PanchuMom

Something to watch again and again

2009-09-09T11:19:00.002+02:00

Last night we the parents watched Some Kind of Wonderful. Rather, I bawled my eyes out and subjected Wynn to watching yet another wonder from the 80's.

Critterness is developing his own obsessive consumption of art. He subjects me to many readings a day of Dr. Seuss's ABC. Thanks to my mil, we read the copy Wynn had as a child. It is a wonderful book. And if you watch the video, read in Patios, it is amazingly refreshing. You will never be able to read it without the accent. Ever again. Which is great, because when you read it three times a day, accents make it funner.

Elaine, you gotta meet the baby

2009-08-14T12:18:00.004+02:00

New babies are sprouting up everywhere. As a new mom I feel the pressure to give really good gifts, thoughtful, useful, non-stupid. I've given onesies too small and returned, gee thanks stuffed animals, useless George Bush Leapfrogs.

The best thing to get stiched up new moms and overworked dads is food. Whatever they will not need to reheat, clean up, cut up. Anything they can pop in their mouths and forget about. It has to be delicious, fibery, guiltless.

Throw in a onesie, you don't want to seem tacky.

Brooke Burke is just great

2009-07-12T14:43:00.003+02:00

I love Brooke Burke in the same nutty way I love Tori Spelling. They make birthing children a claim to celebrity statues, have rocking bodies and little husbands they keep saying how much they like to nail.

This video of Brooke and blog partner making cucumber water is precious. How many mompreneurs does it take to make water? Two! Take two WAHMs and 2.49 minutes and you got water! Reeefreshing.

The shortest lived blog

2009-03-26T15:37:00.003+01:00

I have been lazy and excuse-y, and the truth is my lovely little blog is taking a back seat to what I hope will be a book. I am writing. That is all I can confirm. I will pop in every now and then- bloggerstyle.

To all who clicked me, thank you. Y un saludo para todos los que me conocen.

The Panchu`s back

2009-03-19T12:31:00.002+01:00

After many days without internet and boxes on the floor life looks normal again.

Lucas and Wynn went for a Father's day bike ride. Little Panchu is sitting on the terrace with the laptop, a 0% beer in a frosted mug and naked toes in the sun. Happy Father's day to me.

We all hate the cold

2009-02-26T14:16:00.000+01:00

Except Wynn. New Jersey freak that he is, he thinks winter is for playing in the snow, calls freezing your ass off "chilly" and is actually happy in the cold dark grey of winter. I like the summer.

Bird and fish fell in love, moved to Spain and had a child. Poor child is bundled up until he can't move by mom and taken out to play hacky-sack in the snow in baby Birkenstocks by dad. Neither is strictly true, but the critter has a cold.

His baby instincts are in high gear and he is nursing a ton, hoping the wonderfulness of breast milk will ward off the cold. He has a runny nose, and we respond by blasting the humidifier and playing in the bathroom with the shower running nice and steamy for hours. Poor critter has not seen un-humidified land in days.

My son, the artist

2009-02-25T14:02:00.001+01:00

I hate when people say that. Let your darn kid be whatever he wants to be! A drawing - finger painted, at that - does not an artist make. Let him draw to his little heart's content without you labeling him. Say lovely cow, little baby, I love its purple stripes and it's so great that it's playing the guitar! Leave that pressure pushing attitude for your bum-y husband, who, frankly, could use a little shove in the right direction anyway.

But I digress.

The point, is, Wynn went to Valencia and brought back Giotto bebé pencils for the critter. He's recently started scribbling away (mostly on paper) and we got super excited. Short of setting up his own atelier, we were happy to find something he can draw with and occasionally suck on. These pencils are safe to suck on, glide on easily for optimal critter drawing and ... they wash off faces, floor and table as well as fabric. There's not a lot more you can ask of a pencil.

Food disappointment

2009-02-24T09:59:00.002+01:00

I am a big fan of Jamie Oliver. I loved every show, from when he was young with odd hair to when he got rich and cocky. His food is amazing, and his books are genius and beautiful. He has changed the way I think about food, convinced me of going organic, made me a more dedicated cook - which is why Wynn likes him and book by book makes Jamie richer and me happy.

Things were fine and dandy with me and Jamie - until the magazine. Obviously, as Rachael Ray has demonstrated, no good can come of celebrity chef magazines. Rach you can forgive, she's not the real deal to begin with, just a loud chick with a skillet. My lovely mil got us a subscription and I loved every one of them, to the point of knowing them by heart. But, Jamie, come on, mate.

Wynn was in London and brought back the first issue. First of all, relax, you can launch a magazine without calling in the big guns, ie, Ange and Bradley. Specially when the "in depth" article are ten questions answered in 50 words or less.

The recipes- we know them by now. I've let it pass that the different books tend to repeat a slightly modified version of some recipes. But the magazine just rips them right off. Photographs included.

Don't even get me started on the final note by wife Jools. This woman cannot make up her mind wether she hates cooking (like she claims here) or is the cook of the family (as she conveniently claims in her book, recipes included.)

The whole magazine is an excuse for Jamie to get his face out there and push push push his Jme line of flatware cookware whathaveyou.

But, alas, there are some great new recipes, in depth feature articles on produce, gourmet city tours, cuisines. Bottom line: I won't go through the trouble of subscribing, but every time Wynn jumps the pond, I'm sure he'll bring one back. And we'll both be so happy.

Sunny enough. Finally.

2009-02-20T08:11:00.008+01:00

Madrid is trying to shake off the winter. My mom got the critter this bike helmet and Wynn attached a bicycle seat.

The critter loves it. He doesn't love the helmet, but he'll tolerate it once he's seated on the bike. I stopped a few times to check how he was doing, and the only thing that bugged him was my stopping. Pedal, woman!

Drink up, little monster

2009-02-19T11:31:00.008+01:00

I bought into the whole BPA scare of 08. But we only had plastic sippy cups, so the poor critter mainly just went without water. I didn't want to leave water sitting in the cup, and it seldom occurred to me to refill and offer the poor child some water. His first words might have been I'm thirsty, you moron.

Swiss aunt to the rescue. Lucas now has a funky new Sigg bottle. He loves it because it is so darn cute. I wasn't sure he'd be able to drink form it, since it has a sport bottle type of sprout, but he just went for it (probably cause he was so thirsty from waiting).

I looked into other non plastic sippy cup options. I know Born Free is BPA free, but I'm iffy about all plastics now and would rather avoid them altogether if possible. Klean Kanteen and Safe Sippy are less cute, bulkier options. And just wait, in 09 cuteness will be proven to reduce risk of cancer in laboratory rats. Foogo, besides being a a funny word, has adorable stainless steel sippy cups with handles (Marcia Cross's girls have them.) These I like too. But we're Sigg people all the way.

Big people books

2009-02-15T21:56:00.006+01:00

Jhumpa Lahiri, besides being gorgeous, is a marvelous and sensitive writer. My favorite of her books is The Namesake (I know, Jacinda Barrett, don't hold it against her). Probably because I like novels - I get sad when stories end. Unaccostumed Earth is beautiful and thoroughly enjoyable. Interpreter of Maladies is great too. Oh what the hell, I love Jhumpa.

Lahiri writes simple prose that conveys a detailed setting and personable characters. I suppose it is important that she writes about Indian immigrants. More importantly, she writes about loss - of cultural identity, of loved ones. There is no doom in her stories - even with the melancholy yearning for a homecoming that can never be because when one sets sail no home will ever again be able to claim us. Lahiri writes about people, with an understanding of their complexity, their love, and acceptance of the limitations that life imposes. I like these books. I wish I hadn't read them so I could read them new again.

Stupid things we bought

2009-02-14T12:01:00.003+01:00

There's a fine line between being prepared and being a sucker. First time parents eagerly fall into the sucker category.

We bought a little hamoc-y bath chair for the critter. It was cute as hell and, we thought, insanely important. The teeny baby would lay on it safelly for his bath.

