Homemade baby food and Cry it out

Homemade baby food and Cry it out

Within the past year I have become a little more interested in DIY and recently thought making my own baby food looked like a fun and easy project!  Also all I can find in the pre-made jars here is fruit and I want Joaquin to try vegetables and other foods.  So I gave it a whirl and it wasn’t too bad!  Just a couple hours and Joaquin had food for at least a couple weeks…or so I thought…if he eats it!

I began my trip to the grocery store where I bought some good Dominican fruits and veggies.  I bought a batata (root veggie), auyaba (squash), a sapote (some kind of fruit) and some frozen green beans because I couldn’t find the fresh ones. I put the batata and squash in the oven, steamed my green beans on the stove and just mashed the sapote fruit without any cooking.  Funny story about the sapote.  At the store I thought it might be a giant kiwi because of the fuzzy kin.  I got it home and realized it wasn’t a kiwi when I cut into it and tasted a taste I’ve had before that I don’t actually like.  On the bright side it made very easy baby food…however turns out Joaquin doesn’t like it either!

Photo of the sapote

The batata is in the middle ( I peeled it and put in the oven)

Then I used my handy hand mixer and got to pureeing.  Some things were easier to puree than others (darn batata was terrible to cook. It took forever and my knife wouldn’t cut it even if I wanted to try boiling it next time. I just ended up scooping out the inside part that cooked and still used a strainer after pureeing it because there were so many tough chunks). I then added water or formula to help thin the consistencies of each puree.

Straining the batata

Then babycenter.com taught me to freeze all my purees in ice trays.  Once they were frozen I put them in freezer bags and marked the items and the dates.  Veggies are good in the freezer for 6 months and I’m sure Joaquin will finish well before then.  I also have a photo of some black beans made a previous day.  I didn’t actually make them but we froze the thick cooking liquid for baby food and Joaquin likes that.   Then I can just take a couple out of the bag and thaw them out and Joaquin has a meal!

Here he is eating his green beans and the look on his face tells how much he “loved” them.  I’m going to try adding some spices in the future to get Joaquin to taste more things.  So far we have a no on the green beans and sapate but a yes to black beans and a maybe to batata.  I think I also need to make my purees even thinner.  So for now my endeavor felt successful and looks successful however Joaquin’s taste buds aren’t living up to my hopes.  Oh well!

Now for cry it out...

 I can’t remember at what age Joaquin was able to sleep through the night because he really got good at it at an early age.  He slept in his own bed in his own nursery through the night and everyone was happy.  Then we moved.  Well before that Jesus left us for a month of training and I let Joaquin sleep with me to keep me company and to make sure I could hear him as I was sleeping in the living room since I sold my bed before the big move.  That was my first mistake.  Then we lived in a hotel for a number of weeks and Joaquin slept in his crib but still in our room.  When he would cry, we let him sleep with us and then everyone slept.  Then we got to our new apartment and since Joaquin only had a crib and nothing else for a nursery, we let him sleep in his crib in our room. At some point we let him sleep in our bed again.  Now for me this is not a problem.  I love to cuddle with him and he sleeps the whole night next to us.  Jesus on the other hand is not so lucky because Joaquin loves to sleep on daddy.  No matter what, Joaquin finds him and Jesus is stuck sleeping with a little lump on him.  We finally decided we need Joaquin to have his own room.  We tried but it was torture for me hearing him scream so back to our room he came.  Then Joaquin would no longer sleep in his crib, only in our bed! We tried letting him cry it out in his crib but didn’t get anywhere because Joaquin could see us next to him so of course he wasn’t going to stop crying when he knew we could just go get him.  I felt terrible letting him cry for so long only to end up putting him next to me and have him sniffle and tear his way to sleep.  So last night we decided to DO (not try) “cry it out” correctly according to the common Ferber method found online. While Jesus and I are not opposed to co-sleeping, Jesus prefers the baby to be in his own bed so he can sleep better and I want the baby to be in his own bed by the time he’s a toddler so better start now!  I have to admit it was nice to sleep next to my husband without a baby in the middle again!

See, while Joaquin sleeps, daddy is not so lucky...but he loves his baby!

