Green beans Are Gross
Will is apparently not a green bean fan. They literally made him gag. They had a little more texture than the other foods I've made, though, so I'm not sure if it was the taste or the texture. I'll try again in a week or so and see if it's better. I was also going to try mixing them with carrots or squash to see if they fared any better. Otherwise, I may have to try the store-bought kind...
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Happy Half Birthday!
So 6 months ago today I was blessed with this little man and he continues to baffle and amaze me every day. I never thought I could love a toothless, illiterate, drooling, babbling short person so much :-)
I can’t believe it’s already been half of a year. How quickly time flies and how much my life has changed! I remember when I was pregnant people with kids were always telling me how much my life was going to change. And I remember being a bit offended by them saying that. I mean, duh my life is going to change. I’m not an idiot. I’m not under the false presumption that this is just some accessory I’ve picked up at the store. I’m more than aware that I’m in for sleepless nights, a severely curtailed social life, a closer relationship with poop than I ever thought possible, and a house full chock full of brightly-colored, obnoxious baby-holding contraptions. So I don’t need your words of wisdom warning, thank you very much.
Now that I’m here, though, I realize that while your life does change in all of the obvious ways, there is also a subtle but much more important change that you have no way of understanding or anticipating until you hold that baby for the first time. It’s a change in yourself. It’s a change in the way you perceive the world and in how you approach your life. Because from 4:02am on July 28th, 2009 on I have been totally and completely unable to put myself first. Not that I’m advocating not doing anything for yourself. I wholeheartedly believe that it’s very important to take time for and take care of you. You can’t be a good parent otherwise. But even when he’s with his dad or his grandma and I know he’s perfectly safe and OK there’s still a little part of me that never stops thinking about him; worrying that he’s safe and happy. And every decision I make, everything I do takes him into consideration first and foremost. I love this quote from Elizabeth Stone: “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” I love it because that is exactly what it feels like. Yes, there is a little part of me that sometimes wishes I could be totally selfish just for a day and pick up and go and do whatever I want without my sidekick or a thought for anyone other than myself. But it’s a small price to pay for the privilege of being his mom.
So now I realize what all of those people were trying to tell me when they warned me that life was going to change. And I guess I’m a little less offended. I still don’t say this to expectant parents, though. They’ll figure it out for themselves soon enough.
Also, I have to give myself some props because my Tuesday run was 3.5 miles with the group at a 9:40 pace. I started running again a little over 4 months ago (after 4+ months off and the delivery from hell) and could barely manage 2 miles at an 11:00 pace but have finally made it back to where I was pre-baby and am feeling great. The thought of having to travel this road again another time or two for subsequent Baby Adairs is a bit daunting, but I’m not going to think about that right now. I’m just going to bask in my success.
Will got a big boy highchair yesterday and he's quite a fan of the toys it came with.
I can’t believe it’s already been half of a year. How quickly time flies and how much my life has changed! I remember when I was pregnant people with kids were always telling me how much my life was going to change. And I remember being a bit offended by them saying that. I mean, duh my life is going to change. I’m not an idiot. I’m not under the false presumption that this is just some accessory I’ve picked up at the store. I’m more than aware that I’m in for sleepless nights, a severely curtailed social life, a closer relationship with poop than I ever thought possible, and a house full chock full of brightly-colored, obnoxious baby-holding contraptions. So I don’t need your words of wisdom warning, thank you very much.
Now that I’m here, though, I realize that while your life does change in all of the obvious ways, there is also a subtle but much more important change that you have no way of understanding or anticipating until you hold that baby for the first time. It’s a change in yourself. It’s a change in the way you perceive the world and in how you approach your life. Because from 4:02am on July 28th, 2009 on I have been totally and completely unable to put myself first. Not that I’m advocating not doing anything for yourself. I wholeheartedly believe that it’s very important to take time for and take care of you. You can’t be a good parent otherwise. But even when he’s with his dad or his grandma and I know he’s perfectly safe and OK there’s still a little part of me that never stops thinking about him; worrying that he’s safe and happy. And every decision I make, everything I do takes him into consideration first and foremost. I love this quote from Elizabeth Stone: “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” I love it because that is exactly what it feels like. Yes, there is a little part of me that sometimes wishes I could be totally selfish just for a day and pick up and go and do whatever I want without my sidekick or a thought for anyone other than myself. But it’s a small price to pay for the privilege of being his mom.
So now I realize what all of those people were trying to tell me when they warned me that life was going to change. And I guess I’m a little less offended. I still don’t say this to expectant parents, though. They’ll figure it out for themselves soon enough.
Also, I have to give myself some props because my Tuesday run was 3.5 miles with the group at a 9:40 pace. I started running again a little over 4 months ago (after 4+ months off and the delivery from hell) and could barely manage 2 miles at an 11:00 pace but have finally made it back to where I was pre-baby and am feeling great. The thought of having to travel this road again another time or two for subsequent Baby Adairs is a bit daunting, but I’m not going to think about that right now. I’m just going to bask in my success.
Will got a big boy highchair yesterday and he's quite a fan of the toys it came with.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Bath Time!
Ok, yes I realize that it's odd to have a bath time photo montage without actual in-the-bath action shots. But I'm extraordinarily clumsy and have bad luck with cameras and so was not willing to risk using the camera too close to a tub full of water. (Let's just say that I have unwittingly made a contribution to the photographic endeavors of the fish in Venice's Grand Canal.) Anyway, you'll just have to take my word that there was actual bathing accomplished prior to these pics.
