Jar Head

Jar Head Mom. That's what you can call me now.  Not in the "Get down, Marine!" kind of way.  Think baby food.
The homemade baby food gig is not going well.  Maybe I'm an impatient person. Okay, no maybe.  I am.  I've stuck with the same foods like is suggested by everything I read, but he has not taken to them.  Every day I try, at least a few times, but it's such a fight.  He screams and only seems to want the bottle. I try not to force it, as I know that will only create a negativity about foods.

Well, on Thursday I am leaving for Mississippi to visit family and I'd rather not pack a cooler of homemade baby foods to take (and TRY).  It's just too much of a hassle.  I decided to purchase baby food for the trip in order to keep my attempts going as I'm away.  It was almost painful buying them at Target today.  I didn't want to spend the money. Homemade is so much less expensive!  Also, I was disappointed in the selection.  Target only sells Gerber!  Whatever. I bit the bullet, purchased them and came home.  I bought foods I've already made for him because I wanted to do a comparison.  On the menu: Sweet Potatoes and Carrots.  When I returned home it was time for him to eat, so I decided on a whim to try the Gerber. I was certain he was going to reject the sweet potatoes, just as he always does.  That means taking them, spitting them out, make a distasteful face, then proceeding to cry, and cry, and cry…and cry and staying tight lipped any time I try to insert more food. That is, until he has a bottle.
First bite came and he opened his mouth to take in the food, swallowed, then opened his mouth for more! Surprise!  I was happy, but I was also a little hurt by the fact that he didn't like MY sweet potatoes.  He devoured the entire 2.5oz in no time.
Then I thought of something.  Let it be known that I am NOT a good cook (I have many, many stories to prove this), so maybe Blake figured that out from the beginning. HA (But really, homemade baby food is a sinch.)
So, maybe I give up the homemade gig.  He's made his choice. ;)

Though I do want to find something that is more natural than Gerber, even though the front of the Gerber food says "Natural."  (Roll eyes: "natural" is trendy. I get it. But let's not slap something on there when it isn't entirely true)
I know there are other foods out there that are a better choice, I just don't know much about them.  I was so set on making his food that I didn't bother to do the research.  And since I only planned on buying food for this trip only, purchasing Gerber didn't bother me too much.  I just don't want to keep doing it longterm.  (This bit of info also coming from his pediatrician who said Gerber is amongst the worst to give them.)


This is also difficult for me because I've told so many that I'm making his food, despite the fact that he wasn't taking it well. I said I was going to keep trying and not give up.  Sigh.
So I guess this is my public confession that I'm leaving the world of homemade baby foods behind.  I'm disappointed in myself, but the ease of which he took the food spoke volumes.
Call me a quitter.

I know what some people are going to say, "I fed my baby Gerber and he turned out just fine." I understand that.  I was just so proud of myself that this was something I was doing that I knew was going to be healthy and good.  Something that was "natural".  I am the worst "natural" mom ever.
Others may be thinking "Just stick with it.  He'll take it eventually."  I guess I lack the stickwithitness.  Sometimes the effort is exhausting.  (This totally makes me sound selfish. Ugh.)

In order to make myself feel better about this entire situation, I decided to make an organizational list.  That always makes me feel better!
It's a "Baby's 1st Foods" checklist that I'm going to hang on the fridge to help me keep track of foods that Blake has tried, and reactions to such foods, if any.  I also incorporated the date since research suggests foods should be tried for days at a time and not skip around between foods in the beginning.

If you'd like to use this checklist you can download the PDF format here.

Rock on, baby-food-jar-moms! Let's be Jar Heads together!

 OOR-AH! <---said in my best, manly, deep, Marine voice

The Truth About Your Body After Pregnancy

Warning.  This will get personal.  Skip now if you know you don't want to know!


Let's get real here.

