We Wear Plastic

My goal, though it is an ever-evolving path, is to be the healthiest person that I can be, to live a life with as little sickness as possible, and to live as long as I can.  It is my belief that we cause most diseases through our choices in food and our exposure to toxins in our environment.  Unless we are careful consumers, society is set up to make it easy for us to fill our lives with products that speed up our demise.  It is impossible to lead a toxin-free life, but I believe that it's in our best interest to do whatever we can to minimize the toxins that we do come into contact with.

That said, a lot of our clothes are made of plastic.  I don't want to wear plastic clothes.  I don't want my baby girl to wear plastic clothes.  I think I've lived in a bubble for a long time.  I don't think I realized what synthetic fabrics were.  They are plastic!  I don't want plastic touching my food, I don't want it in my baby's mouth, and I certainly don't want it up close and personal with the largest organ in our bodies.  In fact, I believe that it's things like this, things that we never give a second thought, that are causing more and more cases of cancer in the United States.  We don't eat the right foods, and this.  All of the things like this.  We wear plastic.

To exacerbate the issue, the plastic from washing these clothes is polluting the ocean.

I have bought a lot of cheap clothes for a very long time.  I don't think that our clothes need to be organic, but they certainly should be some kind of natural fiber, such as cotton, hemp, linen, cashmere, silk, or bamboo. One website recommends that we stay away from rayon, polyester, acrylic, acetate, triacetate, nylon, and anything static resistant, stain resistant, permanent press, wrinkle-free, stain proof or moth repellant. I am not going to throw out my whole wardrobe, but while shopping from here on out, I am going to limit my purchases to non-plastic clothing.

First Solid Foods

Big. Day. Lily had her first taste of solid food Saturday, and it was a hit!  I wrote earlier about our process figuring out if Lily was ready for solids.  We decided to wait until she was sitting up mostly unsupported at six months.  Well, the week before we were going to give her solids, the local moms email list exploded with a conversation about "baby led weaning," which is where you give baby large pieces of food an allow her to feed herself.  I went into food ready to make purees.  I had tried to feed Lily some slushy breastmilk and breastmilk fat with a spoon in the weeks prior, as suggested by Kellymom.com to stave off a baby clamemering to get real food in her mouth before she is ready, but Lily did not care for that.  She loved to eat the spoon, but did not like eating food off of a spoon.  Lily took one look at the first banana, and put that shiz-nit in her mouth. 

Going into this, we have several beliefs about the food that Lily should eat:

• Organic, non-gmo food.  She will eventually be exposed to crap, but we'd like her digestive system to mature with the best food possible.
• We don't eat cereal.  It's too processed.  We don't eat cereal.
• We may do oatmeal, but I don't want to start feeding her food with a spoon before she can really try to feed herself with it.
• No jarred baby food.
• No frozen food.
• Occasional juice.  Not much.

Bananas, avocados, and carrots are cited as good first whole foods.  Day one was bananas, and we tried some strawberries, because we had them.  We have since learned in conversations with friends that it's recommended that folks wait until later for strawberries, because if a baby is allergic, it could kill them at this age.  That said, many babies eat raw strawberries and have no reaction.  One friend said that if it's something like 1 in 1,000 babies that are allergic, but if you're that one baby, it's best to wait.

Day two was avocados and chicken.  She was so/so about the avocado.  She didn't seem to like the taste, but she loved trying to eat it.  The chicken was probably a bad call.  She really liked the taste, but she could pull off pieces that we felt she might swallow.  We decided it was best to wait until she really got the hang of chewing.

It was obvious by this time that we still had more to read before expanding into more advanced foods.  I had no idea that folks were allergic to strawberries.  We went to a bookstore and picked up the book that my friend had, Super Baby Food, because there was a chart and it laid out foods by month.  It talks about allergies and other stuff that we need to know before going forward, but it basically says to only give purees now and mashed food until a year, which is totally opposite of what we're doing now.  It also says bland is best, but the BLW moms mentioned that spicy early was all right.  All of this parenting stuff is so confusing.  For every piece of advice, there is an equally contradicting piece of advice, and we're all left to sort it out for ourselves.  I think that what is best for Lily is figuring out what foods we can eat with her together and when we're out, because she is very excitedly trying to grab it out of our hands.  If I had let her, she would have eaten bacon, eggs,  and a cheeseburger in the past 24 hours.