Playing with my feet while Mommy dries me off.
All snuggled up in my robe. It's the cutest!
Unfortunately, the robe gets in the way of my jumparoo-ing.
Playing with my feet while Mommy dries me off.
All snuggled up in my robe. It's the cutest!
Unfortunately, the robe gets in the way of my jumparoo-ing.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Banana-rama
So I usually wait at least 3 days, preferably 5, between introducing new foods, but the bananas were perfect today and that doesn't happen very often. So I mashed up a little bit of one and gave him some.
Also, he is clearly a genius as he is reading already.
I wonder if eating the book helps him absorb the information more efficiently... cuz that's what he did next.
Also, he is clearly a genius as he is reading already.
I wonder if eating the book helps him absorb the information more efficiently... cuz that's what he did next.
This is What Happens When You're Sleep Deprived
You spend way too much time decorating the crust of a chicken pot pie and then insist on taking pictures of the finished product.
The night before last was not a good night. I'm not even going into the details. Let's just say that I was a horrible, zombie-like wreck yesterday. Then last night he slept from 7:45 to 6:30am. And because I was a good girl and went to bed on time, I actually got 8 straight, uninterrupted hours of sleep for the first time since July 26th of last year.
Also, Will's boy-ness continues to make itself known. Other than the obvious physical attributes and the aforementioned obsession with sports, he has now developed a keen interest in all things electronic: remote controls, phones, and laptops to name a few. He will stop at nothing in an attempt to grab these items, including violently flinging himself in their direction and wants nothing to do with his baby-appropriate toys when an electronic device is in sight. This is an unfortunate circumstance, given the fact that he is a slobber-machine and would, undoubtedly ruin any and all of the electronics in our house if allowed to have them. Maybe I should try and find a toy cell phone or buy him a cheap remote.
The night before last was not a good night. I'm not even going into the details. Let's just say that I was a horrible, zombie-like wreck yesterday. Then last night he slept from 7:45 to 6:30am. And because I was a good girl and went to bed on time, I actually got 8 straight, uninterrupted hours of sleep for the first time since July 26th of last year.
Also, Will's boy-ness continues to make itself known. Other than the obvious physical attributes and the aforementioned obsession with sports, he has now developed a keen interest in all things electronic: remote controls, phones, and laptops to name a few. He will stop at nothing in an attempt to grab these items, including violently flinging himself in their direction and wants nothing to do with his baby-appropriate toys when an electronic device is in sight. This is an unfortunate circumstance, given the fact that he is a slobber-machine and would, undoubtedly ruin any and all of the electronics in our house if allowed to have them. Maybe I should try and find a toy cell phone or buy him a cheap remote.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
It's Not Easy Being Green
So we had our first foray into green veggies today with peas. Will gobbled them up like a good little eater. He didn't even make a face on the first bite. He's really getting the hang of the "solid" foods now.
The peas have been the biggest pain in the butt to make of all so far. The little pea skins?? (not sure what else to call them) did not puree very well so I had to mash the puree through a strainer to get them out. Just very long and involved. Plus, I feel like I wasted a lot of it in the process. My guess is that I will have the same issue with green beans too. Mom is going to let me borrow one of her food mills so that I can at least make the straining process a bit easier. They did turn out well, though. And he seemed to like them.
Less than a week now until he's 6 months (which is absolutely crazy) at which point I'm going to start gradually increasing the solids he's eating until he's doing about 2 tablespoons 3 times a day. (Right now he's only eating 1 tablespoon each morning). I do have to admit that the whole food thing freaks me out a bit. Everything up until this point I've been very calm about and just figured out. For some reason I'm so concerned that I'm going to do something wrong on this. Like feed him too much too fast (which will mess with my milk supply) or feed him the wrong thing or not meet all his nutritional needs or make him a picky eater... My neurotic concerns go on and on. And then I get all worried that he's going to sense my neuroses about food and have an unhealthy attitude toward it himself. Yes, I realize that I am crazy. It's just that up until now I've just popped a boob out and he's eaten until he was full. It didn't require a lot of thinking or planning. And we all know what happens when I start planning things...
At this point the plan (there's that word again) is to make one or two batches of whatever on Fridays and then I should have an ongoing supply that I can mix up throughout the week. It's surprising how little food I end up with, given how many veggies I use, though. I made a 2nd batch of carrots yesterday. I cooked and pureed 3 large carrots and only ended up with 12 tablespoons of food. Once he really starts eating in the next few weeks that will only be 6 feedings or 2 days worth of food. Not that I'm going to feed him only carrots 3 times a day for 2 days in a row, but it's a lot of effort for a small amount of food. Definitely worth it, though. Those prunes that I bought were $0.99 for 2 containers (each one intended to be one meal serving). That gets expensive! And it only gets more expensive once he starts eating stage 2 and 3 foods. I'm definitely going to have to buy some of the fruits, though, because I can't get ripe peaches and pears to make his food. I figure I can do apples and bananas pretty easily, though. And then there's the whole problem of mixing foods - like apple-banana puree,etc. (when should I start doing that? is that better than just one food alone? which foods should I mix?) and when to start introducing meats? See? Neurotic.
Ok, enough of the food worry. He's sitting up really well now. He can do it by himself for a long time. He tends to spontaneously topple when reaching for toys, though, so you have to watch him (he fell over and banged his head on the coffee table the other day).
