All the Sun For You

A mom, two boys, a husband, and a whole lot of adventure!

Category Archives: Food


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Get Away!

What a weekend!  On Wednesday, we decided we needed to get out of town – we just needed to GO SOMEWHERE.  I suggested Kansas City because, well, I love it there and the last time we headed out of town, we went to Minneapolis so I didn’t want to do that again.  We’ll go to Minneapolis soon enough, I’m sure (I love MSP – I would move there in a heartbeat if B wanted to).

We invited our friends to come with us who have a new baby – and they were itching to go somewhere too so they came down Saturday around noon.  We had a great time!

When B and I travel, most things revolve around food.  We are always looking for some place new to try, and are open to just about anything.  Matthew is open to most foods too, so we’re pretty lucky there.  What Matthew can’t handle, unfortunately, is a long dinner at a quiet restaurant.  So, on Friday night we went across the street from our favorite KC restaurant (too quiet for Matthew!) and had some fancy Mexican food.  I love Mexican food.  I love it more than any other food type in the world.  I cannot get enough of it.  This place did not disappoint.  But – Matthew was a hot mess and tired from the drive down, so we wrapped up pretty quickly and got him back to the hotel for bed.  For some reason, the grilled chicken and superbly cooked veggies weren’t doing it for him (and truly – they were fantastic!).  Sigh.

We did stop at a wine and cheese shop and picked up lots of fancy chocolates (B loves chocolate!) and a bottle of red wine for later.  Matthew enjoyed sampling the cheeses which was nice since he didn’t eat much dinner  😉  B enjoyed picking out chocolates.  I enjoyed just being out on a nice night!

Bedtime went ridiculously well – Matthew only cried for 30 seconds and he was out cold.  We had our chocolate and wine but we feared waking him so we went to bed shortly thereafter.  I think it was the earliest I’ve gone to bed in years (9:40).

Matthew woke up too early on Saturday and wanted to get out and about, so B took him out for coffee so I could sleep a bit.  Matthew was tossing and turning all night long, and being a light sleeper and a nervous mother (I like to be constantly aware of how he’s sleeping), I heard every sigh, flip, and grunt.  I basically had been awake since 4 AM so I welcomed a little extra sleep with great enthusiasm.  I made it count 😉

We shopped and shopped – but really just walked and walked.  It was beautiful in KC and the Plaza is perfect for getting out and about and just enjoying the weather.  I did find some shirts for Matthew that I’ve wanted but refused to pay the ridiculous prices for – but they were on SALE so I got them (it was a crazy sale, ladies)!  We went to our favorite place for lunch (Houston’s) because they have the BEST smoked salmon but what do you know?  They changed the salmon since we were last there and it wasn’t cooked enough for Matthew.  As everyone knows, Matthew LOVES salmon so we were super excited about getting this for him (cold smoked – ummmm!) but alas – we could not.  We ended up getting him tuna (figured we should try it) but he hated it, lost his shit, and we were out of there.

Notice a trend???

I headed out with Matthew as B got our salads boxed up (best salad ever – I am so sad I didn’t get to savor it!) and we went back for a nap.  Our friends weren’t in town yet so the timing was great and I snuggled with my boys.  It does not get better than that!  Matthew slept on my chest and sure – my neck was all screwed up and I didn’t really sleep – but my nose was buried in his sweet hair and I was in heaven!  This nap lasted almost 3 hours.  Wonderful!

We then headed back out with our friends and picked up cupcakes (more on this later), played at a park, and then grabbed a quick early dinner before the rush.  Again, Matthew was not having it so we boxed up his food once we were all done and headed out.

What is going on with this kid who used to love going out to eat???

