Eat your Vegetables

I never understood how parents said their children wouldn't eat their vegetables.  I just thought babies ate what parents put in front of them.  End of story. 

Apparently not. 

Baby is a super picky eater.  No way does she just eat what we put in front of her.  I have no idea why this is.  I don't believe we've ever given her any indication that a particular food is not yummy.  We always make mmmm sounds when we give her something, and even eat it in front of her so that she knows what she is supposed to do with it.

She has a mind of her own, however.

Lately, it's been a struggle to get her to eat her fruits and vegetables.  She loves oatmeal, eggs, rice, pastas, cheeses, etc., but not her fruits and veggies.  She's become more picky over time.  She's even been turning down the Gerber Puffs (which she used to eat like candy), so maybe she has just outgrown them?

I read in a parenting magazine about this very issue a while ago.  It said that to trick your child into eating the veggies, serve them as an appetizer before the food the child really enjoys.  I've been doing that, and it really works!  When Baby sees me start to cook dinner (or when she knows that we are about to eat), she will start doing the hungry sign.  I cook the vegetables first and feed those to her while I make the rest of the meal.  It's been working great!  She thinks she is getting a treat before the actual dinner time, and I feel good because she is actually eating something healthy.

 

Baby Dolls

We need to get Baby her own baby doll. I'm thinking her stuffed bears and glow worm are not going to suffice much longer. 

It's funny, I never thought much about gender specific items.  Husband and I are not too into buying Baby toys (okay, he is, but they are more "boy-ish" toys, such as cars, animals, etc.).  Since I'm cheap and into "natural learning" (I just made that phrase up, but you get the idea!), I haven't bought her any toys.  Don't worry, she has plenty that other people have given her for Christmas, birthday, etc. 

Well, lately we noticed that Baby is drawn towards other babies (real and not real).  She points at them and talks to them.  The toy ones that she can pick up she gives kisses to and sits them on chairs.  She tries to feed them and walks around cradling them.  The other Sunday we noticed her in the nursery playing with a baby doll and putting it to bed in a crib.  Husband and I looked at each other and said, "We need to get her a baby doll."   

I wonder if this is a gender specific thing since she is a girl, or if this is something that all children go through, when they want to imitate those around them and start internalizing what goes on in their lives. 

Anyway, baby dolls here we come.

 

What's the weight limit of a dishwasher?

Baby is so cute when she watches me do chores.  She wants to do what I do and take over for me.  When I do dishes, she will come and take dishes out of the dishwasher, then put them back in.  I have to be strategic about where I place the glass items if I don't want her to take them.  I also take out the silverware holder and load that separately.  I'll sneak it in at the very end right before I close the dishwasher door.

Today I was doing dishes and Baby was "helping" as usual.  However, this time she discovered that the height of the dishwasher door when it is open is just perfect for her to sit on.  Then climb on.  Pretty soon she was in the middle of the open door.  I contemplated letting her stay, since she was happy and playing (you never want to interrupt a happy and playing child.  It's like the let sleeping babies lie rule), but figured Husband would be angry if he came home to a broken dishwasher door.

What's the weight limit on those things anyway?

Stroller Envy

Over the past year I have had stroller envy.  I see other moms with jogging strollers easily maneuvering their way over potholes and going at a speed greater than a snail while I have a hard time going over curbs and my wheels get stuck if I try to go any quicker than a walk. 

Don't get me wrong, the stroller I have is fabulous.  Baby loves it, it has tons of storage, and it's great for casual walks.

However, I highly recommend having a jogging stroller.   A friend of mine recently gave me hers and I love it!  It's so much nicer to be able to jog (working on losing that baby tummy), and go on paths that are not paved.  It is also a lot lighter and practically goes on its own.  It even has a leash attached to it so it doesn't get away from you.

Now I have umbrella stroller envy. When shopping, Baby has to be contained or she runs all over the place and touches things.  My original stroller is hard to navigate through rows and racks, especially in little boutique stores.  My jogging stroller is also too large.  I've seen people with tiny strollers that can go around the rows with ease. 

I think I'm going to start a stroller collection. 

I'm Free!

As you know, breastfeeding has been very important to me.  Before having Baby I read tons of material on it, heard horror stories about it, and stressed over it.  Wanting to breastfeed is part of the reason I chose to have a natural childbirth.  I had read that babies born naturally (no drugs involved) had an easier time latching on.  It worked out for Baby and I, and I never had any major problems nursing her (besides the one clogged milk duct about six months in, but that's all).

When I went back to work Baby was nursing quite frequently (she was six months).  Therefore, I pumped during my prep time (between ten and eleven in the morning), during lunch (between 12:45 and 1:15) and after school (between 3 and 4 in the afternoon).  Then I would go get Baby, nurse her before we left daycare, take her home, nurse her again a bazillion times, put her to bed, nurse her some more when she woke up, you get the idea.  I was a milk making machine.

My goal was to nurse Baby until she turned one, at the bare minimum.  One was the magic age when she could start having regular cow's milk and breastmilk was no longer going to provide all the nutrients she needed.  I planned on pumping until that time.

Well, Baby turned one and she showed absolutely no sign of letting up.  However, I was still going to follow through with easing off the pumping.  I highly admire those people who do it for long periods of time.  It's such a hassle. In the morning I would have to pack up the supplies (cooler with ice packs, cleaned bottles, and pumping accessories) all in my oversized bag.  Once at work I plugged everything in and set it up so it was ready to go when my prep period came.  Then I would pull out the supplies, hook myself up, sit there for at least ten minutes (I usually only pumped until I had my necessary three ounces.  Sometimes it took twenty minutes, some times it took ten), then clean myself up, clean my supplies, and store everything until I could take it all home.  Once home, I put the milk in the freezer bags, which then went into the freezer, and sanitized the pumping equipment and bottles.  Repeat the process the next day. 

After Baby turned one, I started to slowly ease off when I pumped.  Since I was doing an after school program, I cut out the after school pumping first.  That went okay and I didn't feel too uncomfortable.  I did that for about two weeks. Then, I started cutting out the lunch sessions.  It would have made more sense to cut out the morning sessions first, but timewise I needed my lunch more.  I did that a couple times a week, working up to all week.  Then I cut out the last session (the morning one).  This was the most uncomfortable.  It was usually at the morning session where I collected the most milk.

The first few days of not pumping at all I was definitely feeling it.  I was also having letdowns in the middle of lunchtime (thank goodness for nursing pads!).  I had to hurry to daycare to feed Baby so I could feel comfortable again.

I have to say, it feels great not lugging around all my equipment and hooking myself up multiple times a day.  I felt guilty about not providing Baby with my own milk while she's at daycare, but I know she's able to still get it from me at home.

Did I mention I'm free?