Speed Trials

Whoa the weeks are slipping by quickly again. How is it Tuesday already?? Okay, week 32, what’ve I got for you this week?

Other than this super cute face that he’s been making constantly lately…

Crawling: Nico crawls along quickly and purposefully. He knows where he’s going and he gets there double time!

He also lifts himself onto his knees and can comfortably sit up on his heels without holding on to anything for balance. Also, one day this week he actually pulled himself up onto his feet and stood (while holding on to the coffee table, of course) by the time I grabbed my phone to take a picture, he had plopped back onto his butt, but it’s just a matter of time now before he’s standing and walking (eek).

Eating/Sleeping: this is a growing concern for me, because Nico is sort of a picky eater. he doesn’t eat very much at each sitting (unless it’s puréed apples or pears) and so to compensate he drinks milk all night long. And we’re back to co-sleeping (and have been for the last few weeks) so he wakes up, rolls over, latches on to me, has a quick sip, and then goes back to sleep. But it’s not enough to satiate him, so 2 hours later he’s hungry again, rolls over again, has another quick sip, and the cycle continues.

I think I need to get up and nurse him sitting up in the rocking chair, to make sure he eats fully, so that he can sleep for a 4 hour stretch, and maybe even start putting him back in his crib. But right now, the routine we’ve got going makes for LONG nights and super grumpy mornings (for me – sorry Angelo!).

Strollercise: I’ve joined a strollercise group – we meet every Tues and Thur for an hour-long walk, and then we go for coffee and chat. It’s really nice, and all the parents get along really well. The only thing that’s sort of a downer is that the kids can’t crawl around together at the coffee shop, but now that the weather is nice, we’re talking about bringing a picnic and sitting out in the park after our walks instead. Can’t wait for that nice weather!!

Speaking of the weather… what’s up Spring?? Why you so cold?? We now live directly adjacent to a big park, and it’s been too cold and rainy to take advantage. I can’t wait for the nicer weather when we’ll be able to spend most of the day outside. (hm, guess I have to start looking into baby-friendly sunscreens first, huh?)

When I ran my first race 5 months post-partum, I was pretty happy with myself: I ran a strong race and I was in great shape. But I can count on one hand (without using the thumb and index) how many times I’ve gone out for a run since that race on February 19. Not only have I fallen off the running wagon, but I’m also not eating right, and sleep is still a harrowed endeavour that usually only occurs in short 2-3 hour bursts.

There have been so many times when I thought: “I should just go out for a run” but then the thought vanishes and I do other things. A lot of the time those other things involve walking, which is great, but I like being a runner, and I can’t be a runner unless I actually run!

So to motivate me to get out there three days a week, I’ve signed up for a few more races throughout the summer. It’s too bad that I need the fear of humiliation on race day to get out and run, but that’s just the way it is right now.

I’ll be running the Colonel By Classic, which is an 8k race on May 19 (that’s right, in 20 days!) – My training for this one will be agressive, but I’ll be running for distance, not for time. My goal is to get my weekly mileage back up in a hurry, so I won’t be too concerned with how long it takes me to run, just to get out there and log the kilometers.

Next I’ll be running the Hintonburg Centennial 5k, which is a neighbourhood race and is lots of fun. It’s on July 15, so I’ll have lots of time to increase my overall speed, incorporating speedwork into my training. The last time I ran this race I finished in 24 minutes, and I’m hoping to beat that this year!

And as soon as the Hintonburg 5k is done, I jump into HALF MARATHON training!! I’ll be running the Fall Colours Half Marathon this year. This is the race that takes place on Canadian thanksgiving and usually I run the 10k, but this year I’ve decided to challenge myself and go for the 21k instead. I’ll be running the race with my brother, and I’m hoping that we can both beat his previous half-mary record and come in at 2:00.

So that’s it. I’ll be doing the weekly running posts like I did for the Winterman, so I hope that you guys enjoy the posts and keep me accountable. I really do love training, I just suffer so badly from inertia! Here’s to a great running season everyone!

(now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find and charge my Garmin for tomorrow’s 3k run!)

Crawling

Nico is crawling all over the place, and he’s now learning to pull himself up onto his knees. It’s really fun to see him inch his way across the floor, and I’m pleased to say that even though he is always lured to the electrical outlets and other hazards, he usually leaves them alone after hearing a stern “No” from us.

Eating

After writing my post about feeding Nico, I decided to stock up a bit on puréed baby food to make things easier for me at meal time. There was also some produce that was on its last legs, so I got to work and ended up with a dozen jars of baby food to freeze. Thank you Baby Bullet!

Some things to note: Nico loves mango (who doesn’t!); he likes carrots in whole form, but not so much as purée; and barley cereal is way better than brown rice cereal.