When he was small enough to use it we ended up having to fill his tub higher with water to accomodate the chair. He felt safer in our arms without the chair in the way. A week later, he got too big for it anyway.

It's now in a bag in the closet, making Wynn mad it adds to the mounds of crap we have to pack. I want to hang on to it, though. We might need it for when we have another kid - the colors are so pretty and I'm sure it will be useful. (I am a pack rat with the memory of a goldfish).

Donna Martin procreates

2009-02-11T14:59:00.003+01:00

Check out the cover for Tori's new book. Beautious.

There's something about this woman, I just cannot look away. It's like a train wreck- a needy, money-whoring train wreck.

But, the title. Is mommywood a pet name for daddy's hard on? Is it a laudatori tale of Dean's thing?

PanchuMom disclaimer

2009-02-10T23:18:00.003+01:00

Things around here are crazy. Wonderful and happy, but crazy.

We're moving house - actually, my whole family is moving, in what can only be described as insane house swapping and coincidence. My mother is coming to visit/help. I'm attempting to write what might be a book while putting in my two cents in another more advanced book.

Posts will come as permitted by the mess.

Sleepy time stories: co-sleeping

2009-02-09T09:31:00.002+01:00

There are many benefits to co-sleeping. The main one: everyone's happy. The baby is warm, cozy and safe. You can nurse very easily during the night, which means you sleep better too.

We did the co-sleepign thing for a while. Then we tried having the critter sleep in his crib, in his room. Which worked out fine, except we missed him.

Meredith Small explains that "the usually recommended solitary sleep is exactly the opposite of what is the naturally evolved sleep situation for babies, and tus not what the baby really needs." This seems to intuitively make sense.

In The Aware Baby Aletha Solter share that her son slept on a mattress next to her until "he was three-and-a-half years old, [when] his grandmother came to live with us, and he was quite happy to move into a room with her." Which give way to the only hiccuo in this otherwise lovely sleeping arrangement: when do you encourage the kid to sleep on his own? And is it awkward when he brings a girl home? Does dating make the fmaily bed uncomfortable?

Mom, you're ruining it!

2009-02-06T09:43:00.001+01:00

It's the demice of facebook. It's coming. Brought on by your mothers. How did they get on it? When did they decide it was ok for them to sign up? Why do our friends keep accepting their friend requests?!!?

The cool kids are going to move on to another friendster-facebook-Hi5-where in the world is-small world- what have you soon. And Fcbk will be left to thirtysomethings who just post pictures of their new babies. And you know, our moms.

Open Letter to Jessica Alba

2009-02-05T10:12:00.008+01:00

Dear Jess,

Congratulations on the baby and the hotness. Although, dear, you are making us look bad. And I don't mean by the hotness. So you wore a girdle and the pregnancy weight velcroed right off with it. Good for you! I mean it. I wore a girdle and the only thing I got were creases on my skin from where the poor stretchy band was tightening for dear life.

I do take offense on your comment on contractions, though. They feel like bad cramps!? Next time around I want your drugs. You must have had an epidural for the whole last trimester at least. And keep it coming.

Contractions are not cramps, just like orgasms are not a quirky giggle. Perspective, my friend.

The Elle shoot was beautiful, your girl is adorable and I'm no hater. Just, seriously, don't be going around creating myths. Or we will all be paying for it quietly with our stretch marks and distorted female geography.

Peace,

Cheli

Non-stupid kid music

2009-02-04T13:48:00.004+01:00

Saturday mornings Wynn plays Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child for us. Unlike Rockabye Baby, which I kind of hate, it's music for kids that is cool, enjoyable and won't make you regret you ditched the pill.

Not all gyms are created equal

2009-02-03T13:10:00.003+01:00

We checked out another baby gym today. Not great. It was more important for the facilitators to stick to their schedule and go through all their planned activities than to give the kiddos time to explore.

During the "warm up" the parents moved their kids' arms. Moved them! They're 9 months old, they can move their own darn arms. There was free exploration of the gym time, but only for however long it took them to bring out the next activity. We must have gone through 8 different activities in 40 minutes.

These facilitator ladies had that 9AM on a Saturday morning children's TV show vibe, with too much fake energy right up in the kids' faces. The music was too loud. We could have been playing with kittens instead of kids for all they cared. I spent the whole hour trying to fend them off the critter.

The bonchibón is taking a nap now. I'm blogging - but, I swear, I'm still a bit overstimulated.

Sucks playing alone

2009-02-02T14:30:00.002+01:00

No, Maisy, noooooo!!!!

2009-01-30T12:38:00.003+01:00

Lucas's favorite book right now is ¿Dónde se esconde Maisy? (We got the translation.. I know, we're lazy and horrible.) He lifts all the flaps and he gets super excited when he hears "toc toc" lifts the flap and (spoiler alert) "es Maisy!".

We took ¿Dónde vive Maisy? out of the library, which we haven't read as much yet but I'm sure will be equally engrossing.

We read along, looking for Maisy, lifting flaps and finding that "No! Aquí no está Maisy". Every time it's "no she doesn't live here" or "no, she's not hiding here". I take issue with that. As as mother who is trying to impress the notion of "no" on her young'un I try not to overuse the word, to use it with precision and intent, not too often and not too sternly, hoping, with time, it will come to elicit specific behavior (other than mischievous smiles). I take offense that Maisy uses it willy-nilly. So we end up improvising and not reading the overused "no". Lucas gets a translated, edited Maisy- far from the original work.

The only book you need to read

2009-01-29T09:21:00.011+01:00

I am not a punk. I like Disney movies. I dress my son in gender coding blue. And for a while I hoped that Diaper Genies were "someone you hire to change your kid's diaper". Needless to say, Jessica Mills and I are not exactly two peas in a pod. We probably disagree on most lifestyle choices. Except the ones about raising kids.

My Mother Wears Combat Boots: a Parenting Guide for the Rest of Us is the best parenting book out of the very many I have read. It is so wonderful because it encompasses everything I look for in these things: an inside look into her own parenting fiascos AND actual information. This book is well researched. There is information on fetal development, child psychology, birthing options, education and bigger political planet saving things as well.

Jessica's political activist punk mama stories are interesting, funny and relatable. I am not one to be scraping off a cloth diaper, but I agree that "having a parenting relationship with a brand-new person is unique and truly freakin' sweet, fun and amazing." This book was written for "the rest of us", which might just be all of us. Don't we all want children that are free and interested in the world? We try to raise them respectfully, lovingly and with patience. And we try real hard to understand and accept when they show their own personal colors, even if it is pink.

Gymboree

2009-01-28T15:47:00.005+01:00

Until recently, it was just a funny word. With a very active 9 month old and a mami in need of activities we set out to see what the world has to offer us.

The world offered us Gymboree. Gymboree offered us a free trial. Everyone knew our names, it was bright and open, there was crazy good matts and an instructor with a magic bubble wand that blew out millions at once. Best of ALL, they have the most incrdible baby gym, with slides and tubes to crawl through, balls, things to climb. It was critter Shangri-La. Lucas was incredibly and adorably excited. He was crawling at the speed of light, interested in absolutelly everything, trying every single thing. Very sure of himself and very very excited. I loved it!

The only downside is that it is rather pricey. It's a toss up between Gymboree and groceries. But the minute we feel a teeny bit richer it's Gymboree all the way. Forget college, this is a much better educational prospect for which to save money. Maybe we should take out a loan. We're still paying for our own college loans... will Lucas really care that we tacked on a few years of Gymboree to his?

You and me at 8 months: oh the anxiety

2009-01-27T10:53:00.000+01:00

Separation anxiety hits you unexpectedly. You thought you could walk over and turn the music on all by yourself. Well, you can't. The critter yelps, crawls over, and hugs your leg. (I know, it's insanely adorable. The leg hugging is why I had kids in the first place.) Now try leaving the house sans critterness. Haha, fooled ya.

