Top Reasons Why I Love Making My Own Baby Food

I have a new post about the unexpected benefits of making Nic's baby food on TapMommies.  Click through to read about my adventures in pureeing.

My Baby-Friendly Home

Is it possible for a living room to be a safe and fun place for baby to play without losing its aesthetic appeal?  I think so!

When Nic started rolling from one side of the room to another, we knew that it was time to start baby proofing.  We quickly realized that it wasn’t going to be as easy as putting up some gates and plugging our outlets with those plastic do-hickeys.  We had some serious challenges to overcome.  Here are the major baby proofing obstacles we’ve tackled so far:

Coffee table: We traded our wood and wrought iron table for two leather cubes.  They will provide a much softer landing for the unavoidable head bonks, plus, they are hollow for storage!

Carpet: No matter how much I vacuumed, I was always picking up fuzz balls from the carpet, and it was too small to offer a good-sized play area.  We moved it into the garage and I bought two sets of these interlocking foam tiles.  I chose green and brown so our living room wouldn't look completely like a play room.

Fireplace: I briefly thought about doing one of these big gates around our fireplace.  But because of our layout, the cost and the necessity to put big holes in the wall (we’re renting), I decided that this wasn’t our solution.  I racked my brain for how to prevent my little man from doing a chimney sweep impression.  Then and simple solution came to me—a pressure-mounted gate!  It was hard to install it on this very uneven surface, but with patience, we got it in there securely.  (We used a steak knife to saw down the little rubber stoppers that press against the wall until it fit perfectly.)

Bookshelf:  We moved out one tall bookshelf to make room for his Pack n Play and also moved out a floor lamp that he could easily pull over.  We did not want to have to move out our other bookshelf too.   So, we anchored the bookshelf to the wall and cleared out the bottom two shelves (so that we aren’t constantly having to pull books out of his hands).  These two shelves will hold his books and some toys.

We have definitely made some compromises, but all-in-all, I think we’ve created a safe, playful and attractive space for our family.  What were your biggest baby proofing challenges?



You Know You’re a New Mom If…

I was thinking the other day “My, how things have changed,” and how funny so many of those changes are so I’d thought it would be a hoot to put together a “You Know You’re a New Mom If” list. Please add to the fun!

• You’ve added white and brown to your wardrobe (spit-up and poop.)
• You consider dinner out and a glass of wine to be a big night on the town
• You’ve forgotten to close your trunk open during or after a shopping excursion
• You catch yourself speaking baby talk to friends and your hubby
• You can’t remember what you had for lunch, or anything for that matter
• You own 5+ pairs of leggings
• Naps are orgasmic



Learning to Overshare

When I was pregnant, I made a habit of ticking off the things I would never do as a mother. Not overtly. I wasn't that kind of annoying prego. I was annoying for other reasons.

Of course I have violated several of my own rules already, one of which being that I would not be an oversharer when it came to my baby. This has been the hardest rule to comply with. I thought I would be able to hide my son from the world (and the Internet) like Madonna hourded Lourdes but it has not been possible.

Even the psuedonym Baby Mo, which I use on this blog, seems like an exercise in futility. My husband had our son on his national news show, Fox and Friends, five days after he was born. (I still watch that segment incessantly.) He also talks about him constantly on his daddy podcast, Daddy On Board.

And then there is The Facebook and The Twitter. How can I avoid sharing the insanely cute and interesting things that my son is doing on my social networks? The world simply must know that he started solids this week!

On Thursday my no-Internet-for-baby rule went up in flames when I brought my son on The 404 podcast, which I have embedded below.

So is it all shot to heck? Why even bother with anonymity at this point? But I had the best of intentions! I wanted my son to learn prudence about using the Internet on his own, not by default through his parents. I used to find mommies like me so annoying. So what now?

When I was pregnant, I asked my coworker Molly Wood how she decided how and when to share about her toddler. She said, "I just sort of share when I feel like it and when it feels right and when it doesn't, I don't." So simple. So wise. So I guess that is my new rule of thumb too. Okay, we all know that Baby Mo is named Miles. The jig is up. But I'll still call him Baby Mo here if it is all the same to you.

Mom Guilt – Why it’s a Good Thing

I was surfing baby center trying to find fun activity suggestions for my 3-month old when I caught the title of an article called, “Why Mom Guilt is  Good.” At about that time I was feeling pretty guilty myself. I had played with Elle on the play mat, in her bouncy seat, in her bebe pod, held her for a while, and she had started to get a little fussy so I decided to put her in her swing. Mind you, she had a little nap in her swing this morning so I felt a little guilty putting her back in there. Shouldn’t I be holding her and talking to her? She always smiles when I talk to her. But wouldn’t she be crying if she didn’t want to go in her swing?

I feel like a bad mommy when I’m not entertaining her! I know I shouldn’t, but I do. It’s been hard juggling launching a company while being a new mom and caring for a newborn. I’m still trying to find some balance. For example, in the morning when she wakes up, I try to just check the site real quick to make sure nothing is amiss then I try to have just girls ‘time where I talk to her while I make coffee and have breakfast. Then we play a while and then I have to get hopping on the Web site, but I can feel her eyes staring at me saying, “Mommy, play with me!” “What is more interesting than me?”

I love my daughter more than words can describe – I just want her to know it. The article I reference at the top helped me realize that mommy guilt isn’t such a bad thing. It makes up put away our iPhones and laptops for play time. It makes us spend all day talking to an infant who can’t talk back. It makes us excited to see their little cheeks even at 4 a.m. when you went to bed at Midnight after a night of working.

I thought it was a great article to share with all of you amazing parents. Enjoy!