Near's I can tell, it just makes it all messier, but it's still soooo cute.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Yoghurt, oh the yoghurt
Tabetha is now interested in learning to eat with a spoon.
Near's I can tell, it just makes it all messier, but it's still soooo cute.
Near's I can tell, it just makes it all messier, but it's still soooo cute.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Again?
I recently found out that a third woman I was pregnant with is already pregnant again - and all three of them are having their second before the end of the year. Our babies were born in 2010, these little siblings will be born in 2011.
My first thought each time was Holy Crap. How on earthdid they find enough grown-up time to do that? do you take care of one baby while sick and exhausted with a second? eeek!
People have been asking me when we're going to do it again since... before Tabetha was born, actually. And our midwife asked us at our 2 week check up. Ummm... sometime AFTER the stitches heal?
I don't think we're even totally settled on WHETHER we'll have a second, let alone when. I don't even know how anyone in victoria can afford to - daycare is wildly expensive for a little one, and so is housing.
We'll see. And in the meantime... I can get my baby fix from other people's little ones, since mine insists on growing!
My first thought each time was Holy Crap. How on earth
People have been asking me when we're going to do it again since... before Tabetha was born, actually. And our midwife asked us at our 2 week check up. Ummm... sometime AFTER the stitches heal?
I don't think we're even totally settled on WHETHER we'll have a second, let alone when. I don't even know how anyone in victoria can afford to - daycare is wildly expensive for a little one, and so is housing.
We'll see. And in the meantime... I can get my baby fix from other people's little ones, since mine insists on growing!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Post-bath fun
There were more, but they had rude bits. ;o) look at that belly! We survived the week, my second back at work (though I missed 3 days due to illness) and all's well.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Daddy day
Today was the longest that Chris and Tabetha have ever been alone together.
Both of Tabby's ears are infected, and she's been coughing a bit, so I wanted to keep her home from daycare. I'd already missed three days of work this week, so today daddy was on! Now, if she were being a normal sick baby, all whiny and clingy and unhappy, I probably wouldn't have. But one of the mysteries of the Tabetha is that she was her absolute normal happy wiggly giggly self. So cool.
The day was set up very well by last night - she slept 6 hours in her crib, nursed, slept 2 more hours in her crib, and then Chris brought her to bed with us because the alarm was going to go off in half an hour anyhow. So we basically got a whole night of no baby in bed, and she got a really great solid night's sleep!
And, as I expected, it went fine. The big if was nap time - the good people at daycare have her trained to go to sleep in her bed after just a moment or two of back patting, but apparently what happens at daycare stays at daycare - at home it's rare for her to go to sleep without nursing. I've been okay with that because hey - no kid ever went off to college needing to nurse to sleep, anyhow. It's our special quiet time and I think I'll miss it.
At any rate, when the time came for morning nap Chris loaded her into the stroller and her eyes were half-shut before they made it out the door. She slept for an hour and a half before he woke her up. The same thing happened for afternoon nap, though she refused to take a long nap then and I had to nurse her back down for another short nap when I got home from work.
Meanwhile, I got lots done at work, met the new provincial Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, and Chris got a taste of what my life has been over the last year. Good for everyone. :o)
Both of Tabby's ears are infected, and she's been coughing a bit, so I wanted to keep her home from daycare. I'd already missed three days of work this week, so today daddy was on! Now, if she were being a normal sick baby, all whiny and clingy and unhappy, I probably wouldn't have. But one of the mysteries of the Tabetha is that she was her absolute normal happy wiggly giggly self. So cool.
The day was set up very well by last night - she slept 6 hours in her crib, nursed, slept 2 more hours in her crib, and then Chris brought her to bed with us because the alarm was going to go off in half an hour anyhow. So we basically got a whole night of no baby in bed, and she got a really great solid night's sleep!
And, as I expected, it went fine. The big if was nap time - the good people at daycare have her trained to go to sleep in her bed after just a moment or two of back patting, but apparently what happens at daycare stays at daycare - at home it's rare for her to go to sleep without nursing. I've been okay with that because hey - no kid ever went off to college needing to nurse to sleep, anyhow. It's our special quiet time and I think I'll miss it.
