Pregnancy helpers

Yep, it wasn't easy.

At the end of Judah's pregnancy I recorded this list of actions and 'things' that helped with pregnancy
round #2. I'm seeing that I forgot to post it, but feel it's still good material and may be helpful to other mama's out there.

I'd like to thank all the friends who have lent their helping hands and pregnancy gear that helped me through the harder days of belly vs. toddler.

Helpful Friends...

Lent me their maternity pillow
Listened/Celebrated/Lamented/Texted/Chatted with me every at every stage
Arrived early to Root Group to help prep and lend their husband to play with David
Stayed late after Root Group to clean up
Babysat David so I could go get a pedicure 
Washed dishes
Carried and changed loads of laundry
Babysat David during worship practice so I could stay put
Threw me a "Last Hoo-rah! Diaper party for Judah"
Organized a meals for mom sign-up
Brought their toddler over to play with David while I got mom-chat-time
Dropped by lasagna leftovers
Played with David while I did laundry, sewed
Treated me like I was exhausted, even when I tried to pretend like I wasn't


Helpful Things...

1. Maternity Pillow
2. Celestial Seasonings Herbal Teas (specifically Lemon Zinger) as a decaf option
3. Sweet Petula Mediterranean Mint Butter Balm for belly
4. Craigslist boxes of plentiful maternity clothes, one stop shopping
5. Coconut water, or boxes of healthy drink options for on the go

I think there must have been more helpful things I found, but this is where the list ends. Maybe with round #3, it'll grow.

Leftover oatmeal = babyfood

Leftover Oatmeal & Apple babyfood

Leftover oatmeal & all the toppings
1 cored apple w/peel
yogurt


Blend all ingredients, add a little water and whalla - babyfood. Freeze in ice cube trays.

Never toss another unfinished bowl again.

Meeting AB

We had the pleasure of a special visit with the Bobbitts back in March, during which we met for the first time AB = Aubrey Bobbitt. She's a precious addition to our family, as of last December, and although her first few months of life have had both parents bouncing and problem-soliving more than before - Aubrey is a sweet soul and we all loved being with her! Before another month goes by, I need to share a few photos from our time together...

Cousins meet

Little girl needs her space

Concerned AB

Silly AB

Sincere AB

Judah is glad his cousin came to share toys

Lindsay & AB on Easter

Happy Easter Bobbitts, Dudichs, Grants!

Parrot Parfait

Since using the Deceptively Delicious cookbook, I started hiding vegetable purées in food at will. David seemed to love carrot purée with applesauce, and as a anti-veg man that was great. Now, in making baby food I took the carrot + apple purée combination a step further. By changing the base from apple to pear purée, I created what I've decided to call, 'Parrot Sauce'.

Parrot Sauce

3-4 pears mostly peeled and cored
2 apples mostly peeled and cored
5-7 carrots mostly peeled

Bake in 2 inches of water in a small ditch oven or covered baking dish at 350. I'm not entirely sure about baking time, so check periodically for 1 hour.

Let cook and then purée and pour into empty applesauce jar.

The nice thing about Parrot Sauce is that everyone in the family can enjoy it. Top with plain yogurt and granola and you'll be eating the same thing I do most mornings. If you're looking to make your own granola, first of all good for you, I'd recommend my friend Hana's blog Sweet Mama Zog for recipes - I believe this is her maple granola featured in the photo. 

Swaddle Stories

Swaddles are a science and each experience has been unique:


#1 Woombie
Used for Judah age 1 week through 3 months. Kept him snug as a bug and allowed for lots of wiggling and mummy pose with hands up by face. He did take on the challenge of busting out by grunting himself to sleep. Only criticism is that the woombie has to air dry and takes multiple hours, so if you only have one like we did, better be prepare to rock or swing for a couple hours. (Just got this adorable ruffle one for my niece.)

