Meal Prep With Baby

Meal preparation can be tricky with a baby.

A baby takes up a lot of my mental capacity. Some days, the last thing I want to do is think about what to make for lunch or supper, especially when I want my meals to be healthy.

A baby makes grocery shopping more complicated. If the baby is in a good mood, it can be a fun experience. I get to get out of the house, and my baby gets to see and hear interesting new things. However, if my baby is fussy, it’s a whole different story.

Even after I decide what to make and have the ingredients, putting the food together can take awhile. If my baby is napping during supper prep time, great! If she wants to be held when I need to be chopping vegetables or standing near the stove, it’s not so great.

My solution? When I go grocery shopping, I make sure to buy a green pepper, red onion, mushrooms, and tomato. I chop each of them up when my daughter is napping, and store them in the refrigerator in Ziplock bags. The possibilities for easy meals to make with these ingredients are endless, and most of them require only one hand (because your other hand is busy holding on to your baby, of course).

Lately, I’ve been making pizza. I buy pizza crust from the store, or make my own. I spread pizza sauce over the crust, sprinkle on a layer of cheese, and load it up with the pre-cut veggies. Ten minutes in the oven at 425 degrees, and supper is ready.

My husband likes making omelets with the veggies. He whisks a few eggs with some milk, throws in the veggies, and adds some cheese at the end. Breakfast is served!

An easy choice for lunch is a veggie wrap. I spread a little ranch on a whole wheat tortilla, add the veggies, and maybe add some avocado, lunch meat, and/or cheese.

If you like salads, the pre-cut vegetables liven up a plain romaine lettuce salad.

The next time you are chopping vegetables for a recipe, do yourself a favor and chop more than you need. Having pre-cut vegetables on hand makes meal preparation with a baby a breeze.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday dear me! Happy birthday to me!

Yep, you guessed it: It’s my birthday. Another year gone, another year older.

Birthdays used to be so exciting. I remember looking at the calendar in anticipation when I was younger, counting down the days until I got to eat cake and open presents. It was nearly impossible to go to sleep the night before.

I’d wake up early, go into my parents’ bedroom, and the entire family would gather around for gift opening. I would be freed of my morning duty of making my bed, and would skip off to school.

Going to school on my birthday was the best. I loved handing out my homemade birthday treats to my classmates (ah, the days when it was safe and acceptable to bring homemade treats). I’d race home after school (I have to insert another “ah” here: Ah, the days when walking home from school alone was safe) and get busy playing with my new toys.

Having a Saturday birthday was even better – I got to sleep in AND play with my toys all day.

My dear mother always made whatever meal I requested, and my favorite cake – usually something with a lot of chocolate. We invited aunts, uncles, and cousins to help celebrate.

Now that I’m a grown-up and a mother, birthdays are still fun, but they sure aren’t the same as when I was young.

The excitement and anticipation are still there, but the night before the big day is sleepless because of frequent breastfeeding, not because of adrenaline.

I briefly consider abandoning my morning duties – making our bed, emptying and loading the dishwasher, rinsing poopy diapers, and doing laundry – but quickly decide against it when I realize no one will pick up my slack, and it will just mean twice as much work the next day.

I don’t go to school. In fact, this year, I didn’t even go outside. When your birthday happens to fall on the same day as a major snowstorm, going out with a 6-month-old baby isn’t exactly a good idea.

I still got to play with my new “toys,” however, and my husband made my requested meal and favorite cake. Just like when I was young, we invited family over to help celebrate.

As far as special treatment goes, adults might still be extra nice to me, but my daughter doesn’t know the difference. She still cries like normal, poops like normal, and, of course, snuggles like normal.

I tried explaining to her that, because it’s my birthday, she really shouldn’t be fussy at all today.

I’m not holding my breath.

Bedtime, Bedtime: What To Do??

I go back and forth a lot on how to handle bedtime with our daughter.

Up until this point, I’ve been very relaxed with our routine. If she seemed tired, I’d let her sleep. If she woke up and wasn’t happy being in bed, I’d take her out and hold her, feed her, or do whatever else it took to make her happy.

In the last month, she settled into a routine by herself. She took naps about the same time each day and went to bed about the same time each day. However, every once in awhile she’ll wake up a couple hours after going to bed for the night, and will not be content. I can tell that she isn’t hungry, her diaper is fine, and she is obviously still very tired. These are the moments when I’m not sure what to do.

Do I pick her up and hold her, which is what she obviously wants? Do I let her be up with us for awhile, knowing full well that she is still tired? Sometimes I think, “Who cares if she is still tired? She wants to be held. Why not hold her?”

Do I let her stay in bed, cry awhile, and hopefully fall back asleep? Is it good for her to realize she can wake up and put herself back to sleep without relying on me to comfort her?

