To eat or not to eat

My husband and I have been at odds on this topic. I have noticed the rest of the world is too. When do you begin to feed your baby solid food?

I should say, the ultimate voice you should listen to is a combination of your own and your doctor's. That said, everyone has an opinion on this. In my playgroup alone the mom's and the doctors are all over the board.

The basic guidelines seem to be the same, 4-6 months, if they are drinking over a certain amount of formula/breast milk (although this amount changes based on the source you use), doubled their birth weight, and have good head control.

Those that feel you should wait believe its better to let baby's digestive system mature a bit. The extrusion reflex, where their tongue pushes everything out, begins to go away and possibly helps thwart early food allergies.

Those that don't want to wait, feel their baby is ready. The baby is gaining appropriately, is interested in food and is eating well. Some believe solid food can help baby sleep better.

You have to think of this as the beginning of how you will deal with parenting issues. The decision of whether to wait two more weeks or not is probably inconsequential. The more important decision is how you make decisions. Be confident in what you decide. You know your baby best and will do what is right for you and your baby.

For us, well, we came to a compromise, we're waiting 2 more weeks.

The Amazing Floating Baby

Boys.
I grew up with a sister. I don't know a thing about boys. And here I find myself the mom of a little boy.
About a month ago, Riggs was so proud of himself for figuring out how to turn over onto his stomach. Once he figured this feat of ingenuity out he immediately took to sleeping on his belly. My apologies to all the "back to sleep" campaigners, but what's a mom to do? He's insistent on tummy sleeping.
I soon found out what tummy sleeping for boys leads to.....wet beds. Apparently diapers are made for babies to sleep on their bums not their bellies. I took this new challenge in stride. I changed the bed daily and sometimes more due to nap time tummy sleeping. I washed clothes more than I've ever washed. I know, I know, this is just the beginning.
I started to get creative about how to solve my new floating baby problem. (by the way, in true little boy form, none of this bothered him in the slightest)

• I first added a large lap pad (so that's what they're for) to the crib and inevitably Riggs managed to get the 3 inches that the pad didn't cover wet. This did help eliminate a couple of changes
• I put a second diaper on the baby backwards due to my theory that diapers are made for babies to lay on their backs. I don't recommend this one - it didn't work and Riggs didn't really look that comfortable.
• I changed our last bottle to a bit earlier and try to keep him up for an extra 1/2 hour to hour. Maybe this helped?
• And the winning change - A bigger diaper for night! I use Target brand diapers during the day. They work great, they contain dirty diapers better than huggies and are half the price but were just overflowing by morning. At night we switch to the next size up diaper and we use Pampers. This has been our new routine and seems to be helping reduce our need for daily laundering.

I hope I've saved at least a few of you a couple of loads of laundry and the struggle of crib bed changing.

What's for Dinner?

Grilled Salmon & Brussel Sprouts for 2

~1lb (or a little less) Salmon
Marinate salmon for 1/2 hour to an hour in:
1/4 cup lite soy sauce
splash of sesame oil
spoonful of grated ginger
clove of crushed garlic
a few drops of Sirachi sauce

Heat grill and grill approx. 5 minutes a side.
serve over rice

Brussel Sprouts ( I am absolutely addicted to them)
12 sprouts - trim the stem and cut in half
place cut side down in large frying pan on medium high
cook for 3 minutes or so until they start to brown on the bottom
add 1/3 cup water, reduce heat to low and cover. cook for about 3 minutes or until the sprouts are pierce-able with a fork. take sprouts out of the pan and set aside.
turn heat back up to high - let any water remaining cook out.
pour a couple of turns of balsamic vinegar in the pan (1/4 cup or so) add some black pepper
let bubble and cook down until very syrupy. turn to low and add a pat of butter. stir to blend and melt butter. add sprouts back in pan to coat and serve immediately. YUM!

What's for Dinner?

Tuna Burgers & Sweet Potato Chips
8oz Ahi Tuna (cut into small cubes)
2 Green Onions
1Tbs Sesame Oil
2 tsp Soy Sauce
1Tbs Toasted Sesame Seeds
1 Garlic Clove minced
2 tsp minced ginger

Mix everything in a bowl. Season with Salt & Pepper. Form into 2 patties. Heat large frying pan to medium high. Add oil (I use spray, i.e. Pam). Place patties into pan. Cook 2-3 minutes a side for rare burgers. Cook more to your taste. (we like them rare). Place on bun with lettuce and tomato. I often have them on a "lettuce bun" - wrap in Romaine or Red Leaf instead of bread.
Great with Wasabi Mayo.

