Sunday, April 01, 2007

New month, new resolve

It's April! One of my favourite months of the year. Rainy, yes. But full of the new promise of spring!

My week has been planned out. My husband has taken this week off as vacation, so there won't be as much structure - but I'm still going to stick to somewhat of a plan.

I've also been thinking about my running, and will be starting again with the C25K. I got through Weeks one and two, but then took a bit of a break in between. Plus, I did those weeks on the treadmill which is MUCH easier than running outside. So, I'm going to start with Week One again, tomorrow. Podcast is loaded on my iPod, ready to go.

Non-scale victory on Saturday night. Hubby and I were contemplating on what to eat for dinner. He suggested quesadillas and burritos from a nearby restaurant - but they also have amazing french fries. This would have involved driving to the restaurant, and we were feeling lazy, so quickly rejected the idea. I was then having a craving for nachos with fresh guacamole, and hubby quickly agreed to go out and buy all of the ingredients. But I knew that I didn't need all those extra calories. Since it was Saturday night and we did need a little bit of excitement, I thought of a compromise. I made the "fried tofu" sandwiches from The Garden of Vegan. These are soooo yummy, and healthy. It's basically little blocks of tofu, coated in nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. And then you pan-fry them in extra-virgin olive oil. Serve it up on toasted bread with some nayonaise (vegan mayo), lettuce, and tomato - and voila! Soooo delish! I also threw some baby potatoes in the oven, with some olive oil and rosemary. We had some on the side. It was such a satisfying dinner, and still relatively healthy.

I had to laugh, though. That was the extent of our excitement on a Saturday night. My, how our lives have changed since our lovely daughter came along!

***

I went shopping for baby clothes for my daughter today. Let me tell you - it is soooo much fun shopping for little baby girl's clothes. My favourite purchase was a little bikini for her. Can't wait to put her in the baby pool this summer!

Of course, I started thinking about how EASY it is to shop for sizes when you're young. It's all based on age - 3-6 months, 6-12 months...or 3 years, 4 years, etc. And everything looks so cute on ALL kids - regardless of the colour or style. When you're a little kid, there's nothing to be self-conscious about. And everything just seems to fit!

So when did it all start getting so complicated? When did the size on our clothing tags start mattering? Why did we suddenly start tugging at our sweaters to cover our burgeoning hips or belly?

It actually starts from the day we're born. Everyone is always so concerned about how much a baby weighs at birth. I mean, does it really matter whether a baby weighs 7lbs or 10lbs? My hubby and I are tall folk. Naturally, our little girl is taking after us. She's outgrowing her clothes like a little weed. But the number of people who make comments like, "She is such a BIG baby!", or "Wow - she's going to be one BIG girl!" - is astounding. Sure, those sound like harmless comments - they don't really bother me. But at what point, when my baby girl actually starts understanding words, does it start to impact her? And then eventually, when does she start tugging at her own little sweater when she feels self-conscious about her body?

Oh well. That's where my job comes in. I didn't grow up with a lot of positive reinforcement about my body...but it's going to be SO different for her. I want her to embrace her health and beauty for what she is. Because she is ALWAYS going to be the most beautiful girl in the world, in my eyes.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

I have two girls and just loved to shop for baby clothes for them too! I just stopped by one of my favorite online stores Sandboxcouture.com. They have the cutest children's clothes! You should check them out!

Healthy Mummy said...

I love kid clothes shopping. I'm with you, I never want my kids abusing food the way I have. We have an important job to give them confidence in their bodies and to teach them healthy eating habits.

Chris H said...

What pisses me off is that comments about a baby girl being "so big" are made to sound derogatory, and yet when said about a baby boy it is like a compliment! It makes me mad! You are right, it starts in infancy, this friggin pressure to be an "ideal size"....

pinknest said...

that sandwich actually does sound quite delicious and i'm not even vegetarian.

baby clothes are very cute. i hate all the things people say about babies, size-wize or otherwise.

Carolyn said...

Shoping for baby girl clothes is SOOO fun. I have a little niece (14 months old) and she is just the sweetest thing in the world! she was always quite chubby and everyone made the biggest deal about it, but she grew out of it once she started crawling.
Good job on the Non Scale Victory...it's hard to pass up Nachos!!

Cowgirl Warrior said...

First of all congratulations on the NSV, I've yet to embrace tofu but that sounded really good.
Baby Girl clothes are adorable, I love shopping for kids. It's scary how fast they grow out of stuff.

I think you'll be a fabulous role model for your daughter.

Askazombiehousewife said...

I love the way girls clothes look my mom, mother and law and friends send me clothes for my little one so I only buy a few key pieces.

Christy said...

Very thought provoking post - loved it! You're right, we have an important job and I want to make sure I am in the right headspace to be the best at it.

On a lighter note, I'm going to have to talk to you about podcasts cause I'm getting an ipod for my first mother's day

Annieann77 said...

I don't have any kids yet but always find myself in the kids department looking at all the cute outfits!! I can't wait! ;)

Kim said...

Hey Sonya!

Little girls are the most fun to shop for!! Enjoy dressing her up. :)

I also wanted to thank you for the sweet comments on my wee ones. :)