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The One In The Oven

~ …just baby and toddler talk

The One In The Oven

Monthly Archives: July 2013

The invisible transformation from baby to child

19 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by Elizabeth M. Johnson in Children, Parenting, Play

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Tags

babies, children, growing up, parents, play, toddlers, walking

Yesterday, after almost seven weeks away from home, I realized with a mixture of excitement but also not a small bit of sadness that Elisabeth is becoming a child. I have called her a “baby” for over a year now and I’m resisting letting that noun that has become a constant for me for so long go away. Even as I type this, I feel a little teary. But there’s no getting around it, Elisabeth is growing up. A mixture of so many things are making me realize this. Of course it’s obvious markers of age: the clothes that we brought with us suddenly look faded and small. And her precious REI cap with the flaps that she’s worn since she was almost five months old is now a bit too tight. But there are subtle changes too.

Elisabeth’s interests are different. The swings at the local playground don’t seem to fascinate her as much as they did initially. And this was one of my recent lightbulb moment that she was moving from a baby into a child. I popped her into one but Elisabeth wanted to explore in the sand, get feet and hands wet in the faux brook that kids can create with a hand pump. She wasn’t drawn to these things before. Getting her feet and hands gritty with sand is suddenly appealing to her.

Elisabeth has always wanted to interact with other children, as long as they are her age or older. She LOVES children and always wants to be involved in their play. But now Elisabeth tries to communicate with them as well. She touches them and “talks” and sometimes they talk back. This fascinates and delights her.  It is so easy sometimes to make a baby child happy.  Set this one down amidst other kids and she joins right in the secret game.

The play in our small vacation apartment is more sophisticated too. Elisabeth put Mr. Fox in and out of a bedside table drawer twenty times yesterday. In and out. In and out.  Then she added diapes, puzzle pieces and DB Dino.  Finally bored, she scooted away, onto the next thing.  We also played a “shell game” of sorts with me “hiding” a small plastic piece in one hand and Elisabeth trying to guess which hand it was in.  She laughed so hard, delighted, even when she was wrong.

The biggest change, of course, has been her guided walking with me.  We started in the wading pool at the thermal baths.  Elisabeth is so tall that I almost don’t have to bend over when I hold her hands.  She walked across the pool, stopped when she dropped her cup, picked it up and then we walked back.  The following day we walked right out of the pool, toward out blanket and the grass.  I think I was holding my breath the whole time.

And there are a dozen other small differences too. Elisabeth mimics our faces, “plays” with herself in the full-length mirror, understands the word “gentle”, and seems to say “fish”.  What treasures each of these new little successes.  My husband and I watch her, astounded sometimes and what we see her doing on a daily basis.

Growing up is so invisible.  Somehow I thought it would be more obvious but it seems only to be noticeable if you pay close attention…which I am trying to get better at.  And now? She’s napping, in her crib, looking very much like the baby I’ve always known.  Of course, it will likely all change tomorrow. The swings once again will be what Elisabeth points to with glee.  But maybe not.

Photos of Our Kids…and Ourselves

11 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by Elizabeth M. Johnson in Be Kind to Yourself, Children, Life lessons, New parents, Parenting, parenting tips, Raising Girls

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Tags

body-image, children, new parents, parenting, perfection, photography, raising girls

I can’r remember when and where I read an article by a mom who talked about her decision to start including herself in pictures with her children.  The author prefaced the choice by saying that she’d gained weight, wasn’t exercising regularly and felt pretty shlumpy in general.  This mom decided, however, that it was less important to feel that she looked perfect for a picture and more important to be IN the picture, with her children.  I thought at the time that she was right on.  But easier said than adapted in practice, as usual, as I don’t have as many pictures as I thought of Elisabeth and I. I want to change that.  Here’s why.

  1. Her history includes me.  No great revelation here, I know, but just as I document Elisabeth’s story, so should I include me too because I am part of that story…at least when she’s small anyway.  And that time goes by so fast as it is.
  2. I want Elisabeth to see pictures of us together when I look fabulous, tired, wet, dry and everything in between.  I don’t want her to think of the camera as something that comes out only when we (both of us) look perfectly coiffed.  Being a girl is hard enough already.  Let’s leave perfection out of it as long as we can.

So, I’m turning over a new leaf.  On that note…

At the river...

At the river…

Dear reader, is the article I mentioned above familiar to you?  If so, can you leave me a comment below?  Thanks.

Video

A spoken word poet takes on #breastfeeding

06 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by Elizabeth M. Johnson in Breastfeeding, New parents, The Human Body

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#NIP, breastfeeding, feminism, Hollie McNish, sexualization of women's bodies, spoken word

“I wonder if these public loo feeds offend her,
’cause I’m getting tired of discretion and being polite.” – from the video

New moms need as much support as they can get…no matter where or what they choose to feed their baby. Spoken word poet Hollie McNish tackles the issue of breastfeeding in public in this performance that will swirl in your heart long after she stops speaking.  Give yourself 3 minutes to watch.

What is it?

03 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by Elizabeth M. Johnson in Play, Teachable Moments, Travel

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Tags

Berlin Zoo, Germany, good marketing, parenting

IMG_2701

It’s an advertisement for the Berlin Zoo.  It’s an animal hybrid.  It’s a sculpture.  It’s art.  All of the above?

I don’t think it really matters.

What does matter is that it caught Elisabeth’s eye from 10 feet away and drew her as if she were at the end of a fishing line.  She reached out to touch its smooth, hard surface (what, no fur?).  We talked about the animal faces that we saw on it.  I made the sounds of some of the animals. (Do flamingos make noise? I hope so.  Otherwise I lied to a child.) This marvelous wonder, about 6 feet high, did exactly what it was supposed to.  Be compelling, attractive and memorable to kids and adults alike.  If there was a mini version of it, on a pencil or in a book, I would have bought it for Elisabeth.  It’s just that cool.

What has caught your child’s eye recently and how did you talk about it?

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Mistress Syndrome

The Belle Jar

"Let me live, love and say it well in good sentences." - Sylvia Plath

Durham Association of Educators

Fight to Win the Schools We All Deserve

balance in the breeze

life is for sharing

I Talk About Boobs And Other Things

your worth as a parent is not measured in ounces

human with uterus

Pregnancy * Birth * Lactation * Personhood

The Molina's Expedition

Pilot's and Nagravator's Mental Floss

Stories From the Belly

A Blog About The Feminine, Creativity, and The Movement of Taking Up Space

Aya de Leon

author - activist - faculty - mom

BabyCalm - Surviving the Fourth Trimester

Calmer Babies and Happier Parents

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