Poo in a jar, blueberry poo, and my picky child

I have this post that has been sitting in rough draft purgatory for weeks.  Months, probably, because my sense of time has completely collapsed.  You know what it was about?  My 2 cents about how to make your kid a fantastic eater.

Seriously.  MJ has been fantastic at the food stuffing of the face.  As in, can't get enough of the broccoli.  And I was proud.  I liked to think it was my commitment to making all her food from scratch.  And because I'm a fantastic cook.

But it turns out none of these statements are true.  She is no longer my showcase stuffing-of-the-face child.  As in, I will eat blueberries, blueberries, and more blueberries, until even my poo smells like blueberries.  It makes diaper changes kind of pleasant, but then you realize you're enjoying the smell of her poo and remember that that's gross. 

And furthermore, she now picks up the food off her tray that is not deigned worthy of her lips, looks at me, lifts up her tiny baby arm and dramatically drops it on the ground.  She then says with a french accent "How dare you feel mama-smugness!  I will show you!"

On a side note, today I was teaching my students about methane clathrates.  And one student volunteered a cheerful tidbit about some kids who were saving poo in a jar and trying to get high from the methane.  I swear to you, MJ, that if you are ever that desperate to get high I will go buy you some whiskey.  I'm certain I will regret saying that someday, so I'll go ahead and take it back now.

9 months

I have now done more parenting outside the womb than within it.  More of MJ's development has occurred since I first met her than before I met her.  I frequently think of last year at this time.  Last year at this time I was busy getting the nursery ready.  I was huge, and pregnancy was very real.  I thought I had connected with the child within, but I was wrong.  I didn't imagine... the personality that was in  there.  I could picture the smiles, and the hugs, and the cries.  But not this little ball of person and non-stop cuteness.  I guess that's it: I could conceptualize that I was growing a baby, but not that I was growing a person.  And she becomes more of a person every day.  If I smile at something she does she loves it, and so she keeps doing it, just so I'll smile more.  She is into everything, a roaming ball of curiosity.  Sitting still is IMPOSSIBLE.  She laughs uncontrollably when I tell her "no", which means I laugh; the idea of "no" is definitely not getting across. At least, not the part that I want to get across.

Within the past week one good friend told us she was pregnant, and a new friend gave birth.  The circle of life doesn't get old: it's fascinating, exciting and terrifying.  I have such fear, sympathy, envy and joy for what they're going through.  The fear and sympathy aren't for anything they're doing, just memories of my own feelings at those points in time.  And within one short year it seems MJ and I have become resident experts on all things baby. I've also started to realize that some people classify one year and up as toddler.... I am not ready for that.  Despite the fact that MJ is thinking about walking, and is already "toddling" her way through the day, she's still a baby, right?  Do babies only last a year?  How did I let it go by? 

I feel like I'm recovering from a terrifying rollercoaster (which I know I am still very much on) and now have the "again! again!" feeling of a 7 year old. 

MJ is wonderful. Our sleep issues are (mostly) getting ironed out.  The tradeoff is that she must be in her bed at bedtime.  There is no flexibility, and some nights I feel like a prisoner in my own life.  But she sleeps well, wakes up happy and is an utter joy to be around.  So I guess that's a pretty fair trade.  From the moment she wakes at 5:30 it is go time. As someone who is most definitely not a morning person, it's been hard for me to adjust to that.  But now that the house is largely childproofed (or, more specifically, MJ proofed, because there's still a lot that a baby could get into) I can sit back a little bit, particularly because she's pretty good at entertaining herself.  Which is fascinating to watch.  The kid LOVES to dance.  Tonight I had GLEE on and she held onto the speaker and shook her booty.  She has more moves than I do, which doesn't really give her due credit. 

We've started the back carry with the Beco Butterfly and it's amazing.  While I'm still a die hard Moby fan, she's getting heavy and the front carry was doing a number on my back.  This is SO much more comfortable, and she seems plenty happy.  The downside?  I can't actually see her (which mainly just makes me sad) and she loves to pull my hair.  So I'm rocking the high half-pony tail.

Anyway, that's many of the mundance details of our life as we enter into her 10th month.  I NEVER imagined I would love being a mom so much.  I credit my love of being a mom to having such an amazing kid, but regardless.  The outside baby is much better than the inside one.  Nine months from this point she'll be a year and a half.  Most definitely a toddler.  Probably more frustrating.  More fascinating. And more of a person.

