I TURNED MY BACK FOR A MINUTE..

..and my yogurt with lemon zest and agave was gone.. sacrificed to two little hands.  And how Biet loved it.  I could have stopped it when I first saw her lifting the container up to her face, but I didn't.  I could have stopped her when she began her little ritual of letting Nico lick her fingers and then sticking them back in her mouth, but I didn't.  I was too tired to stop her, and happy that she was getting some good protein in her belly.  Maybe a better Mama would have nipped all these bad behaviors in the bud instead of relishing the 15 minutes of silence while her daughter was occupied and content, but I just wasn't that Mama today.  I figured, she's eating at the table, family style, eager about feeding herself, and an enthusiastic sharer.  There's three points for Mama. So I sat back, snapped a few photos, and caught up on emails while she covered everything in yogurt. A little mess never hurt anybody..

WAKEY WAKEY EGGS N' BAKEY

This is what I woke up to the other day-  Biet and her father sitting down at the table together in their pajamas, a tray filled with delicious offerings (no there was no actual bacon, but there were eggs.. and coffee and toast and salad and oatmeal), and Nico meticulously watching the floor for fallen crumbs and thrown handfuls.  Gaby had woken up, whipped up breakfast, and fed our little monkey until her tummy was bulging- all while letting Mama sleep in an extra hour.

I loved waking up to that.  I cherish these moments between those two.  I imagine her growing, having breakfast with her Papa each day. He'll teach her how to cook the eggs and cut up the fruit, he'll let her try a sip of coffee and she'll spit it out, she'll surprise him one day with pancakes shaped like hearts.. I see the many blissful mornings ahead.

And that bit of extra silence and sleep was a treat to say the least. I really really miss long uninterrupted hours of sleep. Yes, this is all worth it, no question. This is all pretty perfect.  But when these extra hours of rest come around, it feels like a holiday.

I am so grateful for this husband of mine who thinks of me (he's known me long enough to know of my ridiculous love affair with sleeping) and tries in little ways to give me a break when he can.  It means the world.  I adore waking up and witnessing that little vignette of father+daughter breakfast.  I'm sure Biet is pretty happy to have her Papa/personal chef all to herself for a little while too.

LIKE HER MAMA, SHE LOVES FRENCH TOAST

Lisa (better known by all the little munchkins of the family as Auntie Lala) whipped up a huge late breakfast for everyone the other day that was deeeeelish!  She sautéed fresh challah, which Gaby had picked up at the bakery that morning when he took Nico out for her morning walk, into one of my all time favorites- french toast. Biet tasted the breakfast staple (or, in my book, anytime food) and was most definitely a fan (I can't believe that she's managed to make it to twelve months old without trying it!  Shame on me!)  And while she preferred her's plain, I'm hoping that one day she'll warm up to her Mama's crazy french toast style {I like it all melty topped with peanut butter of the freshly ground variety & real maple syrup.  Mmmmm- don't knock it til you've tried it!}. Thanks for a splendid family brunch Auntie Lala!

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Also: the counters over at Top Baby Blogs have been reset, so I'll ask just this once- if you enjoy this blog and have a spare couple of seconds, pretty please with a cherry on top click over to vote for Petite Biet. You can vote once every 24 hours. Merci. Gracias. Thank you!!!

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HOW TO DRIVE MAMA CRAZY IN 5 EASY STEPS

Baby Reunion #3

As last week rolled to a close, we three set out to attend a very important meeting which we had been looking forward to for some time: the reunion of the home-birthed babies. While pregnant with Biet, we met a lovely group of couples in our Bradley class, and every now and again we all meet up. The babes interact (ok maybe not so much yet, but they're getting there), the parents exchange stories & advice, and we all rejoice with our little families. This was the third reunion, and I can't believe how we've all grown. {You can see the first one here, and the second one here} We've each reached a certain comfort level in our parenthood, where being a Mother or Father is less of a novelty and more of a normalcy. I've heard time and again people say that they can't remember what life was like before children. And while, at least for me, that's not quite true, I do feel that having a family, a real family, has become the most natural thing in the world. I see that in our Bradley classmates too, and it makes me happy. We have all blossomed from eager new parents into confident Mama's & Papa's, nonchalantly balancing a baby on one hip while eating a slice, or breastfeeding like champions in the midst of adult conversation. We each had very different & beautiful home-births, figured out the first few months, and are now here: having a play date as our little ones near their first birthdays. Wow.

We met at Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Brooklyn's Dumbo, and it was quite an affair. Three curious babies + two hot pizza pies = fun all around. Only a few of us could make it this time, but it was more than enough baby-craziness at one table.  Biet and her Papa watched intently through the glass as they made our pizza, and she ate a whole pizza crust with her two little teeth(!). I was a bit scared that she might choke, chewing on such a huge piece of crust, but Nancy assured me that she would be fine, and indeed she was. Nancy's son Dacien is a few months older than Biet (and a ridiculously cute little man), so, along with great advice from her, I always get a little preview of what's to come. And Ava is just a few days younger than Biet, so I'm sure they will grow to be close friends. Biet wasn't feeling too social this time around (she was more into the pizza than her playmates), but that's ok. There will be many more of these reunions in the future, and for this I am grateful. It means so much to me to have these families in our life.

