So when Mr. Happy (as I will from now on refer to my son, since, as my husband says "He's the happiest person I've ever met!") turned 4 mos old the doctor said he could start eating solids. While some things I read encouraged exclusive breastfeeding until 6 mos., Mr. H (for short) was a chunk and seemed to not only need more but really be ready for solids (he could hold his head very well, hold a spoon well, swallow without the tongue thrust, etc.)
At that point I started researching baby food, and discovered some websites that encouraged families to make their own because its cheaper and possibly healthier. One I like is www.wholesomebabyfood.com. It has recipes and tips - such as freezing the food in ice cube trays then storing in plastic freezer bags so that you have easier perfect portions on hand.
So far I've made sweet potato, butternut squash, beets, carrots, peas, potato and pears. Last week I finally ordered a Foley Food Mill (found it cheapest on Amazon) - before then I'd been using a mini food processor that I already had. It did ok on some things, but for most it can't get a really smooth consistency. The food mill arrives tomorrow and I've loaded up on lots of things to make once it arrives: broccoli, cucumber, spinach.
It takes some time, but if I spend one day cooking I can have enough for over a month. I just ran out of the squash that I made in mid-march. We've definitely supplemented with jarred baby foods because its easy when travelling and provides a little more variety (e.g. I haven't been able to find organic peaches so he's only had those in jars). I save some of those glass jars and use them to heat the frozen cubes that I make - sometimes I'll mix the two together even.
It has not always been a success - the video of Mr. H trying lentils and spinach for the first time is hysterical. Because he's perpetually happy, instead of fussing and getting upset about it (not sure if it was the taste, texture or what) he just wouldn't close his mouth and started singing instead. What a nut.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The Painting Project
Hi all. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. We took a trip up to Connecticut to visit my parents, and then this week I finally started painting. We moved into this house last November - Jacob was just a few weeks old! - and have been slowly making changes ever since. Mostly over the winter this involved sealing up the house from drafts - tightening all the window locks, adding weatherstripping around the windows and doors, installing door sweeps, insulating outside wall light switches and outlets, inserting glass doors over our fireplace, and putting foam insulation on our garage doors. I also installed an Energy Star thermostat that we got as a housewarming gift from my in-laws (what a great idea for new homeowners!) - replacing the old dial-style wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought; the instructions were very simple to follow. I think all of that really helped reduce the amount of oil we used to heat the house.
So now its spring, and in addition to the requisite spring cleaning, I got bit by the paint bug. We wanted to start with Jacob's room, so I started researching the best options. The issue of course with paint is VOCs - Volatile Organic Compounds - which can off-gas toxins into your home polluting the indoor air. Luckily nowadays there are many choices - just Google no VOC paint and you'll get lots of info from naturally pigmented clay to low VOC commercially recognizable paints. In the end, I choose Freshaire Choice which is only sold at Home Depot. It touts itself as the only paint that has no VOC in the base paint AND in the chemicals used to tint the paint. It was not cheap - about $37/gallon. But it went on very nicely, had very little odor while wet and no odor after it dried (only about 1 hour to dry with all windows open). I also liked it because the whole product line concept is eco-friendly - all the materials in the display at the store are made of recycled and sustainable materials, the label on the paint cans are made of recycled paper, etc. While this product does not (yet?) have the range of color options as some of the conventional brands, there were plenty to choose from and the benefits overall made it worth it.
So while I wouldn't recommend trying to paint a room by yourself with a 6 1/2 month old - thank God he stuck to his nap schedule those two days - it is doable. Now I want to do every room in the house!
So now its spring, and in addition to the requisite spring cleaning, I got bit by the paint bug. We wanted to start with Jacob's room, so I started researching the best options. The issue of course with paint is VOCs - Volatile Organic Compounds - which can off-gas toxins into your home polluting the indoor air. Luckily nowadays there are many choices - just Google no VOC paint and you'll get lots of info from naturally pigmented clay to low VOC commercially recognizable paints. In the end, I choose Freshaire Choice which is only sold at Home Depot. It touts itself as the only paint that has no VOC in the base paint AND in the chemicals used to tint the paint. It was not cheap - about $37/gallon. But it went on very nicely, had very little odor while wet and no odor after it dried (only about 1 hour to dry with all windows open). I also liked it because the whole product line concept is eco-friendly - all the materials in the display at the store are made of recycled and sustainable materials, the label on the paint cans are made of recycled paper, etc. While this product does not (yet?) have the range of color options as some of the conventional brands, there were plenty to choose from and the benefits overall made it worth it.
So while I wouldn't recommend trying to paint a room by yourself with a 6 1/2 month old - thank God he stuck to his nap schedule those two days - it is doable. Now I want to do every room in the house!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Ode to Diapers
So I guess my obsession with eco-baby stuff started with diapers. When the munchkin first arrived, I had been given packs of Huggies and Pampers at my baby showers. So of course I started with those. But throwing away upwards of 10 diapers a day into the bin made me want to vomit - and not from the smell. Of course I had seen schmultzy articles in parenting magazines at the doctor's office about the "great debate": cloth or disposable. But I figured there had to be some other alternative. Thus began the search.
