And now, the ‘Operation Find My Hot Bod’ exercise update.

While I have not been so perfect with my healthy eating plan I have tried really hard, but not as hard as I COULD to exercise regularly.  I never said that I would workout every day, because quite frankly, that would be setting myself up for failure.  There is no way I could manage that.  I am far too flakey.

What I have found is that I am enjoying trying to become a runner.  This is coming from someone who has avoided running at all costs – her whole life!  Sometimes, I need my asthma puffer after getting out of bed in the morning, so attempting a 100m dash would be like suicide.

Things started off well, but then I hit a bump in the road with my dinky knees.  I ALMOST had to ditch ‘Operation Find My Sixpack’ but they suddenly came good.  I think my knees just went into a state of shock.

 

I have kept track of my exercising, this helps me to see how many workouts I have done and it makes me feel good.  It also keeps me accountable.  I can see where I have started to slack off and I tell myself to stop being a lazy tart and get off my largest muscle.

 

18th Sept – 30 Day Shred 
This is my first workout.  I died.  I died, I died, I died.  I couldn’t even get through 30 seconds of jumping jacks.  I used my babies as excuses to complete each set just a little early.  Oh, H is tipping over, better prop you back up.  Did you want a drink T?  Let me get that for you.  Does someone need a nappy changed?
I hurt too much from this workout the next day, so I rested.

20th Sept – 30 Day Shred 
I made it through this workout without stopping today but it was bloody hard work.  T joined in and tried to sit on me while I did crunches.

21st Sept – 30 Day Shred and Couch 2 5K
This was my first day of the running.  I ran for 60 second intervals and walked for 90 seconds.  I needed my asthma puffer 29465920 times after EACH run.  I had to skip a run in the middle to catch my breath properly.  I truly thought I was going to drop dead from a heart attack.  I barely made the 60 seconds and had to push myself so hard to get there.

I have a friend Amy, who is about a week ahead of me on the Couch 2 5K.  She helps keep me motivated and started taking photos from her runs as she said it helped her get through by thinking about what she would photograph.  So I started doing the same, and she is right, it really helps.

This is me trying to catch my breath at the end of my first run. Before I collapsed.

22nd Sept – Walking
I was so sore from running the day before that just couldn’t do it again so I had a rest day and just went for a nice long walk.

Sunset over the lake.

23rd Sept – 30 Day Shred and Walking
Day 3 of the Shred and I made it through quite easily.  I even used two cans of chick peas for weights, which T thought was pretty funny and narrowly avoided dropping them on his toes.  I walked again in the afternoon which is my favourite time in the day for walking.

25th Sept – Couch 2 5K
Second run.  A little easier.  I only needed my ventolin 28465 times after each run.  Improvement.  One of the things I love so much about walking is that I can just daydream.  I can let my mind go completely and think about nothing or anything.  NOT the case with running, all I can think about is surviving the 60 seconds.  I pinpoint a tree about 10 metres away and think, I just have to make it to that tree.  Once I get there if the 60 seconds is not finished I pinpoint another tree.  Every step is a struggle.  But then I see this:

Jacaranda in Spring.

26th Sept – 30 Day Shred and Walking
I worked really hard on the Shred and T is getting quite good at the warm up stretches and sticking his face into my bum when I do squats.  K decided he was going to work out with me today.  His puny little body couldn’t even keep up and he piked out half way.

27th Sept – Couch 2 5K
My knees started hurting today when running.  They were OK when walking but every step hurt while running.  A bit of a worry considering I was just beginning to find my stride.

30th Sept – Walking
Thought I would take it a bit easy as my dinky knees were being very dinky indeed.

1st Oct – Couch 2 5K
Week 2 – 90 second runs.  I didn’t want to give in to the knee factor so I went on the run.  In hindsight, it might have been a bad idea.  They hurt so bad I almost turned back half way into the first run interval, but I kept on chugging on.  Just.  I wasn’t running, I wasn’t even jogging.  I was barely shuffling, it was so incredibly painful.  I don’t know if it was the right thing to do, but I didn’t want to give up.  I may be many things, but I am not a quitter.

Right THERE is the pain epicentre.

2nd Oct – 30 Day Shred
I couldn’t even do the cardio sections of the workout.  My knees were not cooperating, so I just did extra abs, or cuddled my babies.

3rd Oct – Couch 2 5K
I tried to go on the run again.  OUCH!  I was the little engine that could.  I fought through the pain and did the full Cliffy Young shuffle to the end.  By this point, my knees were not only hurting during the running, but walking also.  I had started considering physio, or amputation.  I reluctantly admitted defeat and forced myself to rest my stupid knees.  My mum also gave me a tube of anti-inflammatory cream to try.  Why didn’t I think of that?  I am not sure, but I think it helped.  Knees started feeling better, but I didn’t want to rush back in too soon.