I'm probably one of the most modest people you will ever meet.  Even before pregnancy you wouldn't find me in a two-piece bathing suit.  If you've had a baby then you probably know exactly what I'm going to talk about based on the title.  If you've never had a baby then these might be things you're wondering about. I know I wondered them.  And the things I did know about I was certain wouldn't happen to me.  *Sigh* 

This isn't one of those posts where I talk about all my bodily changes after pregnancy and I sentimentally praise them and tell you that my kid enjoys my stomach jiggling and he belly laughs when he sees it.  Nope. I love my kid, but I do NOT love my post pregnancy body.  

This is just a post telling it like it is.  I'm working on returning to my girlish figure, but it seems there are some things that just don't go back.  

Like hips! Those birthing hips serve a purpose, but mine certainly don't seem to be going back.  

My hips are wider and I fit into ONE pair of pants post pregnancy.  Every other pair of shorts or pants are just hanging in my closet, awaiting a day that I'm not sure will arrive. (Here I am, revealing my secret and reason why I wear dresses and skirts…elastic waistband, people!)

Sometimes when I laugh really hard or I sneeze, I pee my pants a little.  I was certain people were just telling me this to freak me out.  Or I thought to myself "Yeah, right.  THAT'S not going to happen to me."  Well, it does.  And I feel like an 80-year old every time.  

My boobs are pathetic.  Not that they were ever really perky to begin with.  Pregnancy boobs are nice because they're firm, and you kind of hope that bit will stick around.  But it doesn't! So when pregnancy is over and you stop breastfeeding, they suddenly look like a deflated balloon after 10 days of just sitting around, forgotten in a corner.  They're squishy, and droopier than they once were.  No amount of working out or eating healthier is going to help them to return to yesterday.  Thank you to the inventor of the push-up bra! 

That pesky little linea negra - the dark line that runs from your bellow button down.  (And in my case, above my belly button, too). When it showed up on me during pregnancy I freaked out a little, but became used to seeing it.  I was sure it would disappear after Blake was born, or shortly thereafter.  It didn't.  Seven months later and it's still present.  Some have told me it can take up to a year to disappear.  Others have said it doesn't go away.  

Love handles.  Why the heck are they called love handles anyway?  There's nothing LOVEly about them. I certainly don't LOVE them.  I curse them every time I put on a shirt in the morning, or a bottom that's too tight…and they so "lovingly" hang off the sides of my clothes. 

Ohhhh, the lower stomach pooch!  Raise your hand if you love it?!  

And the excess fatty bits beneath your bra line? HA.  

There was a time when I was cold all the time. You'd most likely find me wearing a sweater, or at least carrying one, during summer months.  I rarely wore tank tops out because I knew there would be a chance I'd go somewhere that had the air cranked down too low and I'd find myself freezing.  Every morning I had my heater on in the car, even in the summer. (So not kidding!) I was a cover hog at night, and often got into "cover wars" with my husband from being so cold.  Post pregnancy? I sweat in the middle of the night.  I don't need to carry around a jacket everywhere.  I blast the air in my car as cold as I can get it, ESPECIALLY during the summer.  My hormones are whacko.  

And with whacko hormones suddenly I've developed acne again!  Not bad, but I did not have ANY issues before being pregnant.  Now I find I'm fighting back pimples all over again, just like I was in middle school.  

My hair was once oily. Now it's more dry. (In this I will admit I do prefer to have the dry hair)

I did manage to escape any and all stretch marks. I'm not even sure if it helped that I lathered myself in cocoa butter lotion several times a day.  I've heard you get them or you don't and nothing you do helps or hinders.  I don't know.  

Despite all of my post pregnancy body changes, yes, it was all worth it.  It's just a lot harder to get rid of a post pregnancy body, than it is to get rid of your changing body after you've eaten too many bags of chips and sodas.  I could work harder at it.  But I also don't think I'm ever going to get back to the way I was exactly.  

And you know, I bought these cute little JCrew shorts before I knew I was pregnant.  They still have the tags on them!  I WILL get back into them one of these days.  

I think I may need a hip reduction first, though.  

What post pregnancy body change do you have that have surprised you?