PutYourFlareOn

Getting back to our normal routine

I think it's the same for everyone no matter where you live when out of town guest come to visit your daily life is put on hold. It can be disruptive especially for a baby who is used to his naps in his own bed and early dinners in a relatively quiet kitchen. But Maximilien did pretty well going out to dinner nearly every weekend. It helped a lot that my father brought with him an awesome portable high chair that we used while dining out. Paris restaurants won't always have seating for infants and Max is too mobile to sit on our laps anymore. The high chair folds down and we were able to strap it onto the MacLaren without it bothering the person pushing the stroller. Since we were constantly eating out I opted to feed Max jar food from the grocery store. I had visions before Max was born that I'd make all his food for him. Well, things didn't work out as I had planned. In the beginning, Max actually preferred jarred food over what I was making him. It perplexed me. But it turns out that he just wasn't really into solids yet. Now nearing the 7.5 month mark, he's really into solid foods. I no longer puree his foods. I just use my food processor or robot as the French say to mash up his food and he eats eagerly. Last night I made fish cakes for Julien and I and I used the potatoes, fish and green beans from the recipe for Max's dinner. I just cooked the fish in the leftover water from the pressure cooker and then threw everything in the robot. In case you're curious, I made Max perch. We'll try salmon soon. He absolutely adored the fish. Seafood lover like his Mama and Papa. Another new thing has been Quinoa and rice cakes have been good for fussy moments. They are entertaining and he enjoys trying to eat them. Though he mostly sucks on them and they dissolve in his mouth.

I have also started him on rice cereal for breakfast.  Another quinoa and rice melange that I found at the new organic coop by my house. I have been using formula to make the cereal and like a true French child he drinks his breakfast from a bowl albeit Mama has to be the one to hold the bowl for him. For a few months now Max has refused to take a bottle of any sort. It sort of coincided with the moment we started solids and eliminated his extra bottle of breast milk at bed time. My stash of breast milk in the freezer has long been used and the breast pump returned.   Nearly 8 months into breast feeding I am starting feel ready to get my body back. I will keep it up until Maximilien is one  but I am preparing him for the transition to happen after his first birthday in March.  Getting him to take formula with his cereal has been a little mini victory for me because before he literally would spit the formula out all over the place.

I don't know why I was nervous about making the transition to solids but things just happen to work themselves out.  Max nurses less during the day but has been making up for it at night.  Textbook speaking, he is not sleeping through the night. He goes to bed around 7pm and sleeps until one am-ish. Then from there on out it's awake crying to nurse every two hours until around 5am and then he sleeps until around 8am.  I am tired but I don't feel it. I've gotten used to this sporadic sleep every night. I believe the teeth are really bothering him and he's gotten used to Mama's comfort in the middle of the night.  I don't want to take away the comfort I give him at night especially since his teeth are hurting him so much. But I don't know what else I can do.  I've decided to keep on keepin' on. I'm dedicated to breast feeding for the first year of Max's life. After that we'll have to make changes if need be. I am hoping after this second wave of teeth(top two) he (and I) might get a break.

Two weeks of family visiting was fun. Sad to say goodbye in the end.  It does makes me miss the US but I appreciate my life in France. I've finally found my way here. My routine.

 

I feel love, I feel life.

"Oh my love for the first time in my life,
My eyes are wide open..."

Walking today, enjoying the a beautiful, crisp fall day with my son I am overwhelmed with love for him as he turns his head as far as he can to look up at me from the Maclaren. He flashes me a half gummy, two toothed smile.  He reaches up to me. I grasp his hand. He laughs. My senses are flooded with so much love. 

I come home to find the power is back on in my apartment. It's been out all day. And I find an email from my husband timed just as the power was due to come on telling me that he loved me.

And I happened to open iTunes and randomly John Lennon's Oh My Love plays. Such a perfect song to explain what I feel. How beautifully Lennon phrases how simply life can be so full with just love.

Getting a little taste....

I am babysitting my son's buddy, Max, today.  It's giving me a little taste of what it would be like to have two little beings to care for. I often dreamt while I was pregnant with Maximilien that I was going to have twins. I felt like I was so big that there had to be two babies in there.

Right now both babies are sleeping. It was amazingly easy to get them down. I put my Maximilien down first. I nursed him while Max Marcel played on the play gym. I then took Max and put him the pack 'n play in our living room while I prepared his bottle.  I was wondering how he's take a bottle from me, someone other than his Mama. But he did pretty well. So far no tears. I put Max Marcel down and off to sleep he went.

