We baked a spinach and ricotta pie last night that '07 mama Beth recommended (it's from the Moosewood Cookbook). I fed it to E for lunch today and he LOVED it. I'm so pleased.
We went back to the Children's Research Lab at UT this morning to participate in another study. This one was about music and involved E sitting on my lap (theoretically) and watching a screen and listening to the same classical melody being played by different instruments. E had more important things to do, though. There was a room to explore and of course we'd arrived with balls in each hand, which needed to be dropped and rolled and recaptured over and over again. We gave it a go three times before giving up. I can't say I blame him--the music they were playing wasn't turned up very loudly, and it was boring, at least for a thirteen-month-old who's used to rocking out to Laurie Berkner and the Biscuit Brothers and Putumayo's African Dreamland cd.
On our way there, we got pulled over on the highway. I can't remember the last time I was pulled over. I was shocked to discover that our inspection on the VW had been due in May. May! How in the world we missed that, I have no idea. The police officer was nice, which is a rarity in my experience. In any case, after UT, we went and had the car inspected.
Later this afternoon we have our playdate with Kay and Jonas. We're at their house this week. I'm looking forward to it, especially because it's such a beautiful day. Hopefully we can spend some time outside. They have a lovely backyard.
TJ leaves on Sunday for six days, five nights--right when Daylight Saving Time hits, which means E will be waking up an hour earlier than usual. Brutal. I meant to start adjusting his schedule slowly, but that hasn't worked out very well. We're going to stay with Catherine and Shannon for three nights next week, so that'll be nice.
As for the situation with my family, I was able to get in to see my childhood therapist, Susan, last week. I saw her from age 9 to 18 and I adore her. It was such a relief to be able to talk to her, especially because she already knows my family background. She advised me on how to proceed and validated a lot of what I've been feeling. I wrote my parents a letter on Sunday night. I haven't heard back from them yet. My stomach is constantly in knots, but part of me does feel better having written them. I have no idea how they'll respond or what the future looks like for all of us. Susan suggested that I keep some distance for a while, and that's my inclination as well, but it makes me so sad at the same time.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Status Report: Twelve Months
It's amazing that twelve months ago, give or take, E looked like this.
And here he is today, a big standing guy.
I took him to his twelve-month check-up this morning (he turned one on September 30). He weighed 24 pounds 11 ounces and measured 30 inches tall. Those measurements apparently fall in the 60th to 75th percentile range, and his head circumference landed around the 80th percentile.
In the waiting room, I noticed something in his hair that I thought was dried food or snot at first, only to discover that he has cradle cap on the top of his head. For some reason, uncovering the peeling, flaky, orangey expanse of dry scalp hidden under his sweet blond locks gave me the willies. The timing of the discovery couldn't have been more perfect, though. The doc told us some stuff to do, so we'll see if it works.
I only had a couple of questions going in. The first had to do with whether I might be raising a Motrin addict. I just feel like I'm constantly doling out the Motrin. The doc said once a day is okay when it's needed, and giving it a break every now and then is a good thing. Our Motrin use runs in spurts, so I was relieved to hear this. E's fifth tooth is in as of yesterday or the day before, so that was cool to see.
My other question had to do with food (surprise, surprise, toddlerhood). I haven't had a chance to post about it, but I just don't feel like we've got the food thing down. It seems like Eamon eats the same four meals (actually more like two now) over and over again, and in the meantime he's getting pickier and pickier. (So predictable, I know.) He flat-out refuses to feed himself fruits or vegetables. He won't touch them; the texture freaks him out. We're still able to feed him some veggies and fruit out of jars in between bites of regular food, but I don't expect that to last much longer. Right now, the main meals he eats are peanut butter & jelly sandwiches with Pirate's Booty and black bean & cheese quesadillas (and this week we thought to add spinach--and he ate it!). He used to eat tortilla with hummus, but now he won't touch hummus. Last night I couldn't bear to give him another quesadilla, so I tried heating up leftovers from our dinner the night before: baked pesto chicken and rice and peas. He surprised me by going nuts over the chicken, and he spit the rice and peas out. (He used to just refuse things; now he spits them out.) I was ecstatic over the chicken. Up until now he wouldn't eat chicken. He's also stopped eating avocado and bananas. He loves cubed cheese and cottage cheese; he's a dairy man in general. Frozen veggie burgers used to be popular: no mas. We've gotta find some other things that he'll eat, although the doc said not to worry about this stuff. He said E's sensitivity to texture is completely normal and that on average toddlers only eat one spoonful of food per meal, and then every seventh meal or so they eat a ton. Worrying about it will just make you neurotic, he said. I didn't tell him I already had that covered.
It would probably be best to all eat together, and to feed him whatever we're eating, but I just don't see that happening right now. He eats at 5:30 or 6:00, and there's just no way we can have dinner ready by then. Maybe at some point.
While I'm at it, here's a (hopefully quick) rundown on life with E as of late. On average, he goes down at 7 p.m. and wakes up at 6 a.m. (today it was 5:00, woohoo). We haven't had any night wakings in awhile, not since we cut out that one feeding. Actually, that's not completely true. He often wakes up once or twice between 7:00 and 11:00. Frequently, he puts himself back to sleep without us having to go in, but if he wakes up more than twice, it's usually because he's teething, and at that point I give him Motrin and rock him for a song or two. He goes down for his nap between noon and 1:00 and is usually up by 2:00. He often sleeps for an hour and a half, sometimes an hour or less, and sometimes (more rarely) for two hours.
He nurses three times a day: morning, before nap, and before bed. He's had a runny nose for the past week and has sometimes been too congested to nurse before nap, so on those days he's nursed after nap, and hasn't had a problem going down for his nap without nursing. I'm toying with the idea of cutting out the midday nursing, or rather seeing what happens if I don't offer it. There are days he wants to nurse for comfort, and I oblige. This happens maybe once a week. It happened last week in the middle of our playdate with Kay and Jonas. He came over to me and asked to nurse by moaning and leaning into me and grabbing at my shirt and biting/sucking on my arm. He nursed for a few minutes and then pulled off and resumed playing with Jonas, as though all was right in the world again.
He's starting to take steps but isn't walking yet. He spends a lot of time going from sitting to standing without holding on to anything, and then he stands and balances and grins and bounces and squeals and claps. We've noticed that he understands certain things we say: "Are you ready to go?" "Where's Squeaky?" That kind of thing. It's an amazing feeling to see him start to comprehend language.
In the past week he's learned how to hold his sippy cup by himself, and he seems to be enjoying the independence this offers. We now put his cup on his highchair tray during meals, and he stops eating very frequently to drink, which I find hilarious.
He loves social outings and is no shrinking violet. This is a constant source of wonder and discovery for me--watching him with other people, seeing the energy and happiness he gets from connecting with adults, bigger kids, and to a lesser (or different) extent, other babies. He thrives on it. He feels such joy, he could just burst.
This past Tuesday was my first time working at the co-op, and it was fascinating for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was seeing E's response to my taking care of other babies. One baby had a hard time when his mama left, and he needed to be held for a while. Eamon did not like that one bit. In fact, the other mom on duty had to comfort him while I was holding the other baby. It cracked me up because it seemed so unlike E (at least to date; then again we've never been in this situation before). A similar thing happened when I changed another boy's poopy diaper. E crawled over and clung to my leg, moaning dramatically the whole time. It was pretty funny.
It's amazing how intense and exhausting two hours with a group of little ones can be. I had a good time getting to know the other five babes better. They are all so different (natch), and so funny and sweet. The ages range from 12 months (E) to 17 months. This whole co-op thing rocks, I must say.
Well, I started this post during naptime today, and now it's evening and time to wind things down. Maybe I'll add a few more things tomorrow (as if this post weren't long enough).
And here he is today, a big standing guy.
I took him to his twelve-month check-up this morning (he turned one on September 30). He weighed 24 pounds 11 ounces and measured 30 inches tall. Those measurements apparently fall in the 60th to 75th percentile range, and his head circumference landed around the 80th percentile.