We all stopped at the wine shop again and got some goodies for the night.  Upon returning to the hotel, we put Matthew to bed (not a peep out of him) and S and I sent our husbands down to the hotel bar with a free pass to stay out as late as they wanted, and to drink as much as they felt the urge to drink.  S and I had a great time sitting on the sofa, dishing about the latest happenings in our lives, eating chocolates and cupcakes, and drinking wine.  B bought me a bottle of bubbly and I drank that whole thing – and didn’t even get tipsy (what is wrong with me – I never drink so this makes no sense?!).  We shared the best cupcake we’d ever had (strawberry lemonade and HOLY HELL it was GOOD!) and I got to hold her new baby the entire time (LOVE!).  The guys came back late and expectedly tipsy.  We all sat around and laughed and laughed before parting ways and going to bed.

GREAT NIGHT!

This morning consisted of a sleepy baby who woke up too early, had his morning milk, slept for another 15 minutes on my chest (oh my back!), tried to get up for about 45 minutes but was cranky the whole time, and then took a nap on me for 1.5 hours.  I am not kidding – he went down for a ” nap” from 7:30 AM – 9:00 AM.  CRAZY!  He woke up still tired and that’s when I got that cute photo of him with B on the sofa.  I’ve never seen Matthew so mellow in my life!  It was precious.

We headed out for brunch – back to the Mexican place – and had a great breakfast.  The babies behaved and it was quite enjoyable.  We then parted ways with our friends so that I could get to the highlight of the trip!

We met up with Steph, JJ, and Chloe from Blawndie’s Blawg and had a super fun time!  We went to a local park and let the kids and hubs play while we chatted.  This was my first experience meeting a bloggie friend and it was super fun!  Matthew was exhausted (really?  After a 1.5 hour morning nap and 10 hours of sleep prior to that?) and very stoic, but he showed his dad what it’s like to parent solo at the park  😉  The kids swapped sippy cups and Matthew attempted to steal a kiss from Chloe before he realized that we were trying to photograph them.  HA!  Chloe was just as cute in person as I was expecting (I can’t get over her cuteness and her blonde curls!), and we escaped the morning without a hair pulling incident (Matthew loves to pull hair – a lot!), so I would call it a success.  🙂

Matthew was asleep before we hit the road – he crashed while we were filling the car with gas.  He slept the whole way home and was still exhausted when we got home.  He was in bed at 8:30 sharp – sound asleep.  B says he’s going through a growth spurt and I’m starting to buy into that.

I didn’t take a lot of photos but these capture some highlights:

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Super Busy Wednesday

We had a busy day – it started at 8:00 AM with a baseline mammogram for me.  Matthew went to the neighbor’s and had a ton of fun with his two buddies, V & W.  He woke up just before needing to go down there and downed his morning milk in the bathroom while I got dressed.

We then road-tripped to Omaha, just Matthew and me, to see my parents and grandpa.  My parents’ birthdays are this week – one yesterday and one tomorrow, so we headed back to take them to lunch.  We had a terrific lunch and Matthew shocked everyone at the restaurant with how much he can eat (it is a great thing, you guys, but man – he eats a lot and it’s hard to keep food in front of him.  I hardly had a moment to eat myself, and it was one of my favorite restaurants in Omaha!).  We saw a mama dear and her two babies in my parents’ yard and they were quite tame, and came right up to the deck for Matthew to visit with them.  It was actually quite unreal.  I left the camera in my pocket because I didn’t want to spoil the moment.  Matthew loved them – just loved them and talked very quietly to them.  So sweet!

Matthew slept for an hour on the way down, and over an hour on the way back.  This worked out quite well!  I listened to Glee  😉

Then we came home and had a veggie/fruit dinner that didn’t go so well.  Matthew tossed his entire plate of carrots on the floor in a fit of rage.  I could care less if he eats the carrots or not (he ate a ton of veggies at lunch), but I wish he wouldn’t throw his plate.  I know it’s because he doesn’t have his words yet, so I was firm with the “no no!” and then took him out of his chair and let him play.  I was not rewarding his fit with “dessert.”  I then loaded him up again 15 minutes later and he enjoyed is dessert of nectarines (as did I!).

