Does the body good

After Sophie's one year well-baby visit, her Doctor suggested we try going dairy-free for 3 weeks to see if things would move, ah-hem, more smoothly in the #2 department. It worked. Hallelujah. My on-again, off-again love affair with Trader Joe's hit a bumpy patch as I scoured the shelves for dairy-free food options. Their "cheese alternative" might be lactose free, but most people that have a dairy sensitivity react to the milk protein, casein, not lactose. TJ's cheese alternative sure enough had casein in the ingredients :(

I consulted with another dear Doctor friend about Sophie's diet, and she is getting plenty of the good fats she needs even without having milk, cheese or yogurt included in her daily meals. The good fats that she eats come from flax seed, almond milk, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, and regular organic butter/olive oil which I cook/bake with.

What about the calcium though? I found a list of the top 15 non-dairy calcium sources online. Gotta keep my baby healthy!

Sesame Seeds
A quarter cup of sesame seeds has 351 mg calcium.

**Spinach
A cup of boiled spinach has 245 mg.

Collard Greens
A cup of boiled collard greens has 266 mg.

Blackstrap Molasses
One tablespoon has about 137 mg.

Kelp
One cup of raw kelp has 136 mg.

Tahini
Two tablespoons of raw tahini (sesame seed butter) have 126 mg.

**Broccoli
Two cups of boiled broccoli have 124 mg.

Swiss Chard
One cup of boiled chard has 102 mg.

**Kale
One cup of boiled kale has 94 mg.

Brazil Nuts
Two ounces of Brazil nuts (12 nuts) have 90 mg.

Celery
Two cups of raw celery have 81 mg.

**Almonds
One ounce of almonds (23 nuts) has 75 mg.

Papaya
One medium papaya has 73 mg.

**Flax Seeds
Two tablespoons of flax seeds have 52 mg.

**Oranges
One medium orange has 52 mg.

**Sophie eats most of these willingly. Spinach - in a quesadilla with Tofuti and chicken.Oranges - easy. Flax seed - ground up it goes in tofu smoothies and waffles mostly. Almonds - she drinks 16oz of almond milk a day. Kale - she has been known to gobble up some kale chips. Broccoli - offer it, she'll turn up her nose. Puree it and put in spaghetti sauce, and it goes right down!

Permanence and other new stuff

Feeling a bit more permanent these days. We are renewing the lease on our house in Charlotte, and Sophie is officially enrolled in weekday school starting in the Fall. I know that she will love school, but looking into my crystal ball I see a few tears in the future.

The Barber household is done with baby bottles! But let me tell you sippy cups are just as much a pain in the a** to wash at the end of the day.

So, to update on Operation: One Nap...

I think we need to see someone about Sophie's addiction to sleep. She had one week of one-nap-days. Then Yaya came to town, March came in like a lamb and we had some perfect park days (i.e. lots of fresh air). Get to the point, you say.

Sophie started waking at 6am and going back down at 8am, sleeping for 2-2.5 hours, up for lunch and an activity and back down for a solid 2.5 hour afternoon nap. And bedtime has stayed between 6:30 and 7pm. This is the kind of sleeping she did at 10 months old. I am at a loss. Is it all the fresh air? A growth spurt?

All I can say is mommy gets more free time during the day than she expected, so instead of lamenting over the role of the SAHM as I've been doing lately, I got some stuff done.

• did some consignment shopping
• consigned some clothes to get into the BEST pre-sale in town
• got my creative juices flowing
• cooked some dynamite food
• took some pictures *swoon*

I am going to leave this as my baby/family/life/motherhood musing blog, but I have to pimp my pillows once since they are officially for sale, both on Facebook and at Ruby's Gift in NoDa. Here is the low-down:

Little Bungalow pillows are artistically repurposed one-of-a-kind creations made from burlap sacks that were once used to import green coffee beans from around the world. Each bag is completely unique bearing the stamps and markings of the exporter.

All Little Bungalow pillows are created individually with a vintage 1970’s Sears Kenmore sewing machine. They are lined with 100% cotton muslin, double stitched and are backed with various coordinating canvas and cotton duck fabrics. The envelope closure provides easy entry for pillow insert.

Ideal for indoor or covered outdoor space. Spot clean only with damp cloth. Sizes are standard, inserts not included.

Motherly advice

A snippet from a conversation with my mom last weekend:

Me: She hardly cries during shots at the Dr because I put a crusher in her mouth.

Marcia: That's a great idea!

Me: Yeah, I always give her a snack when putting her back in her car seat, and she doesn't cry about that, either.

Marcia: I know, she is such a good baby.

Me: Now that I think about it, it sounds like I bribe her with food for everyday tasks. Is that bad?

Marcia: Nah. Bribe her with food now because that is what she knows. Just wait til she gets older, then you will just find other things to bribe her with.