teething and baby food hack

Okay so I'm not really sure if this is a "hack" per se, but I've always wanted to do a hack and since I'm not super handydandy and can turn an IKEA product into something amazing, here's my best shot.

I think Blaise is teething. He's actually been quite a happy little guy for the past couple months and happier as the days go by. Until a couple days ago. So as a Mama to a baby, you can always blame it on teething. Regardless of the actual cause, it's teething.
And of course he could care less for Sophie or any other teething toy we have, preferring our knuckles or fingers or his toes.
Today I opened our fridge, peeled a carrot, washed it with previously boiled water and then handed the still-cold carrot to Blaise.

Success! He gnawed and licked and drooled all over that carrot like it was the best thing since sliced bread {of which he has no knowledge of, of course}.

And when he got bored or tired enough that I thought he needed a nap, I just rinsed off the carrot, stuck it back in the fridge and gave it back to him this afternoon.

And when you think the carrot has reached its limit, chop it up, boil it until tender, and then blend/mash it to the desired baby food consistency. Voila! A teether and baby food all in one!

*Please do not leave your baby unattended with a carrot and watch to make sure s/he doesn't bite off any little bits. I did not have any issues with Blaise biting off bits, but please make sure to watch your baby.

Sleep and stuff with Jude

So it's official. I am done doing the dream feed. Woohoo! Freedom! Jude wasn't sleeping through the night anyway, so I didn't feel like I had anything to lose.

Wouldn't you know it?
He starts sleeping through the night! What up with that?

For the past 4 (5?) nights he has slept through the night. He'll often stir for about 5 or so minutes around 11pm but then go back to sleep. It's amazing. Last night he did wake up at 5:30 so I thought I'd feed him since it was close enough to morning. He went back to sleep until 8am which was lovely.

Last night I went to bed at 9:30. 9:30, people! Jamie asked me if I was 12 years old as I lay in bed at 9:30 with a big smile on my face.

Other than that, Jude's attachment is growing more and more intense. It's a bit frustrating to be quite honest. The second he sees me, he's fussing and whining to be with me, even if he was happy as a lark before. Luckily I can still leave him with other people at the church or the Y and he's fine (unlike with Noah). I'm hoping that won't change!

I know it's quite normal and we'll move past it eventually...but the whining is driving me quite batty. It's likely his teeth bothering him as well (the top two are on their way in!) so I know it's not ALL him just being a little punk.

Teeth!

*We've got teeth!
*and by "we" of course I mean Jude.

Teething

Lately Jude has been quite cranky. NOT his usual self.
Even the lady at the playcare center at the YMCA said he wasn't like he usually is.
Ever since...Sunday I guess he's been off. He had a slight fever on Monday and Tuesday and I wondered if he would get sick, but I think it's teething. No teeth are through yet, but I think they are on their way.
Noah never had fevers when he would teethe. So it was a bit of a shock when I felt Jude and he was QUITE warm. He got as warm as 38.1 degrees but nothing "major" in terms of what I was reading online (yes, I know. Wonderful place to get information about a sick child.) so I just continued to feed him throughout the night (ugh...when will he start sleeping through the night?) and hoped it would pass.
Well the fever has, but he is still quite cranky (for Jude, that is). Especially in the evenings. He's just so tired come 5 or 6pm and it's pretty rough. I know he needs to nap longer and I wonder if that will come once we introduce solids...we'll see I guess.

Speaking of solids, I did go out and buy 3 boxes of rice cereal and oat cereal and when I think about introducing solids and sleep habits I am starting to get more inclined to introduce solids, but I think for now we'll just wait and see.
He's DEFINITELY more interested in what we are eating and is very grabby-grabby at the table.

Oh and he's also still got a little cough and a stuffy nose. The stuffy nose has been going on for almost a month now! I don't know what to do about it. Could it be a winter thing?