Sweet Potato Chips
2 Sweet Potatoes sliced into 1/4"-1/2" rounds
Salt & Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 425. Spread Potato slices onto greased cookie sheet in single layer. Brush Olive Oil on slices. Sprinkle with Salt, Pepper and Cayenne. Bake 10 minutes. Flip slices over, re-coat with Olive Oil and sprinkle with spices. (Use more or less Cayenne to suit your taste). Bake another 8 minutes.

Playgroup Rocks

I mean really.

Playgroup is the highlight of my week. I fully appreciate that as of yet, the babies haven't really figured out there are other babies around and its really a time for me to get together with other moms in a similar situation to the one I find myself in. We have an informal group that started with a couple of women who met in prenatal yoga classes and a friend invited a friend, until we now have a rotating group of about 10-12. We rotate hosting houses and sometimes meet at the park or pool. They are such a great source of information as well. I learn so much from each one of them. I find out about the newest gadget, the coolest toy, and so much more.

Our recent conversation at playgroup turned into a great traveling with a infant information session. Rick and I recently took the baby to the beach for a week so we are now close to experts on the subject of taking a driving trip with a baby.

The nuggets of wisdom distilled down:

1. Pack the car, feed the baby, and then immediately hit the road for the most travel time. We were divided on when to leave for a trip. Those who liked the morning, say it works because the baby will sleep most of the way, and wake to be fed. You stop, feed them and continue on your way. Those who liked the evening said its less disruptive to her sleep patterns. Feed her dinner, and leave for your trip - she'll think its time to go to bed and sleep the whole way.
2. Bring a favorite toy so he'll feel comfortable and also bring a new toy he hasn't seen much for something totally novel to play with.
3. Bring a blanket. If you need to, you can always stop and have a "picnic" and let baby stretch his legs. This also is great to use for the beach.
4. Head to the beach with the baby in a carrier (like a baby bjorn) at nap time. Put him on your blanket. He'll take a nap on the beach while you enjoy some beach time. When he wakes, feed, then he's ready to play and learn all about the water. Remember to keep baby covered and out of the sun as much as possible as well!

Have fun and don't think having a baby has to stop you from doing all the things you enjoy.

Welcome to the world, baby!

I've always been a late bloomer.

I did everything later than the other girls. And now, here I am blogging - late again. I guess I do figure it all out eventually. I was also late to the party having a baby. Not that I'm "that old" mind you, but if you ask the Dr. who immediately told me I was "Advanced Maternal Age" when I had my first pregnancy appointment, I'm not that young either.

For those of you trying to get pregnant, as my husband, Rick, likes to say, the best way to get pregnant if you've been trying for awhile, is get laid off. I was laid off from a corporate marketing job last year and about a month later we had a "family meeting" it went like this:

Me (while lying on the couch during my second nap of the day because I hadn't been this tired since I had Mono in 8th grade): Hey, Rick, I think we need to have a family meeting.

Rick: You're Pregnant.

Me: How'd you know?

Rick: Fuck. (and really, this was about money, not about babies - although he wasn't as bought into the baby idea as I was - more on this another day)

I was lucky; the pregnancy was easy. I had minimal trouble, I just got as big as a house. I gained a good 45lbs on a 5'1" frame. The baby is 5 months old and I am struggling to get the weight off. Of course, truth be told, I had an extra 15lbs on me before I got pregnant.

Instead of going back to the corporate grind, I did some contract work until I got to big for anyone to be interested in hiring me. I had my beautiful baby boy the end of January and have been enjoying my time with him.

Now I am a stay at home mom by default, grappling with the idea of going back to work and what that might look like. Thinking about all the things Mommies think about. How did I get here? Do I get daycare? Can I work from home? When do I start solid food? Can I make it myself? How do I figure the budget so we can afford to live while still doing the things we enjoy? And on and on.

Welcome to the Mommy Life....