1. Foolproof Boiled Eggs

   May 31, 2012 :: 8:13 am

   This is a recipe for hard boiled eggs from Cook’s Illustrated. Not that I really care for hard boiled eggs, but I am trying hard to learn to like or at least tolerate eggs. I can now eat a scrambled egg (just one) without choking. Put some salt, pepper, and cheese on it and it’s really not half bad.

   Anyway, now that Jamie can eat eggs, I think he might like them hard-boiled. I want to try this recipe for him.

   We finally got our foolproof boiled egg recipe by tinkering just a little with a technique recommended by the American Egg Board: Start the eggs in cold water, bring the water to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat and let the eggs sit for 15 minutes. Our tests showed that 10 minutes of sitting time was enough; our tasters agreed that these were perfectly cooked eggs.

   MAKES 6 EGGS

   You may double or triple this recipe as long as you use a pot large enough to hold the eggs in a single layer, covered by an inch of water.

   INGREDIENTS

   • 6 large eggs

   INSTRUCTIONS

   1. Place eggs in medium saucepan, cover with 1 inch of water, and bring to boil over high heat. Remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a medium bowl with 1 quart water and 1 tray of ice cubes (or equivalent). Transfer eggs to ice water bath with slotted spoon; let sit 5 minutes. Peel and use as desired.

   FOOLPROOF PEELING

   1. Tap the egg all over against the counter surface, then roll it gently back and forth a few times on the counter.
   2. Begin peeling from the air pocket end. The shell should come off in spiral strips attached to the thin membrane.

   

   Category Allergies, Food | Tags: | No Comments

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2. Quick Daily Updates, May 2012

   May 25, 2012 :: 10:29 am

   May 25
   “For Douglas’s sake, don’t forget your towel today! 5/25/12 is not just the annual Towel Day to honor the genius of Douglas Adams, but Super Towel Day (5 + 25 + 12 = 42!!!!) A day that won’t recur for another … century, when the cosmic solution to life, the universe, and everything just may be revealed. Why a towel? It is, after all …. “the massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value – you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindbogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you – daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough. Most importantly, a towel has immense psychological value…” So long Douglas, and thanks for all the fish…” — David Brin

   May 23
   After dinner, took a walk with Doc and Jamie in the warm evening air, and got mini slurpees (free!) at the 7-11. Fun family outing!

   I’m reading Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods,” and now I have a strong desire to take 8 months off work and hike the Appalachian Trail.

   May 22
   Four — count ‘em, four — freelance jobs came in for Doc and I today. When it rains, it pours! (And two more for him and one more for me have come in since then!)

   May 21
   Ohhhhh noooooooo… UT’s commencement program for its public affairs graduates had an error on the cover, calling the school the “Lyndon B. Johnson School of Pubic Affairs.” Talk about the mother of all typos.

   It reminded me of this old Saturday Night Live ad parody, “The Power to Crush the Other Kids.”

   May 18
   So, apparently our 3-1/2 year old knows the difference between a cyclops (guy with one eye), centaur (part horsie, part man), Minotaur (guy with bull head), medusa (lady with snakes instead of hair), and mermaid (lady on top with fish bottom). Mythology FTW!

   While at the park yesterday, Jamie spotted a plant he wasn’t familiar with and said “I should not touch this. Leaves of three, let them be bees in there.”

   May 16
   Bonnie Valant-Spaight – shall we go into business together?

   May 13
   Had a lovely Mother’s Day with my two favorite boys in the whole wide world. Slept in (!!!), coffee and cinnamon rolls on the patio, made chocolate cake, read stories, went out to lunch, played at the park by Christie Elementary (ah, the memories), watched tv during quiet time, I went for a run, made dinner, and a certain someone cooperated with brushing teeth tonight. Oh, and about 1,000 “I love you, Mommy!”s.

   I love that Jamie is raptly watching Fantasia. He really likes the dancing flowers part (sugarplum waltz).

