Another “BLW” Fail and Avery Meets our Turtle

05/19/2014 R.C. Liley 6 Comments

Yep, baby-led weaning was another no-go today. After our first attempt with a fussy baby just the day before, we were sure trying mid-morning the next day would yield success.

I could feel the excitement run through my veins as she grasped the green bean as I thought “This is it!” Is it sad to get so excited over our baby gripping a flimsy green bean? C’mon, I know other parents are the same! But the excitement quickly dissipated as she hastily tossed it aside.

You can see it in the corner just barely hanging on to the tray. We sat and stared with cameras in hand a while longer, but finally gave up as Avery’s mood worsened. Another tasty meal for our box turtle, Tash, was served; compliments of Avery.

At least Tash is enjoying the whole baby-led weaning experience thus far. Thanks to several of you for your comments on your own BLW experiences we will keep trying and have patience with Avery. In time, our girl will “pick up” on what to do with her food and she’ll be eating like a champ in no time. So we hope!!

G-Ma came over in the afternoon to stay with us for the night and she was excited to see and play with Avery. Going Mom and I took care of things around the house while G-Ma kept Avery occupied which was extremely helpful!

All four of us wound up outside and I thought it would be the perfect time to take Tash out of her outside pen and introduce her to Avery. At first, Avery didn’t notice the Terrapene walking under her nose; maybe those puffy cheeks blocked her view!

But it wasn’t long before she noticed Tash trying to distance herself from us humans.

She became very interested in this new hard-shelled creature and tried to reach and feel for herself.

It’s definitely not soft and fluffy like the cat and dog she already knows, and it was great watching her reaction. With Avery’s attention solely on our pet reptile, I explained their unique shell and anatomy to her as if she was taking notes.

Did you know turtles have feelings in their shells? Yep, their shells are a part of their body and they cannot leave them like certain crabs can. There’s a little turtle info for the day; you’re welcome.

Poor Tash kept trying to get away, but we made sure to safely keep her around us. Intrigued, Avery continued to reach for Tash as she walked away and would just miss making contact. Probably for the best because baby fingers look awfully similar to plump grubs or worms!

We all enjoyed watching Avery witness something new in her world and it’s awesome how interested she can get!

I know as Avery gets older, she’ll be able to see and learn more about our turtle and the species as a whole since her dad is such a reptile fanatic. Yep, mainly snakes and turtles, but they all interest me. Maybe the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have something to do with? Hmmmm.

It was a great Sunday that went by too fast, but luckily Going Mom only has a four day work week ahead! Yay, the weekend starts early and lasts longer! Oh, wait, it’s Avery’s 6 month shots and check-up on the first day Kelley is off, but hopefully that won’t dampen Avery’s spirits the whole time!

Do you have any other pets besides a dog and cat that your children loves or hates or is scared of?

Are you a reptile lover or can’t stand the critters?

Going Reviews

Going Reviews: The Manhattan Toy Co. Skwish Stix – Developing Baby’s Mind with Play

05/17/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Hi there! How’s it going?

Pretty good here, just living the dream as a stay-at-home dad and earning the best kind of wage ever; smiles from this girl…

Just woke up from her nap and shooting big grins; love it! She kinda looks like a seal there, huh?

Remember when I mentioned back in April that The Manhattan Toy Company sent me their Skwish Stix to review? Although the toy is meant for ages 6 months and up, Avery started early just before her 5 month mark.

We keep the Skwish Stix on the island as it’s the best place for the suction cup base, and it sits at just the right height for Avery when she’s in her chair. And, since her infant booster is one of the best baby seats in the house, Avery spends plenty of time with her Stix.

We don’t want to inundate Avery with loads of toys that don’t at least assist in her development while she plays, so Going Mom and I are picky with our toy selections for her. Since The Manhattan Toy Co. categorizes their Skwish Stix as a baby developmental toy, I was excited when the agreed to send one for Avery.

From their website, The Manhattan Toy Co. offers the following description:

Inspired by Skwish®, this table top activity toy features the same elements of colorful wooden rods, beads and stretch cords that “Skwish” and spring back to entertain and engage baby. Also introduces the concept of cause and effect. Suction cup base adheres to most flat surfaces.

I’d say Avery was pretty engaged with her new toy the first day we presented it to her!

And then some days she would just stare at us like she didn’t know what to do.

One problem we have is that the suction cup base seems to un-suction while she’s playing and will wind up on the floor or out of her reach.

Regardless, Avery will tug at the toy and watch it whip back into position several times before it actually comes unattached. Of course, sometimes she just gets aggravated with them and no matter how many times we pick them up from the ground, she throws them right back down. I think they have helped with her motor skills as a result though!

I like that the Skwish Stix are made of materials safe for babies and have several bright colored beads and rods. It’s a good way to teach colors by pointing and telling her each one.

She may not talk yet, but doing these things is very important to a baby’s development, and although it doesn’t show, they are absorbing everything you do and say.

Like most babies, Avery will become uninterested after a short period and looks around as if she’s bored. Do babies get bored?

Maybe it’s because we’re sticking the camera in her face or that we’re always doing things in the kitchen that she wants to watch. Actually, that is a big part of it, and we’ll start using the Stix in another room soon since she can sit up by herself now.

I like the Skwish Stix for what they are and for the ways you can help teach your baby colors and the concept of cause and effect. Learning by playing is the best!

We still use the Skwish Stix every day to keep Avery complacent for at least a little while as we tend to chores in the kitchen. If only we could get that suction cup base to stick longer, then maybe they would keep Avery busy a little longer.

I want to thank The Manhattan Toy Co. for allowing me the opportunity to review their baby developmental toy and have enjoyed the experience. Check out their entire line of baby developmental toys to see what your baby might enjoy the most.

