Meat on the Menu, Sick Mama + My Favorite Oatmeal

Monday

I got up early on Monday, hoping to have a bit of Arthur-free time before he woke up, since Miklós would be out for the day and I wouldn't have any breaks. Miklós had been in the bathroom making plenty of noise, and then walking down the creaky stairs, and Arthur hadn't woken up. So as soon as Miklós went downstairs (around 7:15), I opened my door and tiptoed to the bathroom. I didn't even flush the toilet after I went, doing everything in my power not to disturb Arthur. But I heard him a minute after I entered the bathroom. I'm starting to think that the theories I've read about hormonal links between babies and mamas due to breast milk are true. Because I swear, except on the rare occasion that he's exhausted and sleeps in, it's always always always when I get up for the day that Arthur wakes up. I don't know if our cycles are syncing, so to speak, or if he senses I'm near, or what, but there's something to it.

Anyways, Arthur wasn't terribly hungry when he woke up; he just wanted to be on me, and fussed even when I leaned him against my legs, because he wasn't up against my chest. To be honest, he was a bit whiny for a lot of the morning, and I was worried he might be sick; I had also started coming down with something the day before, so I thought it might be a shared experience. But his temperature was fine, so he has no excuses.

Because he had gotten up so early, we had some extra time in the morning, and I decided to feed him some solids. And I corrupted my innocent little baby and gave him his first taste of meat. To be fair, it was a very small amount of beef, one of many ingredients in a baby "spaghetti bolognese" purée, which consisted of puréed whole-grain pasta, tomato sauce, carrots, and a bit of beef. At first, he didn't seem to like it much, but after a while (and his mom pretending to eat some with enthusiasm), he started liking it a lot more, and even asked for more!

We introduced another new food at his afternoon snack: avocado! Albert Heijn had ready-puréed avocado on sale, and since it was 99% avocado, with only a tiny bit of lime juice and salt added, I figured it would be perfect for Arthur. Plus, avocado allergies run in the family, so in his case, it was a potential allergen, and probably best to introduce early. He loved it, so let's hope he doesn't end up being allergic! We followed the avocado with quite a lot more of the bolognese purée, which he seemed to like quite a bit this time. But oh my goodness, does that stuff make an especially big mess. It got all over his face, hands (partially because he wanted to feed himself, and held the spoon by its actual mouth, with his hand in the purée), clothes, and all the nooks and crannies of his high chair as well. It's a bright orange colour too, so really stands out. Hopefully it doesn't stain!

I didn't want to change his outfit again after dinner, so I opted for something a bit less vibrant for Arthur's solid dinner, and gave him some Weetabix porridge. It was still a huge hit, though his appetite for nursing afterwards left something to be desired.

The aftermath of a successful meal

So on Monday, Arthur had:

• whole-grain pasta

• tomato

• carrot

• basil (new food!)

• oregano (new food!)

• beef (new food!)

• avocado (new food!)

• lime (new food!)

• Weetabix

Tuesday

Well, maybe scratch that last theory. Arthur woke up at 6:45 on Tuesday, and I certainly wasn't up then. Luckily his darling papa entertained him for an hour to let his sick mama get a little more sleep in, though Arthur was getting increasingly worked up. He was pretty darn hungry by the time he got to my boob, but also sleepy, so he had a nice morning nap right away.

Luckily, that meant that Arthur was in a pretty good mood for much of the morning, which was helpful because all I wanted to do was lie on the bed next to him while occasionally sticking a stuffed animal or book in his face to entertain him. It seemed to work. As a fellow shopper at Lidl said, "That's the first happy face I've seen all day!"

Morning mischief

Strangely enough, he smelled pretty garlicky in the morning, though I don't think he ate anything with garlic in it the previous day. Since I was feeling pretty ick, I opted to keep his snacks simple and stick to what he ate the previous day, though in slightly smaller quantities, as his poop was pretty sticky and I wasn't sure whether it was due to too much solid snacking the previous day. Although maybe it's just a sign of his maturing digestive system; as Miklós said, "It looks like a proper poop!" So in the afternoon, we started with some more spaghetti bolognese purée (he still likes it!), followed by a bit of avocado purée. And dinner was, once again, Weetabix. Basically a repeat of the previous day, so his solid intake was also a repeat:

• whole-grain pasta

• tomato

• carrot

• basil

• oregano

• beef

• avocado

• lime

• Weetabix

Monday and Tuesday dinners were, as usual, not home-cooked. But I do want to write down how I make my favorite oatmeal. It's not really a recipe, being just a couple of ingredients and super simple, but the proportions make an oatmeal just how I like it. And it's definitely a comfort food, whether I'm sick or not. I grew up eating my oatmeal plain and savory, so despite having a massive sweet tooth, I actually prefer my oatmeal salty. Here's how I make it:

---

Yummy Oats (serves 1)

Ingredients

• ½ cup dry oats (I usually use fine grain)

• 1 tbsp chia seeds

• 1 tsp salt

• water

Instructions (if you can call them that)

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a small (cereal-sized) bowl with a heatproof bottom or a pot of a similar size.

2. Add boiling water to nearly the brim of the bowl, then cover (I usually use a pot lid) and let sit for half an hour. to an hour.

3. Heat on the stovetop on medium-low for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Eat warm, optionally with a drizzle of milk.