A girl and her Helper Tower

This post is way overdue, but the bonus of that is that I've been able to add more photos, so let's just call it a win, OK?

Sometime in 2012 I read this blog post and got to thinking about how I'd love for Elle to have a Helper Tower. I tried to think about anyone I knew that might be able to build it, and I contacted a mommy friend from one of our mommy/baby groups - her husband is a carpenter and I wanted to know if he thought this was something he could do. While I totally think he'd do a great job, the price he quoted was much more than the retail price of the tower. So I went back to the mental drawing board.

We were planning a trip home for Thanksgiving - Elle and I drove up and Tim flew up and drove back with us. (It was during that trip that we announced we were pregnant with Wesley.) With the pending trip in mind, the gears started slowing spinning as I thought about who might have the tooling needed to make this tower.

I contacted my brother-in-law, Jeff, because I knew that he loves building stuff (we share a love of furniture assembly that few people can fully understand unless they're passionate about furniture assembly, too), and I knew that he had inherited some of my grandfather's woodworking tools and equipment. While I wasn't sure exactly what tools he had or would need, my first inquiry of him was if he was interested in attempting to build the tower for Elle. I sent this tutorial and explained that we could bring it home with us on our Thanksgiving road trip, which would eliminate the biggest issue of the Ohio-built, Florida-dwelling piece right away. Lucky for us, he was interested and willing and presented it to Elle as an early Christmas present.

Jeff took extra time to paint, decorate and personalize the tower - it turned out absolutely awesome. Elle spent some time checking it out:

And we've since used it for all sorts of baking and cooking fun in the kitchen: 

Pizza fun!

Helping Daddy make popcorn.

Making brownies with Aunt Marti.

Quality control.

It takes up some space in our dining area, but it's been an awesome, safe way to have Elle involved in the kitchen, and she loves it :) We're so thankful Uncle Jeff could help make this idea a perfect reality!

Please chime in: Preparing for a second child

We are now one week from being considered full-term, and I'm in full nesting mode. There is no nursery to decorate this time, and no major baby purchases to research and make aside from one or two that aren't really necessary yet. There aren't childbirth classes to attend or hospital tours to take, and I'm not obsessively reading up on every facet of birth, delivery and newborn care I can get my hands on. We've got drawers full of baby boy clothes and have purchased most of the few things we had that were girl-specific (towels, blankets, etc.). Most of the girl stuff that Elle no longer uses/wears/needs has been consigned/donated/gifted, and in the grand scheme of things, we're in pretty good shape to welcome this baby in to our home.

But I do have a few things swimming around in my head, some of which I hope to blog about before Baby Boy makes his arrival. There are a few things I'd like to solicit opinions on, though, and learn from the experiences of others (because frankly, I've found that many of our best purchases and decisions were made based on advice from others, and I'm at a point where I have enough to worry about/prepare for :))

Sooooo, as we prepare to become a two-child household (or three, depending on how I might be classifying my husband on any given day - LOVE YOU, BABE!), I ask you, my friendly, helpful readers:

1. What recommendations do you have for infant carriers/wraps? We have an Ergo that Elle never really fell in love with, and I tried a Moby-type wrap as well as a sling briefly with her, but to be honest, I was easily frustrated and probably didn't give baby-wearing as much of a try as I wanted. With one kid, too, it wasn't all that hard to hold her when needed/desired, but life with a toddler and an infant will be different, and I'd like to at least explore the option further. I'm imagining not only wear-around-the-house occasions but also "we're at the grocery store and Elle is in the cart" uses. Please keep in mind that I sweat that it's nobody's business under normal circumstances, so attaching a warm body to me in the Florida summer could be problematic (and this was part of the reason I didn't use the Ergo much with Elle until she was closer to one year old).

2. What's your favorite stroller for two for trips/errands/etc.? I've been intrigued by the Sit-N-Stand since we found out we were expecting. Elle isn't a huge stroller-rider, but there will be times when I think having the option of her being in/on a stroller will be invaluable. We have our single Snap-N-Go that I love, too. We will be using the Chicco KeyFit 30 infant carseat, too, and need a stroller that would work with that.

