Curbing my germophobia

When Boston started crawling I decided I'd better clean the floor. We were living in a vacation rental in LA at the time. I got some spray and wipe and paper towel and to my disgust the paper towel was completely black after just a few swipes of the floor. Unfortunately my disgust did not overpower how overwhelmed I felt at the thought of how thoroughly and how often I would need to clean the floors. My paranoid self was thinking of all the potential germs the black stuff on the paper towel was harbouring.. There was bound to be dog poo particles and who knows what else. Germs that could potentially cause serious illness. I thought about how exhausted I would be if I cared too much about germs and about how I don't want to pass on my phobias and paranoid parrot behaviours onto my son. I would also be a total killjoy of a mother if I did not allow him to explore the world around him uninhibited by me worrying about germs. So I made a decision which I have been trying to stick to ever since.. Let it be.. Germs will set me free. 

This change of heart will be a journey for me as I have little tolerance for germs and people harbouring them. I still wince when anyone coughs in my direction.. I got a pedicure the other day and the technician was coughing and spluttering all over my feet.. I breathed calmly and thanked the heavens I wasn't having a manicure! Ugh! 

I want to be more compassionate and caring towards to sick people and resist my urge to rocket launch out of there atmosphere. 

I breezed through an incident the other day where I'd swept the kitchen floor and while I looked for the dust pan.. Boston had grabbed a handful of my dust and food particles pile and put it in his mouth. I calmly fished out the debris and moved on with life. 

Ok.. This post has been in my drafts for a while now and I've slowly added to it. I'm currently disastrously ill and my care free attitude towards germs has diminished. I HATE being sick.. I had the flu and now a cold.. It's just the pits and I will continue to vehemently avoid illness at all costs .. Even if I do seem crazy. So I guess I've gone fill circle.. I'm back to where I started because I'm in the thick of feeling terrible as a direct result of contracting the rhinovirus. I'm disgusted with myself.. I'd hate to be sitting next to me on a plane. I'm coughing, sneezing and generally just a snot head. I went to Paris this weekend and it was beautiful BUT I couldn't taste a thing.. I ate about 6 macaroons and countless croissants hoping my taste buds would reactivate but they didn't. The moral to the story is, wash your hands always. I guess being this sick has helped me to be a bit more understanding and compassionate towards other people when they're sick. It's just a fact of life but a very unwelcome one! 

Terrifying 

Why you no like food?

- Julia Childs

 I've been force feeding my son unsuccessfully for the past 3 months. It's been quite an effort.. My sister in law warned me not to go to great lengths preparing baby food. She once spent a great deal of time crafting salmon cakes for her daughter.. the cakes were dramatically swiped off the high chair tray onto the floor. Devastating. So I proceeded with caution. However I did foolishly splash out on a Beaba baby food making appliance. Which I haven't and will never get to use. I've discovered that Boss has a serious aversion to the pureed texture... That would have been good to know before I bought this pureeing appliance. My bad.. I guess I wrongly assumed all babies eat baby food.

There's been a break though recently...My husband put his food on a cookie and Boston was forced to eat it off before getting to the good stuff. Like mother like son.. I always surrender to cookies and would eat through almost anything to get to one. 

On the paediatricians recommendation I started introducing solids at 4.5-5 months. Boston was very offended and simply clamped his mouth shut after barely tasting what I offered (rice cereal with breast milk)... I persisted and started feeding him all sorts of yummy things. Not interested. I didn't stress out as he's quite fat and I knew he wasn't going to starve to death.

SLOWLY he's starting to take interest. Still doesn't swallow much of anything but at least tastes it. I'm really confused by him today because I cut up some watermelon and strawberries which he refused.. then about 30 mins later I found him chewing on a wipe I failed to throw out. Don't worry.. it was just wee... but still must have tasted foul. He eats carpet, chews on shoes and dangerously loves sucking on plastic bags. Food tastes much better than all of those things! My standards have dropped quite dramatically. I went from only wanting to feed him home made organic food to feeding him WHATEVER he takes interest in. He's tasted pizza, cookies, macaroons, Starbucks pumpkin bread.. the list goes on. Don't judge me. The paediatrician says he can eat all our food now.. so I think I need to work on my "All I eat is mexican food" diet and start bringing some veges into the equation. Tonight I'm making lasagne, the first meal I've made in a while.. if it goes badly I will feel discouraged and probably won't cook again for 6 months. So for my sons sake lets hope it's a success! 