In the waiting room, I noticed something in his hair that I thought was dried food or snot at first, only to discover that he has cradle cap on the top of his head. For some reason, uncovering the peeling, flaky, orangey expanse of dry scalp hidden under his sweet blond locks gave me the willies. The timing of the discovery couldn't have been more perfect, though. The doc told us some stuff to do, so we'll see if it works.
I only had a couple of questions going in. The first had to do with whether I might be raising a Motrin addict. I just feel like I'm constantly doling out the Motrin. The doc said once a day is okay when it's needed, and giving it a break every now and then is a good thing. Our Motrin use runs in spurts, so I was relieved to hear this. E's fifth tooth is in as of yesterday or the day before, so that was cool to see.
My other question had to do with food (surprise, surprise, toddlerhood). I haven't had a chance to post about it, but I just don't feel like we've got the food thing down. It seems like Eamon eats the same four meals (actually more like two now) over and over again, and in the meantime he's getting pickier and pickier. (So predictable, I know.) He flat-out refuses to feed himself fruits or vegetables. He won't touch them; the texture freaks him out. We're still able to feed him some veggies and fruit out of jars in between bites of regular food, but I don't expect that to last much longer. Right now, the main meals he eats are peanut butter & jelly sandwiches with Pirate's Booty and black bean & cheese quesadillas (and this week we thought to add spinach--and he ate it!). He used to eat tortilla with hummus, but now he won't touch hummus. Last night I couldn't bear to give him another quesadilla, so I tried heating up leftovers from our dinner the night before: baked pesto chicken and rice and peas. He surprised me by going nuts over the chicken, and he spit the rice and peas out. (He used to just refuse things; now he spits them out.) I was ecstatic over the chicken. Up until now he wouldn't eat chicken. He's also stopped eating avocado and bananas. He loves cubed cheese and cottage cheese; he's a dairy man in general. Frozen veggie burgers used to be popular: no mas. We've gotta find some other things that he'll eat, although the doc said not to worry about this stuff. He said E's sensitivity to texture is completely normal and that on average toddlers only eat one spoonful of food per meal, and then every seventh meal or so they eat a ton. Worrying about it will just make you neurotic, he said. I didn't tell him I already had that covered.
It would probably be best to all eat together, and to feed him whatever we're eating, but I just don't see that happening right now. He eats at 5:30 or 6:00, and there's just no way we can have dinner ready by then. Maybe at some point.
While I'm at it, here's a (hopefully quick) rundown on life with E as of late. On average, he goes down at 7 p.m. and wakes up at 6 a.m. (today it was 5:00, woohoo). We haven't had any night wakings in awhile, not since we cut out that one feeding. Actually, that's not completely true. He often wakes up once or twice between 7:00 and 11:00. Frequently, he puts himself back to sleep without us having to go in, but if he wakes up more than twice, it's usually because he's teething, and at that point I give him Motrin and rock him for a song or two. He goes down for his nap between noon and 1:00 and is usually up by 2:00. He often sleeps for an hour and a half, sometimes an hour or less, and sometimes (more rarely) for two hours.
He nurses three times a day: morning, before nap, and before bed. He's had a runny nose for the past week and has sometimes been too congested to nurse before nap, so on those days he's nursed after nap, and hasn't had a problem going down for his nap without nursing. I'm toying with the idea of cutting out the midday nursing, or rather seeing what happens if I don't offer it. There are days he wants to nurse for comfort, and I oblige. This happens maybe once a week. It happened last week in the middle of our playdate with Kay and Jonas. He came over to me and asked to nurse by moaning and leaning into me and grabbing at my shirt and biting/sucking on my arm. He nursed for a few minutes and then pulled off and resumed playing with Jonas, as though all was right in the world again.
He's starting to take steps but isn't walking yet. He spends a lot of time going from sitting to standing without holding on to anything, and then he stands and balances and grins and bounces and squeals and claps. We've noticed that he understands certain things we say: "Are you ready to go?" "Where's Squeaky?" That kind of thing. It's an amazing feeling to see him start to comprehend language.
In the past week he's learned how to hold his sippy cup by himself, and he seems to be enjoying the independence this offers. We now put his cup on his highchair tray during meals, and he stops eating very frequently to drink, which I find hilarious.
He loves social outings and is no shrinking violet. This is a constant source of wonder and discovery for me--watching him with other people, seeing the energy and happiness he gets from connecting with adults, bigger kids, and to a lesser (or different) extent, other babies. He thrives on it. He feels such joy, he could just burst.
This past Tuesday was my first time working at the co-op, and it was fascinating for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was seeing E's response to my taking care of other babies. One baby had a hard time when his mama left, and he needed to be held for a while. Eamon did not like that one bit. In fact, the other mom on duty had to comfort him while I was holding the other baby. It cracked me up because it seemed so unlike E (at least to date; then again we've never been in this situation before). A similar thing happened when I changed another boy's poopy diaper. E crawled over and clung to my leg, moaning dramatically the whole time. It was pretty funny.
It's amazing how intense and exhausting two hours with a group of little ones can be. I had a good time getting to know the other five babes better. They are all so different (natch), and so funny and sweet. The ages range from 12 months (E) to 17 months. This whole co-op thing rocks, I must say.
Well, I started this post during naptime today, and now it's evening and time to wind things down. Maybe I'll add a few more things tomorrow (as if this post weren't long enough).
Monday, September 15, 2008
Another E Report
I have this vague idea that once E is one (in almost exactly two weeks!), I won't blog as much about the ins and outs of his sleeping and all that stuff. That's my goal, anyway. But until then . . . last night felt like a milestone. He didn't wake up at all until 4:45, but he really wanted to nurse then and was crying pretty hard in his room. I made a split-second decision (sorry, TJ) that I wasn't going to nurse him. So TJ went in (cue the next level of angry, hysterical screeching) and rocked him while I listened and cringed. I was sure it wouldn't work and he'd end up staying awake from then on, and I was asking myself if nursing him at 5:00 every morning was really all that bad. Then, lo and behold, he stopped crying after about five minutes and put his head down and went to sleep. TJ rocked him for quite awhile and then came back to bed. Five minutes later, E was up again, screaming mad. TJ went back in and rocked him, and again he went to sleep after several minutes of pissed-off crying. This time he stayed asleep until 7:00. Victory!!!!! At the first peep from him, I ran into his room and scooped him up to nurse (I still felt empty after over twelve hours of not nursing, by the way). We were so happy to see each other. I can't imagine how great it would be if he slept through the night and woke up between 6:00 and 7:00. It would change everything.
In other milk-related news, I gave him cow's milk with his dinner last night. I have never seen him suck so hard for so long on a sippy cup. He freaking loved it. I also heated up a frozen Amy's organic veggie burger for him for the first time (he had cheese and fruit as well), and he really liked it.
His favorite food of all, however, is cottage cheese. I usually give it to him as an afternoon snack, and he practically faints from joy. The only problem is that nothing makes him throw a bigger tantrum than coming to the end of the cottage cheese (and it's not like I give him a measley serving). He FLIPS out (shaking, growling, his face beet red, throat-shredding screams), to the point that it almost cancels out the happiness he was clearly feeling moments before. The emotional rollercoaster has begun . . .
In other milk-related news, I gave him cow's milk with his dinner last night. I have never seen him suck so hard for so long on a sippy cup. He freaking loved it. I also heated up a frozen Amy's organic veggie burger for him for the first time (he had cheese and fruit as well), and he really liked it.
His favorite food of all, however, is cottage cheese. I usually give it to him as an afternoon snack, and he practically faints from joy. The only problem is that nothing makes him throw a bigger tantrum than coming to the end of the cottage cheese (and it's not like I give him a measley serving). He FLIPS out (shaking, growling, his face beet red, throat-shredding screams), to the point that it almost cancels out the happiness he was clearly feeling moments before. The emotional rollercoaster has begun . . .
