Pinterest Inspired Map Wall Art

I am slightly addicted to HGTV and I love to admire well decorated spaces.  I have no fear of large DIY projects, despite not having much experience, but I really appreciate a quick and easy project too.  With our home on the market right now I am constantly trying to identify small and inexpensive updates that we can use to further stage the house without adding too much personalization, which might keep buyers from visualizing themselves in the space.  I have tried to identify projects for this home that can become elements for a bigger idea once we move to Chicago.

An example of this concept would be my strong desire for a whimsical gallery wall, like this one that I am in head over heals for from Young House Love.  This house doesn't have a great space to accommodate such a project, at least not without moving around all of our other wall art, so for now I'm happy to work on a few projects here and there that I can later compile into one space.  A few years ago I made the great dane and bulldog silhouettes for our entry.  While browsing Pinterest a few weeks ago I found some fun projects involving maps of cities that I thought were right up my alley, but neither concept quite captured the idea that was evolving in my own head....

Pinterest inspiration 1

Pinterest inspiration 2

Tom and I move often.  Far too often in my opinion, but that's the whole idea behind Chicago - finding a city we can finally really put some roots down.  Since we began dating at Bucknell in 2003 we have lived together in Lewisburg, NYC, Hoboken, San Diego, Columbus, and Skaneateles...and soon Chicago.  Within each city we've actually typically moved a few times too so our grand total of moves over the past 10 years is 9 if you include Chicago.  Because I didn't want an entire wall worth of maps I decided to limit the cities I included in this project to where we have lived since our engagement in 2006, or since we officially became a "family".  

I found maps of San Diego, Columbus, and the Finger Lakes area on Amazon for a total of about $10.  With our Prime membership shipping was free, so I thought the price was right for the "art" for the project.  I will need to add one of Chicago once we get there too.  Unfortunately the maps weren't uniform when it came to size of the cities (well in reality I suppose the cities aren't nearly the same size as one another) and I had to find a way to capture both the name of the city as well as some of the identifying features of the area in a consistent manner.  With some trial and error I cut a template out of cardboard that allowed me to capture enough of the map that I was happy with the result.  I traced the template onto the map, cut away, and was left with 3 heart-shaped maps....that sat in a craft drawer for two weeks.

Yesterday while running errands I noticed an A.C. Moore craft supply store and decided I could finally complete my project during Benji's afternoon nap.  I bought three 8x10 white wooden frames that were 50% off, totaling at roughly $10 with tax.  I wanted a textured mat or some color or something behind the maps but I really wasn't sure what I was looking for so we wandered around until Benji started grabbing at some grass mat placemat things.  I was really pleased with his choice and at $1.79 each they were the right price to complete the project.  Overall I suppose I spent more than I'd like for the project in total, but if I had physical access to these cities still I'm sure I could find free maps without difficulty.  

After some trimming to the mats I have my Pinterest inspired project complete.  Down the road I may alter the orientation from horizontal frames to vertical depending on where they'll permanently live.  If I place them vertical I can include two cities per frame as well, which may work out better with an even number of maps.  

Skaneateles

Columbus

San Diego

The lighting in these photos isn't great - but they really look fabulous in person.  The outline on the hearts is crisp and clean looking and helps the maps stand out from their background.  Now to decide where to hang them!

Sleep Training: the SleepEasy Solution

Good morning!

People are always commenting on how happy Benjamin seems to be.  Family, friends, and strangers alike tell us that they're amazed he's constantly smiling, laughing, and observing the world around him.  It's true, he rarely cries unless he has a good reason to (teething, very overtired, bored/frustrated), and on a day to day basis I would guess he cries a total of about 10 minutes, on a bad day up to 20 minutes.  I fully admit that one aspect of this is pure luck.  We have a very good baby - a truly easy baby.  But I've also been fortunate to have the ability to take my education and experience as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and put it to use to teach Benji how to be a happy baby.  In our case, sleep has been the most important aspect of ensuring his easygoing nature.

I wake up HAPPY!

Since the beginning we've been blessed with a good sleeper overall.  From the start (well after the first 2-3 weeks in reality), Benjamin seemed to understand the difference between day and night, and while he woke every 2-3 hours to eat around the clock, he was kind enough to go "right" back to sleep (within about 15 minutes) after overnight after feedings.  Of course there were exceptions to this trend, and there were a handful of nights where we both cried in exhaustion, but when comparing his sleep patterns to those of most of my patients, I knew we were lucky when it came to sleep.

