Caleb 10 Months

Photo Credits: Hope Photography 

Age: 10 months
Weight: 27lbs
Size clothes: Hard to tell! Mostly 24 month but squeezing into them. I don't know what to do next because they don't make onesies beyond 24 months. Do they have a plus-sized baby line? Or clothing line made for baby giants?

Interests: Caleb has taken up the sport of throwing balls. Actually he will throw everything that makes a noise when it hits another object. He thoroughly enjoys tossing a ball around with himself. Crawling still remains his main hobby and he has added climbing over things into the mix. If I put a big pillow in a doorway tp stop him from entering that room, he will say "Challenge accepted mom. I bet I can try to scale that!". He loves to try to climb over daddy when they are snuggling in bed. Caleb is in the "deconstruction" stage of development right now, when he tries to take everything apart, knock over towers I build, take object out of boxes, remove all the books from his bookshelf, and take all the puzzle pieces out of his puzzles. A few weeks from now he will enter the "building" stage, so right now  am cherishing how fun it is to watch him gallop towards a tower to knock down every single block. Every block must be leveled.

Challenges: Sleep is a challenge right now. Caleb has been on a constant growth spurt since I returned from visiting my family in the Bay Area a few weeks ago. He eats 2-3 times at night and he chugs. He must really need those extra calories for that massive brain that must be growing in his noggin. The good thing is he doesn't stay awake for hours (usually) but the broken sleep is exhausting. It is not recommended to night wean until your child is at least one year of age am I can see why. He is truly getting quality nutrition at night. The second biggest challenge has been to keep him out of the kitchen. We don't have a gate or contraption that is big enough to git through our kitchen entryway and right now our kitchen is not safe for him to play around in. We have been temporarily blocking it off with our coffee table and a couch cushion but our little climber takes this as a challenge and will try to scale the cushion or push the coffee table. Oh vey. At least we know he is super persistent!

Milestones: Caleb is now consistently saying "mama", "Mum",  "Mehm""Dadada, "Da", and "Deh" when he desires that particular parent. It is the sweetest thing to hear your child request you by name! Just this morning John asked Caleb "Buddy, do you want mama?", to which Caleb loudly responded while jumping out of his seat next to dad, "MEM!!". My hear is so full during these moments. Caleb is also banging two object together and if he could get his hands on some cymbals he might never stop playing with them. Caleb definitely recognizes his name now and will turn when called.  He is giving us "kisses" which equates to him bulldozing us with his face while his mouth is open. He has actually pushed John off the floor bed by nuzzling into him super hard! He is an intense cuddler. Another interesting milestone that is developing is parental preference and separation uncertainty. When one of us leaves the room he is playing in he might start to cry and become upset. I might be playing with him in his room but when he sees dad walk by the door all he wants is to play with John. This typically occurs between 9-12 months.

Eating/sleeping/pooping: Caleb has expanded his tastes in food! He is actually consuming a bit more during feeding. He continues to love beef and chicken liver, scrambled egg yolks, sweet potatoes, coconut oil, and zucchini. We have added cooked pear, cooked apple, cooked carrots, and squashes into the mix. So far most of it ends up not in his mouth but he sure is having fun! Since we don't have a dog to clean up the mess it makes it hard for me to prioritize feeding him solids.  Can we just nurse until he can ask for solid food? I mean, seriously I can make the food in my sleep, always have an open tap, don't need to clean up a floor, a face, and a highchair, and can never leave my boobs at home when we are out and about. In all seriousness my breastfeeding goal is 2 years, the World Health Organization's recommended minimum.  Sleeping? Caleb takes 1-2 naps a day. If it is 1 nap it is usually 3-3.5 hours! If it is two naps they can vary from 1-3 hours each. Bedtime has been a lot earlier recently due to Caleb's desire to rise with the birds at 5am. Let's talk poop. Can I just say that this in between breastmilk and solids business is plain old nasty? Especially with cloth diapers. Yet another reason I dislike solids.

