12/11/12

Cakes, Cookies and Ice Cream... oh my!

Ever since writing about Ollie's Cookie Club adventure, I have had numerous comments and emails about what a big mean mommy I am for not letting Ollie live a little already. Well all I have to say to that is... Ok, then maybe I am.  I am just scared.  I am scared of so many things when it comes to my son. Everyday I worry about some of the craziest stuff and make up the most anxiety ridden scenarios. I do my best to control the controllables.  Oliver's diet is the one controllable I am really crazy over.

All right everyone, it's time that I make a confession. Oliver is Organic. I am that crazy mom. You know, the one who insists on feeding her child only all organic,  all natural food.  Ollie eats better than I ever have, ever will, and quite frankly, can afford to.  I cut so many corners in our family budget to feed Ollie the way I do. I also have constant "discussions" with FTD about my crazy obsession with keeping Ollie organic. It's out of control, I know. I just want to give Ollie the best start at life possible.  

I have made so many sacrifices to keep Ollie exclusively breastfed.  The last thing I want to do is go and pump him full of crap on top of it.  But, as I sit here and make my confession to you, I realize that I am... I have to stop.  I'm helicopter parenting my son's food to an over obsessive point!



I really thought letting Ollie have a cookie, a non-organic all natural cookie no less, was a horrible thing, going against the mommy code. I thought you all would say I was crazy for letting him have the cookie, not for not letting him have a chocolate chip cookie.  All I could think was, Can he have chocolate?  Can he have that much sugar?

Then I got a comment from my friend and long time reader saying she let her son, the same age as Ollie, have cake AND ice cream!  I had no idea babies could have ice cream.  I honestly thought babies could not have any ice cream before one. My poor kid, he is missing out big time!

Ha! Then today I got an email from one of my best friends and mother of two boys, telling me I am a big mean mommy, and to relax. She said as long as I Feed my son a healthy diet, a little goodness here and there is not a bad thing. I just have the whole idea that if Ollie has sugar he will turn into devil baby when his sugar level drops.  Or if he has chocolate he will go caffeine crazy, and ice cream, will bind up his little belly!  Turns out, I am all wrong!

I am a crazy mommy that needs to lighten up. It's just hard.  I have this goal of keeping Ollie all natural for the first year of his life.  I didn't want to let him have cake and ice cream until his first birthday.  I realized today, thanks to my friend's email and your comments, that I am out of control and need to let Ollie have the finer things in life... in moderation.  So I gave him a little piece of my cupcake today. And... he not only loved it, he survived!

Besides, he sticks so much crap in his mouth on a daily basis,
no way is he free of yucky stuff.


It's so hard being a first time mom. As a rule, I try to take the safe route. Of course I'd rather be safe than sorry. And, yes, sometimes I'm too safe... Thankfully I have friends who call me out when I need it.





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Two confused parents=One amused baby Hopelessly we are trying raise a baby who is clearly smarter than both of us. April is an award-winning writer and blogger. Her work has been published in over ten countries and four languages. From books to newspapers, to print/online magazines and everything in between, you can find her work. For more on April, Visit AprilMcCormick.com

19 comments:

AussieMummy said...

I may just be the only person remaining who 100% has never ever let my son have cake or icecream or a cookie or a French fry from my plate then lol.
I don't even allow him to have anything other than cheese or avocado on bread. His wholemeal or rye bread. They have their whole lives to eat crap. He doesn't need to start at 10 months old. Not that I'm judging anyone else, just stating my opinion for my son :)

Kristy J said...

Being a FTM is hard and you're doing what you feel is best, that's really all that matters. And in all honesty it's not like Ollie is going to know whether or not he got to eat sugary crap the first year of his life, you're not scarring him or maming him..he's good :) Keep kicking butt and taking names!

Unknown said...

Naww don't feel bad - we all have our craziness! I've flipped out on more than one occasion when I've caught people feeding Isaiah food I hadn't pre-approved.
Stick to your guns - with moderation. After all, you've done a great job so far (and we alllll love a treat ;-) )

FirstTimeMomandDad.com said...

You are absolutely right! I broke down with the cookie thinking he would have a bite and move on, but give me enough time to get deli meats. I don't want to raise a sweet tooth. There is a fine line between treats and spoiling. Well done to you! It's hard to resist, but you know what's best for your guy.

