a kiss builds trust. This is what i have learned. Every day when I put Maddie down for a nap, I kiss her before I lay her down. she always smiles. I place her in her crib and smile down at her, she looks up and smiles at me. I walk out of her room and she turns over and goes to sleep.

At night, when I nurse her, she sometimes pops off and looks up at me. I can see these 2 eyes and even thought its dark, they are looking for something. A sign, a word, something to tell her what to do next. I kiss her gently on the face and she gives me a satisfied look. Again, i rock her gently in the dark, holding her close and smelling her. When she gets drowsy, I turn her sideways, give her a kiss and lay her in her crib for nighttime.

She trusts that I will be back for her when she is done with her sleep. She trusts in herself that she can go to sleep without my help. The kiss tells her I trust her to do the same. Such a simple thing, a kiss. And certainly one of the more cherished moments I get to have with her everyday. this kid really completes me.

***

After I gave birth in the hospital, I got these horrible hives up my ass, back and legs. The dr looked at it and said i must be allergic to something but we wouldnt know what.

Fast forward to today and I still have these itchy patches on the back of my thighs. ITs only on my thighs and its on both legs. I have NO Idea what causes this. But I have scratched them so bad that i think i have scarred them. =( I'm thinking something in my diet is causing these hives but i eat so many damned things i dont even know how to go about cross things off. Since she basically eats what i eat through breast milk, I also wonder if the same thing is causing Maddie's eczema rash....I should go see a dermatologist...

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Since starting Maddies on meats, which give the purees a thicker texture, she seems to be gradually moving towards chunkier foods. I tried to give her some pureed cantaloupe today, which was really soupy (my fault), and she wasnt having it. I would LOVE to move her to more table food....so im going to be experimenting more. Once she turned 6 months, I started giving her pancakes, waffles, bread/bagels, puffs and mum mums. But I havent given her pieces of anything else. In the beef stew i made, there were small chunks of orzo and i have given her some mashed potato but thats the closest she got to table food.

Today I made a pot of sauce. I made some mini meatballs to try out and boiled up some rotini. Maddie LOVED this. i put a piece of pasta (very small) with sauce in her mouth and she actually smiled. LOL.

On this same topic, Maddie can pick up pieces of food but she does not bring this to her mouth. This astounds me bc she puts everything into her mouth. Remotes, cell phones, toys, whisks, etc. But when it comes to food, she looks it over, plays with it, throws it but rarely put it up to her mouth. Should I be concerned? Shes ahead of schedule in getting the pincer grip (using thumb and index finger) but i feel like shes behind in putting the food to her mouth. I think most kids SHOVE the food into their mouths. I wonder if I am hindering her by constantly feeding her myself.

***
so now that i have my period, my milk supply is SO low (normal). I feel bad for poor Maddie.

***

Maddie is starting to roll both ways now! She was like zoolander, only rolling on her right side. TOday she tried to go left. She still has a lot of work to do though lol.
I feel like shes kind of slow in the rolling department too, but no worries. Every kid goes at their own pace.

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Food:

Heres how you can stretch an easy meal...

I made a pot of sauce yesterday and some mini meatballs. i baked the meatballs first, then put them in the sauce to cook more.


I set aside some rotini, 3 meatballs and sauce for maddies lunch for the next 3 days.


I set aside some more meatballs and sauce to make pizza for lunch the next day. (more later)

I take the bulk of the sauce and make penne alla vodka. well, i didnt have penne, so i used Mostaccioli. I was annoyed i didnt have any pasta with ridges but oh wells.

Sautee some onions, garlic and pancetta.


Add your sauce and let it sit for a bit. Then add in your cream. you can whip up the cream a bit too, which i do and then fold in.


Toss in your cooked pasta and mix. I served with crostinis i bought at the market:


I had leftovers which jae brought in for lunch and more for my own lunch as well.

Pizza for the next day:
We bought this pizza crust for a buck last week, so i decided to use it since i had sauce. All you need to do is add water. I was very skeptical. I usually make my own pizza dough...but now, who has the time? I cant believe i once had time to make my own pasta. No life!


Then press out and add toppings. you can see here the dough doesnt make that big of a pizza.

I used peppers, mushrooms, crushed up meatballs, onion and cheese:


I was surprised that the crust was actually good!


That one pot of sauce went a long way and seriously it cost me a few bucks to make.