11 December 2006

Hi my name is Hugh Jass

So here I am 6 months post-birth and I figured I have the right to one big whinge about my body. Actually, in the big scheme of things, I have little to complain about, as you wouldn't necessarily know I'd had a baby recently... I think swimming must tone those stomach muscles back into shape. So this is more of a general whinge....

...Sprurred by an attempt to buy some new pants. I always find this traumatic. My body has a narrowish waist, "good thighs and calves" (ie muscly yet with a good softening layer of fat), short legs and round hips. Call me a muscly pear. Jeans are designed for people with narrower legs and hips, and longer legs. Therefore at best I'll find jeans that fit perfectly but need to be taken up.

I don't have a pot belly, therefore side-on, I'll look in the mirror and think to myself "yeah, you're kinda in shape, go you!". Today I tried on some jeans at shop where usually I find exactly the right size and fit (bar length) and found not only had I gone up a size, but MY ARSE LOOKED HUGE! Arrrrgh!

Then there's my arms. They are getting quite muscly also from lifting and carrying an 8kg child around quite a lot. Arms also have soft protective fatty layer on top of muscle therefore appear quite large. The other day I saw a photo taken of me where I swear my arms looked so big I looked like a transvestite - a man dressed up as a woman, except of course I am a woman and would rather look like one (no offence to anyone who wouldn't rather). Worse still, this picture of me is floating around on the net somewhere on someone else's site. Would love to ask them to pull said photo, but it's the only one of me taken at a social occasion, and I'd feel very superficial asking them to do so.

Not suprising really. I have kind of eased off on the pavement pounding lately, and probably overindulging a touch with the food. So short of C-chan's most helpful suggestion that if it bothers me so much why don't I walk around sideways all the time so people can see my "good sides"*, I'm going to make sure I walk a bit more every day (properly, not side on), swim twice a week, and cut down on some foody overindulgences... Nice, sensible, gradual, nothing too drastic. Well let's see.

*he of course is humouring me and doesn't see what all the fuss is about...

10 December 2006

Puree and Simple


Happy half birthday to E-chan, who was born exactly 6 months ago. Doesn't time fly?

With this age comes starting solid foods. Interesting process, I'm finding. After a month or two of having E-chan watch us LIKE A HAWK every time we ate or drank, we started with the classic allergy safe first food, rice cereal. Then every 3-4 days, we introduce a new food (to make sure there is no adverse reaction). If he doesn't like something or finds the texture strange, he does the funniest little grimace, which I wish I could capture on camera for you all to see, but I'm usually to busy stiffling my laugh. If he LOVES something, he is generally trying to lean forward towards the spoon or even lick his bib!

Most things are really easy to prepare - wash, peel, steam, then blend or mash. Zucchini was a bit tricky - followed a recommendation to "press through a sieve" (but book must have been having a laugh, as zucchini will not press through even a course sieve) then tried to blend, but didn't have enough volume, so had to steam some more and then blend (really hoping at this stage that E-chan would like it).

It took him about 2 weeks to get the hang of chewing and swallowing food. We give him the spoon with a bit of food in it to play with at the end - and food gets smeared and flung everywhere! Gradually, we'll make the texture lumpier, and once he has some toothy-pegs, we'll give him finger food to feed himself.

Tools of the trade: plastic spoons, little containers and bowls to heat up small portions of foods up in, ice cube trays to freeze small portions, old plastic tablecloth to use as drop sheet over carpet, highchair, wipable bibs. So here's E-chan's rating of foods so far, in order of introduction...

Rice cereal: ho hum.... (OK with a twist of banana)
Pear: ummm? (possibly a bit gritty, but liking it better now)
Sweet potato: yum!
Banana: YUUUUUUUUUUUM! What is this stuff and where can I get more!!
Zucchini: Yum!
Pumpkin: Yum!

Contenders for next foods will probably be broccoli, carrot, green beans, apple and apricot, and some other cereals...oats or possibly wheat. Soon hopefully he will take some lentils and then maybe even some minced or shredded meat. I can't wait until I can cook kid-friendly food that all 3 of us can eat! - but that is about 6-12 months off. In the meantime, it's purees and mashes, and a little bit goes a long way, given his average non-milk meal size is about a tablespoon.

What FUN!