Baby Cooks?

So if you have read what the Mommish says, you know how passionate I am about homecooked (or as close of an approximation to it as possible) baby food. So you can imagine my intrigue when I came across a new product in the Williams Sonoma catalog that not only purees, but also steams, blends and warms fruits and veggies into delicious concoctions for the wee ones. It's called the Beaba Babycook and it looks pretty cool. That being said, the $139 price tag is a little steep for the Mommish, and if you already are the proud owner of a veggie steamer (or microwave or even a good old fashion oven for that matter) and either a blender or a food processor - then you already have all the tools you need. But if you are looking for easier clean-up and keeping everything in one place, it does look like a pretty sweet contraption.

Since it is sold through Williams Sonoma - maybe it would be best on a wedding registry - instead of a steamer and blender - just get the Babycook!

It happened...

Wham... Thud.... Waaaahaaaahaaaah.... Every mother's nightmare. It all started innocently enough. A little game of peekabo. Only the Mommish did not realize that this week that the Babish decided running was a contact sport and his only mode of transportation. So you can imagine the guilt I am feeling from his head on corner collision as he was running to surprise me. The bruise is so linear - that even my brother-in-law immediately looked at the Babish and commented, "someone hit a corner." Well, now the bruise is linear... we started out with the classic progression from a Klingon (bruise with egg lump underneath in the center of his forehead), to Harry Potter (zigzag line in his forehead, black eyes instead of trademark glasses) to now what resembles a Bindi. [ed. note. the Hubbish's characterization of this progression was more of a unicorn into someone who celebrated Ash Wednesday, but I digress.]

A wise pediatrician [sorry, drawing a blank on whether it was Sears, Spock or Brazelton - hey, maybe I'll suggest Leach too and it has to be one of them...] once wrote that if your toddler does NOT have any bumps and bruises, then you are hovering too closely. It's a fine line to draw, because what parent wants to see their child get hurt. And as if there aren't enough things to feel guilty over as a mother. And of course there is the worry about taking him out in public (will other mothers judge me and think I can't watch my kid - or worse - will they think I hurt him...). Thankfully on day 2 of the horrible, terrible, no good black lump of coal on my son's forehead an older woman commented what a beautiful baby I had upon seeing the Babish in his shopping cart. Now, I'm assuming her eyesight wasn't perfect - but still, it made me feel much better!

I guess all we can do is stock up on arnica gel (you may want to double check with your own pediatrician on its safety - but everything I've read indicates that it's fine for toddlers) and hope that the bruises fade quickly. Everything is a learning experience for the Mommish and the Babish! (and as you will see above, the bruise is finally fading... but sunglasses were needed to protect the innocent :)

To Flip or Not to Flip?

I've been getting some flack lately from the mommy brigade. You see, (GASP) even though the Toddlish is a) now a toddler (duh) and b) fit the forward facing weight requirements when he was a wee five months old, we still have not flipped his car seat around so that he is forward facing. Why you ask? Believe me, I ask myself the same question. Part of it is laziness, part of it is fear that he will no longer easily fall asleep in the car if we need him to. But, truth be told, the biggest reason is safety. So go ahead and tattoo DORK on my forehead.

Now I know how excited every parent gets when they can flip their child around. We all saw the Britney Spears and Sean Preston 'razzi shots of him forward facing too early. I was even in a Mommy and Me class last week where the mother of a 10 month old gleefully announced that the pediatrician said "flip her," because her child was 22 lbs. [She also mentioned that this pediatrician was her pediatrician when she was a kid, so let's hope he's more up-to-date on medical advancements in the last 20 years than he is on the laws of our country]. I was the only room with a kid over 12 months, so everyone immediately looked at me to see how my son enjoys being forward facing and how much it has changed my life. Well... by the time I had explained that the Internet research I did on the subject revealed that size and age really don't matter - but a baby's bones haven't ossified enough to withstand a rear car accident (yes, I know, I was talking ossification) and might not until age 3 or 4... all the mommies were giving me the death stare and had changed the subject.