While I blog this I'm making their lunch: sweet potatoes and organic apple compote. I have time to blog and then fold laundry. 

I prepared myself for today by saying that if one baby cries or both cry it's going to be okay. My Max cries and it doesn't necessarily mean he's sad, he's just expressing himself and I have learned that. So, with this attitude that crying is ok and I don't need to stress myself over it it turns out that neither babies have cried today. But the day has just started, we'll see how the afternoon goes. :)

So, I am sitting here thinking... two babies? Hell yeah! I can do it!  A sweet smile sneaks across my face as baby fever rises in me but Julien and I have a plan. Like I mentioned before, there are some things in the works. So for now, I will just enjoy having both babies in my presence.

Let's add solids to the routine, shall we?

We are full force into baby food in our house. It took a little while for Max to get used to the textures but now he's excited to try new things. Like a baby bird with his mouth open, he sits and waits until I spoon in the next bite. Since we've started solids as a dinner time thing, the evening extra bottle of breast milk has gone away.  Our new evening ritual is to strip down to his diaper for dinner, he gets one veggie and half a fruit helping. I let him explore feeding himself. More times the food ends up in his hair or on me but he is learning and getting better at putting the spoon in his mouth. Then it is bath time, a book and finally he nurses before bed. Before we started solids it was pretty much the same routine except he'd nurse before bath and then get a bottle before bed. Usually after he'd finish off his bottle, he'd cry out for more.  I'd let him top himself off on the breast and then he'd be ready for bed.  Now he seems much more satisfied and zen before bed. I like that. :)

This week we started gouter. Or as the French call afternoon snack time. Traditionally this around 4-5pm, kids will have an after school snack of tartines of nutella, a fruit and a bowl of milk or juice.  Of course, we'd like to stick to the tradition of nutella and baguette that my husband grew up with. But it's a little too early for Max to try nutella. Though Max is all about the baguette! So  for now we are going to stick with fruit purée.  This week we had banana and prunes. Also, gouter is my way of transitioning through the late afternoon nap (or nap #3) for Max.  I can see that it is starting to phase out already!  Soon, I'd like to have gouter while we are on our afternoon walks.  Maybe I'll start a gouter group where we can meet up with other kids and have gouter in a park in Paris.      

This weekend I am visiting a friend and am hoping to get inspired on new "dishes" I can make for Max.  I've had a few hits but mostly misses making my own food for Max. But I'm inexperienced and am still learning.  For now, Max has been eating organic baby food I found at my local bio marché.  I've also started getting an organic basket of fruits and vegetables from Le Campanier every week in an effort for Julien and I to eat better. I know I that will give me ideas for new purées to try out on Max.

Mama's milk is still his main source of nutrition. And I can tell he prefers that over everything else. I don't blame him! :)

Veggies Max loves:

Carrots
Broccoli
Pumpkin (Potiron)

Fruits:

Nectarines
Peaches
Banana
Prunes

On our to try list:

Tofu (in cubes)
Zucchini (again)
Sweet potatoes

What foods have you been feeing your babies or fed your babies in the past? When did you start giving them actual bits to try to eat? I ask this because I can tell that Max is more interested in feeding himself then being fed by Mama.

Back in those jeans but...

I have what they call a muffin top. The mama muffin top.

Legs look good.
Butt looks good.
Pants close like they are supposed to.

But....

the soft spillage over the top, I don't think I can do anything about it.

And I'm okay with that.

Mama gets to indulge her sweet tooth

I'm not one to go to fancy restaurants unless I'm being invited for a special occasion. I prefer my local haunts in the 13th where it feels like I'm eating dinner in someone's home rather then being presented a piece of art that is food. But funny as I avoid fancy restaurants I found myself this week in the midst of decadence and utter "French-ness". My father-in-law was in town for business and wanted to take my husband, Max and I out for drinks near where he'd be having his business dinner.  He said let's meet at La Durée near La Madeleine.  I had vaguely heard of La Durée but I knew that the neighborhood of La Madeleine was chic. Last year for work I had to go there once a week and would walk by the designer shops and admire the season's fashions and look at the L'Eglise La Madeleine and tell myself that I needed to go in someday and visit.

