, my favorite was the chocolate chip cookie. Nothing Brazilian about that.
The game was good, although the Utes were sucking it up for awhile! The weather was off and on. Before the game, we stopped and got Mateo a Ute beanie. We couldn't have him wearing the blue one he had on. We also picked up a poncho to cover him up when it rained. We may be horrible parents for taking him out with the unpredictable weather, but he had a good time and was definitely warm. He even took a nap with all the screaming fans and crazy weather.
These two games were enough for Mateo and I but an hour after we were done at the U game, Marco took off his Utah t-shirt and traded it for his RSL shirt and headed to the last RSL game of the season. Dude is crazy!
The first was the Real Salt Lake game, which was last week. I was really excited to go and thought that we would be home in plenty of time before his bedtime and then the day of, I found out that it started at 8:30, 30 minutes past his bedtime. Yikes!
I fed him, got him all bundled up and we headed out. Once we got there, Marco put him in the carrier on his chest and Mateo was fascinated watching the crowds as we walked to the stadium. Byron and Mandie along with Marco's parents and Derek met us at the game. We had a lot of fun and Mateo actually did very well considering it was so late. He loved looking out onto the field and seeing all the lights. He was so quiet and was just in awe. He also met some friends.
There was a family sitting next to us and the mom couldn't take her eyes off of him and was playing with him. Her husband was sitting next to Marco and told him that he wanted to have one more baby but that his wife didn't want to. She explained to me that she is so busy with girl scouts, soccer and a lot of other activities with her older kids and was always exhausted. After seeing him though, she said she was thinking about it. She said she would give her husband one shot. Her husband thanked us!
Back to the game. It wasn't looking good for awhile so we were heading up to the press box to say hi to Marco's old boss and right when we got up there, they scored a goal. I think there was a minute or two left of the game and we were heading out and right as we were passing the part of the stadium by the goal, they scored again.
Taking it all in
I love his face here!
Next up, the Utes! I was able to get some tickets from work to the U game on Saturday. I got four tickets so we took Byron and Marco's cousin, Carlos, aka Chuck. I was a bit more nervous about this game because of the weather. It was supposed to rain and it was looking pretty chilly. We bundled him up yet again and packed the diaper bag full of things that we may need. This was a longer game and we had tickets to the hospitality tent and were going to eat and hang out there before the game, so we needed to be prepared.
We were running a little bit late again, (this seems to be occurring pretty frequently now), but today, it was because Marco waited in line for 5 hours to get the H1N1 shot. I had mine last week, fortunately because I would not have waited in line that long with Mateo. At least he had some company. Derek and Tony also went to get the shot, all because they love our little dude as much as we do!
When we got there, everyone was starving so we went and ate and it was soooo good. They had Tuscana cater it, which is a Brazilian steakhouse. Ironically, my favorite was the chocolate chip cookie. Nothing Brazilian about that.
The game was good, although the Utes were sucking it up for awhile! The weather was off and on. Before the game, we stopped and got Mateo a Ute beanie. We couldn't have him wearing the blue one he had on. We also picked up a poncho to cover him up when it rained. We may be horrible parents for taking him out with the unpredictable weather, but he had a good time and was definitely warm. He even took a nap with all the screaming fans and crazy weather.
These two games were enough for Mateo and I but an hour after we were done at the U game, Marco took off his Utah t-shirt and traded it for his RSL shirt and headed to the last RSL game of the season. Dude is crazy!
Enjoying his nap warm and dry
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Playing Catch Up
So with Marco starting this thing up again for me, here I go again, trying to keep up with the blogging world. I have never been good at writing in a journal. In fact, one of my best friends, Kelly, was so dedicated to hers when we were younger that if I forgot the specifics of something, I would have her check her archives to fill me in on the details of what happened on a certain date. Yes, most of the time we were with each other, so nine times out of ten, she had me on record. It is with her dedication as inspiration, along with all of my blogger friends that I set out to re-dedicate myself.