Babies all naturally go through growth spurts with fairly predictable patterns.  Ahead of time, I knew that these growth spurt weeks would be the hardest on me physically, mentally, and emotionally, because in all likelihood he would need to nurse every 1-3 hours instead of his typical 3 hour routine.  And sure enough, at 2-3 weeks, 6 weeks, and just shy of 4 months we hit those dreaded growth spurts, and they were trying.  I am very against co-sleeping for safety reasons, so it was constant back and forth between our bedroom and his.  Benji moved from our room to his crib in the nursery at 4 weeks old so as to establish a healthy sleeping environment early on, which I do attribute to his excellent sleeping habits.  We depended on swaddling until about 4 months, and used a zipadee zip to transition him to a sleep sack between 4 and 5 months old.  He'll sleep wearing anything now.

The 4 month growth spurt/sleep regression was almost our undoing.  I would still argue this was harder than the newborn period in some ways.  Ben would awaken every 1-3 hours and absolutely nothing but nursing would soothe him.  I became a human pacifier - he has never taken to an actual pacifier and no amount of coaxing and pleading could convince him to give it a try.  If I attempted to put him down in his crib asleep, he woke right up crying.  We were both completely miserable, and because I was acting as a human pacifier Tom was unable to do much to help.  He needed to be nursed to sleep for naps as well during this period.  I tried the swing, the car, the bouncer, the rock n' play, rocking and singing... anything and everything we could think of!  I finally gave in to co-sleeping for a night or two which resulted in better sleep for Benji, but still virtually no sleep for me because I couldn't allow myself to relax enough to fall asleep.  And my typically cheerful baby was still content while awake, but he looked a little dazed and stopped smiling at anything and everything.

So I started researching sleep training and quickly identified a method that I liked called the SleepEasy Solution.  I downloaded and read that entire book within a 24 hour period, and it was the most wonderful resource for sleep I have come across (personally or professionally).  Yes, this is a modified cry it out version, which is controversial.  It was so instrumental in turning our lives around within about 4 days that I felt compelled to share the basics with you, but this is by no means enough information to completely skip the book....spend the $10, it is worth every penny!

Sleep Environment: create an ideal and consistent place for sleep.  For us, that meant adopting most, but not all, of the recommendations made by the authors.  Ben sleeps in his crib, with a small (breathable!) lovey, is placed on his back awake, has a loud white noise machine, and the lights are turned off.  Because he rolls over on his own he flips to his belly within about a minute of putting him down but (for SIDS safety) we always put him down on his back.

Sleep Schedule: we started sleep training around 4.5 months old, likely just below 15lbs.  The book outlined that a baby at this age and weight needs a total of about 15 hours of sleep per 24 hours.  He should sleep 11-12 hours overnight and 3-4 hours daytime.  Naps were to be spaced starting 2 hours after waking for the day, 2.5 hours between the end of nap 1 and 2 (and 2 and 3), and awake at least 1.5 hours before bedtime.  Feeding schedules are incorporated, as is bedtime routine (and mini bedtime routine for naps).  Our schedule continues to follow this pattern (although some days he takes two longer naps) and looks like this:

• 7am wake up
• 9am nap 1 (typically lasting 1-1.5 hours)
• 1pm nap 2 (typically lasting 1-1.5 hours)
• 5pm nap 3 (typically lasting 0.5-1 hours)
• 7:30pm bedtime  

Check Ins: this is the "cry it out" portion of sleep training that a lot of mom's are unable to stomach, and I can't blame them because my heart breaks when I hear my little man crying.  Professionally I have been in support of cry it out, a baby must learn to self soothe and it is the parent's responsibility to teach their child to sleep.  But most parents don't believe me or understand the importance of this when I explain, and months (or years) later ask in desperation how to correct bad sleep habits that have been in place since early infanthood.  It is possible to do, but more difficult, and sooner or later you do need to teach your child how to sleep.  Night one will be the hardest, night two a bit easier, and by night three or four you'll be done with the hard stuff, I promise.

A timer/stopwatch is seriously important to this step.  I found that 20 seconds of crying felt like 5 minutes, so I needed a reality check here.  If your baby begins crying start a timer for 5 minutes, and prepare to be in agonizing emotional pain (sorry mama).  If your baby is still crying after 5 minutes go into the room, do not touch them, but in a soothing voice reassure that you love them and it is time for sleep, and get back out of the room within 30 seconds.  The book goes into detail as to why this specific method is really important, and it made so much sense to me (think of touching as teasing them that you'll revert back to old and overall ineffective soothing methods).  In effect you are encouraging them to attempt, and eventually rely on self soothing instead of parental soothing to produce sleep.  After the first check in reset your timer for 10 minutes and repeat.  If needed, reset for another 10 minutes and so on.  

