Eluned G. Sharron Bethea » August 2008 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

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Tue, Aug 26, 2008 2:00 PM
Don't let the still photos fool you. My house often sounds like we're hosting a motocross competition or someone is tormenting a pig with needles. Eluned has mastered blowing raspberries; I frequently join in. When she's impatient for something or sees a cat, she squeals at full volume. Other times she just talks, like today she chatted up a storm with her stacky cups and stuffed dog. Els isn't noisy all the time (thankfully) but she's by no means quiet all the time either.

We do have that video camera and we are taking videos (off and on) but unfortunately we haven't yet figured out how to transfer the videos off the disks onto a computer. Believe me, we've tried, and we'll keep trying.

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Sun, Aug 24, 2008 11:00 PM
Even I can see it. As Sarah points out below, Eluned is growing like a weed. I have no idea how much she actually weighs or how tall she is, but she's noticeably bigger.

I was starving. For months. It's finally starting to ease up a little, but since about May I've been eating double portions and snacking like I was pregnant again. And I'm losing weight (don't hit me).

It's probably easing up (and I should too) because Els is really getting in to her "solid" food. She powered through everything I sent last week. After staying up Thursday night to make her more, I bought an "emergency stash" of jarred food to keep in the pantry. And I doubled everything I made her for this coming week so I can freeze the extra. Next weekend will be a big baby food cooking weekend.

This weekend we pulled the box of larger-size clothing out of the closet and wound up putting everything away in her dresser. Plenty of it is still too big for her -- but not so big that it should be stored in the closet. We filled the box back up with her newborn things and put those away instead.

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Sat, Aug 23, 2008 11:00 PM
East Coast friends & family: Eluned and I will be in Philadelphia, PA, Sept. 5th and 6th.

Have I mentioned I'm nuts? But the trip to San Francisco went so well that I've decided to attempt a cross-country trip to attend my cousin Matt Sharron's wedding. The wedding is the evening of the 6th, but the rest of the time I imagine we will be in or near our hotel.

Short trip and short notice, I know. But if anyone wants to connect while we're out there, call/email me and we'll arrange something.

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Fri, Aug 22, 2008 7:00 AM
Let's just get this out of the way: I'm nuts. I know I'm nuts. But I'm nuts in an "I've been waiting for this child for years" and "no, I really don't have anything better to do right now" kind of way.

Will wanted Els to start cereal. Bertha wanted Els to start cereal. I went to the store and looked at the baby cereals -- and there's nothing wrong with them, but, well, see above.

So I bought some quinoa instead. Toasted it, ground it, cooked it, and offered it to Els. And she loved it. Opened her mouth for more. I tried some too; it was good. Unfortunately, I made it way too thick for her and she couldn't really eat it.

So I took the rest to Bertha's the next day. Bertha mixed it with her fruit, and Els has been scarfing it. I had to make 2 more batches this week.

When I first heard about people making their own baby cereal, I thought they were nuts. But it turns out to be pretty easy. The only mildly annoying step is that it does have to be cooked on the stovetop for a few minutes. Or, the way Els is going through it, I will find a microwave method. Boxed baby cereal is cooked and then dehydrated, so you can just pour and stir.

Nutritional profile of quinoa:
http://www.peertrainer.com/DFcaloriecounterB.aspx?id=5912
The short version is that it's high in protein, iron, and a bunch of other good stuff.

Recipe:
http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/food/kitchen_baby_side2.html
For Els, I use a ratio of 1 Tbsp. of ground quinoa to 1/3 cup of (filtered) water.

Comments:
Sarah: I think you are incredibly smart (in a nutty kind of way). The lesser-known, high-protein grains are a lot likely to have all the nutrients they're supposed to, and are less processed to boot. Mainstream stuff (rice, wheat) is grown on ground saturated in insecticides, fertilizer and drained of micro-nutrients due to repeated plantings over many decades. Oops. I'll get down off my soapbox now. Oh. Did I mention baby food in a jar is loaded with....someone stop me before I become totally obnoxious! Glad to hear Els loves the stuff. It's good, isn't it?

Virginia: Nah, you aren't nuts. I handmade all of Holland's food - she has never once eaten baby food out of a jar. I'll do it for August too. It's fun! I haven't made cereal using quinoa before, but I do have some so I'll give this recipe a try. Thanks for posting it!

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Wed, Aug 20, 2008 11:00 PM
Eluned went for her first ride in a shopping cart today. This time, I did cover anything she might touch with my sweater. (You would've too, if you'd seen these old shopping carts.)

She seemed to like it well enough. She felt a little unstable, and spent part of the ride hanging on to the rails that make up the back of the child seat. (I was going as slowly and gently as I could.) But the seat on the cart lets her see everything around her much better than when we put her car seat in the cart.

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Sarah: Isn't it amazing to watch her, with every experience new, the first time for this, an initial encounter with that...we see it with new eyes, too. P.S. I try not to look at the old shopping carts and visualize the grimy, greasy, gritty hands thereupon....

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Mon, Aug 18, 2008 2:00 PM
Eluned loves cats. She's fascinated by them. Lately she's taken to expressing her appreciation by squealing at full volume whenever one gets close to her.

My one cranky old cat still won't get near the baby and thus has yet to merit a squeal. My other, less-cranky old cat simply accepts the squeals along with everything else.

This past week, though, Els met my parents' cats. (Well, she met 2 of their 3 cats; the third cat might be a figment of their imagination, as it's never seen by anyone else.) Their young male cat, who's usually a big people person, apparently had pressing cat business outside (likely involving a bird or lizard or two) and did not interact with Els.

