Why, hello again! I know it’s been a long while but I do have my reasons… a happy baby, and a tired mom (that’s me!) have made this blog pretty low on the priority list. I have been thinking about what I would like to do with this little project, and I will continue posting food stories, but in addition I am going to start posting more Parent & Baby content. Why? Because that is my reality these days, this is what I am excited about, and well, cooking has also fallen off the priority list. But, I will try and make it as food/Montreal friendly as possible.
During my late night nursing sessions I had the chance to read quite a few books… Ellen, Mindy Kaling, Happiest Baby on the Block, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (which I found shocking) and some other less interesting reads. Two stood out for me, and I loved them both – Bringing up Bébé and French Kids Eat Everything.
Bringing up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman was a delight to read. I really saw myself reflected in a lot of her comments on North American moms and it made me rethink what I thought was expected of me as a parent. Basically Pamela reflects on the cultural differences between North American and French parents, and tries to instil the good parts of French parenting on her children. It’s not really a how-to book but more of a story which makes it quite fun. However, there are many ideas that I will and have taken on. One idea that was easy to implement is waiting to see what’s really going on with baby before I automatically pick him up and feed him. Highly recommended.
French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon (a Canadian & former Montrealer!) was quickly followed and didn’t disappoint. This is another story about a North American family moving to France, but I didn’t find that it was a duplicate of Bringing up Bébé, although of course some of the ideas are similar. This one is a bit more meat & bones, and she really gets into how you can teach your children to eat a wide variety of foods and behave properly at the table. As someone who is interested in food, her ideas appealed and I am excited to try them out.
What stood out for me in both books is the idea that we have to teach our children how to eat and sleep. I just took for granted these things would come naturally, and perhaps they will for certain children, but as a parent we have to help guide them. It seems very simplistic but for me it was a bit of a breakthrough. I’ll let you know how the eating part goes down in a few months. As for the sleeping? Well, since I’ve started to let baby try to figure things out on his own a bit more (not crying it out though) he has started to put himself to sleep sometimes! Coincidence? Perhaps, but I’d like to think I had a guiding hand in it…
Originally from the prairies and now in Montreal, I love exploring new places, eating great food and modern design. I'm mom of two wild things and paper and cake make me happy.
Photographing your cutie family would make me very happy.
Congrats from a fellow parent blogger!
While I haven’t read the two books you mentioned above, I am completely for the French way of parenting. Well, at least the non-North American way:
My 20-month old daughter has been doing her nights since 3 months old, and eating properly since 6 months old.
How did we do it? By being very strict!
Good luck in this difficult period.