Friday, August 8, 2008
Bad Mom Award, Big People Food
I get the award today. I wanted to do something that would be fun for E this afternoon, so we went to a park. I had been too lazy to get us both outfitted to swim, but I figured he could swing and I vaguely imagined him crawling around on the rubber asphalt of the playground. What I hadn't considered were that the swings would be HOT, too hot for a little guy's bare legs. They were so hot, in fact, that the backside of one of his thighs got burned. I felt like the biggest jerk. He didn't even really cry, but he appeared very uncomfortable (like he wanted to swing but something was hurting, duh), so I took him out after a few swings. I'd felt the seat before putting him in, but didn't think much of his skin would be touching it. So then we went and sat on the rubber asphalt, which was littered with small rocks. Perfect for choking, and painful for bare feet and legs. He sat on my lap for a few minutes and I cursed myself and dripped with sweat as we watched the happy babies swimming in the wading pool. I'll make it up to him next week. In the meantime, we came home and I took him in the inflatable pool. He wore his birthday suit and had a decent time. What I learned today (among other things): Don't try to do anything outside right now that doesn't involve being submerged in water. It's too damn hot out there.
On an unrelated note, E had his first meal that consisted only of big people food today. He's getting tired of baby food and even seems to be losing interest in his beloved yogurt, so today for lunch he had some of a whole wheat tortilla (very funny to watch; this was his second time tackling a tortilla), avocado, and cheese cut into tiny cubes. I really have no idea what I'm doing or what to feed him for meals; this is all new to me and I think I'm making it harder than it is. (Also, he can't feed himself small bites of anything yet; his pincer grasp needs a lot of work. He likes Cheerios, for instance, but needs us to put each one in his mouth.) I do own Super Baby Food and other helpful books, but it's as though I have a mental block when it comes to this stuff. I think it ties into the fact that cooking doesn't come easily to me in general. In any case, we're making a grocery trip tomorrow and are going to shop for some things with him in mind. Tonight we ate at Chuy's and he had some cheese, tomato (not a fan), grilled chicken (there was still some in his mouth when we got home), tortilla chips, and refried beans (as well as a couple of old staples we brought in jars: sweet potatoes and pears). He flirted shamelessly with the family at the table next to us the whole meal, by the way. His eyes were positively twinkling, and the mom and teenage daughter were utterly besotted by him. That little Romeo!
On an unrelated note, E had his first meal that consisted only of big people food today. He's getting tired of baby food and even seems to be losing interest in his beloved yogurt, so today for lunch he had some of a whole wheat tortilla (very funny to watch; this was his second time tackling a tortilla), avocado, and cheese cut into tiny cubes. I really have no idea what I'm doing or what to feed him for meals; this is all new to me and I think I'm making it harder than it is. (Also, he can't feed himself small bites of anything yet; his pincer grasp needs a lot of work. He likes Cheerios, for instance, but needs us to put each one in his mouth.) I do own Super Baby Food and other helpful books, but it's as though I have a mental block when it comes to this stuff. I think it ties into the fact that cooking doesn't come easily to me in general. In any case, we're making a grocery trip tomorrow and are going to shop for some things with him in mind. Tonight we ate at Chuy's and he had some cheese, tomato (not a fan), grilled chicken (there was still some in his mouth when we got home), tortilla chips, and refried beans (as well as a couple of old staples we brought in jars: sweet potatoes and pears). He flirted shamelessly with the family at the table next to us the whole meal, by the way. His eyes were positively twinkling, and the mom and teenage daughter were utterly besotted by him. That little Romeo!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Slimming Down
I thought I should report that TJ has lost a couple of pounds. Whew! And I've actually lost a few myself. We're really getting the hang of this new way of eating, I think. We're even more dedicated than when we started. TJ has cut pasta out completely; I still have it on rare occasions. We're also limiting rice and bread but we're still eating whole wheat tortillas and pita (and brown rice with stir fry but not as a side). We've found that having snacks with protein is key, and we've also discovered that a steak or grilled chicken salad (with a bunch of veggies and sometimes a hard-boiled egg) fills us up nicely. I don't think either of us has needed to snack as much as we did at first. (This added later: The snacking less comment may not be true.)
Our dinners have mostly been coming from the South Beach Diet Cookbook (the one with thirty-minute meals). Even though we're not doing South Beach per se, the ingredients in that cookbook are in line with the way we're eating now (which actually does equate to Phase 2 and 3 of South Beach, I think). So, we're learning and modifying as we go. I know TJ is disappointed that he hasn't lost more weight; I guess we'll see what happens over the next couple of months. I have to say that I feel great eating this way. It seems obvious to me now that I used to stuff myself silly--it's nice not to feel uncomfortably full and bloated every day. I've noticed that when I do eat pasta now (which I've had two or three times in the past month), I feel gross afterwards. I probably wouldn't if I only had a cup of it, but if I'm eating pasta, I want more than that. I do love me some pasta.
Our dinners have mostly been coming from the South Beach Diet Cookbook (the one with thirty-minute meals). Even though we're not doing South Beach per se, the ingredients in that cookbook are in line with the way we're eating now (which actually does equate to Phase 2 and 3 of South Beach, I think). So, we're learning and modifying as we go. I know TJ is disappointed that he hasn't lost more weight; I guess we'll see what happens over the next couple of months. I have to say that I feel great eating this way. It seems obvious to me now that I used to stuff myself silly--it's nice not to feel uncomfortably full and bloated every day. I've noticed that when I do eat pasta now (which I've had two or three times in the past month), I feel gross afterwards. I probably wouldn't if I only had a cup of it, but if I'm eating pasta, I want more than that. I do love me some pasta.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Mandola's
This is our new favorite place to eat.
It's the real thing, guys, despite being located in Fake Town.
SO GOOD. We went yesterday for lunch, and I can't wait to go back. The salads are fantastic, as is the vegetarian panini, and the pizza looked good too (but we don't know that for sure since pizza is a no-no for us right now). It's good to go early (the restaurant opens at 11:00 every day) or in between lunch and dinner times; otherwise there's a big line.
It's the real thing, guys, despite being located in Fake Town.
SO GOOD. We went yesterday for lunch, and I can't wait to go back. The salads are fantastic, as is the vegetarian panini, and the pizza looked good too (but we don't know that for sure since pizza is a no-no for us right now). It's good to go early (the restaurant opens at 11:00 every day) or in between lunch and dinner times; otherwise there's a big line.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Going Nowhere, Commence the Pickiness, Our Happy Cat
We did too much this weekend, and E was out of sorts at Nana's yesterday as a result. I was out of sorts too, by the end. Irritable and depressed (or something). I'm looking forward to getting caught up on some things this week, and getting E back into the routine of being home. He did nap for an hour at Nana's yesterday afternoon, so that was a major score. We have two lunch dates and a play date this week, and tomorrow is my birthday (it really snuck up on me this year). I also have a bunch of errands to run. (Blah, blah, blah, this is so boring; sorry.)
TJ weighed himself yesterday and was discouraged to find that instead of losing weight, he's gained a little. (I don't actually believe that; I tried to tell him that weight fluctuates within around five pounds, but he still feels crappy about it, understandably.) Even just a pound or two would be such great motivation. He doesn't understand why he hasn't lost anything after cutting out sugar, fries, chips, unhealthy snacks, desserts, anything other than salads when eating out, switching to only whole grains, etc. On the other hand, we've only been doing this a couple of weeks, and both weekends we've pretty much had no choice but to eat stuff we wouldn't have chosen ourselves. But still. Is it just too early to see results? People keep saying that guys lose weight quickly. Could it be his genes, in part? We're planning to meet with the nutritionist at the Y. One thing that we think needs to happen is a lot more exercise. Two times a week isn't going to get him anywhere. Maybe we'll have to go on a more austere diet. Last night we had tofu stir fry with brown rice, and then at 9 p.m. we each had a small bowl of fat-free yogurt and granola. Maybe we shouldn't have something like that at night. But we don't have it every night, and it's a far cry from the ice cream we used to eat--doesn't that count for something?