At any rate, when the time came for morning nap Chris loaded her into the stroller and her eyes were half-shut before they made it out the door. She slept for an hour and a half before he woke her up. The same thing happened for afternoon nap, though she refused to take a long nap then and I had to nurse her back down for another short nap when I got home from work.
Meanwhile, I got lots done at work, met the new provincial Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, and Chris got a taste of what my life has been over the last year. Good for everyone. :o)
Monday, March 21, 2011
who are you?
Canada
US
Germany
Australia
the UK
Brazil
Vietnam
Malaysia
Netherlands
Bulgaria
Russia
Belarus
Denmark
Some of these I know who it is, or can guess - but I'm curious. Who's reading?
Mom am I?
After Tabetha was born, she went for about a 4 month period where she didn't really like to go longer than 15-20 minutes without nursing if she was awake. I remember on one occasion Chris was going to take her for a walk so I could have a break. I nursed her while he got ready, we quickly dressed her and strapped her into the carrier, and off they went.
They didn't make it out of the driveway before she started screaming, and it's not an especially long driveway.
When he brought her back in she latched on like she was starving.
So I got used to only having one identity - Mother of Tabetha. My whole life got subsumed into that one role because trying to remember that I was ever anyone else was too frustrating. I wasn't working, so I wasn't that me anymore. I didn't get to go out with friends without Tabetha, and with stitches still healing and an infant seemingly permanently attached to me, it seemed like that was it. I was an accessory to a beautiful baby - half the time I didn't even notice if someone greeted her and not me!
And then she got a little bit older, and I started leaving her for short periods of time. I'd run to Dairy Queen to bring back ice cream, or to the store to get something for dinner, or send her out for a short walk. And I realized that I'd forgotten how to be me.
I caught myself wondering how people would know I was Tabetha's mom when she wasn't with me? Not healthy.
I started making more of a deliberate effort to leave her with other people, to have conversations that weren't about her, and to try to remember what it was like being me.
I'm back at work now and it's easy there - I just slid back into being the me I've always been at work, and set mommy me aside. Actually it's almost jarring sometimes when someone asks about Tabetha - not because she isn't always my favourite topic, but because I haven't quite reconciled those two people yet. I expect that as she continues to grow more independent (something fervently wished for, if somewhat scary) it'll get easier.
It does give me a lot more sympathy for women who choose to stay at home and raise their children who then, for whatever reason, end up back in the workforce. If it was that hard after a year, how hard would it be after 5? 10? 20 even? I always knew I was going to go back to work, and take up that identity again.
Sorry if this is a bit of a ramble - Tabetha picked up a bug at daycare, which she then bounced back from - but not before passing it on to me, and apparently my 11 month old has a better immune system than I do....
They didn't make it out of the driveway before she started screaming, and it's not an especially long driveway.
When he brought her back in she latched on like she was starving.
So I got used to only having one identity - Mother of Tabetha. My whole life got subsumed into that one role because trying to remember that I was ever anyone else was too frustrating. I wasn't working, so I wasn't that me anymore. I didn't get to go out with friends without Tabetha, and with stitches still healing and an infant seemingly permanently attached to me, it seemed like that was it. I was an accessory to a beautiful baby - half the time I didn't even notice if someone greeted her and not me!
And then she got a little bit older, and I started leaving her for short periods of time. I'd run to Dairy Queen to bring back ice cream, or to the store to get something for dinner, or send her out for a short walk. And I realized that I'd forgotten how to be me.
I caught myself wondering how people would know I was Tabetha's mom when she wasn't with me? Not healthy.
I started making more of a deliberate effort to leave her with other people, to have conversations that weren't about her, and to try to remember what it was like being me.
I'm back at work now and it's easy there - I just slid back into being the me I've always been at work, and set mommy me aside. Actually it's almost jarring sometimes when someone asks about Tabetha - not because she isn't always my favourite topic, but because I haven't quite reconciled those two people yet. I expect that as she continues to grow more independent (something fervently wished for, if somewhat scary) it'll get easier.