I think he may have his first cold. His nose is running constantly, which means there's a lot of suctioning his nose. He is NOT a fan of that. No symptoms other than the runny nose, though, so that's good.
I'm making progress on the scarf I'm knitting. Here's a pic. It was intended for Tim, but given how suspiciously he's eyeing it I doubt he'll ever wear it. Maybe I'll give it to mom or Rach.
Also, most of my runs lately have been at less then a 10 min/mile pace, which I'm really excited about. Obviously 13 miles is a bit different than 4 miles, but if I can comfortably maintain that pace now I feel pretty confident I can do this half at least at a 10:00 pace. I will be way satisfied with that.
The peas have been the biggest pain in the butt to make of all so far. The little pea skins?? (not sure what else to call them) did not puree very well so I had to mash the puree through a strainer to get them out. Just very long and involved. Plus, I feel like I wasted a lot of it in the process. My guess is that I will have the same issue with green beans too. Mom is going to let me borrow one of her food mills so that I can at least make the straining process a bit easier. They did turn out well, though. And he seemed to like them.
Less than a week now until he's 6 months (which is absolutely crazy) at which point I'm going to start gradually increasing the solids he's eating until he's doing about 2 tablespoons 3 times a day. (Right now he's only eating 1 tablespoon each morning). I do have to admit that the whole food thing freaks me out a bit. Everything up until this point I've been very calm about and just figured out. For some reason I'm so concerned that I'm going to do something wrong on this. Like feed him too much too fast (which will mess with my milk supply) or feed him the wrong thing or not meet all his nutritional needs or make him a picky eater... My neurotic concerns go on and on. And then I get all worried that he's going to sense my neuroses about food and have an unhealthy attitude toward it himself. Yes, I realize that I am crazy. It's just that up until now I've just popped a boob out and he's eaten until he was full. It didn't require a lot of thinking or planning. And we all know what happens when I start planning things...
At this point the plan (there's that word again) is to make one or two batches of whatever on Fridays and then I should have an ongoing supply that I can mix up throughout the week. It's surprising how little food I end up with, given how many veggies I use, though. I made a 2nd batch of carrots yesterday. I cooked and pureed 3 large carrots and only ended up with 12 tablespoons of food. Once he really starts eating in the next few weeks that will only be 6 feedings or 2 days worth of food. Not that I'm going to feed him only carrots 3 times a day for 2 days in a row, but it's a lot of effort for a small amount of food. Definitely worth it, though. Those prunes that I bought were $0.99 for 2 containers (each one intended to be one meal serving). That gets expensive! And it only gets more expensive once he starts eating stage 2 and 3 foods. I'm definitely going to have to buy some of the fruits, though, because I can't get ripe peaches and pears to make his food. I figure I can do apples and bananas pretty easily, though. And then there's the whole problem of mixing foods - like apple-banana puree,etc. (when should I start doing that? is that better than just one food alone? which foods should I mix?) and when to start introducing meats? See? Neurotic.
Ok, enough of the food worry. He's sitting up really well now. He can do it by himself for a long time. He tends to spontaneously topple when reaching for toys, though, so you have to watch him (he fell over and banged his head on the coffee table the other day).
I think he may have his first cold. His nose is running constantly, which means there's a lot of suctioning his nose. He is NOT a fan of that. No symptoms other than the runny nose, though, so that's good.
I'm making progress on the scarf I'm knitting. Here's a pic. It was intended for Tim, but given how suspiciously he's eyeing it I doubt he'll ever wear it. Maybe I'll give it to mom or Rach.
Also, most of my runs lately have been at less then a 10 min/mile pace, which I'm really excited about. Obviously 13 miles is a bit different than 4 miles, but if I can comfortably maintain that pace now I feel pretty confident I can do this half at least at a 10:00 pace. I will be way satisfied with that.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Hooray for Prunes!
Alternate Title: The Poop Post
So today is Wednesday and the last time Will pooped was last Thursday. Almost a week. The longest he's ever gone before is 2 days. He didn't seem bothered by it, but I was starting to get a bit concerned. And I knew that when it finally did happen it was going to be a gigantic mess. He was due for a bath yesterday, but I held off since I knew once he did go I was going to have to give him another bath. No poop yesterday, though. (I do find it slightly depressing that this is what my life has come to - poop watch.) He really needed a bath, though, so I gave him one this morning. I also went to the store and bought him some prune baby food to try and move things along. And what do you know? As soon as we got home he went. Of course he did. Pro: We were at home and not out running errands. Con: He did it in his Bumbo seat so it went completely up his back and shoulders. And when I was taking his outfit off it got all in his hair and even in his ear. Bath #2 of the day ensued.
And then in the midst of the whole poo emergency he finally found his feet. I've been waiting for weeks for him to find them and grab onto them when he's on his back (he's been noticing them and grabbing at them when he's sitting up for awhile now)- because he seems like the last baby in the world to finally do this - and he goes and does it on the bathroom floor covered in poop while I'm trying to run him a bath. Go figure. This picture, of course, is from later in the day.
