Highway to the Danger Zone
Accidents Waiting to Happen
Peanut has just started crawling and it is time for me and Super Dad to stop pretending that we still have control of our house and instead succumb to the fact that Peanut rules the roost. You might be thinking to yourself that we are nuts, because it is obvious by the sheer amount of baby crapola in the picture above (changing station on the far couch, play mat, exersaucer, play house, large plush toys, boppy pillow, dirty clothes bags, toys, and bumbo chair on the hearth, stackable storage filled with diapers, clothes, toys, baby carriers, etc) that this is really Peanut’s room, not ours. But old habits are hard to break and old mindsets are even tougher. Somehow we both like to think that we’re still in charge, that once the baby goes to bed this room magically becomes ours again, that we can block out the fact that we have 300 pounds of brightly colored polypropylene starting us in the face while we try to watch a movie. Ha!
It is time to baby proof our living room. This is the place in our house where we spend the vast majority of our time, and it is not exactly baby friendly. In fact, it is not baby friendly in any way shape or form. It is a baby gauntlet, a danger zone of epic proportions. I have identified some of the major safety hazards in red. There are also a million and one small hazards, for example electrical outlets, power cords and cables, and small choking hazards, but I decided to just focus on the big stuff that is easy to see.
Some of these should have been fixed eons ago, for example the whole dastardly book case situation. You’d think we don’t love our child. When Peanut was first born, we slept in this room on the couches with her in the Pack N Play parked right in front of that very book case. It is not anchored to the wall. Nor are the heavy, sharp, dangerous projectiles on top of it. We are lucky that the cats never jumped up there or otherwise caused it to tip. Also extremely dangerous although unlikely to fall is the heavy crystal vase perched up on the mantle. While this has no inertia of its own and is not likely to just tip over unmolested, a perfect storm of cleaning lady moving it to dust + cat could mean my life would over in a heartbeat. It is pointy and very heavy, and if it had ever fallen while Peanut was on her play mat, she would have been toast.
I admit, we’ve known about these things forever but somehow we have not had the time to fix them. When I was pregnant and on bed rest, I spent 20 hours a day laying on these couches staring at that book case thinking that we’d have to anchor it to the wall before the baby was born. We still talk about it all the time but it never seems to happen. We never seem have the time (see previous post on time dilation).
Now is the time.
Also up for the baby proofing marathon (note we were supposed to do it this weekend but it is already Saturday afternoon and we have moved nothing and purchased no baby proofing supplies. Sigh. Maybe next weekend?) is to cover the brick fireplace hearth with some kind of bumper, remove the coffee table or cover the sharp corners, isolate the entire TV/entertainment center/speakers/lamp area so she can’t pull something down on top of herself or electrocute herself on the ten thousand cables we have back there, and finally secure the large stand up halogen lamp.
I’ll post some after pictures when we are all done. Hopefully you’ll see those sooner than later, and writing this post will guilt me into doing it faster. I guess I finally have to make a trip to that wretched baby super warehouse to buy some supplies. Wish me luck.
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Breaking News: Baby’s Gravitational Field Causes Time Dilation
Light Reading
This is the stack of magazines that is currently occupying my nightstand. In the time Before Peanut (BP), I would have at most 2 or 3 magazines waiting to be read. I use the term “read” very roughly, because some of these are US Weekly and I mostly just look at the pictures. But still. This magazine stack is a weather vein of sorts, just another indicator that my life has changed and my time is not really my own anymore. Instead of leisurely reading The New Yorker, I am on the floor making goofy faces at my baby and letting her destroy my pots and pans while she pretends she is in the drum corps of the marching band.
This is my first week since I had Peanut where I have returned to a mostly normal work schedule, working 8 h days x 4 days a week. Until now, I have been working half time. It’s been great to be able to spend so much time with my baby while she was so young, but if I am honest with myself, my productivity has suffered. I have noticed that just working 8 h the past two days I have been more productive than I have been in a long time. So that’s good, because I do really like my job and I love where I work. It’s funny because there is another mom in my building with a son Peanut’s age. She went back to work full time after just 12 weeks of maternity leave. I see her in the halls, and I think to myself, “Wow, she seems to really have it together.” I now think I was wrong. She stopped me in the hall the other day to ask how I arranged my part-time schedule, because she is utterly failing at trying to work 40 hours a week and also take care of her baby like she wants to. She said her work suffers and she misses him terribly. Hearing this made me happy. Misery loves company. I am happy that I am not the only one struggling with being a working parent and having any time to myself, struggling with being productive at work when sometimes all I can think about is my little girl. Struggling with the guilt that someone else might get to hear her first word or see her first steps.