Vito's adjusting...

but his life will never be the same.

Just wait til she finds the vacuum cleaner

At first it seemed easier to just hire a live in housekeeper, but she seems to be getting the hang of it pretty quickly.

When to have a family: what they don't tell you

We talked a lot about when we wanted to start a family.  We came to absolutely no conclusions, but at least we talked about it.  I take that back, we did come to a conclusion: that the time would never feel right until my ovaries were shriveled little prunes.  So we should just take the plunge, because most good things in our life we hadn't felt ready for. 

So we "stopped trying".  Which makes me laugh, in retrospect.  No one wants to admit that they're "trying" to get pregnant, because that's like admitting "We're trying to grow a watermelon in my uterua, then expel it through an orange-sized hole, and then raise it for 18 years in the prison that will become our life (who are we kidding, it's really 30 years these days.)  Partly because I think stretch marks are very "in" right now, and partially because our life has just been going too swell lately.  So instead we say "We weren't trying, but we weren't trying to prevent it."  Because to admit that we're crazy enough to WANT to turn our life upside down is ... crazy.  But I digress.

So we eventually "stopped trying to prevent". And that was our very half-assed way of making a decision.

But what I never thought about is what sort of family makeup I wanted.  How close in age do I want our kids to be (because an only child was not an option)?  Actually, I did think about it, and knew that I wanted them close in age. 

But you knew what never occurrd to me?  That to have children close in age means having two small children at the same time. It means that, when you are still recovering from the trauma that was growing-a-person-in-your-uterus you have to start thinking about doing it all again.  Except this time you've actually been there.  You know how much day care costs.  You know for a fact that you can't fit two car seats in EITHER of your cars without permanently implanting your knee caps into your molars.  So when your baby hits 3 months old and you realize if you want your children to be a year apart you better get pregnant TODAY and schedule an early c-section, you start to rethink things. 

In case you couldn't tell, I'm not totally speaking hypothetically here.  We've started to have these talks.  And I want my kids to be close in age.  I don't want to have to fight the biological clock.  But the idea of getting pregnant again right now is not appealing.  Some days the idea of having another little one, and additional chaos, makes me feel all fluttery and maternal, but some days it makes me feel stabby.  Right now those days are pretty evenly split.  It seems like the stabby days should be a smaller proportion before we commit.  Furthermore, I'm really enjoying my PhD program right now, I really see reasons I want to stay and finish, and I fear that having a second may make that impossible. I can justify continuing to work and pay for childcare for one child, but for two?  The math requires more credit-default-swaps, or some such creative accounting.  But I could be in this program for a long time yet, so maybe that's not enough justification. 

Ultimately, it doesn't "feel" right.  But when you're staring at 30 and still want to have a few more kids, do you ignore the "doesn't feel right" part and just suck it up?  Didn't we always say that if we wait for it to feel right we'll never find the right time?

My baby can share

I've been prepping all sorts of lovely posts lately.  But I had my proudest mama moment the other night and it simply trumps everything.

MJ shared with me.  We were sitting on our patio soaking in the hot-hot-heat, while MJ sat on my lap eating Cheerios out of a bowl in my hand.  I was curious if she would give me any.  So I opened my mouth and went "Ahhh" ala-dentist style.  She looked confused at first.  Why does Mom want my Cheerios?  But after a moment of scrunched-up-face-pondering she crammed her grimy little baby hand in my mouth.  It wasn't easy to eat Cheerios this way, and I understand why half end up on the floor.  But?  But?  MORE importantly, she shared. 

So then we spent the rest of the bowl sharing.  She would put some in my mouth, I would put some in her mouth.  It was such a HUMAN moment.  Vito would NEVER have shared his food with me if I asked.  Rolling over: cool.  Sitting up: alright.  Crawling: entertaining.  But sharing?  It's the first on a long road to the real person we're raising.  Perhaps she's been capable of this for a while and I just didn't realize it, but it made me all glowy inside.

I shared this story with Grandma (and everyone I know, really); she raised doubts that this can really be considered sharing.  It's not sharing if it's Mom, apparently.  But I don't care, I'm going to insist on thinking my child is capable of empathy.

