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.

Kicks and seaweed

Sophie finally has some new kicks from Kixx. Embarrassing as it is, it took two trips to the store to pick out one pair of insanely adorable Pedipeds. If we can look at the trips as teaching moments, Sophie now knows and can tell you the difference between her "boots" and her "shoes." Ah, little girls. Have I mentioned how smart she is?

Or have I mentioned what a good eater she is? Over the past week we've had some new foods that seemed to please the pint-sized palette: Grouper, black beans, hummus, baked tofu, and... seaweed. Yes, the weed from the sea, lightly salted and baked to a crisp. She loves it.

It's about 10am on Monday and I'm blogging... to which you might be asking, how I do this with a one-year-old who naps only once a day? Yes, today is a two nap sort of day (as was yesterday). Some days I guess we'll still need two; and if the social calendar allows, we will go with the flow.

Back to it being 10am and I'm blogging... I should be working out at the Y (where Sophie would be crying the entire time) or doing P90X in the basement. Or sewing. Or taking pictures. Or cooking. Or reading the other 24 books I now have only 9 months to complete. But folks I'm a little in the dumps. I can't seem to brush my shoulders off. The Social Network had me up all night Saturday wondering if I am living up to my full potential; and I haven't been able to pick a side of that fence to sit on. Not that I have some great computer programming ideas I've been sitting on or an application in to Harvard... more like: am I using my God-given talents, challenging myself and/or making a difference in this big 'ol world? (Not one to sit on big decisions, I booked a photoshoot and am *this* close to opening an Etsy store! Hopefully brighter days on the horizon.)

I hate goodbyes and we had one this morning. Yaya flew in for the weekend we had some good food, good times and beautiful weather.

This one is a keeper... going into the Three Generations Frame :)

Old things

I love old things. Just before we left for Hawaii, I received a big box in the mail from my Mother's cousin. I had been anticipating the arrival of said box for a few days and couldn't wait to reveal the contents to Bryan and Sophie.

We are now the proud owners of my Grandmother Sophie's first doll. The antique doll is approximately 91 years old, and still wearing the dress that was hand made for her by Grandmother Sophie's older sisters. There is still a note pinned under her skirt (handwritten by my Great-Aunt Dora) naming the doll as Sophie's.

The doll was last appraised for several hundred dollars a few years ago - not that this is something I could ever part with for sentimental reasons. She is in great condition and we are so happy a family member found her and wanted to share her with baby Sophie!

Operation: O.N. (one nap)

Well, three days in and Operation: One Nap has been a screaming success. I tell you, there is some truth to my baby bible: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. There is also truth to a little old saying that God doesn't give you more than you can bear.

We have a good sleeper on our hands. She hasn't always been that way though. Just when I was seriously about to commit myself due to sleep deprivation, Sophie started napping. Then she started sleeping more at night. Between five and six months, she was sleeping a solid 12 to sometimes 14 hours straight. So, it's no surprise really that when she was ready to drop a nap, she simply dropped a nap.

Friends, three days in might still be the honeymoon phase; I'm totally aware. As I write about the good times, I'll also be honest about the not so good times. But if this is the last post on her One Nap adventure, then rest assured that we are all resting. Assured.

To address our recent hiatus from the blogosphere, we went to Maui for 10 days. There was an adjustment to that idea on the front side of the 10 days, and an adjustment to hugging our 23lb alarm clock on the back side of the 10 days. And, here we are, back to Musing on Motherhood with Sophie en Sophie. xo

Wordless Saturday

There are some days when I have no words. On such a day as today, I'll let my pictures speak the 1,000 words that aren't coming out of my brain. Shot these yesterday in our neighborhood. Goodness how I love her.