I realize that she eventually needs to be able to get back to sleep on her own. I’m not sure when is the developmentally appropriate time to let her cry it out.

Almost every person I ask has a different answer. There are people who get their babies on a strict schedule within a month of being born. There are some who say after the first four months that a baby is ready to learn to self-soothe. Still others say that parents should always go to their babies when they cry, because responding to those cries gives children an important sense of security that will benefit them the rest of their lives.

I’ve always leaned towards responding immediately to my daughter’s cues. The reason I do that is because I think it is best for her. When she is overly tired, though, and needs sleep, is sleep what is best for her, or is comfort what is best for her?

I also realize that consistency is important for her. If one night I immediately pick her up when she cries, she’ll expect it. If I make her cry for 45 minutes the next time she cries, that might confuse her.

Are the answers ever obvious when it comes to babies?

Multitasking

My daughter has an insatiable curiosity these days. She wants to know what everyone is saying, doing, eating, and holding. She wants to touch and taste anything and everything she can get her drool-covered hands on. No more are the days when I can hold her on my lap and expect whatever food or drink is in my hand to remain un-spilled. I have to be on a constant guard.

I’ve always made a point to talk to her and explain everything I am doing. “Now Mommy is pouring the hot water into the mug for her tea,” or, “Daddy is taking out his computer to do his work.” I do this to help her develop a good vocabulary, and also to keep her entertained. Now that she likes to touch things, I make a point to talk about what I am doing and, whenever safe and appropriate, let her feel what I am doing.

She was a little cranky today and wanted to be walked, so I decided to take her on a tour of the house and let her touch and hear the names of everything. “Snowman,” “plant,” “picture frame,” and “TV” were some of the items she got to touch and hear the names of.

About 30 seconds into the tour, I was struck with a genius idea: Why not dust and tour at the same time?

You might not be excited about this idea, but I was. I’m at home all day with an almost 6–month-old child. She’s a people person. She likes to be held and talked to. On the other hand, my husband is a carefree sort of guy. The kind that puts things down when he’s finished with them, and then forgets to put them away. I’m constantly battling to keep my house clean and organized and also keep my baby happy. The idea that I could kill both birds with one stone filled me with joy.

We had a delightful 15-minute walk around the house. She was eager to look at, hear about, and touch everything I picked up, and I was relieved to wipe the dust from under each object. Happy baby? Check. Cleaner house? Check. Satisfied mother? Double check!

Cradle Cap

My daughter was born chubby, bald, and beautiful. It doesn’t look like she’ll have a full head of hair anytime soon. I didn’t see any reason we’d need one of those cute baby brushes for quite awhile, although we received a few as gifts.

As I was lying next to her one lazy afternoon, I thought about how I love having my hair brushed. It always relaxes me and feels so good. I decided brushing my daughter’s “hair” with a soft brush might feel good to her too. I got one out, and started softly brushing her head. She seemed to love it, appeared very relaxed, and was lying very still.

Suddenly, I noticed little white flakes floating in the air after each brush stroke. Having grown up with taking care of babies, I knew exactly what this was – cradle cap.

I continued brushing until the flakes stopped coming off. Then, I got on my computer to do a little research. (I have to admit, I go a little crazy with my computer research when it comes to my baby.) From everything I read, it seemed that no one really knows what causes cradle cap, and that, although it might not be pretty, it isn’t harmful to the baby. Satisfied that the cradle cap wasn’t a result of me being a bad mother who had a dirty baby, I decided to keep an eye on it and relax.

I recalled my mother telling me that when one of my siblings had cradle cap, a well-meaning friend told her, “Just leave it alone. It will go away on its own.” My mother cringes as she remembers how it indeed did not go away on its own. Instead, it got out of control, and thick. Yuck! I wasn’t letting that happen.

After doing a little trial and error with cradle cap control, I figured out a system that works very well for me. First, I wash my baby’s head gently with a washcloth each morning. I don’t put any shampoo or soap on it; I just use warm water. About once a week, I put a little baby lotion on her head (we use Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion) and brush it for about five minutes. I make sure to wash the brush with soap and water after I’m done.

This has completely taken care of the problem. Every now and then I see some yellowish patches on the top of her head, which I promptly take care of, but other than that, the cradle cap is a thing of the past.

New Mommy Must-Haves

When I try to think back on the first month of my daughter’s life, everything is a little hazy. It seems like all I did was hold her, feed her, change her diaper, and sleep. She was a relatively easy baby and slept pretty well from the get-go, but I still felt like I was in some sort of survival mode. Not only did I have a new baby to take care of, but my poor body took a while to recover from a tough 30-hour labor.

