White Orchid Melody Blog

I’ve been making Alex’s babyfood since he started solids. It is very easy and a frugal way to make sure he’s getting the healthiest food possible. It is much cheaper to buy a pound of organic green beans than a pound of organic baby food! The idea is to make large batches and freeze, then when it is time to feed baby, you just pull out a few cubes, thaw, and serve.

Most pediatricians recommend starting with baby rice cereal. Rice allergies are extremely rare, so it is a safe choice. Commercial rice cereal often has more in it than rice, however. It has added iron, but otherwise is pretty skimpy nutritionally speaking. I initially tried to give Alex homemade oatmeal, which I ground up in the food processor prior to cooking. It was still too chunky though. So, I pureed some bananas, and he started on that. They get nice and runny in the food processor! We then introduced other foods, sweet potatoes, peas, applesauce, but held off on the grains until 6 months.

The primary source of nutrition during the first year should be breastmilk or formula. So when you are just starting out, it is more about getting them to learn how to eat solids and exploring different flavors and textures. As your baby approaches his first year birthday, you can gradually shift to a diet based more on solids. It is important to meet all their caloric needs, so grains become more important. You don’t want to fill their bellies with low calorie fruits and veggies. Grains (and closer to one year, protein) should be the foundation, with fruits and veggies on the side.

I found a couple of resources to be very helpful. One is the site wholesomebabyfood. And the other is the book Super Baby Foodby Ruth Yaron. Neither is a complete source, but they compliment each other well. Yaron’s book is a good reference for nutrition and making sure your baby gets a balanced diet. Wholesomebabyfood is great for cooking tips and recipes.

Supplies
To make your own baby food you will need:
1. A food processoror blender(if possible get both)
2. Ice cube trays (I love these, from Tupperware!)
3. Zipper bags

Grains
Making your own oatmeal, brown rice, and other baby cereals is super easy! Here is where a blender comes in handy. It grinds up hard things like grains much better than the food processor, which just seems to throw it around. This is especially true with rice. Just pour your grains, about a cup, into the blender and blend until it is a fine powder. There may still be some chunkier pieces, but get it as smooth as possible. As your baby gets bigger, you won’t need it to be quite as smooth. After my grains are ground up fine, I put them in a ziploc freezer bag. When it is time to feed baby, just boil your water, 4 Tbsp for every 1 Tbsp of cereal, and add your grains. Cook on low, stirring well to keep it smooth. Oatmeal takes only about 5 minutes, while rice takes longer, maybe 15 minutes. Always get whole grains–brown rice, rolled oats, etc. No nutritionally devoid “instant” foods please. It is already super fast! After the grains have cooked you can whisk in breastmilk or formula to thin to the desired consistency. Or add fruits, veggies, etc.

Fruits and Veggies
These are a two step process. First, you need to cook the fruit or vegetable. This is true for all but the softest fruits (banana or avocado). I steam everything. It maintains more of the nutritional value than other methods. You’ll want to steam the food until it is really, really soft, mushy even. If it isn’t soft from the cooking, you will have a difficult time getting it smooth in the food processor. Some foods are very liquidy–pears, plums, and peaches. Some will turn out more creamy–sweet potatoes and avocados. And some will never be smooth, not matter how hard you try–green beans and peas.

After you’ve cooked your food to a mush, put it in the food processor and puree until it is as smooth as possible. This may take longer than you’d expect. Just keep at it until it isn’t getting any smoother. You can add water for smaller babies to make it thinner. As your baby gets older, you can leave it chunkier.