So today, when I happened to come across an article on car seat safety in "The Costco Connection," (yes, in addition to Kosher hot dogs, cruises, contact lenses and bulk groceries, you can get safety tips from Costco), I just had to share the info with all 10 of my devoted readers. The article mentions that children one year of age and at least 20 pounds CAN ride forward facing. It goes on to say that it is BEST to ride rear facing for as long as possible. What is as long as possible? Well, most experts (i.e. the American Association of Pediatrics) point to the height and weight requirements for an individual convertible seat. In our Britax Decathlon (have I mentioned how much we love our Britax?), this means the Babish can ride backwards until he reaches 35 pounds! and until his head is one inch below the top. Most convertible seats have a rear-facing limit of around 30 pounds (even if the forward facing limit is, say, 45 pounds).

Now I don't know if we'll keep him backwards that long... even now, with shoes on he does kick my nice leather. But - studies by the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration have shown that rear facing seats are four times safer than forward facing seats. And that while there have been numerous cases where a spinal or head injury could have been prevented by a child facing rear, there have been no documented cases of children with broken legs from a crash where they were rear-facing (see the cite below).

For more research (if you care to read about absorbing the force of a crash or find links to crash videos...), here is a great resource: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx The pictures showing the force of crash are credited to the University of Michigan Child Passenger Protection - so I gotta trust the old alma mater here...

So, if you see me pulled over on the side of the road because, unlike the other mommies, I can't just had the Babish his sippy cup through the seats, now you'll know why. Hopefully you'll at least wave when you give me the evil look...

If only this blog had GPS...

I don't know where I'd be without GPS (or google maps on the Iphone for that matter). I do know what I'd be though. I'd be lost (and it's just not as cool without Matthew Fox).

So to spare you the same trouble, I wanted to point out a few features on this little Bloggish here. First, I'd like you to meet my friend "Labels." So when you are awake at 5 am because your dear sweet babish decided to implement his own daylight savings time, all you have to do is veer over to Labels, then click on the Label that reads, "Sleep" or "Sleep-training." [If you are really paying attention, you may even notice I have two tags to Britney Spears and now a third one.] You may also care to check out my friend "Blog Archive," if you are of the chronologic type.

To my friends and family, don't worry, I'll still answer your questions on the phone or in e-mail - I'll just answer them with a - "have you checked the blog yet?"

Picture Perfect

Something happens when a baby is born (well...of course... a lot happens... but one thing in particular that I feel like blogging about), seemingly normal people become photo obsessed. And so, I too must admit, "Hi, I'm Mommish, and I am a photoholic." My phone, computer, family room, facebook profile and dear family and friends' e-mails have been littered with photos of the Babish ("look he's walking," "look he's eating," "look, he can stare"). And of course it's only now that I'm realizing we'll have no wall/disk/album space left for #2 or #3 should they ever be. But yet they change so quickly during the first year that I do think it's pretty important to document these changes every few months or so... and while I'm semi- obsessed with photos, I know that some jobs are better left to the professionals.

But for those of you who know me, you know I also go by the name fru-gal, so I love to find a way to save the dough. And I wanted nice professional shots at least every few months of the first year of life. So, my plan was to do cheesy cheapy shots from a mall-front store at least a couple times during the year (we chose month four and month seven) and then once a year SPLURGE on the BEST professional I could find [read: do some google searching but realize there was no one out there better than the recommendation of my friend S, who must get some credit.]

For the mall-front shots I chose Portrait Innovations, which is a national chain. They offer a $9.95 special - where literally you pay only $9.95 and get tons of copies of one shot. For around $15 bucks more, you can also get plenty of copies of a second shot too. Being the type of place where props and wall drops are sort of pushed upon you, if you go in strong, you can end up with some simple pictures. We asked for a white background and had them shoot our family playing with the baby. You can never go wrong with naked shots too. And of course, anything can be turned into black and white. But yes, much to my disbelief, I do have some shots of my son, with a bucket of apples behind fake fall foliage that I think are just to die for....

For our once a year splurge, we chose photographer Audrey Woulard. Literally my jaw drops when I look at how she captured my son's bright blue eyes. Her shots are perfect compositions of light and color. Audrey does the Pottery Barn Kids catalogs and other commercial shots too. Now, she is hard to schedule (she books 6 to 8 weeks out on average) and she does not come cheap, but when we saw the pictures we knew that it was worth it. She shoots only in natural light which makes such a difference. She'll work on location, or, like us, you can chose to have her take photos in her loft in downtown Chicago. The loft is filled with modern furniture and toys and captures light beautifully. You can check out her out at www.alwphotography.com, or read her blog at www.audreywoulardblog.com. If you are exploring on her blog, check out Small Ones and you'll see some cute pics of the Babish (or should he now be the Toddlish?).

