Change

Baby's 38th Week

"WHY DOES ANYTHING EVER HAVE TO CHANGE?!!!" I just screamed at Aaron. It took three attempts to get the baby to sleep in his newly redone nursery this afternoon, and he woke up after 15 minutes. I blame the new, more aesthetically pleasing yet less light-blocking curtain. Really, the second I get over complaining about how our holiday traveling screwed up Leo's napping, I go and start messing with that sanctuary of sleep, the nursery.

I know, it's inevitable. Desirable. Necessary. It's the stuff of political campaigns. It's what turned Leo the bump into Leo the tiny old newborn into Leo the toothless round-cheeked baby and then into the teething, creeping, solid food-eating little guy he is now. It's how I went from being a ravenous pregnant food writer into someone with a freezer full of frozen purees and a fridge full of teething rings. It's what I'm after in the pants size department.

Really, I'm all for change. I love re-arranging the furniture (hence the new nursery set-up), I almost never cook the same meal twice, and I adore starting new things. But the transitions are sometimes a little messy.

Becoming a mom has definitely been one of those messy transitions. I've been nauseous, anxious, hungry, huge, exhausted, guilty, lonely, and generally overwhelmed. But I've learned to adapt how we cook and eat, I've learned to shut up and go to bed early on the days when I'm tempted to reassess everything in my life, I've learned how to schedule my days around naps, how to create a mom and baby community, how to pack a diaper bag for every eventuality, and, most of all, I've learned how to have a great time being Leo's mom at every stage so far. (Well, except one: I still shudder at the memory of that torturous lactation aid, the SNS).

Becoming a working mom is my next challenge. I'm going to be taking my laptop to a cafe a few days each week in February, while Leo and his new caretaker, Jen, figure things out at home. Then, for March and half of April, I'll be out working on a full-time cookbook project. It's going to be a big change for all of us. But, here's some exciting continuity: Fit Pregnancy has offered me the opportunity to blog for another year!

I'm thrilled. There's so much more to say about cooking quick, healthy meals for grown-ups and baby. As Leo moves on to finger foods and fancier cooking, I think I'm going to have even more fun. First though, I'm going to take a breather. I'll start posting every Tuesday again in April, and in the meantime I'll put up pictures and little updates every week. I'd be especially excited to hear in the comments about how you're eating, cooking and thinking about food. I'm also eager for feedback--what would you like to see in future blogs? What kinds of recipes are you looking for? And if you've got mom or baby recipes of your own to share, please email them to momappetit@yahoo.com.

Cooking and writing for this blog has given me the opportunity to focus on the amazing changes of the past year. Thank you for reading, and good luck with all the changes in your life.

Winter Vegetable Tagine