When the puree is as smooth as you’d like it, grab your handy rubber spatula. Now, I mentioned above that I really like the Tupperware ice cube trays with a lid. I tried cheap trays and they shattered the first time I tried to get the food out, or I’d have to use a knife to pry it out without cracking the tray….this left little shards of plastic in the food—NOT what we want to feed baby! Since getting the Tupperware trays, I’ve had no problems. Looks like they are hard to find now, as they are no longer on the tupperware site, but it could just be a seasonal thing. Anyway, grab your ice tray and coat with non-stick canola or olive oil spray. Then spread in the puree. Put on the lid, if it has one, otherwise cover with foil. Freeze for about 4 hours. The longer you freeze past 4 hours, the more difficult it is to get them out. Not a big deal if you have quality trays, but if using cheaper trays, definitely try to pull it out after 4 hours. I have left mine in overnight and they’ve been more difficult to get out, but not horrible. If they are stuck, run hot water over the bottom of the tray (while the lid is on!). Okay, now transfer to your ziploc freezer bag and label it. You don’t want to be staring at 3 bags of orange cubes wondering which is carrots, sweet potatoes, and peaches!

The Menu
When we first started solids, we only gave him fruit or vegetables. Again, breastmilk or formula is the primary nutritional source. But after 6 months, we started working on more grains and things. Around 8-9 months, we added protein sources (vegetarian, of course). I don’t see the point in feeding a baby meat. They don’t have teeth! Or at least not enough to chew meat. Anyway. We do a lentil puree by similar method to the veggies, except I cook the lentils on the stove.

How many meals, how much to offer? I think your baby will let you know. At first, he’d eat one cube at the most. Now, at ten months, his dinner consists of: 1/2 to 3/4 cup of grains, plus one cube of lentil and one cube of pear, plus 1/4 cup of applesauce; then 2 to 4 cubes of vegetables. I also add nutritional enhancers–tahini paste for fat, ground flaxseed for omega-3 fats, wheat germ for folic acid and vitamin e. We feed him his “porridge,” then his veggies, and then small bites of whatever we are eating as we finish dinner. As you can see he eats quite a lot now. He lets us know when he is still hungry (grunting, reaching for our food) or when he has had enough (turning his head or laying it on his shoulder). Don’t try to force your baby to eat. He’ll eat if he wants to, leave it at that.

So, I’ve been talking to some people in Naples about the move. One is the wife of a guy Brian will be working with, the other is also a military wife, but I just randomly found her on the internet. Gotta love the internet! Anyway, they have both been really helpful. I’ve been so information starved, it’s killing me! One lives on base, one on the economy. So, I’m getting both perspectives, which is nice.

The big drama there is the trash situation. It has definitely improved, but I guess there have been some side effects. The burning of the trash has caused a high level of dioxins in the air and water, and subsequently the local agricultural offerings. Then apparently there is toxic waste dumping going on too. Nice, huh? But I have been assured that none of that should prevent me from enjoying living there. But to also be prepared for total culture shock!

Right now we are thinking that we’ll try to get into off-base government housing. If we can’t get that, then we’ll live on the economy. Then there is the question of where in Campania we want to live if we are on the economy. There are condo-like apartments in the city and near the beach. Then out in the “burbs” there are villas, which are single family homes. There are pros and cons to each. Obviously a single family home would be most similar to our lifestyle now. And with the issues with local produce we might want to have our own veggie garden! (after we had the soil tested, of course) But being in the city would be a better commute for Brian, and I’d be able to get around some too. I have heard from several sources that driving in Naples is a nightmare, so I’m thinking I’d want to be near public transportation.

A smaller living space would force us to simplify, which we’ve sort of been in the process of doing anyway. So, that might be nice. Or it might just end up being too cramped. I like the fact that I can be downstairs getting things done while Alex is napping and not have to worry about disturbing him. Also, if we’re in an apartment, we will have noise issues both ways. If our neighbors are noisy, it will disturb Alex’s sleep. And he doesn’t exactly cry softly, so we’d be disturbing our neighbors too. That is a big push for me to find a house, or at least a townhome. Still so much to decide without any information really. We won’t actually be able to decide anything until we get there I guess. But I want to have some idea of what we want so I know what to pack and what to store. The smaller the space, the less we can take.

I just finished reading a book I got from the library called Gorgeously Green. I heard of it somewhere or other and requested it from our local branch. It is a great book and I highly recommend it for all my gorgeous girlfriends!