I don’t know how I would have made it through the first month without three items I happened to have on hand: stool softeners, frozen maxi pads, and a Moby Wrap.

Maybe you’re reading the phrase “stool softener” and wondering why it made the list. I’m not sure if my experience was unique, but going number two was terrifying for me after giving birth. Not only was I extremely sore (the doctor told me I had received the equivalent of about 15 stitches), but my number two wasn’t of a consistency that came out easily. To put it bluntly, I felt like I was trying to push rocks out, and that the rocks would tear my stitches. After spending agonizing hours in the bathroom, thinking to myself that I’d rather go through another 30-hour labor than be in this situation, I finally began to take stool softeners regularly. Trips to the bathroom were still scary, but a lot more manageable.

I wasn’t prepared for how much pain I would be in after I was finished giving birth. I had heard labor was painful, but no one prepared me for the aftermath. The hospital had ice packs for me to use “down there,” but they didn’t get quite cold enough to relieve the pain and soreness. Once I got home, I bought a pack of overnight maxi pads with wings, put water in the middle of them, and put them in the freezer. These home-made ice packs gave the best relief out of anything else I had tried. They fit perfectly in regular underwear, and were so refreshingly cold.

The stool softeners and frozen maxi pads were very important, but my number one, most-needed baby product, one that I highly recommend all new mothers purchase, was my Moby Wrap. It was comfortable, adjustable, and easy to use. If my daughter was ever crying and I couldn’t figure out how to get her to stop, all I had to do was put her in the Moby Wrap. It was like magic. She would instantaneously stop crying, and usually would fall asleep within five minutes. Even when she wasn’t crying, I’d put her in the Moby Wrap, and she’d be content for hours. It was an easy way for me to keep her close to me and still have my hands free.

Did you just have a baby? Congratulations, and take my advice: if you don’t already own these items, send your husband out to buy them.

Our Experience With Kangaroo Care

My daughter was born with some minor health concerns. Because of this, the pediatricians at the hospital recommended she remain in the hospital for a week to be observed. It was very upsetting that we didn’t get to take her home; however, the experience was not entirely negative. I was able to stay in my daughter’s room the entire week, and we learned about a very valuable method of caring for babies. This method is called Kangaroo Care.

Kangaroo Care is a method often used with premature babies, but it has been proven to be very successful in helping both premature and term babies overcome a myriad of problems. Our daughter was not a preemie, but she had health issues related to her respiration rate. We were encouraged to do Kangaroo Care with her to speed up her recovery.

When I first entered my daughter’s room and expressed my desire to hold her, the nurses instructed me to wear my hospital gown with the front part open. They placed my baby, wearing only her diaper, on my bare chest. They described her position as head-up, skin-to-skin, tummy-to-tummy. She was hooked up to many monitors, so we could see exactly how this method of holding was affecting her breathing, oxygen intake, blood pressure, and pulse. The nurses were pleased with what they saw, and encouraged me to keep holding her like this – head up, skin-to-skin, and tummy-to-tummy.

In addition to holding her in this position, they also encouraged me to breastfeed on demand – that is, feed her whenever she wants to eat, paying no attention to the clock.

My husband and I were eager to do anything to speed up her recovery, so we utilized Kangaroo Care around the clock. She was constantly held skin-to-skin by either my husband or me, and I breastfed her whenever she so much as hinted that she was hungry.

After one 24-hour day of continuous Kangaroo Care, she had almost completely recovered. She remained in the hospital to complete her round of antibiotics, but we were no longer worried about her. I obviously have no way of knowing if she would have had such a speedy recovery without Kangaroo Care, but I truly believe it played a major role in helping her get better.

For a full week, our daughter had skin-to-skin contact with us and breastfed whenever she wanted. Even after she got out of the hospital, we continued to use Kangaroo Care regularly. It was wonderful. Rather than trying to get my house back in order, I was content to relax and snuggle with my baby. I knew that I needed to rest, and I felt confident that my daughter was reaping tremendous benefits.

Benefits of Kangaroo Care

Kangaroo Care is a wonderful way to bond with your baby and improve your baby’s health and well-being. There are numerous benefits associated with Kangaroo Care.

My husband and I did Kangaroo Care with our daughter nearly 24 hours a day for the first week of her life. We can’t say enough good things about the experience.

This blog will discuss the benefits of Kangaroo Care, and why Kangaroo Care works.

As I read and research Kangaroo Care, many of the benefits seem to center around an amazing feature of the female body. When a baby, wearing only a diaper, is placed between its mother’s bare breasts, the mother’s breasts change temperature in order to help her baby maintain its optimal body temperature. For example, if the baby begins to get a bit chilly, the mother’s breasts will warm up. If the baby is too warm, the mother’s breasts will cool down. It sounds a bit unbelievable, but it’s true.