E, in the meantime, has essentially stopped eating breakfast. It's happened gradually, with this morning being the worst so far. I wonder if we're seeing the early stages of picky eating. This morning he puked up the few spoonfuls I'd gotten down him (peach, oatmeal, and banana from a jar); I then mixed plain jarred banana (we were out of homemade frozen) with oatmeal and apple juice, but he gagged on that and wouldn't take anymore. He wouldn't even drink water. Wondering if he really didn't want water or whether he was just being a stinker and refusing to drink out of his own cup, I filled my own glass with ice and water and offered it to him. He was all over it. Oh boy . . . we're in for it now!
As long as I'm giving various updates, I should mention that letting Squeaky out during the day has paid off big time. She's so happy! And she hasn't woken us up in the night to go out. We let her in and out a few times during the day. The majority of her days are spent outside, on the cement steps in the back. She sprawls languidly about (both inside and out) in a way we haven't seen in a long time, since her glory days in Hyde Park. Contentment physically displayed. And her appetite is back, which is great to see. We pick sticker burrs out of her fur at night on the couch as she purrs fiercely. It's good to have her back, and to not be locked in a power struggle with her all day.
TJ weighed himself yesterday and was discouraged to find that instead of losing weight, he's gained a little. (I don't actually believe that; I tried to tell him that weight fluctuates within around five pounds, but he still feels crappy about it, understandably.) Even just a pound or two would be such great motivation. He doesn't understand why he hasn't lost anything after cutting out sugar, fries, chips, unhealthy snacks, desserts, anything other than salads when eating out, switching to only whole grains, etc. On the other hand, we've only been doing this a couple of weeks, and both weekends we've pretty much had no choice but to eat stuff we wouldn't have chosen ourselves. But still. Is it just too early to see results? People keep saying that guys lose weight quickly. Could it be his genes, in part? We're planning to meet with the nutritionist at the Y. One thing that we think needs to happen is a lot more exercise. Two times a week isn't going to get him anywhere. Maybe we'll have to go on a more austere diet. Last night we had tofu stir fry with brown rice, and then at 9 p.m. we each had a small bowl of fat-free yogurt and granola. Maybe we shouldn't have something like that at night. But we don't have it every night, and it's a far cry from the ice cream we used to eat--doesn't that count for something?
E, in the meantime, has essentially stopped eating breakfast. It's happened gradually, with this morning being the worst so far. I wonder if we're seeing the early stages of picky eating. This morning he puked up the few spoonfuls I'd gotten down him (peach, oatmeal, and banana from a jar); I then mixed plain jarred banana (we were out of homemade frozen) with oatmeal and apple juice, but he gagged on that and wouldn't take anymore. He wouldn't even drink water. Wondering if he really didn't want water or whether he was just being a stinker and refusing to drink out of his own cup, I filled my own glass with ice and water and offered it to him. He was all over it. Oh boy . . . we're in for it now!
As long as I'm giving various updates, I should mention that letting Squeaky out during the day has paid off big time. She's so happy! And she hasn't woken us up in the night to go out. We let her in and out a few times during the day. The majority of her days are spent outside, on the cement steps in the back. She sprawls languidly about (both inside and out) in a way we haven't seen in a long time, since her glory days in Hyde Park. Contentment physically displayed. And her appetite is back, which is great to see. We pick sticker burrs out of her fur at night on the couch as she purrs fiercely. It's good to have her back, and to not be locked in a power struggle with her all day.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Soup Swap
I went to a soup swap last night hosted by a childhood friend of mine, Amber. We hadn't seen each other in at least thirteen years, if not longer. She's active in the Austin Mamas and I was excited to see her and meet some Mamas (and swap some soup). The swap took place at her parents' condo overlooking Lake Travis. And yes, it's as beautiful as it sounds. It was interesting and fun, and I especially loved hearing tales and words of wisdom from the moms whose kids are older than E (pretty much everyone there).
Alas, I only ended up with three quarts to swap instead of the required six.
I'm not sure what went wrong; I think I accidentally loosened the pitcher from the rubber base it was attached to. I picked the pitcher up after blending, and the soup gushed out the bottom and went everywhere. I stood there frozen in shock, not even realizing at first that the soup was scalding my hand. (This was after I used the food processor, by the way, which I'd decided was too messy. Ha.) Then, while I was taking a break to compose myself, TJ added the coconut milk to the remaining soup. I'd left out two cans of it, and he poured them both in, which amounted to a lot more than the recipe called for. I decided at that point not to take the soup at all, but after some seasoning, it tasted surprisingly good (a little too much coconut milk, perhaps, but not totally overpowering), so I took what I had. It ended up working out; it just meant that I brought home three different soups as opposed to six.
Earlier in the afternoon, TJ had asked what had made me choose curried carrot soup, and I explained that I love carrot ginger soup (this is similar), but more than that, I wanted something easy since I always seem to screw things up in the kitchen and I couldn't afford to mess up this time. He thought I was being too hard on myself, but I told him to just wait and see--something was bound to go wrong. And sure enough! It seems funny now, of course. I guess.
Here's the recipe for Curried Carrot Soup (from Chow.com). I tripled the recipe, and should've quadrupled it.
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 medium clove garlic, smashed
1 (1/2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and smashed
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 medium bay leaf
2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, for garnish (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add curry powder and garlic, and toast until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add ginger, onion, carrots, bay leaf, and broth. Increase heat to medium high and bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer until carrots are soft when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf.
Working in batches, process soup in a blender until smooth. (Be very careful when blending the hot soup, as steam could blow off the blender lid.)
Pour soup into a clean pot and return to the stove over medium heat. Stir in coconut milk and adjust seasoning as needed.
To make appetizer portions, serve small amounts of soup in shot glasses or demitasses. Garnish with a few flakes of toasted coconut, if using.
Note: This soup can be served hot or cold. If you’re serving it cold, you may need to thin it with a little water.
Alas, I only ended up with three quarts to swap instead of the required six.
I'm not sure what went wrong; I think I accidentally loosened the pitcher from the rubber base it was attached to. I picked the pitcher up after blending, and the soup gushed out the bottom and went everywhere. I stood there frozen in shock, not even realizing at first that the soup was scalding my hand. (This was after I used the food processor, by the way, which I'd decided was too messy. Ha.) Then, while I was taking a break to compose myself, TJ added the coconut milk to the remaining soup. I'd left out two cans of it, and he poured them both in, which amounted to a lot more than the recipe called for. I decided at that point not to take the soup at all, but after some seasoning, it tasted surprisingly good (a little too much coconut milk, perhaps, but not totally overpowering), so I took what I had. It ended up working out; it just meant that I brought home three different soups as opposed to six.
Earlier in the afternoon, TJ had asked what had made me choose curried carrot soup, and I explained that I love carrot ginger soup (this is similar), but more than that, I wanted something easy since I always seem to screw things up in the kitchen and I couldn't afford to mess up this time. He thought I was being too hard on myself, but I told him to just wait and see--something was bound to go wrong. And sure enough! It seems funny now, of course. I guess.
Here's the recipe for Curried Carrot Soup (from Chow.com). I tripled the recipe, and should've quadrupled it.
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 medium clove garlic, smashed
1 (1/2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and smashed
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 medium bay leaf
2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, for garnish (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add curry powder and garlic, and toast until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add ginger, onion, carrots, bay leaf, and broth. Increase heat to medium high and bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer until carrots are soft when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf.
Working in batches, process soup in a blender until smooth. (Be very careful when blending the hot soup, as steam could blow off the blender lid.)
Pour soup into a clean pot and return to the stove over medium heat. Stir in coconut milk and adjust seasoning as needed.
To make appetizer portions, serve small amounts of soup in shot glasses or demitasses. Garnish with a few flakes of toasted coconut, if using.
