Makin' Baby Food!

I decided while Story was in utero that I was going to try to make most of her baby food. My friend Amy C posted in her blog about a wonderful book, Top 100 Baby Purees, and I immediately bought it and started studying. I will admit that my love for cooking was already deep seeded before embarking on the journey of baby food making, so the idea of making Story's food just seemed to be a natural course of things.

I will admit that at first I was a little intimidated. Even though I know it's really basic stuff, I just felt like I would some how mess it up. I seriously had no reason to worry, however, because it's really the easiest thing ever. All you do is steam (or mash, if it's fresh fruit) the ingredients, add some water or milk and freeze in ice cube trays.

Over the past few weeks, I have made baby food in the following flavors:

*banana
*avocado
*carrot
*sweet potato
*trio of root veggies (parsnip, sweet potato and carrot)

And today I plan on making a carrot/broccoli mix. I tell ya, by the time I start giving her these in a week or so, she'll have quite a nice freezer stash of food.

Even though it's sad to see Story growing up so quickly, it's also AWESOME. The fact that I can now take her to visit family and friends for a whole day with ease is just fabulous. Sure, I could take her out and nurse her before, but it required so much focused attention all the time. Now that's she's gotten down the tricks of holding a bottle and eating mushed foods, it's like a whole new ballgame.

MRSA!

Story recently got an infected hangnail that caused me to take the day off of work and go to the Pediatrician. It was so nasty and grody... poor gal. Anyways, I took her to the doctor, who squeezed the icky puss out and sent it for culturing. Meanwhile, he asked if I would like to put her on antibiotics or not and I told him most definitely. Anyways, Story is now totally fine and her finger has healed up nicely.

But the results of the culture came back and STORY HAD MRSA!!! We don't know where she got it from, only that it somehow infected her hangnail. I know she's fine and all, but it's so amazingly scary to think of. And I feel so bad, because I work in a hospital, so I'm automatically blaming myself for this one.

But the good part is that she's fine, that little missy is doing OK. But I'm totally freaked out now, of course.

Finally, I'm back!

I gained a whopping 78 pounds with Story. I honestly don't regret a single minute of it, as I was able to eat as many sugary, fatty, delicious treats as I could stomach. It was fabulous! However, the body dysmorphia that followed her birth was really tough to handle.

For instance, my best friend and her hubby surprised Tim and I by cleaning our whole house and leaving little presents for us when we returned with Story from the hospital. One of those presents was a pair of pajamas and a bath robe for me. I bashfully had to admit at the time that even though the pants were an XL, there was no way I was getting them on. I could barely scooch them over my thighs and even then, there was no way they were making it up FatButt Mountain. I put them away in my drawer and said, "I AM going to fit back into them. This is just a transition body. It will happen."

Since that time, I have been eating much better (if you don't count a fatty southern breakfast here and there) and, since my hypoglycemia reared its ugly head again, I have cut out all sugars and simple carbs from my diet. I've also GASP been exercising again and attending dance rehearsal fairly regularly. I don't own a scale though, so the only clue I've had that I've been losing weight has been my post preggo clothes becoming looser and looser.

Last week, I attempted the cute pajama pants again and THEY FIT! Like, without shimmying, without wiggling or tugging. They just fit like normal. I tried not to get too excited by it, as well, maybe the fabric stretched out the first time I attempted to put them on or something. I could still be just as big. So what if my work pants are starting to fall off me, that could be the fabric stretching.

Well, this morning I went into my closet and broke out the Ominous Tupperware Tub of Pre-Pregnancy Clothes. My favorite black work pants were on top, still a bit disheveled from when I tried them on a couple of months back and locked them back away in despair. I stepped into them and pulled them up with ease. Then, in an act of utter astonishment, I buttoned and zipped them up! They fit! Cue a whole bunch of angels with trumpets and heavenly light. Hallelujah!

I can't say how happy I am right now. My day is totally made. Sure, most of my tops still don't fit due to the delightful gifts of breastfeeding, but I'll take pants fitting any day!