So It Starts...

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Jilly turned one on November 10th which means this whole breastfeeding thing is starting to wind down.

You see, the one year mark was the time I usually celebrated because my boobs were going to be repossessed from the baby and given back to their rightful owner (me). I felt that way before because with my first two children I knew that there was going to be another baby. This time I know that there won't be anymore babies and while I am happy to be able to have my body back (and ditch the uber un-sexy nursing bras) I am sad that this will officially end my child bearing years. I am sad that my last little baby is growing up so fast and before I know it all three of my monsters are going to be teenagers and hate my guts and think I am the most embarrassing thing on the planet- even more embarrassing than my parents were to me.

Not that I will be off the nursing hook anytime soon though. Jilly is very attached to nursing and has decided that mommy's milk tastes way better than cow's milk. And she also decided that drinking from a sippy cup is for losers- boobs are way better. The process of weaning her is going to take awhile and to tell you the truth I won't mind. I just look down at Jilly when I am nursing her to sleep at night and any stress I am feeling just melts away because at those moments I feel like all is right in the world. Then I put her to bed and go downstairs to find the other two kids beating the ever living crap out of each other and I realize that my sweet little nursling is going to be just like her older brother and sister- God help me.

Toddler TIme!

Jillian turned one on Saturday- she's now officially a toddler!

Her chunky butt self just loved the cake!

Homemade high chair banner.

Homemade table decoration. Both things were made from stuff I already had on hand- aren't I just so frugal.

And what would a birthday be without a homemade cake?

Of course she liked the wrapping paper way better than any of the presents (don't mind her outfit- my husband gave her a bath due to her slathering cake all over herself and he picked out clothes that did not match).

Bye bye baby Jillian and hello I'm-going-to-drive-you-crazy-by-getting-into-everything Jillian!

Helping the Self Feeding Baby...

naked baby when eating equals less laundry!

Children love to do thing themselves- it makes them feel like big kids when they learn new skills and the look of accomplishment on their face is priceless.

Babies are the same way and if your baby has older siblings these learning milestones seem to come way faster than they did with your first child.

When it comes to feeding, Jilly is little miss independent. She no longer wants me to feed her with a fork most of the time and definitely will not eat fruit if I try to feed it to her. This put a damper on her fruit intake because most of the fruits she eats are very slippery when cut up and she was having trouble picking the pieces up with her little fingers. I was kind of getting sick of ripping off little pieces fruit and putting them into her mouth- she's got teeth and she likes to bite my fingers.

My solution? I sprinkle crumpled up Cheerio dust on top of whatever fruit she is eating- the dust coats the fruit and gives her a good enough grip that she can shovel the food in her mouth like the fat little blubber bum she is (I love fat little blubber bum babies).

Now she can feel like a big girl and I don't get my fingers bitten off by sharp little teeth.

Give Me Food!



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We have moved onto a new milestone with Jilly Billy... real food. Not that baby stuff that's pureed and gross (she completely skipped over that step) but the kind of stuff that real humans eat.

This was a little scary for me as my other two children loved baby food. They gulped up cereal, fruits and veggies and were actually apprehensive about transitioning to real food- my son to the point I was worried he would be drinking his food from a straw for the rest of his life.

Jilly Billy is a girl ahead of her months- at six months I started feeding her baby food. I fed her every day for two months and every day of those two months she looked at me like I was trying to poison her. I started to worry- I thought she was going to starve without baby food. Then I realized that she was a fat little chubster and that in all actuality despite what baby food makers tell us, babies don't *need* baby food right when they are six months old. I calmed down and decided to go with the flow and let Jilly Billy guide me in when she was ready for food.

One day I gave her little chunks of banana and she loved it. Then I gave her avocado (man, avocados are expensive) and she loved that too. At eight months old I realized that she wanted real food, not pureed to oblivion food. And who could balme her? She has been watching all of us eat yummy food since she was born so she wanted to be like us and eat the same things.

So now at almost nine months old Jilly is eating whatever we eat. She was on a watermelon and strawberry kick for a bit but now she is really into veggies- zucchini, broccoli and cooked tomatoes. She also loves Cheerios (I break them into quarters), puffed wheat cereal and whole wheat bread. I tried yogurt but she hates it- she must think it's baby food. I have even *gasp* have given her a little peanut butter on wheat bread and scrambled eggs (I totally forget what part of the egg they say to hold off on). We have no family history of food allergies (except the infant allergic to milk thing) so I'm not worried at all about adverse food reactions though I do not recommend this route for everyone.

It really is nice at dinner time when we all sit down as a family and instead of Jilly playing in her play pen while we eat she gets to join us. You can tell she really enjoys it and her older brother and sister think it's cool that she can pick up food and eat it by herself. Soon she'll be using a spoon and throwing food all over the floor, walls and ceiling.

One more milestone down and many more to come!

Seven Months...

Today Jilly Billy is seven months old. She really has been the perfect little baby- well, except for the fact that she is not that into sleeping at nap time or at night time.

She has mastered the art of moving around the floor on her stomach and loves playing on her tummy. My other two kids hated playing on their tummies- I swear Jilly is the complete opposite of the other two in every way possible.

It really is exciting to see her learning new things every day but at the same time I get sad because soon enough she is going to turn into a little monster like the other two kids and drive me crazy.

I guess I'll just have to block those thoughts out of my head and enjoy her sweet baby days as much as possible.

Six Months Old and Ready for Sumo Wrestling...

Six months old, and though I feel like I say this every month, I cannot believe how fast she is growing up.

Jilly Billy is my little sumo wrestler. I think it's comical when strangers ask me how old she is assuming she is older because she's so big and then they look at me (I am five feet tall and weight about 100 lbs) and wonder how little plumper came from me. My husband is 5' 11" and is average weight so Jilly will most likely stretch out so I'll just enjoy her chubbiness while I can- who doesn't love pinching pudgy baby cheeks?

When I look at her and how fast she is growing I feel tears welling up in my eyes. She is our last baby so I will never have these moment back again. I am glad that I had my tubes tied because after three c-sections and two pregnancies with placenta previa I don't feel like it would be a safe or responsible decision for me to have more children. In my heart I know that three kids is the right number for our family but at the same time it makes me a little sad to know that my baby days are over.

The only thing I can do it try to enjoy my Jilly Billy and her older brother and sister because before I know it they will be teenagers and will hate me and think I am the most embarrassing person on the planet. Even though the baby years are winding down there are still so many wonderful experiences for me to enjoy with my children as they grow and one day I'll be a grandma and will get to be around babies all over again- but then I'll get to hand the little buggers back when they get annoying!

Five Months...

Here is my fatty five month old.

Much to my dismay, little Jilly Billy can now roll over from her tummy to her back and vice versa. This means that soon she will be getting into everything and will be on her journey from a cute little baby to a monstrous toddler.

Yes, I am a ghetto mom who put my other daughter's hand me down Christmas pajamas on the baby for her first Easter. Having three kids will do that to you.