The 4 Month Checkup and Avery Might be Taller than Us

03/20/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Don’t you just love taking your baby to the doctor knowing full well they’re about to get poked with those monstrous needles? Yeah, me either….

Just so happens that’s what I did with Avery this morning! Her delayed visit became the present and I’m pretty sure she wasn’t happy. I could ramble on and on about her visit, but I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.

Feeling pretty good today and Daddy is just taking pictures of me in my car seat.

Wait a second……why am I in my car seat?

W-wh-what is this building? There’s no food here!

Noooo! I smell a doctor’s office and Daddy is looking at me with apologetic eyes!! Oh, I just pooped a little.

I’m not going to stop this until Daddy takes me back home now!! No, don’t take me in another room!

Hmm, my hand is pretty good and I’m quite flexible…

Oh, okay, Daddy just took me to hang out in this room while I work on my hand.

What the!?! That was the worst feeling ever! Daddy, you are now my arch nemesis!!

Seriously, where is Mommy? And why am I still crying with my thumb in my mouth? Self-soothing my diaper rash!

I feel a little tired now, maybe I’ll just rest my ey….

And that was our trip to the doctor’s office for Avery’s 4 month checkup. Luckily we are following the alternative vaccine schedule I mentioned before and she only got 2 shots. She’ll get more next month, but at least her body won’t be overwhelmed.

Avery weighed in at 13.9 lbs putting her in the 68th percentile for her age and she was 25 inches in height which is in the 86th percentile. This didn’t seem to be too concerning since she is on a strictly breast fed diet. Our doctor said after the 4 month mark, we should start seeing a boost in weight. So, we’ll see how she’s doing at the next checkup!

After a long 3 hour nap, I took Avery for our first walk in the Onya Baby Outback. I’ve been very anxious to test it out on a long walk and eagerly headed out the door with our dog, Abby in tow.

Heading out for our first of many "Outback" journey — Heading out for our first of many “Outback” journeys

We went our standard route which is a 1.5 mile loop that I do twice. I really like going up the big hill to make it more challenging. Yes, I’m weird like that. Wait until you see what I do with a Fiskars StaySharp Max Reel Mower. I’ll go into detail in future posts.

Avery was fussy for a while, but ended up falling asleep. I was worried she wasn’t into the Onya, but after we got home, we found the culprit of her fussiness was a dirty diaper! Oops, sorry Avery!

Along the route, we ran into the neighborhood goose. He usually around the same area every day we go for a walk.

After we finished our hour of walking, which was close to 4 miles, Going Mom was home and we went for another 30 minute walk. So the total time in our Onya Outback was just over an hour and a half today and about 5.25 miles!

I’m thoroughly satisfied after our first long walk in the Outback and know Avery will enjoy it more when she is bigger. I did use the Baby Booster this time and it helped her temperament over how it was without. One thing I noticed it that I can move my arms to wipe sweat or bugs from my face without worrying about the carrier moving around while she sleeps. In the Baby Bjorn, since the tension is all on my shoulders, any arm movements usually disrupt her slumber.

I am seriously liking the Outback and look forward to another journey tomorrow. Hopefully Avery will be more accepting too!

I'm warming up to it! — I’m warming up to it!

Going Strong

Going Strong: 3 Moves to Work Your Core During Playtime with Baby

03/20/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Babies are demanding little people! When you’re not feeding, changing, or rocking them to sleep, they require constant attention. Take your eyes off of them and try to do something for yourself? No way; you’ll only get this…

If you don’t have a baby that’s demanding of attention, well, maybe you’re just boring; or I’m jealous. Either way, if you’re like me and need to be active every day or you feel like slush, you need to get creative. Creative parenting is a must to keep your baby and yourself healthy.

So, if you’ve already been through Peek-a-Boo Push Ups and Burpees with Baby, why not try working your core? I have 3 moves you can do to strengthen your abs and keep (most) babies entertained. You can even make it educational too!

The first move is the plank. If you want to make it more challenging, add press ups, but be careful with your baby under you!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47_ylIHEodA?rel=0&w=420&h=315]

The second and third moves are crunches and ab twists, respectively, and I combined their demos on one video. Of course, baby safety always comes first, so make sure you are in a safe area and physically capable of holding your baby securely.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_beaLHMfSg?rel=0&w=420&h=315]

I apologize for having to look at my face more than Avery’s, but I only had a stack of children’s books acting as camera man. At least she makes some cute coos for all to hear!

