Teething Cookies for Baby

Deacon has been chewing on everything he can get his hands on right now. Poor little guy, his molars are on their way in. I happened to find a recipe at keeperofthehome.org for a healthy teething cookie so I just had to try it! Turns out baby D loves them!

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Teething Cookies for Baby

2 Tbsp honey (not suitable for babies under one year of age)
1 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp oil (Coconut oil or butter is recommended)
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/2 cup rice or millet flour
3/4 cup flour of your choice (spelt, wheat, kamut, barley)

Stir together the honey, molasses, oil and egg yolk. Mix the flours, and add to make a stiff dough. Since flours differ, if it is too thick, add a Tbsp of milk. If too soft, add a bit more rice or millet flour.

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into rectangles 1 x 1 1/2 inches. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

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I used a combination of brown rice flour and whole wheat flour along with coconut oil. I actually had to add about 4-5 tbsp's of milk to my mixture because the mixture was pretty crumbly and not forming into anything so you may have to do that. I rolled the dough out a little bit thicker than 1/4" so I baked them for about 25 minutes. I also didn't get 4 dozen cookies out of it since I rolled it thicker and I cut them a bit larger than 1 x 1 1/2".

I tried one myself and they are pretty hard but they mush/gum up nice. I thought maybe my little guy wouldn't like them. They are not very sweet at all, I would maybe even add 1 more tbsp of honey next time. That didn't seem to bother Deacon, he had 3 yesterday! He really liked them! I have to admit that made me feel kinda good, hehe.

I ♥ Breastfeeding...

Before I ever even found out I was pregnant I was sure of one thing, I wanted to breastfeed! Once I found out I was pregnant I researched it even more and was totally confident that was the way I wanted to go! I didn't know how long I wanted to do it, but I knew I wanted to. When I had Deacon and we began our 'nursing relationship' I have to admit that it was very hard and there were times that I wanted to give up...(oohh the pain). The pain went away and when it was gone I had the joy of knowing that every bit of nourishment my child was receiving was coming straight from me, his mommy. How amazing is that? How awesome that God designed us to be able to provide nourishment for our babies! I love nursing, I love the bond it has created with Deacon and I. I love that nobody in the world will ever have that with him. Its a special time for us to relax and enjoy each other. My world can be totally chaotic, and sometimes all I need to do is take a breather and sit down and nurse my baby. Now I am feeling that it all has to end and I am so full of emotion I feel like I can't breathe.

I have loved the convenience of nursing. If Deacon was hungry I could offer him something to fill him up. Now that he is older and is eating big boy food, he doesn't just rely on me anymore and it's nice sometimes, but still hard. Every day I have to figure out what I am going to feed my baby and how much, and is this healthy, etc. I am really going to miss the days of just sitting down and knowing that everything my baby needed he was getting from me.

A few weeks ago I started to give Deacon some whole milk. He had a tough time figuring out the sippy cups, but I finally found a cup he is able to drink from. Once he really got the chance to taste cows milk he seemed to like it. I was happy and sad at the same time. I don't want to be replaced...sniff sniff.

Weaning... wow I never thought this time would come so fast, and I have no idea how I am going to stop. I have read through my nursing books and when I read them I just shake and am so full of emotion that I can't even cry. I don't know what my problem is besides that I am just scared to stop. Then I think, why do I have to? Who is telling me that I have to? Nobody really, I guess I had decided myself that I would stop nursing when Deacon was a year old. I just never knew how hard it would be.

When I took him to his 1 year well baby check I asked the Dr. about stopping and he told me to just stop one feeding every three days and within a week I should be able to completely stop, ha - yeah right, easy for him to say. I have done this every single day since Deacon was born. This is what we know. How do you just stop? I sit and nurse my baby and I can look down at his sweet face looking up at me and I know I am the only one that can provide him with this satisfaction, how do you stop something so special?

Nursing my baby has been one of the greatest things I have ever done, and with every day that passes I am one day closer to stopping :( I am so thankful to God that I have been able to to do this, and for so long, but when it comes to stopping...I need help, I don't know if I can do it. I kind of wish that it would be his choice and not mine. I read about babies just losing interest in nursing. Although that would probably make me sad, I think it would be easier. The pain of stopping scares me too.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Gymboree Score!

I received my American Baby magazine the other day and was SO excited to receive a 50% off Gymboree "Peel-A-Prize" coupon inside! It was my lucky day because that NEVER happens to me! I always end up with the lowest % off coupon with deals like this, hehe! So I had to go use it today! Baby D will be workin' it for his 1st birthday tomorrow! When I went to check out the lady that rang me up was like "Oh my gosh!? You have a 50% coupon, this is gonna be a great deal!" Then a little after that a few ladies were in line behind me and I had the coupon in my hand and I guess they were able to see it because 2 of them were like "NO FAIR!!! You got the 50% off??"

I was able to get (2) 1 pieces, 4 shirts and 2 pairs of shorts for $51.25! The regular price for everything would have been $161.00! (whoa!) AND I received $25 in Gymbucks to use in July! This worked out great because earlier today I found a $50 check that I forgot we had, so it will almost be like it never happened! I am getting addicted to Gymboree clothes. I never really got excited about that store in the past because I thought all of their stuff was over priced (which it is) but if you always buy the clothes on sale or marked down and pair it with a coupon or Gymbucks then you really get a good deal! Today I paid about the same (probably less actually) that I would pay at Target (or a similar store) but I got better quality clothes that all match! I love that they have certain lines of clothing out so you can mix and match everything and get a few different outfits out of it!