my baum shelter

As you can see, I’ve decided to change the design of the blog. I like the cleaner, simpler format – hopefully, you will, too.

The biggest change is our little babyBaum turned ONE YEAR OLD this Saturday. I’m working on getting up all the pictures from his birthday party. Until then, this obligatory laden-with-frosting picture will have to tide you over.

And, in the middle of eating his cake, while all eyes were on him, he stood up on his own without holding onto anyone or anything. Just like he’d been doing it forever. And, I really thought he was going to take his first step right then while all eyes were on him. But, then, after a moment, he decided it was better to be closer to the cake, so back down to the floor he went. And, ever since his party, about once every ten minutes he stands up without any assistance, looks at me with a smile, picks up one foot, leans slightly forward, then collapses back down to the ground with an even bigger smile. He knows we’re waiting and he’s just messing with us now.

The biggest change (and one we dreaded the most) was the taking away of the bottle and switching to milk. We received so many good pieces of advice on this and I felt like we were armed with many ideas to try if things got difficult. In the end, we decided to put all the bottles out of sight and just go for it. And you know what? Miraculously, the world kept spinning on its axis. Seriously, though, it was a whole lot of angst over nothing. So far, anyway. I mean, it’s only been three days since the switch, so it may be a bit premature to claim success.

We started offering him a sippy cup with milk at meal times and he takes it, no questions asked. Bedtime was our biggest fear, but he’s gone down with just as much ease as he normally does. Not that he’s ever gone down with a whole lot of ease, but we’ve stayed at status quo and to us that screams, VICTORY! Several friends and family members told me that one-year was not a magical date and it was okay if I wanted to hold onto the bottle a little longer. And, I know moms are supposed to miss the feeding time and giving their baby a bottle, but if I’m completely honest, I’m just not one of those moms. I cannot tell you how glad I am to finally have bottles and formula out of our lives. Now, I can still cuddle and snuggle with my little one but I don’t have to take apart and wash bottles every evening. That’s a win-win in my book.

We also decided to give him goat’s milk made by our friends Michael and Sarah at their farm, Homestead Farms in Keller. Goat’s milk is closer to human milk than cow’s milk and much easier to digest but the more compelling reasons for going with goat’s milk is we know exactly where the milk comes from, how well the animals are treated (babyBaum has even met a few of the goats), and we get the chance to support independent farming and good friends. And, most importantly, babyBaum loves it!

Hopefully, I’ll have the party post up later tonight or tomorrow.