Funny Memory:   This month I bought an ikea potty chair because they were finally back after a 1 year worldwide shortage. I didn't want to miss the boat again. John laughed at me and asked why I was getting it. "Oh, they might run out again! It's never to early to start with toilet awareness!", I pipped. Ensue massive internal eye roll from husband. The next morning I put Caleb on it just for fun and he peed. He seriously peed. On. The. Potty. I thought it was a happy accident but decided to try again a few more times that day. Lo and behold, he went two more times. I had considered doing elimination communication with him at 6 months and just got lazy and never tried. I researched it again and started implementing several times during the day where I would take him to pee. After 1 week Caleb was going 4-5x a day and having 1-3 wet diapers, usually during naps. He now will get fussy when he needs to pee and will hold it for up to 3 hours so that he can empty himself on his little potty chair. He must really be aware of when he is wet and doesn't like the sensation (I mean, would you sit around in a wet t-shirt for more than 10 minutes?) and enjoys avoiding getting wet. I don't have any expectations for this to last or to make this "potty learning". For right now, our little squirt can squirt all he wants on the potty or decide he likes the ease of a diaper for those satisfying uninterrupted tinkles when he is playing. This phenomenon continues to make me giggle and be impressed at the same time with my wise little son.

Want to see more pics of our trip up to the Bay Area? Check out my sister's photography blog Hopefolio. Photo Credits Hope Photography 2014.

Optimal Spine Development

If you have been following my blog for a while you will remember that I wrote a post about infant movement readiness and our decision not to put Caleb into a fixed or sitting position until he could get there on his own. We desire to help his spine develop without the awful complications we both have (multiple forms of scoliosis and a hard right lean). Well, the hard work has paid off and we now have a completely mobile and capable little sitter. He is incredible agile, strong, and moves with such ease and strength. His posture is perfect, his core is ridiculously strong, and his upper body strength is a little bit terrifying. Curious how we helped him become a baby beast? Want to know the secret for helping a kid develop proper movement patterns and a healthy spine? Read on my friends.

What most parents do:
Most parents these days have loads of contraptions that put their children into a fixed position and limit mobility. Baby swings, bumbos, play saucers, highchairs, playpens, and even cribs are just a few of these contraptions that provide no additional benefit to the child's development and were created for the parent's convenience. In addition parents bring their infant carseat everywhere and their child is essentially in a fixed position for hours, which accounts for the rising rates of plagiocephaly. Another growing trend is parents propping their infants into a sitting position to "help them learn to sit" or to even purchase an item that claims it will help their child learn to sit.  This is mostly driven my parents thinking that their child "should" be sitting around 6 months. This is actually false and it wasn't until recently that this misconception arose. When my mom was parenting us she remembers, "Oh we knew not to put you into a sitting position until you were 6 months old because you couldn't support yourself. You don't hold a kid into a sitting position if they are going to fall over".  This wisdom has been lost!

The problem:
When your baby is placed in a sitting position before she is ready, this puts the entire weight of her head on her spine. When the spine and surrounding muscles have not developed the strength to properly support this weight, it can lead to the risk of spinal degeneration or issues with the surrounding organs.  Baby contraptions that limit movement are a big setback for infant development. Combined with parents "helping" their children sit, muscle imbalances arise and neurological pathways are formed differently for movement patterns. The main problems associated with putting a child in a fixed sitting position before they are ready are spinal development, sacrum development, and core development. Our shoulders are supposed to be the first weight-bearing joint in our bodies, not our hips. There is a very sequential way in which the infant's spine develops all of the curvatures we see present in adults. They are born with a "C" shaped spine and grow into an "S" shaped spine. Changing the order in which these curves develop may be detrimental to spinal health. The sacrum is not meant to bear weight until the ligaments and muscles surrounding it can support the weight of the baby's head and torso stacked on top of it. Core development is crucial to sitting and walking stability. When babies develop the skill of rolling before sitting they are practicing the twisting and pulling their core will need to get into and out of a sitting position with ease. When a parent "teaches" a child to sit by placing them into a sitting position before they can roll the child is more likely to fall over and injure themselves because they do not have the core strength to "fall gracefully".