Then, Matthew figured out how to climb the ledge by our fireplace.  I turned around and he was standing on it, proud as could be.  HA!  He understands, “sit down,” now so he got down on his bottom and then panicked because he couldn’t figure out how to get off the ledge.  His toes were just an inch or so above the carpet but I think he thought he was up way higher and didn’t want to take the leap of faith.  😉  I just let him figure it out and when he got down, he applauded himself (as did I) and now he applauds every time he gets down from there.  Good stuff!

   

And then we took some photos together because we have not done that in a really, really long time!

   

Matthew still smells like salmon from lunch.  Time for a bath!


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Before and After

Matthew can eat.  And eat.  And eat.  People keep telling me that babies know when they’re full and will stop eating, but we’re not sure that that’s the case with this particular child.  He seems to play with his food when he’s winding down, but he’ll still eat if you put something new in front of him.

This has caused me much concern because I don’t want to do anything to cause my child to have a weight problem.  I weigh Matthew a couple of times a month to make sure I’m not plumping him up unnecessarily, and the scale tells me I’m not.  Heck, his clothes tell me the same thing.  If it weren’t for his cloth diapers, his 12-18  month shorts wouldn’t stay up.  His 100% PALEO diet is treating him very well (so why, then, can’t I get back on the wagon?).

Matthew is starting to be picky about what he eats, but will eat plenty (and plenty more) of the foods he loves.  He usually loves carrots, he could live on all fruits, he devours cottage cheese (of the whole milk variety = so good!) and plain baby yogurt, and he inhales avocados and tomatoes.  He will pretty much eat any meat you put in front of him – in fact – we have not found a meat/fish/poultry item he won’t eat with great gusto.  He does not like green beans or zucchini and will turn his nose up at them if you even think of putting them on his plate.  Besides those two veggies, he seems to eat everything.

I wonder if we feed him too much food.

You tell me.

Before (half a chicken breast, 1/4 avocado, 1 medium carrot, 2 brocoli/cauliflower flowerets):

During (“Yummy!”):

After (1/2 carrot, 1 brocoli/cauliflower floweret) – and all of this was picked up off the floor:

I am so proud of how he eats, but I am exhausted after every meal.  Keeping up with him – keeping food on his plate – can make a person crazy.  He eats fast like his mother and doesn’t like to see an empty plate.  HA!

(side-note – I am going to be out of town this weekend, attempting to purchase a vehicle.  I will be reading your posts but not commenting because commenting via phone is insanely difficult.)


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Lazy Day

We didn’t do much today.  It was one of those days with zero expectations so it ended up being awesome!

We started the day by taking Matthew to gymnastics and that was super fun, followed by breakfast.  It took us FOREVER to find a breakfast place that was either not packed or was open.  Since when do places serving brunch not open until 11:00?  We ended up going to a place that B suggested after our first 2 failed attempts, and I said no because I thought it could be too expensive given what they may or may not have on the buffet (we went once and it was not good, and then we went again and it was terrific… so we were batting 50/50).  After our third failed attempt at finding a place to dine, I agreed to give B’s place another try and it was awesome!  For me being the one not wanting to spend too much money on breakfast, I sure was quick to say YES!” to the unlimited mimosa and bloody mary bar add-on.   I made that worth the money by having 3  🙂  They give you the choice of champagnes (dry, sweet, or peach flavored) and then you add your OJ and a flavor shot if you want.  I got peach champagne and added a shot of strawberry to my mimosas and holy hell were they good!

Matthew ate smoked salmon (this place has the best smoked salmon I’ve ever had), capers, ham, sweet potatoes, fruit, carrots, chicken parmesan, and green beans.  Success for him.  At the end of the day, that’s all that really matters – is that he’s happy with his food and that he has a variety.  If he can try something new (like capers), then it’s an added bonus.  Everyone of us left fat and happy  🙂

Matthew did not nap so well today – only 2 hours after being up for 5.5 hours but he did great the rest of the day.  B put Matthew’s wagon together while Matthew and  I napped and it was super fun taking him in that after his nap.  He LOVED it!  We visited with the neighbor and then decided that we really needed to go look at cars for me.  UGH.  We were met with more vehicles that don’t meet our difficult criteria (LATCH in all three seats in the second row so that we can put two car seats side-by-side) so we are back to our just two vehicles to consider.  Matthew was a trooper as we took him in and out of the car, from place to place.  This kid never ceases to amaze me with his happiness!  I had packed some food for Matthew before we left just in case he needed a snack so we had everything he needed for a dinner out on the town.  We went to one of our favorite local spots and had a nice family dinner.  More salmon for Matthew but he didn’t complain!

