Battle Wounds

I have a small but noticeable bump on my forehead. When I bend down I can feel the pulsing sensation of pain shoot to that localized spot at the right hand corner of my head. Where did I acquire this bump, you might ask? From my now 18 month old son when he accidentally kicked me in the face and laughed his head off afterwards.

These days I am a walking bunching bag for my toddler. He inadvertently injures me and laughs afterwards. Sometimes I audibly whimper after his kicks, scratches or bruises me to let him know: "That hurt mommy, ouch!" And then he has a look of quiet concern on his face. But I don't want him to feel that badly, so I quickly go back to playing with him to distract him from what just happened.

Needless to say, this needs to stop. But I am having a difficult time figuring out how to curb these random injuries and how to react after being accidentally injured.

The Picky Eater Strikes Again

Ever since my son started eating food as opposed to drinking breast milk, things have been challenging around here. He is undoubtedly a picky eater. See previous post here.

He has his definite likes and dislikes when it comes to cuisine. I found myself worrying that he was getting the right vitamins and minerals because he would be opposed to eating things that even have a slight hint of green pigment in them. I was also frequently scanning the fridge for something he liked to eat.

What was I to do about this picky eater? I didn’t want to go to war with him in the high chair.

I can’t believe that the solution was so simple. I am almost embarrassed to say that I had to read it in a book. If you want to know what book it is, email me at oldschoolnewschoolmom@gmail.com, and I will tell you.

It boils down to this: eat when he eats, and eat the exact same thing that he is eating.

He eats oatmeal, I eat oatmeal. He eats chicken rice and broccoli, I do too. He will eat whatever he likes on the plate. What he doesn’t eat, take away from him. He won’t starve. He’ll have an opportunity to eat at snack time in a couple of hours.

Don’t:

1. Offer other options in the fridge if he doesn’t eat the meal. He will come to expect this and hold out until he sees something “better” presented to him.

2. Do not offer an alternative meal 30 minutes later.

3. Offer food continuously throughout the day. It's better to stick with scheduled meals and snacks.

Now mind you, I just started this routine, but it seems to be working! He is eating what I put in front of him. He did throw some salad on the floor, but I guess that comes with the territory. I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going.

Talk to Me Baby Boy!

Let me start by prefacing this with the following: I am not a developmental psychologist, or a clinician of any kind. The following post solely reflects my personal experiences with children of both genders.

On May 6, 2008 at 4:19 am, I gave birth to a baby boy. He is now 17 months old. When we go to the playground we run into children who are not boys; they are sweet little baby girls.

One fine day, we were at our favorite playground and my son enjoying some time in the baby swing.


In the swing next to us was a baby girl. She was talking up a storm. "Apple.." "Hi..." "Bye Bye.." "Mama.." "Shoe!"She couldn't contain her verbosity. I asked her babysitter how old she was, out of sheer curiosity.

"14 months." She replied.

I wanted to bury my head in the playground asphalt. My son, at 17 months, still babbles nonsense words, "ba ba," "da da" na na" etc. He has a few nonsense words that represent real things, i.e."yo yo" means yogurt. But mainly he just babbles.

I am so anxious for my son to talk. My anxiety is heightened by meeting so many loquacious baby girls who talk at an extraordinary young age like 13 - 14 months old.

When I was at my friend Tara's son's one year old birthday party, I was talking to her brother who has three kids. I asked him when his kids started talking.

"The girls...you can't shut them up...the boys talk when they feel like it!" He replied.

Now I know this is a vast generalization, but from my experience I have found it to be right on the money. Baby girls are the talkers! Meanwhile I am waiting with bated breath for my son to blurt out some "real words."

All I know is when a 14 month old girl tells me what the windmill represents in the novel "Animal Farm." I will officially lose my mind.

Where The Wild 30 Year Old Went For Her Birthday

Yesterday was my 30th birthday. I am officially three decades old. To celebrate, my best friend Mint, my son and I went to see "Where The Wild Things Are," in IMAX at an insanely early hour. The show was at 9:20am!




