A world famous treasure-trove of health and beauty since ancient times, the
Sunshine is 3 and a half months old and weighs 9 kgs (19.8lbs). The well baby clinic has a complete fit everytime I go there for a weigh-in. They ask me "what the hell are you feeding him". I tell them that he has a bottle of formula every 4 hours and he sleeps well at night so he's dropped a bottle. Then they calm down a bit. What do they bloody think I'm feeding him? Chocolate mousse??! The last time I went to them they told me that he was overweight and it's going to cause problems later on in life, ie diabetes, high blood pressure and all the other complications that come with obesity. "But he's only a baby!" I yell back at them. "When he starts moving around a bit more then the weight will come off!". They tell me this is not a good attitude to have. I then go on to explain that he's developing beautifully and can hold his chest up when he's on his tummy and that he's grabbing toys and stuffing them in his little mouth. He smiles and "chats" all the time. I also tell them that my daughter was exactly the same - she bulked out as a little baby and then her weight evened out. Today Angel Starr is a beautiful and slim nearly 4 year old, with perfect health. At this they calm down and tell me to keep an eye on him. Like I need to be told that! Of course I keep an eye on him, he's my son. I can't put him on diet, but obviously when he starts eating solids I will ensure that he eats good, healthy food.
So my question to you all is when did this happen? When did we (as a society) start freaking out the minute a baby of 3 months goes off the charts? A generation ago people would have called my beautiful child healthy and congratulated me on him. Today people (well maybe it's just that damn clinic!) ask me what I've done to him, what I'm feeding him and tell me that he's unhealthy and that I've created weight problems for him. I understand fully that childhood obesity (due to an unhealthy fast food/no exercise lifestyle) is a very dangerous problem. But I truly feel that it's too soon to judge a baby whose only eating formula and is just starting to exercise his little legs and arms. It will be a very sad day when they bring out diet formula for babies!
Just Another Stay at Home Mom has received the Butterfly Award from Suzie at The $200 Mission. The $200 Mission is one of my favourite reads. Thanks Suzie!
Here's the dealio:
1. Slap this baby up on your blog. Don’t be shy.
2. Link to the giver
3. Nominate up to seven other fab blogs.
4. Post links to those super fly blogs your nominating.
5. Leave messages for your recipients on their blogs…so they can feel as special as you do!
So here are the super-cool blogs I pass this award to!
Mom to 3 Angels
Power and Stilettos
Mommy to 2 Princesses
Soccer Mom Says
Complete and Utter Chaos
In my quest for healthier, preservative free food, I have decided to throw away my soup mix powders and make my own soup stock. After reading a couple of recipes, one of which is at Fabulous Foods.com, it seems easier than I thought. The recipe I'll be using, though, is from Annabel Karmel as it is more child friendly. It is as follows:
Chicken Stock
MAKES APPROX 2 ¼ LITRES
Stock cubes are unsuitable for babies under a year as they are high in salt, so I make my own chicken stock and use it as a base for chicken and vegetable purées. It keeps in the fridge for 3 days. For babies over one year you can add 3 chicken stock cubes for a stronger flavor. Instead of a boiler chicken, you could use the carcass from a roast chicken.
1 large boiler chicken, plus giblets
2 large onions
2 ¼ litres water
1 celery stalk
2 parsnips
2 sprigs of fresh parsley
3 large carrots
1 sachet bouquet garni
2 leeks
Cut the chicken into eight pieces, trimming excess fat. Trim, peel, wash and chop the vegetables as necessary. Put the chicken pieces into the large saucepan together with the giblets. Cover with the water, bring to the boil, and skim the froth from the top. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 3 hours. It is best to remove the chicken breasts after about 1 ½ hours if you are going to eat them; otherwise they will become too dry.
Leave the soup in the fridge overnight and remove any congealed fat from the top in the morning. Strain out all the chicken and vegetables to make the chicken stock. You can puree some of the chicken breast in a mouli, together with a selection of the vegetables and some stock to make a chicken and vegetable puree. This also makes a wonderful clear chicken soup (with added stock cubes and seasoning) for older babies and you can add some thin noodles.
