Photo Bomb

Now the the weather is (slowly) getting warmer, we've really been enjoying going to the park. Gumball loves the swings. Sometimes she tucks her little arms into the infant swing. Looks like a floating head. Other times she likes her arms out, and claps and claps. She's really big on practicing her new skills. All the time. She is so smart.

Here are some photos from the past couple of weeks.

Attitude

Endless games of peekaboo, with anything she can "hide" behind

Baby Food: Lentils

Ingredients:
1 bag of lentils
6- 8 cups of water
3 potatoes, peeled and diced
3 apples, peeled, cored and diced
3 tbsp canola oil
tumeric to taste
cumin to taste
garlic to taste


Boil water. Wash lentils and make sure they contain no pebbles. Pebbles, while delicious, are not good in baby food. Add to water. Add potatoes and apples. You can also add carrots or spinach (or other veggies- but not for babies under 6 months, due to nitrates.) Add seasonings- to taste. Just a dash of each, if you want. Or omit. Add canola oil. Cook until very soft, about 30-45 minutes on medium/low. Blend.

This makes a LOT of mush. 6 ice cube trays, more or less.

Baby Food: Fruit Medley

This is something I make a lot. Gumball eats it almost every morning as a part of her breakfast. 2 Cubes of fruit, about 1 oz of breastmilk, about an oz of mashed avocado, and some multigrain baby cereal. Sometimes I add a 1/2 tsp of flax oil (although I've been thinking I should use ground flaxseed instead.) I also mix in probiotics (to help with ongoing constipation issues, which seem to be resolved due to the probiotics.) Healthy, and she likes it.

Fruit Medley (using all organics, if possible)
(I have to emphasize that quantities are not set in stone.)

1 cup of dried prunes
2 cups of water
3 peeled pears, chopped
1 bag frozen strawberries
1 bar frozen blueberries

Add prunes and water, simmer for 30-45 minutes. Add all other fruit. Simmer, covered, for 30 more minutes. Add water if necessary so the fruit doesn't burn. Puree in blender or food processor.

Makes about 3 (maybe more) ice cube trays of baby food.

Baby Food 2: Organics, Tools, and Ramblings

So, here's the thing about me making food for the baby. I started all super-gung-ho. Making everything she ate. And then I noticed that she ate more, and slept better, when I gave her Earth's Best jarred food. I was pissed. This darn baby doesn't do anything the way I want her to. But damn, I wanted her to eat dinner, and sleep like an angel. Ha! So I've made a compromise. I make her breakfast and lunch, and give her jarred food for dinner. It is what it is. I hope someday she won't gag when I feed her lumpy food. I also hope to make every meal healthier than the last.

Teaching a girl how and what to eat, when you're a fat mama, is kind of a loaded issue. I'll probably write more about that some time.

But now, I want to mention a couple of things. You know. Just in case anyone actually reads this, and in case they want to make some baby food. Purees. You know.

1. I think its important to buy organic when possible. I get a lot of my ingredients frozen, but organic. There are certain fruits and vegetables that are especially important to buy organic. The "dirty dozen". You can read about them here: Download the Guide| Environmental Working Group

Or here:


1. Celery
Celery has no protective skin, which makes it almost impossible to wash off the chemicals (64 of them!) that are used on crops. Buy organic celery, or choose alternatives like broccoli, radishes, and onions.
2. Peaches
Multiple pesticides (as many as 62 of them) are regularly applied to these delicately skinned fruits in conventional orchards. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include watermelon, tangerines, oranges, and grapefruit.
3. Strawberries
If you buy strawberries, especially out of season, they're most likely imported from countries that have less-stringent regulations for pesticide use. 59 pesticides have been detected in residue on strawberries. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include kiwi and pineapples.
4. Apples
Like peaches, apples are typically grown with poisons to kill a variety of pests, from fungi to insects. Tests have found 42 different pesticides as residue on apples. Scrubbing and peeling doesn't eliminate chemical residue completely, so it's best to buy organic when it comes to apples. Peeling a fruit or vegetable also strips away many of their beneficial nutrients. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include watermelon, bananas, and tangerines.
5. Blueberries
New on the Dirty Dozen list in 2010, blueberries are treated with as many as 52 pesticides, making them one of the dirtiest berries on the market.
6. Nectarines
With 33 different types of pesticides found on nectarines, they rank up there with apples and peaches among the dirtiest tree fruit. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include, watermelon, papaya, and mango.
7. Bell peppers
Peppers have thin skins that don't offer much of a barrier to pesticides. They're often heavily sprayed with insecticides. (Tests have found 49 different pesticides on sweet bell peppers.) Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include green peas, broccoli, and cabbage.
8. Spinach
New on the list for 2010, spinach can be laced with as many as 48 different pesticides, making it one of the most contaminated green leafy vegetable.
9. Kale
Traditionally, kale is known as a hardier vegetable that rarely suffers from pests and disease, but it was found to have high amounts of pesticide residue when tested this year. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include cabbage, asparagus, and broccoli.
10. Cherries
Even locally grown cherries are not necessarily safe. In fact, in one survey in recent years, cherries grown in the U.S. were found to have three times more pesticide residue then imported cherries. Government testing has found 42 different pesticides on cherries. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include raspberries and cranberries.
11. Potatoes
America's popular spud reappears on the 2010 Dirty Dozen list, after a year hiatus. America's favorite vegetable can be laced with as many as 37 different pesticides. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include eggplant, cabbage, and earthy mushrooms.
12. Grapes
Imported grapes run a much greater risk of contamination than those grown domestically. Only imported grapes make the 2010 Dirty Dozen list. Vineyards can be sprayed with different pesticides during different growth periods of the grape, and no amount of washing or peeling will eliminate contamination because of the grape's thin skin. Remember, wine is made from grapes, which testing shows can harbor as many as 34 different pesticides. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include kiwi and raspberries.