It does give me a lot more sympathy for women who choose to stay at home and raise their children who then, for whatever reason, end up back in the workforce. If it was that hard after a year, how hard would it be after 5? 10? 20 even? I always knew I was going to go back to work, and take up that identity again.
Sorry if this is a bit of a ramble - Tabetha picked up a bug at daycare, which she then bounced back from - but not before passing it on to me, and apparently my 11 month old has a better immune system than I do....
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Being a working mother
So far, it's not too bad. Bearing in mind, I've worked two days! I'm really glad I spent so much time at the daycare last week. I was really freaked out about the idea of leaving Tabetha with strangers all day, but after last week I don't really feel like they're strangers. I'm able to focus on work and not worry about Tabby, and I really wasn't sure if that would be the case. Huge relief.
We've only had one phone call from the daycare so far. There's a kid in her group who's vegetarian, so when the rest of the kids had some meat in their lunch, he had peanut butter. And I gather one of the caregivers looked over to see Tabetha leaning wwwaaaay over, stealing peanut butter off his tray! They don't know if she actually ate any or not, but she doesn't have any known allergies anyway - it's just that peanut butter isn't supposed to be tried until after a year.
She hasn't shown any signs of allergies, so no worries. I figure if that's the worst call we ever get from daycare, we're laughing!
Today she was still napping when I came to get her. It was neat going in to the nap room - she was the only one still sleeping - and getting to wake her up. Then we go home, and have some quiet mommy daughter time before Chris comes home. It's pretty nice.
Now if only she'd either agree to sleep all night in her room or stop crawling all over us in her sleep, I'd be even happier.
We've only had one phone call from the daycare so far. There's a kid in her group who's vegetarian, so when the rest of the kids had some meat in their lunch, he had peanut butter. And I gather one of the caregivers looked over to see Tabetha leaning wwwaaaay over, stealing peanut butter off his tray! They don't know if she actually ate any or not, but she doesn't have any known allergies anyway - it's just that peanut butter isn't supposed to be tried until after a year.
She hasn't shown any signs of allergies, so no worries. I figure if that's the worst call we ever get from daycare, we're laughing!
Today she was still napping when I came to get her. It was neat going in to the nap room - she was the only one still sleeping - and getting to wake her up. Then we go home, and have some quiet mommy daughter time before Chris comes home. It's pretty nice.
Now if only she'd either agree to sleep all night in her room or stop crawling all over us in her sleep, I'd be even happier.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Review: Babyhawk
When Tabetha was a couple months old we got a Babyhawk carrier. We ordered a custom one, so that I could pick both fabrics. And we love it!
The Babyhawk is what's known as a meitai style carrier. It basically consists of a large square of fabric, a headrest, and four long straps. Meitai carriers are very versatile - you can wear baby front, back or side and they're good from birth basically until you wouldn't want to be carrying the kid anymore. They're also fantastic for families who plan to share babywearing duties - because you tie it on every time you use it, you're never struggling to adjust straps and buckles if someone very differently sized wore it last. Lastly, meitei carriers are quite affordable. A Babyhawk is about 40% cheaper than an Ergo or Beco, and I personally think they do a better job of distributing the baby's weight across my back and waist.
When she got a bit bigger, we found it was perfect for breastfeeding. I could be walking through the grocery store with her latched on and still be able to push and fill my shopping cart. Very handy!
Now that Tabetha is 22 lbs, I still use it frequently. If they stroller would be inconvenient, or if she's fussy and doesn't want to be put down, I can carry her and still have my hands free. She still fits into it quite nicely, but I am planning to invest in their longer carrier, the Toddlerhawk. It can't be used from birth - a newborn would fall out the side! - but it adds four inches to the body length, which would give her head more support when she falls asleep in it.
This is no question my favourite baby carrier. I prefer the meitai style out of the four major types (sling, wrap, meitai, structured carrier) and the Babyhawk is my favourite meitai.