We’re a pretty green household, especially compared to our neighbors. We recycle everything we can (we’ve even been known to pull other peoples recyclables out of the dumpster). We compost our kitchen scraps. We grew a vegetable garden this year. We buy organic whenever possible. We are a one car household. We walk and bike for local trips. So, I thought we were doing pretty well.

And we are, BUT we also have a lot of room for improvement. This book is a very thorough look at how to green up all areas of your life. I was more focused on the obvious things like what I put in my body. Little did I know of the horrors I was putting on my body. After reading this book, I am going to have to replace all my beauty products! 99% of them have carcinogens and there is nothing beautiful about cancer. The nice thing about the book is she reminds us that every little thing we do helps, so to focus on just one or two things a week.

Today I walked Alex and Susie down to Home Eco on Macklind. We are super lucky to have this cool eco-general store less than a mile from our home. I’d been wanting to get a new water bottle. I’ve been using a small nalgene bottle (bpa free), but I wanted something larger. So, I figured I’d go with the next step up and get stainless steel. The added benefit being no more plasticky tasting water. While I was there I perused their selection of eco friendly beauty and cleaning supplies. I got a bar of natural soap and a non-petroleum lip moisturizer. After I get myself organized with what I need, I’m going to go back for some cleaning supplies and shampoo/conditioner. I will probably use up what I have now. But I won’t be buying these toxic products again! I’ll make a better choice for my body, the environment, and support a local business to boot.

So, anyway, go to the library and get Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano. It will make you think!

My grandma died friday. We drove down to Alabama on Saturday, and the funeral was Sunday. It was a sad day. The hardest part was seeing everyone suffering. I suppose I had come to terms with the whole thing already, since I knew it was coming. But some of my family took it harder. That is to be expected as they are used to seeing her nearly every day. I only saw her a few times a year. Even so, I was close to her, and I’m going to miss her. It seems like it happened so fast. She was fighting so hard for five years, and then in just a matter of weeks she was gone. My brain has accepted it, but my heart still expects her to be around.

At the visitation, she looked like she was sleeping. I almost wish they had not dressed her up and put make-up on her…it was surreal. I found myself expecting to see her chest rising and falling with breath. Funny how people don’t want to see what death really looks like.

There were so many people at the visitation. I didn’t know she had that many friends. As I said, I only visited a few times a year. I felt a bit like I didn’t know her that well, like maybe I was missing something. But when my uncle gave the eulogy, I realized that the part of her that I knew was the most important part. I knew the woman that loved her family, loved to cook for us, see us happy, loved to hear of our successes and accomplishments.

I moved around so much as a child that I don’t really have a sense of “home.” But her home was always one place on earth that felt like home to me. It won’t be the same without her though. My aunt assured me that I was still welcome there anytime. That meant a lot to me. But there is a greater loss. It was her, not the place, that made it home.

We got the last few necessities for the baby this weekend. We went to the Cotton Babies store here and got a stash of cloth diapers. I’d already purchased 4 one size pocket diapers that were a sampler pack of different brands. Our favorite was the bumGenius. So we bought 6 more of those. We also bought 5 bumGenius all-in-ones. They don’t have the pocket to stuff, so they are more convenient, but they come sized so you have to buy more as the baby grows. We got them in the used bin for $10 each though (as opposed to $16 new). That gives us 15 diapers to start with. When we figure out what really works we’ll buy some more. We may not like dealing with the pockets, who knows until you try?

We also got the Chicco Travel System Saturday. Sunday morning we put it together. It was a bit daunting when we first took it out of the box, but came together fairly easily. We tried it out with a teddy bear, which is completely misleading since it is going to be about 9 lbs heavier with baby in tow! But it was fun. We made a video of it with the digital camcorder that Brian’s parents got us for the baby. One day he’ll be able to watch it and see how brilliant his parents were, ha!

So now we are pretty well set up, just waiting for him to make his grand appearance. I’m sure I’ll be more than ready by the end of January. In the meantime, I’m going to try to enjoy the luxury of quiet and solitude.

