Sunrise, Sunset and New Inspiration

I'd say my greatest area of resistance in parenthood has been getting up earlier in the morning! It sounds silly, but for most of my life I was a self-proclaimed night owl who hated getting up any earlier than I had to. My ideal schedule was going to bed no earlier than 11pm, and getting up no earlier than 8am.

For awhile, I was coaxing Liam to sleep until 8am. Over the last few months, he's been slowly but surely been moving the time earlier. We were at 7:30 for awhile, then closer to 7. But once I limited us to only 2 night feedings about a couple weeks ago, I noticed that he preferred to get up closer to 6am! At first I was tired, and sometimes tempted to nurse him back down (and use it like a snooze button like I used to do). But when I simply got myself to bed earlier, and got up with him I was amazed at how much smoother our day went. Mama had time to go on walks and get more done, and Liam would go down for well-timed naps in his crib without a fuss from either of us. That second part alone made it totally worthwhile!!

Liam has helped me discover an appreciation for the morning that I never had before. He has been my reason to be out on a walk almost every day and watch the sun rise and first break through the trees (now we are entering the autumn equinox). He has helped me see just how fresh and full of promise the world can look in the morning. I also have discovered I can have a lot more energy in the morning, and I often feel more productive when I get a good start. I also learned an afternoon siesta is more refreshing to me if I'm dragging, than trying to sleep in. I wonder if I ever would have learned this about myself without my little Sunshine?

Thanks to a friend, I also discovered a new website full of good baby food inspiration! Recently I was running out of ideas of what to feed Liam, and I tried buying some food in jars. They are cheap, but definitely more expensive than making your own. They are worth it for convenience or being on the go, and I particularly like getting some fruits and veggies I don't want to take the time to prepare myself. I even tried getting him one of the chicken and vegetable dinners, and tasted a tiny bit myself. It smelled like beef stew or chicken soup, but tasted awful. I would never eat it myself, and I didn't feel right feeding it to Liam (who took a couple bites like he was being polite, but overall was uninterested).

For me food should be about more than just nourishment, it should be about good quality and taste too! I decided from that point on, I need to get back on the ball and make him some new mixes and foods to taste that also reflect our values and aspirations. My motivation returned as I thought how we hope to pass on my love of huge variety and Michael's love of quality in food. We tried one of the chicken recipes off here today, tore small pieces for Liam, that he truly devoured along with some rice! That's the kind of eating I like to see! http://weelicious.com/