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Archive for the ‘Tools of the Trade’ Category

Baby Food: Buy or Make?

Posted in Firsts, Routine and Rituals, Tools of the Trade on December 30, 2011| 5 Comments »

I am NO Martha Stewart. I proved that many years ago when my hand-painted holiday wrapping looked like a 7-year old made it (I was 30 at the time) and when my dried-flower-wreaths were a hot-glue-gun-mess and epic failure! I do have great creative ideas. I love to invent. It’s just the execution of these crafty delights that trips me up. Anyone that knows me, knows that I completely believe in and support outsourcing. If there is someone who is GREAT at what they do, why not let them continue to do it and then I can be the benefactor of their excellent service. I really do NOT need to be good at everything. Specifically not necessary would be things like cleaning our pool, washing my car, painting my nails. So, when I was asked about whether Bella was going to eat store-bought-jar-food or if I was going to make her food, my answer was… to everyone’s surprise.. a resounding “OF COURSE I’M GOING TO MAKE HER BABY FOOD.” I am a huge fan of all things organic and I hate the thought of her ingesting chemicals or preservatives. So, this seems like a natural for me.

We registered for the Beaba baby food steamer/food processor and my mom’s business partner gave it to us. This machine is amazing and so easy. I just wish it was a little larger. I can steam the food and puree it all within the same machine. Then I freeze the puree in ice-cube trays and transfer to Ziploc bags once they are hardened. Our freezer, which once had vodka, lobsters, lemoncello and ice cream has now been taken over by ice-cubelets of sweet potatoes, avocado, banana and pears.

YUM!

I think Keith is skeptical that this new hobby of mine will last. But, I am having fun with it. So much so, that last night I mentioned that I thought I should start my own fresh baby food business. Yeah, yeah, don’t quit your day job rang through my ears.

I guess the proof will be in the pudding. Bella has just started on “solids” from a big girl spoon. We had our first puree of banana two days ago and she had some sweet potatoes today. She seems to like mommy’s cooking so far. Another BIG milestone for our little girl! And I feel good doing my part to make sure she has the freshest, yummiest meals possible. Although I have heard that chicken and beef can get pretty gross when they are pureed. And that diaper time is not going to be so fun with the introduction of these new things. Oh, and that her nose can turn orange if she eats too many sweet potatoes.

I pride myself on trying at least. And I crown myself the Top Chef of Baby Food. I’m thinking it’s a niche that BravoTV has not yet thought of. Watch out Padma and Tom!

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Nighttime and Daytime Clothing. And Smothering.

Posted in Bella-isms, Rookie Behavior, Tools of the Trade on November 4, 2011| 2 Comments »

I look at myself as a very doting, loving extremely neat and clean mother.  I actually brag that I think my daughter has the cleanest booty in Broward County.  And I love making Bella look adorable at all times, dressing and undressing her several times during the day – cue the OUTFIT CHANGE!  Not just for pictures, mind you, there could be a very good reason.  Like throw up.  No girl wants to hang out in a onesie with vomit on it.  Trust me.  No matter what your age.

Daytime Clothing

That brings me to the “ease of clothing change” factor.  No one told me that the best outfits for infants are ones with snaps.  And lots of them!  Top to bottom, back to front.  That way you can open the whole outfit up, lay baby on top of it and then snap her into it, rather than having to SHOVE her into it.  Invariably, being snap-challenged, I get all the way to the top or bottom and realize I missed one along the way and I have to start all over again!  Another thing I learned is that footed outfits are great for newborns.  Nothing like having to chase a sock around the house all day.  Socks NEVER stay on babies.  Unless you get the 80s retro tube-sock kind that we put on Bella.  Yeah, she looked cool!  Maybe there is a million dollar invention waiting to be discovered in there somewhere, but in the meantime, I used the footed outfits most of the time.

Anyway, I digress.  Bella is 4+ months old now, so she has both “daytime” and nighttime” outfits.  And believe it or not, they ARE different.  Our nanny was not happy that I was leaving Bella in her pajamas all day.  She felt that she should be properly DRESSED during the day.  Daytime mostly consists of “real” clothing like dresses, tank tops, jeans, t-shirts.  And nighttime is still footy pajamas!  CUTE footy pajamas! 

However, the clothing that emulates “real” clothing often doesn’t have a lot of my beloved snaps.  Every morning when I try to dress Bella, I have to pull some kind of clothing over her head.  And every morning, on cue, she screams at the top of her lungs.  It starts as a low squeal and if I cannot get her hands through the armholes fast enough, she ends up howling like a wolf.  I find each day I treat it like a self-test to see how fast I can dress her to avoid the tantrum.  Keith can clearly hear the “Bella’s getting dressed” time from across the house.  It’s very strange.  I have no idea what gets her so upset.  I know she trusts me, she definitely can breathe, she even looks pretty darn ADORABLE when I am done.  So, I am left to wonder, does she hate the daytime clothing or does she think I am trying to smother her ?

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Bjorns and Slings and Pouches.. Oh My!

Posted in Tools of the Trade on October 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Thrilled with the Bjorn, can't you tell ?