Anyway, the point of all of this is that I gave him some prunes mixed in with his cereal this afternoon in an effort to help things move along more smoothly in the future. I hadn't planned to start fruits until we got through more veggies, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
We seem to have made some progress on the sleeping front. I let him cry on Monday night. He woke up at 11 and I fed him. Then when he woke at 1:50am I let him cry. For an hour and 10 minutes. It was horrible. Even after he fell asleep around 3:00 it took me forever to fall back to sleep because I felt so terrible and because I kept hearing phantom baby cries. I figured that once he tired himself out crying like that he would sleep for awhile. Nope. He woke up again at 4. I got up and fed him that time because I was worried he really was hungry. Then he woke up again at 6:15 and cried until 7:00. Again, horrible. Then he was all cranky yesterday and in a terrible mood because he was so tired. I was quite tired myself. I was really wondering if I was doing the right thing. Because the thing is, once you start, you have to keep going with it or else it's all for naught. So I went to bed early last night, bracing myself for another horrid night. And what do you know, the little man slept from 8:15pm to 8:00am. He did wake up for about 20 minutes around 1:30, but he just fussed and babbled (no blood-curdling cries or anything) and went back to sleep. That's the longest he's ever slept. It was so nice. Of course, one of the obnoxious cats woke me up at 6 so I didn't get to fully enjoy it, but anything longer than 3 hours in a row at this point is bliss. I'm not sure if we've made real progress and he managed to learn to self-soothe in the one night of crying or if he only slept like that because he was so exhausted from the night before. I guess we will see tonight...
Here are some random pics of him playing like a big boy. Just because he's cute.
And here's what I like to refer to as the "Whatcho talkin 'bout, Willis?" face:
So today is Wednesday and the last time Will pooped was last Thursday. Almost a week. The longest he's ever gone before is 2 days. He didn't seem bothered by it, but I was starting to get a bit concerned. And I knew that when it finally did happen it was going to be a gigantic mess. He was due for a bath yesterday, but I held off since I knew once he did go I was going to have to give him another bath. No poop yesterday, though. (I do find it slightly depressing that this is what my life has come to - poop watch.) He really needed a bath, though, so I gave him one this morning. I also went to the store and bought him some prune baby food to try and move things along. And what do you know? As soon as we got home he went. Of course he did. Pro: We were at home and not out running errands. Con: He did it in his Bumbo seat so it went completely up his back and shoulders. And when I was taking his outfit off it got all in his hair and even in his ear. Bath #2 of the day ensued.
And then in the midst of the whole poo emergency he finally found his feet. I've been waiting for weeks for him to find them and grab onto them when he's on his back (he's been noticing them and grabbing at them when he's sitting up for awhile now)- because he seems like the last baby in the world to finally do this - and he goes and does it on the bathroom floor covered in poop while I'm trying to run him a bath. Go figure. This picture, of course, is from later in the day.
Anyway, the point of all of this is that I gave him some prunes mixed in with his cereal this afternoon in an effort to help things move along more smoothly in the future. I hadn't planned to start fruits until we got through more veggies, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
We seem to have made some progress on the sleeping front. I let him cry on Monday night. He woke up at 11 and I fed him. Then when he woke at 1:50am I let him cry. For an hour and 10 minutes. It was horrible. Even after he fell asleep around 3:00 it took me forever to fall back to sleep because I felt so terrible and because I kept hearing phantom baby cries. I figured that once he tired himself out crying like that he would sleep for awhile. Nope. He woke up again at 4. I got up and fed him that time because I was worried he really was hungry. Then he woke up again at 6:15 and cried until 7:00. Again, horrible. Then he was all cranky yesterday and in a terrible mood because he was so tired. I was quite tired myself. I was really wondering if I was doing the right thing. Because the thing is, once you start, you have to keep going with it or else it's all for naught. So I went to bed early last night, bracing myself for another horrid night. And what do you know, the little man slept from 8:15pm to 8:00am. He did wake up for about 20 minutes around 1:30, but he just fussed and babbled (no blood-curdling cries or anything) and went back to sleep. That's the longest he's ever slept. It was so nice. Of course, one of the obnoxious cats woke me up at 6 so I didn't get to fully enjoy it, but anything longer than 3 hours in a row at this point is bliss. I'm not sure if we've made real progress and he managed to learn to self-soothe in the one night of crying or if he only slept like that because he was so exhausted from the night before. I guess we will see tonight...
Here are some random pics of him playing like a big boy. Just because he's cute.
And here's what I like to refer to as the "Whatcho talkin 'bout, Willis?" face:
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Squash-ed!
Today was squash day. I made a batch of acorn squash for the little man yesterday. Unlike carrots, it was quite easy and straightforward to prepare. Unfortunately, I was not here to witness his first bites of squash because I was at work. My boss from the bank called me yesterday and asked if I would be interested in coming in for "four hours or so this weekend" to help un-bury them on some of the year-end stuff they're working on. Somehow this has turned into me being there for almost 5 hours today and for who knows how long tomorrow. This is why I have issues working for them. It just always turns into more of a commitment than you bargain for. And I know that what they want me to work on tomorrow is at minimum at 3 day job. There's no way I'm going to get it done in the 4-6 hours I want to work tomorrow. I'm worried it's going to turn into me working late nights at home after Will goes to bed to get it done this week before their deadline. I'm just not sure if that's an option given his sleeping habits lately. And Monday I'm going to Mom's to work on some bookkeeping for her so the whole 3-day weekend Tim had is pretty much turning into him watching Will while I work. He's fine with it because he wants the money, but I would have liked to have had some family time. Nor, do I think it's really fair to him to spend his entire weekend watching the baby. Not to mention that I'm missing my little buddy. Oh well...
Anyway, back to the squash. According to Tim, Will loved it and gobbled it up. That's about all I could get out of him, though. Guys really lack descriptive powers sometimes...