   Jamie’s Chocolate Cake

   This recipe contains no gluten or dairy. It tastes delicious!! So moist and chocolatey. Most people would never know it was missing anything. I adapted it from a brownie recipe at http://www.delightedmomma.com/2012/05/flourless-zucchini-brownies.html

   1 cup almond butter (I used half sunflower butter, half almond butter. You can probably use peanut butter too)
   1/3 cup honey
   2 tablespoons brown sugar
   2 medium/large zucchini
   1/4 cup gluten-free Bisquick baking mix (optional)
   1 egg
   1 teaspoon vanilla
   1 teaspoon baking soda
   1 teaspoon cinnamon
   1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
   1 cup chocolate chips (we used Ghirardelli semi-sweet, which happen to be dairy free)

   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Liberally grease a 9″x9″ baking pan.

   Combine almond butter, honey, and brown sugar in a large bowl.

   Grate zucchini on a box grater or in a food processor. Then chop the strands finely, into tiny pieces. Pile the pieces into a thick layer of paper towels (or a clean kitchen towel) and wring to get as much liquid out as possible.

   Add zucchini to bowl, along with the remaining ingredients. Stir until combined.

   Pour into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

   May 11
   Jamie gets to go have some pictures taken of his bones! Yay! (He’s been complaining of hip pain for a few weeks)

   Today’s morning drive music: “Bad” (U2), “Hungry For You (j’aurais Toujours Faim de Toi)” (The Police), “Subterranean Homesick Alien” (Radiohead), “Mining for Gold” (Cowboy Junkies), and “Memories” (Mars Volta).

   May 10
   Nothing like a little Unforgettable Fire to get me through the afternoon.

   May 10
   I’m eating lunch out at a restaurant and “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” just came on the music system. What the what?!

   

   Thank you, Mr. President!

   May 9
   Omg! Dallas people! Have you been outside?! Go! Now!

   May 8
   I am convinced one of the cubicles in my office is built on an ancient Indian burial ground.

   Ohhh…. so sad. :( We will miss you, Maurice Sendak, “author of splendid nightmares.”

   And THIS is why I only check my work email twice a day now. “Frequent email checkers are stressed out, and removing the constant email-checking from a worker’s habits meant more focus and productivity, less stress.”

   May 7
   Is it bad that I felt good about letting someone make a difficult turn in front of me, but then regretted my generosity when I realized she was blabbing away on her cell phone?

   May 5
   Enjoying the Chipotle exhibit at the Arburrito

   May 4
   Got told, “I don’t want you here! I only want Daddy and Bob!” when I met Doc, Jamie and my brother out for lunch today. Ouch.

   May the 4th be with you!

   Perhaps I have had too much coffee this morning. #bouncingoffthewalls

   May 3
   Loved coming home this evening to a Devo dance party. Doc taught Jamieson to pogo.

   Burt’s Bee’s is owned by Clorox. Betcha didn’t know that. I didn’t until I used the “forgot password” link on their site login screen, and got a reset email from the Clorox company. That doesn’t necessarily mean their products aren’t good or that they don’t actually use natural and organic ingredients. I’m just disappointed at discovering, yet again, that giant corporations own the world. At any rate, they are offering a spring sampler kit free with any $30 purchase.

   May 2

   

   Nothing beats a chocolate almondmilk mustache

   SO CUTE! I love this illustrator (Alain Grée)

   May 1
   The other hallway in our building smells like Mr. Sketch markers.

   HOW have I never had cheesy grits before tonight???! OMG.

   Lovely. Kashi purposely misleads it’s consumers and then blames them for “not understanding.”

    

   Category Books, Family, Food, Health, Jamieson, Music, Work | Tags: | No Comments

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3. Another Lord Emperor Toddler-approved meal

   August 30, 2010 :: 9:44 am

   Turkey and Broccoli with Lemon Rice

   • 1 cup cooked brown rice
   • 1/2 cup diced cooked turkey
   • 1/2 cup steamed broccoli, finely minced
   • lemon olive oil (you can use plain, too)
   • salt
   • pepper

   Stir rice, turkey, and broccoli together. Heat in microwave until warm. Drizzle generously with olive oil, and add one small dash of pepper and a bit of salt to taste.

   Jamieson loved this. And it was delicious enough that I’m going to make it for the big people in the household next time, too; maybe adding a few Katamala olives.

   For dessert he had about 1/2 cup of fresh local blueberries. I wasn’t sure he’d eat them so I only gave him a few at a time (I didn’t want a carpet full of purple stains), but he kept asking for more.