Don't  be a sloucher! This baby is too young to have the full weight of their head stacked on her spine

The solution:
Be different starting with not putting your child into a sitting position! It might be hard to ditch all of the contraptions at first (especially the crib) but you can start with babywearing instead of carring your child in the carseat around town. This will help their vestibular system and core develop as you walk, move, and bend over with them on your chest or back. Understanding infant spinal development will help you make the best decisions for your child! Below is a great visual for the steps of spinal development. 

The pelvis and sacrum are not ready to bear weight until the spine have developed the lumbar curve (usually around the time they crawl)

"C' shaped at birth 

Cervical curve develops during tummy time 

Lumbar curve develops during crawling, sacrum begins to tuck

What we did:
-Lots and lots of tummy time (pretty much every time he was put down he was on his tummy)
-Provide non-battery operated engaging toys for movement motivation (place just out of his reach)
-Our carseat stayed in the car and we babywear when we are out of the home
-Limit stroller time to a few hours a week
-No bumbo sitting ever
-No highchair sitting until independent sitting is demonstrated (we didn't do solids until 7.5-8 months)
-No saucers
-Regular chiro adjustments
-No placing him into a sitting position by propping him up 
-Communicated with out Church staff and the YMCA staff that watch Caleb to NOT put him into a sitting position. I even made a card for them to quick reference on his backpack.

The benefit:
It was quite beautiful to watch Caleb learn how to get into a sitting position all on his own. It was pure perfection. We didn't have to do a single thing to help him learn what to do. It was so fun to see all of his hard work on his tummy finally pay off. Right before he started crawling and sitting he had been rolling all 4 ways for a few months and had started to be able to rotate/pivot on his tummy to do a full 360. He was rocking on all four limbs but would only move forward an inch or two when he lunged forward.  He started kicking out one of his legs when he was on all fours to a kickstand position. One day he kicked that leg out and then pushed with the other quad to go into a downward dog position! I was shocked and amazed. Later that day he went into his kickstand position and was rocking on his stable leg. His but touched the ground and he slowly walked his hands up to his crotch. He was sitting! The very next day he started army crawling. It was so fast and furious. Within three days of the downward dog incident he was getting himself into a sitting position, army crawling, and going into downward dog. His sitting position was stable and didn't need a spotter after 4-5 days (he would try to go from sitting to army-crawling and would lose his balance for a few days before he mastered it). Two weeks later he started crawling on all fours. Here we are one month after that first downward dog and now Caleb is a speed crawler, sits with the best posture in the whole wide world, and can move between sitting and crawling with ease. He amazes me. I had no idea how much fun it would be to sit back and watch his movement patterns develop without my interventions. The pictures below document his spinal development and gross-motor development from birth to 9 months! 

4 weeks old. Holding head up for 3-5 seconds

3 months- holding head up for 5-10 minutes

3 months- shoulders bearing weight 

4 months- shoulders bearing weight for 30 minutes

4.5 months-trying to push up

7 months- rolling over, playing with toys in supine for many hours a day

7 months-pushing up in supine 

7 months- practicing with friends

7 months- pivoting in supine

7 months- rocking on hands and knees

7 months- kickstand one leg out, trying to sit back when on hands and knees

8 months- downward dog

8 months- pushing back from hands and knees into sitting

8.5 months- stable sitting, army crawling, moving from floor to sitting with ease

9 months- crawling on hands and knees, sitting, and apparently throwing balls got thrown in there too 

9 months- crab crawling (1 foot flat on ground while pushing, a rare way of crawling) 

9.5 months, sitting, crawling, playing with toys at mid line, twisting, falling without injury, trying to crawl on top of pillows 