I had my first Saturday run with the group this morning. It was great. Not too cold. I ran with my friends Katie, Beth, and Karen for most of the way. We did 4.12 miles in 40 1/2 minutes. That's a 9:48 min/mile pace, which is awesome for me since I had the baby, especially to maintain it for 4 miles. I think running with the group is really good for me. I just push myself a lot harder both because chatting with my running girls takes my mind off of it and because I push myself to keep up with the group even when I'm getting tired. It just keeps me from slacking. I'm definitely starting to get the running bug back. That's good, though, because I'm going to need it to get through this training.
Anyway, back to the squash. According to Tim, Will loved it and gobbled it up. That's about all I could get out of him, though. Guys really lack descriptive powers sometimes...
I had my first Saturday run with the group this morning. It was great. Not too cold. I ran with my friends Katie, Beth, and Karen for most of the way. We did 4.12 miles in 40 1/2 minutes. That's a 9:48 min/mile pace, which is awesome for me since I had the baby, especially to maintain it for 4 miles. I think running with the group is really good for me. I just push myself a lot harder both because chatting with my running girls takes my mind off of it and because I push myself to keep up with the group even when I'm getting tired. It just keeps me from slacking. I'm definitely starting to get the running bug back. That's good, though, because I'm going to need it to get through this training.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
My Little Sports Fan
So I'm sure I've previously mentioned Will's obsession with watching football and basketball on TV, but yesterday this became more apparent and I had to share. He's been getting fussy in the early evenings lately. Last night he really needed a nap but was overtired and just wouldn't settle down for one. As a last resort I thought I'd try television sports. So I found what was the only available sporting event on TV at 4:30 on a Tuesday afternoon - an ESPN Classic presentation of UK versus Florida basketball from 2001 - and sat him in my lap with his pacifier. (As an aside, who in the hell are these people that are watching basketball games from 9 years ago anyway? I realize I'm stating the obvious here, but WE ALREADY KNOW THE OUTCOME! What is the point?) He was pretty pissed at first because they kept showing the commentators, but once the game started back up he watched it quietly for about 10 minutes and then fell asleep. Now I really know he's a boy when basketball is his own personal lullaby.
On the eating solids front, I really thought he was digging the carrots he was eating this week. But after 3 days of carrots I thought I'd mix it up a bit and gave him cereal yesterday and sweet potatoes today. He chowed down on both of them. Now I'm thinking it's not necessarily that he was loving the carrots but that he has finally figured out this solid thing. He's becoming a pretty good little eater. I decided to change my original schedule and now we're going to try squash this weekend. That will be my project for Friday: pureed squash cuisine.
I've been wishing that Will would get on a sleeping schedule of some sort for awhile now. Well, this is a classic case of be careful what you wish for. He's found himself a schedule, alright, but it involves waking up 4-5 times every night. It's the schedule from hell. So here's how a typical night for Will has looked for almost 2 weeks now:
8:00-8:30 go to sleep (still goes down like a little angel, very deceiving)
11:00-12:00 wake up for first feeding of the night (often this occurs just as I've turned off the light and have started to drift off to sleep)
2:00-3:00 - wake up for second feeding of the night
4:00-5:00 - that's right, time to eat again
6:00-7:00 - what the hell, let's eat again!
8:00-9:00 - wake up for the day happy. meanwhile mom is a zombie
On the running front, I finally got to go out for a group run last night. It was the first one I've been to since March or April of last year. There's still some snow and ice on the ground, but it wasn't too bad and I really just needed to get out. I can't take that damn treadmill anymore. I didn't think I was going to be able to go because Tim's tire went flat on the way home. He ended up getting everything worked out and took Will with him to the tire place so I could go running, though. That was the sweetest thing he's done for me in a long time and made the run that much more enjoyable. My friend Beth and I chatted the whole time about our respective mothering woes and the run flew by. Next group run is Saturday morning. I need to run on Thursday night too, but I'm not sure if I will or not. Tim is watching Will tonight for a long time while my dad and I go to an XU game (as Will has previously proved himself unable to attend) and I don't know that it's fair to leave the baby with him 3 nights in a row. We'll see...
I have also finally embarked on my knitting adventure. I went to a knitting store yesterday and bought needles, some yarn (it's orange so I can make a scarf for my Bengals fan husband), and a how-to book. I'm guessing (especially due to the way I learn) that this would be something better learned in person, but my chances to get out of the house without Will are rather limited so I'm trying to do-it-yourself approach first. The very nice lady at the knitting store got me started (got me cast on?? - I'm still learning the lingo - and did the first few stitches of my first row). I got home and got through the rest of the first row but somehow majorly screwed up beginning the second row. Then I couldn't figure out how to undo what I did while finding a good starting point so I had to pull everything apart and completely start over. Let's suffice it to say that the beginning of the scarf would have been a lot prettier had knitting store lady's cast on remained intact...
On the eating solids front, I really thought he was digging the carrots he was eating this week. But after 3 days of carrots I thought I'd mix it up a bit and gave him cereal yesterday and sweet potatoes today. He chowed down on both of them. Now I'm thinking it's not necessarily that he was loving the carrots but that he has finally figured out this solid thing. He's becoming a pretty good little eater. I decided to change my original schedule and now we're going to try squash this weekend. That will be my project for Friday: pureed squash cuisine.
