It was a long weekend here in Toronto and we went to the cottage for three days. We always look forward to this time of year. Although, the weather rarely cooperates we always enjoy the break. We left on Friday afternoon. Being a long weekend, we faced some heavy traffic and the 2 hour drive took 2 1/2 hours instead. Emma and Sofia were great on the drive, however, they slept for a good chunk of time and I knew it meant trouble for bedtime.

Arriving at the cottage grandma and grandpa were thrilled to play with the girls. We let them stay-up an hour past their normal bedtime. When we put them down they were both extremely unhappy. Unfortunately, I have learned that at this point I need to leave the room as lingering and trying to soothe them without holding them escalates the situation and makes matters worse.  It’s important to us that they learn to fall asleep without our assistance.

Eventually they both fell asleep. Secretly, I was hoping that going to bed an hour later meant waking up an hour later in the morning. I was WRONG. They woke up at 5:45am instead of 6:30am and were more upset than usual. Reluctantly, we started our day early. During the remainder of our stay we noticed a big difference in both girls, especially Emma. They were crying a lot more and clearly wanted to be held by Sean and I. As soon as I left the room Emma would cry and fuss. Once she was in my arms she would smile with smug satisfaction. Sofia caught on quickly and before I knew it I was holding both babies for most of the weekend.

After some research, it’s clear that separation anxiety has kicked in.  I must admit, it feels wonderfully satisfying to get this sort of admiration from my babies. Them wanting me and only me makes me feel special I guess. However, I can also see this becoming frustrating and at times annoying. My family’s, consensus is that I not respond to each cry and allow them to cry it out. What do you think?

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We started Emma and Sofia on solid foods at 6 months.  This stage has been challenging for me. First, it took Sofia and Emma a few weeks before they showed any interest in solid foods and second, there are so many varying opinions on what to introduce and when to do it. For instance, my mom started my sister and I on egg yokes and gave us food off her plate shortly after we were 6 months old. Friends, with 7 month old babies are allowing them to try ice cream, bread, and even cake. I think like everything else in parenting, this is a matter of personal preference, our own up-bringing, cultural influences and the recommendations of our health care professionals.

Emma and Sofia’s doctor recommended that we start with green vegetables. The rationale being that they would be more likely to try and enjoy these veggies if they were the first thing they tried. We started with green beans. Poor little buttons hated it. Sofia, was eager to try a spoonful but when the green beans revealed their flavor she began to shake and proceeded to projectile vomit. After, witnessing Sofia’s experience, Emma, simply refused to open her mouth. We didn’t give up however, they had green beans for three days, then peas, pears, apples, banana’s, sweet potato, carrots, avocado, mango’s, blueberries and just recently broccoli. We have also tried all the grains in form of cereal, starting with brown rice, barely, oatmeal, white rice, and wheat.

Here, I have included some pictures of them sitting in their handysitts eating pureed mango, which they really enjoyed!

[View with PicLens]

Other favourites include, a combination of:

-Bananas, apple sauce, cinnamon
-Bananas, rice cereal and formula
-Blueberries and apple sauce

They strongly dislike:

-Avocado
-Green beans
-Peas
-Carrots
-Broccoli

It’s clear that they love fruit but I am determined to find ways to help them enjoy their veggies. I recently was introduced to this blog, Baby Bites & Toddler Tapas. The blog is written by Laurie K. Mehe, a mother and Holistic Nutritionist (R.H.N.). Laurie, offers great advise on starting your baby on solids and shares some healthy and nutritious recipes.

Do you know of any other websites, books and/or guides that were helpful for you and your kids?

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Once Emma and Sofia turned 6 months, we had to change up our routine. We introduced solids slowly as recommended by our doctor. We gradually added new foods and have only recently started to feed them all three meals.  Here is a sample:

7:00am- First bottle-6oz each

7:15am- Activity time

8:00am- Breakfast-eat solids

8:30am- Activity time

9:00am- Morning nap

10:00am- Activity time

11:00am- Second bottle-6oz each

12:00pm- Lunch-eat more solids

12:30pm- Activity time

1:00pm- Afternoon nap

2:30pm- Activity time

3:00pm- Third bottle feed-6oz

5:00pm- Dinner-eat more solids

5:30pm- Activity time

6:30pm- Bath time

7:00pm- Last bottle feed-6oz

7:30pm- Bed time story

7:45pm- Down for the evening

*Please note that I am not specific about diaper changes as this varies daily. If you’re interested in a more detailed schedule please let me know in the comment section below.

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The following is an example of the routine and schedule we set for Emma and Sofia when we started sleep training at 9 weeks. It is rigid, I know, but it worked for us and I managed to survive with little to no help everyday. I understand, that this is not for everyone but if you are looking for a sample routine I thought this would be helpful. Now that they are older the routine has been modified and I will post that shortly.  First, here is the schedule:

7am First bottle feed- 7oz each

7:30am Activity time

8:15am Morning nap

10:45am Change diaper

11am Second bottle feed-7oz each

11:30am Activity time

12:15pm Afternoon nap

2:45pm Change diaper

3:00pm Third bottle feeding-7oz each

3:30pm Activity time

6:30pm Bath time

7pm Last bottle feed-7oz each

7:30pm Bedtime story

7:45pm Put babies down for the night

Do you have a schedule or a routine that works well?

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