Actually it's not so bad. Lucas is still happy with any of his familiar caregivers. Sometimes he is a bit clingy- but we all have our days. His reaction to strangers is changing though. A friend's dad, whom Lucas knows but hadn't seen in a while, picked him up and started playing him. Instead of laughing, Lucas was disconcerted and bordeline upset. Dad friend shouldn't have skipped the Hey, Lucas, remember me? Want to play? Let's see if you want to come over here... We're not so easy going whatever you like anymore. Well, good for you Critter McG!

We'll see if separation anxiety worsens later for Lucas. All I have to say is that my separation threshold is about an hour long. I can do longer than that, but not quite so happy. Separation anxiety is a two way street, and we can't all be as cool as the bonchibón.

The secret is...

2009-01-26T18:45:00.005+01:00

Playgroups!

It's where the cool kids hang. And where mamas touch base.

Playgroups, Mommy and Me, etc... in my mind, they had become a teasing urban legend. They don't abound here in Madrid. They don't exist. They don't have them. There's daycare and maids and an odd grandma here and there. There's you in the afternoon, at 6, after the 3/4 day of work at the office. And I suppose there's Baby Einstein.

But the idyllic baby-proofed room, with soft baby music (windchimes, maybe), blankets on the floor and other chatty and equally relaxed mothers in their socks... it exists! Thanks to Kids in Madrid and Mum Abroad I am infiltrating my way into a community of playgroups and activities for little kiddies. I knew I wan't the only one.

Friday funnies

2009-01-23T10:24:00.002+01:00

This is funny, very argentine late 90's... darn cute if you understand Spanish.

A new princess

2009-01-22T12:16:00.002+01:00

Disney is coming out with a new princess movie, hand drawn, classic. I miss these so much. The Princess and the Frog is from the creators of The Little Mermaid - my favorite.

There seems to be a bit of controversy surrounding the movie. But I ignore the naysayers... there's some in every group, but nothing will dampen my giddy anticipation of a new real Disney movie!

Playing with others and fearful parents

2009-01-21T11:22:00.005+01:00

Lucas doesn't go to day care yet (and most likely won't until he's two or eight, depending on when I can handle it, ok?) He spends most of his time with us and his aunts, ie, people who adore the crap out of him and think he is the dog's kahunas.

We hang out regularly with our friend J and his mami. Lucas is older than J by a month. They stare and reach out to touch each other - most of the co-mothering that is required is keeping them from sticking fingers into eyes. When they occasionally reach for the same toy, whoever gets it does and the other doesn't seem to care much.

Yesterday we went over to my friend L's, or, I should say, to 3 year old M's house. Lucas was in awe. He is mesmerized by older kids. Plus, there were trucks! With plastic silver stuff! Plastic balls! Puzzles! Cars! Big trucks! And M jumping around. The little critter was taking it all in, amazed, easy, happy. M got a bit jealous, as was to be expected. He acted on this by taking everything away from Lucas, squishing his hands, pushing him down when he was crawling... None of this bothered Critter McG. Take the cube away? No worries, there's another one here, don't have a cow. Squish my hand? Pf! My mom is sitting right here, I'm ok. That was his attitude, so I didn't make a bigger deal than he did. Man, it was hard. I wanted to push M myself, and I could have, I'm bigger. It's going to be tough letting the bonchibón grow up and deal with things and navigate relationships. Is it really bad if I go with him everywhere? Forever? Or until he starts dating? We can go anywhere he wants.

White House kiddies

2009-01-20T10:59:00.002+01:00

The latest issue of Cookie magazine has a slideshow of First Children growing up in the White House.

The information they have on some of the Presidents' kids is very interesting. I am now on the look out for a biography on Tad Lincoln and Alice Roosevelt, who seemed to be the ones who raised hell the most. I like mischievous little rascals - mostly other people's.

One hand recipes: Rosemary Crouton Salad

2009-01-19T15:32:00.005+01:00

Easy, delish... lifesaver for when there is nothing for lunch!

Ingredients (serves two)

half a baguette
one or two sprigs of rosemary, leaves torn off and chopped
coarse sea salt
freshly ground pepper
head of lettuce/bag of ready made salad greens
a handful of sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
fresh mozzarella, torn to bite size pieces
leftover chicken, bite size / can of best quality tuna
2 hard boiled eggs
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp low fat mayonnaise

Tear the bread by hand into bite size pieces and place in an oven proof dish. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, season with coarse sea salt, pepper and rosemary. Mix well with hand, so that everything is nicely coated. Toast in the oven at 180ºC until golden. Let cool.
In a salad bowl, combine lettuce, sun dried tomatoes, chicken or tuna, and eggs. Add the croutons. Season with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and mayonnaise. Toss and serve.

Sleepy time stories: Cry it out babies

2009-01-16T09:12:00.002+01:00

The ever popular CIO sleeping method for babies was created by Dr. Richard Ferber. Essentially, it consists of "teaching" your baby (of normal weight, aprox 6 months old, no health problems or pains) how to sleep on his own. The magic consists on putting your awake baby in the crib and walking out of the room. He will cry. You let him cry it out for a few minutes, go in to reassure him (without picking him up). You leave. He cries. You wait for another set interval of time. Go in. Non cuddly reassurance. And so on until he passes out from crying. This means he has learned how to sleep on his own.

One of the ideas behind this is that if you comfort your child by picking him up and helping him calm down in the safety of your embrace you are actually rewarding his crying. Manipulative beasts that they are, babies will then fake distress and cry on purpose to get you to pick them up.

Ferber, though, in 2006 loosened up a little and amended his theory. Reading between the lines it seems, at least to me, that he isn't willing to backtrack on what he said and the eminence that he has become, but he is leaving parents a lot of wiggle room. His new bottom line is: you know your baby, what is right for him, what you need and what he needs. Figure it out, suckers. I know, he leaves us back at square one and the baby is still awake.

The Best Food Blogs

2009-01-15T13:52:00.006+01:00

These are my favorite food blogs, in no particular order:

1. Lucullian Delights. This blog is by a lady living in Tuscany, in some remote little house surrounded by a forest... she is a very good and generous photographer. Her recipes are elaborate and warm. The only negative thing is that she has too many posts per page and it gets hard to scroll down at your selected pace.

2. Smitten Kitchen. The pictures are clean and crisp; there is usually one main photo followed by the photographed steps to the recipes, so it is very didactic and pretty as hell. They update pretty much daily.

3. White on Rice Couple. They are this cooky couple who love to travel, cook, eat and take photographs. They developed a whole little community around their blog. Good recipes with an Asian twist a lot of the times.

4. Delicious Days. It's been said that this is "a blog so pretty you could eat it". It is lovely. These crazy Germans just came out with a book that I can't wait to get my little hands on. The down side is that they do not update regularly at all.

5. Blue Kitchen. Simple, doable recipes. Great for ideas and inspiration.

6. Evil Chef Mom. It's a mom AND food blog! Imagine that... Total family effort, her kids help her with the technical side of it, etc. Cute, and heavy on the baking.

7. Chaos in the Kitchen. Created by a mom who wanted to get back to things SHE liked. Again, the mere thought! Her recipes are nicely photographed, good inspiration. She is sensitive to these here economic times, and comes up with good food on a budget. Lovely.

8. Gluten Free Girl. This is a beautiful blog and, obviously, a wonderful treat for those who need to eat gluten free. The gluten free girl's husband is a chef and they have a daughter whom they called "little bean" when she was regnant with her! The GF girl also has a book. Since I'm a happy glutenful woman I can't say that I've perused this blog too much, but her recipes seem to appeal to everyone, so even if there is just one celiac family member, the whole household could be happy with these recipes (which is sort of her point.)

I keep loving Obama

2009-01-14T18:21:00.009+01:00

Parade magazine published a letter from Barack Obama addressed to his daughters. It moved me.

In it he tells his girls that he ran for president because of what he wanted for them and for every kid in the country:

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential—schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college—even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.

I hope he tries real hard.

About critter dining....

2009-01-13T11:55:00.004+01:00

We have a portable high chair that straps on to the table. We love it because it lets the critter be at the table with us, it doesn't take up a lot of room and it comes with us when eating out or at a friend's house.

