verdemama — green around the edges

Separation Anxiety

by verdemama on February 24, 2010

Saturday night the husband and I went out on a real live date (!), leaving Orion with his babysitter, Julia. The usual plan is for her to come over around 8pm after he’s sound asleep, we go on our merry way, and he’s none the wiser. We’ve done this several times and everything’s been hunky dory. Up until now, anyway. Saturday the plan did not go so smoothly. Little O woke up crying shortly after we left, and when Julia went in to get him, he was not pleased. From what I understand, he cried, thrashed, bitched, pooped himself, and cried some more for quite some time. She eventually got him back to bed, but the next day, and for a few days after, there was hell to pay.

Orion wanted to make sure we knew what a huge mistake we made by leaving him, so he’s been uncharacteristically moody, clingy and generally fussy for the past few days. I couldn’t even leave the room for 30 seconds without taking him with me, making bathroom breaks a wee bit awkward. Hello, separation anxiety! It seems that our little dinner and a movie outing did a real number on the little guy. Whoops! Sorry, kid.

It’s a typical rookie parent mistake, according to What to Expect the Toddler Years. Apparently sneaking out while your baby is sleeping is a big anxiety-inducing no-no, and we should have followed a “leaving ritual,” comprised of the following steps:

Quality time: Get ready in advance, so you can enjoy the last few moments at home together.
Distraction: Set the kid up with a fun, engaging activity before leaving.
Quash the drama: Keep the farewell cool and breezy.
Wave goodbye: Let the babe watch as you get in the car (or whatever) and go, and wave goodbye with a smile.

I’m not sure these tips really apply for leaving after baby’s bedtime, but I’ll definitely try them for any daytime separations. As for date nights, I think we’ll still just try sneaking out after bedtime and keeping our fingers crossed.

~~~

Here’s Orion in earlier days with his other babysitter, Emma. We had to fire her though because she’s really not that trustworthy, and she would only hang out around him while he was sleeping. It’s so hard to find good help these days.

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Jealousy, Thy Name is Emma

by verdemama on February 23, 2010

This is what a jealous cat looks like, in case you were wondering.

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Moms Rock

by verdemama on February 19, 2010

This bittersweet morning, my mom boarded a plane at LAX and headed back to Ohio after a wonderfully fun and relaxing 10-day visit. She came out for Orion’s birthday and also to escape crappy Ohio weather—I think they’re on day 1,290 of a never-ending snowstorm there. I can’t begin to explain how awesome it was to have her here, and how awesome she is in general. See, I spend many of my days alone with a baby and a cat, un-showered, un-rested and at the beck and call of my little guy. My husband works long hours—7am to 6 or 7pm—and gets to come home and play with Orion until he’s ready for bed, which is only an hour or two later. In other words, it’s me and the baby, together, all day long, every day. Needless to say—and I know you SAHMs and WAHMs (dads, too) know what I’m talking about—I am exhausted by the end of the day. Even if it’s a good day, full of play dates and giggles and slobbery kisses. The average day flies by without me having brushed my teeth, eaten lunch or changed out of my pajamas. It’s not pretty, and by “it” I mean ME.

Enter mom, aka grandma. Squeezer of cheeks. Giver of toys. Lover and protector of Orion. Not only did my son get to spend time with his loving g-ma, who crazy adores him, but I got daily showers, bathroom breaks, and regular meals. It was beyond wonderful. She never complained about my long-ass showers, where I was MIA for probably much longer that what was deemed necessary for basic personal hygiene. I got to wear makeup and decent clothes for the first time in quite a while, and it was so lovely to feel like a pretty girl again. Mom was here just long enough for me to get used to having her here, so today came as quite a shock without her. I’ll adjust once again. I’ll carry on, and I’ll ride this fun yet scary rollercoaster of motherhood, because that’s what moms do.

The moral of this story? Moms rock. And I’m so honored to join this club.

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Swinger Baby

by verdemama on February 17, 2010

I’m still getting into the swing of things here at verdeMAMA.com, so hang tight. More good stuff coming soon! In the meantime, here’s your daily dose of cute baby.

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Green Toys

by verdemama on February 16, 2010

While pregnant with Orion, I spent a lot of time imagining what life with my child would be like. The fantasy played out something like this: he would nap frequently and at great length; he would eat only organic, homemade food; we would go to museums, gardens and cultural events together; he would never watch TV (and I would never, ever use the TV as a babysitter while I stole a few precious moments for myself to pee or brush my teeth); and he would play with only earth-friendly educational toys.

Fast forward one year, and I’m having a good laugh at my former idealistic self. We’re doing pretty well with the organic food and getting out to museums and such, but I’m starting to recognize reruns of Sesame Street and my living room is piled high with cheap plastic toys. As it turns out, my son happens to LOVE cheap plastic toys but it makes me a little sick to think how so many toys are manufactured and summarily chucked into the landfill each year. No bueno.

That’s one reason I’m loving Green Toys’ Sand Play Set, a sturdy sand pail, shovel, rake and sand castle mold made from recycled milk jugs.

They’re high quality, made in the good ol’ US of A toys that can really take a beating and still come back for more.

He also received this Green Toys Dump Truck for his birthday. Equally sturdy and awesome.

Plus they have some other toys that look really cool, as well as BPA-free eating utensils.

We road tested the sand toys—or park tested, rather—and they were a major hit. Orion is quite the sand box aficionado so for him to put his stamp of approval on these toys is really saying something.

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12 Months Old

by verdemama on February 15, 2010

Happy 12 months old, big guy!

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Let Them Eat (Healthy) Birthday Cake

by verdemama on February 15, 2010

I must say, it blows my mind a bit to think back where I was just one year ago: a brand-new mama of a beautiful, perfect little newborn babe and suitably scared shitless. Luckily, some primal maternal instinct kicked in, and I managed to keep this little guy safe, fed and happy for a whole 12 months thus far. (With many more decades to come…)

Saturday was his first birthday, and we had a fun little party with a few friends, good food, a monkey cake, and some alcoholic beverages for the grown-up kids.

Above is Orion with “Uncle” Simon, contemplating that all-important first birthday candle wish.