Note: This soup can be served hot or cold. If you’re serving it cold, you may need to thin it with a little water.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Weighing In, Ordering Food
This is probably really boring to read about (some would argue that babies are more boring, I'm sure), but since it's new to us and is consuming our daily life at the moment, I feel compelled to write about it. So, the diet. We went out to eat again tonight (we were originally going to be in Dallas visiting my mom this weekend, but it got pushed to next weekend at the last minute, so we had no meal planned for tonight). We've realized there are some restaurants we just can't go to anymore (like Hoover's) except for very, very special occasions; and as for the others, we'll have to order differently. Tonight we went to Fire Bowl. Oh, how I love the Chow Fun Wok Toss there. But oh, how I also love the tofu spring rolls. In the past, I would've ordered both, and a Shiner to boot. Tonight I got the spring rolls and a salad and no beer. The salad was very healthy--not all or even many restaurant salads seem that healthy to me (and I never, ever order one; I mean, except as a side; okay, and not counting Central Market). But this was light and simple. Plain grilled chicken and fresh bell pepper and green onions, mixed greens, and an ever-so-slight Asian citrus dressing. Oh, and peanuts--the fattiest things on there. I was very proud of my self-control in ordering and felt like I deserved a freaking medal for it, but now it's 7:30 and I'm starving. Ugh. The other issue is that it's next to impossible to know how many calories I ate. The food search tool on the calorie counting site we're using pulls up very specific items, like Sonic's chicken salad. Gag, no. I end up choosing the closest thing to what I ordered, but I have no idea if the calories really match. Then I add each ingredient, like peanuts, and guess on things like weight. I guessed I had a half ounce of peanuts, but who the hell really knows. All I know is that supposedly I've only eaten 1880 calories today, which means I have a few hundred to play with tonight, and I'm not wasting them on baklava. I think I'll have some cereal with soy milk. I want to feel full.
I know we shouldn't get bogged down in the details too much. The fact is that we're eating wayyyyyy less and much healthier, much more mindful, which is what's important. I asked TJ if he minded if I blog about his weight and he said no, so for the record, he's starting at 240. His target weight is 190 to 200 pounds, which is appropriate given his large frame and his height of six feet. The calorie counter came up with a weight of 165 for him, which is such bullshit. The only way he should ever weigh that, or could ever weigh that, would be if he had some terrible disease and were dying in front of our eyes. It also seems worth mentioning that everyone in TJ's family is overweight--both his siblings and his parents (who are morbidly so). When we visit his family, everyone comments on how skinny TJ is. In any case, it's a beautiful thing to see him committing to this. He's the driving force behind it. He's even given up sugar in his coffee. It's been over five years now since he had a beer, and over a year since he quietly stopped smoking (a pack and a half a day--and meanwhile I bitched incessantly when I quit smoking my four or five a day three years ago). The man amazes me.
Since I'm revealing his weight, it seems only fair to report that I weigh 117 and am a measly five foot one. My weight's not bad--I could weigh a few pounds less (who wouldn't want that), but I think 110 is too low for me. I've weighed that before, but only with the help of toxic levels of stress and anxiety. My goal is just to eat healthier, support TJ, not gorge myself (sigh), not gain any weight, and it sure would be nice to have a flatter belly. But we'll see. Tomorrow we're going to go shopping for some food that will support our new endeavor, seeing as how this week we've kind of been winging it.
I know we shouldn't get bogged down in the details too much. The fact is that we're eating wayyyyyy less and much healthier, much more mindful, which is what's important. I asked TJ if he minded if I blog about his weight and he said no, so for the record, he's starting at 240. His target weight is 190 to 200 pounds, which is appropriate given his large frame and his height of six feet. The calorie counter came up with a weight of 165 for him, which is such bullshit. The only way he should ever weigh that, or could ever weigh that, would be if he had some terrible disease and were dying in front of our eyes. It also seems worth mentioning that everyone in TJ's family is overweight--both his siblings and his parents (who are morbidly so). When we visit his family, everyone comments on how skinny TJ is. In any case, it's a beautiful thing to see him committing to this. He's the driving force behind it. He's even given up sugar in his coffee. It's been over five years now since he had a beer, and over a year since he quietly stopped smoking (a pack and a half a day--and meanwhile I bitched incessantly when I quit smoking my four or five a day three years ago). The man amazes me.
Since I'm revealing his weight, it seems only fair to report that I weigh 117 and am a measly five foot one. My weight's not bad--I could weigh a few pounds less (who wouldn't want that), but I think 110 is too low for me. I've weighed that before, but only with the help of toxic levels of stress and anxiety. My goal is just to eat healthier, support TJ, not gorge myself (sigh), not gain any weight, and it sure would be nice to have a flatter belly. But we'll see. Tomorrow we're going to go shopping for some food that will support our new endeavor, seeing as how this week we've kind of been winging it.
Counting Calories
We spent hours last night entering our calories for the day. At least it felt like hours. It was fun, though. We were dying of laughter at all the snacks I ate yesterday: low-fat cottage cheese, pretzels, Pirate's Booty, crackers, soy milk, nectarine, diet natural root beer. We were trying to figure out how I ended up with so many calories (over 3,000). It's interesting . . . I've always thought it was so silly when people refuse to put mayo on their sandwiches. Until now. I can't waste my precious calories on that shit! What killed us last night was that we got takeout from a Greek deli nearby. We always think of that place as very healthy. I got the plate of six sides, which was a bitch to figure out how to enter, and who knew falafel was so fatty? I know, I know, it's fried. We then came to our squares of baklava, which I've always felt was somehow not as bad as other desserts. Wrong! My square is still sitting on the kitchen table downstairs. I couldn't bring myself to eat it since my count was already over 3,000 for the day. But I'm sure as hell eating it tonight.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Calories
So TJ was talking to his friend Dagwood earlier, and it turns out that Dagwood has lost 23 pounds since January by going to the gym and changing the way he eats. He hasn't used a particular diet because he didn't like the idea of being forced to give up certain things (although he now chooses to not eat things like chips or cookies, etc.). Instead, he's basically learned how to count calories. After hearing him talk about it, TJ wants to do that instead of South Beach (which is music to my ears, to be honest--I'm a wimp when it comes to cutting things out completely). We're using an online diet log/calorie counter. (It's fantastic!) When I entered my info, it automatically listed me as eating to maintain weight as opposed to losing weight (based on my height and weight and approximate BMI) and it said I should be eating 1900 calories a day. (But that doesn't figure in breastfeeding, so I'm allowing 500 more calories.) I'm at 1592 now and haven't had dinner. I can't imagine how many thousands of calories I normally eat on any given day.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Surgery, Leaving E, Rolling to the Right
I was away from Eamon today longer than I have ever been. Six hours. One of my bestest friends was having surgery (outpatient), and I wanted to be there to support her and her partner, pick up food for them, etc. E woke up around 6:00 this morning and I fed him and left. TJ took care of him until 9:00, at which point my stepmom, Gwen, arrived to take over so TJ could work. I got home a little before 1:00 and promptly nursed him and put him down for a nap. (I had pumped once while I was out.)
I was excited to find out that in my absence E had rolled over to the right for the first time, from both belly and back. (He's been doing full rolls for weeks now, but always to the left.) Gwen is taking full credit, and I think she should!
Later this afternoon I was trying to tempt him to roll to the right by putting toys just out of his reach. I put one in front of him to see what he would do, and he was trying with all of his might to figure out a way to move forward. He dug his toes into the ground and tried to push off, meanwhile reaching with his arms. It was really something. He's more than ready to be on the move, but I think it's going to be several more weeks till he gets there. He can have all the time he needs as far as I'm concerned!
He didn't eat much while his grandma was here, which surprised me. I figured he'd eat more solid food than usual since he was missing a nursing session, but I was wrong. She gave him yogurt as a snack around the time I would've nursed him, but he wasn't that into it, and he usually loves yogurt. He also didn't eat much lunch. It's very unlike him, and caused me to wonder if he's more aware of things than I realized.
I'm also going to be away from him on Friday evening for another fairly long stretch. Two times in one week. :( I wish there was some other way he would take breastmilk. Maybe I would feel less like I was abandoning him. I know I shouldn't feel that way--he won't starve, after all, and lots of moms have to leave their babies every day--but I'm just not used to it.
It was great to get to be with my friends this morning, though, and I'm glad to report that the one who had surgery is recovering very well. My girls . . . I love them.
I was excited to find out that in my absence E had rolled over to the right for the first time, from both belly and back. (He's been doing full rolls for weeks now, but always to the left.) Gwen is taking full credit, and I think she should!