*Since Grimaldi's is voted best pizza every year, I think its safe to say that baby girl's first pizza slice was the very best in NYC.

*We'll be choosing a winner for our first giveaway tomorrow! If you haven't entered yet, go ahead and leave a comment here. Good luck!

Eyelash Batting +Drinking Chocolate

We attempted to go out to dinner with friends tonight at a cute little moules-frites place in Greenwich Village (we have yet to experience a completely successful dinner out with little B) and, as usual, after about 15 minutes, she had had enough. Gaby and I tried to make the best of it by taking turns holding her while the other ate (note to self: next time choose something that requires only 1 hand to eat), but the only way to keep her calm was to walk her around and around the restaurant.  As she bounced along on my hip, I saw it: her little thing with the busboy! Biet would look up at the busboy every time he passed, bat her eyelashes, and giggle. He thought it was adorable (it kind of was). It turns out that our baby girl is quite the flirt! I love to see her interacting with the people around her!
After dinner we went in search of something sweet, and ended up at Grom Gelato for the first time. I can't believe that I never tried it before! Ahhhmazing gelato (and I am a tough critic when it comes to ice-cream), but the drinking chocolate definitely stole the show. I can only describe it as dark chocolate heaven topped with fresh cream delight. If I can give any advice, it would be to go for the smallest size possible- it's that rich. I may or may not have let Biet taste a bit from the end of my spoon (I know- I'm terrible) and her eyes lit up like I've never seen before. Uh oh, looks like baby girl inherited her Mama's sweet tooth. It will be so much fun to go for hot cocoa together one day, bundled up in the city winter, mother + daughter.

I would also like to thank whomever nominated me for The Homies top family blogs over at Apartment Therapy. I am in disbelief. Thank you! It really feels wierd asking readers to vote (over and over it seems, with all of the contests of late), but this is Apartment Therapy!  So if you have a second to vote just one time, it would be amazing. 

xx

Belle

A Milk-Free Week, oh my!

Biet got to spend the entire weekend at her Mama's side (or rather, on her Mama's hip) this week. Since my work week is usually friday-tuesday, this was quite a nice change of pace for both of us. We had breakfast (+lunch +snacks +dinner) together every day at the table, threw spontaneous living room dance parties in our socks and undies after bath time, and walked for hours around Brooklyn in the lovely tepid winter sunshine. One thing we didn't do, however, was nurse.

It hurt my heart a little bit each time Biet's gaze lowered to my shirt and her tiny hands reached out, determined to figure out how to open the zipper of my hoodie (a zipped up hoodie was worn throughout the whole weekend as part of my nursing-layup uniform), but it was necessary. For my long weekend at home was not a President's Day treat, but due to an excrutiating and unexpected infection; an infection which required a myriad of antibiotics and painkillers- drugs which, we decided, we'd rather not pass into our baby's pure little body.

It was not an easy decision to make- abruptly (and temporarily) weaning Biet. We have been blessed with a near-perfect breastfeeding relationship since day one, and the thought of doing anything other than child-led weaning (most likely not for at least another year or two) had never entered my mind. I do have a heaviness in my heart about putting Biet through this, but the risks of passing harsh and untested drugs on to our developing infant changed our plans a bit, and so here we are: whipping up "solid" meals though out the day for our hungry little daughter, bottle-feeding at nap time & bedtime, and keeping her occupied during the day with games and excursions and Nico-time. And the fully zipped hoodie (layered over an impenetrable shirt).

Luckily, Biet is a champion when it comes to eating. You name it, we blend it, she eats it. Fruits, veggies, grains (we make our own baby cereal from raw oats and turn brown rice into flour to add to beans for her), nuts and seeds (no allergies issues whatsoever so far), leafy greens, goat milk (the closest in nature to human milk), legumes, soups, whole-grain pastas, gnocchi (her newest favorite).. she is fast developing an experienced palate. I love seeing her face light up with surprise and enjoyment when she tastes that first spoonful of something new. So far, the only food that received a disapproving sour face was, surprisingly, sweet potatoes. Funny girl.

I'm looking forward to next week when I am healed and Biet and I can happily resume nursing. I still fully intend to accomplish long-term breastfeeding, for both of us.  Until then, though, I'll just keep busily pumping away to keep my supply up, creating amazing baby cuisine in the kitchen, and loving on Biet with all the milk-free snuggling that I got.

 *Our highchair is the Tripp Trapp by Stokke, a gift from Gaby's cousin. We really love it & I would highly recommend it!