We have the model with the rubberized arms strapping system from Prenatal. It is designed so that the arms fold flat for storage, which makes them tilt sideways when it's clasped onto the table. It is still safe and secure, and attached for dear life, but it makes me crazy. There are many of these out there: they either have the same problem (Chicco) or they look odd and metalicy (metoo). Which is why I am thrilled about the new lobster travel high chair (left) from phil & teds.

This chair holds kids up to 15 kg (same as the other ones), folds up compactly, has a machine washable seat, and best of all, because of the new clamping system does not have rubberized arms that will go annoyingly sideways at times. Looks like whenever critter two comes along he will be getting an upgrade...

Feeding the critter

2009-01-12T13:46:00.002+01:00

I make Lucas his food. We buy all organic, lovely produce and meats. It's important that he eat well; that is, until he discovers Cheetos and we start wondering why we ever shelled out billions for organic free range chicken in the first place.

Like every parenting book and website out there suggests I would make a bunch of food, store it in mini containers and pop it in the freezer to use in the oncoming days. No more! Critter McG does not like previously frozen food. He only eats freshly made food, which makes food shopping and cooking just that more time consuming.

Like a fool I used to throw everything in a pot of water and let it boil up together, then purée it with an immersion blender. No more! I started reading online that a lot of the essential vitamins and nutrients of food are lost in prolonged boiling. (Which makes sense.) So now I only boil the meat. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc, go in the oven with the skin on, other veg gets steamed... God, how much time do I spend on critter food?!? Well, a lot. At least he eats it happily. It would be another story if most of it ended up on the floor or something.

These are two good websites for baby food ideas, tips, recipes, etc:

http://www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/babymenua.htm

It will make you happy

2009-01-09T11:31:00.002+01:00

You and me at 8 months

2009-01-08T21:30:00.002+01:00

When the critter was about 2 months old he loved to look up at trees. We thought it was so sweet -poetic even. His friend J, who is a month younger, got into the tree thing exactly one month after Lucas. His mom and I were both quietly disappointed. It's a phase, after all, not the whimsical predilection of our tree-hugging babies. Oh well.

Now at eight months Lucas is doing a myriad of things which I'm sure many babies have done before to the utter wonderment of their first time parents. He just started babbling (ok, so he's behind... lay off me!), he takes steps with assistance, he can pick up small tiny objects and many other fantastic things.

These are some of the things M. le Bonchibón enjoys doing - this is where he's at:

1. He's a champion all-star peek-a-booer. He even initiates the game.

2. Books with flaps. They will probably not last forever because Hercules here goes wild once in a while, but he can get his little fingers to poke those flaps open every time.

3. Critter McG loves loves loves (almost as much as I like saying things in triplicate, you know, for emphasis) games where he does something to us, such as touching Wynn's toes and making him laugh and giggle, or pulling on my hair, making my head drop forcefully (which seemed like a good idea at the time.)

4. The Bonchibón experiments with every cup, bowl and pot that crosses his way: he talks (fine, grunts) into them. The small echo is wonderful. (We do it too - it is pretty exciting).

5. He very recently started touching himself, exploring. Every chance he gets. (How long till we stop thinking this is adorable?)

6. Zippers rock. Anyone wearing something with zippers is a friend.

7. Putting things over his head (or as far as his little arms will allow) makes him very, very proud.

One hand recipes: avocado and bell pepper tosta

2009-01-07T08:22:00.002+01:00

These tostas are quick and interestingly delicious. For those days when it's too complicated to come up with anything that involves ovens or burners, we have them as a quick lunch with a side salad.

Ingredients:
extra virgin olive oil
1 ripe avocado
1 roasted red bell pepper, cut in strips
1/2 ciabatta bread, cut in half and cut lengthwise

Lightly toast the bread. Drizzle with olive oil. Spoon half of the avocado onto each piece of bread and spread with a fork. Lay the roasted red bell pepper strips over each one. Serve with a side of green salad.

Beautiful. Sad.

2009-01-06T18:37:00.003+01:00

Shaun Tan's The Red Tree is amazingly beautiful and painfully sad. It is sad in a deep, lonely, adolescent way that I can still relate to, because I remember being misunderstood and blue.

Tan is an award winning artist and author, which leaves me in complete awe that one person can write so poignantly and create such interesting, powerful pictures.

This book is probably not targeted to my eight month old little monster (it says Grade 3 and up, but they have no idea how advanced Lucas is). Wynn prefers not to read it to him because he thinks it's too sad. Lucas likes the pictures - they have an intense depth of color that is very attractive. And I like to read it with him, in the hope that when he reaches his own adolescence I will remember that sometimes "the world is a deaf machine," but if you give it a little time, there might just be "right in front of you/ bright and vivid" something good.

Wooden toys and more

2009-01-03T18:28:00.005+01:00

German toy company Haba creates sustainable wooden toys using primarily indigenous maple and beech wood combined with ecological adhesives and non-toxic, water-based lacquers.

Not that Lucas isn't an environmentally conscious young man, committed to playing with non-toxic and stimulating toys, but mostly he likes the bright colors and funny shapes - and that we will let him suck on them to his little heart's content.

These toys are great, reminiscent of old school wooden toy making. When they move the wood clicks so nicely, solid, nostalgically.

Haba also makes fabric toys, books, room decorations, crazy cool building blocks, etc. Really they make everything!

It's no sippy cup

2009-01-02T10:46:00.000+01:00

Stefanie Wilder-Taylor's book on life with a toddler is fun but not hilarious. Her sippy cup book was fresh and new, and now the same view is older, less humorous - probably because we're expecting it. Naptime might be a more fun read for those new to Stefanie's sense of humor and lovingly unapologetic "decidedly lazier parenting style".

We still have things in common:

"It just seems like so many toys that are attractive to youngsters have a lot of little parts. I don't know what you can possibly do about it, short of putting orange cones all over the place to indicate a danger zone, or... vaccuming. But that seems a bit extreme."

I agree! Really, I do - just come to over my house and see for yourself. Or ask my son, who picks up lint with his refined little fingers. I choose to ignore the diss on my housekeeping prowess and be proud of his excellent fine motility.

All in all the book is an acceptable read but lacking enough new material or insight to make it seem like a rehash of the first book. If you're a die hard fan it's worth a read, but I definitelly recomend the first one to anyone unfamiliar with her work.

The book ends with Stafanie annoucing that she is having twin girls. Her blog takes up from there.

Teething remedy

2008-12-31T18:34:00.004+01:00

The little critter has been teething. Mostly he's a bit clingy, sleeps more than usual, is a bit whiny... but at times it seems like it really hurts him. We rub his gums and give him one of those teething thingamegigs that you cool in the fridge, but he throws it to the side pretty quick. My sister suggested that we try with an ice cube. We wrapped a single ice cube in a nice thick cloth napkin and Lucas sucked on it for a while. It seemed to help him a lot. He used it for longer than he ever has the teething bee thing we got at the pharmacy, and when he was done bye bye ice cube before it became a melted mess. Happy family.

10 things I learned this year

2008-12-30T21:20:00.006+01:00

1. Pain sucks. It can make you see deep darkness and obliterate everything else.
2. I like epidurals.
3. A husband, a good husband, can get so much more intensely close and intimate and caring than I could have ever imagined. Thankfully, this good husband will pretend to forget and never again mention unladylike behavior prior to or immediately following birth.
4. There is an encompassing ofcoursity about having a baby. Once our little baby got here I could not imagine having existed in a world that didn't have him. And I wonder what I did, really, with the many minutes in a day. And I don't marvel at how many times I can repeat any one action, say wiping spit up or changing nappies.
5. Yet, yet, yet, when 6 months later I ventured out with Wynn, all dolled up (or wearing lip gloss, which is not the same but equal to) we left our cell phones on the table but didn't realize there was no reception until we got up to leave. And during dinner we pretty much almost even forgot we had a baby. It didn't feel evil. Or sane.
6. I appreciate help. I would remember about me a lot less without help from the aunts.
7. Sleep is not as important as I once thought. Me, the girl who napped away the last two months of pregnancy, can happily live with a few hours here and there per night. I exaggerate, of course. But I've adapted.
8. Breast pumps are stupid.
9. I could look at pictures of people's babies all day. I am just that kind of girl. And now that I have my own it seems less creepy. And that is why I like Facebook.
10. The word "and" is very useful and pretty, especially when you write a blog.

