Cedar is 8 months old today

Cedar is eight months old today. He's still growing like a weed and starting to get more hair on top. He's wearing 2T now, nothing left of the "baby" clothes, so he looks like a little boy most of the time.

He had a pediatric appointment this month, so we got to see the ol' growth chart again. There's the lines, and the percentages, and then there's Cedar off in space doing his own thing. Yes, he's off the charts at this point, and roughly the same size as an average 2-year-old. Wow!

Needless to say, he was too big for his carseat. We figured out the carseat dilemma though. He was a few pounds past the weight limit for the rear-facing carseat. The tricky part was finding one that would both accommodate his weight, yet still have a rear-facing option since he's not old enough to face forward. I also didn't want to have to buy another one a few months later....I was busy looking for convertibles, and didn't know about the 3-in-1 option that will take you all the way from 5-100 lbs. Wish I had known that sooner. So now he has a new carseat that should last until he no longer needs the darn things.

We've been experimenting with solids for the past month or so. In general, he's a pretty good eater and great about sitting still and opening his mouth wide. He's not crazy about texture though, so that pretty much limits us to purees. He has tried rice cereal (yuuuuck!), apples (too tart), pears (he loves these), bananas (pretty good--he likes the homemade puree even better), blueberries (yum!), peaches (too sour), squash (likes), sweet potatoes (loves them), and carrots (loves them). He's not crazy about anything that's mashed or has the least bit of texture...sigh. Since it's the end of summer, and prime produce season, I've been making homemade baby food for him-mainly blends of the above. Since I'm out of work, I'll probably be able to take advantage of the fall produce season and be able to make some really good stuff.

He's been less irritable lately, getting a bit of a reprieve on the teething front now that a bunch have come in. He's got 5 teeth now, the 2 lower teeth, and 3 out of 4 upper teeth.

He sits up pretty good now, but still can't get there on his own. He likes to roll over onto his tummy, but doesn't know what to do when he gets there. His tolerance for it has definitely grown though, and once he figures out how to get his feet to do something, he will be in business.

He's all about this toys. He really likes the rainbow caterpillar rattle that Deb gave him a whole lot. Other current favorites are the linking rings and jar lids. He also really likes to play with his pacifier and would rather play with it than use it as a pacifier. He never took to teething rings, but likes to play with them as toys.

He still takes 2 naps during the day, although the times are shifting around a bit. Last week he took lots of catnaps, but this week, they've been longer. He still likes to get up at 3am, and I'm guessing he will for a long time to come. He will sleep until 8am most mornings, which is nice for me.

He likes to bounce in your lap if you hold him (he does the bouncing, all you have to do it hold on tight). He still likes to be held a lot, but doesn't want to sit still in your lap unless he's tired. He also likes more rambunctious moves like being swung around. That makes him giggle wildly and smile real big.

He's still a big smiler, and babbles quite a bit. It's fun to take him out because he smiles and flirts with everyone. He's easy to take out because generally he likes the stimulation of being out and about. On the other hand, if you want him to pass out, just drive for 15 minutes, and he'll be out like a light. Lately he's been in a better mood, most of the time, probably because he's been feeling a bit better. He's also doing better at being on his own for a little while, and will entertain himself for longer periods than he used to.

He still is a huge fan of sucking on his hand or trying to stick his feet in his mouth. He isn't spitting up much any more, so that's a relief. It's nice not to have to worry about that so much. On the other hand, he gets the hiccups at the drop of a hat.

He's still a totally happy kid and generally only cries when he's really hungry or tired. He's not mobile enough to really hurt himself, but that's on the horizon.

He still thinks daddy is the coolest thing ever, and likes to play with his beard.

He is starting to grow some more hair. Can't tell what color it's going to be-strawberry blonde? brown? His eyes are still grey but there's more brown there now. They still are both gray and brown. I don't know if they're done changing or not.

He is not creeping or crawling yet, but he appears to be on the cusp of doing so.
He likes to be on his belly now, but he hasn't figured out how to push off with his knees. He definitely isn't ready to do any standing.

We've been doing more floor play lately, since he can sit up a lot better. I can park him on a blanket with some toys and he'll sit up and play with them. I have to stay right with him though or he might go toppling over (and bonk his big ol' noggin').

homemade baby food

Yesterday I went to Sauvie Island and picked peaches with Margo.