I did quite a bit of cooking over Christmas and even more eating! My stepdad sent us a Honeybaked Ham, which we enjoyed on Christmas eve. And then I made a giant turkey for Christmas day.

Yes, giant. As in, I wasn’t sure it was going to fit in the pan. The small grocery where I shop only had 20+ lb turkeys. Way too much for the four of us, I knew. But the turkey breasts were so much more per pound, that it was exactly the same price to get a breast as a whole bird. And with needing to stock a freezer for after the baby comes, I figured leftovers weren’t the worst thing.

We awoke to snow showers and a blanket of white this morning! I love snow! Everything seems so still and perfect in a fresh snow. When I got up at 6am to feed the cats, it was still dusky out and everything was so hushed. Snow seems to envelop the world and bring everything closer.

We have about 2 inches and there is more on the way this afternoon. The more the better, I think! Maybe if we get enough, it will last until Christmas. That’s a long shot in St. Louis, where the weather changes so dramatically from one day to the next. It is supposed to be nearly 60 next thursday! So, not much chance for a white Christmas. I guess that is okay. I want to deliver some cookies and treats to our neighbors and friends, so clear roads are better for that! And Brian’s parents are driving down, so they’ll appreciate clear roads as well.

I have a baby shower today. Hopefully the inclement weather won’t put a damper on the fun. The roads should be pretty well cleared up by then. And the second round of snow isn’t coming until later. I made dark chocolate truffles last night as thank you’s for my shower hostesses. I hope they enjoy them! They didn’t turn out very pretty, but they taste good!

I had a marathon cooking session yesterday. I made 3 dishes of enchiladas and spanish rice, 10 quesadillas, about 20 burritos, and a batch of black bean soup. Phew! I was exhausted after all of that! But it was a good start on the after-baby freezer stash. We had one of the enchiladas/spanish rice dinners last night. They turned out really good. I hope they are as good after being frozen. I read a couple of different opinions on freezing enchiladas. One said not to put the sauce and cheese on before freezing, but that is just making things more complicated in my opinion. I figure you can go to the store and buy frozen enchiladas with the sauce and cheese all over it, so why not at home? I guess we’ll see come February!

In the wake of a billion dollar do-it-yourself industry, I find it fascinating how many of us have forgotten how to maintain our belongings. I too fall prey to the “it’s broken, get a new one” mentality at times. I certainly don’t know how to fix a toaster and even if I did, would it be worth my time for the $10 to buy a new one? But if you take a global perspective, it is better to repair what you have rather than just tossing it out to pile up in a landfill somewhere. I recently bought some sheets, got them home, laundered them, and discovered that one of the seams had a hole on the fitted sheet. Frustrated at having a hole in my new sheets, I thought about returning them to the store. But then what happens to the otherwise perfectly good sheets? They get trashed. So, I took 2 minutes and sewed up the seam myself. While I was sewing, I was thinking about how many people wouldn’t even know how to sew up a seam. With a fashion design background, I have a sewing machine and know how to use it. But I certainly don’t know how to hand sew (anything other than a button anyway). I think of our great grandmothers who sewed beautiful dresses and quilts all by hand. That is a lost art. I’d venture to say most forms of self-sustenance are lost. At the risk of offending the masses, I’d venture to say it is largely laziness. I really don’t care to take the time to learn to fix a toaster. I’d rather enjoy my leisure time. When I first got married, my husband wasn’t exactly Mr. Fix-It. But he certainly is now. Just this weekend, he repaired 3 of our second story doors so that they actually close and latch for the first time since we’ve lived here (and probably the first time in 50 years). All it takes is trial-and-error and some self education, seeking out the answers from people who know. I think past generations stopped offering advice because it fell on deaf ears. You have to ask them if you want to know their “survival” secrets. One must also be willing to risk making it worse! Our first home improvement project was replacing the door knob on our front door….we ended up with a new door. But that sort of thing hasn’t happened very often! Most times we’ve found that the repair was much easier than we were anticipating. Fear of the unknown keeps you inert. Just taking a bit of time and a bit of risk can have a huge impact on reducing our waste. Every little bit helps.