Later this afternoon I was trying to tempt him to roll to the right by putting toys just out of his reach. I put one in front of him to see what he would do, and he was trying with all of his might to figure out a way to move forward. He dug his toes into the ground and tried to push off, meanwhile reaching with his arms. It was really something. He's more than ready to be on the move, but I think it's going to be several more weeks till he gets there. He can have all the time he needs as far as I'm concerned!
He didn't eat much while his grandma was here, which surprised me. I figured he'd eat more solid food than usual since he was missing a nursing session, but I was wrong. She gave him yogurt as a snack around the time I would've nursed him, but he wasn't that into it, and he usually loves yogurt. He also didn't eat much lunch. It's very unlike him, and caused me to wonder if he's more aware of things than I realized.
I'm also going to be away from him on Friday evening for another fairly long stretch. Two times in one week. :( I wish there was some other way he would take breastmilk. Maybe I would feel less like I was abandoning him. I know I shouldn't feel that way--he won't starve, after all, and lots of moms have to leave their babies every day--but I'm just not used to it.
It was great to get to be with my friends this morning, though, and I'm glad to report that the one who had surgery is recovering very well. My girls . . . I love them.
Monday, May 19, 2008
No More Guilt
I was emailing with my friend Keltie a couple of weeks ago. She lives in Philly and has a baby girl, Ellie, who's a month older than Eamon. She works part time. We were talking about homemade baby food, and I asked if that was all the rage in Philly, and if she felt pressured to do it (no). I said that I sometimes feel inadequate that I don't make all of E's food. I feel like the big thing in Austin is to make all your own food, use only natural cleaning products (who wouldn't want to, but still), wear your baby, co-sleep, cloth diaper, don't let baby cry, etc. I feel pressured, even though I know I should just do what feels right for us.
In any case, this is what Keltie said:
"The parenting inadequacies are sure to pile up (see my sidebar about not documenting her first year) and I'm not wasting my guilt on homemade food. Talk to me when she's getting bullied or something real."
She really put things in perspective for me. I suddenly saw how ridiculous I was being. I mean, I was feeling guilty about buying organic baby food! It's sick. Sick, sick, sick.
Ever since then, a weight has come off my shoulders. From now on, I refuse to feel guilty buying baby food, and I won't feel pressured to make Eamon's food. If I want to make some, I will, but only if I have the time. This week, for instance, TJ and I are planning on making some food for him Wednesday night. We bought asparagus (which I haven't seen in jars, and I'd like to introduce it to him), and summer squash, which E loves. And sweet potatoes, which we haven't made in a long time. I'm actually looking forward to making this stuff together and stocking the freezer. It doesn't feel as much like a chore with two people, and if you have the time and energy, it can be a very satisfying process. I said IF!
Maybe it sounds hypocritical that we're about to make baby food after I just said I wasn't going to succumb to the pressures of making it, but the motivation is different. In the past I would've felt guilty for only making a portion of E's fruits and veggies, but now I'm only doing what feels right and am at peace with buying the rest. And if this is the last time we make it, who cares.
This is all such bullshit, isn't it?
In any case, this is what Keltie said:
"The parenting inadequacies are sure to pile up (see my sidebar about not documenting her first year) and I'm not wasting my guilt on homemade food. Talk to me when she's getting bullied or something real."
She really put things in perspective for me. I suddenly saw how ridiculous I was being. I mean, I was feeling guilty about buying organic baby food! It's sick. Sick, sick, sick.
Ever since then, a weight has come off my shoulders. From now on, I refuse to feel guilty buying baby food, and I won't feel pressured to make Eamon's food. If I want to make some, I will, but only if I have the time. This week, for instance, TJ and I are planning on making some food for him Wednesday night. We bought asparagus (which I haven't seen in jars, and I'd like to introduce it to him), and summer squash, which E loves. And sweet potatoes, which we haven't made in a long time. I'm actually looking forward to making this stuff together and stocking the freezer. It doesn't feel as much like a chore with two people, and if you have the time and energy, it can be a very satisfying process. I said IF!
Maybe it sounds hypocritical that we're about to make baby food after I just said I wasn't going to succumb to the pressures of making it, but the motivation is different. In the past I would've felt guilty for only making a portion of E's fruits and veggies, but now I'm only doing what feels right and am at peace with buying the rest. And if this is the last time we make it, who cares.
This is all such bullshit, isn't it?
Friday, May 2, 2008
Baby Food
After we'd cleaned up dinner tonight, we decided to make some food to freeze for Eamon. We'd bought a bunch of fruit and vegetables on Sunday, but I hadn't had a chance to make anything yet. We were able to get a ton done working as a team. We did bananas, mango, papaya, green beans, squash, and zucchini. We finished around 9:30. Whew! I'm going to bed now. My whole body aches. I think we're going to try to make food in batches like this one night a week or so.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
And then, and then, and then (sheesh)
We've had a nice weekend. The niceness started Friday morning, when TJ took E at 7:00 and I went back to bed until 8:00. TJ put E down for his nap at 8:15 (it was early for his nap, but he was exhausted for some reason), and he proceeded to sleep for an hour and a half. It's been awhile since he napped for longer than half an hour. I ate a leisurely breakfast and read more of Super Baby Food, which I desperately needed to do. I really have to get on the ball with his food. We've sort of stalled out on sweet potatoes, bananas, avocado, carrots, cereal, pears, apples, and prunes. And recently, peas and green beans, both of which he likes. (That list of food is longer than I realized.) I'm excited to introduce tofu to him soon. I think my criteria for making his food is that if all I have to do is mash/boil/steam/bake the food and then puree it and make food cubes, I'll do it. I don't think I'll be grinding rice and shelling peas and that kind of thing. I know myself well enough to know I wouldn't stay on top of it and would feel stressed out all the time. But it feels good to make a good portion of his food, and it's cheaper that way too. I'm also looking forward to making baby food with multiple ingredients. I've gotten some great recipes from the 2007 mamas that I can't wait to try. In addition to tofu, we're also going to introduce whole milk yogurt, squash, asparagus, and diluted juice this month (and maybe a few other things).
On Saturday we ate lunch at Guero's. I can't remember the last time we went there. We sat outside and ate and people-watched. Afterwards we headed over to the new Town Lake Park. It's fantastic! Overlooks the Austin skyline and has a bunch of fountains for kids to run through. There was an event called Park Day organized by Carrie Contey (www.earlyparenting.com), so that was what prompted us to check it out, but we didn't know anyone associated with the event, nor could we tell who was with that group, so we hung out on our own until we ran into our friends Kay and Joel and Jonas (who's six weeks older than E) and they introduced us to Carrie, who we'd never met. After that we walked over to the City Wide Garage Sale. E napped in his stroller while we looked at all the stuff. I picked up a few mismatched napkins. From there we headed home, stopping for coffee on the way at this new (I think?) place on S. Lamar called Emerald City Press. For dinner TJ grilled steaks and peppers and onions and made guacamole and pico from scratch. I looove it when he does that. I swear the stuff he makes is better than any I've ever had in a restaurant.
We woke up this morning to pouring rain. It felt good. It hasn't rained like this in months and months. We ended up going to church, and we met some super nice folks there. It was our fourth Sunday in a row going to this church, and we're liking it a lot. It's VERY progressive and inclusive and has a wonderful children's program. We think this might be the place for us. We felt like the UU church was missing something. It's important to us (especially me) for Eamon to grow up going to church, but I was starting to doubt we'd find one that we could stomach. I'm relieved that the UU church wasn't our only option.
Okay, I better get going. Eamon is having a tough time. I think we've entered the world of teething. We ended up giving him Tylenol last night. He woke up around 11:30 and was inconsolable, crying in pain. It seemed obvious to both of us that his gums hurt. We tried putting him back down several times, but he woke up screaming, so we finally resorted to Tylenol. I'm a little worried because I feel like this is only the beginning, and we can't be giving him medicine every night. Poor little guy.
Well, I feel like I've just listed off every single thing we did this weekend, which is not what I want this blog to be. It's easy for me to fall into that pattern. It's just such a relief to be having good weekends now that TJ's in a new job.