#2 Miracle Swaddle
Used for both David and Judah ages 3 month - 5.5 month. This swaddle blanket has multiple panels sewn in at the arms to tie them down and to his side by tucking over arms and under the back. Feet are fairly loose within swaddle foot pocket and therefore acts like a transition to being swaddle free. David took weeks to make the final transition out of this snug swaddle, napping with one ligament unwrapped until all ligaments were free. This transition time was not easy, so I would caution parents to only use this swaddle if you're desperate for long stretches of sleep. Get them in the sleep routine first, then try to get them out of being in the miracle swaddle.

#3 Summer Infant Velcro
Used for both David and Judah newborn and home from the hospital. The velcro is strong enough to keep a sleepy newborn wiggle in. However, once both boys figured out how to get their hands up by their faces the naps were over. I've seen where these are available for car seats and feel that is brilliant because they lullaby of the car should keep them dozy enough to lessen wiggles.

#4 Aden & Annias Swaddle Blankets
Used for both David and Judah NOT as an independent napping swaddle but just as a blanket to sleep in warm arms. I actually feel this is one of the best newborn blankets because it's so large and light you can wrap a newborn very snugly as well as coolly cover up to breastfeed (tuck an end of the blanket under bra strap). And of coarse they are oh so stylin'.

#5 Carters Recieving Blankets
Used for both David and Judah. With David we swaddled him in these for much too long. Since he had reflux and fought sleep, we would swaddle him up with these stiff blankets and tie them in a knot behind his head. The tying was demonstrated to us by our pediatrician and actually helped David to begin sleeping on his side. The receiving blankets were so stiff that they kept him tightly snuggled, legs up and all. David began breaking out of these swaddles around 3 months and Judah never slept well in them, that's why we transition to the Miracle Swaddle.






Overall swaddling has helped us establish good nap and night sleeping habits even though it took longer to reach our goal of free-movement-self-soothing-sleepsack/sleeper-sleeping. Whatever works!!

A Beautiful Baby Bobbitt Shower

Saturday, September 22, we celebrated my sister Lindsay's little baby girl due to arrive mid-December! She's an adorable little pregnant lady and showered her guests with notes of love. Before gift time, Lindsay gave each woman in attendance a notecard with an encouraging word on how she's been touched by their lives. My sweet feisty little sister is now a thoughtful, intentionally loving mother.

Cherri, Lindsay's mother in law and one of my favorite women, hosted and decorated so beautifully! Note the lemons and limes in the vases as well as the buckets of cupcakes. The experience of celebrating this little girl together was nothing short of lovely.

Lucky for us all my Auntie Cheryle, who pours out love for her nieces, was also able to join the party from Arizona. She was Judah's snuggle buddy and teamed up with mom to give Lindsay her very favorite gift - the BOB jogger. Auntie Cheryle stayed 2 weeks so we got to spend lots of quality time together. Between chasing after David and feeding Judah that is.

Evanston Farmers Market Walk

This weekend, we finally felt relief from the 100+ degree heat! Lindsay, my sister was in town and staying with us a couple days, so we spent our last Saturday before Judah arrives at running final fun errands. We started at the Evanston Farmers Market and picked up an expensive load of produce. Funny thing, starting with produce made for very quick trips following so as to prevent the produce from 'cooking' in the back of the RAV. Our 2nd stop was a tick off my shopping 'bucket list' as we popped into the T.J.MAXX in Wilmette. I have been dreaming of that store for years, imagining rich North Shore treasures at affordable prices. Lindsay got me two sets of cupcake liners for my birthday there, and it was onward to Target.

The true blessing of shopping before a newborn baby arrives is the freedom to take time to move at a leisure pace. No baby napping/crying in a moby, no breastfeeding in the last row of parking lots, and no tears. Ha! Hold on a second! Shopping before a newborn arrives with a toddler is no leisure event! Tripp did his best to entertain David in the toy section while my sister and I moved quickly through the kitchen goods. David left with a stack of mini playdoughs and Tripp got a pack of gummy bears.