When I was registering for baby items, I was overwhelmed by the amount of choices that were out there.  Down to specially shaped Q-Tips for the baby’s ears?  Really?  To be honest, Keith and I came home from that first visit to the baby store with migraine headaches and had to lie down with iced washcloths on our heads.  Those stores will make your head spin!

As I went through my list of “must-haves” the topic of baby carriers came up.  Being naive, I asked “don’t you just hold them with your ARMS?”  Why would someone need a contraption to hold a child when you are born with two perfectly good ones?  Some of my girlfriends have purchased wacky ones with names I cannot even pronounce!  So, I succumbed to peer pressure and registered for a BabyBjorn, the fancy, lightweight/breathable one, in plain black.. so daddy could also wear it (probably when pigs fly).

 Now that Bella is here, however, I completely understand why you NEED these carriers.  There are so many times that you need your hands or you have to get something done, but your child wants to be nowhere but “ON” or “WITH” you.  Wouldn’t it be lovely if she would lie down quietly and take a little nappy or play with her dolly while you prepare dinner, but NO, not our angel.  Last night I found myself cleaning shrimp for dinner with Bella attached to the front of me.

Although we got the esteemed Bjorn, it was not always rosy actually using it.  In the beginning, when I was longing to get back to exercise, even if just walking, I would stick Bella in the carrier facing me and she would howl like a wolf.  Until she fell asleep.  Maybe it was the carrier, maybe it was the sun hat covering her face.  But either way, she was not a fan.  Needing something, I decided to purchase a “pouch”, thinking it was natural, fetal-position-ish, she’d love to be snuggled.  Not exactly sure WHOSE baby they measured the pouches for, or why they think an infant would enjoy being folded in half, but from the day it arrived at my house via UPS, I could not squeeze my tiny little lovey into it.  She acted like I was trying to smother her.  Out goes the pouch!  And even more recently, I was enticed by an advertisement on a designer retail website for THE BEST baby sling ever (so they say).  When IT arrived, I tried it and it actually seemed like something that would be useful.  I’m not sure where, but useful nonetheless.  As long as I ensured that Bella’s booty was secure and not falling through the bottom (as Keith noted on my first try)!  However, my “sling” makes me feel kind of granola.  Which I am not.  Clearly.  

 Now, we are full circle to yesterday, with take 2 of the Bjorn.  This time Bella faced forward, with the flaps folded BELOW her armpits.  Enough freedom to breathe and look around, but still secure to hold her bobblehead.  SHE LOVED IT.  We walked all around the neighborhood together and she even fell asleep.  I feel somewhat like a kangaroo, just not natural for me, but I guess this is what they mean by “taking one for the team.”  Apparently, the selection of carrier is completely personal preference – whatever works for you, whatever works for baby.  You have to be comfortable, but just know you WILL need SOMETHING.  It’s just a matter of which one.  If anyone is interested, I have several to spare.

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The Seahorse and the Sheep

Posted in Tools of the Trade on October 5, 2011| 1 Comment »

For those of you who are new parents, you will learn that you will do WHATEVER it takes to get your baby to sleep during nap time and through the night !!  We actually discovered our beloved sleep aids completely by accident….

A dear family friend bought Bella a pink seahorse, whose tummy lights up and plays music.  We almost returned it, since she got so many toys as gifts..  But, before “See-Hee” (once you name it, you own it) was sent ot the ToysRUS glue factory (the return pile), Keith pressed its stomach.  The music completely mesmerized Bella!!  So, almost immediately, See-Hee became our constant companion any time we needed the little one to stay calm and drift off to sleep.  PROBLEM IS, that See-Hee ALSO mesmerized Louie (our wheaten terrier).  And one day when we were out, Louie decided it was time to remove See-Hee’s appendix.  Now, our ONE sleep aid had a gaping, jagged hole in its belly so BIG, even duct tape or Dr. McDreamy couldn’t fix it !  So, off I go to ToysRUS Stat !!!  And instead of returning the charming pink seahorse, I bought A SECOND ONE !  See-Hee #2 reported for duty immediately !  His only downside is that he only plays for 5 minutes at a time.  So, there’s a whole lot of seahorse-belly-squeezing going on at our house !!!

Once we realized our precious Princess liked “sounds” to put her to sleep, and given See-Hee #2’s time limitations, we found another “noise” toy at Pottery Barn Kids, called a Sleep Sheep.  This thing is amazing!!  It runs for either 23 or 45 minutes (weird time choices, right ?).  It plays 4 different nature sounds, although Bella likes the STREAM the best.  She’s obviously a water girl, like her mommy and daddy.  And yes, we have 2 SHEEP in the family now, too.  We figured it couldn’t hurt to have one upstairs and one in her carseat for walks and car rides.  These sheep go EVERYWHERE with us, so if the sound of water makes you have to go to the bathroom, don’t get near Bella, because inevitably, she will have her sheep on her !

At night, when we all go to sleep, we have Sheep playing water sounds and the seahorse playing music ..  It’s a regular baby symphony !!   Hopefully, all these sounds won’t make Bella a light sleeper when she grows up, otherwise, See-Hee or her sheep may end up going to sleepovers and then college with her !! 

Bottom line, find what works and STICK WITH IT… and if you have a dog, buy TWO !

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