Family Friday: Feb 15

23 Weeks Old

Love those chubby baby legs!

Happy Valentine's Day!  Johnnie sent me a dozen gorgeous red roses and I got to video chat with him which made for a pretty good day despite being alone :)

I had grandiose ideas for Valentine's Day baby photos but they didn't really happen.  Cameron was fussy and I didn't have time to try again.  I got a couple cute ones which is good enough for this year.

Cameron is a pro at rolling from her back to her stomach now and is getting better on her stomach every day.  She is now able to balance on one arm so that she can reach and grab things with the other. She still gets "stuck" on her stomach sometimes but she is starting to roll back onto her back more often.  Funny thing is that no matter how she rolls, she always rolls to her right.  The other day she tried hard to roll to her left and couldn't do it.  Dulce also only rolls in one direction (and probably always will) whereas I'm sure that Cameron will eventually overcome that obstacle :)

Dulce better watch out!  She is fair game for being grabbed if she gets too close :)

This week Cameron started grabbing her bottle and putting it in her mouth.  She can almost hold the bottle by herself but still needs help, especially when it's full.  She is also starting to show interest in what I eat and drink.  If I'm holding her while eating or drinking, she turns her head to follow my hand to my mouth.  One day after taking a drink from my water bottle, I held it in her reach and she grabbed it, touched it to her mouth, and then smiled at me.  She seemed so proud that she could do what mommy was doing :)

I know that Cameron isn't ready for solids yet but I thought we'd try just to see.  I got Johnnie on a video call so he could watch.  First food - avocado.  I put a tiny bit of mashed avocado on a baby spoon for her.  She did not want me putting the spoon in her mouth... she wanted to do it all by herself!  She loved gumming the spoon (no teeth yet) but I don't think she actually swallowed any of the avocado.  It all seemed to drool out of her mouth.

I'm in no rush for Cameron to start solids so we will happily wait until she is ready.  It is suggested to start solids at 6 months so Cam still has three weeks to go.  Many babies start solids before six months and some may actually be ready for it, but there are some good reasons to wait including that fact that delaying solids decreases the risk of food allergies.

Why Delay Solids? -KellyMom
6 Reasons to Delay Introducing Solids -Ask Dr. Sears
10 Tips for Starting Your Baby on Solid Food -Science of Mom

I am excited to make my own baby food when Cameron is ready for it.  Homemade baby food is easy to do, saves a ton a money, and lets you know exactly what your baby is eating.  There are a lot of resources available (books and websites) for baby food making.  I recently moved the food-related pins from my Baby Stuff and Kid Stuff Pinterest boards to create a new board just for Baby and Kid Food inspiration.  I'll keep adding to it and will (eventually) share the best recipes that I find.

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"For you see, each day I love you more;

today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow."

~Rosemonde Gerard

Valentine's 5K

Every so often there are free 5K races on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.  They start at the fitness center which is only a half mile from our house so I plan on running every one that I can while we live here.  This past Saturday was a Valentine's 5K.  Cameron and I put on our pink clothing and went running!

The first time I ran postpartum was when Cameron was 8 weeks old.  It felt good but it was a challenge.  I ran a Jingle Bell 5K in December and then stopped running and started the Beachbody Insanity Challenge.  Last week I started jogging again, 1.5 miles a day.  The 3.1-mile race was so EASY despite taking so much time off (7 weeks) from running!  The Insanity videos are great for toning your body and building muscle.  I've done an uncountable number of squats, lunges, and jumps for the past eight weeks with those videos so I really conditioned my legs despite not running.

Cameron has been sitting up in the Bob stroller for walks but I'm not completely comfortable running with her sitting up just yet so for this race, she was in her carseat attached with an adapter.  I will let her sit in the stroller for the race next month (she'll be six months then).

My friend Meghan ran the race with me, along with her husband and their dog.  Her husband and dog were doing circles around us the whole time and he was nice enough to slow down to take some action shots for us.

It is challenging to run with a stroller, even with my smooth riding Bob.  Swinging your arms while you run is important for energy distribution and it helps determine your stride.  If you are pushing a stroller, you can't swing your arms naturally.  You can swing one arm at a time, but that still feels really awkward to me.  When you don't swing your arms, it takes more effort and energy to push your body (and the stroller) using only your hips and legs.  I like to think that running with a stroller burns a ton more calories.  It certainly slows me down some despite my best efforts.  I'd honestly rather run without the stroller but I do love having Cameron with me and I also love having a place to put a bottle of water and my phone :)

I recently found The Running Mom blog that has some great tips about running while pregnant and running with kids.  If you're a running mama, check out her post Tips for running with the stroller.

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam is a gorgeous military base with palm tree lined streets, sidewalks everywhere, and a running path along the water.  Being in Hawaii, the weather is just as gorgeous every day of the year... it's a runner's paradise :)

Cameron did great!  She was wide-eyed and happy the entire time - just enjoying the ride!

We finished the race in 35:15 - not bad for pushing a stroller and being five months postpartum.  By the end of the race, we both had wet shirts... mine from sweat, hers from drool :)  I'm already looking forward to the next race!

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"I don't run because I love the feeling of running.

I run because it makes me love the feeling of living."

~Bonnie Pfiester