So we put Joaquin in his crib in his room.  We let him cry for 10 minutes and then one of us went in his room without picking him up, stroked his head and said we loved him.  Then we left and let him cry 15 minutes and one of us went in and repeated the procedure in his room.  Every single minute felt like an hour for me and I tried to distract myself by watching TV or doing dishes.  The next step was to let him cry for 20 minutes and stay at this time limit throughout the night.  Luckily he stopped crying before the 20minute mark.  Not bad except an hour later he woke up again.  The procedure we found said if the baby wakes again after sleeping to start your time limits all over again.  So we were going to let him cry for the first ten minutes but he stopped before we reached ten and he slept in his room until 6am!  While Joaquin slept, I did not because I was so nervous I wouldn't hear him now that he was in his own room and we have thicker walls here but I could hear him and I just have to get used to it.  At 6 he was nice and awake so I fed him and brought him to bed with me and we slept until 9:30.  That always worked in MN that he could come to me in the morning but not the night so we will see if that works again.  The times we chose are arbitrary and you can start at three minutes or five or whatever you want.  We started at ten because we knew that since he used to sleep alone before, he could do it again.  I also let him get used to napping in his room during the day before night fell.  He naps no problem but somehow he knows when it’s night-time and wants to be with us! So now tonight we have to do this all again.  According to my research, in most cases, babies fall asleep on their own by the fourth night so I really hope we don’t have to do this for long but I guess we’ll see.  I used to think I was the lucky parent who was never going to do this…guess not!  

Morning Time with Mommy!

Baby's first fall

No one is a perfect parent but this probably shouldn't have happened.  However it did and I am guessing something similar will happen again in my lifetime. I'm writing this story for the purpose of venting and to make you feel better if something similar ever happens to you. I just looked up stories of other moms doing the same thing and it made me feel better!

Joaquin fell off the bed today!  I was playing with him on the bed when he spit up.  I went to grab a towel and turned back around and there he was on the edge!  I knew I couldn't grab him in time but I jumped over there as fast as I could and got him with one hand to soften his fall (not enough to prevent it).  He was terrified and so was I but no bumps or scratches...so I thought...now his eye is puffy and I'm hoping doesn't turn into a black eye.  He must have hit the end table.  Poor baby!  Can you even believe this?!  However besides some eye puffiness he is his same self and bounced back fairly quickly after the fall. No pun intended on the word bounce, he did NOT bounce! 

Not sure why I'm choosing to blog this.  It's for people with similar stories to make me feel better, not for people who think I'm a bad mom because I already know that's not true.  I remember my mom telling me how my brother jumped off the changing table once.  I bet that was a similar experience of fear!  So...what are your stories? Please tell me you have one...thanks for your support! 

Decorating

I'm getting somewhere with decorating this place.

Today I found a store that resembles Home Depot and it was like my dreams came true!  I found a pinterest project to paint some baskets to add some color into my space and I was really hoping to find a store to meet my project needs...and I did.

I was using two stacked and turned over baskets as an end table but I realized it was more important for these baskets to be used as storage.  They reside in my living room and one holds Joaquin's toys and the other holds his diapers and wipes.  This is so his lazy parents never have to leave the living room! And the even more exciting news is that I found an actual basket end table (not just a pretend one) to fill that gap!  Well as my decorating progressed I noticed too much brown tones in the room so I decided to paint the storage baskets.  I'm happy with the color they add to the space however not so happy with the actual color.  I knew I should have brought the pillow from the room with me to the store but I didn't and I failed to match the color I needed.  I would have just gone home to get the pillow when I realized there were too many paint choices but I taxi everywhere and I my impatience trumps my perfectionism.

So here's what I did:

First I taped off the baskets where I wanted to paint.  I chose stripes.  I tried using a tape measure to get both baskets the same but it was easier for me to just count how many weavings (stripes in the actual basket) I wanted to paint above.

Next I painted.  I used a brush for the blue as they didn't have a close enough color in spray paint.  I spray painted the white stripe because spray paint is both faster and cheaper.

Then I let it dry (kind of...I really have a problem with patience when it comes to DIY which is why I typically don't do it) and applied a second coat.

Then I removed the tape and waalaa!





















Here is a photo of them in the space.  Although the blue is not the same as the turquoise in the pillow, it does look good with the blue vase on the table, my new blueish dining room curtains and my rug in the adjacent living area so it will have to suffice...let's hope.  This room really isn't my best work but it was rushed and it's still not complete.  I'm not a fan of so much brown and I never like red but I thought the pillow was so cool (and more of a burnt orange) that I ran with it!

Here are some other photos of what's been going on with decorating this place.  We clearly still need a TV stand and a dining room table but those aren't priority.  Especially the table as we eat in front of the TV...yeah when Joaquin is bigger I'll teach him to eat at the table...right?

Here you can just barely see the teal curtains in the dining space.

This room is my fave!  Love that rug and the windows!

The Midwest does Santiago!

Melinda Keefe wins the prize for being the first person to say they want to come and visit us in the DR and actually making the trip!  Don’t worry though, we just got here so still have plenty of time for other visitors.  Melinda, from Iowa, and myself from Minnesota took on Santiago last week and had an authentic Dominican vacation.  No resorts for us, straight up city and exploring the life of the locals.  Turns out I am a local now!  I knew enough places to take Melinda to from my short time here and I was able to translate a lot and even barter for a better price at some shops.   It is not out of the ordinary for Americans to get ripped off (it’s already happened to me) but this past week I went around with confidence to haggle and tried to speak enough Spanish so no one would question that I lived here and wasn’t a tourist.  Tourists are few and far between in my city and I think I did pretty well at fitting in for only being here a month if I do say so myself.