Our experience was great.  The longest Benji ever cried was the first night and maxed out at 17 (horrible) minutes before he learned to suck on his hand and fell back asleep all on his own.  Subsequent wake ups that night he cried for a few minutes (longest was 11 minutes) and then soothed himself with his hand and went back to sleep again.  In the morning when he woke up and started fussing I went in to him and he beamed up with me with a huge smile and squealed, at which point a promptly burst into tears in relief that my baby didn't hate me.  As mentioned, the next night went better, and the third night he put his hand in his mouth the second I put him down and never cried - seriously. 

Falling asleep all on my own

Overnight Feedings/Weaning: most babies are still waking up to eat overnight at 4+ months.  As long as they weigh at minimum 14 pounds (ideally 15) they don't NEED to eat, but awaken out of habit.  This being said, you should clear this with your pediatric provider before weaning all overnight feeds.  Because we went from nearly hourly awakenings to sleep training, I had to take an educated guess of how often he was eating vs. comfort nursing.  The book explains how to properly dreamfeed rather than allowing the baby to awaken and control their nursing patterns.  I decided to dreamfeed at 10pm, 1am, and 4:30am to start.  I set alarms and woke myself up and crept into his room to dreamfeed at those times, and timed how long he ate for over the course of the next few days.  If Benji awoke before I was to feed him, I would allow him to self soothe back to sleep (doing check ins if necessary) and make sure he was asleep for 10 minutes before I would go in to dreamfeed, so the timing wasn't always perfect, but very close.  After determining his patterns, I shortened the time he ate at the 1am feeding by 1-2 minutes every night until it was gone.  Then I did the same for the 4:30am feed.  I still dreamfeed at 10pm to date, but that's for me - both to keep my milk supply up (he has had some weight gain issues unrelated to sleep training), and I admit I love the cuddling before I go to bed.  Technically I could pump at 10pm and he could wean off of this feed too, and I will eventually.....

So there you have it.  The basics of sleep training using the SleepEasy Solution.  I've heard varying statistics on the effectiveness of sleep training, and ultimately it does not work for all babies.  But it does work for most.  And the benefits of having a well rested baby and parents are astounding.  Benjamin is hitting milestones at a faster rate now, he is ALWAYS happy, and he can be flexible with sleep when needed because he is an expert at self soothing now.  There will be set backs when traveling, teething, going through a growth spurt, or illness, but existing on little sleep is now our exception instead of our norm.  

My First Stitch Fix Review

Three days ago a Stitch Fix package was delivered to my door packed full of new items auditioning for a place in my closet.  It's safe to say I'm probably hooked.  A few friends of mine have tried Stitch Fix, and I was immediately attracted to the concept and thought I would give it a try, just once.  In case you haven't heard of Stitch Fix, here's a quick rundown of what it is and how it works....

Stitch Fix is an online company that analyzes your personal style through the use of an extensive questionnaire, then matches you up with a stylist who chooses 5 items to send your way.  The website does a good job of assessing your size, likes and dislikes, preferences for what you prefer to show vs. minimize on your body, and then you decide the level of adventure or risk you want to take with your new pieces.  Your package is shipped, containing 4 clothing pieces, and 1 accessory, and you get to try the clothes on with items you already have in your closet.  This is really the beauty of this whole idea, and why I decided to give it a go.  In a dressing room you have to mentally put together outfits, which may or may not (in my experience more often do not) necessarily come together the way you envisioned once you arrive home.   With Stitch Fix, I was able to mix and match what I have with the items they sent, which ultimately helped me decide what to keep and what to send back.  And sending back what you don't want is super easy to do too.  Just stick your items in the prepaid included return package and stick in in the mailbox within 3 days.  You do pay a $20 styling fee up front, but you won't pay anything else until you decide what you're keeping.  The $20 credits towards whatever you do keep.

To start, I chose to stay pretty streamline, nothing too far from my comfort zone, because the reality is that after having Benjamin my clothes simply fit differently and I need some new basics and items that will have lots of versatility.  Here's what arrived this week.