Further reading: 
From C to S: How to Nurture Your Baby's Spine Development 
Beware the Bumbo Seat- MamaOT

Caleb 9 Months

Age: 9 months
Weight: 25lbs
Size clothes:18-24 month (no pants fit)

Interests:
Caleb is exploring sound right now. The sound his voice makes, the sound of a great slap of the hand on the tile, and most recently the sound a tin top makes when it is hurled on the hardwood. Joyous things. We have chosen not to have any toys that make sound except for his baby Einstein Mozart toy. It is so fun to watch him explore where sound originates and what causes various sound textures! He also loves to interact with people, especially other babies, when we are out. He will stare someone down until they make eye contact with him and then he will burst into a smile the moment he know he's hooked them in. I get a lot of comments from people saying, "Wow! He's such a happy baby!" and they are completely right. This kid is pretty easy to please. Caleb has also taken up a voracious reading habit. He literally devours books every chance he can get (seriously, I had to duct tape one because he chewed the spine off). He has very discriminating tastes in books and prefers ones that involve livestock.

Learning about sheep

Challenges: Caleb is getting into everything now that he is mobile. His main targets are cords and outlets. I block off the living room so he can roam and play freely but it won't be long until he has figured out a way to scale the couch cushions and reach the much desired tower fan. Another challenge has been to see his free-will and desires grow. He now will become upset when a toy, or what he thinks is a toy but is unsafe, be taken away from him or be out of his reach.

Sensory board with his pillows keeping him away from the fan

Milestones: Crawling and sitting! On September 20th my mom came down for Caleb's dedication. That night Caleb started army crawling and got himself into a sitting position consistently! After two weeks of army crawling Caleb was crawling on his knees. The amazing thing about these milestones is they happened at the exact same time. If you read my post on Babies and Movement Readiness you will remember that we did not put Caleb in a sitting position so that his spine and muscle structure could develop correctly. As soon as Caleb could put himself into a sitting position independently he could also move from tummy to sitting and back to tummy. He has only fallen backwards 4-5 times and this has been because he was distracted. His posture is perfect. I am so glad we waited for this milestone to develop on its own and now we can see the benefits! If you want to see the little guy in action you can check out videos on my Instagram account. As  side note Caleb has started saying "Da-da-da" and Ma-ma-ma" recently!

On his way to crawling, this guy could barely sit still

Eating/sleeping/pooping: Caleb has really grown a lot in his nursing capabilities. He will now nurse in our Ergo carrier (praise the Lord) and will nurse straddling my while sitting in my lap. Its a bit awkward but its nice to have another position besides lying down for every feeding. Sleep has been a little varied because he was sick. He goes to sleep around 7 or 8pm on his Montessori floor bed and will nurse around 2am and again at 5am. He will wake up for the day around 7am. It isn't recommended to attempt to night wean until a child reaches 1 year of age so I am content to treasure these precious nighttime moments and enjoy the baby snuggles. His naps are pretty great and it is a whole lot easier for me to wait until he is giving me tired signs than it is for me to try to force a nap on him. Well let's talk poop. Since doing a few more solids I have to say this new stuff in the diaper is a bit gross. I have found plenty of sand he apparently consumed after going to the beach.

Favorite sleeping position on his floor bed

Funny Memory:      
Caleb has been really excited about throwing balls recently. He will play "catch" with John which is just about the most precious thing in the whole wide world. He was sitting in front of his mirror in his room with his green ball when I noticed he was making faces at himself. He then started throwing the ball to his "friend" in the mirror. The awesome thing was the ball bounced back and he did it a few more times! I was able to catch it on video and I watched it about 20 times after he was in bed over the course of several nights.  

One of his favorite balls

out takes

Breakfast with Auntie Robin

Caleb and Hendrix meeting for the first time

Library story time with his buddy

When the sleep angel hits, you roll with it

Primal Baby

If you have been following me on facebook recently you might have noticed some recent pictures that might shock and amaze you. Like how I feed Caleb liver. And egg yolk. And bone broth. Call me weird, crazy, or strange if you like, but I believe I am giving Caleb the best possible start for a healthy digestive track and healthy eating habits.