::who me?::

It's an anatomical miracle, but her eyes truly are larger than her stomache.

Mama Fashion

The other day, when I picked up MJ from daycare, I quickly saw that if I took the long way home she would fall asleep in the car.  So I decided the long way home would be a stop by Sears to buy a garden hose.  Ferrying pitchers of water from the faucet to the garden 50 feet away seemed inefficient before MJ; it has recently become a matter of vegetable life or death.

So, garden hose.  Sears makes these great, indestructible, life-time warranty hoses and I'm tired of buying a new hose every year, only to have it mimic a geyser within a week.  So I bought the hose. And MJ was STILL asleep.

My route out of the store happened to take me through the Women's section.  Now, I'm not a fashionista, but I don't think I've ever bought clothes at Sears. Flat screen TV: Yes. Air conditioner: Yes. Garden hose: Yes.  But with MJ asleep this was my shot to actually buy clothes.

Some might argue that I didn't need to buy clothes. That some would be my husband.  But I'm going to start teaching my first real college class in a few weeks, and it dawned on me recently that I had no idea what to wear.  I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but geologists are a pretty grungy lot.  Lots of fleece and Carhartts.  This means that I don't have to worry much about how I look at work, other than wearing long pants to protect my legs from all the acid I inevitably spill.  In fact, I would get far more stares for dressing nicely than for wearing holey jeans to work.   

But I feel differently about teaching.  Maybe once I'm confident in my teaching abilities I won't feel the need to overcompensate with appearance.  But for the time being I feel the need to look professional.

I was a master of the Sears Women's department.  I would have made James Bond proud: get in, get out, don't be seen.  In 10 minutes flat I found 3 tops and two skirt WHICH ARE INTERCHANGEABLE.  Mastery.  My entire shopping personality has changed.  Time was I could try on clothes all day and maybe find one thing.  My sale radar was too strong to buy anything that wasn't at a rock-bottom price.  But when you have no idea how long baby girl will sleep indecision is not an option. 

Here are my finds.  What I need from you?  Your thoughts.  Are these professional?  Do they make me look dowdy (blue top, perhaps?) or trashy (black and grey top, perhaps?) or something else altogether. The tags are still on, this is your shot to save me from myself.  And what shoes does one wear?  On a side note, I definitely need to work on the biceps.

And for good measure, here's a dress that I bought from Ann Taylor Loft that I have yet to cut the tags off of.  The problem I discovered tonight is that the bra sticks out.  Probably not classroom appropriate.

And you may rest assured, the vegetables have been saved.  Thanks to Sears.

Adventures in gnawing, part II

 

Adventures in gnawing.

It's been a busy week. I gave y'all a task, you kindly obliged, and then I ran off without thanking you. While MJ didn't win the contest, she did land herself in the top five percent (okay, really the top 6 percent, but if you round... significant figures and what not.) So that's pretty sweet. I know that it's all a popularity contest. Okay, not even a popularity contest. An advertising campaign designed by Parents to get you to their website. But regardless, it makes me feel kind of warm and fuzzy inside people voted for her, even if their was some arm twisting involved.


Last week was MJ's 8 month birthday. It boggles my mind that she still hasn't been breathing oxygen for as long as she resided in my ute. It feels like she's been here forever, life before her arrival is a distant memory. She's been crawling up a storm and generally fascinated by the whole world. Although everything still goes in the mouth, after giving her an unplugged cord to chew on for a while she is less interested in chewing on all the cords plugged into the wall. But the forbidden is still the most sought after... I have not yet figured out any way to childproof the dog food or water bowl; if the dog food wasn't perfect choke-inducing size I would let her gnaw on some until she discovered it's really not very good. But instead, I have to constantly place it out of her reach and then remember to put it back so poor Vito doesn't starve. And for this reason it is the one thing that MJ is most fascinated by. She WANTS that dog food like you wouldn't believe. This doesn't bode well for drugs and boys later in life.

I love how she follows me around the house as I do chores. She's constantly curious what I'm up to, and participates in whatever way she can. She helped me unload the grocery bags yesterday, pausing for a while to gnaw on a leek. A long while, actually. 20 minutes of gnawing on a leek. Is this an acceptable chew toy for an 8 month old? We spend a lot of time in the kitchen, one of the few child proofed rooms in the house, as well as outside. I still love chewing on grass so I figure she can go to town.