And now I want to show you all three together as a routine.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4bxm_i9Mq8?rel=0&w=420&h=315]

Try doing 3 to 5 rounds of:

60 second planks or 10 plank press ups over baby (count time or reps)
20 crunches holding baby
10 baby ab twists per side

Most babies, depending on age, won’t understand what the hell you’re doing, but they will still be entertained. As I mentioned in the videos, count your reps out loud to add an educational component to your playtime workout. Anything you can do to stimulate your baby’s brain is a plus!

Hope you and your baby can enjoy this together. Let me know how you liked it if you do!

Does your baby cry the second you set them down or are the just fine not being held?

Update: I added this post to the #FitFamilyFriday link-up. Check it out by clicking the button below and share your own story on living a healthy life or read how others are doing so. You might find something you’d like to try!

Going Reviews

Our First Day Out in the Onya Outback

03/19/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

As I proclaimed yesterday, I was anxious to get out and give our new Onya Baby Outback carrier a try. What better way to break it in than by going grocery shopping?

I have about 4 or 5 different stores I’ll go to for various food items depending on what we need. The most frequent stores I visit are Costco and Sprouts. I used to go to Central Market (owned by H-E-B) but haven’t made it there as much. Hopefully soon because I love that place! Anyway, today we went to 3 stores; Sprouts, Kroger, and Costco, in that order.

Getting Avery in the Outback from her car seat was not as easy as the Baby Bjorn, but it wasn’t difficult either. Plus, the pros far outweigh the cons as far as comfort and security go.

Avery is still unsure of her new carrier and let me know it by squirming and giving tiny whimpers every now and then. The Outback is made more for babies a little older than Avery, so she has some growing to do. The Baby Booster that Diana sent along with the carrier does help and Avery was better when I had her in it yesterday, but I didn’t take it along for the store trips.

As you can see, Avery can’t see when in the Outback at her size. This didn’t give her any head room and it was basically stuck in one spot. Eventually, she’ll grow and her head will be poking out like in the photos from Onya’s website.

Ha ha, I had to go pee while there, and as I stood at the urinal, I looked down at Avery and said “It will be better when you’re bigger.” I paused, looked around and luckily no one else was in there, and then I laughed at myself. Oops!

With the Baby Booster, Avery would ideally have her head up higher so she can see out and ultimately be happy. She still fell asleep after a while, but I know it really will be better when she’s bigger.

Almost an hour in Sprouts and now it was time for Kroger. This is where I buy a lot of frozen veggies since they have great prices. It only took 30 minutes here and would’ve been faster if I didn’t have to wait for an old lady return two kinds of lip gloss. Ugh.

Avery didn’t whine too much at Kroger, but I could tell she was getting antsy about something. Then she dug her face into my chest and started eating my shirt. Ahhh, she’s hungry!

Once we arrived at Costco, I offered her the bottle before we went inside and she eagerly accepted.

Really? Pictures even when I'm eating? — Really? Pictures even when I’m eating?

30 minutes later and we were off for the last shopping trip. More fussing ensued followed by falling asleep as I was ready to check out.

Back at home I unloaded the groceries as Avery sat in her swing watching me. I knew she was tired, but it was too late to deal with swaddling her and getting her to sleep, so I did the next best thing…..go for a run.

Strapped in the B.O.B. stroller, we went for a quick 4.5 miles with Abby (our Golden) and Avery got a little nap as a result. Phew, something is better than nothing!

Once Kelley made it home, I strapped Avery in the Onya Outback for the fourth time and we went for a short walk. The weather was beautiful with only a minor chill in the air, and I enjoyed being with my two ladies while taking it all in.

As things were winding down and Avery was about ready for bed, we tried to get her to roll over as she has been the past couple days. But, no, she was exhausted. She would have bouts of crying and then just suck on her hand. Poor girl, we’ll try again tomorrow. Oh yeah, she’s getting shots!

Today’s Onya Outback total usage time = 3.5 hours

Notes: Avery definitely has some growing to do before getting really comfortable in the Outback, but the Baby Booster helps a lot. For me, I am way more comfortable wearing the Onya than wearing the Baby Bjorn. No growing tension on my shoulders and Avery doesn’t flop around every time I twist, turn, or bend down. Tomorrow I plan on taking her for an hour long walk and hope to have a good report afterward.