3. What's your favorite, affordable double jogging stroller? I'm not convinced a double jogger will be necessary, since Elle is probably nearing her threshold of "let's be outside but contained in a stroller while Mom runs" and it will be several months before Wesley will be able to ride in a jogger. We have a used Baby Trend jogger that could easily be deemed one of the best Craigslist purchases I ever made. Having the availability of the jogger, though, for the beach or more rugged terrain, would be a definite convenience.

4. Favorite nursing bras? I'm not in love with any that I used the first time, so I'm open to suggestions, as I plan to breastfeed (and pump when I return to work) again this time around, hopefully for at least the first year.

5. Recommendations on a trash can that can be used as a diaper pail for cloth diapers? I'm looking for what you've found works best to keep kids out and odors in. We had one I really liked for when Elle was in diapers, but it was thrown out and now I'm looking again. I'd prefer something white, not huge and not super pricey.

6. Easy meal recipes and food prep suggestions? As it is, I usually get Elle at daycare and am home around 5:30 p.m. On the nights that Tim is able to come home for dinner, we eat at 6:15, so I have 45 minutes or less to make dinner on my own. Elle usually winds down from daycare and plays near the kitchen or watches some videos on the iPad while I make dinner now (except for last night, when I nearly overcooked the chicken and pasta I was preparing because Elle had to poop twice while I was cooking - potty training over poor timing on that one ...), but having another kid will completely change our evening dynamic. While on maternity leave, I know that time frame won't be as rigid, but we'll be working on getting in to a flow on many levels. When I go back to work, getting a toddler and an infant from daycare and then getting home and being able to cook will be even more of a challenge, so I'm looking for quick meals that can be prepped the night/day before. I'm also a huge fan of the slow cooker and am always on the lookout for tried-and-true crock pot recipes. We're not a super picky family, although Tim doesn't like super creamy dishes or leftovers, and we try to eat fairly healthy.

7. Suggestions on winning lottery numbers and/or nannies/maids/cooks that might work full-time and for free? Hey, can't blame me for trying :)

I'm sure there are many other things I could be (and maybe should be) thinking about at this point, but this is what is on my mind right now. Please chime in via the comments or shoot me an e-mail at seacowcircus@gmail.com - and let me know if there is anything else I need to learn/consider while preparing to expand our family. Muchas gracias!

A berry peculiar mystery solved

(Apologies for any mention of vomit below. No one ever said chronicling the life of a toddler would be vomit-free. In fact, I think it's to be expected at some point, no? But I will try to keep it to a minimum, for I am pregnant, and lately, loud burps, gagging noises and other nasty bodily functions typically make me want to vom myself.)

Elle has been a relatively healthy kid from the beginning. We haven't had any serious illnesses, no ear infections, no high fevers, major injuries, etc. I think we've only taken her to the doctor once for a non-well baby visit (because I was scared about a bad cough/congestion situation that was dismissed as a standard cold). She never even had a reaction to anything I ate while nursing, for which I was extremely thankful.

The only health abnormality was probably around the last quarter of her first year. We did baby led weaning, and we had been giving her strawberries. It took a few times, but we soon realized that every time she had strawberries (which she loved and devoured), she'd develop a nasty diaper rash. She doesn't get diaper rashes often, but the pattern was definitely there - eat strawberries, raw bum. So we stopped giving her strawberries for a while. About a year later, we tried again ... and no rash. We figured she had grown out of it and resumed strawberry consumption.

