A trip of firsts

We just got back from Cincinnati, which was a series of firsts for our little girl.

First trip on the airplane, on which she did okay. She was "that baby" for about 30 minutes in the middle of our flight on the way out there. I was that freaking out parent trying to stay calm while my baby cried and made everyone else's flight miserable.

Does this girl look like her dad, or what?

Rockin' out to some tunes with Mom (or at least chewing on the cord)


First meeting with cousin Howie:

First meeting with her Wallace and Nelson great-grandparents

Meeting Great-Grandma Sue, the origin of the dimples, and seriously, the only person she's allowed to hold her this way for more than about two seconds since she was about 4 weeks old:

Great Grandpa Jim, who has a fascinating beard and mustache:


She also got to meet her two Aunts, Becky and Sarah, and her Uncle Rick. I'm a total picture idiot though and didn't get photos of them together. Anyone have pictures of they would like to send me?

And these just because she's cute.



Some videos to come tomorrow - I'm leaving them to upload overnight.

Super Baby Food

More like "Super Crazy Lady". Melanie recommended this book to me with a very serious disclaimer that the author was crazy. And she is. And I love it.

Super Baby Foods, by Ruth Yaron, is a book on how to feed your baby and toddler, with recipes for making your own baby food (something I am attempting to do for Frankie). When I reserved this book from the library, I was expecting more of a cookbook -- instead I was handed a 550 page text book.

Alas, this book, like the Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child book I reviewed earlier, forgot the all important editing process. In the list of Choking Hazards on page 40, it actually reads:

• hard candy
• chewy candy
• gum
• jelly beans
• lollipops that may come off the stick
• all candy
• wrappers from candy

Because "gum" is different than "chewy candy", and "lollipops" are different than "hard candy". It's like she got to the end of the list and said "Oh, jeez, there are just so many candies to list, I better put "all candy" down. And then to be extra-safe, I remind them not to hand their baby the wrappers from the candy they're not supposed to give them", and forgot to go back and edit the list to remove the other candy items that are now covered under "All candy".

Amidst recipes and instructions on feeding your toddler are tips for emptying your dishwasher, "money-saving hints" like buying produce when it's ripe and on sale, or this one:
"Don't actually buy the "storage bags" instead of the "freezer bags". The packages look very similar and I once grabbed the storage type by accident when I was in a hurry and didn't read the box carefully."

So you're getting the idea why this book is 550 pages long.

Untamed inner monologues aside, this text was particularly shocking for me:
"Remember to keep your facial expression pleasant when you are changing your baby's diaper. (With some poops, this may be a real challenge!) He will notice any look of disgust on your face, which may teach him that his private parts are repulsive and lead him to believe that sex is "dirty" when he gets older."

Seriously? People still believe this Freudian nonsense? Aside from being ridiculous and perpetuating the false notion of a "perfect mother" who is responsible for any neurosis her adult child might have from one slip-up on her part, what is this doing in a book on how to make my infant's food?

All in all, I've enjoyed bits of the untamed inner monologue, which are fairly easy to skip over, it was fascinating to find out that people still believe Freud, and she actually has a lot of good information about feeding my infant, and how to make food for her. So good in fact, that I'm going to buy the book (the copy I have has been checked out from the library).

And now, for a tip of my own. I bought a hand-held immersion blender (by Oster, from Target, for $20), and it's the perfect tool for the job. I have a food processor too, but it just didn't get the food fine enough. Mel, I didn't even have to strain the fiber from the sweet potato I just made for Frankie. It's much easier to clean up too than my food processor.

The garden

Our neighbor, Eli, has spear-headed the planting of a garden in our backyard. He's planted all kinds of yummy fruits and vegetables. So far I personally have had 1 raspberry and 1 small grape tomato. That's been the extent of the crop so far, but it's on it's way!

An almost-ripe strawberry

Tomatoes

Maisy has learned to stay out of the garden, but still eats the grass around the perimeter.

5 Months!

Frankie is 5 months today!

My happy girl:







Frankie notices Steve.

Frankie makes out with Steve (or bites his nose).

Demonstrates one of her favorite skills for getting to the toys she wants - lifting them up with her feet...

so she can grab them with her hands (and then put them in her mouth).

