TGIF... uh Saturday?

Thank goodness it's the weekend. My parents are awesome and keep Bug for us every Saturday night. And oh do I need it! It's not that Bug doesn't sleep well, he is an awesome sleeper! It's just that I don't really, truly relax or fall into a deep, heavy sleep. I guess it's a "Momma-light-sleeping" thing.

I don't know, but on Saturday night I actually get to SLEEP. And since we attend a later starting church, I do get to sleep in just a touch! Plus the hubs and I get a little time together. We rarely do "date nights" but we do have dinner and then usually tackle one of the home projects together.

Tonight we are just hanging out, watching football and picking up the house a bit. It nice not to HAVE to do something or be somewhere.

Foodie

I have been really picky about how and what Bug eats. I introduced vegetables as purees really slowly, starting with the foods with the least sugars (albeit natural sugars) and worked our way up. Bug wasn't introduced to fruit until he was almost 10 months old. And I'll admit that I waited a little too long on that one.

But he eats fantastically. He has better eating habits than anyone I know! He loves his fruits and veggies and so far we've been able to determine he has no dairy or nut allergies. Whew! I would have been really upset about a nut allergy. It's not only a pain in the patoot, but my husband & I both love peanut butter and it would have been hard to part with it.

Now we're venturing away from the purees. Bug has been eating pick-up foods for about 8 weeks now. He does not eat Cheerios/Goldfish or any of the puffs. I call them "useless carbohydrates." They are just fillers and I just don't see the point in simply "filling him up" with them. He does love cantaloupe and grapes as snacks though! And just recently I introduced honey graham cracker sticks with organic peanut butter - he gobbles that up, too.

I don't allow Bug to graze all day. Part of my objection to the puff thing. We have 5 eating times that are pretty evenly spaced out during the day. Breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. I'm hoping this helps his metabolism to develop properly without him thinking we can just eat all the time. He can have water anytime he wants it, and juice with food.

With Friends Like Her...

Grrr... I am really frustrated today. I have a "friend" who has made it her mission in life to make sure I know that she doesn't agree with a lot of my parenting decisions. This friend and her husband have taken permanent steps to remain child-free - so he has no first-hand parenting experience of her own. Not that that makes her opinions invalid, but untried to say the least.

I chose not to breastfeed. Gasp! Shocking, I know. It was a well thought-out and researched decision. She thought I was being selfish and uneducated. You know, because she has experience... oh no, that's right, she's basing that on the few articles she's read and the fact that her only other friend who has a baby did it! So therefore she knows what's best for me, Bug and my husband. Wow, now that's some super-power.

I chose to put Bug on a very set schedule right from the start. You know, how lots and lots and lots of parenting books/experts recommend. How dare I have a nap and eating schedule for him so that his days are consistent and I know he's getting the rest and nutrition he needs? Because you know who knows what's really best for my child. Oh, but that's really because she's mad that I refuse to go out to dinner after 7... seeing as Bug's bedtime is 7:30.

She has about another dozen examples of how I've made poor parenting decisions. And she has taken it upon herself to proclaim another friend of ours the "better" mother. What's funny is that our other friend argues with me this morning as I was ranting and said I was by far the better mother! I disagreed, because really there is no such thing (barring moms who neglect/abuse, that's inexcusable)... I believe that, by and large, moms are doing their best and trying their hardest.

I don't want to be titled the "better mother," I just don't want to be put down because I made different decisions. Bug is a happy, healthy child who is social and growing and learning. I'm happy with that. I jokingly proclaimed his first year a success because I was able to keep him alive!

Women can be really hard on each other, and it's so frustrating and infuriating to watch let alone be a part of it.

*this close!*

Bug is *this close* to walking... He's been walking along the furniture for weeks now, but this morning he intentionally let go and stood there with his hands out balancing himself. It lasted for all of 3 seconds... and then he did it again about 5 minutes later.

We're close, y'all. Very, very close to having a true "toddler"... Momma sure isn't ready for this!