Bon Appetit!
Every woman's dream; a daughter with beautiful long hair. I was very excited when Angel Starr's hair was long enough for me to start "playing" hairdresser and give her some beautiful, creative (but practical) hairstyles. But I didn't really know where to start. Sure, I can do a ponytail or braids but it gets boring after a while. I wanted some new trendy, fun styles. So I searched on the net but was surprised to find that I could hardly find anything on little girl's hairstyles. Eventually I found a few (most of them are for weddings!). But this one I came up with on my own. It's easy and gives a little twist to the normal ponytail. This is how it's done: Create a low ponytail and position the hair elastic a bit further down the hair away from the child's head. Then part the hair at the nape of the neck (where the hair elastic should go) until you get a hole. Push the ponytail up and over through this hole, forming a twist. Then pull the hair so that the elastic slides up the child's hair. And presto you have the 1940's style, Angel Starr twist! Great for kindergarten, as keeping your child's hair tied back helps prevent them getting lice.
Get a babysitter. This is a crucial part in maintaining sanity, especially for all the SAHMS and WAHMS out there!! Make it a monthly/2 monthly/bi-monthly event. Get a babysitter (someone who is capable, that your kids know and that you can totally trust), get dressed up (don't forget the make-up and perfume!) and take your man on a date. Even if it's just to a coffee shop down the road. GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!! Just go and have a coffee/dinner/see a movie/whatever and make a rule not to talk about the kids, laundry, housework, homework, cooking etc etc etc at all. This is incredibly difficult and you'll be shocked to find that for the first 10 minutes of your date you might not have anything to say to the sex muffin sitting accross the table from you. Take a deep breath, be creative and soon you'll be chatting away and you'll remember what it was like when you were wild, free and just a couple. It's fun and most importantly it really does keep that love spark going between you and your man. Have fun!
I am becoming the Queen Smuggler, of veggies that is. I am on a new mission, to keep away (and keep Angel Starr away) from as many processed foods as possible. The problem is that she hates vegetables and refuses to eat them. She's very strong willed and it turns into a huge, HUGE fight. It's terrible to sit down to every meal with a child whining about how she doesn't eat this and that and picking it all off her plate and heaving (yes, she actually gags just looking at the vegetables!). So I've decided that it's all completely psychological and I will pump her full of goodness, no matter what. The solution, to disguise everything. She eats soup happily (because I put croutons in - OK so a little bit of processed crap in order to get her to eat loads of goodness. I think it's worth it!) so I decided to puree sauces too. I've come up with a great tomato sauce that she just loves and she has no idea how healthy it is. I make it with onions, tomatoes, courgettes, red capsicum peppers and carrots. Then I take my hand blender and blast the hell out of it, so that she can't detect any of the veggies. It just looks like red, chunky, sauce. Which I refer to as.......bolognaise sauce. You see if I called it tomato sauce she'd freak out and boom, in one second her veggie walls would go up. She loves this sauce and I put it with meatballs (which I have made myself with mince meat, onion, carrot and apple - yay more veggies!) or just by itself on pasta or with chicken and couscous (which she just adores). So far so good. She's happy and I'm happy, feeling that I'm giving my child healthy, nutritious food.
Grobag - Last night was the first night that I really felt a winter chill in the air. So Sunshine and Angel Starr were put into thin winter pyjamas for the night. I'm assuming that it's already been like this for a while in most parts of America. I didn't bother putting a blanket on Sunshine as I know that even though he's only 2 months old, that blanket would have been kicked off in just a few short minutes. Or worse still, he could have got tangled up in it or pulled it over his face. I learnt these facts when Angel Starr was a baby. She was impossible with blankets. The solution - Grobags (or something similar). I've just inherited one for Sunshine for this winter and can't wait to try it out. I'll let you know if practice is as good as the theory.