FOOD TO FEED A BABY THAT DOESN'T LIKE FOOD

-Smoothies made with baby yoghurt, coconut milk, banana and berries.

-BAMBA - An Israeli peanut snack. (They have discovered children in Israel don't have peanut allergies as a result on the early introduction of "Bamba") I found it at a Kosher supermarket. 

Toast with Vegemite. Like a true Australian he loves Vegemite.

Oranges

Christmas!

When reading this post you might say to yourself "She's got a lot of time on her hands"... I suppose I do.. But I've prioritised my Christmas decorating over all household chores. I've made a festive and fabulous choice of choosing Christmas over cleaning. Maybe some kind person will come clean my house for me as a jolly act of service?

There's nothing mothery about this post other than displaying the fact that you can have a 5 month old and still find idle time for craft. I also spend a disgusting amount if time playing Candy Crush and until my child's welfare is compromised I will continue my candy saga.

I thought I'd share some pictures of my home at we count down to my favorite holiday. 

My husband was shocked I'd never had a real xmas tree so he ordered one. I'm sure it's struggling to survive in the this blazing Brisbane heat.. I only needs to stay alive for a few more days!

I bought some burlap to make a tree skirt.. I decided I couldn't be bothered sewing the skirt, burlap is always dusty and smells bad so I just scrunched the fabric around the tree and voila! (Saved myself more time for candy crushing)

I got this advent calendar from Myer last year for $10. I thought I'd fill the little bags with Freddo frogs and eat them all myself.. luckily I never got around to that. Boston will enjoy finding treats in them when he grows up. He'll have to battle me though.

I bought a craft kit from Riot. You wrap fabric around wire to create either Joyeux Noel or Merry and Bright. It was fun to make for the first 10 mins or so.. then I began to morph into the Grinch.. I was sweating and as usual burnt myself with the hot glue gun quite badly. Like any committed crafter I persisted and I was pleased with the result.

Next. I got the NOEL idea from Pinterest. I found the wreath at David Jones and the E at Typo.. I cut out card board letters for the N & L then wrapped them with fabric and jute string. The sparkly lights are from Restoration Hardware. Driftwood star is from Earthborn.

The glass tree is Salt & Pepper. Driftwood tree from David Jones and the Ceramic one from Bed Bath and Table.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year" art I ordered from hardtofind.com and the gold cushion is from Country Road.

I'm still hoping to sew Boston a stocking and Santa sack... Only a few days left! It felt weird wrapping all his presents knowing I'll be the one unwrapping them. I even took off the price tags knowing full well he wouldn't judge me if I left them on. I'm very excited for my little mans first Christmas. We were going to make our second attempt at Santa photos last night but despite my efforts Boston got sunburnt at the beach yesterday... his face would have been camouflaged by Santa's red suit.. I felt quite terrible... anyway.. 

 It's such a special time of year where we can be mindful of Christ and the awesome example he left for us. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas full of good times with family and friends! Throw back a few litres of eggnog and demolish a Gingerbread house.. This is truly the most wonderful time of the year. 

xox

Five Months of Motherhood

My little man has been on quite the adventure since landing on planet earth 5 months ago! It's been too much fun. Everyday is better than the last (most of the time) Motherhood has been kind to me so far. Yes we've had a few dramas. Falling off the bed at 12 weeks wasn't ideal nor was cutting his finger while clipping his nails but overall my triumphs have overshadowed my fails.

We've spent more than 36 hours on a plane together ... He's always a perfect travel companion (apart from when I have to change his messy nappy in a confined space). We've been to Disneyland 4 times already.. Not sure the bank accounts will allow us to continue this tradition. Sadly his favourite ride is "It's a Small World" I agree with my Aunt Lesley who says the ride makes you want to peel your skin off by the end... I guess these are the sort of sacrifices you have to make as a mother ;)

He's the cuddliest little kid. Very calm, relaxed and happy.. Unless he's hungry and who doesn't suffer from a bit of Hangriness. Teething is just around the corner so that lovely character description will probably change! He's a pretty good sleeper. His record is 6 hours straight while we were in NYC... I think we should probably move into the Tribeca Grand seeing as it's where he's slept his best! hehe We saw the Knicks play at Madison Square Garden while we were there and he fell asleep during the game which is remarkable given how loud it was. He also fell asleep during a Lakers game at the Staples Centre. We bought him little ear muffs for that game because he was getting a bit scared when the crowd roared. There won't be any creeping around my house knowing he's capable of sleeping under these extreme circumstances!

