Rough Week

It's been a long few days. In short, I broke my phone and the Child has turned in to mobile terror (and yes, I mean that with all the love in the world).  As she learns how to walk/speed crawl everything in the house has been turned upside down.  I currently have all the heavy pots and pans on the countertop, since she has been hurting herself with them when she pulls them down.  The rental we are in doesn't have enough cabinets for me to really find another place to store them, so I'm at a loss. And out of energy. And patience. And now that the Child is asleep (finally!) I don't know what I'm doing writing, I should be eating or using the bathroom by myself.

At Long Last! The Child Eats!

Finally, after months of disinterest, the Child has begun to eat solid foods.  Sort of.  It's slow going, but I'm ok with it.  The slow pace of it all has really given me time to think about the message I want to send to my daughter about food.

 I want her to treat her body well, to nourish it with good and healthy food, to eat the occasional cookie and to be an effective reader of food labels. * I have a lot to say to her about food, this is just the start.*

My mom is a type 1 diabetic and since I was a kid we would read labels together to try and find healthy and tasty foods that she could eat without causing major spikes and dips in her blood sugar.  My family has always been health conscious, so label reading is second nature to me. My interest in healthy living and good eating has expanded as I have moved from consumer ("mom, will you make me a sandwich?"), to novice gardener, to chief cooker and head of the family shopping committee (har-har). Over  the years my interests have expanded to include organic and pronounceable ingredients, sustainable farming practices, ethical food companies and minimalist packaging. 

So far the Child has begun to eat a mixture of table foods (she loves to squish and then eat blueberries) and purchased baby foods.  I know some people are firmly in the "make-your-own-baby-food-all-the-time" camp, but the fact is that just does not work for us. 

In the last month I've purchased some baby foods and done A LOT of label reading and researching.  Some of what I've found is reassuring, there are some good and responsible baby food companies, but there have been some real surprises as well.

In the next few weeks, I'm going to be writing about some companies that I've come to trust and really feel comfortable feeding their foods to the Child and some others that I think come with some serious caveats .

Exhaustion

So the Husband has been gone for a week and even though I 've tried to work the cheery-I'm-fine thing, the truth is  I'm falling apart. I'm exhausted by a needy wounded (more on that later) dogand a teething clingy baby. Frankly, I have very little time to myself and the little time that I do have is spent trying to practice my deeping breathing/don't have a cow  exercises. So more later, and yes, in the next week I will be posting my long awaited giveaway. Despair not!

Breaking News: The Child is a disinterested eater!

Feeding the Child solids is like taking "just a sip" from a firehose - impossible.  Attempting to feed her anything off a spoon begets baby kung fu and a mess. Seriously, she is the master of the two-hand fend off and the if-you-put-in-my-mouth-I'm-gonna-sneeze face.  Who taught her this??? Aren't these toddler level skills?? I'm blaming the Husband.

These next few weeks I'll be reviewing kid food. Freeze dried, purreed, in a pouch. You name it, I'm trying it.

Why? Because as much as I love breastfeeding, and trust me I do, I will not be breastfeeding the Child until she is five.

I miss red wine. Red, red wine, you make me feel so fine...

She sleeps!

I have a few glorious hours all to myself. The husband is off to work and the Child is still asleep. What to do? what to do? I've made two important phone calls (don't you just LOVE arguing with insurance people first thing?), written three emails, consumed 2.5 cups of half caf. coffee and done the dishes.

I also used the bathroom by myself, which is a rare occurrence.

This day has already been productive, so if the Child wakes up and it all goes to pot? Well, at least I got to use the bathroom by myself and honestly, these days, that goes a long way towards a good day.

Car seat + The Child= poop

No seriously. For the last week everytime I put the child into her car seat and leave the house, she promptly poops. What gives!! I'm not talking about "the oh I can just change her in the back seat of the car and continue shopping"sort of poop, no I'm talking about the turn the car around and place child in bath sort of poop. This is cramping my style, how am I supposed to get stuff done?!? On another, far more personally satisfying note, I am all out of wipes (laundry day) and therefore I must acquire more.

The Child

That sounds so clinical, right? Well, when The Husband and I say "the child" we don't say it all boring and normal. We say it with flair, as in "tha challlld", think nose in the air, stuffy-voiced, I-have-a-butler-my-name-is-kip sort of way. Just so you know.