How Many Pictures Do I Need?

So I'm still waiting to hear about my computer.  Apparently there's some kind of computer crashing epidemic going around (which I'm sure Kate brought home from daycare) so there's a long wait at the computer hospital.  In the meantime, I'm trying to stay hopeful, but preparing for the worst.  What if none of my pictures can be recovered?!

Okay, here's the state of pictures of the child that resulted from the G&D union:  I have about 200 from Kate's first year saved to a flash drive from when I was putting together her 1st birthday slideshow.  After that, I have a handful of photos uploaded online that capture Kate from months 12-16.  Since the crash, I've been focusing on all the photos I didn't have backed up that will be lost forever if my data isn't recovered.  Hundreds of images come to mind--pictures from the hospital when Kate was born, pictures with her grandparents, facial expressions that only a 3 month old can make, her first Christmas...and as difficult as they are for us to look at, pictures from Kate's surgery and subsequent recovery.  It breaks my heart to think these snapshots of her life are lost forever.

Then again, how many pictures do I need?

I think about G's mom, for example, who has just one picture of herself as an infant.  ONE.  Kate is only 16 months old, but I already have thousands of pictures of her so far.  Honestly, thousands.

After Kate's first birthday I started grouping her photographs into folders by age and then narrowing them down to my favorites.  I started with the goal of keeping 50 photos per month, but quickly found that goal increasing from 50 photos to 100...then 150...and in some months even 200.

200 photos per month!

Do I really need 17 photos of Kate eating spaghetti for the first time?

Do I even need one??

Maybe I'm just mentally preparing myself for the worst, but these are the questions I ponder as I wonder if Kate's photographs are gone forever.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Oh, Hello

I am temporarily interrupting my nervous breakdown to chug some wine and share with you some deeply disturbing news:

My computer crashed.

Even more disturbing:

I lost everything. 

And the real punch to the throat:

This includes all my photographs of Kate. 

(Excuse me while I vomit.)

Feel free to stop reading this very instant to chug your own bottle of wine and BACK YOUR COMPUTER UP, which is what I had fully intended to do the weekend before it crashed...but never got around to. 

Famous last words, right?

My computer is currently inpatient at the computer hospital and I am desperately hoping for a successful data recovery.  Once that happens (please God let it happen) I WILL TAKE A SLEDGEHAMMER TO THAT DAMN THING FOR PUTTING ME THROUGH ALL THIS ANGST!

I have loads more to say but I'll have to save it for another time...must go vomit again right now.  

Parenthood Is...

...renegade Cheerios found in random places all throughout your house.

Alabama Needs Us

A week ago today, the southern United States experienced one of the most devastating and destructive tornado days in our nation’s history. While there has been plenty of world news competing for our attention over this past week, we cannot--and must not--forget what is happening here at home.

My dear friend Beth lives outside of Birmingham, Alabama, and I thank God that she and her family are okay.  Sadly, many of her neighbors were not spared as Alabama became the hardest hit state during last week’s tornado outbreak.  Hundreds of people have lost their lives, hundreds more are still missing, and countless properties have been destroyed with homes, business and schools leveled to the ground.

Every single person reading this can help in some way.  

I know it may seem overwhelming or confusing during times like this to figure out what you can do to help, so here are a few simple options to choose from:

• Text "REDCROSS" to 90999 to make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross (or click link to donate online). Once you send your text you will receive a reply asking to confirm your donation by texting “YES.”  A moment later you will receive another message asking if you’d like to specify how your donation should be used.  Reply with the corresponding number (for me it was #1) to support Red Cross Disaster Relief.  Your $10 one-time donation will be added to your cell phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance.

• Text “TORNADO” to 50555 to donate $10 to The United Way Central Alabama Tornado Disaster Fund (or click link to donate online).  Once you send your text you will receive a reply asking to confirm your donation by texting “YES.”  Your $10 one-time donation will be added to your cell phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. 

• Text “FOOD” to 27722 to donate $10 to the West Alabama Food Bank.  Once you send your text you will receive a reply asking to confirm your donation by texting “YES.”  Your $10 one-time donation will be added to your cell phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance.

• Go shopping!  Organizations like Christian Service Mission, a nonprofit organization in Birmingham, AL, are currently collecting and distributing donated items to families in need (follow them on Facebook or Twitter for up-to-date lists of most needed items).  Out-of-towners can purchase needed supplies online using the Alabama Tornado Support and Relief Wishlist created by my friend Beth on Amazon.com.  Your online purchases from this list will be shipped to Christian Service Mission for distribution.