I've become obsessed with buying organic and finally joined a Co-op (more on that to come.) We've been getting more adventurous with what we feed her: yesterday was lentils with onions, peppers and carrots. It was tasty, I brought some in for lunch today. I'm working on a leek concoction, and her preliminary opinion of leeks seems to be a good one.

Whenever we go out to eat she tries to grab everything off the table and off our plate. So sometimes we let her, expecting the reaction to be one of disgust, and usually we're wrong. This weekend she gnawed on a pickle for a while and loved it. I'm guessing this is not something you're supposed to feed an 8 month old, though I never see it explicitly stated. The assumption is probably that it doesn't need saying. Last week she gnawed on a lime for a while; despite a pause every now and then for a sour face she continued gnawing. Then I remembered that whole no-citrus-fruits-the-first-year bit. Parenting has so many rules.

I mock people who do this.

But here I am.  One of them.  (I also mock people who obsess about dandelions.  And what did I do yesterday?  Weed our front yard of every last dandelion.  It was like a dandelion genocide.  (Can we joke about that?  I have jewish friends who joke about the Holocaust, but maybe that's like the N word?  (And can we use parentheses inside of parentheses?)))

Anyway, one of those people.  Those people who put their kid in beauty pageants.  And otherwise attention whore their child.

But in a moment of weakness, I submitted MJ to the Parent's Magazine photo contest.  And now that I've done it, I feel compelled to try to get her votes.  So that one day I don't have to tell her "Yes, honey, I put your photo in a contest but no one voted for you but me."  How sad would that be?

So anyway, here I am, asking you to vote for my child.  There's no prize for you, but she is a cutie, isn't she?

You can click here to vote:  http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/279297
You can vote once per day.
 And now let's never speak of this again. 

Thankful.

I must confess, this day has never meant much to me.  I always made an effort to make or buy a present.  Or a card.  As I've gotten older that effort has been less consistent.  But I confess that my efforts stemmed more from obligation than from real gratitude.  There are exceptions, and gratitude was always part of the package.  But this year is different.

I feel really, truly, utterly, completely thankful.  Both to my Mom and to DH's mom.  We are both lucky, and we know it.  We both have great mom's.  And we both know that we owe them everything.  But this is the first year that I get it.

On happy days, when MJ is all smiles and kisses and loves me more than anyone in the world, it makes me a little sad to know that she won't remember this.  That she'll remember all her teenage angst ridden years, but not her "mom-is-the-best-in-the-universe" years.  But then I remember I was the same.  I cooed and smiled just like MJ, I am sure.  And then spent years being ungrateful.  And my Mom just took it.  And still loves me, unconditionally.  And never even holds it against me (at least not that I know of.)

And the rough days?  When MJ just cries and refuses to sleep?  That's part of the package, too.  Those days when my Mom had no one around except two ungrateful children and she still loved us unconditionally?  I now know how hard that is (though still only the square root of that effort, because I'm sure two children is exponentially more difficult.)  This is the first year I can have any inkling of what my Mom went through.  And DH's mom.  We were both raised by two brave, strong, independent, loving, compassionate and totally wonderful women.  And we owe you everything.

::grumble::

I love me some Minnesota spring... but seriously?

Diagnosis.

It's official.  I have asthma.  The diagnosis wasn't even subtle; after running my pulmonary function test, the nurse turned to me and said "You've NEVER done a test like this before?  Are you sure?", practically screaming "Even I can tell you have asthma!" with her tone of voice.  After coughing for 4 months (that brief respite I wrote about a few weeks ago was just that: brief.  MJ brought home another cold and ::BAM:: cough was back.)  It is such a relief to officially have asthma.  I'm not sure one is supposed to feel happy that they have a disease, but that's exactly how I feel. 

So I'm on Symbicort.  You know that ad they show?  With the puppies running through the field and the feet dangling off a dock into the water?  That's exactly how I feel.  Puppies and rainbows, oh my.  Because it's advertised ::ALL THE TIME:: and I hate direct marketing of pharmaceuticals to consumers I want to hate the product.  But no, it's great.  I'm not coughing.  I don't have people moving away from me on the bus for fear of tuburculosis or alien impregnation via sputum.  My slightly increased risk of death seems totally worth it (don't worry, Mom, there's always a slightly increased risk of death.)

