The Joy of Cooking (for an infant)

I don't know about anyone else, but just the thought of starting my little girl on solids was enough to give me some serious agida. I had just started getting quite comfortable (and spoiled) with Charlotte's nursing habits. She would only nurse a handful of times a day for just about 15 or 20 minutes. Ahhhh... Heavenly. Then I came to the harsh realization that this little being needed more than just milk to survive. Darn. So I did the only thing I could think to do at a time like this - I called my sister-in-law.

After talking and laughing, I understood that (seriously, Christie) this was not the end of the world. Through our chat, I was pointed to my go-to source, a great site called www.wholesomebabyfood.com. I love it because you can navigate by stage, by food types, by topic... For the past 2 months, I have gone to this site for guidance and comfort along this seemingly scary path of solids. And I must say, once you get your feet wet, it's not worth all the anxiety.

I think my next few posts will be all about this new world of "food stuff." We've been having so much fun with it and I feel like if others out there feel as clueless as I did (and at times, still do), it might help to hear what other moms are doing. For now, I'm going to go and change yet another poopy diaper - because as many of you know... with solid foods come solid poops. The joys of motherhood.

Reality Check

Seriously! She's only 7 months old and I'm already in denial (apparently) about how big she's getting. A couple times a week, I'll look at one of the adorable outfits in Charlotte's closet and think, "Nah, not yet. This is too big for my little munchkin. Maybe soon, but for now, she can wear this again." Then one day, I'll be feeling brave and I'll decide -- it's time! And we'll put on the outfit that I've been holding off on for a month and she's only got a few days left of fitting in it! Now this, my friends, is why you will see Charlotte go through phases when she wears the same outfit every other day for 2 weeks. It's because that outfit is one I thought was "too big" for far too long that I missed the window! Meanwhile, Charlotte is just growing, growing, growing and I'm just sitting here, hoarding her clothes.

Isn't she still my little 7 pound snuggle bug? No?! Since when??

Fuzz, Feathers, and Fins

One of the most satisfying moments for me these days is when I find things that Charlotte really enjoys and connects with. Nowadays, it's a little easier to engage her, but a couple months ago it could be tricky to really get a rise out of this little person who only seemed to care about food and sleep.

So one day when Charlotte was about 3 months old, Hubby (the creative thinker that he is) had the idea to take her to the pet store after church. We didn't know if Charlotte would really give a rip, but figured it could be fun to try it out. Justin and I are both animal-lovers, so we figured we'd trick her into becoming one, too.

When we went in, we headed straight for the hamsters and gerbils. Charlotte was sucked in right away. She leaned in towards the glass and just stared. It was so neat to see the little gears in her head turning as she saw the little guys running in their wheels scampering all around. Next stop was the parakeets. These were a HUGE hit. They were noisy, colorful, and a bit on the hyper-active side (aka: awesome). Our last stop was the fish. They may not be quite as fuzzy or vocal, but lemme tell ya... they still grab the attention of a curious infant.

So our trip was a success. And we learned there's nothin' like a free trip to the "local zoo."

The day is coming!

One thing I have come to realize in these past 6 months is that car seats are not quite as user-friendly as I once thought. I always envisioned being able to swing that thing all around, baby in tow. I thought it snapped right into place during every grocery shopping excursion as I leisurely pushed my baby-filled cart 'round and 'round. But like most things, it wasn't quite as I expected.

The first time we took the little girl out was to the grocery store. Hubby and I were all giddy, half-excited/half-petrified, but we really wanted to go get some grub. When we went to put Charlotte's car seat into the cart, we realized that it was not quite as easy as we thought. The angle was all off. The only way to really *snap* the seat into place was by leaning Charlotte's seat almost completely horizontal. Hmph. I figured that it must be this way because the grocery store had the old-school, metal carts... things would be different when we went to Target someday.

So here we go to Target... shopping for who knows what (but I'm sure it was absolutely necessary). I was pretty excited to try out these new, space-age red plastic carts that Target has. I figured since this was a new style, it must have car seats in mind. Turns out that these carts were far worse than the grocery carts. If anyone has tried clipping their car seat into these beasts, you probably know just what I mean. The plastic bends away and there is no hope of clipping anything into place here. A couple times, we even decided it would be better just to put Charlotte's car seat in the main section of the cart. After all, we're just the parents, why would we need any more space than what you get in the upper section? Have you seen the upper section of carts? Plenty of room for all my shopping needs. Ha.

However, do you have some crafting you need to do? Head over to A.C. Moore. Their carts are a DREAM! The car seat fits right in, snaps into place, and Charlotte isn't staring up at the ceiling for her whole ride. I have no idea why A.C. Moore's carts are so wonderful, but I know one thing... they have my vote for "Best Cart for Baby."

But there is a light at the end of this car seat trouble tunnel. Charlotte is just starting to sit up which means no more lugging the car seat into to the store each trip. Soon she'll get to sit in her homemade (by Nani) shopping cart cover. It's going to be a whole new world...