Something's gotta give

I'm not talking about the movie, although I hear it's pretty good.  I just love that line sometimes, because it's just the truth.  Sometimes, not everything can be perfect, and something's gotta give.  I have to remind myself that as a parent, because nothing will ever be perfect!  And there's not a whole lot I can do about that.  While it may sound cynical or pessimistic, I actually find it to be a relief.  God's not expecting me to outdo Him, because everything He creates is good and does good.  And it's not all about me.  (I.Am.Brilliant!!!)
~Thoughts spurred from a recent Beth Moore study


In other news, we met with a new pediatrician on Monday.  I haven't ruled out Mia's former pediatrician just yet, but if I could combine a few things about both pediatricians, I'd be quite happy.  Anyway, probably the biggest takeaway from the appointment is just a confirmation that Mia is growing happily & healthily, right on schedule!  She's around the 50th percentile for height and weight.  She's 22.5 lbs and just over 31 inches in height.  She's really grown in the last 6 months, which is reassuring for me.  I think I owe a lot of that to butter & avocado (not joking)!  Now that I found Mia will eat a lot of foods smothered in butter, I try to incorporate it whenever I can (when it makes sense).  That, or other healthier fats & oils.  Think I'm gross?  Right now, a diet high in fat is probably the most important thing for a little one, since she needs all that fat for her brains.

The doctor also reassured me that Mia's middle-of-the-night waking spells are totally normal, albeit not always welcome, for this age range.  I've been a bit disheartened lately because our good-sleeping-girl has become our hard-to-get-back-in-the-crib girl over the last couple months.  Teething seems to be the culprit of all things evil sometimes, and I'll just have to blame it on that.  But the last two nights, while she has woken up and I had to do a little bit of soothing, she put herself back to sleep after 15 minutes of being placed back in the crib.  It may be baby steps, but that's a BIG improvement.  I think the key actually has to do with me.  Even though I don't want to be the main person attending to her in the middle of the night all the time, if she doesn't even know or realize that daddy's an option, she persists less.  (Daddy is the comforting-rocker guy, and I'm not just talking about his drum-playing abilities.)  So it seems that if we can continue to reinforce that, maybe Mia will get back on the right track.  And then continually reminding myself, this doesn't last forever!

this photo is not related
at all to this post

And then relatedly, since Mia does seem to do pretty well with butter, I've been incorporating some whole-milk yogurt into her diet through smoothies and such.  Occasionally she'll have cheese if it's nicely blended into a meal (or in a quesadilla), but I've yet to offer her whole cow's milk again.  She hasn't had a reaction *knock on wood* to the yogurt, but as I just gave her a little bit of her own smoothie, I can hear some congestion brewing in her nose.  That does concern me a bit, BUT, we'll take it little-by-little.
Here are the smoothies I make, based on various recipes I've seen on the WWW:

-1 cup whole milk yogurt
-1 cup milk (cow's, almond or coconut)
-a few heaping tablespoons of a nut butter (sunbutter, almond or peanut)
-1-2 bananas based on taste
-a few drops of stevia (optional)

Mia really likes them, and I do too!  They're a good morning boost.