I must say that part of my problem is I feel like so much has happened lately and that there is no way to catch up. There is so much I want to write about: my pregnancy and my little angel, the adventures of the new house, our new life as a family and life before our little Mateo came along (which is now hard to imagine), including our "single life" and traveling adventures. I really want to be able to look back and remember these times because guaranteed, in a couple of years, I won't be able to remember a thing. You think I am kidding, but I have a horrible memory!
So just bare with me. If posts seem very random and out of order, well, it's because they will be. I will try not to stress myself out over the pressure of maintaining a blog, but instead take it one day at a time. Do you like the self pep talk?
Hmm..where to start?
My little Mateo. He is getting big so fast! He is 5 1/2 months old and is changing so much every day. Being a mom is the most amazing and most difficult job in the world and I am loving it. Don't get me wrong, there were and are still so many surprises that come along with the job. Some rewarding and some down right exhausting, physically and emotionally, but how quickly I forget those moments when he smiles or laughs and stares at me with his big brown eyes. So innocent and amazing is my little boy.
He has always been a good baby. Eating started out a little rough, but he obviously got the hang of it (have you seen my boys chunky legs, cheeks and well, everything?) although we had a little scare at first. I am breastfeeding, and it was a huge shock to me that the most natural thing in the world does not come naturally. I took a class and thought I was so prepared, but when we were getting ready to leave the hospital and he wasn't eating very well, it was so hard on me. We went for a weight check the day after we left the hospital and my pediatrician told me he couldn't lose any more weight. Right after that, I went to a lactation consultant and with more and more practice, he eventually got the hang of it. Let's just say that pretty much everyone at the hospital had seen the girls before we left and several people after, but it's amazing how quickly you don't care about that and will do whatever it takes to feed your baby.
He has always been a good sleeper, sleeping long enough for me to get some good sleep and continues on with that. Now that I am back to work, I have to get enough sleep or I don't function and it is like he understands that. He sleeps from about 8 or 9 until 5 or 6, he eats, a lot, and then falls asleep again until about 8:30 or 9. He cries in his sleep a couple of times but if you put his binky back in his mouth he is out again. I used to think that was a good thing but now I am not so sure. It seems like he should be done with that now, but nevertheless, I am thankful for sleep, even if I have to get up for 10 seconds to put it in his mouth and go back to sleep. Marco is supposed to take on the bulk of binky duty, which is usually getting up twice since I am up earlier to feed him, but he has slowly and conveniently stopped hearing him. In fact the other night, I watched him pick up the monitor like it was his alarm clock, turn it off and go back to sleep, even though the baby was still fussing. There is no snooze button!
He really is a healthy, happy and very social baby. He hits new milestones every week and I love learning more about him everyday and get so excited over the smallest things. Watching him discover the world is so fascinating to me. He loves being out and always has. I think he gets bored easily and loves running errands with us and just coos away. Since his first trip out with us, carried snugly in the sling Marco wore while I shopped for nursing bras (exciting I know), he loves it.
Some milestones to date: he has doubled his birth weight, smiled, laughed, discovered his hands, discovered his feet, has rolled from his stomach to his back, tries to eat his feet, fake coughs just to hear himself, grunts, is a fabulous pooper and farter, burps like a champ without even being burped, reaches for toys and pulls moms hair, finally enjoys tummy time, watches cartoons, screams happy little screams, sighs, he hard swallows like his dad and is doing well with physical therapy. Physical therapy, that is a future post.
I must say that part of my problem is I feel like so much has happened lately and that there is no way to catch up. There is so much I want to write about: my pregnancy and my little angel, the adventures of the new house, our new life as a family and life before our little Mateo came along (which is now hard to imagine), including our "single life" and traveling adventures. I really want to be able to look back and remember these times because guaranteed, in a couple of years, I won't be able to remember a thing. You think I am kidding, but I have a horrible memory!
So just bare with me. If posts seem very random and out of order, well, it's because they will be. I will try not to stress myself out over the pressure of maintaining a blog, but instead take it one day at a time. Do you like the self pep talk?
Hmm..where to start?
My little Mateo. He is getting big so fast! He is 5 1/2 months old and is changing so much every day. Being a mom is the most amazing and most difficult job in the world and I am loving it. Don't get me wrong, there were and are still so many surprises that come along with the job. Some rewarding and some down right exhausting, physically and emotionally, but how quickly I forget those moments when he smiles or laughs and stares at me with his big brown eyes. So innocent and amazing is my little boy.