   In non-food-related news, we were playing with his wooden cars this morning and as soon as I stopped, he looked at me and said, “More vrooom!”

   Category Family, Food, Jamieson | Tags: | 1 Comment

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4. And on the 11th night, there was no waking.

   August 24, 2010 :: 10:51 am

   Well, well, well.

   I wasn’t sure I’d ever see the day that this happened, but it finally has.

   Lord Emperor Toddler, age 20-1/2 months, has SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT! Indeed, five out of the last six nights, he has slept all the way from bedtime (8:30-ish) until 7 or 7:30 in the morning. Occasionally he will cry out for a minute or two, but I can tell by how the cries sound that he’s not actually awake. He quiets down after a minute or two and settles back to sleep.

   This happened eleven days after we began the process of weaning him from the first of his two night feedings. We always gave him his second bottle when he woke up for it. I guess he just decided that it wasn’t worth waking up for it anymore. Who knows what went through his little brain, consciously or subconsciously. Maybe he realized that he felt better when he got a long stretch of sleep, and he began to get comfortable knowing that daddy always comes in first thing in the morning with a cup of milk and some banana slices and cereal, so he won’t be hungry.

   We had been looking forward to this day for such a long time, with such longing and anticipation, and it even became a running joke between Doc and I (“I know we said this last night, but tonight is actually the night he’s going to sleep through the night.”). Eventually there came a point when I internally gave up thinking/wishing/pining for a full night’s sleep for both he and I, because it never ever happened, and I had learned to get by pretty well with the routine we were in.

   And when it happened, I was way less excited than I ever thought I’d be. Angels did not sing, golden light did not shine from above, I did not spring forth from my bed fully rested and ready to take on the world. Which was TOTALLY not the reaction I was expecting from myself.

   I guess the potential excitement of that moment had been dulled by months of … well, drudgery is not the right word, but just months of a 2x/night waking schedule with no real signs of Jamie changing it up on his own. And of course, we had to be 100% certain that he would be getting all the nutrition he needs during his waking hours before we pulled the ripcord on the night feedings, so we chose to let it continue for a very long time, WAY longer than I think most people would. But I honestly don’t think that any of us would have been successful with this process even a few months ago.

   As I am constantly reminded… every kid is different.

   Category Family, Food, Jamieson | Tags: | No Comments

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5. Zucchini Rice Casserole with Sausage and Cheese

   August 17, 2010 :: 12:46 pm

   I adapted this recipe from one I found on eatingwell.com. I used Minute rice instead of regular rice for expediency’s sake (shaving about an hour off the cooking time), left out the bell pepper since I didn’t have one on hand, and left out the cream cheese topping as it seemed like cheese overkill.

   I will definitely make this again, and add more vegetables to the rice — maybe carrots, broccoli, asparagus. We can leave out the cheese sauce and it will still be delicious, and Jamieson-friendly.

   Here is my version of Zucchini Rice Casserole with Sausage and Cheese.

   • 1 cup Minute rice
   • 1-3/4 cups chicken broth or water
   • 2 cups diced zucchini and/or summer squash (about 2 medium)
   • 1/2 large onion, diced
   • 1/2 teaspoon salt
   • 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
   • 8 ounces turkey sausage, casings removed
   • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) corn kernels
   • 3/4 cup low-fat milk
   • 1-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
   • 1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese, divided
   • 1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapeños

   Preheat oven to 375°F.

   Pour rice into a 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish. Bring broth or water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Stir hot broth into the rice along with zucchini, onion and salt. Cover with foil. Bake for 25 minutes.

   While rice is cooking, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add sausage. Cook, stirring and breaking the sausage into small pieces with a spoon, until lightly browned and no longer pink, about 6 minutes.

   When casserole is done, remove from oven and stir in sausage and corn.

   Preheat oven broiler.

   In the same pot you used to cook the sausage, pour in milk and sprinkle flour on top. Whisk over medium heat until bubbling and thickened, 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add 3/4 cup cheese and cook, stirring, until the cheese is melted. Stir cheese sauce into casserole. Top with chopped jalapenos and remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

   Put the casserole under the broiler and broil until cheese melts and is beginning to turn brown in spots.

   Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

   Category Food | Tags: | No Comments

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6. Baby Shepherd’s Pie

   May 11, 2010 :: 10:04 am

   I am married to a genius!

   Doc has discovered a way to get Lord Imperial Toddler to eat a balanced meal. He calls his trick “Baby Shepherd’s Pie.”

   Take some meat — ham, turkey, or a hot dog. Mince finely. Take some peas (or green beans) and carrots. Mince very finely. Mix this together in a baby serving bowl and heat until warm. Take warm mashed potatoes (made with margarine). Spread over the meat/veg mixture.

   Voila! Something our toddler will eat!! It tastes like meat and potatoes, which he likes, and the vegetables are chopped too small for him to notice they are there!

   Another meal that I discovered he likes is Japanese rice noodles, cooked till very soft and chopped into 1/4″ lengths, drizzled with lemon olive oil and salt. Mix this with finely minced vegetables and meat.

   Category Baby, Doc, Food, Jamieson | Tags: | 2 Comments

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7. Food allergy update; new words

   March 12, 2010 :: 3:17 pm

   We had additional allergy testing done on Jamie in late February. The allergist did “patch testing,” where they taped little samples of suspect foods to Jamie’s back, covered in bandages and medical tape. They had to stay on for 48 hours, which wasn’t as easy as it sounds. I think the samples itched, and so did the medical tape. And they covered pretty much his entire back. Poor little guy did really well, despite being pretty uncomfortable for two days (and stinky! he couldn’t bathe while the patches were on).

   The patches got applied on a Monday, and came off on Wednesday. He had a re-check appointment on Thursday. And the results?

   Jamieson is officially allergic to:

   • Milk
   • Eggs
   • Wheat

   … which we already knew about from the earlier scratch testing, and:

   • Chicken
   • Peanuts
   • and possibly other foods that weren’t tested

   Any one of those allergies on their own would be difficult enough to deal with, but all five of them was a real punch in the gut. I think that the wheat allergy is going to be the hardest to manage. Wheat is in EVERYTHING.

   It’s possible that he’ll grow out of some or all of these allergies. Most kids, do, apparently.

   The struggle we’re having now is that he isn’t really interested in eating solid foods, period — or drinking much formula. We feel lucky if we can get him to eat more than a few bites at mealtime or snacktime. I think he’s just too busy learning and playing to want to stop and eat. He seems to be growing regardless, though, so I’m trying to be very zen about it and not worry too much. He’s getting a huge percentage of his calories in the middle of the night right now, which I am also trying not to stress out about.

   The things that he seems to consistently be OK with eating are hot dogs, turkey, and ham. Right now he loves fresh strawberries, as well. He won’t eat bananas anymore. Vegetables are pretty much out; Doc discovered a sneaky technique that takes advantage of Jamie’s newfound interest in feeding himself with a fork. If you sandwich a piece of hotdog between two small pieces of cooked carrot, he’ll usually spit only ONE of the carrots out. He’ll eat french fries or roasted potato chunks most of the time. And we have a plethora of wheat-free crunchy snacks that he seems to like: Barbara’s Morning O’s (like Cheerios), Corn Chex, Pirate Booty (veggie flavored), and dried fruit.

   He still drinks 50%-thicker Nutramigen formula, but we have begun feeding him Bright Beginnings Pediatric Soy drink when he wakes up in the night — it’s like Boost or Ensure for toddlers, and soy based. It’s a lot cheaper than his formula, and he doesn’t notice at night that it’s different. He generally resists the soy drink during the day, but we are slowly attempting to transition him completely away from Nutramigen since it’s really for babies, not toddlers.

   He still generally wakes twice per night, but it’s usually very easy to get him back to sleep. This is a HUGE change, and one I am immensely grateful for. Broken sleep is still not easy for me to handle, but I can maintain our current easier schedule for a long while if I need to.

   Not food-allergy-related: He now has four words that he consistently uses! He’s had daddy/dada and mama down for a while now. Tuesday night he started saying “ham” — how cute! And yesterday he added “hi” to his repertoire.

