Ellis: Ten Months Old

I truly feel like you are missing out, if you never get to hang out with Ellis.  He is such a joy to be around.  His little personality is developing rapidly & he is becoming his own little person.  It is such an honor and privilege to be his mom & I just adore watching him grow (but wish I could keep him little forever)!

He is developing by leaps & bounds... I swear he learns or does something new every day.  Ellis is pointing, waving "hi" and "bye", clapping his hands (albeit selectively), and plays peek-a-boo.  He also is good for about 3-4 rounds of patty cake in a row.  He knows (and loves) his puppy Grace.  He loves looking at the Christmas lights and is very interested in the ornaments on the tree, so we can't take our eyes off of him.  Gone are the days of him playing unaided in the living room while I prepare dinner... it's all hands on deck when he's around.  He is FAST, not walking independently yet, but cruises all around with his learn with me walker.  He pulls himself up on everything, climbs, and has no fear.  He is very into sitting up & trying to escape his crib right now... often times at 1:00 AM.

He has graduated from purees and eats all table food.  He still takes 5 oz of milk every 3 hours, but this momma's supply is dwindling fast, and we've started supplementing with formula.  Plus, he is starting to self-wean & is no longer interested in nursing (I've already cried about it, multiple times, so I just gotta let it go and come to terms with the fact that he's growing up).

Ellis is "on" 100% of the time & is go go go all day long.  He's becoming quite the copy cat -- he wants to do whatever we're doing.  He's curious, determined, and very spirited.  At his 9 month well check, he clocked in at 17 lbs 5 oz and 28 1/2 inches long.  A little peanut, with a big personality :)  Usually Ellis is FULL of facial expressions, but lately he's been giving people the stone face -- zero expression -- until he warms up a bit.

Ellis had a couple of firsts this month, including his first hair cut!  Daddy finally talked me into a teeny-tiny trim around his ears (that's all I would agree to), and now we have his first "curl" tucked away in a memory box.  He also hunted for his first Christmas Tree!

Things I love about Ellis this month:
- The way his tongue comes out when he's really concentrating
- The boy has eye lashes for daysss (I'm jealous!)
- His hearty, infectious giggle
- How ticklish he is
- That time we wore matching outfits (here)
- His sweet, soft "singing" voice

Ellis James, you are the apple of my eye!

Previous recaps: One Month | Two Months | Three Months | Four Months | Five Months | Six Months | Seven Months | Eight Months | Nine Months

The Hunt for the Perfect Christmas Tree

I feel like the holidays are just more special when you have kids.  I have this desire to make everything as magical and as special as can be for Ellis, because I want him to have fond memories of the holidays that he will have for a lifetime.   Our parents always made the holidays special for us, so we want to do the same for Ellis.

Also with the holidays comes traditions.  We're a heavy "traditions" family (see previous posts about traditions here, here and here ), and I'm so glad that Ellis gets to be apart of them going forward.

Like searching for the perfect Christmas Tree.

Zac wanted sooo badly to cut down a perfectly, un-perfect tree on his family's land where he hunts, but our little house can't quite accommodate a Clark Griswold tree, so we did the next best thing.  We found a homemade sign reading "cut your own tree" just a few miles up the road from our house & turned in.  About a quarter mile down a winding trail, we came upon a little old man, and a little old woman, staying warm in a little shack.  They handed us a saw, and told us to drive up the hill to park.  From there, we could take a left & walk down the trail or go down to the right, and cut down any tree we wanted.  We were to come back once we found one for some candy.  (They were so sweet!)

Once we got to the top of the hill, we actually spotted their house.  They were selling trees from their own yard!  There wasn't a lot to choose from, and they were definitely "rustic", but I guarantee you that we made their day.  After searching for about a half hour, we found a winner!

Least you think the day was perfect....  Ellis is OVER IT right about now.

I know Ellis is too young to remember all of his "firsts" but that's why we take photos, right?  To remember, to savor, to cherish... even the times we don't recall.  We can relive them through photographs.  And Lord knows, I will take a million. :)

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Remember The Year of the Baby Tree?
And the year it took us 4 minutes to find our tree?
Ahhhh, good memories indeed :)

Ellis: Nine Months Old

Dare I say it, but could this be the most fun age yet?!  Ellis is so entertaining right now, I just love hanging out with him.  He is learning new things every day & amazes me at how quickly he can get himself into trouble!