The weirdest part about the strawberry allergic reaction was that the one thing that repeatedly made me sick while I was pregnant with her was strawberry cream cheese. I didn't throw up much during that pregnancy, thankfully, but two of the half-dozen times I was actually ill were less than 12 hours after eating the strawberry cream cheese. I was craving it mid-way through my pregnancy, and I had it once and was sick hours later.  A few days later (because I still had the craving AND the strawberry cream cheese), I had it again and felt ill most of the day. That night (I remember it vividly), I was sick several times - my body was done battling to keep it down. I sometimes wonder if that was Elle's earliest allergic to reaction. I also felt extremely ill one night about a month ago after having some toast with strawberry jam and briefly wondered if Baby Bean might be continuing some sort of hereditary aversion. I've since avoided the strawberry jam, and needless to say, I'm pretty much done with strawberry cream cheese for life.

I think it was maybe nine months or so ago when Elle vomited for one of the first times. (What a milestone, huh?) I think she was sick on a Saturday night and then was fine the rest of the day. On Monday, she threw up again. Not a lot, but enough. Each time she was freaked out by the vomit but rebounded right away and was running around, asking for food and water pretty much instantly. It was kind of weird, but good, I suppose. We tried to keep her diet pretty bland and basic for the 24 hours after each incident. This was the first time that I started to make a connection between what she had eaten on Saturday and what she had eaten Monday.

A few months later, it happened once or twice again - a random incident involving throw-up. No other symptoms, no lasting issues, just an upset tummy and some digestive issues that took a day or two to clear up. I couldn't isolate the cause but began to wonder if there was a common thread between all of these random incidents.

Fast forward to the week before Christmas. Berries are entering the "in season" time of year here in Florida, so I've been buying more, as Tim, Elle and I are all big fans. Elle asked for blueberries for lunch on Saturday and ate quite a few. And around 1 a.m. on Saturday night, Elle woke up and vomited more than ever. Since I had the pleasure of not only being vomited on but also having to clean it all up because Tim was still at work, I realized that I could distinctly see undigested blueberries among the rest of the partially digested food o' the day.

About half an hour later, when Tim was home and putting Elle back to bed, I hopped on Google and searched "blueberry allergy." I found out that people who suffer from an allergy to blueberries often are allergic to strawberries, too - both contain salicylates. As my research indicated would happen, Elle had diarrhea (wait, I didn't say I was going to mention diarrhea, did I? Sorry!) the next day as her body continued to process the "toxin", but other than that, she's been fine.

Blueberries can't stop this princess.

 Most of the research I've found show that salicylate allergies are usually mild (and Elle's reactions have followed that pattern), and we've been avoiding giving her raw blueberries. We've seen no reaction to dehydrated or cooked blueberries, although she hasn't had a lot of exposure to either over the last two years. She wasn't sick every time she had blueberries for the first year or so - I don't know how exactly her body evolved from "I can eat strawberries but blueberries are a no-no," but I'm not going to argue with her poor digestive system. We're definitely going to bring it up with the pediatrician the next time we're in, and while I hope she outgrows this allergy like she did the strawberry allergy, in the grand scheme of things, this is a minor issue and easy to handle. I'm thankful for that. And I'm glad the berry odd vomit mystery was relatively easy to figure out.

Any one else have or know someone with an adverse reaction to salicylates? Or have an allergy that they grew out of?

Currently [4]

I've been quiet on the blogging front, but I wanted to get back in to the "Currently" link up again. Hopefully I'll have some more posts this week, but really, there hasn't been a lot going on, I've been getting solid sleep every night and I'm in denial that Elle is almost two. So we'll see what happens. 

Cooking with zucchini. And for the future. I spent several hours last week whipping up a few batches of zucchini bread and muffins, then made some zucchini enchiladas and tuna noodle casserole to freeze for lunches in the future. I'm a big fan of Skinny Taste. I've also been working on rebuilding my crock pot and dump recipe stockpiles after our great power outage. 

Making a return to Spin classes. I bought a voucher to a local cycle studio earlier this year from Living Social, and I have a month of unlimited Spinning to use up. I started about 10 days ago and have made it to four classes. It nearly killed me the first week, but it feels so good to be back in class! I had attended two or three Spin classes most weeks from 2006 until 2008. When we got married, I had to leave my beloved gym, and the YMCA we joined didn't have Spinning. The branch that I'd go to occasionally had a great instructor, but it was a 25-minute drive to get there, and I couldn't justify the time or gas money, and then we left the Y and joined a (much cheaper) very basic gym. So basically I hadn't gone Spinning since before I found out I was pregnant. It has been awesome to be back, and I'm hoping we can join another gym in the not-so-distant future that has Spin classes with awesome instructors. 