The Babyhawk is what's known as a meitai style carrier. It basically consists of a large square of fabric, a headrest, and four long straps. Meitai carriers are very versatile - you can wear baby front, back or side and they're good from birth basically until you wouldn't want to be carrying the kid anymore. They're also fantastic for families who plan to share babywearing duties - because you tie it on every time you use it, you're never struggling to adjust straps and buckles if someone very differently sized wore it last. Lastly, meitei carriers are quite affordable. A Babyhawk is about 40% cheaper than an Ergo or Beco, and I personally think they do a better job of distributing the baby's weight across my back and waist.
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| Daddy and Baby |
When I first put Tabby in it, with her little feet frogged up, her head didn't even peek out over the top of the carrier. In fact, when I wore her out for lunch, she would sleep and I would just drape a napkin over her head and keep wearing her while I ate.
When she got a bit bigger, we found it was perfect for breastfeeding. I could be walking through the grocery store with her latched on and still be able to push and fill my shopping cart. Very handy!
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| Auntie Terri and Tabby |
Now that Tabetha is 22 lbs, I still use it frequently. If they stroller would be inconvenient, or if she's fussy and doesn't want to be put down, I can carry her and still have my hands free. She still fits into it quite nicely, but I am planning to invest in their longer carrier, the Toddlerhawk. It can't be used from birth - a newborn would fall out the side! - but it adds four inches to the body length, which would give her head more support when she falls asleep in it.
This is no question my favourite baby carrier. I prefer the meitai style out of the four major types (sling, wrap, meitai, structured carrier) and the Babyhawk is my favourite meitai.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Daycare bliss
Okay, last night was some of the rough parts about the daycare transition; here is some praise for why it can be great.
Like with most babies, our biggest challenge with Tabs is sleep. It took me quite a while to get her napping on her own, and it still really consisted of getting her to sleep and then shifting her into her crib. Bedtime can take hours, and some nights she wakes up over... and over... and only being taken from the crib and cuddled will put her back down - and only by me... and often only if she nurses.
But already this week they're finding her not that bad. She takes 10 minutes or less of back patting to go down.
And tonight I reaped the rewards. She woke up a little while ago. I went upstairs, rolled her onto her side, and patted her back for about two minutes - and back to sleep she went. Which has basically never happened before.
Ahhhh.....
Like with most babies, our biggest challenge with Tabs is sleep. It took me quite a while to get her napping on her own, and it still really consisted of getting her to sleep and then shifting her into her crib. Bedtime can take hours, and some nights she wakes up over... and over... and only being taken from the crib and cuddled will put her back down - and only by me... and often only if she nurses.
But already this week they're finding her not that bad. She takes 10 minutes or less of back patting to go down.
And tonight I reaped the rewards. She woke up a little while ago. I went upstairs, rolled her onto her side, and patted her back for about two minutes - and back to sleep she went. Which has basically never happened before.
Ahhhh.....
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The daycare transition
Somehow, 51 weeks have passed since I left work to get ready for Tabetha's birth. Tomorrow Tabby will be 11 months old, and on Monday I go back to work. So this week, Tabby and I are transitioning into daycare. I say that "we" are doing it because frankly, it's as hard for me as it is for her.
Monday
Tabetha and I got up bright and early, packed up diapers and sweaters and whatnot and headed off to daycare! I mostly tried to stay a bit in the background and let Tabetha learn to trust the caregivers. One of them even got her down for her nap, which was pretty cool! I was very glad that the other kid starting this week is close to her age - the rest of the babies are a few months to a year older and all walking, talking, busy little people. Tabby ate all sorts of new foods, played with new toys, and came home so tired she had a loooong afternoon nap!
Tuesday
Otherwise known as today! Tabetha slept fairly poorly last night. I think it might've partly been because of the nap, but it was also because of the weird day she had. She settled in at daycare though, and when it was time for her nap I went home and gave the kitchen a solid cleaning - I didn't want to listen to her crying for mama again, monday was hard enough! When I came back an hour later it was a bit funny. I watched her coming down the hall and she was fine - until she saw me and burst into tears! we stayed til afternoon nap time and then I took her home.
Wednesday
The plan for tomorrow is that she will be at daycare the WHOLE day! I will not. I have some things I need to do tomorrow to get ready to go back to work on monday. We're also going to start involving daddy more in the morning stuff, since I'll be leaving for work half an hour before he takes her to daycare starting monday.