Why is this important? If you think about it, a baby that isn’t using his energy to regulate his body temperature is able to use that energy elsewhere. As a result, babies participating in Kangaroo Care are shown to gain weight more quickly and have more rapid brain development.

Kangaroo Care gives the baby constant, easy access to the breast. This results in improved weight gain and better success and confidence in breastfeeding for both mother and baby.

Men do not have the ability to regulate body temperature like women and obviously cannot breastfeed, but there are other benefits of Kangaroo care that are able to be achieved by fathers. For this reason, men should also be encouraged to provide Kangaroo Care to their infants.

Kangaroo Care from either parent usually results in an improvement in breathing patterns, a more regular heart rate, and better oxygen saturation levels. When a baby is placed on the parent’s chest, the baby can hear the breathing and heartbeat of the parent. This stimulates the baby to have a similar breathing pattern and heart rate. In other words, the baby mimics its parent.

Additional benefits of Kangaroo Care include the following: longer periods of restful sleep, less crying, and longer alert periods.

To learn more about Kangaroo Care and our experience with it, visit my other blog.

Nail Polish Review

Fashion has gone a bit on the wayside since my daughter was born. My former beauty routine is becoming a distant memory. Put a full face of makeup on? I’m lucky if my face is washed before going out of the house. Curl my hair? It’s a rare morning that it’s blow-dried. Whiten my teeth? Let’s be realistic – my daily goal is to brush my teeth before lunchtime.

And yet, some days I miraculously find the time to look almost normal. I look in the mirror and realize I somewhat resemble my pre-baby self.

It’s on these days that I really feel the need to paint my nails.

Painting nails used to be simple enough. I’d push back my cuticles, apply the polish, then flip on the TV while waiting for it to dry.

It’s not so simple anymore. Now, I push back my cuticles, apply the polish… and my daughter poops. Or, my daughter spits up. Maybe my daughter just wants me to hold her. Either way, I usually end up with smudged, bumpy nails.

This Christmas, one of my stocking stuffers made having perfectly painted finger- and toenails an achievable goal. My mother-in-law gave me a bottle of Sally Insta-Dri nail polish.

Sally Insta-Dri nail polish works better than other nail polishes for me for a few reasons. Number one, the applicator brush is about three times as wide as a regular brush. Getting the polish on my nails takes less than half the time. Number two, this stuff really does dry very quickly. Even during moments when I think, “Oh great, I put way too thick of a layer on that time. This will never dry,” it does dry, and dries quickly. Number three, I like the colors. There are 32 to choose from, making it easy to find a shade that fits my mood.

There is only one thing I don’t love about it. It chips relatively easily. It’s not awful, but it won’t last for a full week. It’s an easy fix, though – a touch up is applied and dried within a minute.

Want to feel a bit like your old self again but don’t think you have the time? Try out this nail polish. It might be the pick-me-up you’ve been looking for.

Who Holds the Crying Babe?

I’m struggling with a seemingly never-ending dilemma of how long to let my baby cry when others are holding her.

I want her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others to be able to spend time with her. I realize that by holding her, they are able to bond with her and get to know her. However, I also don’t want this to happen at the expense of my daughter feeling secure and safe. Yes, she loves them, but there is no substitute for the kind of comfort and security a mother can bring.

I’ve come up with a few ways to better cope when she fusses with others. When she starts sounding less than content, I usually let it go one for at least five minutes. I give myself little jobs to do. For example, before I take her from them, I force myself to get a drink of water, go to the bathroom, or fold a load of laundry. This gives them a chance to comfort her, and helps distract me from the fact that she is upset. What I really want to do is take her right away because I know I can get her to stop crying almost instantaneously! But, I don’t want to hurt the feelings of the person holding her, especially if that person has already raised children. I get the impression that that would be insulting – they obviously know what to do if they’ve raised their own children, right?

Anyways, I usually try to wait awhile, but if she is getting upset and nothing is working, I take her. Sometimes I say something like, “I think she is hungry,” but other times I simply say, “Come here, sweetie,” and take her.

I always wonder what impression this leaves on the person holding her. The following questions run through my mind: Are they relieved that I am taking her? Does it hurt their feelings, because they think she doesn’t like them? Are they insulted, thinking that they are perfectly capable of comforting her and don’t need my help?

I’ve decided that, although I definitely care about the feelings of others, especially those of people in my family, I care more about my daughter. If she is upset and wanting me, I’ll let it go for five minutes, but that’s long enough. I’d rather an adult be upset, because adults have the ability to reason. When my daughter knows she wants me, she can’t understand why I’m not getting her right away. I try to take her in the nicest way possible and give people a chance to comfort her, but if it doesn’t work, I don’t hesitate to step in.