Working on some new projects. Cryptic, yes, but hopefully I'll be able to explain more soon.

Reading the newspaper more. And taking a break from books - I haven't been sucked in to any lately, but I'm sure it is just a matter of time before I get hooked on a few more. 

Listening to the latest Maroon 5 album, and the Train single "50 Ways to Say Goodbye." There was an Amazon deal on the Maroon 5 album, and the Train song has been in several of my Spin classes. I love Train, and their "My Private Nation" album was my anthem the summer after I graduated college - I played it on every road trip I took. The other album that stands out from that summer? Maroon 5's "Songs About Jane." It's nice to still be listening to bands that have been a part of some extremely formative periods in my life.

Mmmm ... Monday madness.

I read something recently (I think it was in a Parents magazine e-mail, maybe?) that said children sometimes go through phases of picky eating around 12 months and again around 18 months. Anyone agree? Elle seemed to be a little disinterested in her food for the weeks leading up to her birthday, but I chalked it up to traveling and teething. Now I'm not so sure.

* * *

Did you know that kids eat free at IHOP in August? Mmmm ...

* * * 

I finally got around to putting cabinet locks on some of our kitchen and bathroom cabinets yesterday. Elle is less than pleased. As I installed them, I thought about how much easier it was than I had anticipated and was satisfied with how firm the lock was ... and also how easy it would be for adults to unlatch them. Well, most adults. I knew that Tim would likely be locked out of the cabinets unless I showed him how to open them. As I installed the last one, I showed him how it would keep Elle out. He said, "Is it me-proof, too?" At least we had the same thought!

* * *

I have a set of handmade burp cloths up for auction via Jaclyn over at Snap, Crackle, Pop. The auction is for a great cause - it benefits the school that Jaclyn's autistic brother, Joey, attended for years. The auction is open through tomorrow morning, so hop on over and bid on the burp cloths or watch for other cool auction items :)

* * *

And just so you have something cute to look at on your Monday morning:

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Or, you know, What I'm Loving Early Thursday :)

My Fitness Pal. I've been using this site to log my workouts and daily food intake for the last few weeks. I like the supportive community and the ease of use - tracking calories on the site reminds me a lot of counting points when I was on Weight Watchers. Anything that makes losing weight/toning up/being a bit healthier a better, more positive experience is a plus in my book.

Talenti gelato. This stuff is amazing. Also, expensive. But! For the cost of a DQ Blizzard, we get 3-4 servings (you know, unless we finish off the container in one sitting, which sometimes never happens) and it occasionally goes on sale. There are often coupons on the Talenti Facebook page as well. I am pretty sure we've tried everything flavor at least once. We love the Caramel Cookie Crunch. When we're not sharing, though, I love the Sea Salt Caramel, and Tim loves the Roman Raspberry.

Ruffles. This makes me think of potato chips. Mmmmm ... But no. I mean ruffles, like on clothes. Tops, specifically. I'm not one to be stylish or pick up on fashion trends, but I love that ruffles add a touch of classed-up style to my comfy, casual tops (I'm looking at you, Ann Taylor and Old Navy), making it easy to wear for work or play. Bonus points go to the fact that they're flattering, too, for my I-had-a-baby-and-my-belly-has-always-been-a-fat-globbing-magnet insecurities. Instead, they say "Look at these pretty ruffles! Pretty, pretty ruffles! I can be worn with jeans, shorts or slacks! Pretty ruffles!" 

