If only Elle ate grass...

I just read this article in the NYTimes...All about environmentalists biggest vices...and I got the same problem...DIAPERS! Here is the thing, disposable diapers are bad bad bad bad bad for the environment. They are so bad they warrant bad bad bad grammar.

However, cloth diapers ain't so great either. Have you ever tried to kill the bacteria in poopies and peepees without using super hot water, a super hot dryer or *heaven forbid* chemicals like bleach that then have to be double rinsed out of the cloth you put right next to your baby's fanny (or tushie, or coolie, or whatever you call it at changing time when you are trying to beg your kid not to run away with no pants on).

So Elle wears disposable diapers...when I can get them on her without her running away. She runs away now, for real. I am sorry I don't blog more, I love it. But my house is currently a mess under everything that Elle can get into while I am actually supervising her...I can only imagine what my house would look like if I took time looking away from her at a computer screen to update you on the gates she climbed or chairs she toppled.

Booo Similac

Anyone who has read this blog knows I have given Similac props in the past for their phone line support. But today they get a big fat boooooo for the way they are handling this recall. For those who have not already read this all over the internet and tv news...apparently there are bug parts and larvae inside some cans of Similac. I am deliberately NOT linking you to the official Similac recall site because I have been trying for 10 hours to get on it with no luck.

That is part of the boooooo Similac.

If you are going to recall the sole source of nutrition for infants all over the country...have a DARN plan in place to get info out to parents about EXACTLY what is wrong and EXACTLY what is tainted. As of right now, I can't check my cans because the web site and phone lines are overwhelmed. I went out and bought a can of Gerber Good Start last night....

The 5 am stumble

Ok, so I do consider myself lucky that Elle sleeps soundly from about 8pm until 5 am...when she wants a little nip to tide her over until she wakes up at 630 or 7 am. By little nip, I mean just that. It is the only time she wants to nurse so that is what we do. I am actually glad she still wants to nurse at that hour and has not rejected it like she does the rest of the day. I could not under any circumstances manage to make a bottle at that hour. I am a freekin mess. She cries, I stumble in, pick her up, nurse, put her down and stumble back to bed. I don't know how long this will last, but it is starting to get a little old.

Elle has 5 teeth

Some updates on much talked about milestones:

• Teeth: 5, brushed occasionally with the safety first toothbrush
• Walking: meh, a couple steps here and there, but not fast enough for Elle
• Climbing: check, up gates, up furniture, up the stroller, up the stairs
• Laughing: only when something is funny, she really makes you work for it
• Head bumping: yep, so stressful for mommy - Elle loves to explore and takes the occasional spill
• Crying: yep, this is a funny one, she cries when she is mad now, for example when mommy takes away a "toy" (read garbage found on floor) or stops her from putting her finger in a light socket *mommy is soooo mean
• Talking: babbling, cute, she will chat away in her car seat or to her toys, she has a lot to say
• Play: check! Now having play dates with friends, Elle is learning to interact with kids her age
• Eating: only feeds herself, I have given up on yogurt or anything spoon fed - spoons are for playing - fingers are for eating
  

Cranky-potomaus

Someone is a crankypotamus.

Elle does not like napping but I really think she needs naps. I am not just saying that because I get exhausted during the day. After a nap she is happy and playful...if she skips a nap she is fussy and pulls her ears and does not eat. However, when I put her to nap she gets very angry with me. Then she sleeps. I hate when she is mad at me!

A busy kid

I don't know how mommy bloggers do it. I don't have time to cater to my child's every need and still blog!!!!!

She is growing and growing and growing! She now outright refuses to be fed because she can get plenty of good stuff in on her own! She eats cheese cubes and cheerios and fruit and veggies at every meal. At least 3 days last week she ate EXACTLY what we ate for dinner. It was awesome. One night I made us "Chard-A-Roni and cheese". It was regular macaroni elbows with chard (from the farm share) and tomatoes. I broke up all the pieces on her tray and she loved it! I even cook with red pepper flakes and she loves spice! Her diapers stink after that, but she likes it. (BTW, when I was pregnant I could not get enough red pepper flakes...on everything...so I am going to say she was born like this until someone can prove otherwise!)

I went to the diner for lunch with a friend the other day. I got a greek salad with chicken and Elle and I shared it!! She got all the olives, half the feta and some of my chicken and cucumbers and peppers. She passed on the lettuce. It was so cute. She and her new friend, who is a big kid (20 months) also shared a grilled cheese.

9-10 months is such a fun age. She is busy and happy and plays and laughs a lot. She seems to nap nicely most days. Some days she wears herself out and takes a few short cat naps...but our regular schedule is about 10 hours at night, 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. Awesome. I love it. All the time in the world to do laundry and dishes and work and blah blah blah...all the un fun stuff that I need to do until we get to play again!

Car shopping

I took Elle car shopping yesterday. We have an older car that still has some value and it may be time to upgrade to the dreaded mini van. When we drove to Philly a couple weeks ago we were packed in like sardines into our station wagon and our little sedan won't run for ever. Eeep...is it wrong to covet other mommy's minivans?

Alergies

I got 'em and I think Elle does too....sneezy, puffy eyes. She is a mini me in all the WRONG ways.

Who does that?

Who brings a teenager with pink eye (conjunctivitis) to a 6 year old's birthday party with MANY OTHER CHILDREN and their parents. Come on people...really? You can just sit this one out? Not like it was your family party...just a friend...sit this one out, I promise there will be other occasions for your 15 year old to hang out with clowns.

Practical advice

I took a child care and delivery class when I was pregnant. It was great. One of the things the teacher told us was, "seat to eat". Always make your kid sit down to eat. Makes sense, right? Until you have a kid like Elle that quit nursing during the day on her own because she had to be still and wont take a bottle unless she is standing up. I try to feed her exclusively in her high chair...but sometimes she is hungry but wont sit down...so I feed her in her saucer. She loves to play and be busy. She does not stop moving for a second until she is so exhausted she can't stand up any more. She is such an active child and I don't want to fight constantly to have her sit down. That is why we stopped nursing, because it was a fight (she still nurses her first feeding of the morning before she gets fired up and ready to go). That is why when we read books we each get our own and Elle reads hers in a crawling position. She is on the go...