Lazy Christmas Panchu

2008-12-22T17:12:00.003+01:00

My family is in town for the holidays, Wynn is home but sick and the critter is his critterful self.

I'm going to be very vagrant and not post for a bit.

Happy holidays! Stay warm and happy.

Poetry on Friday

2008-12-19T12:48:00.002+01:00

I used to write poems, but I haven't been able to do it in a long time. A friend of mine who paints thought pregnancy was such an inspiring time. I didn't find that...

Anyway!

Here is a little poem I wrote a while ago.

Sparrows

I walk up the stairs
to my sister’s room.

On the landing
after counting
the seventeen steps
that leave me out of breath
I think I see her face

reflected on the wall
between the two oblong windows
that shattered that day
when she jumped out of bed
wanting to be someone
(not her).

I call to the sparrows
that came for her
as she lay on the grass
blood emptying slowly
until the grass had drank
all of her.

In globs,
the birds collected her in their beaks
and mounted the air
to take her away
from me,
still on the landing
screeching for them
to leave a fingernail
that I will wear on a pendant
hanging from my neck.

For when they drive you batty

2008-12-18T18:50:00.005+01:00

I am incredibly lucky that I get to stay home with the critter. It's crazy fun and lovely. I pee with the door open, type with one hand and shower when I can, which is all good.

Sometimes, though, I wish I had a minute that was all minemineminemine. It happens now and again that you've read every book, done independent playing, crawled on the floor, played peek a boo, sucked on a puzzle, sang, danced, played the drum and you are just about ready to walk out the door.

These are some of my little tricks for when Lucas needs me but I need me more, ie, things we can do together while my mind wanders off to singlehood:

1. Go for a walk. We both people watch and go far in our heads.
2. Look out the window. It's his new thing. And we both find it weirdly entertaining.
3. Call a friend. I can talk and the phone and walk about with the critter perched on my hip. He puts up with this for long stretches of time.
4. Give the the bonchibón a bath. A warm bath and his ducky - that's all he needs. (It's not like I leave him in there while I go have a smoke! I just check out in my mind.)
5. Look through one of your picture books. I bring out my Jamie Olivers and tell Lucas about the recipes I'm going to try out later. I love my cook books and he loves being able to play with the things that interest us (I really think that's whey little babies are always reaching for cell phones and TV remotes... those our our toys, they figure if they're fun for us, they must be a blast!)

Nursing and exercise

2008-12-17T08:59:00.003+01:00

I'm very happy that I'm still nursing 7 and a half month old Lucas. I look at him and see how big and fun and interested in the world he is - we're amazed at his brilliant 7 month old self. The one thing I hate about him getting older is that the excuses for what has become of my body are getting fainter.

I was even a little bit proud of my post pregnancy pouch the first few months. I'd just had a baby, my body had gone through pain, stretching, cutting and stitching. It was like a merit badge accompanying the little baby.

7 months later, there is just no excuse. It's OK, I just had a baby. Oh, congratulations! How old is he. Almost 5. Yeah well you look great.

Nursing does help with some of the weight. If only I could keep my greedy little hands away from cookies... To give the body a little help I recently got back into the gym. Also, it is such amazing me time! I always come back re-energized and so much more eager to take on everything.

I was concerned it would affect my milk supply. La Liga de la Leche has a few guidelines for nursing moms who exercise, as well as related bibliography. Breastfeeding123.com has an encouraging little article too. Bottom line is: go for it. It shouldn't affect your milk supply, as long as you rehidrate etc. My ob-gyn was a little more cautious. She believes that exercise and milk supply and inversly proportional. She just said, go with caution. I don't do anything that involves a lot of jumping because the girls are big, and I don't want a sports bra to confine them too much. I am also staying away from heavy dumbells. My milk supply hasn't changed, and I'm slowly but surely getting there. And I stopped buying cookies.

Learn as you go: the deal with onesies

2008-12-16T11:23:00.005+01:00

Some things are so obvious it would have been helpful to have had them explained. Maybe with graphics. Before Critter McG was born I washed and folded piles of teeny tiny onesies that he went through so quick I was back to washing and folding sooner than I thought.

The only kind we used for the first three months were the ones that buttoned all the way down. When they're really tiny babies freak out if anything goes over their heads. Plus, you're still learning to move him without separating limbs, so a button down onesie can be tucked under the baby and you can roll him gently to get the other arm in. Works beautifully.

Until he learns to roll over. Then forget anything that has more than the three necessary buttons on the bottom. Dressing should be as quick as possible and if you can do it with the baby on your lap, even upside down, all the better.

Lipstick fertility

2008-12-15T09:17:00.003+01:00

Oh, Nico, what odd TV fertility drugs are you on? So sorry about the many daily shots... bummer - outside the jungle it's a shot a day.

Still. Love it. And not only because my faves from Las Vegas joined up. As a side bar, Vanessa Marcil should have been Eva Longoria before Eva Longoria. Her manager messed up.

I have to watch Pretty in Pink now.

A Panchu's Christmas wish list

2008-12-12T11:39:00.008+01:00

Fellow parent bloggers everywhere are making their lists to give us ideas and hints to their spouses. Theirs are better, so check out Smart Ass Mom, Rhea at The Cocktail Cafe, Busy Dad and Mr. Lady for lists that might actually inspire you.

Here are my top 5:

1. A one hour massage
2. The flavour shaker
3. Lorelai's Marc Jacobs purse from Season 4
4. My North Face Triple C jacket repaired (stupid bad washing instructions)
5. I really want the purse

Sleepy time stories: Contented little babies

2008-12-11T10:50:00.001+01:00

Gina Ford is Britain's baby guru. Her cornerstone book, The New Contented Little Baby Book: the Secret to Calm and Confident Parenting, holds the secret: the CLB routines. The book goes into careful detail about routines appropriate for each stage of the baby's life. Everything is stipulated in the routine: the baby's sleeping, eating, bath, playtime and cuddle time. Don't worry, your sleeping, eating, bath, playtime and cuddle time is scheduled in as well.

Above all, stick to the routine - unless you have to pee outside of the stipulated potty break, in which case all hell will break lose.

It's 7 am, time for baby's first feeding of the day. Critter's asleep? Wake that darn baby!

Seriously.

His nap time slot has come and gone and still no sleeping? Well, you better keep him awake now until the next appropriate sleeping time.

If baby falls asleep while nursing before bedtime, wake him so he goes awake to his crib. "When cuddling him during the wind-down time, do not talk and avoid eye contact" (because he will feel safe in your love and warmth) "as it can overstimulate him and result in him becoming overtired and not settling". And, of course, baby needs to learn to fall asleep by himself in his crib, so there is a "crying-down" period.

The thing is, I'm sure this works. How could it not? The baby's needs are all met before they even arise. If not, just wait until the next carefully selected time interval.

Even if I didn't cringe at her suggestions, most days I'm organized enough to shower and change into clothes that somewhat match by noon, so I don't think the CLB routines would work with us. The CLB routines are "created to meet the natural sleep and feeding needs " of babies. Couldn't I just take cues straight from my baby? I'm sure he's aware of a baby's natural needs.

Reading the classics

2008-12-10T09:25:00.004+01:00

The critter's relationship to books has changed drastically in the last month or so. Although he still enjoys a good book to suck on, he has moved on from pulling them off the shelves to sitting down for a good read.

