Overselling The Veggies

Baby Mo has been eating solids for about a week and a half. We started with brown rice cereal for a week to let him get used to the idea and last night we started with peas. It doesn't seem like he is a big fan.

Of course Daddy is the fun one laughing and I am overselling it and then taking the end result a little too seriously. Typical.

I hope this doesn't mean he doesn't like my cooking! I did make this pea puree myself and I plan to make all of his food from scratch. I broke down and ordered the Beaba Babycook this weekend because after making one batch without it, I realized that I did not want to have to peel, chop, steam, purree, and freeze my baby food separately. The ability to do it all with one appliance was the selling point.

I also got a Mumi & Bubi solid starter kit. I love these freezing trays because you can pour in your puree and swipe a spatula across to distribute evenly. Much easier than ice cube trays, plus you can be sure that they are BPA free.

Now about this gagging reflex that my son is having to peas, should I keep trying to convince him that he likes them? If so, for how long? Are there any tips to making baby enjoy vegetables more? And please don't say to feed him fruit instead.

Hello Baby, Bye Bye Friends (and old life)

Having a baby doesn't have to mean losing all of your friends who don't have a baby. And it doesn't mean never doing the things you used to do. I'm working hard to continue to do many of the things that I used to... just in a different way. It's important for me to spend quality time with friends, QT with my husband and also get some alone time. Here are some things that I do to make sure I get to do all of these things and more.

Babysitting Exchange - I have two girlfriends who I trade babysitting with. Josh and I will choose a night that we want to go out and my girlfriend will come over to babysit Taz while her husband stays home with her baby. And vice versa. The great thing is that a) we're leaving our babies with someone we know and trust b) we don't have to fork out $$ for a sitter and c) it's a for sure night out of the house.

Girls' Nights In
Have your girlfriends over for dinner. Cook together, catch up and enjoy the company.

Play Hostess
Josh and I plan double dates with good friends and invite them to our place. We can put Taz to sleep and then enjoy our friends without worrying about getting home to relieve the babysitter.

Get Fit
In a previous post I talked about my plans for getting up early to workout. The early morning work out definitely didn't work out for me :) For the past couple of weeks I've been doing at home work out videos. Sometimes I do a quick 20 min video while Taz is awake and I make faces at her the entire time. She thinks it's funny and I get a work out! (Coleen S. thanks for this tip). It's been great and I have a ton more energy. My husband also has three days a week of time where he has the option of working out while I'm home with the baby.

Grandparents to the Rescue - If your parents are close by or like to visit make sure to leverage them. It's a great opportunity for your baby to spend time and get to know their grandparents and it's also a great opp to get out of the house.

Mommy and Baby Wine Dates / Happy Hour - Too good to be true? I'm party of a mommy group and we recently had a play date where we enjoyed wine and cheese while we caught up with each other. It was nice and relaxing. And just last week I met a girlfriend at a neighborhood restaurant and had a glass of wine. It was a quick "hi and how are you" get together but it was so nice to catch up. 

Top Reasons Why I Love Making My Own Baby Food

I have a new post about the unexpected benefits of making Nic's baby food on TapMommies.  Click through to read about my adventures in pureeing.

My Baby-Friendly Home

Is it possible for a living room to be a safe and fun place for baby to play without losing its aesthetic appeal?  I think so!

When Nic started rolling from one side of the room to another, we knew that it was time to start baby proofing.  We quickly realized that it wasn’t going to be as easy as putting up some gates and plugging our outlets with those plastic do-hickeys.  We had some serious challenges to overcome.  Here are the major baby proofing obstacles we’ve tackled so far:

Coffee table: We traded our wood and wrought iron table for two leather cubes.  They will provide a much softer landing for the unavoidable head bonks, plus, they are hollow for storage!

Carpet: No matter how much I vacuumed, I was always picking up fuzz balls from the carpet, and it was too small to offer a good-sized play area.  We moved it into the garage and I bought two sets of these interlocking foam tiles.  I chose green and brown so our living room wouldn't look completely like a play room.

Fireplace: I briefly thought about doing one of these big gates around our fireplace.  But because of our layout, the cost and the necessity to put big holes in the wall (we’re renting), I decided that this wasn’t our solution.  I racked my brain for how to prevent my little man from doing a chimney sweep impression.  Then and simple solution came to me—a pressure-mounted gate!  It was hard to install it on this very uneven surface, but with patience, we got it in there securely.  (We used a steak knife to saw down the little rubber stoppers that press against the wall until it fit perfectly.)

Bookshelf:  We moved out one tall bookshelf to make room for his Pack n Play and also moved out a floor lamp that he could easily pull over.  We did not want to have to move out our other bookshelf too.   So, we anchored the bookshelf to the wall and cleared out the bottom two shelves (so that we aren’t constantly having to pull books out of his hands).  These two shelves will hold his books and some toys.

We have definitely made some compromises, but all-in-all, I think we’ve created a safe, playful and attractive space for our family.  What were your biggest baby proofing challenges?



You Know You’re a New Mom If…

I was thinking the other day “My, how things have changed,” and how funny so many of those changes are so I’d thought it would be a hoot to put together a “You Know You’re a New Mom If” list. Please add to the fun!

• You’ve added white and brown to your wardrobe (spit-up and poop.)
• You consider dinner out and a glass of wine to be a big night on the town
• You’ve forgotten to close your trunk open during or after a shopping excursion
• You catch yourself speaking baby talk to friends and your hubby
• You can’t remember what you had for lunch, or anything for that matter
• You own 5+ pairs of leggings
• Naps are orgasmic