The FAO Schwarz Elephant Walker. A friend has this walker for her daughter (her daughter is two weeks older than Elle and is quite the proficient walker). We knew that Elle would need something to help steady her whenever she decides to start walking, and I just wasn't sold on any of the musical, plastic products that I was researching. And, as Tim pointed out, we have toys that play music, light up, have multiple activities, etc. My biggest concern was that the plastic ones might not be sturdy enough to support the weight of a truly fledgling walker, and I didn't want Elle to face plant just because the walker slipped out from under her. We had originally planned to borrow the walker from my friend, but we were out shopping for Elle's birthday on Sunday and found it at Toys 'R Us ... for $30-40 cheaper than what I'd seen online. Sooooo ... we bought it. And love it. Elle likes to "knee walk" with it, but she's also tried to shuffle behind it a few times. I like that it's cute (elle-phant!), sturdy (will last for this kid, future kids and beyond), educational (fun little blocks on the front) and has a little storage area. We have carpeted floor, and it's worked extremely well for us.

Cherry Chomper. My sister introduced this cherry pit remover to my youngest brother in early July, and when we were in Ohio a few weeks ago, my mom insisted that I have one, too. I've never been big on cherries, mostly because I don't like fruit that requires work. This has been fun, though, and Tim, our designated Cherry Chomper, likes to explain to me to me how it works, step-by-step, as he "makes cherries." We discovered that Elle loves cherries, too, so it's nice that we don't have to worry about pits for her.

Seeing old friends. The trip to Ohio started it - the reuniting with friends I have known for decades. Friends who have seen my through some of my most formative times. I love that I still have a close circle of friends from high school, college and past jobs, and tomorrow (well, later today) I get to see a friend that I haven't seen since my wedding 2.5 years ago. He'll get to meet Elle, too. I heart seeing old friends.

Random randomness: Baby edition

Mouth full o' watermelon. But closed!

At least she has manners: Elle shoves huge pieces of food in her mouth. It's kind of ridiculous, but it's what she does. Sometimes I'll watch her eat and just see her little eyes start to water because she realizes she's bitten off, literally, more than she can chew. Five minutes later, she'll be ready for more food. But we went out to eat with a friend the other night, and Elle crammed half a banana in her mouth. And then just stared at us while she worked on it. She looked like a monkey, and my friend and I laughed at her - and she just kept chewing, mouth closed. The next day, I had a few friends over, and Elle did the same thing with a pepperoni roll. My friends all noted how polite she was, though - she always chewed with her mouth closed!

Not the norm: We're not having a big first birthday bash for Elle. I have deep, mixed feelings about this and could go on and on for days, but it boils down to this: I desperately want to plan the party, I just don't want to have a party. My friends (the ones who commented on Elle's impeccable manners) noted that this isn't how most people feel - most people want to have a party but dread the planning part.

Makes sense: I've recently realized why Elle doesn't like going to the pediatrician's office, aside from the obvious (shots). In the last 10 months, the doctor has called her head big and deemed her "lazy." It's kind of cute, although I'm sure Elle doesn't see it that way - Dr. P. asks about milestones that baby's Elle's age should be hitting. Elle has almost always met them ... or shown signs of being close. The most recent example is a month or so ago when I told the doctor Elle didn't seem really interested in walking. Dr. P. asked if she was at least pulling up or standing up, and I said "Kind of, but she really doesn't seem to like putting her full weight on her legs." The doctor's response is always (in a Puerto Rican accent): "That's OK, she's just lazy. She can do it, she's just a little bit lazy and will get around to it eventually." If someone called my head big and told me I was lazy, I'd be a little miffed, too. 

Twangy: Elle has an accent. Yes, she only says about half a dozen words, but when she says "No" it comes out "Naw." An example of her using the new word: She heard me telling the cats "no" the other morning and repeated "Naw. Naw. Naw, naw, naw." It's cute, but I have no idea why she has an accent as an infant :)

Stealth pooper: You know how most babies have a tell-tale "poop face"? Yeah, not our baby. Tim, the babysitter and I have joked that Elle is a stealth pooper - she almost never makes a face or shows any sign of "going #2" ... which means we're often surprised when we change her diaper and find that we've gotten more than we bargained for. It kinda stinks (literally, but ...) - I'd love to change her ASAP after she poops. But when you don't know that it's happened, it's hard to remedy right away. Sure, sometimes the smell gives it away, but not always. When she *does* make what we think is a poop face, she's usually just farted. Classy.