I've been wishing that Will would get on a sleeping schedule of some sort for awhile now. Well, this is a classic case of be careful what you wish for. He's found himself a schedule, alright, but it involves waking up 4-5 times every night. It's the schedule from hell. So here's how a typical night for Will has looked for almost 2 weeks now:
8:00-8:30 go to sleep (still goes down like a little angel, very deceiving)
11:00-12:00 wake up for first feeding of the night (often this occurs just as I've turned off the light and have started to drift off to sleep)
2:00-3:00 - wake up for second feeding of the night
4:00-5:00 - that's right, time to eat again
6:00-7:00 - what the hell, let's eat again!
8:00-9:00 - wake up for the day happy. meanwhile mom is a zombie
On the running front, I finally got to go out for a group run last night. It was the first one I've been to since March or April of last year. There's still some snow and ice on the ground, but it wasn't too bad and I really just needed to get out. I can't take that damn treadmill anymore. I didn't think I was going to be able to go because Tim's tire went flat on the way home. He ended up getting everything worked out and took Will with him to the tire place so I could go running, though. That was the sweetest thing he's done for me in a long time and made the run that much more enjoyable. My friend Beth and I chatted the whole time about our respective mothering woes and the run flew by. Next group run is Saturday morning. I need to run on Thursday night too, but I'm not sure if I will or not. Tim is watching Will tonight for a long time while my dad and I go to an XU game (as Will has previously proved himself unable to attend) and I don't know that it's fair to leave the baby with him 3 nights in a row. We'll see...
I have also finally embarked on my knitting adventure. I went to a knitting store yesterday and bought needles, some yarn (it's orange so I can make a scarf for my Bengals fan husband), and a how-to book. I'm guessing (especially due to the way I learn) that this would be something better learned in person, but my chances to get out of the house without Will are rather limited so I'm trying to do-it-yourself approach first. The very nice lady at the knitting store got me started (got me cast on?? - I'm still learning the lingo - and did the first few stitches of my first row). I got home and got through the rest of the first row but somehow majorly screwed up beginning the second row. Then I couldn't figure out how to undo what I did while finding a good starting point so I had to pull everything apart and completely start over. Let's suffice it to say that the beginning of the scarf would have been a lot prettier had knitting store lady's cast on remained intact...
Saturday, January 9, 2010
mmmm.... Carrots
Ready for some carrots...
Will had carrots today for the first time. His second step into the exciting world of vegetables. I made the carrots myself, but it took me two tries to get it right. I discovered that carrots are not quite as easy as sweet potatoes. Basically, I didn't steam them for long enough the first time. I guess they have to be steamed into oblivion to mash up enough. He seemed to like them, which basically means that he didn't fight eating them like he's been doing with the sweet potatoes lately. Who knows, though. I think his mood has just as much to do with it as what he's eating. I've gotten widely varying reactions to both the sweet potatoes and the rice cereal ranging from opening his mouth and leaning forward in a "ooh, ooh yes I want some more of that yummy stuff" manner to refusing to open his mouth and making irritated grunts when I put it.
It's been snowing constantly this week. It started on Wednesday and has basically not stopped since. It's mostly just flurries at this point (no accumulation on top of the 4 or so inches we got Wed and Thurs) but it's getting really old. I stayed in on Wednesday to get stuff done around the house, which was a mistake because we were snowed in Thursday. Then Friday I was planning on going to my StrollerFit class but it got cancelled because of the darn snow. Ugh. So working out has not gone so well this week. I ran on the treadmill at the gym Tuesday and went to the YogaCore class on Wednesday night (which I was less than impressed with; YogaCore = Yoga Bore), but couldn't run on Thursday like I needed to because Tim had to clear the driveway when he got home. And then the stroller class got cancelled Friday. This morning was the first 1/2 marathon running group run, but I skipped it because of the snow. The last thing I need is to fall and get injured. So back to the treadmill for me. I have determined that the treadmill time is a bit more bearable if I read a magazine while I run. This is not the easiest thing in the world to do, though, and after the almost-falling-off-while-operating-my-watch incident a month or so ago I'm wondering if attempting something that requires so much coordination is a good idea...
My friends Karen and Beth came over last night and watched Will for us while Tim and I went out to dinner with some friends who are in from out of town for the Bengals playoff game. It was really sweet of them to sacrifice their Friday night for me. It was really nice to get out. I did miss the little, man, though. He was asleep when we got home so I was actually a little happy when he woke up at 5:30am to eat and I got to cuddle with him :-) Tim's gone all day today tailgating and going to the football game. Fun for him but not so fun for me who is stuck at home all day alone again with nothing to do. What a fun Saturday...
Carrot moustache
Will had carrots today for the first time. His second step into the exciting world of vegetables. I made the carrots myself, but it took me two tries to get it right. I discovered that carrots are not quite as easy as sweet potatoes. Basically, I didn't steam them for long enough the first time. I guess they have to be steamed into oblivion to mash up enough. He seemed to like them, which basically means that he didn't fight eating them like he's been doing with the sweet potatoes lately. Who knows, though. I think his mood has just as much to do with it as what he's eating. I've gotten widely varying reactions to both the sweet potatoes and the rice cereal ranging from opening his mouth and leaning forward in a "ooh, ooh yes I want some more of that yummy stuff" manner to refusing to open his mouth and making irritated grunts when I put it.