2. Equipment. I have used a blender, a Cuisenart, then a little Cuisenart. No need to buy a fancy, expensive baby food maker. Or whatever. Buy one. I don't care either way. I also use a peeler, and a strainer. And a set of BPA-free ice cube trays.

That's it.

Planning II

And today I decided to stockpile baby Ibuprofen and baby Tylenol. Yup. Just that crazy. Bought two boxes of each. Heaven forbid Gumball might need some late one night.

Planning

There are many aspects of single motherhood that I was not prepared for. Actually, I wasn't prepared for any of it. That said, there are specific experiences that, so far, have defined this crazy trip for me. A big one is planning. The thing is, when you're a single mom, planning becomes essential. I don't know. Maybe it's just me. I am kind of a planner/hoarder/type A sort of person. Something about being a single mom brings these characteristics out in full force. I live in terror that I won't have something I need. No, not something I need... something the baby needs. What could I possibly need? Food, I have. Clothing too. But the baby? Her needs are much more urgent.

Just to share a few of the necessities. Diapers? I have a case. Wipes? A case. The special, seasonal Earth's Best that she will eat 8oz of for dinner and sleep 6 or 8 hours without waking (Turkey/Cran, in case you were wondering.) I have 40 jars. Pedialyte? Got it. Baby tylenol, advil, butt cream. Yup. And if I forget to buy more, well, I joined Amazon Mom AND Amazon Subscribe and Save to get 30% off diapers and butt cream, so even if I were to forget, or to somehow become incapacitated, diapers and cream will continue to be delivered to my house every 2 months.

The thing is, I hate asking for help. And I've had to do it pretty much constantly for the past 8 months. My mom has saved my life over and over. While dealing with a messed up thyroid. My friends D and S wrote me emails almost every single night when things were the roughest. And they continue to support me in many different ways. J demanded that I get off my exhausted ass and start to feel better, even though it was literally the last thing I could imagine doing. My lovely ex-neighbor J cooked for me, went to doctors appointments with me and the baby, held the baby so I could nap, helped me move. My aunt C came out of no where to help us get by. God, so many people, so much help. I detest being this vulnerable. I don't know if having a partner would change this feeling, but without one, I feel like it is me against the world. And a stockpile of diapers and wipes and Turkey/Cran eases my anxiety. Somewhat.

Photos

I just started working on my second photo album for the baby. Its about half done. She's not yet 9 months old. And I've documented approximately 300 good photos worth of her experiences. Which is, ahem, more days than she's been living. Yup. This doesn't come close to the thousands of photos I didn't print, or the countless (close to 90) videos I've uploaded to our youtube channel.

At first, I took photos because I wanted to document Gumball's happy infancy. I was heartbroken and defeated, but I wanted to make it seem like we were having nonstop fun. Now I'm just obsessed with how adorable she is. I can't stop. Every moment with her seems so precious, and fleeting. Its just so weird to me. I long for a break. I imagine a night in a hotel, alone, watching tv and eating take out and mostly just sleeping for hours and hours and not worrying. But even now, in the precious few hours while she sleeps, I miss her. I never imagined how I could love someone so much, and at the same time, be so utterly exhausted. Long with every fiber for a break, but miss her in the moments we're apart. She is the most special and unique person I've ever experienced. Funny, and brave, and determined. Intense yet delicate. I love her so much.