Eye Heart This Baby: Elle can now identify our eyes. This involves getting close to our faces, violently jabbing at gently touching the outside corner of our eyes and saying, "Eye. Eye." I'm trying to work on identifying a body part that doesn't leave me flinching and fearing for my sight every time she gets near me, like nose, ear or belly.

Simple humor: The easiest way to make Elle laugh is to turn her upside down. It's our "thing" :)

Wordless Wednesday: Yum!

Um, deliciousness in Orange Chip Muffin form.
Check out the recipe here and enjoy for yourself :)

Wordless Wednesday: Loving raspberries

Tim told me that Elle didn't like raspberries.
She proceeded to eat about six in a row :)

P.S. The blog/URL/name/etc. move in underway! Our new URL is www.seacowcircus.com, and the redesign and all-important explanation of the new name and home are on the way :)

Baby Led Weaning: Update

When I last posted about BLW, Elle was just starting to actually comprehend swallowing. Two months later, and after changing multiple poopy diapers, I can assure you that the girl has mastered swallowing. Food is getting digested. She still occasionally gags if she gets ambitious with the size of food chunk that she puts in her mouth or if she shoves it too far back, but for the most part, she gums, sucks and noms food within an inch of its life before swallowing it.

We've introduced Elle to a ton of foods. She hasn't really hated anything yet, although she has definitely shown a preference for some foods, including pears, yogurt and all things carb (toast, waffles, bagels, etc.). She likes eggs, applesauce, carrots, chicken, pineapple and strawberries. She enjoys herself some sweet potato fries and mashed potatoes. She prefers yellow squash to zucchini. She adores anything with cheese - I found this out when she had macaroni and cheese one night ... and then gave her some rotini in cheese another night ... and also some broccoli with cheese on it (although she eats broccoli if I dip it in yogurt, too, so who knows) ... and she's a fan of cheese-stuffed tortellini. We keep introducing new foods, and she keeps trying them, and it is really pretty cool. We don't push the solids - we offer them twice a day, and some days Elle gobbles her food down. Other days food is the coolest toy ever, not to be eaten. I can relate - most some days I'm ravenous, other days I'm just not hungry. (Although unlike my daughter, I don't slowly drop strawberries off my plate for fun or to signal I'm done with my meal.)

Messy, messy panda.

The BLW experience has been extremely fun, but quite messy :) Because she's still working on her motor skills, half of her meal is sure to end up on the sides of her high chair. If she has any kind of liquid on her hands, be it cheese-mixed-with-pear-juice-and-water or juices-from-a-ripe-strawberry-in-addition-to-yogurt, she'll clench her fists repeatedly to hear the squishy sound that can only come from a baby desperate for a bath.

One of the coolest things about this whole experience has been Tim's reaction to BLW. He loves to watch Elle's response to different foods, and we talk about what food we order at restaurants that Elle can have, too. I asked him if he regretted not having a "puree experience," and he said no. He said this has been really cool, and while it can be super messy, he's glad we've gone this route.

I've loved talking about it and telling others about our experience. Introducing solid foods is a popular topic in our 6-12 month mommy/baby group, and we had an interesting discussion about it a few weeks ago. One mommy said she tried to do BLW but her daughter wasn't eating anything, so she introduced purees for some meals. But that's not what it's about - babies Elle's age don't NEED to eat solids. They don't NEED purees to satisfy nutritional needs. Another mom said she can't do BLW with her baby because she doesn't have teeth. Elle doesn't have teeth, either. Another friend told me she wanted to do BLW but her baby just gagged whenever she gave her solid food. Sure - Elle did that for the first 10 days or so, too. But these babies are innovative, well-prepared and fully capable of eating food without teeth. Sure, you can't give a seven-month-old a raw carrot, but you can give them steamed carrots, and they can suck and gum manageable pieces and end up digesting them (and you know this because you see it the next day - in their diaper).