As for me 5 months post partum is has it's pros and cons... My hair is falling out (con). Who needs it anyway. I'm actually stunned I have any left on my head. I should have collected it all and woven myself a wig for the day when I wake up completely bald.  My hair is just getting thinner and thinner ... BUT on a positive note I think that my body is too! I've only done my work out dvd twice so I can't credit Tracy Anderson at this stage. Although there was quite a bit of diet damage in NYC..  Magnolia's Bakery Banana Pudding was a life changer. I'm shocked I'm losing weight given that I'm living in America and the novelty of Captain Crunch hasn't worn off. I think I have Boston to thank... it's a two pronged effort.. he's heavy and acts as an all day weights session then he kindly drinks the excess calories I have consumed! I'm not sleep deprived yet... We're not on a routine as such.. he has a little rhythm he's slipped into... never to the minute or anything. I started out doing Tizzie Halls routine which was great because I had no idea what I was doing.. when to feed him or how long he needed to sleep etc... but now that I know him better we just go with the flow. He naps when he's tired and eats when he's hungry and so far that's working well. It's a stress free approach for us.

Life has just gotten better with our little man in it. The only thing missing was spontaneously going to the movies. One day my husband and I just decided to take him with us! We saw Gravity. He didn't make a peep for the first 20 mins then got a bit sleepy/cranky. Jeff took him out for 10 mins he fell asleep and we all watched the rest of the movie together! So now there's nothing I'm missing. Being a Mum is the best. I adore this little person more than words (despite him being responsible for my imminent baldness)

Mum-flu

Mum flu is a pejoratively used phrase that refers to the idea that a Mum (Brooke) when they have a cold, exaggerate and claim they have the flu.

I have always prided myself on rarely getting sick.. My immune system has been compromised lately due to having not slept a full night in 4 months. I have learnt that I suck at being sick. Anyway my husband was the culprit for this cold entering my atmosphere. He brought it home from a Buck's weekend in Vegas. I'm not a very nice nurse... I was mad at him for catching a cold and naturally blamed him for the pain and suffering I experienced while the disgusting cold virus lived with me. I have little tolerance for germs and people harbouring them. That's why I think Nurses are the greatest people on earth. It sucks to be sick for a million reasons but now, being a Mum.. It's sucks on a whole new level because you can't wallow to the extent you normally would. To make matters worse I couldn't mask the symptoms with Codral because I'm nursing, it was one of my more unpleasant weeks. I was convinced that Boston would catch my cold but he didn't, apparently the antibodies in breast milk are magical! We just got back from a trip to wintery New York and we survived that very well so fingers crossed that's the last virus I will catch for the remainder of my life on earth.

Best Baby Buys

It's very easy to go overboard when shopping for a baby. (Guilty) Especially your first. There's something for everything. The baby and wedding industries have it sorted... purely targeting your emotions and bank accounts! Here is a list of 10 of my best purchases so far... followed by some hilarious not so practical products I've come across.

1. The swing chair.

Dad walked though my front door after I had Boston with a huge box and said "We wouldn't have had 4 kids if it weren't for one of these" I couldn't imagine life without my little siblings!! Boston loves the swing chair.. It sings songs and vibrates. I bought another one in America that doubles as a rocker which is handy so Boston can listen to my singing in the shower. You can buy monstrous swings.. but you don't want it to take up your whole living room! The swing is a winner.

2. Skip Hop play mat

This thing is GOLD. Affectionately known as "Owly" This play mat has served us very well. He LOVES it. I think babies like big eyes. The best thing is that you can detach all the toys, string them together and take them with you on adventures. The little pillow it comes with is really handy. Tummy time has been a necessary evil because baby has a flat head on one side. Putting the pillow under his arms makes tummy time more bearable!

http://www.skiphop.com/product/treetopactivitygym.html

3. Dickies Towels

Sadly for Mother Earth I'm not an eco warrior when it comes to nappies. I do recycle bottles and the like but I'm not willing or able to commit to the "mother load" of washing using cloth nappies would entail. My friend Annita got me my first batch of these towels. They are outrageously multi purpose ...I always have 3 or so with me. I actually made a couple burp cloths... Mum mentioned they might be too small. She was very right. These towels will catch everything!