At 5 months, This is what Frankie's up to:

• Eats rice cereal twice a day - we usually give her 4"portions" which Heather, Chris, Sarah (Murry, not my sister, Sarah!), and I have determined to be approximately one Tablespoon of rice cereal.
• Eats green beans -- sort of. She makes a face, and doesn't spit them right back at you, so we manage to give a few spoonfuls before she refuses them. It cracks me up to watch the surprised look on her face when she's expecting rice cereal, and gets green beans instead.
• Nurses 6 times a day. She's started to get really easily distracted while she's eating, so it's hard to feed her in public anymore. She's always pulling off, looking around.
  
• Rolls over (although is stingy with the rolls).
• Laughs and smiles regularly, always loves a crowd.
• Goes to the church nursery during the service so Chris and I can listen to the sermon, and gets doted on by the various congregants who are on nursery duty.
• Enjoys her excersaucer, fish, seed packs (seriously, Melanie, best toy ever), reading books, walks/jogs in the stroller, being carried in the sling, generally being out in public.
  
• Has a 'lovey' - she likes either the small blankie I made her or the lamby from Nonnie when she goes down for a nap.
• CANNOT sit up yet on her own. But for some odd reason, both Chris and I (separately, on the same day) made the mistake of thinking that she could, set her down and took away our hands - she bonked her head and cried. No idea what we were thinking. Sorry, baby girl.
  
• Sleeps from 7-10 (nurses) and then goes right back down until about 5:30 or 6. She then naps from 7-8, and then from 10-noon, and from 2-4. This is of course when she decided to be on schedule. Most days are an approximation of this.
• At last measurement, about a week ago, was 14 lbs 10 oz.
  

Chris and I are adjusting to parenthood. There are many days when I'm exhausted, worried that I'm not doing the right thing with her, or feel like I just can't get anything done. I still have about 10 lbs to lose. Breastfeeding is a sacrifice. But it's all definitely worth it. I miss her when I'm not with her, and it seems strange to think back to life before we had her.

Betty

Chris and I bought a second car a few months ago when it became difficult for me to take the bus everywhere with an infant. When we thought about buying a used car, I knew exactly which car I wanted: a Volvo 240. Volvo stopped making these cars in 1993, but they are an icon of the 80s and early 90s, are regarded as excellent cars, and many have rumored to make it well past the 200K mark. Fortunately for me, the time was ripe to buy a 240, because no matter the reputation of the car, a 14-year-old car is still a 14-year-old car, which kept the purchase price to a minimum.

We found a 1993 240 white wagon with the extra third-row seats in the back, making it the perfect mom-mobile. With just 145,000 miles on her, she was practically a baby. I named her Betty, and I have loved her.

I still love her, even though she recently developed a bit of a snaggle-tooth:

 
 

She was minding her own business, parked on the end of our street, and got side-swiped by a U-Haul (one more reason to hate U-Haul, anyone?). Sigh. Fortunately, the guy driving the U-Haul was very nice about taking responsibility, and so we're currently working with his insurance company to get her fixed.

I had to get an estimate for the repairs, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to find Click and Clack's local garage, the Good News Garage, right here in Cambridge. While they don't do body work, they recommended the place next door, DeLeo's. I took my car to Leo DeLeo, and he estimates the repairs are going to be $2500. Almost the purchase price of the car. Sigh again.

So the insurance agency is sending a guy today to come give his own estimate, and we'll see what comes of that. We won't let you go, though, Betty, you're still running great. What's a little snaggle-tooth?

Frankie's "big sister"

I've been meaning to post these pictures for a while -- here are some photos of Frankie with her "big sister" Elizabeth, who helps her mom, Heather, watch Frankie two days a week. Elizabeth loves Frankie - she's always excited to see her in the morning, and always makes sure to say goodbye to Frankie at the end of the day. Elizabeth came over one morning to hang out with us while her parents went to a wedding, and got to play with all of Frankie's toys for a change. It appears that three-year-olds can still fit in the Bumbo.

 
 

Picture her rollin'

Frankie rolled over from her back to her belly for the first time on Saturday (7/7/2007, must have been a lucky day for trying new things). We were not able to get it on video, but here's a picture of the after-effects:
 

We actually missed the first roll entirely. Saturday morning I nursed her at 5:30am when she got up and then asked my sweet husband if he would supervise the early morning play time (she usually plays from 6-7 and then takes another quick nap from 7-8) and went back to bed. Chris set her down on her back to play with her fishes (no, Melanie, not to swim with the fishes!), and dosed off. The next thing he knew she was on her belly fusing because she'd forgotten how to roll over back the other way.