It all started when I read the book Super Nutrition for Babies as per recommendation of my friend and blogger Jamie. This book completely changed my view of how we should feed our infants. The doctor who wrote the book advocates that food is the pathway to health. By supplying our bodies with the right nutrients we can better protect our bodies from contagious diseases, chronic diseases, obesity, and other illnesses related to deficiencies.

I am completely on board with this philosophy and have been for a while since learning more about nutrition through the wonderful Doctors and friends we have met through AdvoCare. AdvoCare advocates for the same holistic approach to health and wellness through proper nutrition, supplementation, and a healthy lifestyle. If I am going to help adults get healthy and give their bodies a fighting chance to stay that way why wouldn't I want to do the same for my own children?

Enter primal eating.

John and I have been about 90% paleo for 4 years now. Gluten and dairy will never enter our house due to our own allergies. So what is our plan for Caleb? Offer him baby super foods.

A few of these include:

Soft-boiled egg yolk
Egg yolks provide the "perfect protein" for babies. Keeping it semi-raw allows the heat-sensitive enzymes to remain in tack. The egg white is usually what people are allergic to, so just feeding the yolk to your baby reduces allergic reaction potential. I got some local organic eggs from a Farmer's Market to feed Caleb. He loved them! I did have to scramble the yolks a few times because the raw yolks gave him bad gas. 

Do I have something on my face?

Caleb loves to rake the scrambled yolks and shove them into his mouth

Liver
liver is the best source of all most all known nutrients. It is a common misconception that animal livers hold toxins. If you get a liver from a healthy animal this shouldn't be a problem. Babies are notorious for loving liver and gobbling it up and Caleb sure does! I cooked organic chicken liver then froze it. I will give him a hunk frozen to gnaw on and he loves it! This is the food item he reaches for the most.

trying to fit the whole liver hunk into his mouth

Gnawing on liver

Taking a bit of liver

Bone Broth
This is excellent for the digestive system because it contains gelatin, which is uniquely able to stimulate and support digestion. My friend MJ makes an organic bone broth that we LOVE. She simmers down the bones to much so that all the nutrients are in a highly absorbable form. I mix bone broth with Caleb's eggs and feed it to him with a spoon. When Caleb was sick with a fever a few weeks ago I fed him 1-2oz of bone broth in a bottle and his fever broke within 2 hours. Coincidence or not I'm not sure, but at least I know its great to feed a sick kid broth!

Little sick Caleb fighting off a fever

This is usually how I feed Caleb bone broth. I put it on a spoon and let him control how much he eats

Cod-liver oil
CLO (for short) contains copious amounts of DHA, which supports nervous system function, cellular communication, and helps probiotics colonize the gut. We have not introduced this one to Caleb yet but I am excited to soon!


STAY TUNED
I will be doing a future post on a few more foods we have fed Caleb as well as on the method of feeding, called Baby-Led Weaning. This method allows him to control what he chooses to eat, how much, and helps develop self-feeding skills. This is why you see pictures of him feeding himself instead of me feeding him pureed versions of foods or baby food.

Self-feeding champion

Ditching the Shampoo

I haven't washed my hair in a month.

Let me rephrase that so you don't plug your nose when you see me next: I haven't washed my hair with shampoo for a month.

It has officially been one whole month since I ditched the shampoo and conditioner to go "poo-free". Yes, I shower and "wash" my hair, just not with stuff that comes out of a bottle! I absolutely love the results I have seen so far and I never imagined how amazing my hair could feel. Want to know more?