The Skwish Stix were inspired by their Skwish Classic, which has high reviews. Another toy with high reviews that I’ve been wanting to get Avery is their Winkel which is made of colorful polyurethane and can even be chilled for your teething baby!

Give The Manhattan Toy Co. and shout out on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter and keep up to date on what they’re doing.

Do you have a favorite developmental toy for your baby?

Have you heard of or own anything from The Manhattan Toy Co.?

Disclosure: The Manhattan Toy Co. sent me their Skwish Stix free of charge, but all views and opinions are strictly my own.

Avery Talk, Monthly List

Beyond Breast Milk Part 1: Non-food Tasting Notes

05/16/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

Baby peers, I made it, I’m now half a year old! For you younger, less experienced babies, that means 6 months. Yep, no more counting by months for me, now I can count by half years!

I have a feeling things are going to start changing around here now that I’m half a year old. For one thing, I hear mommy and daddy saying things like “solids”, “food”, “high chair”, and “big poop”. I’m not sure what it all means except that food is mommy’s milk and poop, well it’s poop. Oh no, I hope poop isn’t what they are going to make my food now!

That sure would stink (ha ha, see what I did there?). Nah, they love me to much anyway!

Another thing I’ve noticed is that in the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to eat everything around me! I don’t know where the urge comes from, but I could just be hangin’ in my jumper next to a toy like the worm in an apply G-Ma got me….

….and next thing I know, I’m trying to eat it!

Then I caught daddy looking and quickly had to pretend I was just rubbing it on my cheek.

Phew, I think he bought it.

And that’s not all, I’ve tried several other things that, having found out the hard way, are not food. You’re probably thinking the things had to of at least looked like the typical boob or bottle we currently get our food from, but they didn’t!

So, I’m taking it upon myself to share with you my tasting notes on these non-food items. I hope it helps you make a wise choice when you are presented with similar things and feel “the urge.”

First off, the obvious one is your hand. My hand is what started me on trying other things and I can’t seem to get enough of it anymore!

Tastes like fresh breast milk at first, but can be gross if you put your hands somewhere before your mouth. When I’m not craving hand, I opt for just a finger to hold me over.

Same taste, just not as intense. Be careful here, if you stick your finger in your mouth too far, something weird happens and it doesn’t feel good. Trust me, I know….

So the hands, I recommend them for any baby to start with, and then you can move on. For me, I figured if I like my hands so much, maybe daddy’s will be just as good, or even better! Given the opportunity, I tried it out…

Initially, it didn’t seem too bad, but it still wasn’t the same. It tasted like something, but I couldn’t quite put my finger (ha ha) on it.

Then it hit me, spoiled breast milk! Yuck!

I won’t be trying that again anytime soon. Thinking that maybe daddy just has bad hands, I decided to try Uncle Preston’s hand as he held me one day.

Nope, no good either. That was a first and a last for me!

Take it from me, only eat your own hands, everyone else’s just don’t taste the same! Ready to move on to non-hand items, I tried a taste of the teddy bear sitting next to me one day.

It was hard to reach his neck, so I tried for the paw instead.

Yum! This is a keeper, I highly recommend teddy bear for a tasty treat. Tastes like fresh breast milk.

With how delicious the teddy bear was, I figured I would enjoy all stuffed animal toys I have. That was, until daddy put this thing next to me…

Is it a dog, alien, or some weird baby? Mommy and daddy call it a dog, but I’ve seen a dog and I’m pretty sure they don’t have hands like it says on this one.

I didn’t even try tasting that thing.

Once daddy took it out of my crib, I sat up in joy!

Yeah, I’ve seen our dog, Abby, and I’m pretty sure she just has four paws, not hands and feet!

After having enough of the soft, fuzzy toys, I decided to move on and try my smooth, shiny toys. I’ve been playing with these rings for a while now, and just lately, they seem appealing.

The obvious first choice was the orange one since it was on top.

Yep, this was like breast milk from the bottle. Not bad, but nothing great. That said, I still go back to it.

And daddy always talks about the blue one being his favorite, but it seems no different to me. I’d like to see him try it once!

Bottles seem to be something I can’t get away from since that’s all daddy can give (trust me, I figured out the hard way), so I’m okay with these shiny rings. If you have some, give’em a taste.

While in my jumper (which is a lot!), the red bird hanging to one side caught my eye and I just had to eat it!

Holy yum, this thing is great! It can’t even be compared to milk, it’s in a league of its own and I like it!

Seriously, I just can’t get enough of it now!

By all means, if you have a plastic red bird hanging anywhere around you, eat it!

Speaking of things around you, I bet you have some sort of cloth with arm holes pulled over your head every day. Right? Well, just happens you can eat that too! Seriously, I just figured this out several days ago and can’t believe I’ve been missing out on chewing something attached to me. No work needed, just put in mouth and chew.

Depending on if I just ate from a bottle or from mommy, the taste can range from fresh milk to not so fresh milk. Either one is okay with me, just as long as it’s not like daddy’s hands!

In sum, when you start having these random cravings to put things in your mouth, choose your hands, no one else’s, at first. Then move on to things like what you wear, hanging red birds, and colorful rings when you have to.

I’m still trying to figure out what mommy and daddy are up to with their “new food” talk, and I have a feeling I’ll find out soon. I overheard them talking about this weekend and setting up a “high chair” while I pretended to be busy working on something.

How many chairs do I need, really? I’ll let you know how it goes if I make it through whatever is happening. For now, I leave you with some words of wisdom; always cry long and loud when you poop and make sure to blow raspberries to really make your point!

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