We then came home and decided to go for another wagon ride and were hoping to chat with our new neighbors who have done amazing things to their backyard.  Mission accomplished and they had a huge golden doodle that Matthew could not get enough of!  Max, the dog, took off with Matthew’s stuffed monkey and he thought that way hysterical!  We let him out to play with the Max and I don’t think he’s ever been happier.  If B wasn’t so adamant on not having a dog, I would be writing right now about how we’re going to go dog shopping tomorrow… but alas, we are not.  B keeps us dog-free and that’s a good thing because A) we have 3 cats and B) dogs are a lot of work.  AND – I believe they belong in the house with the family and B does not – so we will never find a middle ground on this and it’s for the best.  Truly.  Sorry, Matthew  😉

Matthew just went down without being rocked for very long.  He’s now “asking” me to put him in his crib at bed time – he’s just happier settling himself down and that’s great!  We sing and rock for about 5 minutes before he gives me his, “leave me alone” cue and it works out just great.  No fussing or crying – just reaches for his crib and settles down.  Unreal.

So that was our day (as if you care!).  I was supposed to go consignment shopping but my friends couldn’t go – so I’m going tomorrow.  I’m seriously jumping out of my skin with excitement!

Here are some more wagon photos.  B gave Matthew the wagon for his birthday.  Great present, Daddy  😉

The boys and their toys!

Best buddies!


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EAT

We had a date night tonight – unplanned.  We were going to go to a family-friendly place but B surprised me by getting dressed up (we are very casual folks!) and driving downtown.  He looked hot!  Anyway, he called a restaurant on our drive down and asked if they had high chairs, so I knew we weren’t going to our normal stand-by.  I panicked.  I did.  I admit it.  Matthew does not do as well as he used to at restaurants unless there is food in front of him at.all.times.  I did not bring anything with me (since he eats so well) so we didn’t have an “appetizer” for him like we often do.  I asked where we were going and B said “Alba.”  You know… just one of the  hottest “it” places around our fair city.  On a Saturday night.  At 7:00 PM.  Cue even more panic.

We got there and Matthew needed to go for a walk.  It was not starting out well.  We asked what they had for kids and THANK GOD they didn’t give us the normal run-down of fried foods and cheese dishes.  No – they didn’t have a kids’ menu and said they’d do whatever we wanted as long as they had the food to do it.  This is the best way for restaurants to handle kids, if you ask me!  Most parents would be totally put-off by this but we were thrilled!  We opted for grilled chicken and green beans (and they only charged $5 for it).  We got steamed chicken (thigh meat, which made me happy since all he ever eats is chicken breast and we want him to like dark meat) with green beans, yellow beans, zucchini, carrots, and corn.  Besides the corn (not paleo-appropriate and is truly the devil of all food products around), we were set.

But we feared it was not enough.

This kid can eat.  I mean – HE CAN EAT.  He eats whatever we put in front of him, and I’m not kidding.  He used to resist green beans but he even piles those into his mouth now with great enthusiasm.  He enjoys fish (he ate smoked salmon for 2 days until I finally tossed it – I was tired of him smelling like fish!), loves chicken, and loves ribs even more.  He will eat any veggie or fruit and fights you for your yogurt.  He’s a dream to feed.  But this presents us with serious problems.  He wants to eat everything we eat, so we now can only eat what he can eat (he saw us eating home-made spiced nuts today and lost his sh*t when we wouldn’t give them to him).  This forces us to eat healthy, but it also limits us on things we love (like nuts and cheese) until he’s napping or asleep for the night.  Not a huge deal, but something for us to keep top-of-mind.  It also means that in addition to his own meal when we go out, he wants ours too.