~~~

I obsessed over what kind of cake to make him, which is fairly ridiculous, I know, considering he is just a wee lad with no basis of comparison. Many people suggested I just go for the smash cake, but knowing Orion is quite the lil’ foodie already, I didn’t want to introduce white flour and refined sugar just yet. I knew the kid would actually eat the cake, rather than just smearing it all over his face, so I wanted it to be GOOD (i.e. healthy, but tasty, too).

After hunting high and low through every health-conscious, vegan and/or raw food cookbook out there, I finally simply settled on a carrot cake recipe that I’m told is from the famous What to Expect the First Year book (although I have latest edition of that book and I didn’t see it in there). I followed the basic recipe, but I made a few changes, including substituting Medjool dates for the raisins (I have a life-long loathing of raisins. *Shudder.*), using coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, and adding a bit of nutmeg. I used mostly organic ingredients as well. The result was more of a carrot bread than carrot cake, but it was very good.

I made a cream cheese-style icing out of creamy goat cheese (the hub and I are both a bit sensitive to cow’s dairy, but we’re fine with goat and sheep’s milk. Don’t knock it ’til you try it, seriously!), vanilla, agave syrup and butter. The icing is not quite as healthy as the cake itself, but I wanted to appeal to the sugar-jaded taste buds of the adults at the party as well. (Plus I also picked up some gorgeous, not-so-healthy cupcakes from Frosted Cupcakery for the rest of us! I’m not a total health Nazi!)

Orion took a good-sized hunk of the cake, and ate every. single. last. bite. of. it.

~~~

Down to the last crumb. And since the cake is so healthy, he can eat it as a snack for the next few days. I’ll probably scrape the icing off of it, though… and then maybe eat it. I’d hate for it to go to waste.

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It’s Oh So Quiet…

by verdemama on February 12, 2010

…but not really. I’m busy planning a first birthday party up in these parts. We’ll be back on the Interwebs soon! Until then, Orion wants you to admire his baby orange tree.

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Earth Mama Angel Baby

by verdemama on February 10, 2010

Hopefully you’re not still using conventional skin care products on your perfect little babe’s untainted skin. If you are, please stop. Mainstream baby care brands have been found to contain known carcinogens 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde, among many other nasty and unnecessary chemicals and contaminates.

Happily there are tons of healthier options available, my personal fave being Earth Mama Angel Baby.

EMAB offers a wide variety of totally pure and natural products for both mama and baby, ranging from teas, to lotions and salves, to aromatherapy sprays. Their products received a coveted “0” rating on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep cosmetic safety database—which, if you’re not familiar, is an awesome resource that rates the toxicity of body care products and cosmetics. Zero is the least toxic ranking, while a 10 means you should drop the product and back away slowly.

I received gift boxes of both the mama and baby samplers after the birth of my son, and I loved them so much, I gift them to all my new mama friends now.

Some of my absolute favorite products are the shampoo/body wash and the lotion. The yummy orangey vanilla scent is to die for, but beware—it smells so delicious you’ll need to take care you don’t accidentally eat your baby. The bottom balm works like magic on irritated little hineys and the nipple butter was truly a godsend when I was first getting the hang of breastfeeding and crying over cracked and bleeding nips. They even have a nice soothing salve for your angry postpartum lady bits.

EMAB a little more spendy than your typical drugstore brand, but very much worth it if you can swing it. (The salves especially can last you for a good while if you use them sparingly.)

If you’re curious about how toxic your chosen products are, just punch the info into Skin Deep’s database and find out exactly what you’re marinating your baby (and yourself) in.

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I Have a One Year Old. What?

by verdemama on February 9, 2010

When did this happen? How is it that a year can feel both incredibly challenging and still go by frighteningly fast? I had always intended to create a baby book (or blog) or something to document Orion’s first few years on this planet, but somewhere between working fulltime and tending to my little guy’s every whim, I missed out on that whole scrapbook thing. Someday I’ll still get to that, but in the meantime, in honor of Orion’s upcoming birthday in a few short days, here is a look back at his first adorable year of life…

Brand spankin’ new at three days old…