Here's a picture from this weekend of the sweetest boy in the world.
On Saturday we ate lunch at Guero's. I can't remember the last time we went there. We sat outside and ate and people-watched. Afterwards we headed over to the new Town Lake Park. It's fantastic! Overlooks the Austin skyline and has a bunch of fountains for kids to run through. There was an event called Park Day organized by Carrie Contey (www.earlyparenting.com), so that was what prompted us to check it out, but we didn't know anyone associated with the event, nor could we tell who was with that group, so we hung out on our own until we ran into our friends Kay and Joel and Jonas (who's six weeks older than E) and they introduced us to Carrie, who we'd never met. After that we walked over to the City Wide Garage Sale. E napped in his stroller while we looked at all the stuff. I picked up a few mismatched napkins. From there we headed home, stopping for coffee on the way at this new (I think?) place on S. Lamar called Emerald City Press. For dinner TJ grilled steaks and peppers and onions and made guacamole and pico from scratch. I looove it when he does that. I swear the stuff he makes is better than any I've ever had in a restaurant.
We woke up this morning to pouring rain. It felt good. It hasn't rained like this in months and months. We ended up going to church, and we met some super nice folks there. It was our fourth Sunday in a row going to this church, and we're liking it a lot. It's VERY progressive and inclusive and has a wonderful children's program. We think this might be the place for us. We felt like the UU church was missing something. It's important to us (especially me) for Eamon to grow up going to church, but I was starting to doubt we'd find one that we could stomach. I'm relieved that the UU church wasn't our only option.
Okay, I better get going. Eamon is having a tough time. I think we've entered the world of teething. We ended up giving him Tylenol last night. He woke up around 11:30 and was inconsolable, crying in pain. It seemed obvious to both of us that his gums hurt. We tried putting him back down several times, but he woke up screaming, so we finally resorted to Tylenol. I'm a little worried because I feel like this is only the beginning, and we can't be giving him medicine every night. Poor little guy.
Well, I feel like I've just listed off every single thing we did this weekend, which is not what I want this blog to be. It's easy for me to fall into that pattern. It's just such a relief to be having good weekends now that TJ's in a new job.
Here's a picture from this weekend of the sweetest boy in the world.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The Third Meal and a Lament on Weaning
I added a third meal for Eamon today: breakfast. I have mixed feelings about it. My friend Heather told me that her pedi advised her to go ahead and add the third meal if she wanted to when they went in for their six-month appointment. And it seemed like Eamon was starving this morning. So I decided to try it, and he ate as much as he does when I give him solids at lunchtime and dinnertime, which is to say a lot. But I'm a little freaked out. The thought of my milk supply dropping makes me sad. The thought that this is another step towards weaning makes me sad. I know it doesn't mean he's going to be weaned anytime soon, but he will be at some point.
It reminds me of that scene in When Harry Met Sally when Sally is sitting on her bed sobbing after she finds out that her ex-boyfriend is engaged to someone else when he always said he didn't want to get married. She's crying hysterically and listing all the terrible things about herself and why no one would love her, and she ends by sobbing, "And I'm gonna be forty!" Billy Crystal says, "When?" "Someday!" she says." "In eight years," he says. She replies, "But it's out there! It's just sitting there like a big deadend!"
Anyway. I don't feel *that* dramatic about it, but it reminded me of that scene, because E is only sixth months old and here I am worrying about when he's going to wean. I worry that he'll be ready to wean before I am. :( I know that happens sometimes, and if it does I'll just have to get right with it somehow and move on. Maybe see a counselor. I think part of my attachment to breastfeeding is tied to my birth experience and the trouble we had in the beginning. I nearly killed myself making it work, and there were times I thought I'd have to give up. (I believe I'd be on anti-depressants right now if that'd happened.) The thought of feeding my baby formula in any amount felt like someone was plunging a knife through my heart. I can't really say why; it's not like I look down on anyone who goes the formula route. It could easily have been me. But it wasn't, and we made it through without supplementing (except for three times total at the start). It's the hardest thing I've ever done, and I didn't think it would be easy. But it's also been such a wonderful way for us to connect and bond. It's amazing. In the beginning I told myself I didn't have to do it past three months. If we could just make it to three months. Then six. It's not that I wanted to stop, but it was the only way I could make it through in the beginning. Now I can't imagine that I'll be ready to stop at a year. But who knows.
It reminds me of that scene in When Harry Met Sally when Sally is sitting on her bed sobbing after she finds out that her ex-boyfriend is engaged to someone else when he always said he didn't want to get married. She's crying hysterically and listing all the terrible things about herself and why no one would love her, and she ends by sobbing, "And I'm gonna be forty!" Billy Crystal says, "When?" "Someday!" she says." "In eight years," he says. She replies, "But it's out there! It's just sitting there like a big deadend!"
Anyway. I don't feel *that* dramatic about it, but it reminded me of that scene, because E is only sixth months old and here I am worrying about when he's going to wean. I worry that he'll be ready to wean before I am. :( I know that happens sometimes, and if it does I'll just have to get right with it somehow and move on. Maybe see a counselor. I think part of my attachment to breastfeeding is tied to my birth experience and the trouble we had in the beginning. I nearly killed myself making it work, and there were times I thought I'd have to give up. (I believe I'd be on anti-depressants right now if that'd happened.) The thought of feeding my baby formula in any amount felt like someone was plunging a knife through my heart. I can't really say why; it's not like I look down on anyone who goes the formula route. It could easily have been me. But it wasn't, and we made it through without supplementing (except for three times total at the start). It's the hardest thing I've ever done, and I didn't think it would be easy. But it's also been such a wonderful way for us to connect and bond. It's amazing. In the beginning I told myself I didn't have to do it past three months. If we could just make it to three months. Then six. It's not that I wanted to stop, but it was the only way I could make it through in the beginning. Now I can't imagine that I'll be ready to stop at a year. But who knows.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
An Evening on My Own
I went out last night by myself. Catherine and Shannon (my best friends from college who live here now and are a couple) had me over for dinner and visiting, and it was wonderful. It felt like old times. They pointed out that this was the first time they'd seen me without Eamon since he was born. I have to say it felt incredibly weird and unnatural saying good-bye to E and getting in the car and driving away while he was still awake. It's hard to leave him, even when I'm burned out beyond belief. TJ called me after he was asleep to tell me how it had gone. I was eager to find out whether he'd taken the bottle, because he hasn't had one since, I dunno, January, I think. Sure enough, he was having none of it. He sucked a little, but then got angry and refused anymore. Luckily, he'd eaten a good amount of solid food an hour earlier, and he fell asleep easily at 6:00 (having napped a total of an hour all day). I got home around 10:00 and pumped immediately, then had to pump again at 2:30. E woke up at 3:30 and I felt terrible that I didn't have more milk for him, but it didn't seem to matter--he fell back asleep until 7:00.
Catherine and Shannon and I made plans for me to come over for dinner the third Thursday of every month from now on. It feels great to have a standing night out to look forward to. I think it's probably good for E and TJ as well. TJ had never done the whole nighttime routine by himself before.
Tomorrow night C & S are coming over to babysit E so that TJ and I can go out to dinner, ostensibly to celebrate our anniversary. I feel like this is the first "official" time we've left E with anyone. It's been a long time since we went out alone, and he was much smaller and less aware the previous times. He also didn't really have a routine or schedule then, and he was used to taking a bottle. So this feels significant. I have to admit I'm a little nervous! I hope he does okay. I'm happy that he'll have some time alone with his aunties.
Well, once again I've waited till late to post. I've gotta go to bed.
The weather was beautiful today, by the way. Just gorgeous. E and I went to Book People and Whole Foods this afternoon. WF freaked me out. I'm so used to Central Market, I got overwhelmed and ended up leaving without buying anything I'd planned to. I met another mama on the corner of 6th and Lamar, though, and that was nice. She had the same color Ergo carrier, and we struck up a conversation. Her baby was six months old and tiny. She said he's been waking up every two hours and she's worried he's hungry. She had just bought some rice cereal at WF but was nervous to start it because her milk supply has always been low. I suggested she start him on a little right after he nurses (like I know anything). I feel like Eamon is only now eating to eat. For a few weeks he and I were just getting used to the idea. It's a big change, and like everything else, it's hard to know if you're doing it the right way.