Matthew started making his way through his food rather quickly.  We tried slowing him down with some filling from our prosciutto and jalapeno fritters – but that only lasted so long.  When our food arrived, we moved his food aside knowing full-well that he would be wanting ours instead.  B got Guinness braised short ribs and I, of course, got salmon (because Matthew loves salmon).  We alternated him between his food and ours, and just kept tossing bits of food in front of him as we tried to eat as well.  Once he tasted the ribs, it was all over and that’s all he wanted – it was a good thing he’d finished his own meal or he would have had the stomach to eat most of B’s dinner for him.  He liked the salmon just fine, but he loved the ribs.  Any time he got loud it was because he was OUT.OF.FOOD.AND.WANTED.MORE!!!!!  We were frantically cutting food for him and tossing it in front of him.

I will say that I saw several people look over with pleasant surprise as he ate all of our adult food, and it made me proud.  We often hear, “that baby is eating salmon,” or something of the like, and it makes me so happy!  I love having a good eater.  This has been a huge goal of ours since we were pregnant and I started researching how to teach kids to eat well.  I credit the homemade baby food for his fabulous eating habits.

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Once Matthew was done, it was time to go.  There is no time to waste – wipe him down, clean up the floor under the high chair, and get the heck out of there.  We LOVE the desserts at this restaurant (we swear they have the best in town – and no – none of them are paleo-appropriate) so B ordered two to go.  I took Matthew outside to get some fresh air as we waited for B and our desserts and we chatted up a couple on the patio.  When I got in the passenger seat to go home, I noticed the baby fork (that we did not even use at dinner) on the center console.  I mentioned it and B said, “that’s so you can eat your dessert on the way home.”  What a nice guy!  I ate my caramel creme brulee with that Ger.ber baby fork and loved every bite.  We then pulled over and B and I switched spots so he could eat his chocolate lava cake during the rest of the drive home.  We may have used Matthew’s baby fork, but he had no idea what was going on up in the front seat – and we enjoyed finally having some food to ourselves.  We didn’t even share with each other  😉


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What He’s Eating

It’s time to do a food update!  As B and I get further and further down the paleo/primal road, we’ve been trying to introduce Matthew to more and more of our foods.  We are not in agreement as to how big a piece of food is too big 😉 but we are in agreement on what Matthew needs to be trying.  For instance, we went to Texas Road.house today and both of us were feeding him our ribs, broccoli, and green beans.  Matthew and I went to Chick Fil A (how do you really spell that place?) very impromptu on Thursday after his gymnastics class.  I had no food for him.  Not a problem.  He ate grilled nuggets, applesauce (a little too sugary for our taste, but what are you going to do?), and yogurt.  Success!  It’s nice that it’s gotten to the point where we can make unplanned stops for food and still be able to feed the boy!

This list is the same as before, but with updates in bold.  New foods are at the bottom:

Carrots -STILL loves, loves, LOVES carrots!

Sweet pea puree – took 3 tries but now loves it! (Why, then, does he not love my split pea stew?!)

Spaghetti squash – no, no, no (I didn’t make him try it more than once because I tried it and thought it was awful)

Butternut squash – LOVES it!

Sweet potato puree – This is his comfort food – it is his favorite veggie.  If he’s having a rough day (few and far between), he gets sweet potatoes

Pear puree – LOVES pears of all varieties – and I love them because they fix his constipation in no time flat!

