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I have rediscovered knitting, and it seems to have replaced my Facebook addiction! It started as a small project to knit baby scarves for triplets in my mothers' group, and I enjoyed it so much that I've continued. Spotlight has become my new favourite store as I source wool and craft supplies to create different pieces for friends and their children.
I learnt how to knit when I was was six, as it was one of the electives we could choose in primary school. We were supposed to knit a pot holder, but I couldn't be bothered (read: I didn't have the patience for reading the pattern) and just knitted a scarf. Ever since I've only been able to knit garter stitch scarves, so when I started looking at different patterns so I could branch out to other projects I couldn't understand them. There are so many abbreviations - P1, K1, M1, YO, St St.... It's a whole other language!!
Thankfully we live in the age of the internet. A quick google search and I can find hundreds of instructional pages and videos - if I want to learn a new stitch or work out how to knit in the round or how to change colours there is inevitably a YouTube video for it!
Here is a sample of what I've made so far:
Scarf for 2 Year Old
Matching Bracelet
Scarf for 1 year old
Scarf for 1 year old
Headband
Baby Leg Warmers
The buttons on the scarves are not actually sewn in place - they are attached to a brooch. This is so that as the child grows the scarf can grow too by simply moving the brooch.
Of all the above projects I am most proud of the leg warmers - it involved learning how to rib, how to purl, what stockinette stitch is, how to do a yarn over for a picot row and how to complete the leg warmers by stitching up the seam with mattress stitch (see what I mean about the other language?!)
I'm looking forward to making more as the year goes on.
The progress has slowed a little since my original post, with the average now 8.5 items a day, but even just looking around the room I'm currently sitting in I know that there is plenty more that can go!
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As a member of an online parenting forum the term "baby led weaning" was something that came up on occasion. I'd never heard of it, but there were some very passionate supporters always happy to put forward their views on it. I read through the basic theories behind it and thought it made sense and sounded like something that would suit me.
Put simply, it is a different way of introducing solids to a child - bypassing purees and going straight to finger food at 6 months (the age currently recommended by the World Health Organisation for starting solid food).
I remember bringing this up in my council led parenting group, but the facilitator of the group had never heard of it and encouraged farex and purees as the first foods as per the usual guidelines. I listened, but in the back of my mind was the thought that I'd really like to try this "other" approach.
When my Maternal and Child Health Nurse advised we start Mason on solids prior to 6 months I resisted, as he was not yet sitting up strongly (one of the indicators of being ready for baby led weaning) and I had always planned to breastfeed exclusively to the magical 6 month mark.
Eventually I gave in and began Mason on farex (a tasteless rice cereal) at 5 and a half months. A very independent little boy, he would only eat it if I gave him the spoon to feed himself!
Soon after starting on farex we progressed to avocado and banana (because lazy mummy didn't want to cook!), but eventually I had to begin the hard work of steaming and blending vegetables - before I knew it we had a freezer full of ice cube trays and containers filled with frozen purees.
What all this led to was me feeling constantly anxious about Mason and his feeding. Was he eating enough? Was he eating too much? Was he getting enough variety? Will this pumpkin ever come out of his clothes?! (Ok, so the last one will forever be an ongoing battle!)
In the end I decided I'd had enough and gave him some finger food (banana and zucchini) at 6.5 months. He picked it up straight away and started eating. He clearly loved the independence (as he had demonstrated early on by his preference to spoon feed himself) and the ability to play with his food and explore it in his own time.
Banana
Zucchini
One of the benefits put forward about this approach to solids is that having to learn early on how to chew the food and move it around the mouth helps develop speech. It was incredible how true this turned out to be - he suddenly became very vocal in the days after that first try of finger foods, as this video clearly demonstrates:
One of the other concerns about baby led weaning and giving finger foods so early is the worry about choking. The important thing to remember is that there is a big difference between choking and gagging. The gag reflex is further forward in a baby than it is in an adult, and, as the above video shows, a baby is very good at gagging and bringing back up any food that threatens to go down the wrong way. Mason simply brought it back up and went back to chewing as if nothing had happened!
Avocado on Toast
Lamb
Mason has now tried (and eaten) a whole range of foods. He absolutely loves his banana, and he takes after his dad with his love of bread. The summer fruits of watermelon, rockmelon and cantaloupe are devoured when put in front of him, and he will happily suck and "gum" pieces of meat (chicken in particular). I say gum as he still does not have teeth, but I can assure you that even without them his bite is pretty strong!!