• Help tornado pet victims by donating money, supplies, and/or your time to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.

• Spread the word.  I believe there are tons of people out there who want to help but they're just not sure how to begin.  Please show them how easy it is to contribute to Alabama tornado relief efforts by sharing this on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog.  Send it to all your email contacts and ask them to forward it on as well.

• Visit Alabama Possible for a list of even more ways you can give, volunteer, and advocate for tornado relief efforts.

I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Alabama, and the honor and privilege of calling one of its residents a beloved best friend.  I’ve experienced firsthand the kind of Southern support and hospitality you may have only seen acted out in old movies, and I’m telling you--it's the real deal.  Right now Alabama needs you to be there for them…and I can assure you that someday, when the time comes, Alabama will be there for you too.

Thank you in advance for your support and continued efforts.

(Photo Credit)

Introducing Solid Foods

Introducing Kate to solid foods was probably the first thing that really had me rattled as a parent.  We waited until Kate was 6 months old before she had her first "solid" (super soupy rice cereal) and after that I had no clue what to do!  Should we start with veggies?  Fruits?  Which ones?  How much?  And how in the world do you prepare these things??

I decided before Kate was born that I was going to make all her pureed baby food from scratch when the time came.  The only problem was I had no idea what the hell I was doing!  I asked for a food processor for Christmas and that seemed like a pretty good start...

My next step was to ask my friend Jill to come with me to our local grocery co-op and teach me how to shop the produce section.

(I'm not joking.  That really happened.) 

If you haven't already picked up on it, my point is this:  If I can make baby food from scratch, anyone can.
 
Prior to diving into this little project, I couldn't tell a lime from an avocado from a mango.  I'm the girl that asked the produce guy at Whole Foods to help me find a butternut squash...in the middle of summer.  (He laughed at me.)  I had to YouTube how to cut an avocado, for crying out loud! 

Since that time I've learned a lot about how to prepare wholesome, nutritious foods for Kate, and my biggest resource--especially when it came to learning about homemade purees--was WholesomeBabyFood.com.  This website covers a wide variety of topics such as Is Your Baby Ready for Solid Food?, How Much Food Should My Baby Eat?, food allergies, forbidden baby foods, how to puree and store, and my favorite--food charts based on age, and recipes based on stages.

I know it can seem incredibly overwhelming at first--especially if you're starting out with as little knowledge of how to prepare fruits and vegetables as I had!--so I'm going to share how I generally tackled things.

First, I started with the Wholesome Baby Food age-based food charts.  Keep in mind these age ranges are just general guidelines that you should adjust as needed based on your child.  For example, we waited until Kate was 6 months old to start her on her first solids, but we still used the "4-6 Month Chart" as our guide (versus the 6-8 Month Chart) because that was the stage we were in.   It's also very important to consult with your child's pediatrician about introducing new foods for your baby.  This post (and the website I'm referencing) are not meant to be substitutions for your pediatrician's recommendations and your own research and judgement of what's best for your child. 

4-6 Months Food Chart

6-8 Months Food Chart

8-10 Months Food Chart

10-12 Months Food Chart

After referencing the appropriate food chart, I chose one food item that I was going to introduce to Kate, and I did my research on how to select, store, and prepare that item.  Working with one food item at a time helped me feel less overwhelmed and also slowed down the urgency I felt to introduce Kate to everything and get my freezer stocked with 20 different purees.  Remember, this is not a race--it's okay to take your time.  The "4 day wait rule" also helps because it forces you to slow things down and not rush the process.

Once you've chosen your food item--let's use sweet potatoes for this example--hover your mouse over "Vegetables" in the green menu bar at the top of the site and select "Sweet Potato" from the orange drop-down box that appears:

www.WholesomeBabyFood.com

This brings you to the Sweet Potato page, which covers pretty much everything you could ever want to know about sweet potatoes--their nutritional value, how to properly select and store them, the best ways to cook them for baby food, and of course, lots of related baby food recipes!

Every couple of days I choose a new food item to make for Kate until we had worked our way through the food charts and I had a freezer full of nutritious goodness!

One last bit of advice--don't go too overboard on stocking your freezer with purees for your little one because you never know how long they'll be at that stage.  Once we introduced Kate to finger foods she no longer had an interest in her purees, so she was really only in that stage for about two months.  Luckily I was able to get creative and incorporate my stockpile of purees into finger food recipes, but if I knew then what I know now I could've saved myself a lot of time!