Eating for two?

I know my opinions on nutrition are not popular, but I'm right and that is uncomfortable for people. How can anyone dispute that eating fresh, natural foods is the best way? Pregnancy is not an license to eat junk food and gain as much weight as you want. What you eat is what your baby eats. Why would you want to feed the baby junk food? Also, if you're not eating the nutrients the baby needs to develop, the baby will get it from other places in your body even if that means leaching calcium from your bones. I hear women complaining about how badly they feel or how swollen they are or how fat they are during pregnancy (or even after). Then I hear what they're eating and think to myself that its no wonder they feel the way they do! Not that eating healthfully will get rid of all of the "side effects" of pregnancy, but it would help you feel so much better. Stop whining and do something about it!

Junk food

Everyone has their own personal definition of junk food. Most of us would agree that candy and soda pop are junk foods, but I believe that the list of junk food is huge! Many junk foods are masquerading as "healthy" foods. Examples of foods that are junk yet treated as healthy food choices include graham crackers, gold fish crackers, chicken nuggets (even baked) and bagels. The list is certainly longer, but these are actually items my son's daycare provider has given to him after touting that they serve healthy and balanced meals.

My son is almost 13 months and people act like its borderline child abuse NOT to give him sugar. I am mocked and teased for my stance on my son's diet. Is it crazy to want my child to have whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies and minimally processed, organic dairy and meat products? He is 1 and doesn't know any better so why wouldn't I want him to develop a taste for the healthy foods now? He does get the opportunity to try unhealthy foods, they are just not part of his regular diet.

Juice is another issue. In moderation it is healthy, but its not an all day drink. I recently read that children who drink more than 4oz of juice per day typically have a less healthy diet (I will try to find the article and post a link).

Why do I feel that I am constantly under attack for wanting my child to have healthy eating habits? Is it out of guilt about one's own poor eating habits that people must judge me and even go so far as to act like I'm crazy or a bad mother for not spoon feeding my child junk?

Sleep, glorious sleep

I am utterly frustrated with my almost 10-month-old son. He won't sleep! It seems like everyone else's child has been sleeping through the night since birth, so I decided to channel my frustration for good and start this blog. Surely, there are others who have the same issues I have and misery loves company!

First, I would like to start out saying that I love my little boy more than anything and anyone on this earth. He has a great personality and is pretty laid back. And don't even get me started on that smile and laugh! Our only issue is bedtime. He goes to bed fine, but then he's up 4, 5, 6 or more times during the night. I have started to dread bedtime! Many nights my husband and I just give up and bring him into bed with us, but recently that is not even working. Tonight we decided to try the Farber method. We have tried letting him "cry it out" before, but I think by having a deadline at which you can enter the room it makes the crying more bearable. We went about our normal bedtime routine except instead of rocking him for 20 ore more minutes I rocked him until his blinks got longer and slower and then put him into his crib awake. He cried, of course (and at times screamed)! It was heartbreaking to listen to him cry like that. He was obviously distressed and when I went in to check on him at the 5 minute interval he clung to my arm as I tried to lay him back down (because he was standing at the rail of his crib screaming). I patted and rubbed him and gave him his binky and musical horsey and left. More screaming. By this time, I wanted to cry and scream myself, but I also need sleep. I took our video monitor to my room and grabbed a glass of red wine. I just stared at the monitor like it was some sort of bizarre show. I thought, "what kind of mother am I that I can just sit here and watch him scream?" Then I rationalized that it was better to keep watching him in case he became daring and tried to climb out of the crib. Eventually, after 30 minutes of crying he fell asleep. Whew!

At 12:15 he was awake again. My dear husband took this shift and worked with him for 30 minutes again. My adrenaline was racing because I could hear him screaming down the hall and all I wanted to do was go pick him up and comfort him. At last, he was asleep again. 3:15, my little darling wakes up again. I grabbed the spare binky I keep on my night stand (he always seems to knock them out of his crib and onto the floor which I promptly kick under it as I shuffle through in my sleepy haze). I went in and lay him down from the standing position gave him his binky and horsey, told him I loved him and left. He cried (are you surprised?) This time though he didn't cry long enough that I even had to go back in. Watching him in the monitor I could see him in his crib, holding his horsey with his head bobbing around. He was so tired he couldn't even sit up straight! At that moment he just fell over onto the mattress and I could hear him exhale an exhausted breath. If I hadn't heard that I would have run up to check on him for fear that something was wrong (did I mention I'm paranoid). He woke up a couple times and cried, but just for a minute and went back to sleep. In fact, I'm still up writing this blog as my kid sleeps...what am I doing? Good night!