Sheer cream blouse with gold polka dot print

Chevron dress

Cotton blazer (sweatshirt-like material)

Multi-strand red necklace

Navy and tan polka dot skirt with elastic waist

So before trying anything on I made my first snap judgements.  The blouse I thought looked too big and shapeless, but I was intrigued.  The dress I really hoped to like, I enjoy chevron but don't own any and I could really use a dress that can be dressed up and dressed down.  The blazer I loved.  The necklace wasn't quite what I would normally pick, but I never try bold enough accessories myself so I appreciated that this was included in the box.  The skirt looked promising, certainly looked good on the hanger, although given the upcoming snow, wasn't really something I'd be using for awhile.    I did my best to take pictures of myself in all of the items (but forgot to take a picture of the necklace - oops).  Please forgive the awkward over-posed self-taken shots below.

I struggled with this one.  From some angles I liked it a lot.  From others, I felt like it gave my body no real shape and the waist was just slightly too low.  It needed a belt and none of the belts I have worked unfortunately.  Close, but not worth keeping it so I sent it back.  

The sheer blouse surprised me.  Overall I think I really liked it, and I wouldn't have ever picked it up in the store myself, proving that the idea of a stylist was a good one for me.  But sheer + nursing bras = not a flattering silhouette, and at some angles it did give me a boxy appearance which I was afraid of.  I was really loving the metallic polka dot print though.  Another one I had to think about before making my decision, but I sent it back.  

The blazer I loved on just as much as on the hanger.  Sadly it is just a tiny bit too narrow in the shoulders since I'm broad, but it's not problematic enough to rule it out.  I don't own anything similar and it can go with a ton of different tops and bottoms, giving me the versatility I was searching for.  

The skirt was the one clear no of the group.  I was not in love with where it sat on my body, the waistband drew attention to my hips instead of camouflaged them, and as you can tell I really struggled to match it with anything in my closet.  I was able to make a quick decision on this one, and back it went. 

I did decide to keep the necklace too, so for my first Stitch Fix I kept two of the five items included.  If you decide to keep all five items you do get the benefit of 25% off your total order by the way.  The items included in my first Fix ranged in price from about $30-$80, so overall these pieces are pretty affordable too.  

So will I order another one?  I'm pretty positive I will.  And with the feedback I was able to provide online, the theory goes that each new Fix gets better and better, and more suited to both my body and style.  

If you decide to try it out, please use this link:  https://stitchfix.com/referral/3213296  

The Birth Story of Benjamin Thomas

I can't believe that I have yet to write out and share my birth story.  The last 6 months have gone so fast and I fear that if I don't share it now I won't even remember all of the details!  As a warning, this will be  REALLY long!

I was due April 15th, but no one seemed to believe I'd make it to my due date.  I was told at 34 weeks I looked ready to pop and it was strongly suggested to me by some family members that I should pack my hospital bag, but I was determined to at least make it to 37 weeks.  I was actually quite lucky to feel really good right up until 38 weeks hit, and then I was suddenly very over being pregnant.

Tom and I started lots of long walks down to the lake with the dogs right around 38 weeks.  My waddle would really set in walking a mile uphill on the way home, but I still felt quite capable and it did help to start a few erratic contractions.  At my 38 week check up my doctor gave us the good news that I was 2cm dilated, 90% effaced already.  We reviewed my very loose and flexible birth plan (the gist was no interventions unless I very explicitly asked for them - more on this in a minute - or one of us was in distress).  I was given my next appointment date, and a guestimated 50% chance of making it to that appointment.

I was scheduled to work right up until my due date, which was a Sunday, but my boss had the foresight to leave most of my schedule open during my last week, so that I could commit to same day appointments as I was able.  My doctor had been pushing for me to come out of work and rest/prepare for Benji's arrival since 36 weeks, but I couldn't afford the time off and I felt like I owed it to both my patients and employer to be at work if I was physically able.  Not to mention I would go absolutely stir crazy with extra time on my hands.  And I don't regret that at all, I was uncomfortable if I was sitting around without distraction, and I have always had a hard time with the instruction of "just relax" - multitasking is my friend.

Sunday morning, at 38 weeks 6 days, I awoke around 7am as usual because I had to pee.  I'd probably awoken 2 or 3 other times during the night for the same reason, so I had the half-awake shuffle to the bathroom thing down pretty well by this point.   I sat down, fully intending on crawling back into bed a few minutes later, and felt (and swear I heard) a distinct pop, followed by a gush I knew was not urine. I called out to Tom and woke him up telling him he should probably get up and get in the shower, while I marveled on the good fortune that: 1. My water broke sitting on a toilet; 2. It was a Sunday, I wasn't on my way to work; and 3. I was going into labor first thing in the morning after a "good" night of sleep.