Since I was able to pick enough peaches this time (and get some good apples as well), I'm finally able to move forward on the baby-food making adventure.

Cedar obliged by taking a nice long nap this afternoon, so I was able to get quite a bit one.

Since I already do a lot of canning, I have a lot of the equipment you need on hand. I received a baby-food processor as a gift, so I can make stuff with that commercial-baby-food texture. Today I made some apple sauce, and peach puree, and made blends with those and some leftover cherries and blueberries.

Apple Sauce (for babes)
Normally when I make applesauce, I just cut up whatever apples I have scored from around the neighborhood, and toss them peel and all into the crockpot. Today, I was pressed for time, so I peeled them, chopped them into big chunks, and steamed them in one of my bigger kettles. Then when they were soft, I transferred the chunks to the food processor and whirled them around until they were pureed. I have a baby-food chopper, so I transferred the puree to that, which has a finer blade on it, and made the applesauce smooth a creamy.

Peach Puree
I took the peaches, cut them in half, and pitted them. Then I steamed them (the same way as the apples) and once the skin was loose, I pulled it off and ran them through the food processor, followed up by the baby food-chopper (for that nice creamy texture).

Those were my "bases". Then I added some blueberries and cherries to make blends. So for instance, apple-cherry, apple-peach, peach-cherry, peach-blueberry, apple-blueberry. The cherries and blueberries sweeten up the apples and cherries a lot!

Finally I can have a break from the financial tyranny of those dollar-a-jar baby foods (as well as more options--they don't really come in that many flavors). Aside from the huge savings (you can make a boat-load of baby food for the same prices as a few of those jars), it's also nice to know where your food comes from, and how fresh it is.

I am looking forward to having more raw material to work with in the future...apples, pears, and plums!

Friday the 13th

I didn't realize that today was Friday the Thirteenth, but that would go a long way towards explaining the string of good luck I've had all day...and all the old familiar faces that have turned up after all these years.

The teething babe has been less fussy today. I managed to get almost everything done that I had in mind to do today--laundry, and stocking up on things like watermelon and agua de coco to beat the heatwave that's about to descend on us. Even managed to squeeze in a second walk after the sun set.

It's real serene out there tonight. It was quiet enough that I could smell the distinct scent of everything out there--the perfume of the blooming Asiatic lilies, the smell of lavender drying in the sun, and the weird smell of the Tree of Heaven as I walked underneath it.

The babe's still not sitting up on his own, but in general is doing better with the whole balance thing and spent a good part of the evening sitting on one of his quilts with his legs spread in a V and my hands hovering nearby to catch him if he sways too far to the side and starts to go down. He's been a bit less fussy today, even though he's not real wild about the heat. The back of his head is permanently slick with sweat, and he's got drool all over his hands and most of his face. There's a couple of spots of dried-on butternut squash on his face. His three teeth look comical, but he's a really cute baby in spite of the fact that he smells of sour milk and other baby smells. I love his little sticky head, and as he lay there thrashing in my arms on the inevitable march towards passing out, I couldn't help but think about how much I love his chubby little arms, and sticky hands, and soft twitching limbs. He's such a sweet baby.

Most days I don't get time to do much but breathe. I hardly ever have time to think or reflect on anything. Today was one of those rare days where there were relatively few emergencies, and relative calm, and even a few spare moments such as this to write things down. That's a luxury I rarely have any more, these days, just the very sort of thing no one can ever warn you about before you become a mother.

1. You won't have time to read.
2. You won't have time to write.
3. You won't have time to think about anything coherently.

It's all about the moment...you don't have time to worry about the future, or think about the past. It's all about the here and now.

(Not) back to school

It's really weird seeing all the back-to-school sales going on when you walk in the store, and knowing that for the first time in years, I won't have a classroom to go to come September.

It's a really strange feeling.

One that's probably shared by all the other laid-off teachers out there, I'm sure.

I heard that Congress passed some emergency bill this week to try to save education jobs, but it's too late for a lot of us. I don't think most of us will get our jobs back any time soon. People who are just graduating will have no jobs to apply for, and even getting on as a sub will be very difficult in most districts. I'm pretty sure that the kids of politicians don't go to public schools. If they did, things never would have gotten this bad.

Grant Park Ladies

I took Cedar to Grant Park today to meet up with a good friend and a couple of kids that she was babysitting.