Apple puree (applesauce) – LOVES it, but we limit it because it can be binding.  I use 4 different apples in one recipe and it’s so good that I also make it for B and me

Asparagus puree – Likes it an awful lot – I dare say he loves it.  We do not love the diapers afterwards because it’s hard to tell from smell if it’s #1 or #2

Green beans with mint – Just so-so, which is too bad because we have a lot of it  He is eating this just fine.  It’s not his favorite, but he’s past being so-so on it

Baby’s turkey – We don’t know yet  Likes this mixed with stew

Whipped cauliflower – Loves this now that he’s used to it.  We treat it as mashed potatoes because of the texture (we are limiting potatoes)

Whipped broccoli – Just so-so

Blueberry sauce – Meh.  We need to mix it with pears to get him to eat it (which is just fine).  I used frozen blueberries and will try again but with with fresh berries I made this again with frozen berries, but drained them.  Much better!  We mix this in with his plain amaranth for breakfast

Cherry puree – Meh.  Again – we mix it with pears to get him to eat it and I made it from frozen cherries which I wouldn’t do again.  I made this again with frozen cherries, but drained them.  Much better!  We mix this in with his plain amaranth for breakfast

Peach puree – Loves this if I don’t overcook it!  We are now using frozen peaches because fresh are hard to find right now.  GREAT for puree.  We mix this with his plain amaranth for breakfast

Nectarine puree – Loves this if I don’t overcook it!

Plum puree – LOVES IT!

Avocado – Did not like it, but we’ll try it again because I really want him to like it (I don’t like avocados and I know I’m missing out!)  LOVES avocados now – especially when I spice it up with lots of cumin!

Potato and butternut squash stew – This is his favorite food that isn’t a pure fruit.  B and I love it as well – it is awesome!  STILL is his very favorite.  We will make this as long as he wants to eat it.  We’re not pureeing it as much though as we used to and switched the potato to a sweet potato to be more in line with pale/primal living

Split pea stew – HATED it (and I don’t like the word, ‘hate,’ but that’s the only way to describe his reaction)!  We will try it again later in the week  I am happy to report that he gobbles this up plain or mixed with apples or any meat.  YAY!

Amaranth and plum swirl – No idea because I just made this tonight.  I’m not crazy about it  LOVES this.  I now make just plain amaranth and then mix it each morning with a frozen cube of peaches, blueberries, or cherries.  I like this very much as well and have been caught stealing it from him  😉

Squash and quinoa pilaf – No idea because I just made it tonight.  I thought it was awesome!  He hated this at first – HATED IT!  He now tolerates it.  I still love it

Baby’s stock – We don’t serve this to him.  It’s used to make his stews and other things.  It smells really good!

Everything below this point is new since my first food post:

Chicken – I bake it and then chop it up in the food processor.  He likes it mixed with his stew of split pea soup.  He doesn’t like it too much on its own

Beef – We use 100% grass fed beef and it’s a little greasier (but full of omegas!).  I will drain it better next time.  He likes it in stew and split pea soup – or mixed with any veggies, really

Guacamole – He loved this at Cheese.cake Fac.tory which made me think that maybe he is ready to like avocados.  He has not met a guacamole that he doesn’t like

Goat cheese – He would eat this all day long if we’d let him

Gorgonzola – He doesn’t like this as much as goad cheese, but he likes it plenty

Roasted red pepper and goat cheese puree – The first time I made this – both B and I were so jealous that we devised our own adult version of it for us.  We all love this!

BBQ ribs – He liked these just fine!

Green beans – These are different from the puree – these are whole green beans.  He loved these (of course – they were cooked with bacon!)

Broccoli – Not pureed.  He prefers this over the pureed broccoli

Yo Baby yogurt (all flavors) – We all love this (HA!).  Why?  It’s made from whole milk.  I’ve been caught stealing this from him too 😉

Baked squash (dusted with olive oil and nutmeg) – He loved this and is now just so-so

Raw pears – if ripe enough, he loves them!

Raw peaches – love them

I am pleased to say that Matthew has still never had a “puff” or cheer.ios.  He is now entirely gluten-free since eliminating oatmeal from his diet.