What is"no-poo"?
No-poo is going part-time or full-time shampoo-free! People do it for a variety of reasons, the main one being to restore their body's natural oil production so that their hair is less greasy between washings. Others do it to reduce exposure to lurking toxins and chemicals in shampoo. Some extreme people only use water to wash their hair (crazy!). The standard "no-poo" method for washing your hair is to do a "shampoo" scrub of baking soda/water on the scalp to lift grease, remove odors, and exfoliate the scalp followed by a vinegar or apple cider vinegar "conditioner" rinse that clarifies, softens, and gives the hair a lustrous shine. Simple household ingredients that are cheap, gentle on the hair and scalp, environmentally friendly, and all natural!

Why did you do it? 
Firstly I knew that anything hippy-ish, DIY, and natural would be right up my creative alley! I suffered from terrible dandruff before I was pregnant. Pregnancy cleared it up but then it returned with a vengeance around 4 months postpartum. I was looking for a natural way to control it because in the past special shampoos, topical steroids, and even essential oils failed to keep it at bay. In addition, my hair was getting increasingly greasy between washings and I had much less time to wash my hair with a baby to take care of. I was looking for something that would allow me to go longer between hair-washings without the grease build up.

Any drawbacks? 
For some people it might take a month or two to see results. For others, their hair might get really greasy before it starts to get better. This is typically seen with people whose hair has undergone years of "shampoo abuse" or in people who have a high oil production in response to "over-shampooing". Another drawback is traveling with your baking soda and vinegar concoctions can be challenging. And then there is the group of people who might really miss the foamy frothy feeling of scrubbing shampoo into their hair because the no-poo method doesn't get you those soapy suds.

What does your shower routine look like? 
I will wash my hair 2-4 times a week depending on how sweaty I get and if I am swimming. For the "shampoo" I put a 1/4 cup of baking soda in a small cup before I step in the shower. I add water until it is a bit thinner than a paste and can be poured. I pour it over different parts of my scalp and exfoliate for 30 seconds or so, focusing on any spots that were greasy. For the vinegar "conditioner" I have done two methods that I like. I have used a spray bottle and an old honey bear container (one you spray on, one you pour over). Both ways you mix equal parts water and vinegar in your container and apply to your entire head of hair, working from the roots to the tips. I personally leave it in for about 2 minutes but it can also be rinsed out right away. Rinse out then finish with a cold rinse to seal in the shine. Be careful! The vinegar can sting your eyes or any cuts if you aren't paying attention. NOTE: if you do not rinse the vinegar out thoroughly you will smell like a salad.

Any results so far? 
Amazing results people! Better than expected! My dandruff is nearly gone, my hair shines so much more, my hair feels thicker, and most impressively the roots stay clean and less greasy between washings. I have gone up to 5 days between washings and only at the end was it getting a little bad and grease ball. I can really feel the difference and my hair feels so much healthier. The natural, protective oils on my scalp are a whole lot happier and I can tell it is a bit more in balance that before when I was using shampoo regularly.

New healthy hair! 3 days without "washing"

No flakes!

Final Thoughts
I am really glad that I embarked on this hippy hair adventure. I have received so many benefits and am very pleased with my new hair! Early on I made the decision to forgo shampoo for Caleb and instead just use water and maybe twice a month a gentle castile soap on his head and body. All those chemicals I saw as unnecessary and I knew that a baby's oil is super protective for their skin. I wish I had decided to to the same for myself sooner! For anyone who is crunchy curious and is interested in trying it out I would say go for it! You don't really have anything to lose and the worst that could happen is you go back to using regular shampoo. The best that could happen is you pay a fraction of the cost for hair that will make celebrities envious and put Pantene commercials to shame. In the future I can see myself using traditional shampoo occasionally if I am traveling, need to get something yucky (like baby food) out of it, or I am getting my hair cut at a salon.  This adventure has been so fun and I am excited to share it with more people!

Picture Gallery 

Since some of you skip all text in my blog and will only look at pictures of Caleb, here ya go! Eat your hear out on this chubby cuteness!

Not so sure about the sand sample

Gobble up the thighs daily

Teething baby morning cuddles.

Kinsley is teaching the boys how to use a pen correctly

Sand Castle building season with his buddy