FirstTimeMomandDad.com said...

I agree, he doesn't know the difference. Plus he LOVES strawberries and blueberries, I want him to love fruit as a treat first. He's big and fat and sweet from eating healthy, I'm not gonna go and ruin a good thing!

FirstTimeMomandDad.com said...

That's the truth! My sister will spoil the crap out of Ollie if I don't watch her. It's all about making wise choices.

Unknown said...

Hahaha! You are NOT a mean mommy- but an aware, smart, protective one... BUT- splurges here and there will not harm him! Hell, we went to Chick-fil-A this weekend and I split a kids meal with him- the FRIED nuggets (GASP!), fruit cup, and traded in the toy for an Ice Dream - yep... we survived :)

Keep doing what you're doing- Ollie is a healthy, super-growing little man!

foodpixie said...

Every Pediatrician will tell you that babies are growing so much that the food they eat needs to have high nutrition levels. On top of that there is new research out there about pesticides (albeit in tap water) that may be linked to the rise in food allergies in the last 20 some odd years. You are wise to feed Organic. And in regards to sugary treats, if he doesn't know what he's missing, he's not missing out.

Quirky Chrissy said...

Just think about it this way: If my parents weren't crazy in their own right, I never would have turned out the way that I did...Now put yourself in the parental shoes: A little crazy in the parents makes for entertaining in the kids. :)

FirstTimeMomandDad.com said...

Mmmmm. I love Chick Fil-A. That is God's Chicken right there!

FirstTimeMomandDad.com said...

I Love this, "if he doesn't know what he's missing, he's not missing out." GREAT POINT!!!

FirstTimeMomandDad.com said...

Oh, my kids is going to be very "entertaining" between my issues and his crazy dad... entertaining for sure....

Unknown said...

There's nothing wrong with wanting the best for your kids! I think you're a great mom!

Unknown said...

Hahaha this reminds me of something my midwife said, 'we've gotta give them something to talk about with their therapist when they're thirty!'

Alissa said...

You are a great momma April! You are doing what you think is best for Ollie and what you do might be different than what someone else does. Me? I let James try just about anything foodwise.... (minus peanut butter) but when it comes to naps and bedtime I am the biggest helicopter parent! I even annoy myself with how obsessed I am about his sleeping patterns. Don't stress out about the cookies, cake and ice cream. He has 18 more years to get into that stuff. You do what is best for him now and teach him good habits and hopefully it will stick :)

Unknown said...

you're a wonderful mom who is concerned about her baby! Aren't we all?! I agree with your friends though that it would be good for Ollie to taste all kinds of stuff just to 'let him live a little' and also not have him go berserk over and binge on them them if he discovers them later in life!! Good luck!!

Natalie said...

You have every right to be a paranoid momma! I know I am! I am pretty "crunchy", so I am VERY paranoid about what my baby eats. I really don't give a crap what anyone else says! I research things to death, so I feel confident in how I'm raising my baby. I think that is a big problem nowadays, parents lack confidence and start to doubt themselves. Do what you do, and what you feel is right! Remember the saying, "Food before one is just for fun.", ALL food is fun for them, and they are fine with just breast milk. If you look at our society and where it's at concerning health, (obesity epidemic, all types of foods allergies, diabetes, skin conditions, cancers ...)and see the way the average American eats, I think it will be hard to ignore the link. Food can be healing. Food can also kill us. Why choose the latter, especially for our children who have a clean slate?
Okay, rant over. :-P
Ollie is beautiful and you are doing an awesome job being his momma!

Mrs. Loquacious said...

Totally agree!

Mrs. Loquacious said...

I'm not totally organic but I do try to go as "clean" as I can with Baby Loquacious's food. That said, I know I make strange and illogical choices about what she can and cannot eat. For example, on the no-no list are ice cream, deep-fried anything, juice/soda, cookies, nuts and honey. However, my kid has had Belgian waffle (I pick out the sugary bits and she gets the bread parts), toast with jam on it, cake donuts (not the frosting, just the cake)...

So yeah, I'm just weird. My kid, my rules, I figure ;)