Thursday
She'll be there the whole day, and for a little longer. and then...
Friday
will be our trial run! Daddy will drop her off at the appointed time and barring emergencies, I'll pick her up at the end of the day.
Seeing all the older kids (the oldest is almost 2) has done two things.
Firstly, it's given me a reminder of how fast she will keep changing. Within 3-6 months SHE will be where those kids are, and that's pretty mindblowing, and very cool. I have no doubt that she will learn all sorts of tricks from them - good and bad - as she watches and observes what the big kids do.
Secondly, though, it has reminded me just how young she is. Normally I see her in the context of babies her age or younger, and I focus more on all the things she's mastered, how clever she is, how wonderful. It really makes me feel much, much sadder about leaving her there, even though I am very happy with the care she will be receiving.
One of the other kids, about 18 months old, started last week. Constantly throughout the day this kid asks about her parents.
"Mommy? Daddy?" and each time, she is reassured that Mommy and Daddy are at work, and Mommy will come to get her later, and she seems to find that comforting.
I know that Tabby isn't really at a developmental age to articulate missing us, but that almost makes me feel worse about leaving her, in a funny kind of way.
It'll be better when I'm actually at work, I think. I'll have stuff to do that I'm not accustomed to her being around for, and, thankfully, stuff I enjoy doing. I say that we couldn't really afford for me to stay home, but we probably could if we made that our priority. The fact is, though, going back to work isn't just about the money, it's about doing something I enjoy, feeling like I contribute, and setting some time and space aside where I'm not just "Tabetha's mommy."
Though I do still sort of kinda in a way wish I could just... pop her in a stasis bubble while I go to work, so that I could raise her evenings and weekends. Sure, it would take a few extra years, but then I wouldn't have to deal with the fear that she won't be happy at daycare, and she won't have any way of telling me!
Monday
Tabetha and I got up bright and early, packed up diapers and sweaters and whatnot and headed off to daycare! I mostly tried to stay a bit in the background and let Tabetha learn to trust the caregivers. One of them even got her down for her nap, which was pretty cool! I was very glad that the other kid starting this week is close to her age - the rest of the babies are a few months to a year older and all walking, talking, busy little people. Tabby ate all sorts of new foods, played with new toys, and came home so tired she had a loooong afternoon nap!
Tuesday
Otherwise known as today! Tabetha slept fairly poorly last night. I think it might've partly been because of the nap, but it was also because of the weird day she had. She settled in at daycare though, and when it was time for her nap I went home and gave the kitchen a solid cleaning - I didn't want to listen to her crying for mama again, monday was hard enough! When I came back an hour later it was a bit funny. I watched her coming down the hall and she was fine - until she saw me and burst into tears! we stayed til afternoon nap time and then I took her home.
Wednesday
The plan for tomorrow is that she will be at daycare the WHOLE day! I will not. I have some things I need to do tomorrow to get ready to go back to work on monday. We're also going to start involving daddy more in the morning stuff, since I'll be leaving for work half an hour before he takes her to daycare starting monday.
Thursday
She'll be there the whole day, and for a little longer. and then...
Friday
will be our trial run! Daddy will drop her off at the appointed time and barring emergencies, I'll pick her up at the end of the day.
Seeing all the older kids (the oldest is almost 2) has done two things.
Firstly, it's given me a reminder of how fast she will keep changing. Within 3-6 months SHE will be where those kids are, and that's pretty mindblowing, and very cool. I have no doubt that she will learn all sorts of tricks from them - good and bad - as she watches and observes what the big kids do.
Secondly, though, it has reminded me just how young she is. Normally I see her in the context of babies her age or younger, and I focus more on all the things she's mastered, how clever she is, how wonderful. It really makes me feel much, much sadder about leaving her there, even though I am very happy with the care she will be receiving.
One of the other kids, about 18 months old, started last week. Constantly throughout the day this kid asks about her parents.
"Mommy? Daddy?" and each time, she is reassured that Mommy and Daddy are at work, and Mommy will come to get her later, and she seems to find that comforting.
