Cut the Cheese

I love my kid. So much so that I really don't want her to get food poisoning from old breast milk that I keep in the fridge for far too long because rinsing it down the drain would just break my heart. Anyone who has pumped for a child knows that it ain't no joke when they call breast milk "liquid gold". And once the pumped milk is poured into individual baggies and frozen into perfect little brick forms, that liquid gold has just become shiny, valuable bullion. Mine looks so pretty there in the freezer, all organized by date with the ounces boldly written for all to admire. Yes, my milk is a source of pride for me. My kid is getting every ounce of nourishment her growing body needs from ME. But sometimes my baby is stubborn and does not enjoy this frozen breastmilk. In fact, she is so unimpressed by if that she refuses to drink it in its thawed form. To date, she has turned her nose up at defrosted breastmilk offered in SIX different bottles. This girl knows what she wants and the pitch of her protesting screams suggests she knows how it get it. But she's met her match in me and I, too, know what I want: to not waste my precious milk! It is suggested that once milk has been thawed it needs to be used in 4 hours which means I needed to either find a way to get my kid to drink or I needed to get creative. So I hit the Internet to research ways to not let my milk go to waste. 

Breastmilk Soap: interesting but I only have 1 of 8 the ingredients on hand. Milk. 

Breastmilk Milkshake: even I don't have that big of a sweet tooth.

Breastmilk Alfredo Sauce: Mark would never forgive me.

Breastmilk Bath Time: well, this could work...

Because of the super high fat content of breastmilk, it is said that adding it to bath water can leave skin feeling supple and soft. I thought to myself, "it couldn't hurt to try..." And truth it is didn't hurt. But it did smell. Terrible. I humbly admit that people are always commenting on how great Sweet P smells. And now I find her splashing around in a tub filled with perfectly warmed water, lavender baby wash, and breastmilk. Stinky breastmilk. Could this be the first time in history that a child got out of the bath smelling WORSE than before she went in? And truth be told, at five months old P's skin is so silky smooth that I couldn't tell the difference. My theory is this: the breastmilk is not the ingredient to cause such beautifully soft skin. It is the loads of scented lotion you must apply after bath time to keep yourself from carrying around a child who smells like bleu cheese crumbles. So back to the drawing board I go for inspired ways to use some milk. And consider yourself warned-- you may not want to accept the sour dough bread starter kit I have coming your way. 

High FIVE

Five months old!

Sweet P is getting older right before my eyes. She is changing daily by the minute. I swear some days she wakes up barely able to get through the ABC's, and by lunch time she is reciting her favorite Walt Whitman poem: Give Me the Splendid, Silent Sun. (Duh.)

But in all honesty she is developing so quickly and it is a true joy to watch. Making a quick notation here of her development thus far will help me to remember it 18 years from now when she is leaving for college. Which will somehow end up feeling like tomorrow. 

*favorite toy: "go-go monkey"

*favorite way to pass the day: nursing

*least favorite way to pass the day: sleeping

*favorite book: Won't you be my Kissaroo?

*refuses to: leave home without a pacifier, a backup pacifier, and a backup to the    

    backup 

*first taste of food: watermelon

*loves to: pull pacifier from own mouth

*hates to: not be able to put pacifier back in own mouth

*happiest when: snuggling right between mom and dad

*unhappiest when: riding in the car

*neat places you've visited: the world outside the womb, Oakland Zoo, Oakland Emergency Department- aka Oakland Zoo 2.0, Briones Stables, Carmel, Half Moon Bay, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Chinatown- SF, Giants Stadium, Old Town Sac via Amtrak

Sweet P, keep on doing what you're doing because it brings more happiness to your daddy and I than we ever thought possible. Except screaming on the top of your lungs during all car rides. You can quit doing that any time. 

Free to a good home!

I've recently become quite obsessed with perusing the "free" postings on Craigslist. It is surprising to see some of the gems that people are parting with. Granite countertops. Antique furniture. Appliances. PUPPIES! It is absolutely true that one man's trash is another man's treasure. But I am not currently in the market for anything in particular so just when I decide to close out the site and resume a game of Candy Crush, I stumble upon this: Free Gallon of Whole Milk. Yes, someone in Fremont/ Union City/ Newark went to the trouble to get in her car, drive to the store, and wait in line to purchase one gallon of milk only to bring it home and realize "it won't fit in my fridge". Really? Either she has never ever even seen a gallon of milk, or...? I can't explain her misfortune but someone out there will surely benefit from her mistake. But only if he responds ASAP, as "immediate pick-up" is necessary since she has no way to keep the milk cold. And my favorite part of the whole listing? She went to the trouble to attach a photo of a gallon of milk! Hilarious. And dreadfully sad. Because in the time it took her to post to Craigslist, she could have cleared some space in her fridge.