Things that make you go hmmm...

My old boss at Ryerson posted this link on facebook. I couldn't believe what I was reading, but then thought about the world in general, and thought, "okay, I could see people being ridiculously ridiculous like this". 

What do you think about it?

Cooking Resources

I have a few trusted cooking resources. Three are cookbook and one is a website. I check these when I'm meal planning, party planning, recipe testing, and when I'm trying to decide what to bring to a potluck lunch.

The cookbooks are: 

How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking - Nigella Lawson

Friday Night Dinners - Bonnie Stern

The Joy of Cooking - Irma S. Rombauer

And the website is recipezaar.com, although I do use epicurious and allrecipes sometimes too. Do you have a favourite, couldn't-live-without-it cooking or baking resource?

Feeding Baby

I know this subject is voraciously discussed in other places but I still want to add to the fodder.

Petra started eating food just before she was six months old, since she took a keen interest in food and eating (she would literally chew her tongue when I was preparing dinner), we decided to give her bites of banana or avocado or whatever. Then when she was six months old, we started her on vegetable and fruit purees. About a month or two into it, we really hit our stride, I was introducing new foods and she was eating all of it (except her first try of anything for some reason would be a dud).

Suddenly it's a chore to feed her. She will try something the first time and generally lose interest - spitting it out, trying to whack the spoon out of the air, or dropping everything on the floor. She insists on finger food or holding the spoon for herself with purees. I'm inclined to appease her since it's her body but some days I feel like all she eats is toast. 

Now I have just two weeks left on my leave and I'm worried that if she isn't nursing during the day that she may not be getting all she needs. Have any of you supplemented with goat's milk, juices or anything else before a year?

Beta Blockers

I think the beta blockers are really working. Aside from the awful tummy aches they give me, that I'm hoping get better over time, they have made a real difference. My energy level is way up, I'm less irritable and I'm not constantly overheated. I'll go for a follow-up in the next few weeks and we'll see if my levels are up.

Childcare

We're starting to think about where Petra will stay during the day when I go back to work in less than three months. I didn't sign up on a daycare waiting list while pregnant like I was supposed to. There are very few that take babies between the ages of 12 and 18 months and it's hard to get them to call you back, the demand for spots in this area is unreal. 

So our options are:

1. Homecare. An agency provided three options for us but all were at least a drive away and none were within walking distance. 

2. Daycare. A brand spanking new daycare is opening nearby but they are asking a whooping $1760 per month and they've already pushed their opening date out by a month. 

3. Friends and family.

Obviously it's great when you can leave your children with a trusted friend or family member but very few of us have that luxury. I could stay home but that's not what I want. My ideal childcare scenario: Petra is somewhere safe where she can just play and have fun all day long. All that for $50/day. Is it possible in my neighbourhood?

Postpartum Thyroid

If I say thyroid problem, Graves' disease, or Hashimotos, do you say huh? I did and still do.

Aside from understanding that the thyroid is hormonal and controls the body's metabolism, I really didn't know anything else and I couldn't recognize the symptoms beyond weight gain or loss. 

At my physical last week my doctor asked how I was feeling, I mentioned my dramatic weight loss (70 pounds in nine months) and how tired I've been feeling. She decided to check my thyroid and now I'm in the second round of blood work because my TSH came back low.

I won't know the results until Monday so I thought I should do some Google research in the meantime. I found that hyper/hypo-thyroidism is very common in postpartum women. In fact a lot of women bounce back and fourth between hyper/hypo and eventually level out in a few months. This article says that 10% of women develop an ongoing thyroid problem. I also found out that an unregulated thyroid can impede fertility and breastfeeding. 

It's a lot more common than I thought and, when unregulated, is really serious. If you are postpartum and haven't had your proper physical yet - book it, and ask your doctor to check your thyroid.