I know that Tabby isn't really at a developmental age to articulate missing us, but that almost makes me feel worse about leaving her, in a funny kind of way.
It'll be better when I'm actually at work, I think. I'll have stuff to do that I'm not accustomed to her being around for, and, thankfully, stuff I enjoy doing. I say that we couldn't really afford for me to stay home, but we probably could if we made that our priority. The fact is, though, going back to work isn't just about the money, it's about doing something I enjoy, feeling like I contribute, and setting some time and space aside where I'm not just "Tabetha's mommy."
Though I do still sort of kinda in a way wish I could just... pop her in a stasis bubble while I go to work, so that I could raise her evenings and weekends. Sure, it would take a few extra years, but then I wouldn't have to deal with the fear that she won't be happy at daycare, and she won't have any way of telling me!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Baby feedings pt. 2
(Part 1 can be found here)
I found early on that even with my super awesome beautiful diaper bag, I needed something to keep all her food stuff together, and I wanted it to be something that would contain any spills, but I didn't want to use plastic bags because I'm avoiding disposable wherever possible. Oh, and it should also be cute. And multifunctional. But not too expensive.
So I bought an Itzy Ritzy Snack Happens bag. It's the perfect size to hold a spoon and a few baby cubes, it has food-grade lining, and I can throw it in the washing machine. So for now I use it to hold little bits, and later on I can toss a handful of grapes, or dry cereal, or cookies, or anything in there for her to munch on. This isn't the pattern I have, but it is the pattern I want! I have the matching wet bag for dirty diapers, and I need a second snack bag, I think...
When I first started giving Tabetha water to drink, she drank out of a small ceramic cup because she refused to drink from a bottle and couldn't figure out a sippy cup. I was despairing a little bit of what she'd do at daycare - it's very carer intensive to have an 11 month old drinking out of a grown up cup - but last week she finally decided that sippy cups are good. We have three kinds, two of which we've used enough to have an opinion on.
The Safe Sippy was the first one we bought when I decided I wanted to start getting her used to drinking from something other than me, around about the time she was starting to eat solid food. It's stainless steel, it's easy to clean, it's great. However, for a young baby it's also heavy, a bit large, and the rigid spout is harder to get used to. I also wish it came with a cap, but apparently the latest version does.
We already had an OrganicKidz stainless steel bottle. One of the reasons we bought it was that we knew they were releasing a kit to turn it into a sippy cup - perfect! And actually it's my favourite. It's long, but narrow so easier for her to hang onto. The spout is flexible, which seems to be easier for her to drink from, and it's very easy to clean. And it has a cap to contain any spills. It's much sleeker and fits in the diaper bag better, too.
Finally, I wanted something cheaper for daycare, something I wouldn't care if I had to replace more often, but that was still good. We went with a Dr. Brown's sippy cup. It has a soft spout, and I can get replacement parts, so if something breaks I don't have to throw the whole thing out. It's also light and small, so she's more likely to be able to use it without help. I'll post more when we've had time to use it and get used to it!
The last thing I have to review is actually a set. Untangled Living makes the absolute cutest set of stainless steel kids dishes, and from the moment I saw them I had to have them. Now that Tabby is eating lots of finger foods it's become helpful to have a plate for her to eat of off - the food still ends up on the table, but we live in hope of her learning table manners! The deep plate helps her scoop food out rather than just swiping it off, it's all adorable, and the set will grow with her until she's ready to use breakable dishes. It also comes in a cute gecko design.
So far, that's pretty much everything we've used. Oh, and lots of bibs!
I found early on that even with my super awesome beautiful diaper bag, I needed something to keep all her food stuff together, and I wanted it to be something that would contain any spills, but I didn't want to use plastic bags because I'm avoiding disposable wherever possible. Oh, and it should also be cute. And multifunctional. But not too expensive.
When I first started giving Tabetha water to drink, she drank out of a small ceramic cup because she refused to drink from a bottle and couldn't figure out a sippy cup. I was despairing a little bit of what she'd do at daycare - it's very carer intensive to have an 11 month old drinking out of a grown up cup - but last week she finally decided that sippy cups are good. We have three kinds, two of which we've used enough to have an opinion on.
