Baby’s First Yule

Having a newborn baby is hard. Yes, I knew it would be. That’s what everyone told me, but it’s different to actually experience for myself. I suppose some people might like little babies, but I think I’ll be glad when she’s a little more self-sufficient.

My husband has remarked on how amazing it is that our species has survived with such helpless infants. The only explanation I can figure out is that for most of our history, we’ve had lots of people to help the mother take care of the baby. I now know from personal experience that it makes a huge difference to have just one other person here helping me, versus taking care of her alone. Taking care of her alone is possible, but it sure wears me out. It’s such a relief when her dad gets home from work, or when one of our friends or relatives comes by to visit. But since most people have their own jobs and lives to deal with, most of the time I’m here alone with her.

She turned three months old on the day after Christmas, and she’s already much easier to deal with than during her first month. She usually only wakes up once per night now, instead of 2 or 3 times. I’ve figured out how to tell if she’s hungry or tired or needs a diaper change before she starts crying, usually, so crying has been greatly reduced.

I think that next Yule is going to be when the fun really begins. This year she’s still too young to enjoy most of it. She can’t eat food yet, she can’t sit up yet, she can’t even reach out and grab toys to play with yet.

But that hasn’t stopped us from doing as much as we can with her.

We put up a Yule tree, but since we also adopted two kittens this past summer, we only decorated it with cloth ornaments that can’t be broken if a kitten knocks it off. As far as the kittens are concerned, it’s an Indoor Tree Covered With Cat Toys, and the baby really likes staring at the shiny lights.

As usual, on the night of the solstice, I picked out a nice big heavy oak log out of the woodpile to burn as our Yule log. I lit it in the fireplace at sundown, and let it smolder all night. I used to stay up all night, but in the past few years I’ve usually gone to sleep. This year we went to bed, but then the baby decided we should wake up at 5:30 am, so I was awake in time to see sunrise after the longest night at around 7:30 am.

I have a feeling that once she’s older, she’s going to want to stay up all night on the solstice, because staying up all night is a naughty thing that kids are not usually allowed to do, and kids LOVE doing things like that.

For our solstice feast, we had frozen lasagna. Over the summer, while I was in my second trimester, I made and froze a whole bunch of casseroles, stews, etc. to each once the baby came. So at least it was something homemade. I think I heard somewhere that Italians often eat lasagna for Christmas dinner, so maybe having lasagna for solstice wasn’t so bad after all.

In coming months she will gain the ability to play with a lot more toys, so I sent a wish list to her grandma and grandpa and aunt and uncle with that in mind. She’s got several presents this Yule that we’ll have to save for a few months before giving to her, but that’s OK.

I ended up getting her all Heathen related things. It wasn’t completely planned that way. It just kind of ended up that way.

I had to do most of my gift shopping online this year, since the baby is too young to sit in a shopping cart, so I can only go shopping if Daddy is home, or if I have someone else babysitting her. I did a lot of browsing on Etsy and found some good stocking stuffers for her.

I got her a Thor’s Hammer baby rattle, because I’m a Heathen who also loves superhero movies, so this just looked too fun to pass up.

I also got her this set of teethers for when she starts getting her teeth in a few months. One is shaped like Mjolnir, one is shaped like Sleipnir, and one is shaped like Jormungand. I think that after she’s done using these as teethers, I could still use them as a way to teach her about the gods. Like, “this is Sleipnir. He’s Odin’s horse…” and then tell her the story of how Sleipnir was born.

And speaking of telling her stories, I also ordered Kindertales and Kindertales II to read to her. I’ll try to get around to posting more detailed reviews of those books later. I waited a little too long to order them, so they arrived the day after Christmas, but that’s OK because this is another gift that she’s a bit too young for right now anyway.

I even got around to baking a batch of molasses spice cookies this year. It’s gotten to the point where I can cook and bake, as long as it’s something that won’t take very long. I set up her bouncer in the kitchen so she can watch me. If I change her and feed her right before I begin, I usually have time to make something quick before she needs changing and feeding again. I act like I’m putting on a cooking show for her and explain everything I’m doing. She can’t really understand me, but she seems to enjoy it anyway.

I made the cookie dough in advance, and then formed and baked the cookies on Christmas Eve. It helps if I can break things up into multiple steps like that. That’s how I managed to make pies for Thanksgiving this year (I made the dough for the crust on one day, and then filled and baked them on another day).

So the Yule Father got his customary offering of cookies on Christmas Eve. It won’t be too much longer now until I’ll have a child to give him his cookie offering instead, which is as it should be.

We went to the Christmas Eve service at the UU church that my husband’s parents (who shall henceforth be known as “Grandma and Grandpa”) attend. We sat in the back in case the baby got fussy and we had to slip out early, but that didn’t end up being necessary. She was remarkably well behaved. I propped her up in my lap, and she just sat there wide-eyed listening to the music and the singing and looking at the lights. After the service, lots of people came by to remark on how cute she is and how well behaved she was. She seemed to love the attention.

I was handed a pamphlet about UU Child Dedication, in case I’d be interested in that. I think I might be. They do have some nice children’s events and activities.

As usual we spent the 25th of December at Grandma and Grandpa’s house for the exchange of gifts and Christmas dinner. Some of Grandma’s friends were there also, and the baby again had a great time with getting all the attention from all those people.

I had no prior plans for New Year’s Day, so I offered to cook a feast, since I haven’t done that for a while. I told Grandma I could do it as long as someone else was willing to watch the baby, so she came over to help out. Her sister and brother in law were also in town for New Year’s, so the baby got to meet her great aunt and great uncle.

In Urglaawe it’s customary to have pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day. I made pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon, but instead of sauerkraut I made roasted Brussels sprouts with balsamic vinaigrette.  I hope that’s close enough. They’re both cabbagey things. I also made scalloped potatoes, and “Texas Caviar,” which a black-eyed pea salad. Black-eyed peas, of course, being the sacred New Year’s food of the American South.

Grandma’s family is of Pennsylvania Dutch descent (except they’re some of the ones from Ohio, not Pennsylvania), and when I explained to Great Aunt and Great Uncle that you’re supposed to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s, they said they were always told you have to eat sauerkraut, and that’s a German tradition. So those Urglaawe people didn’t make that up!

I didn’t mention anything aloud about how we’re having this feast in honor of Frey for prosperity in the New Year, because Grandma’s siblings are a bit more Christian than she is, so I hope that Frey still noticed.

For dessert, I made kumquat upside down cake. I have a kumquat tree that ripens its fruits right around Yuletide, and a year or two ago I discovered that I can make a delicious cake by simply substituting sliced kumquats for pineapple in a pineapple upside down cake recipe. When I was a kid my mom used to sometimes make pineapple upside down cake for Christmas in a 9×13 pan with canned pineapple rings and maraschino cherries in the middle of each ring. I thought the gold pineapple and the red cherries looked so pretty and festive!

Now I make upside down cakes in my 10 inch cast iron skillet with fresh fruit, and it’s turning out to be one of my favorite ways to use up the bountiful harvest of kumquats I get most winters. Whenever I make a special holiday meal, I like to include something that I grew and harvested myself, even if it’s just some herbs from the herb garden. This year, the rosemary and garlic on the pork, the rutabagas and leeks that were mixed into the scalloped potatoes, and the kumquats on the cake were all home-grown. Hail Frey!

Yule 2019, my baby’s first Yule, is over. It’s 2020 now. A new year and a new decade! Please gods let it be a good one for my little one to grow up in!