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It’s All About Trust

I’m finding that everything I try to accomplish with Matthew involves gaining his trust in some way.  Be it feeding him new foods, keeping him safe, or getting him to sleep – it’s me who has to gain his trust.  It’s not just granted because I’m his mother.

Matthew slept through the night AGAIN last night – and longer than the night before.  We were still up in the 5:0o hour, but 5:38 is better than 5:13!  He whimpered again last night at 3:15 (he must sleep cycle right around then) but got himself through it within seconds and put himself back to sleep.  You may remember that we went through a phase where he would only nap in my arms.  As nice as it is to snuggle your baby, spending up to 4 hours a day in a chair is not ideal.  I figured that he was fearing being put in his crib  and left there – and I think I was right.  Now that we’ve gotten over the hurdle (disaster) of last week, he’s sleeping so well both at night and during naps.  I still nurse him to sleep for both bedtime and naps*, and he now trusts me to transfer him to his crib and come back when he’s ready – not necessarily the next time he wakes up.  Before, I would just get him to the mattress before he would absolutely freak out.  It did not matter how asleep he was – mattress equaled being abandoned to him – and he would wake up fully and scream.  Now, he stretches a big stretch as I lower him into his crib, grabs his lovey, and settles in.  He’ll even look up at me like, “see you in a bit, Mom.”  When he was napping this morning, he did wake up and I worried because it had only been 20 minutes.  But he rolled to his back, stretched, babbled a second, rolled back onto his tummy – and went to sleep.  I about died!

He is waking up happy from his naps (but not bedtime!).  Instead of crying for my attention, he sets himself up as he babbles and grabs his favorite stuffed animal to play.  He trusts that I’ll hear him and come to him.  I can even take my time getting there now – he still won’t cry or scream for me.

I’ve noticed the same thing when it comes to his safety.  He’s gotten to the point where he’ll screech for help if he needs it, and he trusts me when I walk away from him in a big-boy situation (standing up at his table, cruising the furniture, crawling down the hall).  He used to require my presence at all times, but he now trusts that I’ll come back to help him when he needs or wants it.  I know that this is a regular development for kids, but I never equated it to trust.

Food.  My child eats anything I put in front of him.  He used to be very skeptical and would show that on his face.  Now, he knows his food won’t be too hot, too cold, or disgusting (HA!).  He trusts that I’ll get him more if he wants more, and that I won’t force it if he’s had enough.  I wasn’t always like that – I had to learn his cues and preferences.  Now that I know them, he trusts me to get it right (and I usually do!).

Where we have not gained trust?  Diaper changes.  Holy hell – that is a major ordeal all of a sudden  😉

* Ferber says not to nurse your babies to sleep ever, unless they are able to sleep through the night.  If you nurse them to sleep and they already sleep through the night, then you don’t have a problem (that’s what he says).  I struggled with giving up the nursing – I flat out refused to do it.  B read chapter 4 of the book and said, “well, we know the problem.  You’re nursing him to sleep each.and.every.time.”  I told him that Ferber says that’s OK if they’ll sleep through the night.  He pointed out that it’s not OK in our situation because Matthew is NOT sleeping through the night.  He lovingly said that I can’t have it both ways (which according to the book, is true).  I’m happy to report that my refusal to give up the nursing has paid off, and I NOW have a child who naps very successfully after being nursed to sleep (successfully = 1-2 hour naps) and is sleeping through the night after being nursed to sleep.  I CAN HAVE IT BOTH WAYS  🙂


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Hypocrite

B and I have been feeding Matthew based on the paleo lifestyle, with the exception of a little bit of oatmeal early on and sweet potatoes.  Paleo allows sweet potatoes for those who need extra calories (like tri-athletes or NBA players), but we figure that Matthew is a growing boy and sweet potatoes are a nice source of some important nutrients (iron being one), so we let that one slide.  I quit with the oatmeal after the geothermal incident, so he is very much a paleo kid with the exception of his beloved sweet potatoes.  We have run this lifestyle by our pediatrician who is 100% on-board and says that he’s getting everything he needs from what we’re feeding him, and that humans are consuming way too many carbs so it’s just fine to cut all grains completely before he even gets started (have I mentioned that I LOVE this doctor?).

