The Adventures of Baby Arthur

by Lincoln

I was surfing through Netflix's Instant Playlist the other night when I decided to watch the documentary, Food Inc., for no particular reason. (And almost on cue, an article about faulty beef treatment with ammonia showed up on the NYTimes.com.) The 94 minute documentary covers a broad number of issues, but to make a long story short, we don't really think about where our food comes from do we? Food Inc. attempts to follow the trail from the supermarket to the source and it exposes an alarming number of issues that everyone should know about.

The story of Kevin Kowalcyk resonated deeply. Kevin was a perfectly healthy 2-year old child until he suddenly became ill and died in a span of 12 days. The diagnosis: E.coli O157:H7 poisoning, from several hamburgers he had eaten during a family vacation before he passed. Since then, Kevin's mother, Barbara Kowalcyk, has made it her mission to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. Her efforts have resulted in the sponsorship of new legislation, appropriately named Kevin's Law, that would empower the USDA power to shut down plants that repeatedly produce meat contaminated with E-coli or other deadly pathogens. But the story is the same as it is for many issues in this country. The bill is not currently on the Congress floor as a result of resistance from the powerful meat lobby.

How did this all happen? Over the last few decades, the food industry has undergone consolidation and production of our food has moved away from the small farmer towards several extremely large and powerful corporations, such as Tyson and Cargill. Almost everything we buy in the supermarket can be traced back to these mega-companies. The mechanization, automation and factory line style production was introduced in order to maximize profits. Animal feed is engineered so cows, pigs, chickens and other produce can be raised from birth to slaughter in the shortest time possible. The feed used is often unhealthy and unnatural, which has led to the introduction of bacteria like E-coli into the system. To make matters worse, the animals are often crammed together in tight spaces and they are basically standing in their own feces for their entire lives. Add these two factors together and what you end up are the mass contaminations that we've been reading about in the news for the last 10 years.

To combat this problem, some companies have been washing the meat with ammonia! (NYT Article) Food Inc. attributes many of the health problems we see in this country as a direct result of all the various chemicals that are introduced during the factory-style production of our food.

The documentary really enforced what Liz and I have been trying or best to do when it comes to groceries since Arthur was born. When given a choice, we always buy the organic option. However, it's pretty impossible to only eat local and organic foods in our society and I do enjoy a McDonald's meal every once in awhile. But we won't be feeding Arthur that anytime soon!

I also started thinking about our trip to Dutchess County (Day 2) and remembered the farms we visited, the fresh food and just how clean and simple everything was. You see the animals grazing and that's where the food is from... not from some dark, busy factory plant somewhere no one knows about. I'm glad that the small farmer lives on.

It might be worth the added cost of seeking out the local options and buy from places like Fleischer's Meats and stick to grass-fed beef. I'm glad we're lucky enough to have such options here in NYC at least. I think even doing this half of the time will probably be better than not at all.

Labels: feeding, food, parenting

by Lincoln

Merry Christmas Everyone! As I begin writing this blog, I am in the presence of my parents and my good friends Julio and Sanjay Brown:

Julio: You all look like a very happy family.
Grandma: Of course!
Grandpa: I'd say we're about average.
Grandpa: Hmm, let's go eat.

Today also happens to be the 41st anniversary of my parents. I'd say that in order to last 41 years, you probably have to be a little happy! Or as Julio puts it, it is my father's ability to "tax" my mom and my mom's ability to "put up" with it. Regardless of their secrets, I am grateful for the family we have and for all that my parents have given me. I'm also grateful for Liz, who is a wonderful Mother. Arthur is lucky as well!

Family has a funny way of bringing out the various sides of our humanity. It's not always a bed of roses and conflicts can bring out some serious heat and anger. We're "stuck" with family aren't we? But holidays bring out the goodness and in these times, we can appreciate that we have each other.

However, children are the initiative! This is will be Arthur's second Christmas. Not coincidently, this will be the second Christmas tree of my adult life. I never put up lights, wreathes or decorations before. But now that we have Arthur, it's a mandatory ceremony in our home! Liz's family never even celebrated Christmas OR Thanksgiving together. Not coincidently, that tradition started last year as well! And now that Liz's sister is expecting, the holidays will no doubt become a very important time of year for her family. I poke fun at Liz and point this out: "We have two places to visit?? You guys never celebrated the holidays before!!". I don't mind, her sister is an amazing cook!

Family can be both a unifying power and frustrating quagmire at the same time. However, now that we are expecting multiple additions to our extended family, perhaps the power of children can melt whatever conflicts we have away.

So let me raise a virtual glass, say cheers and wish everyone Happy Holidays!

Labels: family

by Lincoln

I know I'm one of those annoying parents that's constantly marvelling about the tiny but new things their child does. While I try not to do it too much in "real life", I know I do it all the time on this blog. Sorry, I'm at it again.. but for the past week, Arthur has been running around the apartment exclaiming "dada! dada! dada! dada!". And Grandma has reported to me that he sometimes even looks around for his dear old dad when he's not around. C'mon, how could I not report this event to the Adventures of Baby Arthur?

Quite honestly, I'm not really sure why he does this. He's certainly still a Mamma's boy and whenever I come home, I'm usually greeted with a scowl and a fervent, disapproving shake of the head. It's as if he was expecting someone else more interesting to come through the door, like Mommy! It's ok, he warms up pretty quickly after about 30 seconds of attention. It's touching to see I've been making an impression!