The Safe Sippy was the first one we bought when I decided I wanted to start getting her used to drinking from something other than me, around about the time she was starting to eat solid food. It's stainless steel, it's easy to clean, it's great. However, for a young baby it's also heavy, a bit large, and the rigid spout is harder to get used to. I also wish it came with a cap, but apparently the latest version does.
So far, that's pretty much everything we've used. Oh, and lots of bibs!
Baby feedings pt. 1
Now that Tabs is eating solid food, feeding equipment consists of more than just an ugly bra with latches. There are a few things we've tried.
We started with the Baby Safe Feeder. It's really neat. The concept is very cool and they work exactly as described. Put food into mesh bag, screw onto handle, give to baby. As they gum at it, food comes through the mesh but never in pieces big enough to choke a baby. We used them at first and they were great but Tabetha got teeth quite early, and we're not using them anymore.
Tabetha eats homemade food, other than the baby cereal (which I buy because that way it's fortified with iron, which I can't do at home). I make it in large quantities and freeze it in handy dandy portions that I can easily throw in the diaper bag or what have you. Lots of people do this using ice cube trays and then have containers they put the frozen chunks in; I use baby cubes because you freeze it IN the containers, which have lids, so it's one less step. I love them - they're fantastic for purees, and also for holding Tabetha's favourite organic teddy puff thingies. The only thing I DON'T like about these is that I've occasionally had the plastic break if I take them directly out of the freezer and pour boiling water over them to thaw the food, but if I remember to take her meals out a couple hours ahead, it's a non issue.
In order to get said purees into Tabetha, we bought a spoon/spork set. I like it because it bends, so when she's ready to start self-feeding I can bend it to whatever odd shape works best. I also found it helpful to do that when she was first starting - for whatever reason she preferred eating from the side of the spoon rather than the front. Plus, they're really cute! The set we got are Boon.
I generally keep one in the kitchen for home meals, and one in the diaper bag for out meals, and it's been working out really well.
(to be continued shortly)
I generally keep one in the kitchen for home meals, and one in the diaper bag for out meals, and it's been working out really well.
(to be continued shortly)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Playdate
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| Once upon a time there was a baby named Tabetha |
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| She loved to explore! |
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| Her friend Molly did too! |
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| Such pretty girls. |
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| Tabby got all excited! |
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| Molly loved Tabby's soft hair. |
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| Awww... |
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| Okay now I think you're hamming it up for the camera! |
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| Bubbles! |
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| Yay! |
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| Too weird. Oh well, time time to go pick daddy up from work! |
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Daddy's girl
This is a post about poop. Don't worry, I'm not going to describe bowel movements, Tabetha's or anyone else's. And there won't be any pictures! This is a post about the fact that Tabetha loves her father more than she loves me.
Sure, when she's tired she wants her mommy, and after a couple hours with daddy she starts to miss me. That's nice and all, don't get me wrong.
The true test however. The reason I know she favours her paternal parent over the one who carried her around for 9 months and all that?
She saves her poops. She waits until 10 minutes after Chris goes to bed, or 15 minutes before he gets home from work, or - my personal favourite - until he's JUST gotten in the shower after being with her for the past two hours. THEN she poops.
So not fair.
Sure, when she's tired she wants her mommy, and after a couple hours with daddy she starts to miss me. That's nice and all, don't get me wrong.
The true test however. The reason I know she favours her paternal parent over the one who carried her around for 9 months and all that?
She saves her poops. She waits until 10 minutes after Chris goes to bed, or 15 minutes before he gets home from work, or - my personal favourite - until he's JUST gotten in the shower after being with her for the past two hours. THEN she poops.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
All's quiet on the Newton front
Actually things aren't remotely quiet here! There are a few potentially exciting things going on OTHER than getting Tabby ready for daycare, me ready for work, and our house ready for sale. I'm keeping quiet so as not to jinx anything, but in the meantime it's cutting into my blogging time! More to come soon, I hope.
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