Saw this swan doing yoga. I actually saw him a week later and he still had his leg out. I don’t think even the most skilled Yoga Swan could hold a pose that long, so it must have been from an injury. Poor Yoga Swan.

7th Oct – Couch 2 5K
What a difference a week makes.  I wouldn’t say my knees were better but a definite 3857% improvement.  I kept up the cream regime, applying it several times a day and before and after the run.  I can’t say I was jogging at my happy comfortable speed but I certainly wasn’t doing the lame shuffle.  I had found a happy medium between the two and that felt pretty good.  It is also noteworthy to add, that I didn’t even need to take my ventolin during the run!  I also did 3 extra runs at the end!

This gum tree was swaying like crazy in the wind that brought with it a much needed cool change on a scorching hot day.

12 Oct – 30 Day Shred
I hadn’t done the Shred for a while, and guilt got the better of me.  After eating 200 slices of cinnamon toast, I figured I needed to do a workout.  No pain, so I went really hard and worked up a sweat.

13 Oct – Couch 2 5K
Week 3 – includes 2 x 3 minute runs (which is a really really really long time to the non-runner!).  This run was amazing.  My knees were fine and I ran at MY perfect happy pace, which felt great.  3 minutes is a shit storm longer than 90 seconds, but I got there!  I just concentrated on my breathing and pushed through until I felt like I was flying.  I felt so happy and proud of myself.  I didn’t give up when it was hard and am achieving things I never thought possible.  Again, I did an extra run at the end, just for shits and giggles.

These happy little yellow flowers were lining the path for me. It felt like they were cheering me on.

14th Oct – Couch 2 5K
Another fantastic run.  I could have run longer, but am saving it until week 4, which I know is going to be TOUGH.  Do you think I would be fooling myself if I set a goal to do the 10K run in the Gold Coast Marathon next year?  Ok, maybe I should just see if I can make it to 5Ks first.  I am really starting to see why runners love it so much.  I am looking forward to see what the next few weeks bring.

I love how the afternoon sun makes my shadow look long and skinny 🙂

 

Now, all I need to do is have my little photographer K take my progress photos tomorrow and do an official measure/weigh in.  I did weigh myself a few weeks ago and had lost 3kg, but I am almost sure I have put most of that, or all of it back on through my poor eating choices.  But I am not going to dwell on that.  I am going to put any guilt or self-destructive tenancies behind me now and focus on tomorrow.  Tomorrow is a new day, and tomorrow I am going to be the best me I can be – for myself and for my family.

After my last run. A huge change from my first ‘post run selfie’. Can’t wait until tomorrow!

Operation Find My Hot Bod – A Food Update.

I wanted to write this post last night, but my husband insisted that I go to bed early.  He wouldn’t even let me take my phone with me, in case I sneaky stayed up on Facebook and Pinterest.  He says I get super moody when I’m tired and don’t get enough sleep and he is right.  I’m like a super grump, and probably a total bitch to live with.  D is a rock star though, because I got plenty of shut eye and feel a million times better today.  Thanks D, I love you.

I want to update on how much weight I HAVEN’T lost and how ‘Operation Find My Hot Bod’ is going.  I was hoping it would be going better, but I guess at my age I need to be happy to loose it real slow.

 

So, two things I was looking at changing.  One – eating less crap, more good stuff.  Two – Exercise.  30 day Shred and the Couch 2 5k.

 

Let’s look at food today.  I began doing really well and was entering everything I ate into My Fitness Plan and counting all my calories.  I was trying to eat good stuff and avoid the naughty stuff.  Then we ran out of food in the house and I had some cinnamon toast (with a heap of sugar).

That’s it.  That’s the end of the story.  I now have a problem with cinnamon toast.  The problem is, it is too damn good!  And the problem is, I can’t stop eating it.  And the problem is, it’s a slippery slope.  It starts with just a slice, then two, then some chocolate and soda and before you know it you have spiralled out of control and are chasing a full habit of peanut butter and nutella.  Straight from the jar!

So I have fallen off the healthy eating wagon a bit.  Already.  But this post will hopefully serve a purpose, and that is to publicly shame myself into a cinnamon toast detox.  I really struggle with food.  I like it too much and have trouble maintaining healthy eating long term, especially when there is so much baaaaad stuff in the house.  And especially since it is so much easier and faster to grab a mint slice, than to make a salad sandwich.  I’m time poor.  My minutes where a toddler isn’t clinging to my leg are few.  I used the last of the vegetables in dinner the other night and still haven’t gone shopping to replenish the fridge.  We do have KitKats though.