   Category Food, Health, Jamieson | Tags: | 3 Comments

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8. Chicken Broccoli Pasta

   February 26, 2010 :: 1:16 pm

   I made this the other night in an attempt to use up some ingredients in our refrigerator, and I really liked how it turned out.

   I wish it didn’t involve using so many dishes; the way I have it written, you bake the chicken in a pan, boil the pasta in a pot, and cook the pesto and tomato mixture in yet another pot. I decided to cook the frozen veggies in a strainer in the pasta water to save yet ANOTHER pot.

   You could pan-saute the chicken, then add the garlic, pesto, and tomatoes to the pan with the chicken. That would save a pan and save having to turn on the oven. I might try it that way next time.

   Anyway, this would be just as good without chicken, I think.

   Chicken Broccoli Pasta
   Serves 4

   2 teaspoons canola or grapeseed oil
   2 chicken breasts
   salt and pepper to taste
   2 cloves garlic
   2 tablespoons pesto
   2 medium tomatoes (or 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained)
   8 ounces spaghetti or linguine pasta, broken in half
   1 cup frozen broccoli florets
   1 cup frozen cut green beans
   Parmesan cheese
   Crushed red pepper

   Preheat oven to 425. Spread 1 teaspoon oil in a 8″x8″ glass baking dish. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Place chicken in baking dish. Drizzle 1 teaspoon oil on top, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 15-20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

   Remove chicken from baking dish. Pour any oil and drippings from dish into a saucepan over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add pesto and tomatoes; cook 1 minute longer. Turn off heat.

   Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling salted water in a 2-quart saucepan, according to package directions, until al dente. About 2 minutes before pasta is done, place frozen broccoli and green beans into a mesh strainer and place on top of the saucepan so veggies are submerged in the water. Let water return to a boil and cook for about 2 minutes longer.

   Remove mesh strainer and drain vegetables. Add vegetables to garlic-pesto-tomato mixture. Drain pasta and add it to the vegetable mixture.

   Slice chicken into 1/4″ slices and add to pasta. Toss until combined.

   Serve hot with Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper.

   Category Food | Tags: | 1 Comment

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9. Moosewood casserole, adapted

   February 8, 2010 :: 2:26 pm

   I am doing casual research to broaden my culinary repertoire to include foods that Jamie can eat (no wheat, eggs, or dairy — more on that in my next post).

   I adapted this casserole from the Moosewood Cookbook. It is delicious. Sadly, Jamie did not seem to think so. But it was a very different taste and texture from anything he’s used to. Maybe next time he’ll give it another chance.

   Spinach-Rice Casserole with Beef

   2 cups water
   2 cups Minute Rice (or use regular white or brown rice, and cook it according to package directions)
   1/2 pound ground beef, 85% lean
   1 medium yellow onion, diced
   1 pound frozen chopped spinach
   2 teaspoons garlic salt
   1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
   1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
   1/4 cup sunflower seeds
   Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

   Cook rice according to package directions (for Minute Rice, boil 2 cups of water, add rice, stir, cover, remove from heat, and let sit for 5 minutes). In a medium saucepan or Dutch oven, cook ground beef over medium-high heat until browned. Add onion and spinach; cook 5 minutes. Add seasonings and sunflower seeds.

   Top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, for the non-allergic. Vegans can leave out the ground beef and still have a tasty nutritious meal.

   Category Food, Health, Jamieson | Tags: | No Comments

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10. Mujadarrah

    January 19, 2010 :: 9:47 am

    Mujadarrah is a delicious high-protein and high-fiber side dish. I created this recipe based on the mujadarrah served at a local Mediterranean restaurant.

    We served it with broiled salmon fillets last night. It’s also dirt-cheap! The recipe below makes enough for six generous servings, and costs about 35 cents per serving.

    1 quart water, or veggie or chicken broth
    1 cup brown lentils
    1 cup white long-grain rice
    2 teaspoons canola oil
    1 small yellow onion, sliced
    1 teaspoon cider vinegar
    Salt and pepper to taste
    1/4 teaspoon cumin
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon pepper

    Boil water or broth. Add lentils and cook for about 15 minutes, covered. Add rice and stir. Cover and cook until rice is tender, 15-20 minutes.

    Meanwhile, heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sliced onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is browned, about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with cider vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Stir again and remove from heat.

    When lentils and rice are done, add onion mixture, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and serve.

    Category Food | Tags: | No Comments

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11. Super easy garlic rolls

    October 19, 2009 :: 10:51 am

    I made these rolls for dinner last night. It takes almost no effort and they are delicious — it’s a batter recipe, so no kneading or heavy duty mixing is required. Next time I might experiment with using whole wheat flour or some additional whole grains such as quinoa, flax, or wheat germ.

    Super Easy Garlic Rolls

    Makes 12

    1 package (2-1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
    1 cup warm water
    2 tablespoons sugar
    2 teaspoons salt
    1 egg
    2 tablespoons nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening, room temperature
    2-1/4 cups all purpose unbleached flour
    Garlic salt

    Dissolve yeast in warm water in the bowl of a mixer. When dissolved, mix in sugar, salt, egg, and 1 cup of the flour. Mix until blended. Add shortening; mix until blended. Stir in remaining flour, and beat for 2 minutes or until well blended.

    Remove beaters, scrape batter down from sides of bowl, cover bowl with a damp towel, and put bowl in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

    Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400.

    Punch down batter and stir thoroughly for about 30 seconds. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each cup about halfway. Sprinkle muffins liberally with garlic salt. Let rise about 20 minutes or until the batter rises to the top of the tins.

    Bake for about 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Let cool in muffin tins for 3 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack. Serve warm.

    Category Food | Tags: | No Comments

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12. Milestones

    April 27, 2009 :: 4:06 pm

    April 12

    Tried on a cute dress today. Made me look like curtains from the 70s.
    It was green and pleated, and looked cute hanging on the rack. Not so much on me. I had to go clothes shopping and get a few things in a (horrors!) larger size. I keep telling myself it’s only temporary. But the numbers on the scale don’t seem to be moving much. Making milk for Jamie makes me seriously hungry.

    The other thing that happened today: Jamie tried his first solid food, rice cereal. He wasn’t that into it. In fact, he got kind of upset. I guess we probably shouldn’t have tried to give it to him when he was super hungry. We tried again before bedtime and it was a lot easier. We made the cereal thicker, and he very quickly got the hang of eating off the spoon, even going so far as to grab  the handle to help shove it into his mouth. Unfortunately, he had a really bad night and a bad day the next day so we decided to wait a while before giving him any more.

    April 14

    Breakfast: organic yogurt, strawberries, and coffee. Mmmm.

    The Infant Commander had a good night last night.
    I can’t really remember the specifics about this night, but I think it might have been the night he woke at 8 p.m., midnight, and 4 a.m. Four hours between feedings, consistently!

    April 16

    I wonder how to make a 4-month-old nap when he is clearly tired but won’t go to sleep…
    This is one of our greatest challenges: getting the baby to nap. He is way more interested in interacting with us and with his environment than he is in going to sleep. We are finding that sleep begets sleep, though. It seems counterintuitive, but if we can get him to nap and to sleep longer at night, then it’s easier for him to continue napping and sleeping longer. An overtired baby is a cranky baby who doesn’t want to sleep. He won’t drift off on his own, though, so we are on the lookout for new soothing methods.

    April 17

    I just got stung by an f-ing bee, or wasp, or fire ants. On my toe. F!!!
    That hurt like hell. I was outside with Jamie at twilight, showing him the plants on the back deck, and I must have stepped on or near a bee or wasp. Of course I was barefoot. It got me on the side of my 4th toe, and what started as a little stinging sensation quickly blossomed into a full fledged foot-on-fire feeling. I quickly checked Jamie to make sure that there weren’t any bees on or near him, and hopped inside. I stuck him in his bouncer and hopped around the living room, cursing to myself. Doc was out running errands and I called him to let him know that I’d been stung, Jamie was in a safe place, and I didn’t know if I was allergic or not since this was only the 2nd bee sting I’ve ever had. I figured that in case I passed out, he ought to be aware of what was going on. I did not pass out. Soaking my foot in a bowl of ice water helped. I was sore for a few days.

    April 18

    I am very pleased by the dinner I whipped up tonight: club sandwiches, tomato soup, and spinach salads.
    It was good! I didn’t find out until later that the spinach was a bad idea… Read on.

    I am kinda surprised and annoyed that my love for red meat, acquired during pregnancy, has not gone away.
    Beef! Sausage! Bacon! (Is bacon red meat?)

    April 21

    In honor of Earth Day, I have stopped eating green leafy vegetables. Save the spinaches!
    So I stopped eating green leafies. Out of desperation, we called our lactation consultant, who determined that all the spinach I’ve been eating might be the cause of Jamie’s gassy uncomfortableness. And so it seems to be the case! I’ve been off spinach, greens, lettuce, cabbage, etc. (and broccoli for good measure) since the 21st, and the difference is remarkable. He is so much more relaxed now. The ironic thing is, I increased my spinach intake while pregnant and continued after Jamie was born, because it is so chock full of nutrients. If only I’d known… we could have saved him (and ourselves) months of agony. I’m trying not to let the guilt get to me.

    April 24

    I am kinda weirded out by how green beans squeak against my teeth. Perhaps a generous serving of butter on top would fix that problem…
    Really, they do squeak if I just eat them steamed without butter. It’s odd. Rachel suggests eating them with bacon, and you can bet I’m going to try that next time.

    April 26

    I am grateful to Doc for last night’s 6 hour sleep block and to Jamie for sleeping till 7:30 this morning.
    A breakthrough! Jamie had his bottle at 1 a.m. but woke up at 3:30 crying. He’d had something like 7 ounces of milk, so it’s not that he was hungry — but I’ve always nursed him on demand when he woke, because that was the only surefire way to get him back to sleep. This time, Doc gave him a pacifier and rocked him for about an hour and a half. Every time he tried to put him back in his crib, he started to come awake again. At 5 he handed Jamie off to me so he could get some sleep. I sat in the rocker with him for another hour, then decided to bring him into bed with me. I fed him a short time later (5-1/2 hours between feedings!) and then he slept until 7:30. Doc won me six hours of solid sleep and since Jamie’s been consistently getting up around 5 or 5:30 a.m., I was quite pleased at how late he slept today.

    April 27

    ‘Tis easier for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than it is to thread a greasy baby through a onesie.
    That boy does not like having cream applied, but he gets rashy on his neck and chest where drool-soaked onesie fabric sits against his skin. So we rub him with Boudreaux’s Baby Butt Smooth Dry  Skin Ointment after his bath, and that usually makes him upset, and then our next task is to try to get a crying greasy baby into his jammies.

    ****

    

    Big Top Growth Chart

    A coworker showed me a link to this circus-themed growth chart. I love it! It’s kind of expensive so I might ask for it as a birthday or Christmas gift instead of just buying it. I like the idea of having a permanent record of Jamie’s growth. When I was growing up, we made marks on a doorframe (as I suspect so did many of you).

    Last night was another good night as far as training Jamie that he really doesn’t need to eat every 2 hours at night. He woke up a mere 2-1/2 hours after his last bottle, and instead of feeding him I gave him a pacifier and rocked him. He wasn’t too happy about it at first, but succumbed to the sleepies a short while later. He then slept another hour and a half before waking to eat. I hope this is a trend, and eventually he just won’t wake up for that feeding anymore. Doc has been working so hard to make this happen. I was glad I could pitch in a little bit last night.

    So in addition to spinach, I am also off of caffeine. Although my caffeine intake isn’t enormous (one cup of coffee plus several diet Cokes per day, usually), I suspect that Jamie might be somewhat sensitive to it, so I have cut it out of my diet completely. I went cold turkey and have had headaches for the past three days. I wonder why they call it “cold turkey.” Perhaps suddenly quitting a habit is about as appealing as a cold plate of turkey. I can dig that.

    Jamieson has crossed another milestone in his young life: He is now sitting up like a big boy! This means that, if we put him in a seated position, he can usually stay sitting by himself for a short period. If he begins to fall to one side, he’ll put out his hand to steady himself. Often he leans way forward for balance, but now I am seeing him sitting upright with good posture, more and more. Yesterday we had him sitting on his playmat, and he was gripping Doc’s fingers for balance. And then, he let go. On his own.

    Here’s a few recent photos…

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    Category Baby, Food, Jamieson, My Boring Life, Nature | Tags: | 2 Comments

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