And, I have read a few places to introduce a new food every few days, but we totally blew that out of the water.  This because you can better pinpoint an allergic reaction to something.  Maybe it's stupid parenting, but I really don't think it's best for our family to wait a few days.  The thought of the effort to get bananas or avocados that are just the right ripeness in the proper succession is enough to drive me bonkers.  She loves to taste different things, and she's so alert and over ready for solids that I think she'll get bored if we do the same thing too many days in a row.  Reactions to food can happen immediately, within a few hours, within a few days, or within a week or two.  When I was trying to figure out what was making Lily gassy, I had just about driven us nuts.  If she has a reaction to something, then we'll do an elimination diet. 

Day three, this morning, was steamed carrots.  She really liked those, too.  She also has a banana and more avocado for the afternoon.  After watching some BLW videos where different foods are offered every day, I don't feel like such an idiot. We may be giving her strips that are too small.  Instead of quartering the carrots, I should have them, maybe.

She really enjoys feeding herself.  Food is a great experience for us so far.  She is figuring out how to chew the food.  Most of it comes back out of her mouth at this point. But, you put that food down on the tray, and it's in her mouth.

Six Months Later

Dear Lily,

Exactly six months ago today, you were making your way out of your little cocoon and into the world.  I often wondered if it was fair to bring an innocent child into what can be such a challenging world.  But, the moment you were born, you made the world a better place.  Your smile lights up our whole world.  We love being your parents.  Every day, we are only concerned with getting back to you and smothering you with love and kisses.

We have watched you grow up so much already.  I remember when you had no interest in playing with toys.  Eventually, you liked to look at them.  Then, you like to grab at them and put them into your mouth.  It felt good to chew on them.  You gained the ability to hold your toys, and I remember when you started manipulating them in your mouth.  One day, I woke up and you were able to grab toys off of your tray and put them in your mouth. You can now see the toy you want under other toys and move the other toys into a pile on the other side of your tray, so that you can get to the prize toy.  When I read that as a baby skill online, I thought that it wasn't a big deal.  But, it was the most amazing thing when I saw you do it the first time.  It is so incredible to watch you play with one toy, put it down, and become interested in another.  Last night, you were rolling over and moving towards the toy you wanted.  I wouldn't have thought such small things would be such a big deal, but they are.  When we watch you, this little amazing creature, go from not being remotely interested in something to being able to move to get it, it warms the heart and makes us realize just how much each of us had to learn.

We are so very excited to explore this world with you.  For every new discovery you make, you brighten up our lives.  Thank you so much for being you.  We cannot wait to see who you grow up to be.

Love,

Mommy

Hi Sweetie

You are six months old today.

I will never forget the first time I held you.  And the first time you looked at me.  And the first time we all went out to eat at a restaurant.  And the first time that I changed your little diaper.  Somehow, though... I can't remember the 3rd or 23rd time that I changed your diaper.  It's just gone from my memory, but I'm sure it was a wondrous event.

Raising you is the most amazing challenge imaginable.  The greatest lesson that your mother and I have learned is Love.  We set aside the little things that we want in order to give ourselves to you, because we love you and want the best for you.  And when you crack a smile that is brighter than the Sun, nothing else matters.  Raising you has changed us in so many ways... because you make everything an adventure :)

We are so excited for every new thing you learn.  The constant smiling is awesome.  And we love seeing you roll over... although, this has caused diaper-changing to become like a wrestling match.  And you are very grabby.  Just a little while ago, while changing you... I bent down to grab a new diaper, and came back up to find you squirming around with a pair of baby-sized pj pants covering your face.  The word "adorable" is a vast understatement.

Right now, sweetie, our family is facing a wonderful future... because we are learning with you, we are re-experiencing simple joys with you, and we are growing with you.

Love you :)

Daddy

at birth class

on due date

birth day

newborn

one month

two months

three months

four months

five months

six months