It's been snowing constantly this week. It started on Wednesday and has basically not stopped since. It's mostly just flurries at this point (no accumulation on top of the 4 or so inches we got Wed and Thurs) but it's getting really old. I stayed in on Wednesday to get stuff done around the house, which was a mistake because we were snowed in Thursday. Then Friday I was planning on going to my StrollerFit class but it got cancelled because of the darn snow. Ugh. So working out has not gone so well this week. I ran on the treadmill at the gym Tuesday and went to the YogaCore class on Wednesday night (which I was less than impressed with; YogaCore = Yoga Bore), but couldn't run on Thursday like I needed to because Tim had to clear the driveway when he got home. And then the stroller class got cancelled Friday. This morning was the first 1/2 marathon running group run, but I skipped it because of the snow. The last thing I need is to fall and get injured. So back to the treadmill for me. I have determined that the treadmill time is a bit more bearable if I read a magazine while I run. This is not the easiest thing in the world to do, though, and after the almost-falling-off-while-operating-my-watch incident a month or so ago I'm wondering if attempting something that requires so much coordination is a good idea...
My friends Karen and Beth came over last night and watched Will for us while Tim and I went out to dinner with some friends who are in from out of town for the Bengals playoff game. It was really sweet of them to sacrifice their Friday night for me. It was really nice to get out. I did miss the little, man, though. He was asleep when we got home so I was actually a little happy when he woke up at 5:30am to eat and I got to cuddle with him :-) Tim's gone all day today tailgating and going to the football game. Fun for him but not so fun for me who is stuck at home all day alone again with nothing to do. What a fun Saturday...
Saturday, January 2, 2010
I'm an Econ Geek
So I saw this picture on the Freakonomics blog and I love it. Only an econ major, breastfeeding mom can truly appreciate it :-) 
Friday, January 1, 2010
Let's Go X!
...or not. So we determined this week that while Will enjoys watching football and basketball on TV, attending the games is not something he's big fan of. Since I did my undergrad and master's at Xavier I'm a big XU basketball fan, and Tim and I have gotten gotten season tickets or smaller ticket packs for the last several years. This year we bought a 4 game pack, the first of which was last Tuesday. We've always seen lots of babies there when we've gone in the past, and Xavier really tries to make the whole thing very family friendly so I've always had these glorious visions of how fun it will be to bring our kids there. So we loaded him up in the Baby Bjorn and headed out.
To say that it didn't go well would be a severe understatement. We got to our seats and as soon as the crowd cheered when Xavier made a basket he started shaking, the bottom lip went out, and he cried uncontrollably. I got him calmed down, but the whole thing repeated the next time the crowd roared. We stayed for about 10 minutes to see whether he would eventually get used to it, but he did not. And I felt so bad for putting in him the situation (since he was so obviously scared to death) that I just wanted to get out of there ASAP. So after 20 minutes of driving time, 5 minutes of walking in the cold to get into the arena, and 5 minutes of fighting crowds to get to our seats we left after only about 10 minutes. And I didn't really get to watch any of the game because I spent the whole time comforting him. So I think we'll be needing a babysitter for the next game...
The good news is that Xavier won. They kicked some LSU butt :-)
To say that it didn't go well would be a severe understatement. We got to our seats and as soon as the crowd cheered when Xavier made a basket he started shaking, the bottom lip went out, and he cried uncontrollably. I got him calmed down, but the whole thing repeated the next time the crowd roared. We stayed for about 10 minutes to see whether he would eventually get used to it, but he did not. And I felt so bad for putting in him the situation (since he was so obviously scared to death) that I just wanted to get out of there ASAP. So after 20 minutes of driving time, 5 minutes of walking in the cold to get into the arena, and 5 minutes of fighting crowds to get to our seats we left after only about 10 minutes. And I didn't really get to watch any of the game because I spent the whole time comforting him. So I think we'll be needing a babysitter for the next game...
The good news is that Xavier won. They kicked some LSU butt :-)
Welcome to 2010
Well another year has gone by. 2009 was a pretty good year, mostly due to the introduction of Will into our lives. I also got promoted this year to Vice President. Was a nice pat on the back, but then I promptly quit my job with the arrival of the baby... So 2009 was the year I embarked on my adventure as a stay-at-home mom. Five months into it and I really am happy with my decision. I definitely need to find something to keep me occupied, though, and to make some money. That will be one of my focuses for 2010. Now that the holidays are over it's time to hit the ground running. I typically do not make resolutions, but this year (now that my life has a bit less structure than it has been in the past) I am feeling the need to set some goals for myself. So here goes.
Liz's Goals for 2010
1. Run a half marathon - Ideally, this will be the Flying Pig in May, but I have left it open-ended in the case of an injury, etc. Training for the Pig starts next Saturday...
2. Start a home - based bookkeeping business - I'm still not totally sure how to go about this, but I need to start making some contacts, brushing up on my accounting, and finding clients. I've got time on my hands and I need some extra cash and tax write-offs...
3. De-Clutter the house - We have so much crap in this house it isn't even funny. I am at a loss as to how there is not enough room for 2 adults and a baby in a 3 bedroom, 2,000 sq ft house, but I feel like it is bursting at the seams. I started this process with the kitchen (with the help of my mom and Tim's mom) a few months ago, but I need to continue to forge ahead. I had planned on making headway with this during my "maternity leave", but the baby was a bit too needy for me to really get anywhere with it. Now that he's a bit more independent I should be able to make some progress. I want to pick one room each month and tackle it.