The other reason for the puppies and rainbows is that our household has made it through the jungle of sick that has been this week.  ::BAM:: Sunday night Dad starts puking.  ::BAM:: Monday Mom (that's me) starts puking.  ::BAM:: Tuesday night baby starts puking.  Thankfully (for me and MJ, not so much for Dad) with each successive knockout the degree of puking diminished.  I think Dad puked for about 12 hours, Mom ~4 hours, and baby just once!  But we have survived.

And you know what else is great about being sick?  PRE-PREGNANCY WEIGHT Y'ALL!!  I celebrated by going to McDonalds (I must be a bad American, because I apparently don't know proper McDonald's etiquette.  You know when you order and they put the tray down with your receipt?  YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO TAKE THE TRAY.  You're supposed to leave it there.  So they can put your food on it.  Who knew that when they hand you a tray you're supposed to leave it there?  Obviously not me; McDonald's guy seemed appalled by my ignorance in the ways of fast food.)  Anyway.  Let me just say that again.  PRE-PREGNANCY WEIGHT.  Maybe stomache viruses aren't all that bad.  You know how else I'm going to celebrate?  In honor of impending Mother's day, pre-pregnancy weight, no more coughing, no more puking, and the fact that all my pants have holes in the crotch and all my shirts have pit stains, I'm going to buy me some new clothes.

That is all.

Oh yeah.  And Genevieve, I have drawn again.  I'm not going through the rigamarole of posting another little chart to show that I drew the winner impartially (though I did).  I will just tell you: the winner is #5.  That happens to be Ryan, Christy, Landen, and Jackson.  Congrats!

Winner: Baby Beehinds

Thanks for the reminder comment, it's been a crazy weekend and I didn't pick the winner when I said I would. Anyway, the winner is Genevieve! Please let me know a way to contact you in the comments section. Thanks to everyne for your participation!

Edit:  Genevieve, if I don't hear from you by Friday I will draw again. 

The cuddle quota

I've never read this in a parenting book.  Which means it must be wrong, because if it hasn't made it to a parenting book yet then it is either 1) a ridiciculous myth your mother told you 2) a lie you read on a messaging forum or 3) an idiotic idea you came up with yourself.  This falls under the third category.  Maybe I'll just go write a parenting book, so it will then be parenting-book-approved. 

See over in my side bar?  Where it says "about me" and it says my baybee sleeps a lot?  Through the night even?  No longer true.  That sidebar is now a liar.  For ~2 months now MJ wakes up at least once or twice a night.  I realize that's still pretty good in the sleep department, but we were spoiled.  I've adjusted to the new norm, it's fine, I get a little more MJ time, blah, bla bla (more lies I tell myself.)  But I have a new theory.  I call this theory the "cuddle quota" (sounds like a good parenting book title, no?)

She started sleeping poorly right around the same time that she became very active and alert.  And since she started crawling, about 2 weeks ago, putting her to sleep has been a nightmare.  She screams, she wails.  It's really, really awful. 

But yesterday, after an evening with friends that included lots of Moby wearing, she went to sleep instantly.  This morning she woke up at 5; I brought her into bed with me, gave her a bottle and she fell right back asleep.  I'm curious now if she hasn't been getting enough cuddle time.  She used to be held all day long; now she won't tolerate it, but by the end of the day, maybe her cuddle tank is empty.  I know that if I don't get enough cuddle time I feel... off.  Not as happy.  Could it be that my baby is experiencing the same thing?  By forcing her into the Moby, despite her desire to crawl around, I was forcing more cuddling on her.  By doing some early morning co-sleeping she gets even more cuddle time.

Right now this is one data point.  And ya'll know my love of data points. But thinking back, it seems the nights she gets lots of cuddling she sleeps great, so it's really one data point that agrees with heresay (is that better or worse?)  My plan is to put this plan into action.  And write a parenting book about it.  Even if it doesn't work.

Ready for grandchildren

Have I mentioned how much I love having a baybee? Like, I think I want to have 9 more? Maybe it gets more difficult at some point, who knows. But being as my uterus might not comply with my desire to have 9 more, I've decided to start prepping MJ to provide me with grandchildren. She seems to be on board.