We've got a mover and a shaker on our hands... this kid is NEVER still.  Getting monthly photos is proving to be quite the challenge... 99.9% of them turn out blurry because Ellis is a busy busy baby!

He goes to the doctor for his 9 month well-check in 2 weeks, but I'm fairly certain he hasn't surpassed the 17 lb. mark yet.  Though he be but little, he is fierce!  Don't let his size fool you -- he will get around and do all the things, just like the big kids.  He can still wear some 6 month clothing, but for the most part is in 9 month clothing and still in size 3 diapers.

Ellis boy is getting braver and braver by the day -- pulling himself up on everything, climbing, standing independently for a few seconds at a time.  He's crawling everywhere -- not a traditional crawl, but either an army crawl or like a 3 legged crab crawl type thing.  It's so cute, but now that he is fully mobile, he's into everyyyyything.  He has learned the word "no" but it doesn't mean he listens. :)  

Question parents:  What word do you use instead of "no"?  I feel like I'm saying "no no" all.the.time.  I sometime use "ouch!" or "yucky" but mostly just say no. And I don't like.  It's so negative, and I feel like a broken record.

Ellis is enjoying more regular meals mashed up or in tiny pieces vs. just pureed veggies and fruits.  This month he's tried and loved chicken noodle soup, spaghetti, tenderloin with mashed potatoes, pork roast & brown rice with broccoli, pancakes, hash browns, chicken, and turkey -- to name a few of his favorites.  He sometimes hoards food in his cheeks, which I did as a child too, so that's kinda funny.  We're still nursing while at home, otherwise he still taking 5 oz of breastmilk at daycare every 3 hours.

We've had to do some sleep training this month because he wasn't going down at night, and waking up frequently out of the blue.  We did the dreaded "cry it out" method (which I didn't believe in) after a very frustrating night of frequent wake ups and not wanting to leave momma's arms. But I told myself he was safe, he had a full belly and clean diaper -- he was just playing me.  He just wanted to be held.  He cried for an hour straight.  It was equal parts heartbreaking and like nails on a chalk board.  We nearly caved multiple times but held firm, and he did eventually fall asleep.  He's had a couple other instances where he cried/whined for 20-25 minutes after I put him down for a nap or for the night, but does eventually get himself to sleep, so I'd say it's working!

He still just has the two bottom teeth, but I think the top ones will be in soon.  I't's kinda hard to picture him without his gummy smile.

We are currently teaching him to wave "hi" and "bye" and clap his hands.  Slowly, he's learning!

Things I love about Ellis this month:

- The way he sticks his tongue out and up over his upper lip when he's really concentrating.

- His giggle.  I think I say this every month, but man -- I realllly love it.

- His eyes & eye lashes.

- The way he flaps his arms like a bird when he's excited.
- His endless expressions.
- That he is generally always happy!

We're so looking forward to Christmas with this little one... he's going to be such a ball!


Previous recaps: One Month | Two Months | Three Months | Four Months | Five Months | Six Months | Seven Months | Eight Months 

Make: Lactation Cookies {and other tips for boosting your supply}

I'm currently just shy of 9 months into my breastfeeding journey.  I've shared before about the not so glamorous truths of breastfeeding in this post, and since then some aspects have gotten easier, while others have not.

A recent issue I've been dealing with is low supply, which just floors me because I was such an over-producer for the first three months.  Maybe this is my body's way of telling me that it's time to hang it up, but I so desperately want Ellis to receive momma's milk for the first year of his life.

I've heard the following ways can help increase your milk supply:

Drink a beer every night.
Drink a blue Gatorade.
Drink mother's milk tea.
Eat oatmeal.
Use Fennel essential oil.
Take a Fenungrek supplement.
Drink 75 million gallons of water a day.
Eat healthy fats like nuts and butter and avocados.
Put flax seed on everything.
Power pump.
Reduce stress.

I've tried a few things on the above list, but in my efforts to research how to increase my supply, I found this recipe for lactation cookies.  Basically, I was hooked at the word 'cookie'.

Zac, being the wonderful husband that he is, has been making me batches of these cookies every couple weeks, and I honestly do notice a slight increase my in supply when I eat them.  Plus, they taste really good, so I am highly recommending them.

We freeze them, and I eat one or two a day.  I notice that I pump about two more ounces in the morning when I eat them consistently.  I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but every drop counts!  Whether it's a coincidence or not, I'm not sure, but I certainly don't mind "needing" to eat my cookies everyday!

If anyone has had any luck in successfully boosting their supply, please share your secrets in the comment section below!





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