My Food Philosphy

Juliet had her 9 month appointment day. She is still quite small, less than 3rd percentile in weight. Because of this, the pediatrician told me to add butter to her food. Instead of going on a long rant about why I think that is a bad idea (which I originally planned and had typed out), I'm instead going to talk about why I feed my baby the way I do.

Juliet is small, but she is in no way underfed, she eats a lot of food (Three meals a day, consisting of two or three good sized bowls of food, plus 4-5 breast feedings, and occasional cheerio snacks). She eats all kinds of foods, fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, meat. There are, however, a lot of foods that I won't let her have (butter being one of them). I have taken several nutrition classes in college (a post is coming later about my new choice of major), one of them being prenatal and infant nutrition (conveniently taken when I was pregnant).  I have learned about foods we should feed babies, and foods we should not. I fairly strictly adhere to the principles I have learned. At times, I even feel like a bad mother because of my rules. People offer things to Juliet, and I respectfully decline, only to have them give me appalled faces and choruses of "Why not!?". I have a more in depth knowledge of nutrition than most people have, and that definitely contributes, but there are deeper reasons for my food Nazi ways. 

I have a history of eating disorders, and that will affect my children, specifically my girls. Not because I am a bad example (I work hard everyday to make sure I'm not a bad example), but because it is a disease that tends to run in families. Simply having me as mother, puts my children at a greater risk. I want to do everything in my power to prevent my children from developing eating disorders, and I believe the first step is building good nutrition stepping stones. From a young age I want my children to enjoy eating nutritious foods. I want them to learn to enjoy things without added salt, sugar, and butter. I want them to gain the knowledge they need to be healthy. I believe that I can start building that knowledge now, when my child is only 9 months old.

Don't get me wrong, I am not against cookies or crackers. I eat them, and Juliet will eat them...when she gets older. I want to teach her to like other kinds of foods, before I introduce her to more unhealthful options. I want her learn that eating healthy can be just as fun and enjoyable as eating cake and candy, so that when the time comes, she may very well pick an apple instead. I want her to not feel guilty about what she eats, not constantly worrying about calories and nit picking over her pants size. If I want that to happen, I have to teach her. I have to teach her to like nutritious foods. I have to teach her that eating right makes you feel good. That if you enjoy eating nutritious foods throughout the day, you don't feel guilty when you eat a brownie at the end of the night. I have to teach her, and I believe that I need to start now.

Juliet will have butter(and cake, candy, etc.), when the time comes. As for now, she is going to learn to enjoy other foods, as her first stepping stone towards good nutrition.

Disclaimer: This is what is right for me, and my family. You may choose differently for yours. I am not trying to make anyone feel guilty or tell them they are wrong. I just wanted to share why I feed my baby the way I do.

UPDATE: In case some of you are worried that Juliet isn't getting enough fat, fear not, I'm giving her fat, just in much healthier forms than butter, such as avocados and olives.

I think we should celebrate.

In case you didn't know, Today is *deep breath* Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday (Observed), better known as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It is my absolute favorite holiday, and yes, I am serious. It seems like a strange holiday to be a favorite, I know. Really, not much happens, but kids get the day off school, and adults gets the day off of work...or as I found out today, some of them do. People have different opinions on whether today should be one that is taken off. Some say children should be school to learn about the great man that this holiday celebrates, others, like myself, take a completely different stand. Instead of trying to explain it to individuals, I thought I would explain it here, to everyone at the same time.

I believe children should learn about equality in school. I believe that they should learn what Martin Luther King Jr. did to push equality forward. I think they should be taught about his speech. I believe they should be taught about what happened after the speech. I think that children should learn about how far we have come, and far we still have to go. I do NOT think this learning needs to happen ON Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Children learn about Independence day, and they learn about Thanksgiving. These are both major events that happened in our country's history. They are important to learn, but does this mean children should be in school on those days to learn about them? I don't think so. We take those days off to celebrate. We celebrate their significance and how they have helped to form our great country. We light fireworks; we eat turkey. We spend time with our families. Why? Because they are worth celebrating. They are worth taking the time off to make them special, to help our children know that these days mean a lot. Why should Martin Luther King Jr. Day be any different? Shouldn't we take the time to make the day special and different?

Most people just take Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a Monday off. A day to stay in pajamas and watch TV. If that is how we are going to look at the day, of course children should be in school. You aren't making it special, you aren't showing them how important the day is. I think we should celebrate. We should spend time with family and friends. We should talk about how far our country has come. We should talk about what we can do to keep moving forward. We should eat multi-colored foods, we should watch movies that show equality. We should strive to make this a day our kids remember. A day they enjoy and want to know why we have it.

You have your opinions, and I have mine. As for me, I will be celebrating! In fact I've already made cookies:

P.S. I think other holidays are unappreciated too, but this being my favorite, I thought I would stand up for it.

Mirror Baby

Juliet likes to sit in the sink and chat with the baby in the mirror while I get ready. Of course, she got distracted by other things when I tried to record it...but it's still cute, or at least I think so.

I hope she has my eyes.

It's midnight and my mind is buzzing; it's time for a blog post!

When people imagine their children, they often picture how they will look and what sort of personality they will have. Most people expect their children to possess traits similar to their own. Good qualities are wished for and bad ones are wished against. I've been thinking about the traits I possess recently. Maybe it's because the new year gets us thinking about what we want to improve. Maybe it is simply because I have been quite reflective lately. Who knows. There are many traits I have that I would love my children to develop, and there are a good amount of traits I hope they aren't cursed with. Want to know what some of these things are? Read on!

Qualities I have that I would be glad to see my children possess:

• Cooking skills- In the age of processed food, cooking is going to become more and more rare, and I find that sad.
• Aspects of my OCD- Being organized is a good thing. 
• A decent grasp on grammar concepts- I refuse to 'chatspeak', 'textspeak', or any other concept of the sort. Real words are happy things.
• Conversation skills- I can talk to people when needs be. Sometimes I have to push myself to do, such as over the phone, but I can be an interesting conversationalist, at least in my opinion.
• A desire to to good- I just want to help people. I don't always do everything I should to help, but I would like to make a difference.
• Honesty- I don't like to lie to people. Honestly is really the best policy. 
• Rule following- I don't put my hands up on roller coasters. I don't drive higher than the speed limit. Call me crazy, but I honestly believe we have rules for a reason.

Qualities I have that I hope I don't pass on to my children:

• Aspects of my OCD- Yes, this is on both lists. Organized is good, but I can take things too far. 
• Yo-Yo self esteem- Sometimes I love myself, and sometimes I completely hate myself. I realize most people probably do this, but I'm seriously all over the place.
• Intermittent shyness- I go through stages where I'm much more shy than I should be. I'm not naturally a shy person, but sometimes I make myself be shy...it's hard to explain.
• Phobias- I would like to think of myself as fearless, but I'm definitely not. I have panic-attack inducing fears, not fun. 
• Bluntness-This goes hand in hand with the honesty on the other list, I'm sometimes a bit more frank than is desirable. At times it's good, at times it is very, very bad.
• Cynicism- I tend to think everything is bad and evil. I should try to see more happy things in the world.

There are probably more qualities I didn't state, for both lists, but you get the point. I want my children to be like me...but not too much like me.

 And, I do hope the next one has my eyes.

P.S. Juliet's first Christmas went well, but everyone blogs about Christmas.