I guess I’ve been awol for December! ‘Tis the season to be busy I guess. We had a great stocking stuffer party on Saturday. Seven people came over and a few others dropped off donations. We had the veggie lasagna, which turned out great, and then proceeded to sorting and stuffing everything in the stockings. We had more than enough. Silly me, I’d been worried that there wouldn’t be enough to fill 25 stockings, but bless our friends, they were so kind and generous. We sent 25 stockings as well as six boxes of movies, books, and food. It was great. I know the unit will be delighted to receive their goodies. The post office provides free flat rate boxes for shipping things to troops, so I was able to go pick up a bunch of those for the packaging. We shipped them out on Tuesday. Hopefully everything will get there by Christmas!

Meanwhile I’ve been working on our holiday letter. We started the letter format last year in liu of cards. Actually Brian sent a letter out while he was in Iraq for Christmas of ‘04, and everyone really liked that. We found that people appreciate hearing how our year has gone, particularly those that live far away and don’t hear from us much. And we’ve always enjoyed getting christmas letters from our friends. Cards are pretty and all, but then I just feel bad about throwing them in the recycle bin after the holiday! Some people save cards. I don’t like having all that clutter around. That’s how you end up 85 years old with a garage full of junk for your kids and grandkids to sort through!

We put up the christmas tree last weekend too. The cats have not yet knocked it over, surprise, surprise. They’ve managed to swipe a few ornaments off though. They seem to like the tree skirt underneath, getting tangled up and dashing around it. We’ve had a real tree I think once since we have had the cats, and of course they were climbing in it, so we just go with the artificial now. It’s kind of silly to cut down a tree just to put in your house for a month anyway. They’re really pretty and smell so nice, but really. Unless I had enough land to get one with the roots and then plant it after, it would just be a waste.

• Kissing under the Mistletoe — This plant was revered by early Celtic and Nordic tribes who assigned to it magical powers that included protection from such things as disease, witchcraft and lightening strikes. The kissing legend probably derives from a complex and somewhat illogical Norse myth that relates how Frigga, the goddess of love and beauty, implored all living things that sprang from the earth not to harm her beloved son, Balder. Since mistletoe was a parasitic plant that grew on trees and not from the earth, it was excluded and its wood subsequently used by the evil god Loki to make an arrow which killed Balder. Frigga’s tears of grief turned the Mistletoe’s red berries white, and when Balder was later restored to life, she forgave the plant and made it a symbol of love, decreeing that anyone who met beneath it must kiss. When a man kisses a woman under the mistletoe, he must remove one berry and when the berries are all gone, there is no more kissing. A Christian addition to this plant’s lore relates how the wood was used to make the cross upon which Christ was crucified and as a result it was cursed and barred from growing in the earth and forced to grow on other plants instead.
• Christmas trees and wreaths — The Romans brought evergreen plants indoors to celebrate Saturnalia, a days-long feast and celebration to honor Saturn, the god of agriculture. This pagan tradition was kept alive in parts of northern Europe as the Roman Empire faded away. Beginning in Germany centuries later, it insinuated itself into the Christmas holiday and German emigrants later brought it to America. The tradition was solidified in the mid 19th century when Queen Victoria (of German ancestry) installed a Christmas tree in the royal palace. In America a decade later, President Franklin Pierce put one in the White House. By 1880, Christmas tree ornaments were being manufactured — the beginning of the end for homemade decorations such as popcorn and cranberry strings — and in 1923 President Calvin Coolidge switched on the lights of the first national outdoor Christmas tree.