Outings

We took him to the cottage for the first time – he liked it well enough, though he hated his life-jacket.

We also bought him a bike trailer, but after looking for a bike helmet, I came to the conclusion that Nico is still a bit too small to go bike-riding. Soon though, soon.

Nico rode on public transport for the first time this week, too. We rode the O-Train to Greenboro station. Don’t let his expression fool you, he really enjoyed it.

Finally, we spent the weekend watching hockey (Go Sens Go!) and playing with his favourite cousin, Rio.

I also tried to get a shot of his two bottom teeth. This is as good as I got:

And here were some of the failed attempts! Haha

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April 22 was Earth Day, and the Museum of Nature had free entry to commemorate.

Angelo and I took Nico to see the dinosaur bones and wildlife dioramas.

It had been a while since I’d been to the museum, and it was my first time since its great renovation. The dioramas were pretty much as I remembered them, but the building was completely redone and it’s much more modern and open now.

Nico checking out some dino bones!

Baby Blue Whale

Nico had a good time, but that’s mostly because he was with his papa the whole time. Those two love each other so much!

I have been worried about feeding Nico solid food since I found out I was pregnant. I had no fears about breastfeeding, in fact, I saw it as a beacon of light, the one thing I wouldn’t have to plan for or pack – breastmilk is available in seconds, always the right temperature, and in constant supply.

I looked to other moms for advice and tips, but I would just look at them with their wide assortment of wholesome vittles, all nicely packaged in matching Tupperware, and I just felt inadequate and hopeless. I had a hard enough time making sure I ate three meals a day, let alone be responsible for someone else’s daily bread.

It also doesn’t help that Angelo and I do not have “traditional” habits when it comes to food. We eat very different foods, at very different times throughout the day, in very different places. We RARELY eat homecooked “meals” together at the dining room table. And yet, this is something I really want to instill in Nico. I want him to have a healthy relationship with food and meals. I want him to appreciate homecooked dinners served at the table with candlelight and music. And so in my attempt to do right by my son, I overcomplicated things and I let myself get influenced by every single opinion and point of view on the subject. Seriously, I checked my own instincts at the door and simply blindly believed whoever’s opinion I’d heard last.

At first I thought I’d go the route of traditional baby food. I’d make lots of homemade purées and feed that to my kid. At my baby shower, I received a Baby Bullet, and I was thrilled!

It was the one baby product I never knew I needed! I was convinced this was the only way to start a baby on solids.

But then I was given the book “Baby-Led Weaning”, which is extremely AGAINST purées and spoon-feeding (and which goes into great detail telling parents exactly how they are stunting their children’s development if they dare feed their children this way). The book instead suggests that babies eat whole foods right off our plates from the start. So after reading the book I believed what was written and swore off purées. I thought I’d have to return the Baby Bullet, since it represents everything that is “wrong” with feeding babies. I was then convinced that THIS was the only way to start a baby on solids.

I have had many conversations about food and feeding with lots of moms at playgroup and with friends and family who have kids. I’ve listened to so many different points of view, I got confused as to which were my own.

As Nico approached his 6-month birthday, I had a good talk with my friend Shayla, whose adorable baby girl is three months older than Nico, and she gave me some much needed perspective about the whole BLW craze. She said that she’s suspect of any book that tells you there’s only one way of doing something. I totally agreed with Shayla. How could I have been suckered into the BLW hype??

Finally I pulled out the Ottawa Public Health guide to feeding your child age 6-12 months, and felt relieved when I saw this:

It really is that simple. I show him food, and he decides if he’ll eat it or not. I have to remember that Nico will do fine whether I feed him by spoon, or whether he feeds himself by hand. He’ll do fine whether he starts with fortified rice cereal, or whether he starts with hummus. He’ll do fine whether he starts out eating 2-3 times a day, or whether he eats 3-4 times a day.

After that, I broke out the Baby Bullet and whipped up some food. I also keep lots of whole fruit on hand to slice into finger foods. As you can expect, Nico enjoys most of it. Sometimes he likes to be spoon-fed, sometimes he likes to take the spoon in his own hand. And sometimes (like today) he doesn’t like to eat solid food at all. And it’s ALL GOOD!

So far, this is what he’s eaten:

In puréed form he eats brown rice cereal and applesauce, spinach and applesauce, and sweet potato.

In finger-food form he eats sweet potato fries, pear slices, apple slices, bananas, and Mum-Mums.

I’m excited to get him eating egg yolks, broccoli, and mango. And I’d love to try feeding him avocado and hummus again (he only had those things once, when we were just starting feeding him)… But mostly, I’m just excited to stop WORRYING about feeding Nico, and to start enjoying it!