First I tried Nature Babycare, because they said they're chlorine free (good for all), disposable (good for me), and made of all natural materials (read, no petroleum-based products, I think). While quite a few people like these (reviews), I found the tab was sharp and cut into my little chunk's chubby legs. That was the end of that.
Then we tried the gDiapers. These are the equivalent to a hybrid vehicle but for diapers - on the plus side they have many of the earth friendly benefits of cloth (primarily, nothing in the landfill), and some of the convenience of a disposable (don't have to wash every dirty diaper). On the down side, I have had trouble with leaking, but I also had that problem with the Pampers, so in my mind that is a wash. The other issue is they are a bit bulky; that hasn't slowed down the munchkin (he's 6 1/2 mos. now and has been sitting for almost a month, and started rolling at about 3 mos.). The only thing is his onesies get a little snug.
The biggest pain about the gDiapers is getting the time to flush them. Let me explain. The diaper is in 3 layers - an outside cotton layer that velcros on (comes in an assortment of colors) and can go in the wash if it gets dirty; a middle layer is a waterproof nylon that snaps into the outer layer; and the inside layer is a chlorine-free insert that you take out and either throw away (I don't flush the poopies - its too messy), flush, or garden compost (more on that later). I end up with a stack of diapers in the pail and about 3 days worth takes me 10 minutes to flush. It makes me feel good when they are all gone, knowing that big pile of diapers isn't going into a landfill.
Hubby doesn't do gDiapers, though - he can't seem to figure them out for some reason (I'm calling you out sweetie). So we still needed some "traditional" diaper solution for him and for at night (while the gDiapers worked fine at night if I doupled up the insert, I am just lazy at that hour). So we now use Seventh Generation diapers for dad, night and travelling. They are also chlorine free (read about why that's important here) - but the best part about them is the tabs are super stretchy and soft. Downsides: they use an absorbent gel in the diaper, they're most likely made with petroleum based plastics (I don't see any claims that they are not), and they are not compostable.
For more basic but detailed info on diapers, here's a good article: http://thegreenguide.com/reports/product.mhtml?id=45
If you are interested in gDiapers, I would suggest getting a starter kit from Diapers.com. Here's a tip to save $$ - if you like them, its cheaper to buy a couple more starter kits, than buying individual extra diapers (you're going to want about 6).
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - post if you have other feedback on diapers. I'm not 100% happy with my options now and would love to hear others' experiences. BumGenius, cloth diaper services, compostables - anyone?
First I tried Nature Babycare, because they said they're chlorine free (good for all), disposable (good for me), and made of all natural materials (read, no petroleum-based products, I think). While quite a few people like these (reviews), I found the tab was sharp and cut into my little chunk's chubby legs. That was the end of that.
Then we tried the gDiapers. These are the equivalent to a hybrid vehicle but for diapers - on the plus side they have many of the earth friendly benefits of cloth (primarily, nothing in the landfill), and some of the convenience of a disposable (don't have to wash every dirty diaper). On the down side, I have had trouble with leaking, but I also had that problem with the Pampers, so in my mind that is a wash. The other issue is they are a bit bulky; that hasn't slowed down the munchkin (he's 6 1/2 mos. now and has been sitting for almost a month, and started rolling at about 3 mos.). The only thing is his onesies get a little snug.
The biggest pain about the gDiapers is getting the time to flush them. Let me explain. The diaper is in 3 layers - an outside cotton layer that velcros on (comes in an assortment of colors) and can go in the wash if it gets dirty; a middle layer is a waterproof nylon that snaps into the outer layer; and the inside layer is a chlorine-free insert that you take out and either throw away (I don't flush the poopies - its too messy), flush, or garden compost (more on that later). I end up with a stack of diapers in the pail and about 3 days worth takes me 10 minutes to flush. It makes me feel good when they are all gone, knowing that big pile of diapers isn't going into a landfill.
Hubby doesn't do gDiapers, though - he can't seem to figure them out for some reason (I'm calling you out sweetie). So we still needed some "traditional" diaper solution for him and for at night (while the gDiapers worked fine at night if I doupled up the insert, I am just lazy at that hour). So we now use Seventh Generation diapers for dad, night and travelling. They are also chlorine free (read about why that's important here) - but the best part about them is the tabs are super stretchy and soft. Downsides: they use an absorbent gel in the diaper, they're most likely made with petroleum based plastics (I don't see any claims that they are not), and they are not compostable.
For more basic but detailed info on diapers, here's a good article: http://thegreenguide.com/reports/product.mhtml?id=45
If you are interested in gDiapers, I would suggest getting a starter kit from Diapers.com. Here's a tip to save $$ - if you like them, its cheaper to buy a couple more starter kits, than buying individual extra diapers (you're going to want about 6).
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - post if you have other feedback on diapers. I'm not 100% happy with my options now and would love to hear others' experiences. BumGenius, cloth diaper services, compostables - anyone?
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