New Mother

Life Lately

~ atastytrip ~ Leave a comment

Well, it’s been long enough since my last post that I just had to re-read the whole thing to remember what I wrote about. So in case it isn’t obvious…my goal of writing more than one post a month post baby clearly hasn’t happened yet. Baby steps. Literally.

Life is different. Getting a little more normal new normal everyday but oh so different. And for the record, new normal means I have realized that I have so much less control than I once imagined, and that as soon as I think I know the “schedule”, it changes. What is it they say? The only constant in life is change. Changing schedules and changing diapers. Welcome to evening mom-brain.

At about two months old Amelia started sleeping through the night, and now at a little over three months old we are still going strong…which is amazing! Especially for a breastfed baby, apparently? She’s always been a great sleeper so it’s definitely not anything we’ve done. I’m going to chalk it up to luck and cross my fingers that this is one aspect of the ever changing “schedule” that does not change.

Amelia Kicks
Please keep sleeping my sweet girl

And lest I misrepresent my baby and lead you to believe shes perfect and so easy, she isn’t. Well…she IS perfect to me of course. I think she is a good baby, and a normal baby, but not necessarily an ‘easy’ baby. She is a fantastic sleeper but when she is awake she is very alert and likes a lot of stimulation. This means she does NOT like to be laid down on a play mat or left to her own devices for more than a few minutes. She likes to be held, in front of your body so that she can see and be a part of everything you are doing. I think she has got serious FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out for the non-millennials ). I HOPE this means shes going to be one smart cookie one day, but I KNOW it means it is very hard to get things done during the day. Sleeping through the night means her naps are brief and there is really only so much you can do efficiently with one hand the rest of the time.

Amelia Smiles
Don’t let this angelic face fool you

So life is different. I use a lot more dry shampoo, do a lot more laundry and have become really skilled at reaching into the backseat to find and replace pacifiers while driving.

But it’s getting more normal. Continue reading →

Waiting…& Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies

~ atastytrip ~ 2 Comments

In case you can’t tell from the title of this post…. no baby yet 😦 We are now only 3 days out from our due date and not much seems to have changed, although according to my doctor things are still moving in the right direction, so at least there’s that! I’ve cleaned all I can clean, run all the errands there are to run, done all the laundry there is to do and the nursery is completely finished. Nesting is officially complete so now we wait…and wait…and wait.

Ingredients

If our girl doesn’t arrive before her due date we are going to discuss inducing (induction?). My OB doesn’t like for you to go more than a week over your due date, and although I was initially very reluctant, I am becoming more open to the idea of being induced. I am not terribly uncomfortable physically but emotionally the anticipation and waiting has taken a toll and I am ready for a change. Above all else I am thankful for a still healthy and growing baby girl and that is the most important thing!

Wet and Dry

One thing that made the waiting slightly harder (but also so very exciting!) is that my good friend Lindsay who was due a few weeks after me had her baby boy a few weeks early on Tuesday! He is absolutely darling and they are both happy and healthy despite his early arrival. Seeing her little one definitely made me more ready for the arrival of our own, and I think finally made it more real for Robert! I’m still not sure he quite knows what he’s in for (um do I even know? Probably not) but I think he’s going to be great in the moment!

Chocolate Chips

When my friends give birth or are going through a major life event I am a big believer that the most helpful thing you can do is bring a meal. Bring a meal, then leave, to be precise. Not bring a meal and stay to share it or bring a meal and stay to be entertained for a few hours. I imagine that new parents have quite enough going on and often family around to entertain so I like to drop something hot off, hold the sweet babe for a minute if they so wish and then merrily be on my way. It’s been a tried and true formula that most people seem to appreciate so I highly recommend it.

Dough

I have a few go to recipes for times like these; Chicken and vegetable casserole, Sausage and Tortellini Soup (Can be prepared Gluten Free if need be!) and most recently Chicken and Poppyseed Casserole. None of these recipes qualify as health food but all are delicious and comforting which is exactly what you want during a time like that. I typically add a bagged salad to the casseroles to be made at their convenience, or a loaf of fresh bread to the soup and in the case of new mamas, I always bring lactation cookies. Continue reading →