Nap Snaps

Boo! We still have a cold! I got it this time too, which is such a drag. Not like the old days when I could stay in bed and binge-watch old episodes of Buffy. So the time I'd been using to write and study has been spent resting, which is probably sensible. Just counting the minutes until we go away!

 

She's lost her voice, so today she sounds like she's speaking parseltongue. Nerd-lol.

 

 

Naptime. Thought we'd try to elevate her head with a pillow. So not into it.

 

Golden Healing Soup. We hope. That's what I'm calling it, anyway. It's turnip, sweet potato, golden beetroot and kale with a little onion. Also turmeric, fennel seed and coriander. Every week they make this fab soup at playgroup, and F. actually eats it! So I was trying to recreate it.

Another nap snap. Aw.

 

Forgot about these little shoes. Perfect for our trip! They were too big in the summer, but aren't the best for winter weather. No leather, obvs.

 

 

And yay! We finally got around to baby-proofing our kitchen cupboards properly. She's going to be monumentally pissed when she finds this.

To Wean or Not to Wean

 

Just reading, chillin' out. Looking super grown-up.

 

I've mentioned it in an off-hand way, but our sleeping schedule is terrible. A long stretch of sleep is rare, and I can never seem to recreate the exact conditions the following night. Some nights I'm up hourly. She's going through a picky stage, eating-wise, as well - and both problems would be easier to deal with in isolation. I've been trying the No-Cry Sleep Solution, but I think she has it figured out and is NOT IMPRESSED. In short though, I'm inclined to blame the boob. Don't get me wrong, I am pro-breastfeeding. I've loved feeding her, and was so happy to do it. It was really, really tough for us to establish in the first place and I don't take it for granted. But she used to sleep through the night, until I got her exclusively on the boob (I wrote about our problems in depth here. Short version: no latch AT ALL, so she was mixed-fed, then problematic latch and bottles of pumped milk, then finally our troubles resolved into easy, exclusive breastfeeding by 3 or 4 months.)  I just think they love it so much, and it's so easy to fall into a routine of co-sleeping and feeding multiple times a night. Again, I was happy to do it! Now though, I'm starting to come to the end of my tether.

 

At nearly 15 months old, we are in a parenting no-mans land; "natural"-type mamas might wonder why we'd give up so early, while "mainstream" parents might think it's gone on a bit too long already - after all, she's walking and talking and has 11 teeth. Attachment-style advice is usually a variant of "Why do you want to wean?? Is night waking really a problem??", and the other side might say "Ah. You've created a sleep crutch, and they must be broken of this pleasant, comforting association." Gah!

 

Enough moaning. We are basically day-weaned, so she only has it in bed or in the chair in her room, but I just don't know how to gently night-wean at this age. Will update with our progress!

A Little Bit More

Way back in the early days of breastfeeding, when we were having a horrible time and I was worried about my milk supply, a community staff nurse said to me, "There's always more. They can always get a little bit more, even when you think they're empty". I've come to think of that as a metaphor for parenthood at large; there's always a little bit more - time, patience, love - more than you ever thought you had, and if they needed more still, you'd find it. 

She slept a glorious 8 hours last night, after what has been the hardest week in months. So glad to have my happy baby back. Here she is enjoying her porridge:

 

 

Like, really enjoying it.

 

 

A rare prone moment:

 

Mulligatawny Soup All Over The Place

Having a tough mothering week. The cold, the lack of sleep, and also the lack of HELP. My partner works long hours, and is exceptionally busy right now. We don't have any family nearby either. It's very rare for me to think about what life might be like if we moved back to California, but right now, all I can think about is dropping her off at Grandma's so I can have a nap. I know that once I get some sleep I will be happy again - it hasn't been a picnic for her either. Last night I made Lentil Mulligatawny from the Vedge cookbook, for the second time. It's out-of-hand delicious, and so easy. The first time I made it, the babe couldn't get enough. Since then, she seems to have evolved past the need for food or sleep, so she basically flung it around. Yup, this is my life:

I've been trying the No-Cry Sleep Solution, by the way, but the holidays got us out of routine and then she got a cold and 3 molars... I expect things to get better soon. I guess we are on the attachment end of the spectrum, and I'm not comfortable making her cry herself to sleep. Advice gratefully received.

A Sweater is Just a Blanket You Can Wear

Oh my. The baby has a cold, the husband has food poisoning (WE HOPE), and the mom has to stay up and help everyone. Well, the baby anyway, the husband knows how to throw up. I was meaning for my first post on the new blog to be an introduction to our small but sweet life, but, to be honest, it isn't feeling particularly sweet today! But honesty is the best policy, and sometimes motherhood is hard. In fact, the only way I could coax myself out of bed this morning was by telling myself "a sweater is really just a blanket you can wear". Oof.

Getting through it with hemp lattes and homemade bread.

That is "Gingerbread" Porridge. Normally we just have grated apple or pear to sweeten our porridge, but we were out. So I used blackstrap molasses, dried ginger, cinnamon and a little brown rice syrup. It smelled wonderful, and I hope that it cut the through Frieda's congestion! She ate tons, at any rate. On top, we both had chia seeds and a little hemp milk, and I had walnuts as well. 

Homemade Rye bread. I'm a beginner.

My angel normally:

Today it's all snot and tears and lots and lots of yelling...