Well, La Durée was a lovely experience. Not a restaurant but more of  a pastry shop full of history literally down to the building where the shop is located. They are famous for their macaroons.   Max entertained the server by trying to eat the marble topped tables. She acted like it was cute but I sense she was a bit outré at the sight of a child drooling all over the place. As I tried to keep Max under control I kept getting these looks from other women in the shop. Perhaps we were disturbing them? Max was babbling away very loudly. Maybe French mamas don't bring their kids to places like this. I looked over at my father in law and he took Max from me and played with him loudly. It didn't matter to him that Max was being loud, so I quickly forgot about those women looking at me. Instead I enjoyed my cocktail de fruits pressée and dove into the lovely plate of macaroons my father-in-law had ordered Julien and I. 

Definitely felt like I was in a "so French" moment. Even my father in law admitted that it wasn't a regular place he would visit when he came to Paris but every once in a while having something decadent is fun.

Utter cuteness

I'm sitting here reading morning emails, my son is waking up quietly in his bed. He rolls over and starts talking to himself. I peek in to see what he's doing. He's having a conversation with the animals that hang from his leaf canopy. I surf Flickr for a few minutes and then I hear silence. I peek in again and find him rolled over on his stomach and he's asleep! 

So adorable it makes my heart swell.

Now, if he could do this at 3am that would be awesome. :)

I forsee sleep in the near future.

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Mmmm, carrots are good.

We're trying a new nightly routine for Max. After his late afternoon nap, we load up in the stroller for a walk and I run my errands like grocery shopping and pharmacy runs and we stroll in the park near our house and watch the kids play basketball and ping pong. We come home and we strip down naked for dinner (max does anyways) with one solid and mama's milk, a bath, a book and the boob. Also, we've pushed bedtime from 6:30pm to 8pm.  This give him a longer awake period before bed and Julien gets a chance to put Max down.  Before with Max's early bedtime Julien could go the entire day without seeing Max at all.

Tonight, he went down like a charm at 8pm and has not stirred once. As I write this entry it's 11:05pm.

Still working out Max's nap schedule, all this week he's woken up at 7am and gone down consistently at 9am for a nap. This is even true on the nights when he wakes up 5 or 6 times. I am making an effort not to go to Max when he wakes up in the middle of the night unless he's been asleep for more than 6 hours. Then I will go and feed him.  I think what happened was when his bottom teeth came in he got used to nursing so much and now wakes up in search of that comfort even if he doesn't necessarily need it. We are shooting for one night feeding. Two maximum. 

I know that he is still teething, his top teeth are visible so I have pumped up the chamomilla vulgaris and have been giving him some at each diaper change.  He really loves sucking on the little granules.  I am absolutely enchanted with homeopathic remedies. And have started him on some jalapa in the evenings to help with his restlessness.   I'll write more on homeopathy later and share all the remedies we are using chez nous.

That's the sleep update for now.... I'm off to bed. Julien and I have been having a Guinness after he gets home from work. And for the last two days I have to say that I've slept very well.

Edit: The moment I clicked save on this entry, Max woke up. Crying. *sigh*

What we do when we're not sleeping...

I haven't posted a video in a while. Just haven't had time to think about getting the camera out until today. Here's a little clip of Maximilien and I playing on the floor in his room. He really loves the perspective. I often catch him laying on his back staring out the window. Today, we worked on his balance and I wanted to show him that it's okay to fall down.  He's getting braver everyday. He's started dive bombing everything with in his reach.  And he is still all about tasting the world around him.  I love how he looks over to me like he's saying, "Mama, watch this!" or "Look what I can do".  Everyday is a new adventure for us. Even though I lack sleep I somehow find the energy to do the mom thing.  Just looking at my son fills me with this energy I've never had before. 

Sitting up, getting stronger, being braver from PutYourFlareOn and Vimeo.

Aching

As I sit here and type this my body is aching from the lack of sleep. Maximilien is on a sleep strike. And last night he pulled his grandest coup ever, awake at midnight then 2am, 3am, 4am gave us a break at 5am and then up and ready to go at 6am.  It's 7:30am right now. He's been laying in his bed awake for nearly an hour now.

What is the deal?! 

He was sleeping 10-12 hours straight a night up until about two weeks ago.  Has our luck run out?  I can not wait until he can talk to tell me what is going on in his little world? Maybe it's the teeth but they are out. I obsessively check his mouth now to see if there are others making their way down but no dice just those two little ones on the bottom. Those two little dents de laits  that have changed things so drastically lately.

I thought I was done being that crazy sleep deprived zombie mama.

Just now, I stop to listen and I hear silence coming from Max's room. I rushed to check to make sure all was alright (I still do it, I don't think mama ever stop doing this, right?). The little booger finally fell asleep. Spread eagle, head wedged in the corner of his crib.

Sleep, baby. Sleep...