Elle checks out the spread at our favorite
beach restaurant on Valentine's Day.

One of Tim's coworkers saw a baby photo of herself eating an ear of corn (Hi Kelly!) and texted me to say that her first thought was "mom was totally doing baby-led weaning!" And when we were lunching at Cracker Barrel a few weeks ago, Tim told my brother-in-law, "What you are witnessing is called baby-led weaning." Jeff observed many meals with Elle, including one when I gave Elle a hunk of bread at a restaurant and he had to turn away :) Watching Elle eat made him nervous - he was terrified she was going to choke. I tried to explain to him that the hard bread wasn't a problem for Elle - she works it in her mouth, and her massive amounts of saliva and drool make it softer and break apart so she's able to swallow it..In two months, she hasn't come close to choking. She gags, sure, but that's her defense mechanism, and we just don't panic. We're always with her and watching her when she's eating. We don't rush her. We've learned things - like how fresh, untoasted bread is harder for babies to eat because it sticks to the roof of their mouth. How "sticks" of things - like two-inch long banana pieces or steamed baby carrots - are easier for babies because it gives the food a natural handle to grip.

Elle and I flew to Ohio/PA this past weekend for my grandmother's funeral. Although my mom got some stuff for Elle to eat (pears, banana, bagels, yogurt), it wasn't always accessible when we were eating. Between visitations, prayers services, the funeral mass, burial and family time, it would have been hard to cart along enough pureed food or worry about preparing something for Elle to eat. But because we've done BLW, it was pretty easy to find something for her to eat, even at the airport. I'm not going to claim her diet this weekend was the model of perfect nutrition, but she had some mashed potatoes, pear and chicken one night, and then some egg, oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast the next morning. Later that day, she munched on broccoli, yogurt, pasta and strawberries. Family members at the funeral also commented on how good her motor skills were, as she grabbed at people's necklaces and earrings (my daughter: mini accesorizer). I truly believe BLW is mostly responsible for that, and I love it.

"I <3 solid food!"

After the initial "Oh my freaking goodness won't my bay-bee choke on everything?!" thoughts, BLW has been extremely fun, easy and cool. I'm really glad we didn't throw in the towel after the first week or so, and while I'm not opposed to spoon-feeding Elle soft foods (like the yogurt or applesauce), I'm loving being able to give her finger foods and watch her explore on her own terms. Going to restaurants? Easy. Planning meals for us? Easy. Exploring new foods and ways to prepare them? Fun. Freaking my brother-in-law and mom out with Elle's eating habits? Cool :) Cleaning banana out of Elle's hair and finding broccoli bits in her boogers? Decidedly not cool, but it comes with the territory :)

(Time) Consumption

I never really gave it much thought, but it is totally understandable: Feeding an infant takes time. I'm not talking food preparation, but the mere fact that you now are responsible for feeding another human being, one with limited capabilities for feeding themselves.

We're using baby-led weaning (BLW) to introduce solids, which means Elle basically eats what we eat. It's really cool because it has heightened my awareness of how and what we eat, and it is awesome to watch her experience new foods and explore this new world. It is also nice to not have to prepare anything special for her - I'm already in "Camp Hates to Prepare 2-3 Bottles a Day," so saving extra work is spectacular in my book.. Her motor skills are developing at lightning speed as she manuevers food in to/near her own mouth, and there's no forcing-food-down-her-throat anxiety for me to deal with, which I appreciate.

Not so sure about this food thing.

But I don't really *do* meals at home. I start my day with coffee and a side of cereal and fruit. I typically eat a bagel or English muffin as I drive to work. And I'm a fast eater (a trait made necessary by the fact that I talk a lot, so to get all of my convo in during a meal time, I've learned to maximize my eating efficiency), so even when I do sit down to eat, my meal doesn't last long. Tim and I have very opposite schedules, too, and eating meals together doesn't happen on a daily basis.

