Observations and Advice Needed

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Don'tcha hate it when your baby is sound asleep and you're awake for no apparent reason staring at him or her (or in the case of some twins him and her)? That happened to me Saturday night. There's nothing like being awake when you really should be sleeping to irritate a person.

In other news, MacBaby is, as his dad tells him every night during dinner, a good eater. So far we have checked off the food list avocados, bananas, carrots, peas and squash. All are quite popular with the little dude, except for the carrots, which we may not have prepare to be mushy enough. Apples are on the menu for later this week. What other foods are baby appropriate to give him? I looked at the baby food jars at the grocery store for inspiration, but these did not yield any new ideas.

Our final issue - saliva. I think MacBaby is teething. He's drooling so much that his chin is getting irritated and turning red. Any advice on how to prevent this? And, what do I put on it after it gets red?

Thank you, in advance, for sharing your parenting expertise.

Weird, Wild and Wacky Baby News

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I Have Shissues

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Now that I can fit back into the majority of my wardrobe, I've encountered a new problem - shissues = shoe issues.

While I was pregnant, I my regular shoes stopped fitting after about month 6. I thought my feet were just swollen, but now that I'm out of flip-flops and into the closed toe variety with the onset of fall, I've learned that my feet actually grew. Only one of them is back to size.

I have different sized feet. "What does this mean for your shoe collection?" asked an observant and fiscally weary MacDad. Some shoes are still fine. Some give me blisters before I even leave the house. When buying new shoes, I either have one foot that fits perfects and the other is scrunched, or I have one foot that fits perfectly and the other is too big.

Can you buy a pair of shoes with two sizes? Anyone else have this issue?

Flu Season Comes to a Boil

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The Lillith Blog (a feminist, Jewish Web site) has a post today on chicken soup. A vegetarian reluctantly gets pulled back into carnivorous ways via a pot of chicken soup prepared for her sick children. The author puts cauliflower into the soup, causing outrage from her mother. "It's supposed to be a clear broth! That's the whole point! Have I taught you nothing?"

The chicken soup controversy has made its way into our house as well. In the past when MacDad has feigned illness (cough . . . I'm sick. . . cough), he has been severely disappointed in me that instead of making him chicken soup from scratch, I get some from my parents freezer that my mother has made from scratch at some point during the last decade and stockpiled for such occasions.

My refusal to touch raw poultry should have been a clue to him that I was not eager to whip up a pot, but he was relentless that I learn how. If not for him, then for our (at the time) future children who deserve to be consoled by the Jewish penicillin.

When I've been sick (actually sick) MacDad has been kind enough to make a pot of chicken soup from scratch. But, he does it wrong and I don't like it. The Italian in him adds too much flavor.

Perhaps this could be the silver lining during this flu season. I contribute to the food-making in our family via chicken soup. If it happens I'll post a pick. You'll need to see it to believe it.

Stuff

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Time's Cheapskate Blog delves into unnecessary baby items.

It's true. You really don't need much stuff when your baby first arrives. Blankets, onesies diapers and wipes are your basic necessities. Somehow, as the child grows, they accumulate more stuff. MacBaby has a lot of toys thanks to his grandparents. MacDad gave him an empty Wheat Thins box yesterday and he was perfectly content to play with it.

I will argue for one item on the Cheapskate Blog - the video monitor. The three times MacBaby has slept on the floor without one of us in attendance we have used it. Once we even plugged it in to our television in the family room and used our sleeping baby as entertainment during a dinner party.

Someone in the comments also mentions that a robe is useless, but MacBaby does have one of those and, I have to admit, wears it quite well.

What are items you wish you had skipped? What can't you live without?

Baby Talk

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When you're pregnant, people throw the word "cervix" around like they're talking about the weather.

Apparently, when you're expecting, and after you've given birth, your private parts make for public conversation topics. Other often spoken, but still awkward baby buzz words include breast, uterus, placenta, effacement and of course, vaginal.

The most cringe inducing word to me is - I can't even write it - n-i-p-p-l-e. I had to come up with another word for what goes on the top of the baby bottles. I will talk about breastfeeding all day long, but will not refer to that part of my breasts.