I was very excited to hear that Suzie over at The $200 Mission was kind enough to make my day and give me my first blog award! Yay!! I really enjoy her blog and was pleased to see that she has another great blog, a recipe blog for feeding a starving family. Thanx Suzie!
Here are the rules to follow: When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).
I'm awarding it to the following great blogs, who visit me regularly:
Tina at Mummifiedtimesfive
Nicole at The Daily Dish
Amy at This Life According to Amy
Petra at The Wise Young Mommy
Kiki at Kiki's Corner
Wiehanne at Wiehanne Lounge
Lauri at Lauriliaw
I feel really guilty for not having put up the Midweek Mommy Tips or, in fact, any posts for the last 2 weeks but I really feel like I'm only just coming up for air now. As I see it there are 2 types of children; sleepers and non-sleepers. Sunshine is a non-sleeper! These past couple of weeks I've been trying to establish a routine for him and I. I also feel that if he's eating nicely, 4 hourly during the day, he'll be satisfied and sleep more at night. It's been working but the last few days, for some reason that I can't remember anymore, he got out of routine and all hell's broken loose. Suddenly he's back to assuming that night is day and day is a great time to have long naps. As soon as I see him sleeping peacefully I feel panicky and know that I should jump into bed and have a good sleep too. But I always find something to do (laundry, Angel's breakfast, sterilizing bottles for Sunshine's next feed and the list just goes on.....) and tell myself that I'll do it quickly and then go to bed. The minute I put my head down on the pillow, Sunshine senses it and shrieks. I'm jolted awake and before I know what's happening I'm charging down the passage toward his room. This happened so much so that I couldn't even string a sentence together in speech let alone writing (seriously!!). And everything feels like a blur, I'm not even 100% sure what month we're in. It all seems like just one long day. But we're getting through it and getting back into a routine and I'll be back on track with the posts any minute now. But for now (right now!!) I've got to run, jump into bed and hit REM in 5 seconds flat or I'll be a complete Zombie (again) tomorrow.
I went for my 6 week check the other day. I can't believe that Sunshine is already 7 weeks old, time really flies when you're not sleeping! So my gynie brought up the topic of contraception. I don't want another baby (and most certainly not just yet!!) and I don't want anything with hormones. That leaves condoms or the copper IUD (also known as the ParaGard). I'm keen on the copper IUD, as it seems like a dream choice. Once it's inserted you don't have to think about it for 5 years. And it's effective immediately with a very low failure rate. It's also totally reversible, so when (and if) you're ready for more children you just take it out and let nature go to work. This all sounds great in theory. I'm seriously considering it and reading up about all the pros and cons on the Internet. If anyone out there can share their experiences, I'd be grateful for the info. {Pic curteousy of MayoClinic.}
OK, so who has time to look good every single day? I’ll be the first to admit that I struggle to stick to a good cleansing and moisturizing routine, let alone put make up on every day. In between getting Angel Starr dressed and ready for kindergarten and getting little Sunshine fed and ready to accompany us. There just isn’t enough time in the day for me too. But, YouTube to the rescue, I have found that Sandy Gold’s videos really help. I still have to find time to stick to them but I find that I can do it in fragments. And, honestly, once I have some make up on I do feel more confident and much better about myself. I’ve decided that (now that I’m in my 30’s) I must need it too because as soon as I step out with my made up face (and it’s a very natural look) everyone comments on how well I’m looking.
Salad Nicoise. To my surprise and delight, I discovered that Angel Starr loves Salad Nicoise. The best part about this is that it’s a light, healthy and easy summer dish that can be put together in a few minutes. Did I mention that it’s healthy? Usually, Angel Starr can tell if anything’s healthy and won’t go near it with a barge pole. So it came as a surprise when she starting demanding this salad. What appeals to her is the fact that it’s filling and has many interesting ingredients (most of them are her favorite), apart from the lettuce. This is how I make it:
Ingredients:
1 can of Tuna
3 or 4 large boiled potatoes (sliced)
1 boiled egg (sliced with an egg slicer)
Some black olives
Some green beans
Lettuce
Cucumber (sliced)
Tomatoes (sliced)
Method: Put lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes in a large salad bowl (in that order). Then add the tuna, potatoes, olives and green beans. Toss. Add the sliced egg on top for added decoration.