Having Lindsay with us, I asked her to capture this special Saturday out and here we have it!:

The Grant Hospital Bag Round #2

Since this round #2, I should be more savvy at packing the best equipped hospital bag for a Grant birth. You know how they say you forget labor pains after the baby is delivered (ha, but you remember they're horrible), well you forget your mental packing list too! So here we go - for kicks & giggles and future reference:

How beautiful is this etsy bag! We'll be using a regular old black duffel bag,
but wouldn't this beauty just add some glamor to the experience?!

GRANT HOSPITAL BAG

For Laura

• Wallet
• Phone & Charger
• Massagers
• Toiletry bag
  - Toothbrush
  - Toothpaste
  - Contacts & Solution
  - Glasses
  - Shampoo & Conditioner
  - Face wash
  - Moisturizer
  - travel hand lotion
  - Burts Bees Tinted lip balm (so important!)
  - Hair Dryer
  - Curl gel
  - Curling Brush
  - Make-up (those bella baby pics aren't cheap so I want to look my 'best')
• Hair ties, headbands, pins
• Blk strapless dress
• Oatmeal Cardigan
• Nursing Tanktop
• Blk skirt
• blk undies 
• Gray slippers
• Crocs
• Coconut Water Juice boxes
• Prune Juice
• Almonds
• Pretzels
• Gum
• Wine
• Nursing pads
• Nursing cover
• Breast pump tote bag & bags

For Tripp

• Wallet
• Phone & Charger
• Tooth brush
• Deodorant
• 2 shirts
• 1 light sweater
• 1 change pants
• 2 undies
• Book
• Camera & Charger

For Judah

• Baby Blanket for Photos
• Wipes
• 2 footed pants and shirts
• 1 sleeper

Some of you may be wondering about the wine, is this allowed in a hospital? In the event I find super-human strength to deliver w/o drugs, I'm treating myself and Judah (via boob) to an entire bottle of Chardonnay over a 4-6 hour period. Either the little guy's going to be buzzing on Norco or Chardonnay, same difference really and possibly the latter is healthier.

Also important to remember are things to ask the hospital for:

From Hospital

• Lanolin
• Nuk Pacifiers
• Postpartum girdle
• Hand pump
• Nipple Shields
• Peri Bottle
• Pads
• Ice packs
• Undies
• Remaining Diapers
• Vaseline for Judah 
• Sitz Bath (I recently read that hospitals sometimes provide)

(P.S.) I've already updated this list since posting, so it's going to be toootaly complete by the time we hit the road to the Hospital.

Emily & Baby C's Baby Shower

Saturday, February 18th marked one of the most delightful gatherings of women I've ever witnessed. My co-host Rachel and I had planned the details of Emily's baby shower months in advance and it could not have been lovelier. I have never seen such an enthusiastic and almost complete RSVP as I did with this shower.

The morning of Emily's big day, her mother Irene, Sister Jessica and sister in law stopped by with a bundle of roses, grapes, thank you cards (pre-return adressed), and a photo display of baby Emily. Upon first meeting Irene I felt I knew my dear friend Emily all the more. Yep, she was indeed Emily's mom and what a wonderful mold to have been shaped from. The rest of the day followed suit as I met Emily's other sister and extended family. I knew Blake's mom but got to chat with his sister and grandmother for the first time as well. After receiving one of the most touching thank you notes of my life from Emily's grandmother Buela, I knew this was a shower to remember and details I needed to record here today...
 
The theme 'She's about to Pop' was inspired by a pinterest pin from Emily and here was our invite:

We carried the 'pop theme' through with buckets of sweet and salty popcorn. Here's the recipe for the sweet popcorn:

Sweet Popcorn

1/4 c. White popcorn kernels
About 4 tbsp. veg oil to cook and coat
1/4 c. powder sugar
a few dashes of salt to taste

crystal sprinkles

Pop the kernels however you like (microwave is fine and delicious). If you are popping in a manual popper, then cook the kernels in about 2 tbsp. of veg oil and coat with another 2 tbsp. after popped. While still warm, add a dash of salt to taste and then sprinkle the powder sugar over the popcorn and toss to coat evenly. For fun, add crystal sprinkles and toss lightly (I specify 'crystal' meaning the kind that looks like colored granulated sugar, regular sprinkles will just fall to bottom).