Their young female cat (his older sister) did come up to check out this small human. And Els let loose a loud squeal. And the cat ran away -- until her curiosity overcame her memory, and she came back. Squeal. Run. Sniff. Squeal. Run.

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Sun, Aug 17, 2008 6:00 PM
We're back from San Francisco. Some highlights of our trip:

- Eluned travels like a pro. On the flight up the only time she got fussy was when I tried to take my glasses back. (I don't normally let her play with my glasses, so she made the most of the opportunity.) On the way home she was a little more cranky -- we all were, they canceled my flight and put us on a later one -- but she just nursed and napped the whole flight.

- Other than canceling my return flight, I can't say enough good things about Southwest. Everyone, including my fellow passengers, was so helpful and understanding.

- Els loves the song "Do you know the way to San Jose?" My Aunt Ginny discovered this at random while entertaining the baby in the parking lot of the San Jose airport while my Mom and I struggled to put in her car seat. Els cracks up when you sing it to her.

- We stayed at the Hyatt Embarcadero. This was Els' first time at a hotel. My first stay in a hotel was also at the Hyatt Embarcadero, when I was a little over a year old. My parents were as freaked out by the sliding glass door opening to a multi-story drop as I was (see photos) -- more, probably, since Els isn't mobile yet. The hotel is lovely and the staff were also very helpful; they brought us up a mini-fridge for our room.

- My class was all of 2 blocks from the hotel, so a couple of days I walked back and had lunch with Will and Els. Will and I ate really well all week.

- Els sat in a high chair for the first time. I didn't know if I would be one of those moms who brings a cover for high chairs, etc. Turns out I'm not.

- The historic ferry building on the Embarcadero has been turned into a bunch of little shops celebrating good food: a local dairy sells their cheese, a couple of local farms sell their meat, another shop has very nice mushrooms. You can get wine, chocolate and even caviar. On our last night we went around to several shops and pulled together a picnic dinner, which we ate on the floor of our hotel overlooking the city.

- Will and Els took it easy and didn't go too far, but they explored the entire Embarcadero and into Chinatown and North Beach. Els made friends everywhere she went.

Comments:
Sarah: Y'all sure know how to travel well, making friends right and left. There's something irresistable about a bright beautiful baby and her bright beautiful parents. Can't think what it might be.... ;-)

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Wed, Aug 6, 2008 11:00 PM
Naturally there's no one around with a camera when Eluned grabs on to my ear with one hand to anchor herself (or so she thinks; I've got a hold of her) and stretches out her full arm's length to grab her bottle with her other hand, swing it around and knock everything off the table.

Els has gotten very busy all of a sudden. Not all the time, but sometimes after a meal and a nap I can sit her down with some toys to play for a while. She gets serious, intent on what she's doing. Her Ikea stacky cups in particular seem to require concentration.

I can't rely on this too much, though. Last night I did, and lost another fistful of salad off my dinner plate.

We've also just discovered that the stacky cups double as bath toys.

Comments:
Sarah: Maybe we should team her up with my dog. I have to be careful about placing light or fragile items on the coffee table. One tail swipe, and away they go! Jasmine and Els could have destruction derbies. And guess who gets to pick up the mess....

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Sun, Aug 3, 2008 11:00 PM
We decided to put Eluned into day care after all. We wanted to find someone who would care for Els in their own home with a few other children. And we found Bertha.

Bertha was a nanny for years, until her children asked her to take care of her grandchildren. Now her day care has three of her grandchildren, all grade-school-aged, two 3-year-old boys and a 1-year-old boy. (She's licensed for more children.) Her assistant is her daughter-in-law. And she has family, daughters, her husband, etc., in and out and helping her.

Els has only been going to Bertha's for about a week and a half, but so far it seems to be going well. Bertha was a little nervous about giving Els only two bottles a day. (She has another bottle before we leave for Bertha's, and we nurse as soon as we get home.) So I started sending a little baby food in addition to the bottles, and that seems to be working well for everyone.

Bertha stopped by my house today. (She lives a few blocks away.) When Els saw Bertha, she lit up and started kicking and kicking.

Comments:
Sarah: I checked on the grab-and-release thing. Yes, they are two different processes. And Parkinson's patients (like my husband) sometimes have one or both processes affected. My husband can grasp, but has trouble releasing. Who knew? It seems so automatic when the two are problem-free and fully developed.

You are very fortunate to have found day care so close and caring. You can tell by Els' response she is well cared-for. If I may make a suggestion? Be clear about it if you don't want Bertha giving her "junk" food. I found my daughter was being given cheetos and soda! Yuck!!

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Fri, Aug 1, 2008 10:00 PM
I had Monkey Toes tied up in her Moby last night (the blue baby carrier you see in many photos) while we watered the plants outside in her garden. I looked down, and she had wrapped her toes around a nandina twig and was pulling the whole branch over.

Later -- with Els still in the Moby -- I made myself dinner, including a spinach salad. Els loves plants, so I gave her a spinach leaf to play with, which she promptly dropped on the floor. While I was preparing my plate, she grabbed a fistful of salad, covered in dressing, off of my plate. And dropped it again, dressing side down, onto my foot.

P.S. Points for the use of the word "tipple."

Comments:
Sarah: Yay for Els! May she enjoy her prehensile toes for years to come, and the fun of dropping stuff, and you get the exercise of picking up what she's dropped. Wait till she learns to throw! Oh, now *that* is an experience, the first time dinner veggies return airmail.

Aunt Marilyn: Els is definitely a precoscious(sp?) baby. Picking up things is one stage, but letting go of them is definitely another. She is way ahead if she is enjoying dropping things. Look up Piaget (developmental psychologist) to read about this. I love being able to read about how you all are doing from so far away.

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