Potatoes in the Mist

I am so relieved right now. I changed pediatricians, and it's like the difference between heaven and hell. This guy is NICE, has a good manner with E (let him play with his light), and gave me valuable advice (the phone number for poison control, childproofing basics, the idea of giving E juice half-watered down, etc.) Most wonderful of all, it doesn't bother him that E doesn't consistently sleep through the night. He explained that formula is harder to digest, so formula-fed babies last longer; breast milk is easy to digest, so the babies don't last as long and tend to wake up for a feeding. I said that E went for 5 hours last night, then fed, and slept for 4 hours more. He said that was fine.

Judy in KY said she missed the cuteness...so here is some for her, and the rest of you! On my sister's lap... At my mom's house... In the kitchen...

So I'm back in NYC. We took the train back yesterday. My mom thought it would be a light travel day, but the place was packed. She also thought it was Superbowl Sunday. The guy sitting with us explained that it was next weekend. Although they've had football cakes at my supermarket for the longest time. What's up with that? At the back of the train car was a baby convention - E, an 11-month-old named Wally, and a 4-month-old named Romy. Wally weighed 25 lbs and was stuffed into a Baby Bjorn - he only likes to ride facing outward so he can see the world, his mother explained. He had 8 teeth and a jolly expression. Plus, his head was covered with duck fuzz. He was very cute. Romy was smaller and slept peacefully most of the whole way. Romy's mother seemed impossibly serene. She recommended a pediatrician to me. We got talking and it turns out that Romy is her third child. One of her children was allergic to breast milk so she had to follow a special diet in order to nurse

So I decided to extend my stay in MA. I needed some R&R. Some updates for you: Books: I read The School of Essential Ingredients, which I recommend to anyone who likes to read and eat. It *will* make you hungry (or at least fantasize about certain dishes - the tiramisu description - wow). I also got a cookbook from my sister (as part of the belated Christmas celebration) called La Dolce Vegan . I think I've made 3 recipes from it so far and I haven't been disappointed in any. Pediatrician: As I may have mentioned, my pediatrician, while thoroughly competent, is somewhat lacking in the warmth and charm department. So I have an appointment with another one on Tuesday. (My current pediatrician, unnervingly, is on Facebook.) Gadgets: I got a hand blender, which I've used to make soup. It works quite well.

So today was my belated Christmas celebration in Massachusetts. E's cousins came over and made much of him. He got an adorable Carter's sleeper with friendly blue and green dinosaurs on it - I'll try to put a picture up later. He is also the proud possessor of a new musical train, a snow globe, and other enticements. I got the Guernsey Potato Peel book and a cookbook called La Dolce Vegan, among other gifts. Now that I like cauliflower, it's like a whole new recipe world has opened up. I'm currently finishing up a library book called Earthly Pleasures - not the most realistic book ever, but fun. It's partially set in heaven. Lately I've been enjoying library books more than purchased books, so I haven't bought many. I'm not sure why I like the library ones better - maybe it's the knowledge that I don't have to find room for them.

So...I suppose this is very preliminary because the second kid is not even conceived (indeed, I am still nursing, and that is supposed to make conception difficult. But theoretically, I'll wean E at 1 year. I say "theoretically" because (a) he loves it, (b) it gets him to sleep, and (c) it burns 500 calories a day. So is there really any reason to stop?!?) But anyway, D and I picked out names. For a girl: Ella Ginger. Ginger used to be a front-runner for the first name, but I determined it was more of a fling. Not durable. We might get sick of saying it 3,000 times a day. It's funny because we don't even address E by name that much - we often call him "little baby," "muffin," etc. But other people always ask what his name is, and we say it then. For a boy: Harry Leo. D is really, really picky about boys' names - these are the only two we both liked.

Just found out that a high school friend is preggers with her second baby - yay! I wonder if she will find out the sex in advance this time. Last time, she actually waited. Can you imagine? I can't. Though it would definitely give you something extra to look forward to during the long hell that is labor. I'm reading a long book...and really enjoying it. It's called Free Food for Millionaires. I'm even considering naming our second child Ella (if we have one) because that's the name of one of my favorite characters. I'm afraid the book is under-appreciated because it only got 3 1/2 stars at Amazon. Oh well.

As you know, I've gotten sucked into Facebook. It's fascinating to see what's happened to my high school classmates, many of whom remained in Massachusetts (but a lot of them jetted off to California). For the most part, their fates have *not* been predictable. I like that. Just finished reading Schooled by Anisha Lakhani, about the corruption of New York City private schools. Basically many of these teachers are highly-paid "tutors" who write students' papers for them. What's worse, it didn't have the standard "this is fiction" note at the beginning. Instead, it said, "Please note that this book is based on not only my experiences, but those of my colleagues." Lovely. Still going back and forth on the second-baby question. I think we all know where I'll end up, but my mind does a little see-sawing. I saw a woman on the subway with her second child. She said it was harder to go from zero to one than one to two. I wonder if this

So I went swimming today with D, E and our friend J. While there, I encountered someone very vigorous in my swim lane. Too vigorous, in fact. His arms nearly hit me when he was doing the crawl, and he splashed water in my face. Hard. I was annoyed and said to the woman behind him, "He's insane!" She laughed. Then a few minutes later, she pulled him aside, gave him a talking-to, and he got out of the pool. I realized she must be his girlfriend or wife, and felt embarrassed. Then I saw her in the locker room. She was drying her bathing suit in the drying machine and started talking to me while she was stark naked. (I was dressed.) It was a little weird, so I just maintained eye contact. Turns out she remembers me swimming in the pool when I was pregnant! She doesn't have any children. We're considering trying for another in August 2009. I must be insane because we still only have a 1-bedroom. We got invited to see a 2-bedroom apartment, but it was actually smaller t