Thanks to Rachel's idea to set out an array of fun and flavored sodas/water our drink station was decadent. I also found a recipe for Nashville's Fruit Tea which was incredibly delicious:

 

Nashville's Fruit Tea

    Tea bags for 2 gallons tea
    1 1/2 quarts boiling water
    2 cups sugar
    1 (48-ounce) can pineapple juice
    1 (12-ounce) can frozen orange juice
    1 (12-ounce) can frozen lemonade
    Toss in some mint for good measure

Place tea bags in bowl or pitcher. Pour boiling water over tea bags. Add sugar, stirring to dissolve. Let tea bags steep in sugar water several hours or overnight. discard tea bags. Pour tea into a large bowl. Add juices, stirring well. Pour equal amounts into two one-gallon jugs. Add water to each to fill jug. Refrigerate. Shake well before serving.
Makes 2 gallons

Our food table was sweet and savory and my favorite item was probably Rachel's olive bruscetta. I'm guessing that it was french bread + cream cheese + olive tapenade. 6 little pieces were left over and I ate them all by the end of the day. Rachel also made 40 adorable chocolate and vanilla cupcakes topped with homemade buttercream pink icing. I believe I ate about 4 of those as well. I'd also love to share this  cake mix cookie recipe which was altered to fit the mixes I found at Target, Funfetti and Strawberry - big hits!

 

For games, we did the 'guests can't say the word CUTE or else they give up a link' game. We played with ABC baby links which were gifted on to Baby C after the party. Our two winners competed in a timed shape sorter contest in order to determine who took the prize. Our second game was a POP-Quiz in which Emily surprised even me with her answers! Baby C's Grandma, Emily's mom, proved to be most knowledgeable and won the prize.

Before gift time, we took a moment to invite the Lord to be a part of Emily's special day and Audrey read Psalm 139. You'll recall it's precious reminder that the Lord is the one who creates...

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." - Psalm 139:13-14

In closing we prayed for Emily and guests were invited to pray specifically for the short but heavy times ahead - final weeks of pregnancy, delivery and hospital stay, first days at home and Emily's first 3 months with Baby C. These specific time periods of Emily's road to motherhood were also written down on the guests gum-pack favors in hopes that prayer would continue from here. Glory to God for all you who are covering Emily in prayer as we speak. What's more valuable to a new mother than knowing the grace of Jesus Christ?!

Gift time was glorious as Emily opened big items like her stroller and small items like a framed poem by Blake's grandmother. I've never seen such an outpouring of love over a little baby girl like this day. Needless to say, I think Baby Girl C might be outfitted just as stylish as her mama.

Baby Pictures of Emily

'Meals for Mom' listed Emily's favorites to
receive once baby C arrives and she's got her hands fulll!

In my dear friend Katheryn's words, it truly was 'the baby shower of the century'. I'm thankful to all the helping hands that pitched in generously to make the day beautiful for our inspiring & beautiful new mama, Emily.

A shout out to whisperer!

I would just like to take a moment to thank Tracy Hogg, author of Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems, for her assistance in making my first few weeks at work somewhat worry-free. My dear mom friend, Katheryn, observed crying David at an early age and suggested I pick up this book and consider a 'routine'. Best advice of my life, which lead to the best relationship with an author I could ever imagine. I love this woman. I'd hug her if I met her. David's routine is predictable and includes a good amount of napping. Even when the unpredictable happens, it's not a matter of bad mommy or angry baby, just developmental adjusting. Going throughout my day at work, I've glanced down at the clock and been comforted knowing that David's doing just what we worked on in his routine. I tell myself that I'm still there 'mothering' him in routine and food choice. It's the little things these days.

Interested in seeing David's day? I thought it would be fun to put his schedule up here, have a look: