Misadventures with Broccoli

So, as previously posted Lola has begun eating food. I have/had big plans for making all of her baby food from scratch. Unfortunately, I have not had the time/equipment to make it quite successfully.

We started with rice cereal which is not easily replicated at home, so I bought that and procured a fancy (affordable) food mill in anticipation of starting her on vegetables. I chose a non-electric one because 1- it's cheap and 2 - I have a food processor, a blender, and a hand blender so I figured I was covered in the electric arena and didn't need to spend money to get one labeled "Baby."

Anyhow, when it came time to try a new food I decided on green beans because I had them in the freezer! Thanks angelfood! I quickly discovered that you need a formidable amount of beans in the grinder to make it work as the sheer mass of food being pushed by the metal disc is what helps push it through the sieve. So I had to make a lot more than I bargained for and the skins were too tough and just collected in the bottom while i pushed them around. After about 20 minutes I collected about 2 tablespoons of baby green beans that had made it through the sieve (and a cup of mushed and mangled ones in the mill) and fed them to Lola. It was very anticlimactic she took it all in stride and didn't seem to notice the difference from rice cereal.

So, I decided I would buy pre-baby-fied green beans and move on to other vegetables with the food mill. I rummaged through the freezer and faced with lima beans or broccoli I decided broccoli had to be easy to grind! Maybe it was, don't really remember...what I do remember is Lola turning red and choking and me panicking and wishing I had taken that course on baby Heimlich and CPR.

After the trauma I realized that I have never seen broccoli in the baby food aisle, and the fibrousness of the broccoli keeps it gritty no matter how small you grind it so the grit was most likely the problem.

Back to baby cereal and liquified green beans for the time being. I'm not giving up but I will be getting the blender out because for now at least I think I need some motorized, electric, pulverizing help. I wonder if I could get one of these...

Politics Schmolitics

On having an extra thirteen pounds strapped to your chest

I had a c-section of the unscheduled, emergency type because labor started but Lola took her sweet, sweet time getting out. So, I had received this lovely sling custom-made for me that collected dust for 6 weeks while I recovered. But when I could walk up stairs and sit up without pain I finally pulled it out and discovered how liberating it is. Well, as liberating as you can get with an infant tied to your chest.

This amazing contraption is the only way I can handle commuting during rush hour on the metro. Trying to squeeze a stroller onto a sardine packed train is a lesson in futility. It's also the thing that allows me to get work done while I've got Lola in tow at the office. I can sit her on my lap with the sling just wrapped around her so she can't fall while she plays with her toys on my desk and occasionally deletes a file when she finds the keyboard! I can sit her up over my shoulder so she can see what's going on behind me. I can lay her down for a nap or feed her a bottle with one hand while I point and click with the mouse. I can even manage to go out with just one bag if I pack correctly.

There are several options out there, but since I am a well rounded woman with rather sizable assets I opted to go with something custom made. Rather, a lovely person gifted me with something custom made. I can't recommend this sling enough, it's very simply made, but has several versatile positions for baby, as well as an array of options for fabric. And if you don't like any of the options they have you can send in any fabric you like. You can even have one made for daddy out of a manly fabric!

Now must publish post before baby grabs keyboard!

Just Add Tuna

Working and taking care of a baby simultaneously is strenuous. I finally arrived home at about 8pm with no energy and nothing easily available to fix a quick dinner except for some leftover pesto in the fridge. I put some water on the stove to boil while I started feeding Lola. Good friend Heather, who came along for the ride this evening, took over the preparations, but kept poking around in my cupboards for something additional on the plate. The only thing I could think of was tuna... so, I can report that pesto tuna pasta is not altogether unpleasant- though I can't say I would want to make it again.

Still, I'd rather eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow than expend the energy to make a sandwich tonight.

And with that- I will retire to my chamber. I have 6 glorious hours of sleep ahead of me. Hopefully, there will be only one crying baby intermission.

Don't forget your sunscreen!

We were so excited by the beautiful day out that Lola, co-worker Sarah, and I went out for a long walk after lunch. Lola had a great time, charming all the passersby while peeking out from under her sunhat while perched in my sling. Unfortunately, I didn't think about her poor little chubby cheeks being exposed to sun, because when we got back to the office they had a touch of sunburn. So, terrified that I've exposed my baby to skin cancer I am now armed with information. Thank you internet! I will be marching out to the drug store tomorrow to get some good old-fashioned zinc oxide -the opaque white stuff you used to see on lifeguard's noses (whether in real life or on television.)I want to get her a little whistle and life preserver so she can play the part.

I suppose I should start wearing it myself, though I'll get the grown up chemical ridden version because I don't think I can pull off the lifeguard look.