Say cheese! (or chsss if you are the Babish)

Don't be a Boob!

We've all heard the admonitions - Breast is best - for babies AND mommies. And then of course, every lactation consultant worth her weight in gold will tell you how both breasts are equally important. The Mommish knows firsthand about this second piece of advice, as I had to endure not one, but two painful bouts of mastitis in my "milk dud" (you know you have one too) within the first month of the Babish's precious life (at least I finally got to use that Lamaze breathing that never came into play during my labor...). And the Grammish, who is a nurse, mother of six and la leche peer counselor, loves to recant the anecdotal evidence of Hong Kong fishing women who only nurse on one side as custom. Among such women, there was found to be an increase in breast cancer on the side that was never used...Actually - just googled it - there was an actual study (And - the study indicates "that in postmenopausal women who have breast-fed unilaterally, the risk of cancer is significantly higher in the unsuckled breast, and that breast-feeding may help to protect the suckled breast against cancer.").

As if a new insecure mommy didn't have enough to worry about (and c'mon - at least it's more fun to talk about poop color)! So how, pray tell, you ask, are the sleep deprived mommies supposed to keep track of which side was fed off of last? [believe me, those first few weeks, I had enough trouble trying to remember if it had been 3 or 4 days since I had last showered and brushed my teeth...] Well, aside from relying solely on your NSP (nursing sensory perception, n., when a mommy has the innate knowledge of how much or how little her baby has nursed, which side was nursed off of last, or whether or not she really needs to pump and dump after half a glass of chardonnay. Note, NSP doesn't usually kick in until at least the 6th week post-partum), there are several gadgets on the market to help you keep track. I kept diligent notes the first few days - but this went by the wayside as soon as my son had surpassed his birthweight at his one week check-up. And I never really got into the pins or bracelets, as they were too bulky, bulging and just not my style.

Finally, (figures - just as I am about to begin planning my exit strategy - just don't mention it to the Babish yet) a new solution has hit the market. Enter the Booby Button - the cute, discreet and comfortable way to take the guess work out of keeping track of where your babe got their last meal. The diminutive clip can attach to a bra strap, tank top or sports bra - and you won't see or feel a thing. Insta-reminder for the sleep-deprived mommy in a fun and cheeky package. It makes a great gift for the nursing-mom-to-be. It comes in several adorable designs, including a personalized version. My personal fave design is the gas-pump... so fill'erup!


Check out http://www.boobybutton.com/


Note - to my wonderful mommy readers/friends who couldn't breastfeed or who chose not to breastfeed - don't beat yourself up. The most important part is doing what's right for your family, your sanity and your stress level... i.e. going with your gut and focusing on learning about and knowing your baby.

Can You Come Out and Play?

These days, I've come to the sad realization that my son has co-opted my Ipod. So if you are like me and are looking for some new selections besides the ubiquitous Baby Beluga when crusing in the car (hybrid natch, to minimize fuel costs and emissions when the babish will only nap in the car), your ears perk up whenever you hear some catchy new kids tunes.

The newest kindermusik sensation comes straight from our lovely windy (read: icy, snowy, sleety and windy) city - Miss Aimee Leigh Cousino. My son and I have been devotees of her Mommy and Me class since he was 9 weeks old, and truth be told, I think I'm more excited about listening to her catchy tunes than he is (although he loves to chime in on her "ahas" :). With her debut CD, "Can You Come Out and Play," now available, we can get our Aimee fix more than once a week.

Her voice is smooth, her sound is a bluesy mix of original tunes and old standbys and her lyrics are just downright clever. And the too-cute kids' voices on the recording add such a fun element. My personal fave is the almost Celtic feeling "My Brother the Pirate," for its great chorus. My son goes crazy for "If All of the Raindrops," especially the new verses written by Aimee.

And the best part - we've booked her for junior's first birthday party - so we can all request our favorite tunes in person.

Hear more at her website: http://www.missaimeeligh.com/ and tell her I sent you!