For the most part, I snack, eat several small meals, grab a banana here or a handful of grapes there. My eating pattern at work is similar - I pack a salad, some fruits, maybe some pretzels and pudding, and I graze the night away. This lifestyle needs some work to mesh with the pace of BLW.

BLW isn't just about the food - it's about the meal. Elle is supposed to be encouraged to try new things - explore new tastes, textures and smells. And do it on her own terms. We're supposed to dine with her - not just for supervision's sake, but for her to watch us, preferably eating the same food she's eating, so she can mimic us and feel included.

Babies don't really derive their primary nutrition from solids until around 1 year of age, so this added meal time is more for play, practice and experience right now. That means the five times she nurses or takes a bottle each day are still (and will remain, for several months) her nutrition. And that means that right now we're essentially doing double mealtimes.

For the first 10 days or so that I offered food to Elle, she played, sucked, touched, smelled, etc., but not a single morsel of actual food went to her stomach (there was a lot of dramatic gagging going on, which is understandable for someone who has only consumed food in liquid-form for her entire six-month lifespan). Finally, she ate a few "bites" of food the other day, and that was fine - there's no risk of malnourishment just because she hasn't "cleaned her plate." I was just extremely excited that she was finally beginning to experience the taste portion of food :) 

"My to-do list is completely empty,
so no rush on lunch, OK, Mom?"
P.S. I totally took this photo before thinking
about this blog post. She's constantly
grabbing stuff off the computer desk.

But we have the challenge: Super-fast, generally impatient eater with 2,026 things to do on a daily basis meets new-to-food, not-a-care-in-the-world infant. Now that we've introduced "mealtime" with Elle (a mealtime that involves more than just nursing every few hours), we're bouncing around, looking for a groove. The past few days have involved me preparing and packing food during Elle's nap, or Elle sitting patiently in the dining area, watching me prepare not only my own "lunch," but also pack my dinner and figure out what to serve her (because she's just not ready for Special K just yet).

So far, she's been offered rigatoni, banana, apple, pear, steamed broccoli, noodles, chicken, rotini, asparagus, steamed carrot, avocado, applesauce, quesadilla, guacamole, and her favorite so far, English muffin. This week, I'm hoping to introduce sweet potato, rice and I'm not sure what else.

The other time-consuming part of this is that Baby Girl gets messy :) So that means more baths and more clean up. The other day I found pieces of broccoli in the folds of her chubby neck. AWESOME :)

Any other moms done BLW or have tips on this stage of double mealtimes? What are your baby's favorite foods?

Food fotos ...

I was going through my cell phone photos the other day and realized I had a few funny ones of Elle.

For the first few months of Elle's life, we'd grocery shop as a family. Tim would wheel her around in her stroller, getting all of the comments about what a cute baby he had, the questions about how old she was, etc. He'd stand in line at the deli counter and chat with Elle's admirers while I tore around the store picking up the rest of the items on our list. They'd meet me at the end, we'd confirm that we had everything we needed, and we'd head to the checkout.

But for the last few weeks, I've either taken Elle or gone by myself, freeing Tim up to go to the gym or stay home with Elle while she napped. I can whiz around the store faster (although I still get stuck at the stupid deli counter). This photo is from one of the times that we "didn't need much," and rather than mess around, I just put Elle's car seat in the cart. The I stacked stuff on around her :)

"Could I get a price check on the soup, please?"

Last week, I set up Elle's high chair. One morning I made my coffee, poured my cereal, and settled her in to join me for breakfast, which at this point for her just means playing around. (More on her introduction to solids in a future post.) She sucked on an apple slice a few times and seemed extremely curious in the sippy cup. She kept looking at me like she was in on some really cool special meal.

But in this photo, which I captioned "Sooooo not interested in being a big girl," she just seems bored by the whole thing.

"Seriously? This is lame."

Flashback update

You might all remember me blogging about this.

And now, an update!