When We entered the theater lobby, Mint said:

"We need to have a plan in case he starts crying in the theater. Do you want me to take him out since it's your birthday?"
"No," I replied "I'll do it. But, I think he'll be okay." I was recalling how well he behaved during his first movie experience, when we went to see Pixar's "Up." I was hopeful that he would sit through the whole movie.

When we walked into the theater, the previews had already started. My son stopped in tracks. He was alarmed by the roaring sounds coming from the auditorium. We coaxed him into the theater and sat down to watch the movie.

I was right! As soon as I handed him a zip lock bag of Multi-Grain Cherrios and his water bottle, he was locked into the movie. He sat through the whole thing. Two things to note: He was frightened during one part of the film that was so intense that even Mint gasped. And he got slightly bored toward the end when the film's pace began to slow. But all in all he was a great movie goer.

When we exited the theater he became fascinated by the individual lights attached to the game machines in the lobby. He pointed the lights out to Mint.

The movie was wonderful. The "wild things" looked incredibly realistic and resembled the figures I recalled from this classic story of my childhood. The boy who played Max was perfect for the part. I don't want to give away too much, but I highly recommend checking this film out.

I will close with a hilarious quote that Mint sent me from Maurice Sendak, author of "Where The Wild Things Are."

"When Newsweek asked what the author would say to parents who might think 'Wild Things' too frightening for their children, he didn't skip a beat in responding: "I would tell them to go to hell. That is a question I will not tolerate." Not one to mince words, he continued, "If they can't handle it, go home. Or wet your pants. Do whatever you like. But it's not a question that can be answered."**

**See entire article here

For more information on the film click here.

FREE Stonyfield Farm Organic Yogurt!

My son eats an enormous amount of yogurt.


He eats so much of it, that I call him a "yogurt monster."



I am committed to feeding him organic foods as much as I can; this certainly includes yogurt. I generally buy Stonyfield Farm Organic yogurt. He prefers the French Vanilla variety.


My friend Cordula let me know about the Stonyfield Farm Organic Rewards program. The more yogurt you buy, the closer you are to getting FREE yogurt! Just look for the 12 digit code on the lid of the Stonyfield Farm Organic yogurt products.

Log your codes into the My Stonyfield Rewards website and collect points which add up to FREE yogurt!

For more information on My Stonyfield Rewards, click here. To go ahead and join the program, click here.

Haircut Time

My son has had a lot of hair since the time he was born. We tried to hold out for the first haircut for as long as possible, but his hair grows so rapidly that we gave up and cut it at 11 months. Since that time he has averaged one haircut per month. Luckily, we don't have to waste money at the barber since my boyfriend is good with a razor.

I'm always a little sad when haircut time rolls around. I love his hair long, but it grows so quickly that a monthly haircut has become essential.

Check out the before and after pics and a video of the haircut in process:

BEFORE

AFTER

Aqua Moms

For the first time in 17 months a wondrous thing happened. I got to sleep in! My son slept till 8am this morning. He fed himself some oatmeal and yogurt and my boyfriend took him off to his swimming class for some much needed male bonding time.

When they returned, I asked my boyfriend how the Aqua Dads were. He replied:

"There were no dads there today. Only moms." I stood there confused for a moment.
"Um...are you sure you went to the right class?"
"Yeah, the babies were the same, but it was all chicks!"

Well folks, it seems that the Aqua Dads have retired their suits and handed them over to their counterparts; the Aqua Moms!

I sat there puzzled by this phenomenon for a moment; where had the Aqua Dads gone? and then it occurred to me...they were taking turns! The class is eight weeks long, the Aqua dads came with their kids for the first four sessions and now it was the Aqua Moms turn to accompany their kin.

Next week I'll have a chance to meet these mysterious Aqua Moms.

What Dads Are For!

Today we took a family trip to the playground, my boyfriend, my son and I. I had a chance to watch my son and his dad play together. This experience was special; particularly because my boyfriend often complains that my son "likes me more."

The fact is, I get to spend much more time with our son than my boyfriend does; mainly because I'm home with my little man. It's natural that he would feel strongly bonded to me. My boyfriend (on the other hand) only gets to spend two days a week with our son. Today was one of his days. So I let the boys play together and had fun watching them.