He has always been a good baby. Eating started out a little rough, but he obviously got the hang of it (have you seen my boys chunky legs, cheeks and well, everything?) although we had a little scare at first. I am breastfeeding, and it was a huge shock to me that the most natural thing in the world does not come naturally. I took a class and thought I was so prepared, but when we were getting ready to leave the hospital and he wasn't eating very well, it was so hard on me. We went for a weight check the day after we left the hospital and my pediatrician told me he couldn't lose any more weight. Right after that, I went to a lactation consultant and with more and more practice, he eventually got the hang of it. Let's just say that pretty much everyone at the hospital had seen the girls before we left and several people after, but it's amazing how quickly you don't care about that and will do whatever it takes to feed your baby.
He has always been a good sleeper, sleeping long enough for me to get some good sleep and continues on with that. Now that I am back to work, I have to get enough sleep or I don't function and it is like he understands that. He sleeps from about 8 or 9 until 5 or 6, he eats, a lot, and then falls asleep again until about 8:30 or 9. He cries in his sleep a couple of times but if you put his binky back in his mouth he is out again. I used to think that was a good thing but now I am not so sure. It seems like he should be done with that now, but nevertheless, I am thankful for sleep, even if I have to get up for 10 seconds to put it in his mouth and go back to sleep. Marco is supposed to take on the bulk of binky duty, which is usually getting up twice since I am up earlier to feed him, but he has slowly and conveniently stopped hearing him. In fact the other night, I watched him pick up the monitor like it was his alarm clock, turn it off and go back to sleep, even though the baby was still fussing. There is no snooze button!
He really is a healthy, happy and very social baby. He hits new milestones every week and I love learning more about him everyday and get so excited over the smallest things. Watching him discover the world is so fascinating to me. He loves being out and always has. I think he gets bored easily and loves running errands with us and just coos away. Since his first trip out with us, carried snugly in the sling Marco wore while I shopped for nursing bras (exciting I know), he loves it.
Some milestones to date: he has doubled his birth weight, smiled, laughed, discovered his hands, discovered his feet, has rolled from his stomach to his back, tries to eat his feet, fake coughs just to hear himself, grunts, is a fabulous pooper and farter, burps like a champ without even being burped, reaches for toys and pulls moms hair, finally enjoys tummy time, watches cartoons, screams happy little screams, sighs, he hard swallows like his dad and is doing well with physical therapy. Physical therapy, that is a future post.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
2 Year Brief Update ----- NO JOKE!
Nearly 2 years later and FINALLY, a new post! Where to begin: First of all, a lot has happened in 2 years, but I don't exactly know what. I do, however, know that most of my time has been engulfed by my now, 5 month old boy Mateo. Ok, truth is, this is Marco updating this post. Let's see if I can get Lindsee back into the "blog" of things.
Mateo Antonio Colindres (MAC IV) was born on May 7, 2009 @ 6:11 pm. It was a Thursday and we arrived at the hospital 9:30 am.
At the hospital, Mateo had a bit of jaundice, but have no fear, he overcame it like a champ. However, it was a little hard to see him under those lights.
In addition to the new little dude in our lives, we have also built a new house that we are still in the process of getting put together. But with our hands full with the little guy, it has been put on the back burner, with hints of new things here and there.
This is the update, for now. Lindsee will update from now on and I'll make her do it, but I'll need your help encouraging her to keep updating it also.
Mateo Antonio Colindres (MAC IV) was born on May 7, 2009 @ 6:11 pm. It was a Thursday and we arrived at the hospital 9:30 am.
At the hospital, Mateo had a bit of jaundice, but have no fear, he overcame it like a champ. However, it was a little hard to see him under those lights.
In addition to the new little dude in our lives, we have also built a new house that we are still in the process of getting put together. But with our hands full with the little guy, it has been put on the back burner, with hints of new things here and there.
This is the update, for now. Lindsee will update from now on and I'll make her do it, but I'll need your help encouraging her to keep updating it also.
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