Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Vegetables and Cake



Paolo has been doing pretty well with all of the foods we’ve been trying with him since we introduced solids – rice, oatmeal and barley cereals, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and carrots. He wasn’t too crazy about carrots at first, but he has learned to eat them mixed with the cereal. Last week I cooked him some peas, and since I make all of his food myself, I have to say I was slightly offended when he gagged and threw them all back up. I thought it might be the texture of the skins, so I pushed the rest of what I’d made through a strainer. Even just a little bit in the cereal caused him to make the most sour face. Luckily, last night when we were at my dad’s, Paul fed him a little mashed avocado on his finger and he loved it! As a big foodie, I don’t think I could handle it if my kid didn’t like avocado.

His sleeping habits have gotten worse lately. I’m sick of everyone telling me it could be teething – which seems like the reason for everything out of the ordinary that a baby does from 4 months on. Since we tried to break him of the pacifier, we decided to do the Ferber method of sleep training. That’s where you put them down, let them cry for 5 minutes, go in to reassure them, leave, wait 10 minutes, go in, wait 15, and so on. Anyone who has ever tried to wait while their baby cries in the next room for any amount of time knows that it is very special form of torture. The way I describe it is to say that it’s like nails on a chalkboard, only it grates on your soul. Waterboarding has nothing on the extreme pain that it inflicted by forcing oneself to avoid going in to check on the baby. It has gotten better, and for a while he returned to sleeping through the night, but then he got a cold and that plan went out the window. It just isn’t fair to do sleep training when he’s congested and has a stuffy nose. We’ve even got a warm steam vaporizer, saline drops and a suction bulb. I don’t really know if any of it helps much, but it’s a temporary solution.

This past Saturday was my husband’s parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. This event was seriously stressing everyone out, especially me, as it started in the planning stages last year as a renewal of vows and moved towards a family vacation. Taking a vacation with an infant was something I was nervous about when I was still pregnant, mostly because of the expense involved and the idea of taking time off after just returning from maternity leave. Eventually these plans were abandoned as Paul’s parents’ financial situation went downhill and they had to sell their condo. Then about 10 days before the original anniversary party date, they decided to go back to the ceremony idea. My husband and all 5 of his siblings and spouses worked together in haste to put on a beautiful event. One sister got a friend to do flower arrangements & made invites and programs herself, another booked the country club and put together a full mass and I made a wedding cake. Paul organized a program after dinner where a representative from each family did something – whether it be the grandkids playing piano, singing, or simply making a little speech/toast. I even said a few words before our portion, which was a slideshow my husband had put together to music. It didn’t seem like a big deal when I thought of what to say just a few minutes before, but as I stood in front of the whole family and all their friends and thanked them for being such wonderful parents and grandparents, I broke down into tears. Still, I got through what I wanted to say.

It was an amazing night, especially considering how fast and hard everyone worked to make it happen. My concern was that his parents wouldn’t realize how much had gone on behind the scenes to make their wishes a reality, but in a speech at the end of the night they detailed all the efforts of their children and how grateful they were. Paul’s father has been very open about the infidelity he had in their marriage. He has worked since then to earn everyone’s forgiveness, and while I don’t know how I would react if my husband ever did this to me, I have to admire how his mom has stayed with him and made the marriage work. I hope that in another 44 ½ years, Paul and I will be celebrating our 50th and celebrating in a similar way. I feel so lucky to be a part of such a beautiful and loving family.

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