Does this make me immature? Perhaps. But for some reason, I'm just uncomfortable talking about. . . those. . . in public.

What words make you shudder? Or are you immune to the anatomical lexicon?

We Have the Force

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Here's a great article from Newsweek about helping minority kids change the perception of what's cool when it comes to education.

In addition to citing a touching story, it reminds me of just how much parents, educators and mentors can shape the minds of the little ones. Parents spend much time talking about how their kids don't listen, but this anecdote proves that sometimes they do.

With this power comes much responsibility. While MacBaby is still little enough that we can curse around him, soon we'll have to change this habit, along with other bad ones. It's daunting to think that your children model their behavior after you. I hope I can do right by him. If the first words out of his mouth are s**t, it will be an indication that I still have some work to do.

Parenthood: A 6 Month Retrospective

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Now, that MacBaby is almost six months old, MacDad and I shared the best and most challening parts of being a parent during this half year.

We both agreed that scheduling is our biggest challenge at this point. The little dude likes to go to sleep by 8 p.m. so dinner and a bath have to be accomplished by 7:30. No more flitting about town for us (unless we dump him with the grandparents).

MacDad said teaching MacBaby about the world was the most exciting thing for him. I responded with baby hugs - meaning when MacBaby gives me little hugs. What I was getting at is the intense amount of love I feel for him and, I like to think, he feels for me.

What are your biggest challenges and what do you love about being a parent? If you're not one yet, but plan on having children in the future, what are you most looking forward to?

What is a "Wife" Anyway

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A friend sent me this article from the NYT. Two married women struggle with what to call one another. Interestingly, the article mentions this essay, entitled "Why I Want a Wife"written by Judy Syfers in 1971. The article was originally published in Ms. magazine and distributed in my 9th grade honors English class.

I don't know what my 14 year old self must have thought of the article. I couldn't get a date to homecoming, so the thought of being a "wife" seemed like it was a long way off.

Now, though, re-reading the essay, I'm glad my domestic duties began nearly 40 years after it was written. I would have been really lousy maintaining all the responsibilities the author outlines. Though in some ways "modern" women have more expected of us as many of us also have full-time jobs, it's my contention that we also get more help around the house from our partners.

I've discussed this before, but MacDad is largely, if not entirely, in charge of all the family food preparation that is not supplied by my mamary glands. The chores I take sole responsibility for, I do because I like the way I do it. (The man carries around an unnecessary number of Sharpies which occasionally go through the wash if the pockets are not checked thoroughly. Thus, I do the laundry.)

MacDad is out of town for work, so this morning, I had to get MacBaby ready and out of the house in addition to making myself presentable. This seemed an arduous task, and yet MacDad does it every morning without complaint. So, props to him and all the other partners helping their "wives."

Crazies at the Grocery Story

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Last week at the grocery story, TWO middle aged women engaged me in long conversations about MacBaby and both thought touching him was a good idea.

While I wouldn't go so far as to hang this on my child, I do wish there was a way to let strangers know that it's ok to look but not touch.

First of all, it's just weird. I thought it was weird when people talked to me at length when I was pregnant, but apparently that doesn't stop once you have baby. A woman working at a store I shopped in even called him chubby the other day. She had no room to talk. Also, MacBaby isn't chubby, not that there's anything wrong with that.

I don't want to talk to strangers and I certainly don't want to tell them intimate details about the inner workings of my body or my family. Why do you care what I would have named a girl if I had one?

Secondly -- germs. This is a particularly bad time for germ-a-phobes like myself. I desperately do not want my child to get swine flu. I don't know where your hands have been and if they've ever seen the likes of soap, so don't touch my kid.

Here's how neurotic I am: there's a play group tonight at our community early childhood center. I will take the boy, but I don't want him to touch any of the toys.

Am I crazy or do I am I taking a normal amount of precautions? Before you judge, let me also add that I work down the hall from a doctor's office and I've taken more sick days in the past two years than in my 10 years worth of previous jobs combined. This includes a three week suffering from mono.