Food Follow Up

So perhaps I should post how the whole food thing went, yeah? I made some a couple more things: apples, bananas, and spinach; avocado with garlic; and greek yogurt with pear and lime.

Making food was SO SUPER RIDICULOUS EASY. I briefly googled for recipes, but everything seemed bland and boring, so I just went to the store and hung out in the produce section and picked up whatever looked good. Seriously. And then when I got home I layed it all out on the counter and pushed together things that might make sense together. Probably not the smartest way to do things, but there you go.

Most things went the same route: peel, cube, steam, puree. Banana and avocado went straight into the food processor without any cooking. And I just chopped the spinach and tossed it in, but you could steam it, too, I suppose. Peas and corn were both frozen, and I just grabbed a handful, thawed under the faucet for a minute, and tossed those in at all. Pretty much not rocket science. I tasted the food at each step and then added whatever seasonings seemed like they made sense. Blah. Sorry that is not more specific, but that is what I did.

I bought on of these guys to freeze the food in. It seemed like a kind of ridiculous thing to buy a freezing tray specifically for baby food, but I did it, and I'm glad. I suppose I could have used a regular ice cube tray, but I can't even get ice out of one of those trays to save my life. In the end, it was a good purchase; the frozen food slides right out, no problem, and then I put it in plastic bags in the freezer. I pull out one or two cubes at a time, microwave for like 20 seconds, stir and go.

Tycho likes them. He doesn't LOVE them, but he likes them. He seems to prefer eating directly off my plate, but sometimes my food isn't super baby friendly. I try to give him one cube of my homemade baby food and then supplement with whatever we are eating, especially meat, so he gets his iron.

That's pretty much it.

I am Martha Fucking Stewart.

Dude. I made my own baby food today. I am so not that girl. But I am now I guess. It is awesome.

We have mostly just been feeding Tycho straight from our plates,  but I bought some purees for our trip for the ease of use, etc., and um, he loved them. Couldn't get enough. But it's weird to me that it can sit on a shelf indefinitely with no refrigeration and such things, and I think they don't have quite enought texture and are too bland and MY BABY. ONLY THE BEST FOR MY BABY. You know.

So.

Today I made sweet potato, red pepper, and sweet onion with nutmeg and ginger, peas, pears, and spinach with basil, and corn mushroom applesauce with cinnamon. And I tasted them all and they are motherfucking delicious. And separated into single serving portions in my freezer. And Tycho was very gracious and took the world's longest nap this afternoon so I could play in the kitchen. I am all pumped up about this. More baby cooking adventures on Saturday, I think!

My new favorite Tycho picture.

Just this:

Gender Rolling

2012 really hasn't so far been kind to my family. In the first week of the new year we found out the investor was pulling out of the startup Kyle was working at, and so, poof! His job was gone. But my ever amazing husband managed to find another, better paying position after maybe a week of unemployment.

Then our car broke down, in the middle of the bridge and it probably needs a new engine, but that same day Kyle got laid off from new job after being there for maybe a month so now he is unemployed again and we only have a single vehicle, because like hell can we afford to fix it right now.

So all of the sudden we went from being a dual-income family, to Kyle being a stay-at-home Dad with no car. He takes the stroller on the bus, I am not even kidding. It is so bizarre; never ever what we imagined we would have. 

It's not the end of the world, but it's also not great. Or even good. I think Kyle might be even less cut out to be a stay-at-home parent than I am (hint: not at all). He's a great dad to Tycho, but it's really hard on him, and I think all he wants is to be back at work.

And I want that, too. Besides insurance premiums, my job doesn't really pay for very much; maybe rent on a good month, but certainly not any other expenses. We're able to stay afloat since we don't right now have to pay for childcare, and unemployment benefits, yadda yadda, but it we be just so nice to be back where we were a couple months ago. SIGH.

HOWEVER. We are going to Las Vegas tomorrow. With the baby, yes. No, it wasn't my idea. But we are convening with Kyle's parents and brothers and I had no say in the destination since the trip was a gift, but yay a vacation, I guess.

Very poorly written post, but it was this or nothing at all. So.

BFing Woes

I have a bunch of posts brewing, but I've been working a lot of overtime lately, blah blah, excuses, etc.

In the mean time I have two words for you: Nipple. Trauma.

I had a nipple bleb. I guess it's a blockage that has tissue heal over the top of it so that the milk can't get out and it's painful as all fuck. Especially since you can't just stop nursing the baby or anything. I had my doctor cut it out with something sharp and pointy yesterday, so things are looking up, but it's still sore and raw and I feel like it will take forever to heal because I'm always pumping or nursing.

That is all. For now.

Valen-Tycho

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm such a sap.

At least once a day (more often two or three times) Tycho does something so heartbreakingly adorable that I get all misty-eyed and have to squeeze him as tight as humanly possible. I am so intrinsically tied to him. I have no idea how that works, but it is beautiful.