10 on Tuesday (a day late)

I have not been very good about updating our blog. I think my days are just so filled with Asa, and in general I talk to my family a lot, so they are up to date on our happenings. But I would love for this to be a fun record of Asa's growth and our family's events, so I want to update more frequently (I love the blog --> book companies like blurb and would love to have this turned into a book one day). So, I'm going to try posting 10 tidbits on Tuesdays, even if I don't post anything else that week. I'm a day late this week, but hopefully not a dollar short. ;)

1. Love at first bite
Asa LOVES peaches! We finally found a food our boy loves and will hold his mouth open for. He even makes little sounds sometimes if you don't have the next bite ready and waiting for him when he finishes the previous bite. :) We are SOO very thankful to have found a food Asa likes. It led us to try pears as well, and he's a big fan of pears too! As an added bonus, he is now eating baby oatmeal again--when I make it with peach and/or pear juice. Our ped is a big fan of that "mommy creativity." On one hand, I know that juice is packed with sugars and it gave me pause initially. But this is Asa we're talking about! He can use a little extra. ;)

2. On the move
Asa is starting to "up" crawl. He's been doing all sorts of crawling maneuvers since the end of November. But now he's starting to throw a few real crawling "steps" in as he motors about the house. When he wants to go fast, he drops down to his tummy and army crawls. But he's really starting to coordinate the up crawl. And he is SO proud of himself when he gets to what he wants.

3. Praise upon praise
We think we have figured out the source of Asa's funky blood work! We met with a lactation consultant who checked his mouth before she did anything else... and she discovered he was "tongue tied." The frenulum ( tissue below your tongue) extended too far forward underneath his tongue, preventing him from nursing very efficiently. They were able to correct the tissue length right in the office during our appointment, and the following week Asa's weight gain was NORMAL for a baby his age! PRAISE THE LORD! I am doing a lot of pumping and taking some herbs to get my supply up to what Asa will be able to take in now (apparently he got worn out and would stop too soon before the tongue issue was corrected). He is doing so well! The LC also said that from the outside, he looked like he was nursing perfectly so there was no way I could have known anything was wrong since I didn't have any pain (I guess nursing pain is common when there are tongue issues). We are hopeful everything is back on track and will repeat Asa's blood work a month after it was first done, which is in two weeks.

4. Handyman
Asa's hand control is amazing. Seriously. He is already working very hard on developing the pincer (thumb and forefinger) grasp. He can pick up tiny pieces of "scrot" (dirt, etc.) from the floor--Mommy has to vacuum a LOT these days! He picks up small pieces of food. He grabs and moves his toys with SUCH intention. We often play a game of putting his little people on TOP of their school bus. He carefully brings his hand near and plucks them right off the top. It took about 3 days for him to refine his approach and do it successfully. He is definitely on the verge of getting into EVERYTHING.

5. Brrrrrr
It is cold in Florida. The weather reports said it was on its way out, and then they said it's here to stay for awhile. Brrrrrr. But at least we're all getting to enjoy our wintery clothes more than usual this year. :) Normally they are out for all of 2 weeks! Ha!

6. Will you be my Valentine?
Matt and I had fun doing little things to celebrate Valentine's Day (and going out to dinner the week before when G-Ma was in town). I got him 2 necessities: a new pair of jeans and a new dress shirt; and a silly something: this crazy stuffed figure he always picks up and laughs at when he sees it at Target. He got me some really cute Hoops & Yoyo notepads and a notepad holder, some dairy free candy :), and a card entitling me to a head massage, foot rub, dinner cooked by Matt, diaper changed by Matt, etc. whenever I want. :) It was really sweet. He also gave me a card from Asa. Inside he had printed of several funny pictures of Asa and made "thank you" cards from each of them. For instance, one said, "Thank you for changing my diaper" and inside was a picture of Asa pouting on the changing table. Then the next one said, "Even when they are bad ones," and the picture inside was Asa crying on the changing table. It was very sweet and we both cracked up. :) I made Asa a special Valentine's shirt for the weekend, and he had a "My First Valentine's" outfit G-Pa and G-Ma sent him to wear on Sunday.

7. Sleep
Starting solids has not affected Asa's sleep, at least not in a positive way! Before solids, he consistently slept a 4 hour stretch the first part of the evening. Now it's a 3-3.5 hour stretch. He is NOT sleeping any longer than he was before he started "real" food. It's mostly every 3 hours all night long. So, throw that "conventional wisdom" out the window, at least for my baby! He is also in the process of dropping his 3rd nap. That is hard when he's super clingy (we're in the midst of separation anxiety right now), but it's fun when he's feeling playful. :) It also resulted in a TWO hour long 2nd nap yesterday, and it would be AMAZING if that became the new norm!

8. Babies
I am hosting, along with some friends, a baby shower on Sunday for another friend, L. I am so excited! The only snag is that Asa is currently refusing a bottle. If we can't get him to take one before Sunday, Matt will have to swing by with Asa when it's time for him to eat and I'll have to sneak away for a few moments to feed him and then send the men back out on their merry way. :) Thankfully there are a few of us sharing hostess duties (but it's at our house), so they can keep things running if indeed Asa keeps refusing to take a bottle. The refusal is also crazy right now because I'm pumping a ton, but I have no way to get the pumped milk into him (he doesn't like baby oatmeal made with milk). We're not giving up though! :)

9. Feeling crafty
I made Asa a new floor blanket yesterday. I still need to hand tie it, but then I will post a picture. It's super cute. Matt thought I had bought it when he saw it. :) I'm also ALMOST ready to make my "quilt sandwich" for my first quilt! I just need to piece a strip into the backing and I'll be ready to get started. I am so excited to see how it turns out!

10. A place for everything....
...and everything in its place. We bought a great storage unit for the living room (behind the couch) for my sewing things. I LOVE it! It's one of those cubby shelves you can put canvas drawers in. I have a drawer for patterns, one for notions, two for scraps, one for embroidery items, one for trims, etc. And my sewing machine sits so nicely on top. It's GREAT and everything stays neatly out of sight when I'm not using it. Thank you, Matt, for approving it!! :)

That about covers it. I am hoping to upload some video of Asa soon. But if time gets away from me, you can expect 10 more tidbits next Tuesday. :)