Peanut is at daycare for about eight and a half hours a day. It breaks my heart that someone else is taking care of her for most of her waking hours in a week. Being a working parent is so hard. So, if you are feeling tired and overwhelmed and frustrated that you have no time for yourself, but at the same time extremely guilty for dropping off your baby for someone else to virtually raise in your stead, you are not alone. This really sucks.
Read MoreSomeone Call Hoarders, Quick!
Ever since we visited the grandparents back in August, I have been trying to hunt down the Sprout Sweet Peas & Green Beans baby food that Nonna bought for Peanut at Walmart. I have become obsessed because this is the only “green” baby food that the child will eat. Ever since she first had this at my mom’s house, she has flat our rejected all of the other bagged or jarred peas and/or green beans, unless they come pre-mixed with something sweet like pears. Often times I want to specifically give her fruits separately, so I need to be able to give her some greens on their own. Until I finally found the mother lode, the only way she would eat her greens was if I hid them in the spoon behind some carrots or sweet potato. And I was throwing away half eaten jars left and right.
They carry Sprout all of our 6 local Whole Foods stores (there is a Whole Foods inside the big newly remodeled Whole Foods…snark) and some local Target stores, but no one ever has this flavor. There is not even a place for it on the shelves. I was going to order it from Amazon, but they are charging $16.68 for a pack of 12, or $3 each if you buy them individually. I knew my mom got them at Walmart and only paid around a dollar each, so that was my benchmark for price. I don’t know it took this long but I finally just broke down and went to Walmart to see if they had them there. They had a shelf stocked full. And they only cost $0.98. I bought 16 of them. I know that seems like a lot but since these are the only greens she’ll eat, that will really only last me 2 about weeks.
That damn mint flavoring they add must be the kicker. Peanut loves it. It’s like baby crack.
Read MorePrincipalities
"You see, it's the principal. There's principalities in the whole thing." -- Big Worm. (Image from pinkrobotboogaloo.com)
This weekend I sold something on Craig’s List to someone in the next town over. We agreed to a price of $25.00. The people weren’t going to be home when I dropped off the item, so they left cash for me in a box on their front porch. I drove over there, left the item, and picked up my cash. When I got in the car I opened the envelope only to find $23.00. I sat in the driveway trying to decide if I should just take the cash and go, or if I should go get my item, put back the cash, and leave a nasty note. I opted to just leave the item and take my $23.00. Now I am at home brooding.
It’s only a difference of $2.00, but it is not about the money. It is about doing what you say you are going to do. Being honest. Following through. Why do people think this kind of behavior is okay? We agreed on a price. If she didn’t want to pay it, she should have said something. Or if they just didn’t happen to have the cash on hand, leave a note, or email/call and ask if that was okay. I really regret taking the money. I should have taken back my item and left a note saying, “Sorry, I thought we agreed on a price of $25.00.” I’m the sucker, though, because she cheated me and I let her get away with it.
UPDATE: I couldn’t stand it anymore so I sent an email to the buyer. She said that she put $23 in cash and $2 in quarters in the box and that when asked about it later, her 3 year old son said he took the quarters and hid them. So she did keep up her end of the bargain. It turns out I was the jerk by assuming she was trying to rip me off. Rather than start off with that assumption I should have contacted her simply inquiring about the missing money. I apologized to her for jumping to conclusions. I had to eat crow in the end but I’m glad I got this off my chest. It was an unexpected place and time to learn a lesson in humility and giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, but I’ll take it. Learn and grow.
Read MoreAdventures in Babyfood
Grandma bought me a Baby Bullet so I could try making some of Peanut’s food myself. If you knew my mother-in-law, you would know that this is in no way a subtle hint that I am not taking care of her precious only granddaughter because I don’t make her food from scratch. I just happened to mention that I was considering getting one, but I thought they were too expensive. 1 week later a package arrived in the mail. She is that thoughtful and I love her to pieces.
For my first attempt I bought two organic ruby yams and a butternut squash (could not find organic). The total cost was about $7. I poked the potatoes, seeded the squash, and simply put them in a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes. If I had been making these for myself I would have brushed the squash with oil, but I omitted that for Peanut.
Of course I forgot to take the “after” picture… but suffice to say the veggies were tender and the squash was a light golden brown. The Baby Bullet comes with two cups: a large one for making big batches and a smaller one that will fit only a serving or two of food, for example 1 banana. I used the big cup for this, and it fit one yam or half of the squash at a time.