His all-time favorite (right now) is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?. I do funny voices for the animals, my sisters read it more sing-song-y, and Wynn reads it in sing-song-y funny voices: Lucas accepts all interpretations. He sits on the reader's lap, listening and looking at the book, glancing up at you every once in a while. The purple cat always makes Critter McG smile up at me - it's my favorite too.

The child of two comp lit students, Lucas has clear opinions on books. Right now, he thinks The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a hyped up cult classic with no real poetic value. Wynn still remembers what the caterpillar ate each day of the week, so we will give Lucas some time and try again. After all, some books really do require the reader to have a certain life experience to fully grasp and enjoy the work. I found that to be true of Don Quijote, for example.

Cybex i.GO

2008-12-09T11:34:00.008+01:00

I was very excited to try this carrier. At first glance the Cybex i.GO baby and infant carrier looks like the perfect love child of the Ergo and the Björn. With Björn's sleek looks and Ergo's ergonomic design Cybex was bound to have parents around the world falling hard. Eh, no.

It looks sleek and chic, but there are so many straps and velcros, and straps under velcros inside lining, that it feels more like a straight jacket than a baby carrier. Try as they might, the baby still dangles from her crotch when facing out. The lumbar support is pretty good, but the shoulder straps are not padded enough and it hurts. You need to put the Cybex on and then wiggle your baby in through the very narrow top.

The Cybex also works as an infant carrier, where the baby lies on his back facing upwards at 90 degrees from you, as if you were a cigarette girl from the 20's. His legs dangle off unsupported. It's not very cozy, and definitely not convenient for nursing. Although it is pretty comfortable to bottle-feed the teeny babies while in the Cybex, which is a nice change from other infant carriers.

Although modeled by beautiful people (seriously, google the summer ads - I'd get it just on the off chance my hip bones might look like that woman's), the Cybex is not ideal babywearing material.

Messy messy messy

2008-12-05T10:35:00.006+01:00

The house is in shambles; but the critter's happy, it's a three day weekend and I went to the gym.

One hand recipes: chicken fajitas

2008-12-03T19:06:00.015+01:00

These fajitas are pretty quick. The splash of lime juice at the end is wonderful and takes me back to caipirinhas and Brazil and those years when we were tan and thin and drunk.

Ingredients (serves 2 hungry people):

1 onion, thinly sliced

half a red, green and yellow bell peppers, thinly sliced (any color will do really)

2 chicken breasts, butterflied, thinly sliced

seasoning: salt, pepper, oregano

1 tbsp olive oil

mayonnaise

tortilla wraps

leftover brown rice (if you don't have it already, it might be worth making a bit)

1 lime

Over high heat, add olive oil to the pan. Add onion and wait until it softens but is still translucent. Add bell peppers and chicken. Season. Turn heat down to moderate/high and cook until chicken is done. Remove from heat and squeeze the juice of one lime over it. Spread mayonnaise on the tortillas, top with the room temperature rice and the chicken and veg. Serve.

Sleepy time stories: the Panchu house way

2008-12-03T11:37:00.007+01:00

There is no shortage of theories, books and experts on sleep. I'm going to try to go through some of them here, in the hope of posting even a word that might be a kernel of hope to parents of sleepless crying babies everywhere.

As an introduction to the topic I'll share with you (Wynn, my sister and PanchuMom reader Laurel... my audience just keeps getting larger and larger!) how we put Lucas to sleep.

We don't have a set sleeping schedule for him, we only put him to sleep when he's sleepy - he starts complaining and swatting his ear. We take him to our bed and either Wynn or I lie sideways facing him. We put our arms around him until he falls asleep. Sometimes Lucas will struggle a bit and get up. We let him do that a couple of times and lie him down again. If he seems to still have too much energy for sleeping we put him in his crib to bop about until he accepts he's sleepy. Then back to the bed. Usually by this point he'll be asleep before his head hits the bed. We give him a few minutes and then we transfer him to his crib.

So far this has worked. We're lucky that he doesn't wake up when we move him to the crib asleep. This is the "method" that works for us right now. Who knows, in two weeks it might need revising.

Crazy toys for little our peeps

2008-12-02T10:26:00.002+01:00

Belgian toy company Lilliputiens makes toys of fabric. They use bright bold colors for toys that feature animals, dolls, imaginary creatures and games.

We got the Cauliflower activity module on the left for Lucas. He went nuts for it! The fabrics are soft or ridged, some of them are crinkly. There are hoops, things that stick out and funny bugs that slide or vibrate.

The Lilliputiens present varied tactile and visual stimulation for the little ones. They are crazy fun and appropriately not cheap.

Open letter to Owen Maclaren

2008-12-01T13:30:00.002+01:00

Dear Owen,

Let me start by saying good job with the strollers. They are a big hit!

I just want to tell you a few things I think would make them even better.

First of all, that basket is not amazingly useful. It is pretty darn hard to get to it. (If the backrest is reclined, then make that impossible). I can store things, but I cannot retrieve them.

I was going to complain about the foot brake, about how it's not practical at all to have to push the lever to the side to get the back wheels in the security lock position, but I see you are one step ahead! One of the exciting new features of the 2008 edition is the central foot brake. Looking forward to trying that out.

Maybe next time you can see about making the ride a teeny tiny bit smoother for the kiddies? Non-plastic wheels, or better suspension... let's brainstorm, because that would really put these strollers over the top. Forget fancy Silver Cross, the smooth ride is the main thing they have on you - so there. While we're on the wheels - they get the hood dirty every time I fold up the stroller. What's up with that?

Your stroller is indeed very lightweight, which is great. Except I usually throw my coat over the back, I hang my purse on it (etc), then when I get Critter McG (that's my son) out, the whole thing topples over backwards, which is not great.

The one hand fold is lovely and the ergonomically angled handle bars were a terrific idea.

Thank you for our many happy trails.

Sincerely,

Cheli (aka PanchuMom)

Home made toys: color in a bottle

2008-11-28T10:32:00.003+01:00

Lucas has a fascination with water bottles. He is drawn to them because he sees us drinking and wants to put his mouth on them too. He also likes making the water swish back and forth inside.

We saved one of the thicker plastic ones, filled it up about half way and threw a few sequins of different colors inside.

Bottle and water and colors galore!

Keeping in touch like it's 2008

2008-11-27T09:06:00.003+01:00

Friends and family who live far away want to see the baby. And I want to show off his new tooth, how he stands, the way he laughs. Thanks to Skype we have been able to talk and use video for free for some time now. Still, trying to talk the grandparents through installing it can take some time. Slate has an installation guide for Skype that the uninitiated can follow.

Gmail voice and video essentially works the same way. I prefer it since it seems like less of a commitment: no need to open up a different program to see who's online to have a quick little video conf. The installation process is pretty self explanatory - but I'm still waiting for my mother to catch on.

Feeding time at the zoo

2008-11-26T10:58:00.004+01:00

Feeding the monkeys and pandas might be neater that what goes down at our house during meals.

We let Lucas feed himself. He loves it, and he gets about 85% of the food in his mouth. We move things along with a long handle spoon, getting a few mouthfuls in there. This also works well for us, giving us free hands to eat ourselves.

Lilsugar posted research that shows that letting babies feed themselves develops hand eye coordination and works towards a developing a healthy relationship with food.

Lunchtime becomes a happy event for everyone, albeit insanely messy. But that can be cleaned up... over time.

5 things worth a trip to Ikea

2008-11-25T12:54:00.006+01:00

Once you step inside Ikea you buy more than you intended and spend a lot more time you thought you would. That's the magic these Swedes developed.

Here are five useful and inexpensive things:

1. Set of colorful bowls, ideal for your kiddy's first meals (unless you're off plastic).

2. Beautiful, fun, quilt covers (unless you don't do comforters. This is turning out to be a very controversial list).

3. Baby proofing. They have almost everything you need (I'm sure we're all into baby proofing).

4. Big plastic storage box for the toys astray your living room floor.

5. The Ikea body lotion, shampoo and toothpaste smell lovely and get the job done.

Good luck navigating the kitchen utensil section... that's how they always get you!