I'd never been to Grant Park (or Grant High School) before, since I don't live on that side of town, and have no reason to go all the way over there. This, however, was definitely a good addition to the summer of getting out more and doing things.

The park's really nice. It's huge, and there's lots of paths and shade trees and fountains. There's all these Beverly Cleary sculptures. It's right next to the high school, and there's a public pool as well. The kids had swimming lessons, and after that, we hit the playground and had a big ol' time. The babe, of course, is too young and non-mobile to do anything other than watch, yet, but the girls waved and giggled at him, and smiled, and fussed over him, and had him so smiley, I'm pretty sure he forgot he was teething and supposed to be Mr. Grumpy Pants. He had a blast watching all the other kids, and I would love to take him in the pool sometime.

Ooops

Oops. I thought I was well on my way to adding a Mid-Level Endorsement to my existing teaching license (HS-Language Arts), but here I come to find out I still have to take the Math/Science portion of the ORELA. I had no idea I had to take that portion because I don't teach Math/Science, have no intentions of teaching Math/Science, and honestly it would probably be for the best if I never did... But lo and behold, I can't add an authorization level until I take that test. Hmpf! I really wish I had known that a long long time ago back in my carefree childless days.

So I guess once again, I'm gonna have to cough up another 80 bucks and drive over to the University of Portland on some Saturday afternoon to spend a couple of hours taking another ORELA test. Uggh. I'm pretty over it at this point. But I guess I better get it done. Don't think I'll bother with filing the paperwork, though, until I get done with the ESOL Endorsement. It's not like there's any jobs out there right now anyway. Edzapp is pretty grim these days...even in Special Ed, which was never the case before.

The Redbook Motherhood Survey

On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with your current work status?

It really depends on the day. Since I was laid off, I didn't really have much of a choice, and I went from working full-time (which was stressful), to being a full-time stay-at-home-mom (which depending on the day, is also stressful). Generally though, I'm not totally devastated that I'm probably not going to be working this next school year. It's kind of an interesting situation, actually. I get to spend more time with the babe, and depending on the day, get more done. On the other hand, I also really like teaching and actually am much better at being around older kids. When it comes to babes, I pretty much am making it up as I go.

In 10 years, what do you think your work status will be?

I will probably be working full-time or part-time as a teacher. If not, then chances are pretty good that I'm living in a remote area raising goats or something. Baaaa!

What would be your ideal life/work arrangement?

Teach half-time, but public school teaching is generally an all-or-nothing gig. Part-time options exist, but they're somewhat rare. Outside of the public school setting, almost all other part-time teaching options come with no benefits.

Do you feel that your choice to work or not work is supported by the other people closest to you (family, friends)?

I doubt anyone cares one way or another.

Do you ever envy moms who have made work/life choices that are different from yours?

Not too much — just when I have the occasional rough day.

Who would you say handles more of the day-to-day parenting duties, you or your partner?

I handle more of the parenting duties than my partner. I was kind of hoping for more interest and involvement from him, but the current circumstances probably don't facilitate that much. And maybe it's just a general discomfort with the high needs period of infancy. Who knows. But sometimes I feel resentful, whether that's justified or not.

Which statement best describes your feelings?

I occasionally wish I could spend more time away from my children/by myself. I've always had a real high need for alone time. Needless to say, naptime is golden.

Which statement do you agree with more?

Being a mother is the most important role in my life

What is your single biggest concern for your children?

That they grow up to be happy and successful at whatever they choose in life.

What changes would make the biggest difference in making it easier for you to raise your children?

Seeing a higher value placed on the job of mothering in our culture (the whole maternity leave thing is a joke, having a more flexible work schedule would also help.

Since becoming a mom, do you feel more or less important to society as a whole?

More important — there's no job bigger than raising children--whether they happen to be mine or go home to someone else.


Who is your primary source of emotional support as a mom?

Sometimes my mom, sometimes friends and other moms.

How often do you feel pressure (whether internal or external) to be a "better" mom or to be a "perfect" mom?

Hardly ever — I trust my instincts and the choices I make.

How often do you feel judged or criticized by other moms?

Rarely

How often do you feel guilty about the job you're doing as a mom?

Rarely

On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your average day-to-day stress level?

Somewhat stressful (3)

If you had to choose just one, what would you like to have more of?

Time just for me

What quality do you wish you had more of as a mother?

Organization, always organization.