Week One

I don't believe it, but my calendar probably is more reliable than my sense of time these days, so I guess baby B really is officially one week old today. I already can't imagine life without her, but I also can't see how that much time has passed... Please stop growing up little girl! I would keep you at this age forever if I could.

I can now officially join the masses of mothers who say things like "All the sleepless nights are 100% worth it, don't worry" and "You can't understand how much you're going to love your kids until you have them." It's true. I didn't know I could so instantaneously and completely love something(one) the way I love my daughter. I also understand what parents tell you about getting duped into having multiple children by the first one - our baby B certainly has us hooked! She's not fussy, she cuddles all the time, and she's even let me have 7 hours of sleep the past two nights in a row. She nurses like a champ and has since she was one hour old. Already daddy is saying things like "Lets have 14!" (It took her about 24 hours to have him completely wrapped around her little fingers.)

All-in-all, this is one of the top two life experiences yet - the other is being married. I love being married. I'm just as hooked on being a mom. I even left the hospital saying "That wasn't so bad... I'd do it again to have another one" - and that was after a 33 hour labor! (That sounds worse than it really was, I promise.)

For any other new moms or soon-to-be new moms - here's some stuff that I've found invaluable during these past seven days:

Swaddle blankets by Aden + Anais - I love these! They are a lightweight but warm material that breathes really well, so I don't have to worry about little girl getting too hot or too cold in them. Plus the material has the perfect amount of stretch to it so that daddy (the master swaddler in this house) can get a really snug wrap.

Swaddleme swaddler - Daddy is the master swaddler here, but I'm not so great at getting a tight fit. Since I don't want to wake him up every time I nurse in the middle of the night to re-wrap baby B, I switch her to this. It is perfect for late nights because it only takes about 10 seconds to get her in it, which equals less time for her to get really upset with me for fiddling with her, which means she can fall back asleep a lot more quickly. My only concern is that the material is pretty lightweight, so I'm not sure it would be warm enough in the winter months.

Boppy pillow - Even though baby B nurses like a pro, I've found this pillow extremely useful. It keeps my arms from getting so tired when I nurse/hold her and also makes it easy to lay her down and adjust things when I switch sides with her while nursing. Also - to you soon-to-be moms out there - it's a comfy thing to sit on the first few days after labor if you're not using it for nursing. Just sayin'.

Keeping my fingers crossed that time slows down and week 2 takes longer to pass - I want to cherish every single second of this period of our little one's life. Even the 2 a.m. feedings.

When I Grow Up

I just finished reading My Life in France, Julia Child's autobiography and am now sitting here, distracting myself from pregnancy by watching "Julie and Julia". And I have decided, I want to be just like Julia Child when I grow up.

Obviously she enjoyed food, but after reading more about her life it's clear that Julia's happiness went much deeper than just an obsession with butter and good pastry crust. She and her husband lived on a government salary in the 1940s and 50s in France, and that wasn't much. They didn't have fancy things, they didn't have copious amounts of extra income. They were comfortable, but they were not wealthy to say the least. Somehow, though, Julia's life is marked by a complete and total joie de vivre. Her life was characterized by simple things - cooking classes, teaching herself to cook, dinner parties with friends, exploring Paris. She loved having new cooking things, yes, but it was more what she created with her cooking accoutrements that she loved than the particular items herself. Basically, she wasn't materialistic. It was her achievements in the kitchen and the people she got to share them with that made her life bright.

Julia wasn't half-hearted in anything that she did. She put everything she had into enjoying every experience she could find and she went all-out with it all. She tested every recipe she wrote scientifically, she learned how to buy every grocery item like a true French chef. She was devoted to her husband and her close friends. She never stopped seeking to learn and grow and find new experiences - her famous Mastering the Art of French Cooking wasn't even published until she was 51! She worked on her TV show and published books well into her 80s. She never caved into the idea that she had to stop living because she was no longer "young".

I want to find my greatest joy in good times with friends and family, in growing spiritually and intellectually and relationally. Even if we're eating at an old table with burn marks and two broken chairs, I want that table to be surrounded by laughter and happiness as Chris and I and our children and hopefully guests eat and drink and be merry. And I do not want to get caught up in the mentality that the best thing about retirement is that you get to shut down and stop doing things and live at the beach. When I hit 50, I want to be taking classes because, hey, why not? I want to be writing books, even if I still haven't gotten published (whew. that's a depressing thought.) I want to be active in people's lives and developing as a human being. I want to have goals that I'm working towards. You're never too old for that.

I think my life will be a simple life. But I intend to make it a great life.

Gone Paleo

The paleo diet is having a frenzied popularity spurt it seems. Half the people we know seem to either be doing paleo, or have done it, or at least know about it and understand the principles. Chris, being the unofficial Crossfit machine that he is, couldn't pass up this intriguing new facet of whole-life fitness, so, we've gone paleo.

No carbs (almond flour/coconut flour are OK.) No sugar (except honey and maple syrup.) Tons of veggies and fresh fruit. Almond butter, not peanut butter. Almonds everywhere actually. Lots of meat - but in appropriate portion sizes. No dairy - almond milk is our substitute of choice. Sweet potatoes, but no white potatoes. Lots and lots of bacon and eggs. That's the gist of how Chris has been eating for the past 30+ days. And, after a week to ten days of serious sugar/carb withdrawal, he, the man who would eat a dozen cookies in a single sitting without batting an eye, has loved every minute of the "diet" and has lost 20lbs in 30 days to boot.

I haven't completely joined Chris in his pursuit of paleo, mostly because I'm growing a person and along with that, I've grown a sweet tooth of monumental proportions that I don't really care to get rid of yet. Plus, I've only got 14 days to go. Might as well enjoy a last hurrah of sugar. But afterwards, I'm going to go half paleo. I'll keep some dairy and some carbs in my diet, but limit it like crazy, and continue to cook only paleo for our main meals. As much as I'll miss chocolate chip cookies, I'm excited about this. For one, it will help me lose baby weight (which I'm very interested in) and for another, I know that it will fuel my body and make sure that both me and baby B are getting the nutrition we need. I'll feel better and have more energy than I would on a carb-filled, processed snacking diet. I'm also partially doing it in reaction to articles like this which just make me angry. I don't like being a victim of product marketing/manipulation, and I don't like the idea that I'm addicted to anything (except caffeine. Mmmm coffee....) There's lots of scientific evidence out there that sugar, fat and salt are addicting, especially in processed foods. So buh-bye processed foods!

Anyway. In our quest for good nutrition that still tastes good I've stumbled upon this recipe. Want to satisfy a bread craving without breaking paleo, and get lots of protein and other goodness out of it? Bake these.

Almond Flour Biscuits

(photo and recipe discovered on Roost Blog via Pinterest. roostblog.com) 

Ingredients:                                                        Method:

2 1/2 cups almond flour                                     Combine almond flour, salt, baking soda.

1/2 teaspoon salt                                               Whisk together the oil and honey. Microwave for 30

1/2 teaspoon baking soda                                          seconds on high to thin the honey.

2 eggs                                                               Beat together the honey/oil mixture and eggs. Add to dry.

1/4 cup oil                                                         Drop 1/4 cup dollops of batter onto greased baking sheet.

1/4 cup honey                                                   Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

I also usually drizzle the biscuits with honey before baking them (to give a little extra sweetness) and have found that 17 minutes is the perfect baking time. Yumm!