Guilty pleasure read

2008-11-24T16:04:00.009+01:00

Stefanie Wilder-Taylor used to write for Whose Line is it Anyway; then she had a kid and wrote Sippy Cups are not for Chardonnay.

As far as parenting books go, this isn't one of the most informational. OK, it has no useful information. As a parent I disagree with most of the things she feels passionately about: I like my Bugaboo, I don't think nursing "hurts like a rhesus monkey biting your nipples" and I am looking forward to throwing my son a rocking first birthday party.

The book talks about motherhood with honesty and humor. Sadly, my husband has also had to come up with an answer to "Does it bother you that I haven't waxed in eighteen months?"

To Stefanie's credit, though, I didn't feel like she was admonishing or shaming me for how I raise my child, which automatically awards her the "Most Respectful Baby Book" award. Sippy Cups, with its simple and neat narrative style, is funny and embarrasingly relatable.

Happy weekend

2008-11-21T11:54:00.006+01:00

Happy weekend everyone! (Meaning husband Wynn, only PanchuMom reader for now). Very much looking forward to quality time with my boys and an occasional me-time, ie, a shower longer than 3 minutes... I might even do a hair mask, and that takes about 10 minutes.

One hand recipes: Pasta with portobellos, ham and peas

2008-11-20T13:37:00.005+01:00

One hand recipes are my attempt at cooking food that doesn't come frozen in a box while looking after a very mobile little attention hog. In an ideal world, they would be cooked with one hand, while the other dangles rattles, emails and has a relaxed conversation with my husband.

For now, I am content with ideas for meals that require the least amount of time and effort, and where some of the ingredients can be prepared (chopped, stir fried, etc) ahead of time, ie during baby naps.

Ingredients, serves two people:

Whole wheat pasta (bowties, ziti or the like)

1/3 cup ham, cut into small squares

2/3 cup portobello mushrooms, chopped

1/3 cup frozen peas

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp olive oil

a handful of grated parmesan

a few twigs of fresh thyme (dry works as well)

seasonings: salt, pepper, oregano, nutmeg

Prepare pasta as per package instructions. While pasta cooks, add olive oil to a pan. When it's warm, add the mushrooms. Cook until they are tender. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and thyme. Add the ham. Drain the pasta, reserving a tiny bit of the cooking liquid. Add pasta to the ingredients in the pan. Add the cream and the peas. Stir until everything is creamy. Add parmesan cheese and serve.

Homemade Toys: Crinkly Socks

2008-11-19T16:05:00.003+01:00

My six month old critter is interested in everything. He wants to touch and suck on everything around him. Once he becomes familiar with an object, once he has learned about it and it no longer presents the most stimulation for his little developing mind, he is ready to move on.

It's very exciting to watch him as he goes around learning, but it makes the toy situation bizarre for us. Lucas will really be into something, then two days later, not have time in his schedule for it. Many overpriced toys later we are starting to invent everything and anything for him to play with. Our latest invention? A colorful sock with one of those really noise crinkly plastic bags inside. Another option would be putting cellophane inside the sock. Sow up the top, and voilà! A colorful, noisy, soft toy that will keep him happy for another few minutes while I finish this post.

Nursing pads

2008-11-18T09:46:00.010+01:00

Nursing for many months is both wonderful (for those who like it) and riddled with varied little inconveniences. For instance, the need to constantly wear nursing pads: solution and new problem. Problem - the outer plastic layer of the disposable pads doesn't let nipples breath enough, which can lead to the dreaded cracked and sore nipples. Enter the solution - the washable nursing pads.

Medela makes lovely cotton pads. Cotton breathes. I've been using pads for several months and they work pretty well; they need to be changed as often as the disposable ones. The pads come with a useful little mesh bag for the washing machine. Plus, it's environmentally friendly I guess.

Little lamb had a garden

2008-11-16T18:10:00.009+01:00

Mandana Sadat is an Iranian illustrator and writer. Her book The Garden of Babai has been published in Spanish, Italian and French editions, all of them with the text in Persian on the opposite page (unfortunately, it has not yet been published in English).

This book tells the story of Babaï, a lonely little lamb who decides to grow a garden, inviting all sorts of wildlife to his plot of land. This finally becomes the drawing of a beautiful tapestry.

The Babaï book is not a board book, so it has now graduated to the taller shelves, out of reach of Lucas's hands (and sucking). At around four months, before he was so dexterous with his chubby little fingers, we used to read it a lot. He loved it because the book is comprised of one plain page with only text on it, but upon turning it, the next is full of color and drawings. The pictures are in very rich earthy tones, with deep burgundy reds and clean lines, which really caught Lucas's attention. He would get very excited when we turned to the page and he saw the animals, in colors so intense they seem to have texture.

Madana Sadat has written and illustrated Mi León, edited in Spanish and the original French versions. She has also illustrated Jorge Elías's Winter Afternoon, which can be found in a bilingual English/Spanish edition.

Little feet

2008-11-14T09:47:00.010+01:00

For our baby shower my mother in law gave us a pair of Robeez. At the time I said, "great, thanks", and threw them in the box of things that seemed so big my child wouldn't need them for a long time. Six months later, we are loving the Robeez and can't imagine life without them (as seems to be the case with every valuable baby product).

Lucas isn't walking yet, but he grabs on to things and pulls himself up. At first, brilliant as I am, I had him just in socks. Since he slipped I spent hours a day holding my arms like a net, just in cases (Love Actually fans?). Robeez were designed to let moms and dads relax their arms.

They are made of soft leather, which prevents slipping and makes them soft and comfortable enough for the little kids to feel like they're just wearing another type of sock instead of harder and uncomfortable shoes. The elastic around the ankle makes my life easier since they slip on nicely, and, unlike most socks, don't slip off the first time Lucas cricket-style rubs his legs.

There are warmer weather models and shoes for more seriously walking rugrats. Robeez are everywhere, they even have them at babyGap (for a few pennies more).

Hangover notes, ie, emotion coaching

2008-11-13T15:15:00.006+01:00

My wild night yesterday was actually a lecture on emotion coaching for parents. Every time the professor addressed "parents" I wanted to raise my hand "me, me, me, I have a baby, I'm a parent!". The novelty has not yet worn off.

The lecturer began by delineating what "emotion" refers to. An emotion is basically something we feel as a product of our interpretation of reality. Emotions inform us of the world around us, they help us evaluate and understand it, and they prepare us for acting in the world.

As a parent, it is our role to help children learn how to understand, interpret and cope with their emotions. This is called emotion coaching in John Gottman's Raising and Emotional Intilligent Child. Gottman's book is a pleasurable and informative read. It has anecdotal examples that help clarify his outline for helping children develop their emotional individuality.

The four steps of emotion coaching are:
1. Become aware of the emotion.
2. Recognize the emotion, name it and recognize its intensity.
3. Investigate the origin of the emotion, why it's there, what caused it.
4. Brainstorm possible solutions/plans of action . Select best one.

The lecturer did a lovely job of explaining the parent's role in helping children through these stages. Gottman's book does a remarkable job as well.

Mom gone wild

2008-11-12T10:54:00.006+01:00

I am going out tonight. Wynn is staying with Lucas. They will handle dinner, bath and sleeping all by themselves.

"Ooh, freedom! Thank you, sweetheart."

"Wait, are you sure, should we do this?"

I say both things at the same time.

Wynn is encouraging and insistent.

Can you relate?

2008-11-10T21:58:00.005+01:00

Somewhere between the loss of personal space and ownership of your time you learn to laugh.

Diary of an unedited mum

2008-11-10T12:43:00.011+01:00

Jools Oliver's book, Minus Nine to One: Diary of an Honest Mum, leaves a lot to be desired. Unless you love the Olivers, exclamation points and emails.

The book narrates Jools and Jamie's journey from trying to conceive their first child, getting pregnant with their second daughter and throughout the older kid's first year.

Jools could have used a more opinionated editor. The book reads like a (long) email. She has a fondness for exclamation points! When she can't conjure up the words to describe a situation she tries to resolve it by adding emphasis. This surely gets her point across better than words would!

