I attribute my obsessive tendency to my father. He is known for becoming completely consumed in something for a good length of time, and buying every gadget, book, and magazine about the obsession. While obsessions aren't always a good thing, I've always admired my father's ability to have hobbies and interests. Because without those, life can sometimes become a little mundane at times.
After becoming a momma, I have developed some obsessions that are all about Brody. The first one that I can recall was his sleep habits. I read book after book, and blog after blog, trying to figure out how in the world do moms get their children to sleep- let alone on a timely schedule that works well for each individual family. After months of trying, I can finally say that I have it down! Brody is a wonderful sleeper, still taking a scheduled two naps at 15 months old, and sleeping 12 hours every night without waking. I am so proud of this because it wasn't easy for me at all. People sometimes say, "You are so lucky that your baby sleeps so well." I have to tell them though, it isn't luck. What it was is some very long nights, lots of tears, a ton of research, and a lot of hard work. But it has paid off, and hopefully with baby number two on the way, that road will be a little bit easier for both Jeff and me. I know that our little girl will bring her own challenges that Brody didn't prepared us for, but knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and sleep training CAN be done, will be key to keeping us all going... during the day and the night.
My next obsession having to do with Brody came during his first year while I was breastfeeding. Within that year, there were seven months that I was going to be away, full-time, while I finished my student teaching and also taught my own classes. This was so hard, but I was so thankful that between Jeff and Auntie Q, they could work their school schedules around each other so I didn't have to leave Brody with anyone outside of the family. Aside from having to kiss Brody goodbye every morning at 6:00 am, and not seeing him again until 4:00 pm, the other hard thing about this situation was my determination to continue breastfeeding. I then became obsessed. We bought a good pump, a milk carrier, and containers, and I pumped in the morning, once at school, and once when I got home during Brody's nap. This, with the milk I was able to store during weekend, built up enough that Jeff and Auntie Q were able to feed him throughout the day, with the occasional formula supplement when we'd run out. My goal was still a year though, and I'm happy to say that my obsession paid off. I made it to 11 months, or until I got pregnant again, and my supply dropped drastically.
Right now, I have recently acquired a brand new obsession having to do with Brody- his eating habits. For the past 3 months he has fully refused to eat baby food anymore and only wants to feed himself. Months 6-12 felt so wonderful to me! He was still nursing and only eating baby foods (vegetables, fruits, meats, and rice cereal). Life felt good. I knew that Brody was getting the nutrients he needed, and I didn't have to try very hard at all- a simple pop of the baby food jar, and we were done. Introducing solid food has been a whole different story.
This past week Brody and I were gone on a trip back to Washington, and Jeff was left at home alone because of work. Which meant Jeff also had to grocery shop for himself. When Brody and I returned home, I looked through the kitchen and found chicken nuggets, frozen crinkle fries, ice cream sandwiches, nacho chips, Gatorade, and more items that were similar to these. I sat Brody down in his highchair and became frustrated. I didn't know what to feed him that would make me feel like I gave him a balanced meal. Sure, I could give him some nuggets with some mac and cheese on the side, and really, I am not against the moms that do feed this to their kids. (I'm one of them.) But not having vegetables or fruit to offer his as well made me think a lot about the responsibility I have to feed my growing little boy the right thing. It is so stressful to me when I think of how much control I have over Brody, including what he eats, which is so important.
As you could probably guess from Jeff's grocery list, both Jeff and I don't eat the best. While I try to eat vegetables and fruits (especially when I'm pregnant), we prepare a lot of quick and easy things like frozen meals, pasta, and sandwiches. While these things are necessarily all bad, I've learned in just the past few days that there are many different variations of those things and alternatives that are a lot better for our bodies. My obsession has just started. Right now I'm in the research faze. I love talking to people who have done the same research and listening to what works for them and their families. I already feel like I've learned so much.
While this obsession started first with feeding Brody, I have come to find out that I really would like to fully change the way Jeff and I eat as well. I am currently researching the Paleo Diet. (A diet my dad actually has done a lot of research about awhile back as well.) I plan to read other books and gradually introduce different food into our kitchen. Now that I am an official "stay at home mom" I feel that healthy eating for my family is my responsibility. In the past I've groaned everytime I've thought about getting into cooking. But now that I am doing this research and learning about good foods for our bodies, cooking doesn't seem so bad, especially when I know I am doing something good for all of us in the long run. I've also realized that healthy eating doesn't have to be as hard as it sounds. It may not come out of a box, or a microwave, but you can prepare meals in advance and freeze them. This is definitely what I plan to do.
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