Okay, I'm rambling at this point. It was just nice to meet another mom. And now I'm really signing off.
Catherine and Shannon and I made plans for me to come over for dinner the third Thursday of every month from now on. It feels great to have a standing night out to look forward to. I think it's probably good for E and TJ as well. TJ had never done the whole nighttime routine by himself before.
Tomorrow night C & S are coming over to babysit E so that TJ and I can go out to dinner, ostensibly to celebrate our anniversary. I feel like this is the first "official" time we've left E with anyone. It's been a long time since we went out alone, and he was much smaller and less aware the previous times. He also didn't really have a routine or schedule then, and he was used to taking a bottle. So this feels significant. I have to admit I'm a little nervous! I hope he does okay. I'm happy that he'll have some time alone with his aunties.
Well, once again I've waited till late to post. I've gotta go to bed.
The weather was beautiful today, by the way. Just gorgeous. E and I went to Book People and Whole Foods this afternoon. WF freaked me out. I'm so used to Central Market, I got overwhelmed and ended up leaving without buying anything I'd planned to. I met another mama on the corner of 6th and Lamar, though, and that was nice. She had the same color Ergo carrier, and we struck up a conversation. Her baby was six months old and tiny. She said he's been waking up every two hours and she's worried he's hungry. She had just bought some rice cereal at WF but was nervous to start it because her milk supply has always been low. I suggested she start him on a little right after he nurses (like I know anything). I feel like Eamon is only now eating to eat. For a few weeks he and I were just getting used to the idea. It's a big change, and like everything else, it's hard to know if you're doing it the right way.
Okay, I'm rambling at this point. It was just nice to meet another mom. And now I'm really signing off.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
End of the Day
This will probably be short. I'm tired, and TJ will be home soon from buying an anniversary gift. I got his earlier today--E and I went to Breed Hardware and found a beautiful blue glass vase/pitcher.
As of today I'm going to start feeding E solid food twice, once around lunchtime and once around dinnertime. I'm also going to do the solids right before he would normally breastfeed instead of in between. I tried it today and it worked wonderfully. He ate more solids and it didn't seem to impact breastfeeding at all. This week has been the first time I've felt like he wasn't full after one or two of his daytime nursings. He can drain both sides of me in minutes, and has been able to for a while now.
I've posted a few times about him taking longer naps, but he's mostly still napping for thirty minutes. Today he only took two thirty-minute naps. Ugh. But he slept for eleven hours last night! I get the sense that he's too excited about life during the day to sleep. This week has brought with it a big change: reaching. He's reaching for everything suddenly. The mail, my water, my wallet, my wine, my arm, my face. Anything and everything. It sounds like it would be tiresome, but I love it. When I carry him he holds his arms straight out from his sides with his fingers extended, at the ready. And he can hug. He buries his face in your neck and pulls his arms tight, tight, tight around you.
I remember visiting TJ's sister last year in PA when her baby, Julia, was just under six months. TJ and I were sitting on the floor playing with her, and she made a sound--what I thought of as a typical baby sound. A sweet exclamation of delight. TJ's sister came running in from the kitchen, because apparently it was a new sound. She'd never heard Julia make it before, and she was amazed. I didn't quite get it. Sure, it was cool and all that she made a new sound, but was it really *that* exciting? It's not like Julia had just busted out with a complete sentence at the age of five months.
Right. Well, I get it now. It's different when it's your baby. I knew it was even then, but I didn't *know* it. I didn't know that every new thing they do is a revelation. And the joy that comes with those revelations . . . I didn't know about that either.
As of today I'm going to start feeding E solid food twice, once around lunchtime and once around dinnertime. I'm also going to do the solids right before he would normally breastfeed instead of in between. I tried it today and it worked wonderfully. He ate more solids and it didn't seem to impact breastfeeding at all. This week has been the first time I've felt like he wasn't full after one or two of his daytime nursings. He can drain both sides of me in minutes, and has been able to for a while now.
I've posted a few times about him taking longer naps, but he's mostly still napping for thirty minutes. Today he only took two thirty-minute naps. Ugh. But he slept for eleven hours last night! I get the sense that he's too excited about life during the day to sleep. This week has brought with it a big change: reaching. He's reaching for everything suddenly. The mail, my water, my wallet, my wine, my arm, my face. Anything and everything. It sounds like it would be tiresome, but I love it. When I carry him he holds his arms straight out from his sides with his fingers extended, at the ready. And he can hug. He buries his face in your neck and pulls his arms tight, tight, tight around you.
I remember visiting TJ's sister last year in PA when her baby, Julia, was just under six months. TJ and I were sitting on the floor playing with her, and she made a sound--what I thought of as a typical baby sound. A sweet exclamation of delight. TJ's sister came running in from the kitchen, because apparently it was a new sound. She'd never heard Julia make it before, and she was amazed. I didn't quite get it. Sure, it was cool and all that she made a new sound, but was it really *that* exciting? It's not like Julia had just busted out with a complete sentence at the age of five months.
Right. Well, I get it now. It's different when it's your baby. I knew it was even then, but I didn't *know* it. I didn't know that every new thing they do is a revelation. And the joy that comes with those revelations . . . I didn't know about that either.
Friday, March 28, 2008
I knew this would happen, but it still shocked me.
Eamon had his first big-person poop today. Egads! It smelled like real poop, and it looked kinda like real poop too, even though it was soft by grownup standards. He seemed to have trouble getting it out, and then he cried and cried when I was changing him, as though he were hurting. I was afraid he was constipated, but when I read up on it I gathered that he probably wasn't as long as his stool was soft. Maybe it just didn't feel good to him. :(
We haven't introduced prunes yet, and he's not big on water at this point, so I'm not really sure what to do to make it easier on him. Maybe his system is just getting used to this new form of food. I do plan on giving him prunes soon.
Today at lunchtime he had his first two-course meal: bananas and cereal mixed with breastmilk and then sweet potatoes mixed with breastmilk, or EBM as I gather the veterans like to call it. I don't know if I needed to add much milk to the sweet potatoes, but I have a bunch in the fridge right now, so I figured I might as well. It seemed like he ate a lot, which is why I busted out the second course. Does this mean I should be feeding him solid food twice a day? I was planning on adding a second meal around seven months, but I could do it sooner. He'll be six months officially on Sunday.
Incidentally, E is asleep right now and has been for an hour. This is the first time since Tuesday that he's napped for longer than his customary thirty minutes. I put him down wide awake, too. He hardly cried at all. I don't think I can express to you how NUTS this is. Nuts and wonderful. Meanwhile, he's still batting a thousand at night. Eleven hours last night. This is the opposite extreme of where we were two weeks ago. Babies are a mystery.
I love my mystery.
We haven't introduced prunes yet, and he's not big on water at this point, so I'm not really sure what to do to make it easier on him. Maybe his system is just getting used to this new form of food. I do plan on giving him prunes soon.
Today at lunchtime he had his first two-course meal: bananas and cereal mixed with breastmilk and then sweet potatoes mixed with breastmilk, or EBM as I gather the veterans like to call it. I don't know if I needed to add much milk to the sweet potatoes, but I have a bunch in the fridge right now, so I figured I might as well. It seemed like he ate a lot, which is why I busted out the second course. Does this mean I should be feeding him solid food twice a day? I was planning on adding a second meal around seven months, but I could do it sooner. He'll be six months officially on Sunday.
Incidentally, E is asleep right now and has been for an hour. This is the first time since Tuesday that he's napped for longer than his customary thirty minutes. I put him down wide awake, too. He hardly cried at all. I don't think I can express to you how NUTS this is. Nuts and wonderful. Meanwhile, he's still batting a thousand at night. Eleven hours last night. This is the opposite extreme of where we were two weeks ago. Babies are a mystery.
I love my mystery.
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