As with everything Jamie Oliver, the book includes beautiful photographs, only here it's less about the food and more about their family. Although... there is a photo that bothered me. It is meant to be of Jools and Jamie having dinner on the night they inadvertedly conceived their second child. Why would they invite a photographer to dinner the night they had sex for the first time postpartum? Ours was a lot more casual, intimate and careful.

This book does not contain any useful information for pregnant moms looking to benefit from someone else's experience; nor is it a particularly enjoyable read. Then why did I read it start to finish in two days? I actually am obsessed with everything Jamie Oliver, and I am a sucker for nice pictures, especially when they offer an inside look into someone's family life. So while this book is not particularly informational or well written, it is sure to please the voyeur in all of us.

I love the Ergo too

2008-11-07T12:24:00.011+01:00

Every blog out there raves about the ERGObaby.

I bought it.

My life is a before and after.

The ERGObaby carrier’s ergonomic design supports a correct sitting position for the baby’s hip, pelvis and spine growth. It disperses most of the baby’s weight between the hips and thighs and helps prevent compression of the spine. The ERGObaby carrier also alleviates physical stress for the parent by balancing the baby’s weight to parents’ hips and shoulders. It has three carrying positions: front (baby facing in), hip and back (for older babies and toddlers).

We had the BabyBjörn before this (comparison chart here). I was carrying 3 and a half month old Lucas in the BabyBjörn around the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid and (very infomercial), thought to myself "there has to be a better way!" My shoulders hurt so much I felt I could relate to the weeping mother in the Guernica. (I shouldn't even say this, the pain conveyed by that mother is so unbearably profound.) Yet, you get my point. After a lot of research, we decided on the Ergo. I laughed at the demonstration video made by an Ergo fan (until I realized she was selling it on her website). Mocking aside, it convinced me.

When we first received it Lucas was still a bit young for it (we probably should have used the infant insert). He could sit in it, but his legs weren't long enough for his knees to reach the edge, so he was a bit uncomfortable. Now he loves it. We love carrying him in it too. The hip support is amazing, the shoulder pads are very well padded. We can carry Lucas around for long periods of time without being in pain. Putting it on is easy - for me. Wynn needs help, since he isn't flexible enough to strap the shoulder bands together by himself. We have yet to try it with a newborn baby (we used a sling) so I can't comment on it as an infant carrier. But for anyone hoping to comfortably and happily carry a heavier baby, the Ergo is amazing. At first I though Lucas would mind not being able to look out, as he could with the BabyBjörn, but he seems perfectly happy to turn his head and look. Granted, he is a cuddly little kid... but so are we.

What's Spanish for MYOB?

2008-11-06T11:01:00.013+01:00

Living in Spain and having a small child make you come in contact with a respected and well established institution: the old woman. She is a grandmother many times over who knows things. Among them, how to raise your child. She sees you on the street and tells you if your baby is too warm, and how can you even think of bringing him outdoors in this weather, it is not good for him, such a pity that he should have to be out. In winter and fall, she points out that only idiots bring babies out of the house, you should at least put a hat on him. Think you can politely ask her to mind her own business? Be ready for a drawn out conversation (other people around might weigh in).

They can also tell you if your kid is hungry, spoiled (you hold him too much) or in a bad mood. They will work out the nursing vs formula feeding conundrum for you, but they need to see you doing either of the two to bring it up - they don't get all up in your grill out of the blue, for crying out loud, how much can you expect from these women?

Obama and my son

2008-11-05T11:00:00.012+01:00

Two people that made me very happy.

Lately, Lucas has been waking up at about 2 or 3 in the morning and staying up for about an hour. He is actually sleepy when this happens, but for some reason instead of falling back asleep he rolls around, sits up, falls back very groggy... during all this fun, I try to remember that he really is such a great kid and will eventually fall back asleep, and my husband is not sleeping out of calculated revenge but because he has to get up in a few hours to go to work, and if I were to wake him he would come and hang out with me and we would wonder together why some of us would think it was not the right time for sleeping. But not last night!

And in new mom lingo, "slept through the night" means he only woke up to nurse (twice) and fell right back to sleep. This was my first source of happiness this morning.

The other was when Wynn whispered (not to wake the still sleeping critter) that Obama had been elected. Best morning ever! This is looking to be a very good day.

Infant Massage

2008-11-04T15:52:00.014+01:00

When Lucas was a month old we started going to an Infant Massage class. If anything, it was a treat to have something scheduled twice a week, to see other moms and babies, and to have a trained coach for our many new mom questions.

Seriously, though, we both loved the class. Lucas really got into it. To this day, he thinks getting his legs massaged is one of the funniest things that could happen.

Our massage teacher is of the Vimala McClure school. Besides teaching us the massage technique, she taught us about the philosophy behind it, which, in a nutshell, centers on respecting your baby and learning how to listen to him.

Vimala McClure's book explains the massage technique, complete with illustrations, and gently encourages the reader to build trusting and loving relationship with his baby. Of all the parenting books, it is one of the most respectful, ie, it details a parenting philosophy without threatening dissenters with unhappy children, problematic childhoods, maladjustment, family discord, unearthly juvenile horrors and dreadful adulthood- and, oh, yes, guilt.

At first, I gave Lucas a massage daily. Now, between the cold weather and Lucas twisting and crawling it happens less frequently. I feel guilty because it really is so good for him; and that because of my laziness we are both missing out. And then I give him a massage, and although it is not as complete as they were when he was littler and less mobile, I am always surprised and so happy to see how much he enjoys it. He still laughs when I massage his legs; he looks up at me and smiles, relaxed, enjoying.

Beyond Maisy

2008-11-03T10:32:00.010+01:00

Brilliant children's book writer and illustrator Lucy Cousins, of Maisy fame, created Hooray for Fish!. Lucas and I are having a lot of fun with this book. The illustrations follow the classic Maisy lines and colors, which are always so luminous and happy. Little Fish introduces us to all his fishy friends.

This book reads like a lively little poem, and the fish almost beg you to call on them in funny voices. I have an image of Lucy Cousins surrounded in her studio with a hundred drawings of fish, bright and funny, choosing her favorites, inviting them to the book. Lucas enjoys the colors and the rythm as I read. Later, while I struggle with his twisting shenanigans on the changing table I find myself recalling "curly whirly, twisty twirtly". We smile.

I will try this out

2008-11-02T21:35:00.003+01:00

Hello my new little blog that Wynn set up for me. This might be fun! I'm excited. I'm also hungry. And I yelled at Wynn for not finding the cheese (men never find things - it bothers me). But now I have egg wraps (with cheese) in front of me. I will eat. I will play with my pretty new blog later.

Hello World!!!!

2008-11-02T15:44:00.003+01:00

Here's the first PanchuMom test-post.

Rubber duckies and plenty more to come!

Making baby food

2008-01-12T12:04:00.000+01:00

You and me at 8 months

2008-01-08T10:05:00.003+01:00

When the critter was about 2 months old he loved to look up at trees. We thought it was so sweet -poetic even. Hi friend J, who is a month younger, got into the tree thing exactly one month after Lucas. His mom and I were both quietly disappointed. It's a phase, after all, not the whimsical predilection of our tree-hugging babies. Oh well.

These are some of the things M. le Bonchibón enjoys doing - this is where he's at:

1. He's a champion all-star peek-a-booer. He even initiates the game.

2. Books with flaps. They will probably not last forever because Hercules here goes wild once in a while, but he can get his little fingers to poke those flaps open every time.

4. The Bonchibón experiments with every cup, bowl and pot that crosses his way: he talks (fine, grunts) into them. The small echo is wonderful. (We do it too - it is pretty exciting).

5. He very recently started touching himself, experimenting. Every chance he gets. (How long till we stop thinking this is adorable?)

6. Zippers rock. Anyone wearing something with zippers is a friend.

7. Putting things over his head (or as far as his little arms will allow) makes him very, very proud.