Baby's First Cold

A few weeks back, Elsie got her very first cold. She had a very stuffy nose for a few weeks and then got a cough. We are lucky she didn't get sick at all until she was almost 7 months old! So for my future reference and anyone else who's battling baby's first cold, this is what worked for us.

Boogie Wipes Natural Saline Kids and Baby Nose Wipes for Cold and Flu, Unscented, 30 Count (Pack of 3) : for those crusty boogers, and to keep baby's nose from getting sore from all the wiping

Little Remedies Noses Saline Spray/Drops, 0.5 Ounce : to keep thing moist (yuck)

Nasal aspirator: we have the good old fashioned kind, and I'm probably the last mom on the planet to have not used the Nose Frida, but we have managed to suck out many a boogie with the basic aspirator

Crane Usa EE-3186 Elephant Cool Mist Humidifier : works wonders on stuffy noses! I put it on at night and during nap times. I actually plan to use it in Elsie's room all winter because we have radiators here which dry up the air

Also, for really stuffy nights, I have elevated one end of Elsie's crib mattress which seems to help a bit.

It's really tough when baby catches a cold because they just don't understand why they feel so gross but it will pass.

Elsie's 7 Months Old!

Elsie is seven months old today! 

We took some pictures outside and some pictures inside because it is really really sunny this morning!

"I'm gonna eat this"

It has been quite a big month for Elsie! 

This month she:

-started eating a lot more purees about 6-8 oz a day. She had tried pretty much all the stage 1 and 2 purees that don't contain meat. She loves sweet potatoes and bananas but hates green beans. She also tasted a pickle and made a really silly face. 

-also, she started eating puffs and yogurt melts and LOVES them 

-got to spend a week and a half with her Meme! (we miss her!)

-learned how to give sloppy kisses

-got her first 2 teeth! (two middle bottom)

-got her first stuffy nose (we've been lucky)

-started sitting up by herself

-started sleeping on her tummy (but still gets up several times a night)

-started crawling!!

-pulls up to stand

-loves peek-a-boo

Our little girl is so much fun! I can't believe how big she's getting!

Elsie's Favorite Toys (6 months)

Thought I would do a post on what Elsie enjoys playing with most at 6 months.  This is constantly changing but here are some of her faves

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Fisher-price rock-n-stack- loves knocking this over and has even tried to put the rings back on it but she isn't that coordinated yet. 

Exersaucer- the past month or so she's really gotten in to this.  She would sit in it before and pay with the toys but now she LOVES to bounce in this.  She really gets in the zone while bouncing haha.

Glow worm- not so much a toy as it is a bedtime item but she loves it!  I play it for her when she's falling asleep.

Monkey- been a favorite for awhile now,  he talks and songs and she gets the biggest smile when I bring him out

Wooden Blocks - I just brought these out this week but they are already a big hit!  She loves to pick them up out of their cart and knock them over if I attack them up for her. 

Also, in general she loves any plastic/rubbery toys that she can pick up and chew on. 

And now that's she's getting around she loves anything she isn't supposed to have haha.

Us Lately

Thought I'd do a post on what we've been up to lately.

Elsie is starting to get mobile. But she loves to sit and play with her toys.

She also loves to get into the dvds. She can even slide the door open to get to them!  (Sigh)

We had my mom/ Elsie's Meme visiting for a week and a half. Time absolutely flew by! 

The weather is getting a bit chilly so I'm starting to make fall/winter food like this beef roast in the slow cooker. I absolutely LOVE making food in the slow cooker because it's so easy! 

I also got a new shelf for the living room that is, thankfully,  out of reach of Elsie's little hands.  I moved some picture frames up there because Elsie goes for anything she shouldn't have haha.

Talk to you soon!

Youtube!

We recently started making weekly vlogs on youtube! It is quite the learning curve but I think it will be so fun to go back and watch them when Elsie gets older. 

Head on over to youtube and subscribe! :) 

Elsie Mae is 6 Months Old!

Elsie Mae is six months old!

I can't believe our little lady has been in our lives for a whole half of a year! Even though nights can be long, getting up with her two to four times a night, time is absolutely flying by! (And I think my body has just adjusted to less sleep.)

She is quite the busy little bee these days! 

She started eating pureed foods and baby cereal at around five months. She was eating forty ounces of formula a day and I just felt she was ready. It took a couple weeks for her to really get the hang of it but now she is eating three to four ounces of purees a day. She's just now starting to drink a little less formula too. She loves fruits and will tolerate most veggies as long as it's not peas. She hates peas. 

She is quite a big baby! At a park the other day, a man was stunned that Elsie was only six months because she's so big and his baby was seven months and quite a bit smaller than her. She weighs about 19 pounds and is about 26 inches long. I'll have more exact measurements when she goes to the doctor tomorrow. She's a little chunk but her weight gain has definitely started slowing down,

She is determined to be mobile! About two weeks ago she started lifting her belly up off the ground and then shortly after started getting on her knees. She is now rocking back and forth on her knees all the time trying to figure out how to crawl. Also, around the same time, she figured out rolling from front-to-back and from back-to-front. Needless to say, we are babyproofing. 

She still likes going for walks but doesn't like being in the stroller once you stop walking. She wants to be out of that thing seeing what's going on. So she sits in a highchair at restaurants now. 

She is teething like crazy! I swear she will have teeth any day now. The drool has been excessive and she chews on any and everything. 

She's still our happy baby girl! She loves to smile at everyone most of the time and doesn't fuss too much. She can also give some really funny looks, like above, "what do you mean don't chew on that?" haha

I can't wait to see what next month brings! 

Elsie Mae is 5 Months Young

Every month brings so many changes!

Measurements:
She is weighing roughly 18 pounds. She's a chunky little nugget haha. She was 25 inches at 4 months and I haven't measured her but she probably only grew a inch or so.

Skills:
She can now sit unsupported. She only falls over every now and then. I can sit her up in the pack n play and she will play like that for a really long time.  If she does fall over she normally just flips to her back or belly.

She quit rolling over. She just doesn't seem interested. When she's on her belly now she tries to go forward, kicking her legs like she's swimming haha. She wants desperately to go forward but ends up just scooting backwards. She can get pretty far doing this but it makes her mad since she ends up so far away from her toys.  She doesn't pull up to her knees yet.  But she can rotate to each side to get toys.

Eating:
She eats 36-40 ounces of formula a day.  (I know!)

Since she eats so much, and she sits unsupported, and grabs at food and puts it in her mouth... We felt she was ready for some solids.

She's had pureed squash, sweet potato, peas, bananas, carrots, and green beans. She's also had rice and oatmeal cereal but we don't feed her cereal every day. I try to offer her food twice a day. Sometimes she does better with it than others.

She's also had carrot sticks and cucumber to chew/suck on. She likes this way better than purees. She hates me feeding her and wants to do it all herself. Grabs the spoon and gets mad if I take it back. So I let her do what she can. I have some squeeze pouches to put the purees in but she hasn't figured that out quite yet.

Sleep:
She's horrible at sleeping now. Up 3-4 times a night.  It's pretty rough but I think it might be teething related. I'm not sure but we are working through it. 

Things she loves:
Her dogs! Well...All dogs really. 

Going for walks in the stroller or the carrier. 

Sitting on my lap.

Smiling at her daddy.

She doesn't really have a favorite toy but loves the crinkly soft books and other toys that crinkle. Or anything that she can chew on. 

She's such a sweet baby!