Angel Starr gets so excited about this salad that she doesn’t even want salad dressing or mayonnaise or anything (sometimes a bit of hummus). I add a bit of olive oil and lemon juice to my portion of the salad. Try this salad with your kids. It’s healthy and filling, thanks to the potatoes. Bon Appetit.
My mother-in-law has come over to help with the kids during these summer holidays. It’s just way too soon for me to be on my own with 4 week old Sunshine and 3 year old Angel Starr. They’d drive me nuts! As it is, Angel Starr still needs a lot of attention and tends to get bored easily. And after having Sunshine and spending just a few days with him, I realized that I had completely forgotten how time consuming a newborn’s needs can be. The whole day is taken up with feeding, burping, changing diapers and rocking the little one to sleep. With a preschooler racing round the house it’s a completely different ballgame. I thought I’d get my mother-in-law to come over and entertain Angel Starr while I tend to the baby. However, Angel’s had enough of being pushed onto other people because “mommy’s with the baby”, so she’s changed the agenda. I spend a lot of quality time with her, while granny “entertains” the baby. It’s not the way I planned it but it’s a lot of fun and I’m enjoying bonding with my daughter. This morning we spent a good half hour or so working on a work book; coloring in the pictures, spotting the odd one out and joining the dots. Cooking and cleaning just go on hold while these bonding sessions take place. It’s been a lot of fun but, since the baby’s arrival, we’re still trying to get into some sort of routine and get used to having this new addition to the family. Once Angel’s back in kindergarten that routine will start taking form. Till then things are a little chaotic…….loads of fun but chaotic none the less.
I wrote that a week ago, and am proud to say that I have survived - everything!! I took Angel Starr to her new kindergarten today and she just loved it. I've been having sleepless nights for months about it, as I imagined her being very clingy and me having to peel myself away from a screaming child, hiding my own tears so she doesn't see how upset I am. After about 15 minutes at the new kindy she turned to me and said "bye mommy, see you later". I was rather surprised but thrilled that she feels so comfortable there.
Lover boy and I were born and bred in Southern Africa, as were our parents. We have lived in various parts of the world and are currently living in Israel. The strangest thing I’ve noticed is that Angel Starr seems to have the perfect South African body. I know, without a doubt, that if I buy clothes for her age group from South Africa they will fit her – no problem. Whereas when people send clothes from other parts of the world, or if I buy them here, sometimes they fit perfectly but mostly, they’re either too small and they’re huge. It’s so weird to think that our body shapes are defined by the country from which we originate. I had heard that Chinese clothes are different and might not fit a heavily busted western woman, but how can clothes from South Africa differ from clothes from the States or the UK? And these are children’s clothes we’re talking about. Here in Israel sizes vary between different stores – I can accept this. But, to my amazement, it doesn’t matter which store I buy clothes from in South Africa, they all fit. I just have to go by the age group on the label. Has anyone else noticed this strange oddity?? Let me know, it will be interesting to see if there is something to it or if it’s just a me thing.
Freeze, freeze freeze!! I have recently discovered (yeah, I’m a slow learner) that making meals ahead of time and freezing them is the only way to stay on top of things AND give your family healthy, nutritious meals. There just isn’t enough time in the day to worry about cooking as well. Just freeze the basics for a week or so and you’ll see a huge difference, time management wise. By making your own meals and freezing them you are able to give your family healthy, nutritious meals and avoid those high salt, high fat, additive and trans fat ridden microwave TV dinners. I’m a big fan of Annabel Karmel and like her child and family friendly recipes. I agree with her that your child can eat what they like (OK, to a point!) as long as you make it. This helps cut out the high salt and additive content from your family’s diet. It’s also a lot of fun to get in the kitchen (while someone’s minding the kids for you) and cook up a storm. I’ll be the first to admit it, cleaning up is a bitch, but such is life!
