For those who have noted my recent lack of posting/emailing them/calling, I regret to inform you that I have learned a new lesson the hard way.
Psst….
Being a parent is hard! I won’t bore you with the whining that any parent can tell you (so tired, no time for anything else). The last few days have been the hardest- I’m second-guessing myself at every turn. Some sources say to feed her 8-12 times daily; others say as few as six. Some say to let her cry; others say never. Pacifier? No pacifier? Will this blanket accidentally smother her? Are the carseat straps tight enough but without hurting her? It’s an information overload and everything I do is considered right by at least one source…and dead wrong by at least one more. But the big issue is that Ainsley’s allergic to something I’m eating and I have to slowly eliminate everything to figure out the cause. First was dairy; I’d been limiting my dairy intake from the day of her birth, so it was just one more step to completely stop (goodbye, delicious butter and cream, I shall miss you). Now it’s soy, too, and if that doesn’t work, all citrus.
Dairy had been a major protein source throughout my pregnancy; losing soy meant losing my new main protein source. I was depressed. I’d been so proud of my healthful low-to-no meat diet, and I simply couldn’t be sure Ainsley had enough of the right nutrients with no dairy or soy. I called a friend who’s been vegetarian for 19 years and vegan for five. I begged for advice on what to eat. He gave me some great ideas, but also helped me feel comfortable with the fact I might have to just eat some meat and get over myself already.
Seriously, I am fine with eating some meat if it means that we can fix this food allergy problem and if it means Ainsley and I have enough protein. I was just so proud of my dietary changes and it felt like backsliding at first. Being a total vegetarian is not something I thought I’d ever accomplish, but I was proud of how far I’d come, from meat-centric fatty dinners to healthful fruits, grains, and vegetables at the core of most meals. But nothing trumps doing the right thing for Ainsley so I will have a little animal protein more often. I was only eating fish, but I can’t eat too much due to mercury, …it’s all tiring and easy to overthink.
Well, you see the point. Oh, and enjoy the latest baby picture.
Ainsley is so precious! And I’d say if ever there was a good reason to eat meat, _for baby_ is it! 🙂
That is a very cute picture and welcome to parenthood. It’ll get better, eventually, I think… or was that the lack of sleep induced delusion I had at some point in the past.
“I might have to just eat some meat and get over myself already.”
I think that’s the most reasonable thing that
I’ve ever heard come from the mouth of a vegan.
“I am fine with eating some meat… ”
Amen to that, my sister! Welcome back
to the top of the food chain!
Aside from not being sure what we will cook together in your kitchen, I’m glad you’re being healthy for both of you! I bet in the end your eating habits will still be healthier than they were in your “top of the food chain” days.
Meanwhile, I think you should move to one of the foreclosed homes in my neighborhood so we can walk together every night.
BTW, I had put a “snort” after the top of the food chain phrase, but I used HTML brackets and the system didn’t print them! I think that view is a load of BS created as an excuse to dominate the Earth rather than share it.
“DOMINATE THE EARTH”
That has a certain ring to it! Probably why some of my favorite games to play are Risk, Axis and Allies, and Sid Meyer’s Civilization. They’re all about dominating the Earth, and it’s a hoot!
BTW, I had previously thought that the etymology of the word “vegetarian” was from old Greek. I was wrong. It was recently pointed out to me that it is, in fact, an old Cherokee term meaning “lousy hunter.”
I suppose next you will tell us another everyone’s-heard-it-joke like If animals are so tasty, why did God make them out of meat? or PETA stands for People Eating Tasty Animals? How about Don’t vegetables have feelings too? Will you eat twice as much meat to make up for my lack of it?
I just didn’t want someone to claim a “victory” while KNH explained that she had to struggle with her decision. Kinda cheapens it. Maybe that’s just my sensitivity to it.
You’re right, though, that I seem to lack the domination gamer gene. That might explain it all! 🙂
Okay, okay … I am suitably chastised. I’m sorry for appearing insensitive to the feelings of a new mother whose nerves are already and understandably jangled. I wasn’t really trying to claim a “victory” for anything, just glad to hear that my friend was acting somewhat more normally, at least according to my Mid-Western omnivorous sensibilities. Because when it comes right down to it, I don’t think that eating rabbit food for the rest of your life is entirely normal behavior. You may lack the wargamer gene, but I assume that you (like everyone else) still have the genes that give us canine teeth, right?
Here’s a story about the vegans for ya. During a college roadtrip, my smirking friend introduced me to an attractive, if somewhat skinny and anemic-looking young lady. He said:
“Ken, this is my friend X. She’s a vegan.” (arched eyebrows)
My first thought was that she must be an alien from a planetary system orbiting Vega. Wow, Carl Sagan was right after all! My response, however, was:
“A vegan, ya say? What’s that?”
So young Miss X launched into the vegan talking points, sharing with me how she was not only healthier than all of us loathsome meat eaters, but also more ethical in her food consumption as well. Call me old fashioned, but I have never looked at a steakhouse and considered it some kind of bovine concentration camp. I think that you can conduct lab tests on animals without being Dr. Mengele, and you can wear furs or leather without fear of prosecution for crimes against nature. By the time she was done with her explanation, my only question was this:
“What color is the sky on your home planet, and where have you hidden your spaceship?”
Who knew that my dietary struggles would prove so interesting? 🙂
I think it’s possible to eat really terribly and be a vegetarian, or to eat very healthfully and consume meat. However, when I eliminated meat from my diet, I ate a larger variety of foods. I was not only changing the meat part but the health part as well- more vegetables, less fast food.
Everyone, meat-consumer or not, can benefit from looking at what composes their diet, where the items originated, how it affects others (local farmers, animal treatment, environmental issues). I used to eat with my eyes wide shut and I’m glad I don’t any more; chicken slaughter techniques are disgusting.
As far as Ken’s crummy experience with a vegan, I understand. There are radicals in every group of people and they can hurt their cause more than they help it- pro-life clinic bombers, pro-choice until the moment of birth, politicians who dig for scandals instead of solving health care and social security.
I’m still having a really hard time, but I’m doing the best I can. That’s all that anyone can ask!
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I think Amy jumped me because she thought I was being mean to you. But you know me! I like my steaks medium-rare, my liquor on the rocks, and my cigarettes filtered yet full-flavored. So, inviting me into a discussion of the “heathful” aspect of veganism is about as productive as inviting Osama bin Laden into a cultural diversity workshop. To hear you tell it, it seemed as though you were subsisting on a diet of rice cakes and distilled water, and that just made me sad (considering what a fine talent you have in the kitchen). In your original post, you said:
“Being a total vegetarian is not something I thought I’d ever accomplish, but I was proud of how far I’d come …”
Well, lemme tell ya, sister … being a “total vegetarian” is something that I’ve never thought of, even once. I understand balancing a diet for weight loss, or nursing babies, or religious dogma. But it almost seems like you are afraid of your own food now, and I fail to see how that is something in which one can take pride. Why? Your brother has his own theory of why you decided to go the veggie way, but I don’t buy it. I’d rather hear yours.