OK so let’s begin!  Melinda arrived on Friday and we walked to one of the many salons for pedicures that only cost us $7.50!  We were stuck inside for dinner as my curtains were being installed that evening so we ordered from Las Campagnas (a local bakery and café) for dinner.  We made sure to order Melinda a quipe, being her first authentic Dominican food.  And yes we got delivery!  So many restaurants deliver here.

Saturday was the only day we really were touristy.  We went to Puerto Plata.  It was fun driving through the mountains and through all of the country towns.  The country has a lot of poverty with small run down homes.  People were always outside gathered together showing a sense of community there.  There were tons of Plantains being sold and even a couple young boys running through the rain naked! Upon arrival to Puerto Plata, the beach we found was kind of a bust.  It was filled with seaweed and the sun wasn’t even shining.  Although it’s hot here with or without the sun when you’re from the Midwest.  We decided to ditch the beach and head to Ocean World for it’s man-made beach, dolphin shows and a nice pool.  This was well worth the trip!  We went snorkeling, swimming, saw tigers and sharks, watched the dolphins and more.  It’s a nice stop if you’re ever in Puerto Plata.  Also the beaches on the resorts I’m sure are and seaweed free and nicer than the public beach I described.

tunnel in the mountain

The lovely countryside

At the Beach

 

At the pool

Snorkeling at Ocean World, Puerto Plata

How can I forget what we did next?  We rode a cable car to the top of the mountain!  I am terrified of heights and have no idea why I agreed to this.  I definitely shed a few tears and hung to the handles for dear life.  The guy assured me the cable car had been running for 33 years and never broke.  That was not comforting at all because 33 years is a long time and sounds like the perfect time to break. Could you imagine falling off the track and down the mountain or being stuck in that thing?!  Wow.  However the views of the land and ocean were breath taking and the same giant statue of Christ that is in Brazil was also at the top of the mountain in Santiago, DR.  Mind you, I am still not saying the statue or the views were with this little extravaganza but Jesus and Melinda enjoyed it.

We crammed over 20 people in there!

Seriously don't look down...although much was covered in fog...

Small piece of the view ( I wasn't in a picture taking mood)


Notice the mountain in the background, yep we went to the  top! 

This statue of Christ awaited us at the top of the mountain...you'd think holding his hand would have calmed my fear!

On Sunday we went to church and it was testimony meeting.  One guy that Jesus and I have been getting to know met Melinda prior to the service and when he bore his testimony, he translated it into English and looked right at her.  What a nice friend.  The remainder of the day we rested, made omelets and salami and hit the pool at my apartment.

On Monday Melinda and I checked out downtown Santiago.  We walked around several stores in the city.  We found a mall kind of place with lots of little shops and stands inside.  For those of you from Minneapolis, it reminds me of Mercado Central or the Global World Market on Lake Street.  This is where we haggled on prices and Melinda bought some Amber jewelry as Amber is in abundance here. We found out from our friend Jose, that lives here, that we did well on our bargaining and didn’t get ripped off for what we bought.  We also bought some matching colorful pants that I would have never bought in the states and stopped for ice cream at Bon which is the popular ice cream place here and oh so good. 

Tuesday Morning we went to the monument in Santiago.  This is probably the one actual touristy spot within my city.  We went as high up as was allowed and had a great view overlooking the city.

 

In the afternoon we did some more shopping to get ourselves Flan pans, and a tostonera for Melinda, all of which we put to use that evening. We also wanted to get some traditional Dominican candy for Melinda’s dad and someone directed us to a shop called Alta Gracia.  The only problem was no one else knew where this store was so it was a little tricky finding the place.  Turns out it is a small shop out of someone’s home and that’s why most people we asked didn’t know where it was.  It was interesting walking into the back of someone’s house with grandma washing fruit in a bucket on the floor and another lady showing us all the homemade dulces (Dominican candy) in her freezer.  Because everything was frozen or fresh, we weren’t able to ship it to Melinda’s dad but we got some goodness for ourselves.  The dulces are jars full of fruit and a sweet milk mixture.  We also grabbed some quarto leches…yes quarto not tres and it was all so delicious! 

Dulces

Making tostones

On Wednesday we grabbed an empanada from a local bakery and some macaroons from another.  I had a list of foods Melinda needed to try so we were busy snacking until we completed the list.  Then Wednesday afternoon Melinda was back on her way to the states.

What a great trip!  I got to do some things I hadn’t done yet and was so happy to see my friend who I hadn’t seen in a while.  Joaquin and Jesus were also troopers getting dragged along to various places but they liked it too.  Thank you Melinda and thank you for sharing your photos on facebook to show others what a fun place Santiago can be!