Tom showered, took care of the dogs, loaded up the car, and called his parents to instruct them to head our way - it's a 9 hour drive.  I called my doctor to inform them my labor was starting and I'd be at the hospital sometime soon, called my boss to let her know I was not going to be making it into work the following day (and that she'd have a new patient hopefully by day's end), and got in the shower then got dressed myself.  Contractions started sometime during my shower and didn't seem too bad to start.

We were headed to the hospital by 9am and contractions became INTENSE very quickly.  I was timing them and they were between 2-4 minutes apart, typically lasting 1-2 minutes each.  The women in my family labor quickly, so while I wasn't worried about having the baby on the side of the road, I knew that I was going to dread the 30 minute drive to the hospital.  About half way there I asked Tom to speed up.  About two thirds of the way there I was shouting my "safety" word.  This was a word Tom chose that would be exceptionally embarrassing to say out loud in the L&D room in front of the nurses and docs.  This was the word I would be too embarrassed to say unless I really needed pain relief, and I meant it.  And this is a word I was loudly saying over and over again for the last portion of our drive.  (No, I will not be sharing this word with you.)  Tom was disappointed that no one else would get to hear it, I was disappointed I didn't have better pain tolerance, but happy I had already decided to be flexible about a birth plan.

It wasn't a full moon, but L&D was packed nonetheless.  There was literally one room left, and I had to wait about 10 minutes before they could even get me into triage.  By the time I was in triage they checked me about told me I was about 4cm, 90%, and our baby had hair.  I was (probably repeatedly) asking about an epidural as long as they could promise me they weren't coming near my with pitocin, and the staff was really great about expediting things for me.  I think know that as a member of the staff at the hospital I was given some preferential care, and it truly made our experience so much better.  Anesthesiology literally walked into my room within 3 minutes of arriving in it myself, and my IV was being placed while he was setting up.  I asked for a light epidural, but got a heavy one just due to the personal preference of the anesthesiologist I was assigned to, oh well.

Within minutes I could breathe again, I could straighten out my body, I could talk.  It was amazing.  I do not regret my decision for a minute.  My left leg went numb, which was bizarre but not bothersome.  I watched Pitch Perfect.  We called my parents, and joked easily with the nurses.  I continued to progress just fine without any further interventions, and by about 4:30pm I was told I was ready to push, and that the epidural was starting to run out and this should help my ability to feel during the pushing stage.

In all honesty, I think I should have waited to push until I felt the urge.  Benji was never in distress, and my body had progressed this far on its own, so I'm not sure why I complied so easily to "try pushing, just see how you do".  Turns out, for a first time mom I was deemed a good pusher, and so I was encouraged to keep pushing.  I was lucky to have a really excellent nurse as a coach too, and Tom picked up on how to direct me and support me very well.  Unfortunately, I was still guessing a bit as to when to push based on the weak sensations of contractions due to the epidural, so while I was good at pushing, my efforts probably weren't timed well for the first hour.  As the epidural continued to wear off however, I had more success, and the second hour would have likely produced a baby, had Benjamin's head not gotten "caught" under my pelvic bone.  It was clear I could still push him out, but it was going to take more time and more effort on my part.  The biggest obstacle was shift change at 7pm and our new nurse was silent - no feedback whatsoever.  Thankfully Tom took over as my only coach and he was really great about being a lot more involved than he had planned.

Almost 3 full hours of pushing later, at 7:52pm Benjamin Thomas Cosgrove was born weighing 7 pounds, 14 ounces, and measuring 20.5 inches long.  He was beautiful, and scored 8 and 9 on his APGARs.  We spent just over an hour skin to skin before I conceded to let them clean him up and get all the official assessments done, while we invited Tom's parents up from the waiting room to meet their first grandson.  He did have a decent abrasion on the right side of his head where he repeatedly got rubbed by my pelvic bone during the pushing stage, but that was our biggest hiccup in the birthing process, and I really couldn't complain about that.  

It was love at first sight, and every day since.

Oatmeal Banana Breakfast Cookies

Nearly 6 months after having a baby and I'm finally motivated to get back to striving to be healthy, especially now that Ben is on a schedule and I have free time staying at home with him.  I intend to meal plan (and save a whole lot of money shopping) weekly, be mindful of what I'm eating every day (no more constant snacking), and have found a routine that allows me to run in the morning and walk in the afternoon every day.  It's early yet, I'm only two weeks in, but I feel so great already that I hope to keep up the momentum.