Grass

We may not have sand, but it turns out grass is just as fascinating. Happy spring!

I'm a cloth diaper whore; and now you can be too!

It is ridiculous.  One of the things that us cloth-diapering mamas can't put into words is the joy that cloth diapers bring.  We all espouse how they're good for the environment.  How they're cheaper.  How we don't fill landfills.  Blah, bla ba.  What we generally DON'T tell you is how giddy we feel when we get fluffy mail.  I think it's kind of like clothing shopping with the added component of morality: not only are we buying something cute and fashionable, we feel like good people for doing it (dangerous, I know.)

So imagine how much giddier one feels when gets a beautiful, glorious, FREE cotton-hemp fitted diaper.  And furthermore?   I get to offer a FREE diaper to one of you lovely folks as well.  It is a good day, people.

I'm probably walking on dangerous ground here. When a blogger is given something to review it is supposed to be an unbiased review, but it actually never seems to be. I have NEVER seen a review of an item given to a blogger that was negative.  Being as this is not, primarily, a giveaway blog, I don't need to rely on freebies from company's. So I will tell you what I actually think. Because I kind of enjoy pissing people off.

All in all, this is a very nice fitted diaper. For those who need a little background, a fitted diaper means that it goes on easily, almost like a disposable, generally with velcro or buttons holding it in place. But it is not waterproof and needs a cover put on the outside. I really, really like the theory of fitteds. Unlike something like BumGenius, you only change the inside and can use the cover several times, until it gets poopy or smells. With fitteds, covers generally last a long time. So, theoretically, a fitted diaper is super easy to put on (unlike, say, prefolds) and has the added economic benefit of not needing very many covers. The problem I have is that in reality fitteds are often as expensive, or even more expensive, than something like pockets or all in ones. And there aren't very many one-size fitteds, so you need to keep buying larger sizes.

Why are fitteds so expensive? I'm not really sure. Many of them are organic cotton or hemp, unlike the common microfiber you find in bumgenius and fuzzibunz (among others.) They are often customizable with cute prints, etc., and often not as mass-produced. They are also often very absorbent and make great night time diapers.

Fitteds are not the primary solution for us. Not only for the aforementioned reasons, but also because daycare in Minnesota requires that the whole diaper be changed at once (cover and insert). So it makes more sense to use pockets and all-in-ones. However, we do use things like fitteds and prefolds at home and overnight, and this makes a great night time diaper.

Another pet peeve of mine is this tendency of diaper manufactures to overstate their size range, and Baby Beehinds is no exception. They claim to fit 8-35 lbs, and there is no way this is true. It fits MJ perfectly right now, at 16+ lbs, but I'm sure it wouldn't have fit her before ~12 lbs.  And the other reviews of this diaper online suggest it doesn't go to he max end of that range, either.  The only brand I have found that doesn't do this is Thirsties. Here's my recommendation to diaper companies: don't do this, it pisses us Mamas off. I know you THINK you are doing us a favor by outlining the absolute upper and lower limits, because there are babies for whom this range may work. But we would prefer if you only list sizes that are almost guaranteed. And then, if it fits longer, that's a nice added bonus. If we think we are buying a diaper that will last far longer than it does we are upset. If you narrow the size range, we will still buy your product, but we'll be happier in the long run if it meets or exceeds our expectations. Get what I'm saying?

So all in all, here's my thoughts on this diaper. If you realize that the weight limits listed are bunk, and instead accept a more realistic 15-25 or 15-30 lb range then it's a good diaper. As fitteds go, it's a great fitted; you'll have to ask yourself whether fitteds are the right choice for you, though. As someone that owns mostly microfiber, the soft, organic fabric of this diaper feels luxurious. It has snaps, which I generally don't love (though I've been told once MJ can start taking her diaper off I'll change my mind on this), but the snaps overlap in the front, allowing the waist to cinch down tighter than snaps usually allow. It also has detachable inserts, which are great because they allow the diaper to dry much faster than if the inserts are sewn in.

If I had to give this diaper a star rating, I would say 4 out of 5.  And to be fair, I'm generally a pretty harsh grader.  I will use this as one of my primary night time diapers, paired with either a bumgenius flip cover or a thirsties duo cover. 