4. Medela Swing Pump

This one's a winner. Not that I have experience with any others but I did my research and read a lot of reviews and the Swing came out on top. It's great because it's battery operated....  you can plug it into the wall as well. Expressing can be a terrifying sight  which is why you need something speedy and efficient!  I'm happy with all the Medela products. I recently bought the Quick Clean Micro steam bags and the bags that you can express into a very handy too.

5.Rockabye Baby

Boston has always loved loud music... He's probably heard Random Access Memories about 80 times. So when I saw this at Kitson Kids I thought it would be great idea! This CD is magic. Boston is always silenced/put to sleep by it. The tunes don't drive me crazy either which is a bonus. I think I'll buy the whole collection! They have lullaby renditions of Aerosmith, Prince, The Beach Boy's, The Beatles, Blur, Bob Marley, Metallica and list goes on! 

http://www.rockabyebabymusic.com/jay-z.html/

6. Bonds Wondersuits

I think it's a tradition for Australian children to wear a bonds. The Bonds wonder suits are truly wonderful. I had a hard time finding good onesies here in the States so I ordered some online and my sister brought them over. I love the two way zip.. especially now that baby is wriggling around while I dress and change him! Another feature is the built in hand mittens which are essential to avoid your baby gauging his/her face. They are suitable for all seasons as they come in warm and cool fabrics. You can't buy enough of them!

7. My Bugaboo Cameleon

I could not be happier with this purchase. It was a bit of an investment BUT well worth it. Soo light and simple to put together. Boston is already in the seat attachment because he was getting a bit bored lying flat in the bassinet. It's smooth to push and has great suspension on the jagged LA sidewalks. Easy to manoeuvre around tight corners and overall I trust it's quality and know I won't need another pram... until I have another baby and need the Donkey (double) pram. Or maybe I can just attach the skateboard to this one!

8. IKEA Dimma

This is an odd one, yet I've found it very useful. I plugged it into my bedside lamp so that when I wake up to feed Boston neither of us get blinded by the bright light.. Dimma allows you to dim all your lamps to your desired brightness! 

9. Munchkin Bin

There's no doubt with the number of nappies we go though that having a nappy disposal system is essential. It's a convenient odourless time saver. Time accrued from taking the nappies out the big bin would equate to hours! I bought one for home and one here in America. Target sell them and the refill bags .. you can order them online too. At first I was concerned about having up to 25 nappies just sitting in the bin, but it doesn't take long to fill it up and the bi-carb soda illuminates the smell! This was another one of Annita's wonderful recommendation.  

http://www.munchkinnappybin.com.au/

Baby Body Booty Belly

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." - Virginia Woolf

 Where do I begin. I thought I was doing pretty well weight wise during my pregnancy. It wasn't until after I had Boston that I realised the full extent of change. I've decided that a number on the scales means nothing. After 6 weeks I was 5kg off my pre-pregnancy weight which I was shocked about considering a didn't feel remotely like my pre pregnant self! Even now after 3 months the scales tell me one thing but I feel another! 

I was in the family change rooms with my sister the other day trying on jeans. The time had come to break out of the comfort of my maternity jeans. I was bragging about how proud I am to be trying jeans that fit her (she's 16)... I spoke too soon. The next pair I tried I SPLIT. Yes I tore them... it wasn't even bad seam construction I split the actual fabric. We laughed hysterically and silently for about 5 minutes... before making a quick get away. I felt terrible but it was too embarrassing to admit my crime. So I split and ran! 

Anyway if you've had a baby I think you have to go easy on yourself... Undoubtedly bringing a baby into the world the way we do is bound to create a few changes. I was lucky to only get a couple stretch marks.. but that doesn't mean my stomach looks any less weird...at least I can say I earned my stripes! Ultimately whatever state you're left in post pregnancy, you have to embrace it! Dieting isn't the answer in my opinion.. the last thing you need is to make yourself miserable.. depriving yourself of essential delicious treats is a terrible idea. They offer much more goodness than you think. A little bit of sugar makes everyone nicer... especially me! I'm sure it makes your milk taste better too.. which might make your baby drink more which means you'll lose weight faster! It's a win win. 

I'm clearly no guru on the subject but my message to myself and you (if you're a pregnant girl) is that it's ok not to look like you did before! Celebrate your new figure! You're body did something amazing so reward it with POSITIVITY! (and a cupcake) Jokes... but seriously.. you deserve it!

Here's a cartoon I made.