Matthew is a tremendous kid who eats everything you put in front of him.  All of his food is 100% natural  and hormone-free,  and most of it is organic (I subscribe to the thought process that you buy organic for at least the dirty dozen).  We only use 100% grass-fed beef and free-range poultry.  Thanks to Cathy, I think we’ll be making Matthew’s yogurt once all of his YoBaby is gone.  I slave away in the kitchen so that he has healthy food that we know is good for him.  If we are out-of-town and can’t take his  homemade food with us, we buy organic baby food and read the labels closely to ensure that all he’s getting is the veggie/fruit, and water.  No additives.  I’m fanatical about it.  When people offer Matthew baby puffs, I politely say, “no thank you,” but think to myself, “are you kidding me?  There is nothing in that of any nutritional value!”

Why am I telling you all of this?  Well, you would think that B and I are tremendous, healthy eaters as well, right?

Not so much.

B is much better than I am – but even he isn’t a poster child for healthy eating.  He tries really hard to eat well, but how can he when he’s married to me?  I have been a poster child for pathetic eating habits my entire life.  I will feed my baby his 100% natural lunch, and then put him in the car so I can go to Mc.Don.alds.  I’m serious.  I kid you not.  French fries are a food group to me and I love nothing more – NOTHING MORE – than Diet Pep.si.  I would be perfectly happy if you hooked me up to an IV of DP and fed me French fries all day long.  The worst part?   I’m not even ashamed to say it!

I was never able to get away with this lifestyle without serious repercussions.  I have always been heavier than I should be.  In 2006, I decided to make a change and got my ass into shape.  SERIOUS SHAPE!  I ate healthy, gave up the soda, and exercised like a crazy woman.  I kept this up for 3 years.  I was, for the first time in my life, lean and trim.  Then – IF happened and I got depressed, I couldn’t run or exert myself too much during IVF cycles (due to my huge ovaries), and I was just totally and completely over it (my health kick, that is).  I thought about nothing but getting pregnant.  I gained 25 pounds.  I was at my highest weight EVER when I finally got pregnant with Matthew.

Today, I am almost 30 pounds less than my pre-pregnancy weight.  No – it’s not due to exercise.  Or healthy eating.  I think it’s due to A) not being on fertility drugs, B) breastfeeding, and C) being insanely happy with my life!  I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight 8 days after giving birth – but let’s face it – that’s not hard to do when you were at your highest weight ever when you got pregnant.  Dropping the weight has been effortless.  I hate saying that, because so many people struggle to lose weight after having a baby, but it is the truth.

So what did I do when I dropped all of that weight?  I started eating like crap again.  I went to McDon.alds 2-3 times a WEEK, indulged in Blizzards from D-Q because I needed somewhere to drive to keep Matthew asleep in the back seat, and found that Wend.y’s new fries are REALLY GOOD!  I took for granted how easy it was to drop the weight after having Matthew and I kept this manner of eating up for 9 months.

That all ended on Sunday.  It’s time for us to live the lifestyle we’re expecting our child to live.  It’s time to stop being stupid with food and get back to smaller meals, healthy meals, satisfying meals!  We started Paleo on Sunday.  We started it two days after my farewell lunch at McDon.alds didn’t even taste that good (but the one at Cul.vers the next day did!).

I am relieved.  I am relieved that I’m taking control of my body back.

I feel great.  I’m never stuffed to the gills.  I’m not experiencing caffeine highs and lows.  I’m not missing French fries (yet).  I’ve already dropped some weight.  I will admit – I had a Diet Co.ke today out of weakness and it was divine – but I will be better tomorrow.

I made a Paleo dinner tonight – out of ingredients we had in the house and without a recipe.  It was satisfying and really, really good!

I feel like I’m off to a good start – and for the first time in the past 9.5 months, I don’t feel like a hypocrite when it comes to food!