So, now that I have rambled on, some other things you should take note of:  this was provided by ecomom, a fabulous online store with all things green and crunchy (yay earth!)  I am excited to be able to offer a 15% discount to ecomom.com with code SBBL223 (this expires May 31st).  In addition, they currently have a $99 membersip that allows free shipping and a 15% discount off every order, with no minimum purchase. 

Okay.  We know why you're here.  You want a free diaper.  I believe in easy giveaways, so here are your options (each option should be a separate comment):

1)  Go to EcoMom.com and tell me a product you would love to find in your May Day stocking (if there was such a thing.)  This is a mandatory entry.

Additional optional entries:

1)  Follow ecomom on twitter (twitter.com/EcoMomCEO) and tell me that you did.
2)  Join EcoMom's newsletter and tell me that you did (they won't spam you, I promise!)
3)  Publicly follow this blog and tell me that you have.

That's it.  I can't handle giveaways with 15 different options, so I'm sticking to these 3.  This giveaway will close in one week (Friday, April 30th).

Since I can't be productive today...

I had planned on a long, full day in the lab.  But the argon tank is empty (fascinating, no?) so I can't run anything.  So instead?  I'll update.

I sometimes forget that this blog is as much about documenting MJ's life as it is an outlet and soapbox for me.  And you know what?  I haven't done much updating lately.

Yesterday, MJ sort of crawled.  I'm not sure if it counts yet, but she's finally able to go forward.  For months now she has been scooting backward.  Back in February DH made a bet that it would happen within a week.  And you know what?  It didn't.  Man, I really should have bet money on that one.  And it is good.  I always said I'd be perfectly content if she was a late crawler, but in the past several weeks her grumpiness has been grumpier than my grumpiness (meaning: very grumpy).  She has been so frustrated by her inability to get at what she wants, but now that she can move in the direction she wants she's less grumpy.  She's still slow at getting where she wants to go, but she can manage it.

And so, I am trying to become cleaner.  It is very, very hard.  As a working mama I have accepted that our house will be chaotic.  But now, I can't even do that.  Because chaos=not baby proofed.  And she loves to lick everything: the stool, the heating grate, my laptop, DH's shoe...  I realize these things won't kill her, and once she discovers something's not food she generally leaves it alone (kind of like the dog.)  Such as grass: at first she tried to eat it, but after realizing that even broccoli tasted better she became content to just play with it.  And by play with it, I mean rip out all the grass in her tiny-12-inch-arm-radius.  So we have little circles of torn out grass in the yard, (crop circles?  aliens?) but at least she's learning to like the outdoors, no?

In other baby news, she is a great eater.  Here is our list of things she will happily eat: peas, carrots, butternut squash, zucchini, sweet potatos, parsnips, green beans, avocado, bananas, and BROCCOLI!  (note: blogger wants me to add an "e" to "potatos" but I resisted.)  Broccoli is a huge coup for me, because I hate it.  In fact, I'm a bit of a picky eater (though SO much better than I used to be).  And so I have made it a goal to have her become a good eater early on.  As part of this goal, I have been making her baby food, which allows more texture and variety than what you can find in the jarred baby food.  My Mom (generously) bought us the Beaba Babycook.  It's spendy, I'm not going to lie.  And probably not necessary, but it does make the whole process much easier.  I can make a batch while I'm making dinner, and it's so whip!bang!boom! done.  Furthermore, unlike most grinders out there (we have the magic bullet) you have more control on how well ground you make the food.  It's not all or nothing, so I've been able to gradually make her food more lumpy.

And it makes me feel good.  Now that I'm not breastfeeding, I feel like this is one small thing I can do to make sure she eats well.  So I send her with food everyday to daycare, rather than relying on the food they provide.  And (one of the many reasons I LOVE our daycare) they don't act like I'm putting them out by slightly complicating their feeding routine.  They are always very good about honoring the requests of the parents.  We haven't introduced many fruits yet, largely because we haven't had to.  I really wanted her to eat veggies first, so that she didn't yet know there are tastier foods out there.  We added (lots of) formula and rice cereal in the beginning in order to make them more palatable, then gradually reduced it until now she just eats straight veggies.