Smugness always comes back to smack you.
BB has been in daycare since she was 6 months old. She spent an average of 50 hours a week there in Chicago and except when she was sick, she never cried at drop-off. I thought I had a spectacularly well-adjusted kiddo. Enjoys the company of others! Knows mommy is coming back! Has a fun-loving, flexible personality!
Other mommies would say that their kid was well adjusted because they DID cry at drop-off, that this indicated that they knew their parents were leaving them, and that their attachment to their parents was stronger than their attachment to anyone else. But I always viewed that as poppycock.
Our new daycare is run by a very nice Chinese woman and her four assistants, but drop off is appalling. BB sobs and sobs, and when I leave, I shake the whole way down the stairs.
Every day I wait 30 minutes and then phone in (I used to roll my eyes when I heard about helicopter mommies who did this). “Is BB okay?” I ask when I call, “how long was she crying?" I strain for the sound of her wails in the background, and confess to horrific fantasies in which they lock her in a room during my check-ins so I won't hear her scream. The subtext of my questions is of course, “am I a bad mother?” “is my child going to be permanently damaged and hate society because I left her in daycare?”
In retrospect, maybe my Chicago drop-off-joy wasn’t actual smugness. It was relief. Because this experience? It is heart wrenching. The woman who runs our new day care is quite lovely and promises that the sobbing will only go on for another week. Another week?
If it wasn't for these quinoa cakes, I'd say my nasty smug days had gone right down the toilet.
My Baby Food Is Healthier Than Your Baby Food: Spinach & Quinoa Cakes
- 3/4 cups brown rice
- 3 cups water
- ½ cup quinoa
- 7 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 16-ounces frozen chopped spinach
- black pepper
- pinch of nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 eggs, lightly beaten
Bring brown rice and water to a boil in a medium pot. When boiling, lower heat so water is at a bare simmer. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes. Add quinoa, cover and keep at a bare simmer for 15 more minutes.
While quinoa is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil and the garlic. Sauté 30 seconds. Add frozen spinach and cook until the biggest clumps are heated through (5-6 minutes). Turn up heat at end of cooking time if necessary. Season with black pepper, nutmeg and salt.
In a large bowl mix together cooked quinoa and rice, spinach, and eggs. Stir until uniform.
Wipe out the spinach skillet. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil until hot but not smoking. Cook Quinoa Cakes in ¼ cup portions, 3 minutes on first side or until golden brown. Flip like a pancake and cook 2 more minutes. Add more oil as necessary and keep cooking. Makes 25 pancakes.
Freeze pancakes when cool. Defrost one at a time to feed to your baby (or your spouse).
2 comments:
Sounds like separation anxiety to me. They say babies experience it at different ages, so maybe she's just reached that phase.
Now about those quinoa cakes, I'm not very good at being smug so maybe I should make them for practice.
It's so cool you can freeze these cakes - BB is going to turn out to be quite the foodie with dinners like this :) And I hope she adjusts to her new daycare soon too.
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