While I eat lunch during Ben's second nap of the day, breakfast takes place while we play in the morning after he gets up, so simple and quick is pretty important.  For awhile now I've been loving the Bel Vita breakfast biscuits and a glass of juice, but I'm starting to crave some alternate choices.  One morning last week I decided to try and create something simple in the form of "on the go oatmeal".  I loved them.

Oatmeal Banana Breakfast Cookies

Makes approximately 12 large cookies

2 large very ripe bananas

2 cups oats

2 tbsp peanut butter (I prefer to use powdered PB2)

1 large handful of mini chocolate chips (my first batch I made with raisins, but I prefer them with chocolate!)

Generous sprinkle of cinnamon 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a medium sized bowl, mash bananas

Add the remaining items and stir thoroughly to evenly incorporate ingredients

Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes (optional, but this makes it easier to handle)

Form dough into 2 tbsp sized balls and evenly space on cookie sheet, pressing down to flatten a bit

Bake for approximately 18 minutes, until golden brown

Allow to cool for about 2 minutes before transferring to cooling rack

I suspect you could probably make these into breakfast bars instead of cookies if you so desired and bake it together in a pan, but these were thrown together on a whim and I just went with the cookie idea.  In reality you could play with this recipe a lot to make whatever suits your personal tastes, sub raisins for chocolate chips, add a splash of vanilla, try out different spices....

I did end up calculate the approximate calories for these guys and it comes to about 60 calories per cookie, I found 2 cookies was perfect to fill me up along with a large glass of water and small glass of juice.


Addendum: These cookies are quite soft and don't hold up too well in the cookie jar on the counter.  I found they last about 3 days at room temperature, a week in the fridge, and can probably last a few months in the freezer.  Since I ate two a day, mine lived in the fridge.

Adventures in Making My Own Baby Food

I've heard from a lot of my patient's parents that making your own baby food is simple and cheap.  After confirming this with Pinterest, I figured that if I'm comfortable enough in the kitchen to cook for Tom and I most nights, I shouldn't be afraid of cooking for Benjamin.  I'm not sure why I thought making my own baby food would be difficult.  Maybe because I didn't own any of the official "tools" like a Baby Bullet, food steamer, or storage system.

When we visited Ohio a few weeks ago we went apple picking, and brought home quite an impressive bounty.  Unlike the apple farms in New York that require we keep all the apples types (breeds?) separate, this orchard charged a flat fee per bag and so we came home a large assortment of apples, and honestly I couldn't pick one type from another, but they were all delicious.  I'd been eating them for a week or so before I realized that they were going to go bad before I finished them off.  Benji was just shy of 6 months old and had done pretty well with trying rice cereal a few times, so I decided to turn our apples into a puree from him.

I found and quickly fell in love with the Wholesome Homemade Baby Food website.  After looking over the basics, I decided I could easily make my own baby food using a combination of the stove, an immersion blender, ice cube trays, and freezer bags.  I decided that the process for making apples seemed extraordinarily easy, so it was a good starting point.

First Foods: Apples
Makes approximately 9 ounces (make as much as you want!)

2 large sweet apples (I have absolutely no idea what kind I used, I don't even think they were the same)
Tap water
That's it!

Peel and cut apples
Place into a small sauté pan, or pot, your choice
Add water, just enough to barely cover the apples
Simmer over medium low heat until apples are soft
Strain, retaining water for thinning purposes, and place in blending mechanism of your choice.  (I used the mini-blender that came as an attachment for my immersion blender)
Puree, then add water 1-2 Tbsp at a time until reaching your desired thickness
Pour into clean ice cube trays, cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer overnight
Thaw 1 cube as needed in the refrigerator before feeding.  Store remaining cubes in freezer bag, labeled with the contents and date.

I purposely choose to use tap water for my baby foods.  When Benji drinks water, or water flavored with a splash of juice, it is also tap water, not bottled.  Where we live, tap water contains fluoride along with other minute quantities of various minerals.  You can also thin purees with breast milk, formula, or juice if desired.

He LOVED the apples.  We stuck with feeding him 1 cube (about 1 ounce) daily for 3 days before introducing his next food, sweet potatoes.  Waiting 3-4 days after introducing any new food is important to confirm that the baby doesn't have an allergy, which may take a few days to show itself.  I can't believe our boy is old enough for solids, makes me so excited and so sad at the same time.  I'd love to freeze time!