It's also a bit terrifying. While it doesn't take a genius to know that parents have an overwhelming influence over their children, it is still quite difficult for me to comprehend the fact that someone will be hanging on my every word and action, no matter how innocuous, unintentional or absent minded it may be. I still feel like a big kid and I don't feel like I'm anyone special either. I mean, why should anyone listen to me??

I remember back in the third grade, my father, with all his wisdom, revealed to me and my next older brother (there were 4 of us) that we were "accidental". Not knowing what the hell that was supposed to mean, I automatically took that to mean "unwanted". This comment was used as ammunition against my father throughout my teen years and I probably didn't really understand what the hell it all meant until I was much older... until about, 18 months ago! For some reason or another, my father never bothered to sit us down and explain to us what he meant: That accidental doesn't mean unwanted, and that sometimes life is unpredictable, and that you just can't plan everything. Sometimes the best things in life are bourne out of accidents and parents love their children unconditionally! Thank god for champagne!

At least, that's what I hope my father meant and felt. That's the line would give to Arthur anyway.

Labels: fatherhood

by Lincoln

My little boy made me proud all weekend long. Among other things, he helped me set the table by transporting a bowl, ate his lunch nearly entirely by himself while I ate mine, and even walked to our newly erected Christmas tree to pose for a photograph when I asked him to.



Simple things yes, but the list of "He Did What?!" grows every day! In fact, I even negotiated a tantrum with him! When I took away the broom despite his screaming protestations, I picked him up a couple inches off the ground and sternly asked: "Do you want a timeout?" He nodded no, I put him down, and he calmed himself.

So what was the common denominator for Arthur's angel-like behaviour? Liz wasn't around! Ok, I'm exaggerating slightly.. of course Liz was present for the tree decorating and the broom incident was from sweeping up the pine needles! However, I do have a point! Arthur acts much differently with me than he does with Liz. When it's just me and the boy, there is order in the universe. We hang out, we do our thing, nap time is enforced and there's minimal whining. When Liz is around, the fits of neediness are definitely more frequent!

Alright, I know it's because Arthur is much more attached to his Mommy and seeks greater attention from her. As I rarely cave in to the whining, I do think there is something to the fact that I let Arthur get away with less (except for the cookies I gave him before his bedtime today, oops). But many of fascinating things that Arthur can do now, like pointing to his body parts, stomping his feet and shouting "hooray!", are a direct result of Liz's tutelage.

Nevertheless, I get a kick out of telling Liz she ruins everything whenever Arthur and I have a nice civilized time together!

Labels: fatherhood

by Lincoln

The terror has begun. The days when Arthur didn't move, barely rolled, barely crawled, crawled, shakily took a few steps and paced around only cautiously are completely over. He's officially running (albeit still a bit wobbly!), climbing, tripping, falling over and causing general mayhem. This added mobility has only nurtured his healthy sense of curiosity. He picks up, grabs at, touches, and struggles for anything he can get his hands on! Lately, he's particularly enjoyed pulling his favorite blanket over his head and trying to walk around without being able to see where he's going. We can't our eyes off him!

So what have we done to help save Arthur from himself?

1. Baby Fencing (Surround Play Yard): On the top left - that fence surrounding the TV is actually an unfolded "surround play yard" that's meant for outdoor use. Come to think of it, are we protecting Arthur or are we protecting my prized 50" plasma TV?? The fence has actually come in handy inside the house for many uses, including closing off whole parts of rooms, estimating Arthur's height (it's 30" tall) and enclosing Arthur in a fixed space when we just need some rest from chasing him around!! (We have to rest with him inside the play yard of course).


2. Baby Gate: Preventing toddler ingress to danger areas of the house, like the kitchen. Hot stoves, dirty floors and sharp objects are all bad. The one we have kinda sucks, as it falls of the hinges all the time. Pick one carefully!
   


3. Handle Free Cabinets!: If we can barely open these cabinets, how can Arthur? OK, so maybe I skimped on cabinet handles, but it's worked out quite well so far and I think it looks better too.
   


4. Rubber Floor Padding: Those hardwood floors look awfully painful. This has probably been the most important child-proofing measure. Arthur took a lot of falls when he was figuring out how to walk, and will probably take more falls as he figures out how to run. I have to admit, I'm looking forward to seeing my wood floors again someday.
   


5. Corner Guards: Lots of them and all over the place. Lest Arthur pitter-patter his little head into sharp table corners.
   


6. Window Guards: Duh, as required by law! No picture provided.
   

That's about all we did. It doesn't seem like much. In the end, we leaned towards the wisdom of my West Coast friend Dina. Unlike us, Dina has a large 4 bedroom house that's about 5x bigger than our apartment and has amazing things like.. stairs. With two young boys, there's just no way anyone could baby proof everything! So her method was to rely on teaching. Tell them enough times to stay away or stop touching, and they will.

This has actually worked out pretty well for us so far. For example, Arthur does not go near the toilets, garbage can and he'll stay away from the recycling bin most of the time. In fact, he's learned how to throw things away into the garbage can instead! I'm sure this is because the garbage can is the one thing that we've been dead consistent on for him to stay away from. Unlike the laptop, which he happily slaps at every chance he gets!

Arthur has had his share of falls, scratches, bumps and bruises but he's been relatively unscathed so far. Luckily for us, Arthur will normally come walking after us if we're not within eye sight (for now anyway). As my good friend and father of two Bigs says, "He can learn to be a boy without the head trauma."

Labels: parenting