In addition, myths and legends unique to Christianity were promoted throughout Europe to help consolidate the young religion. Others simply took on a life of their own and were embellished by imaginative entrepreneurs. Among these were:

• Sancta Lucia, or St. Lucy’s Day — This holiday occurs on December 13th in several European countries and denotes the beginning of the Christmas season, or advent. Though originating in Sicily to celebrate the martyrdom of a young girl, it is today most ardently embraced by Sweden and in America by Scandinavian and German Lutheran congregations. It was originally a family event in which the oldest daughter would don a candle-lit evergreen or Lingonberry wreath as a crown and serve her parents coffee and saffron-flavored buns while singing a song appropriate to the occasion. It is now a public event featuring a procession of young women — still filled with song and wearing candle-lit wreaths and white dresses — led by the winner of a beauty competition whose duties are often remarkably similar to those of a Miss America or Miss Universe. The candle-lit evergreen wreaths are hallmarks of pagan cultures that celebrated the triumph of light over darkness.
• Gift-giving and Santa Claus — This tradition originated with the story of the gifts of the three magi to the Christ child, which was joined centuries later with elements from the life of Bishop Nicholas of Myra (later Saint Nicholas). These events and legends metamorphosed into the Santa Claus of today — complete with sleigh and reindeer — when Clement Moore’s poem A Visit from St. Nicholas (also known as The Night Before Christmas) was published in 1823. A series of engravings in Harper’s Weekly appeared decades later depicting scenes from the poem and in the mid 20th century, Coca-Cola ran a print advertising campaign that further embellished — and firmly established — the Santa Claus phenomenon.
• Christmas stockings — this tradition is attributed to the original Saint Nicholas who is said to have left gifts of gold in the stockings of three poor girls who needed dowries. They had hung their laundered stockings by the fireplace to dry overnight. Centuries later, this fetching image was adopted by Clement Moore in his Christmas poem mentioned above.

Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is a relatively new holiday, established in 1966 to celebrate African-American and Pan-African family, community and culture. The word kwanzaa is derived from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits.” It’s a secular event, running from December 26th to January 1st, with each day representing a different principle:

Umoja (Unity)
Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
Nia (Purpose)
Kuumba (Creativity)
Imani (Faith)

A Karamu, or feast, is held on December 31st, featuring a wide variety of foods from Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas, representing the diversity of African peoples and their collective heritage.

King’s Day and Candlemas Day
Rosco de Reyes, or King’s Cake, is central to the celebration of King’s Day and Candlemas Day. Originating in France but now popular in Mexico, King’s Day, January 6th, is the feast of the Epiphany, during which Rosco de Reyes — a round cake representing a crown — is served. Two plastic figures representing the infant Christ and a king are baked into the cake. Whoever finds the king figure in their serving must show genuine kindness to the person who finds the infant Christ figure, and both must work together to host a party on February 2nd, Candlemas Day, which usually features tamales and Mexican hot chocolate.

The Mexican tradition of serving tamales on Christmas is, like other traditions noted above, connected to prehistory. In this case probably to the Aztec celebration honoring Huitzilipochtli, their god of war.Two other notable traditions that have no discernible connections to historical events or religion are fruitcake and eggnog. Fruitcake probably originated during the late Middle Ages as a wedding cake and became commonplace for celebrations of all kinds. Made with a quantity of dried or candied fruit and often infused with liquors, these dense butter cakes have a less than stellar reputation. According to the editors of the Joy of Cooking, “Many people feel that these cakes improve greatly with age, though not everyone agrees. …they have been reported to be enjoyed as long as twenty-five years after baking.”Eggnog comes to us from a variety of English drinks made from milk, eggs and alcohol, usually wine. Now available commercially from October into January, eggnog has been associated with Christmas and New Year’s celebrations since the 19th century. Liquors used include wine, brandy, rum, bourbon and sherry. The origin of the term eggnog is obscure, but it probably came from the word “egg” combined with “grog” — a common Colonial term for rum — or “noggin,” a small wooden mug used in Colonial taverns.Holiday traditions continue to evolve, within countries, communities and families. Each of us has fond memories of family and personal traditions, both large and small. Though they may be based on ancient superstitions and appear a bit silly if analyzed in a rational light, they nevertheless help bind us to our loved ones and inform our shared past, present and future.