Weaning ABC part 3. Compromise

Final chapter in my ABC of Weaning:

• A. Allergy
• B. Baby Led Weaning
• C. Compromise

[NOTE- written before coronavirus hit, and wow does it show! Stay safe you guys.]

I wrote the first two Weaning ABC posts for a friend with twins 3 months younger than mine, so I was trying to be encouraging that BLW is totally doable with two. Rereading now I’m out of the haze of the first year, I’m worried they come off somewhat preachy. If so, I AM SO SORRY.

I generally try not to be a knob, and contributing to the preachy parental one-upmanship (one-upmumship??) culture is a knobish thing to do. I certainly don’t want anyone to feel rubbish about their weaning choices: FFS we’ve all got to teach them to eat, and there really is no right way. Aspirational instagrams are all very well, but the reality is that time and energy are in short supply in most parents’ lives. There has to be a compromise between lovingly prepared and speedily convenient: and that is no bad thing.  

Best Ever* Edible Fake Blood

* Safe for babies… unsafe for upholstery. Delicious for adults. Vegan!

I love dressing up, festivals and frippery, and most years I manage to attend a costume party or dance macabre to celebrate all that is gruesome, exciting and escapist at Halloween.

This year… not so much! I was home alone with two 7-month old babies, who are now in a fairly set routine of dinner, bath, PJs, feed to sleep (albeit with mighty protests at every transition). It’s a lot to do on one’s own and recently the monotony has been starting to get me down.

Social media was filling up with other people’s party pics, everyone and their gorgeous offspring seemed to be out Trick Or Treat-ing, and I was looking blankly into the fridge trying to plan a nutritious yet mutually-palatable meal for one adult and 2 babies… when a vacuum pack of beetroot caught my eye.

New plan!

ZOMBIE ATTACK!!! 🧟‍♀️

Featuring Sleep-Deprivation-Zombie Mummy & the Two Tiny Terrors

Zombie Mummy

Autumn Sunshine Smoothie

Hello October! 🍁 The season has definitely changed here in London: after an endless-feeling hot summer, there is a chill in the air and it’s downright cold in the shade. There are still lots of bright blue skies (alternating with drizzle and gales) and we’ve had a fair bit of sunshine this week, but the foliage is turning, the evenings are shortening, and – surest sign of autumn setting in – everyone I meet seems to be fighting a cold!

Sunset on Primrose Hill 01.10.18

1-pot 10-minute SOS Veggie Breakfast

Save Our Stomachs! We are living on coffee and catnaps at the moment… it’s been 3 weeks now of the babies sleeping like newborns i.e. NOT A LOT AT NIGHT. When they do sleep, they take it in turns, so there’s pretty much always one baby on the go.

Time and energy for food prep is in short supply, so I’m falling back on some old favourites. This breakfast/lunch/saviour meal takes 10 minutes, all in. It is protein packed, healthy, hearty vegetarian fare. And it tastes so good.

Do they sleep?

Why yes: but only on me. 😬

It wasn’t always like this. They are now 22 weeks old, which puts them right in the middle of the tricky (hellish) period known as the “4-month sleep regression”.

Double-G Granola

There comes a time when a person stops feeling comfortable eating a tray of flapjack every week (or does there?).

And now that time has come for me, this is what I’ve started making instead: similarly tasty, but lower fat and altogether more wholesome, homemade granola.