The best part about this approach is that wherever we are there is usually something that we can feed him. There is no stress about packing up the mush and a spoon and finding somewhere to heat it up while we are out. Usually I will order something that I know he can eat and share it with him. This is actually what he loves the most - knowing that he is eating the same foods as us. We can no longer eat in front of him without him whinging and staring at the food as if to say, "I'd like some too!!"
I highly recommend Gill Rapley's book, Baby Led Weaning. It clearly explains the reasoning behind this approach and also sets out how to get started and which foods are good first foods. I can't wait to keep introducing new tastes and textures to Mason and to watch him explore. Sure, it's messy, but so worth it!
Oh, and if you were wondering - a good day on the line in the Melbourne sun will get the pumpkin out of clothes!!
I really hate New Year's Resolutions. They seem so futile. Millions of people feel a sudden sense of motivation on January 1 and resolve to change their ways, but it seems inevitable that one of two things will happen:
They get burnt out from trying to do too much, or
Their new found motivation slowly dwindles away to nothing.
The end result of both of course is that you give up on your resolution - at least until December 31 when the whole sorry cycle starts again.
Now that 2010, a year that turned my world upside down, inside out and back to front, is over, my attention has turned to 2011. With that comes, dare I say it, a New Year's Resolution!
It's no secret that I'm domestically challenged.
It's not that I don't want a clean house and an organised life - it's just that I can't seem to get to the point where my house is clean, and even if I did I don't have the good habits to see it stay that way!
In 2011 all that is going to change.
Step 1: Cut down time spent online. My Internet addiction is simply a procrastination and avoidance of doing the things that I should be doing (such as housework!). I will stick to the essentials only and use the Internet to help, rather than hinder, my efforts.
Step 2: Form new cleaning habits. I have joined flylady.net (an example of using online addiction for good!) and hope that following her plans will form new habits that keep the CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) away!
Step 3: Declutter.
The final step is one that I am particularly excited about.
I have signed on to do "2011 in 2011" - this year I will remove 2011 things from my house! Yes, you heard correctly - I will throw away, donate, freecycle or sell 2011 things that are cluttering my house. This averages out to 5.5 items a day.
Those clothes I don't wear? GONE!
Those books I bought years ago to read "one day" (and one day never came)? GONE!
Those kitchen items that are collecting dust at the back of the cupboard? GONE!
Having a tangible goal and support from other people that are also aiming for 2011 is very motivating. At day 7 my total is 106, averaging 15 items a day.
I look forward to inviting you all over for coffee (something I am currently too embarrassed to do) sometime soon!
Throughout the year last year I bought a number of items to give to Mason for Christmas. One of these buys was a ride on plush toy in the shape of an Octopus. It was gorgeous and on special (bonus!), so Mark and I bought it, sealed it up, and stored it in the garage for Christmas.
Fast forward to December 25 and we watch with delight as Mason tries to unwrap his biggest present!
He needed a lot of help, and of course was more interested in the paper. Given that we were out visiting family on Christmas day and Boxing Day the toy stayed in it's box until Monday the 27th.
It was then that we realised our fabulous toy for our son's first Christmas was ruined! The stitches were ripped in two places, stuffing was coming out and it was dirty. It had obviously left the store in that condition, and we had not checked it assuming that all would be well. We've learnt a lesson there that's for sure! Luckily he is only 8 months old and was completely oblivious to the drama.
So after a few trips back to the store and a few calls to head office we were granted a refund on the faulty item. The next step was to figure out what to get him!
And so begins my love affair with eBay!
In the last week I have bought three absolute brilliant toys for my son for less than the cost of that one plush toy.
Item 1: A Toddle Truck. I had one of these as a child and desperately wanted Mason to have one too. It's been well loved, but has so much life in it yet.
Item 2: A Mama's and Papa's "Charlie" - a ride on caterpillar. For less than a third of what the faulty plush toy had cost!
Item 3: An Imaginarium 5 in 1 Circle of Fun. Brand new in it's box.
And we still had $15 remaining from our refund, which was redirected to paying for those material blocks you can see in the toddle truck (which were also on special!)