So New Year's was a lot of fun. We figured out that this is the first time we've spend NYE at home since we've been together. That means the last time I was in the Cincy area was to ring in 2002. Crazy! We've spent every new year's since either in Sarasota, France, or England. It was so nice to just be at home. We had some friends over for chili and to play some games. It was a pretty tame night, but it was a lot of fun. One of my friends and her husband brought their little girl, Claudia, who is 2 weeks younger than Will. We laid them on
the floor together and it was really cute to see them kind of discover each other. Although she kept kicking him and he kept tryimg to eat her hands... Here's a pic.
Also to ring in 2010, Will had some sweet potatoes this morning for the first time. I've decided between now and 6 months I'm going to introduce him to a new food each week. I'm only feeding him about a tablespoon once in the mornings because I just want him to get used to solids and try new things for the next month. Once he hits 6 months I'll increase the amount and give him more than one meal a day. Everything I've read, though, says that his primary food source now should still be breastmilk. Just having a little bit of solids has had an impact on his nursing schedule, though. He's going 3 hours between feedings a few times a day now (versus a consistent 2 hour schedule before). It's kinda nice. We've already done rice cereal and today was sweet potatoes. I think we'll do carrots next week, avacado the next, and bananas the week after. It really is fun :-) I'm making my own baby food, which is the easiest thing in the world. I just baked the sweet potato and pureed it with some breastmilk. I fed him a tablespoon of it and froze the rest in tablespoon portions in an ice cube tray. After they were frozen I popped them out and put them in a tupperware container labeled with the veggie and the date. Voila! Now I have another 10 days of food already made. Way cheaper than jarred food. Plus, now I know exactly what he's eating.
Liz's Goals for 2010
1. Run a half marathon - Ideally, this will be the Flying Pig in May, but I have left it open-ended in the case of an injury, etc. Training for the Pig starts next Saturday...
2. Start a home - based bookkeeping business - I'm still not totally sure how to go about this, but I need to start making some contacts, brushing up on my accounting, and finding clients. I've got time on my hands and I need some extra cash and tax write-offs...
3. De-Clutter the house - We have so much crap in this house it isn't even funny. I am at a loss as to how there is not enough room for 2 adults and a baby in a 3 bedroom, 2,000 sq ft house, but I feel like it is bursting at the seams. I started this process with the kitchen (with the help of my mom and Tim's mom) a few months ago, but I need to continue to forge ahead. I had planned on making headway with this during my "maternity leave", but the baby was a bit too needy for me to really get anywhere with it. Now that he's a bit more independent I should be able to make some progress. I want to pick one room each month and tackle it.
4. Keep the house cleaner overall - I have a cleaning lady for Christ's sake. She handles all of the bathroom cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, floors, etc. There's really no excuse I can't manage to clean the blinds, wipe down the baseboards, etc more often, especially now that I don't have a job.
5. Stay in shape and eat better - My eating habits have really gone to hell the last months. Nothing ridiculous or anything (I still really don't eat fast food and manage to eat pretty healthily. I've just really upped my cookie and ice-cream consumption). I've gotten away with it because of the breastfeeding, I think, but that's only going to be continuing for another 7 months or so (and it's going to taper once he eats more and more solids). I also need to really make an effort to exercise. It's hard to get out of the house and do it since Tim is less than enthusiastic about watching Will. I also tend to use the baby as an excuse to myself. I'm pretty good about sticking to my running schedule, but I really need to be sure not to slack on the off days. I know that the more I cross train the better runner I am. Also, it's just better to be active every day of the week instead of only 3 days a week. So I'm planning on running 3 days, doing my StrollerFit class on Fridays, and getting to the gym for weights at least one day a week. Also, there's a YogaCore class that just startded at the yoga studio where I did my prenatal yoga. It's targeted to new moms to get their cores back in shape - definitely something I need to help stay injury-free while running. So I'm going to really try to get to that most weeks too. We'll see. All of that is going to require that Tim watch the baby 3 nights and week and both weekend mornings. Not really sure I'm going to get a lot of cooperation on that one.So New Year's was a lot of fun. We figured out that this is the first time we've spend NYE at home since we've been together. That means the last time I was in the Cincy area was to ring in 2002. Crazy! We've spent every new year's since either in Sarasota, France, or England. It was so nice to just be at home. We had some friends over for chili and to play some games. It was a pretty tame night, but it was a lot of fun. One of my friends and her husband brought their little girl, Claudia, who is 2 weeks younger than Will. We laid them on
the floor together and it was really cute to see them kind of discover each other. Although she kept kicking him and he kept tryimg to eat her hands... Here's a pic.Also to ring in 2010, Will had some sweet potatoes this morning for the first time. I've decided between now and 6 months I'm going to introduce him to a new food each week. I'm only feeding him about a tablespoon once in the mornings because I just want him to get used to solids and try new things for the next month. Once he hits 6 months I'll increase the amount and give him more than one meal a day. Everything I've read, though, says that his primary food source now should still be breastmilk. Just having a little bit of solids has had an impact on his nursing schedule, though. He's going 3 hours between feedings a few times a day now (versus a consistent 2 hour schedule before). It's kinda nice. We've already done rice cereal and today was sweet potatoes. I think we'll do carrots next week, avacado the next, and bananas the week after. It really is fun :-) I'm making my own baby food, which is the easiest thing in the world. I just baked the sweet potato and pureed it with some breastmilk. I fed him a tablespoon of it and froze the rest in tablespoon portions in an ice cube tray. After they were frozen I popped them out and put them in a tupperware container labeled with the veggie and the date. Voila! Now I have another 10 days of food already made. Way cheaper than jarred food. Plus, now I know exactly what he's eating.
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