First I blended the veggies without water, but the Baby Bullet didn’t do a good job of getting a nice smooth purée. I suppose for an older baby that is used to texture that wouldn’t be a problem but Peanut tends to gag on chunks so I wanted to be sure I had it nice and smooth. I added some flouride-free spring water that I keep in the house special for Peanut, and was able to get a very silky smooth purée.
I was surprised by how much food I got out of one yam! In fact with two yams and a large squash I filled the 6 fresh cups and 6 freezer cups (below) that came with the machine and also an entire ice cube tray and a half. A great bargain!
I thought the food tasted great. It had a lot of concentrated flavor and was exactly the consistency I wanted. I could see adding some nutritious spices like cinnamon or cloves if you wanted to vary your baby’s taste pallet.
This particular product, and products like it, claim you can make your own baby food in minutes. And it was easy to make, and did only take 2 minutes, but that was after you do all the prep work. I think it is a bit disingenuous in that it takes a lot of pre- and post-work before you can go back and sit on the couch. After you make the food you have to dispense it into the containers which I found to be tedious and messy; I would have preferred a wider mouth. Then you have to wash everything and clean up your messes. Finally, once the food is frozen you have to pop it out so you can clean and reuse the freezer tray. I found this part very difficult because of the soft silicone material and the high aspect ratio of the container. I ran them under hot water and they melted enough to take out, but because they are so much taller than they are wide, it was difficult to break the vacuum and pop them out. I finally got the hang of it but not before my hands were covered in slightly melted sticky bits.
Overall, I like the Baby Bullet. In fact, I used it just last night to purée a banana that was about to be past its prime. I used the small cup and was able to simply rinse it out in the sink. For something you don’t have to cook, it truly took only seconds from start to finish.
Pros: I really like the 6 fresh food containers with date-dial lids. They seem to hold enough for a nice single serving of food. I also like the little stand they came with to keep them organized and upright in the fridge. I only wish it came with more of them because I’ve already lost two to daycare. Also, everything is BPA free!!! One less thing to worry about.
Cons: It was difficult to pop the frozen food out of the silicone container, and I would prefer a wider mouth on all of the containers to make it easier to get the food inside. Also, I would love to see a slightly stronger motor on the blender so I wouldn’t have to use water but I think that is a minor thing.
Overall, I give this an A for effort and a A- for execution.
UPDATE: This homemade food is a major hit at our house. Peanut will eat it eagerly every single time I give it to her. She absolutely loves it! Something that I didn’t think of way back when I wrote this original post is that with this machine, or I am sure others like it, you can control the consistency of the food that you make. The jarred varieties are either perfectly smooth or a uniform chunk, but with this machine you can dial it in and be very precise in the specific level of chunkiness. I appreciate this now that I am trying to get Peanut to eventually move on to table foods and learn how to use her teeth to chew.
Boost of Confidence
The other day when I was at my parent’s house, Nonno said to me, “You are a good mom.” I feel like I won the lottery. Having my dad tell me, unprompted, that I am a good mom is the best compliment ever.
Sprout Organic Baby Food
This past weekend Peanut and I were visiting my parents in the Midwest. I asked my mom to pick up some organic baby food so I wouldn’t have to travel with the heavy glass jars of the brand I usually buy. At Walmart she bought these little pouches of Sprout brand food for about $0.99 each. She bought the butternut squash, sweet potato, and green pea varieties.
I really liked the taste of this baby food. The squash was much less watery than the jarred variety, and had a deep, complex, rich, and ripe flavor to it. Sometimes when I taste the jarred variety, it tastes watered down and it seems like the squash is unripe. The sweet potatoes were delicious–sweet, thick, and full of concentrated flavor. The peas were quite a pleasant surprise, and the best of the three. They were made with just a hint of mint, a surprising and very sophisticated addition. Peanut gobbled them down as fast as we could fill up the spoon….but therein lies the problem. These pouches have a fold inside and it is hard to get all of the food out. I found that I had to scrape and scrape and still felt like I left a good portion of the food in the bag, unable to retrieve it. When you are paying $0.99 for one serving of baby food, you want to feel like you can get all of that expensive food into the baby’s eager little mouth.
The verdict: I really liked the mint peas and I think that the flavor was worth the hassle of the annoying package. I would have much preferred to see packaging like the squeeze-bag with screw on top variety that Plum, Ella’s Kitchen, and Happy Tot are using.
Overall, I give this an A for effort and a B for execution, because of the packaging.
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