Mmmmm Mmmmm

I hate being told what to do.

I am all for solicited advice and I regularly look to competent people for ideas, but in the end, I am fairly confident in my own intelligence, reasoning and research skills.

So usually, after a bit, I can figure out exactly what I would like to do.

Norway and I have butted heads on more than one occasion regarding this issue.

It and I had difference of opinion on how I would like to deliver our baby. I lost (and miserably).*

I would’ve liked a bit more choice on whether or not I intended to breastfeed.**

And now Norway is forcing me to make Elliot’s baby food.

I am annoyed.

Not that I wouldn’t have wanted to whip up all of his meals,*** but it’s just another thing I do not have much choice about and it bugs me.

I knew that eventually I would have to figure out how to feed the little man "real food."

So I read up on the first foods, which are the simple ones (carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, etc…), which tend to be the least likely to cause allergies. I learned that you give them one at a time for several days in a row to make sure that if there is an allergic reaction you can pinpoint the culprit. Also that there are several things that no baby should have until at least the first year (strawberries, nuts, honey, etc…) because they can cause major allergies later on…

So then I went to the store, a large grocery store called Ultra, particularly popular with the expat community because it imports American goods.****

This is what I found when I went looking for the baby food.

I've cruised down that aisle before, of course--that's where the diapers are, too. But I've never paid much attention other than, "Yep, there's some food."

But that's it. In a town full of babies.

No joke.

You cannot swing cat without hitting a baby.

Promise.

And in the first foods...

That was it. Look closely. There is one single food. The rest are a mix, some of which include strawberries, too.

For a country that is occasionally called a Nanny State*****, they are putting a lot of trust in me.

Given a choice, I would eat a diet that consisted solely of appetizers culled from the left side of restaurant menus and the Whole Foods prepared food section, key lime pie, cheese, chocolate popsicles and the occasional steak.

To trust me to adequately prepare and serve my baby nutritious food is asking alot.

Clearly I can barely feed the adults in the house.******

I am trying though.

I started with a sweet potato.

Baked it in the oven.

Whirled it in the blender with some milk.
Froze the concoction into cubes.
And served it up.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*Seriously folks. There is no need to discuss, but suffice to say…No matter how long we live here, I will NEVER have a baby in this entire country again. And just head off any extraneous comments...this is not a comment on socialized medicine, by the way. This is a comment on my lady parts and how I would like for them to be treated---with drugs if you must know. It's just my choice. If anyone reading this has a different opinion on ladyparts, that's all good. I have no opinions on anyone else's ladyparts but my own.

**I probably would have anyway, but the societal pressure is enormous. Also there are exactly three kinds of formula, which are fairly expensive. Again, I am so glad I am breastfeeding (health, convenience, etc…) but would have liked much, much less pressure.

***I kid. I would have been all about the Gerber. No joke. I read the labels. It’s just the ingredients and water. That’s good enough for me. (And it was good enough for me. I ate it. My sister ate it. Everyone I know ate it, including several healthy little niece and nephew people who were running all around BigD’s house a few weeks ago.)

****Most of which are clustered on one-half of an aisle. The shelves are crammed with all sorts of goods, most of which change weekly. On any given week, you can find six-packs of Cherry Coke, Twizzlers, generic brand stuffing and cans of pumpkin. It's random, as if it just fell off the back of a truck.

*****Without going into too much detail, Norway taxes the hell out of certain things (along with all of the rest of the things) like alcohol and cigarettes to discourage their use. And recently a bill was put forth to add an extra tax to fatty food. This is not real discouragement. It is in fact encouragement to pack ones suitcase full of booze and smokes whenever traveling cross-borders.

******This is a slight exaggeration. I actually do cook, often using recipes. And the results are usually pretty good. And as the BigD said once, "Of course you can cook. You can read, can't you?" The difference is that it is food for fully grown adults. It is also by choice.