Rookie Moms

Ok, I realize this post doesn’t meet any Rookie Mom goals. It’s not cheap, free, or crafty. It doesn’t get you out of the house or help you socialize with friends. It doesn’t liberate your body from baby-holding for a chunk of time so that you can do what you want to do. It doesn’t help you get dinner together with less stress. And it certainly doesn’t help you declutter your life. But, I like it and I want to share.

Customglamgirl.com (classy URL, no?) sells personalized screenprinted shirts to which I am addicted. I bought the t-shirts depicted below for Heather and her husband to wear during their bachelor/bachelorette weekends. They read “My (heart) belongs to Heather”/”My (heart) belongs to Alec”.

They also have baby and kid sizes. My fave baby gift for folks who have a second child is to put the names of both siblings as the name of the trucking company on the shirt below. As in “Ashley & Griffin’s Trucking Company.”

I tell you this because I just got a promo email from these folks and they have some Valentine-themed merchandise. (I will confess that I bought myself some boycut undies with a message on the back and wore them a few valentine’s days ago.) Buy large, friends. The clothes are cut for teenage bodies.

While you’re still making all that good fresh baby food, hold a food swap with some other mom friends to introduce your kid to new flavors and broaden his palate. Here’s how:

1. Make a huge double batch of sweet potatoes or winter squash (steam, puree, put in a large tupperware in the fridge)
2. Your pals, Bettina and Henrietta, make a huge batch of lentils or stewed pears following the same process
3. You give some to Big B and some to Miz H and open your arms to receive from them.
4. When you get home, put the fresh and tasty mush in ice cube trays, freeze into little food cubes, and store in labeled ziploc freezer bags (after some experimentation, I now realize how impractical it is to keep those suckers safely frozen and swap ‘em that way!)

Voila! All three babes have some new foods to learn about.

Our favorite combos were : Squash/Pear, Carrot/Apple, Pear/Mango/Banana, Carrot/Sweet Potato.
Worst experience: Green Beans/Tofu, Carrot/Parsnip

We recently “met” Courtney from Babyccino — an excellent blog in which moms in 4 European cities hold an online conversation about life, kids, and style.

She is an American from Seattle living in London with her husband and 2 lively sons, Easton and baby Quin (near the same ages as mine!).

She shares some of her favourite mum and baby activities.

Monday: Burgers and Electric Scream
Head to “Babes ‘n Burgers” on Portobello Road for a quick lunch. They have a play area in the back for kids, and the burgers are decent!

After lunch, walk a few blocks south on Portobello Road to the Electric Cinema. They have a 3:00 screening slot set up for mums and their babies under 1-year-old. You buy a ticket, “valet” park your buggy, take your seat, and your baby sits on your lap (or the ample floor space in front of you). No worries if they scream — it’s actually called “Electric Scream” because it is to be expected! This way you can stay up-to-date on recent films, and maybe meet some other mums while you’re there. (Buy your ticket early on Monday, because it always sells out)!

Tuesday: Kid’s Zone and delicious pasta
Take your kids to the (free) National Army Museum in Chelsea. They have a Kid’s Zone for interactive learning and a play space with a forest, castle, board games, a construction corner, and a reading area. The Zone is meant for kids under 10, including a soft-play area for babies! After the museum, head to the nearby King’s Road for lunch at Carluccio’s. They have a great kid’s menu, loads of highchairs, changing tables in the bathrooms, and the food is good!

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Is that an expression? Well, if button up is… I figured I could use it.

Anyway, when Holden was a few days old, Alec tried to give him is first manicure. This innocent ritual ended with snipping off the end of his little thumb and us putting mittens on him for the next three weeks.

Five good reasons for baby mittens:

1. Babies won’t scratch their little faces unwittingly
2. You can avoid trimming those razor-sharp talons or avoid looking at where you snipped your precious baby’s finger already (for a little while only)
3. You could be seriously entertained by your choice of handwear
4. Cootie-laden strangers won’t grab your babies hands
5. Warmth

Holden wore some mittens that made him look like a court jester. You can go that route or the uber-cool, hipster, tattoo-hands route. Buy some plain ones and experiment with your own style.

[Link and image via BloggingBaby]