It is also self destructive when I have lunch at my bff’s house and she sends my home with this:

Nigella Lawson chocolate cake with icing on the top AND in the middle!

And instead of saying, ‘no thanks, I am trying to make healthier choices.’  I say, ‘yes please!’  And then think how I can eat it all before D and the boys get home.

I didn’t, by the way.  Well, not ALL of it.

 

That is pretty much where I am at with food.  I need a proper kick up the backside!  Some days I eat moderately well and others, I would rather not say.  What I can say is this – I can, and I WILL do better.

Magical Milestones – First tooth, first food.

I am not sure how this happened but H is now 6 months old.  How did that happen?  Did I blink?

 

Here I was blissfully unaware that my little baby was getting older while nursing her, and flipping through the pages of a mothering magazine (bought for me by my super thoughtful husband) (actually, is he trying to send me a message that my mothering is no good?) (do I really need to know the ’10 top tips from a second time mums’?) when I am confronted my a Heinz Baby Food ad, and then BAM it hit me – I need to think about feeding H food!

This was a couple of weeks ago and the main reason for a mercy dash to IKEA.  Any excuse to go to IKEA is valid.  I purchased myself a new high chair and a few months supply of dish scrubbing brushes.  Enough to get me through until my next IKEA run anyway.  I ate the meatballs with lingonberry sauce.  As always.

 

When I announced to the family that H would be starting solids soon, J responded with, ‘but she hasn’t got any teeth.’  Well spotted J, but babies don’t need teeth to eat.  I think he thought I was going to give her crisp carrot sticks or something.  Anyway, his point is moot, as she cut her first tooth on Saturday, 1 day before her first taste of food.  1 day after her half birthday.

It is not easy to photograph the teensiest of teensy little teeth but I believe you can juuuuust see it poking through here.

 

There are actually two things you need to introduce your baby to once they start solids.  One is of course food, the other is water.  Exclusively breastfeed babies don’t need water because they get whatever they need from your magical boobs, but once they start eating food they need water to stop their poos from turning into cement.  No-one likes to poo out cement.  Think about it, if you had a liquid diet, say you drank vodka for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then someone fed you a pub roast dinner, your butt would get all bunged up too.

 

Now comes the food time.  What do I feed her and how do I do it?  Do I go down the Traditional Weaning route with purees, or try the Baby Led Weaning where she eats finger food and feeds herself?  I have decided to do a mix of the two, as I did with T.  I am going to do Hazel Led Weaning.

Hazel (or insert the name of YOUR baby here ____) Led Weaning goes like this – you spoon feed your baby some stuff, while they play with and attempt to feed themselves some other stuff.  I figure this is the best of both worlds.  You can make sure they are getting some food into their belly with the spoon, while allowing them the opportunity to try and coordinate their hands and mouth, and maybe, just maybe munch on something in the process.

For these first few days, all I am doing is really just trying to let her know that other things can go into her mouth and they taste funny.  I am letting her play with a spoon, and she likes that a lot.  I am not really all that fussed yet if she is eating, it is just discovery at the moment.

Here she is discovering her first taste of something other than boob:

Whoa Mumma! What is that? That don’t taste like boob, or my thumb!

OK, it’s not that bad. I’ll take 2 spoons please.

Theo watches, like a dude.

 

The next part of the food introduction phase is the ‘watch out for the horrid change in poo consistency and smell’ part.  This part I am not looking forward to.  So far, after 1 day of the tiniest bit of food that got in her mouth, poo remains the same.  I know this because last night H pooed in the bath.

Does anyone remember that T liked to poo in the bath?  Well, H is following in the brothers footsteps.  Except she does it 18464 times more often then he did!

 

It usually goes like this:

Fun, fun, fun!  Two babies in the bath!  Splish, splash, splosh!  Bubbles come from H’s butt.  Uhoh.  Is it just a fart?  Wait….  Nope, just a fart!  Splish, splash, splosh, fun resumes.  And then shhhhplurggge…  H giggles.  Wth?  Oh crap, H crapped in the bath.  ‘D!!!! quick H shat in the bath again!!!’  ‘T, time to get out!’  (rinse off T with water from upstream)  Throw baby #1 at husband.  Grab baby #2, rinse her off.  Rush off and get babies dressed for bed.  Come back to clean bath, by which time it has become a swamp of orange poo floaters.

Joy of joys.

 

One day in the (hopefully) not too distant future, my babies will learn that poos are best done on the toilet so their mummy needn’t wash poo out of baths no more.

Time to share the sprinkliest of baby sprinkles.

2 weekends ago my mum hosted a baby sprinkle for me.  A sprinkle is kind of like a shower but more so for peeps already with kiddos.  More emphasis on just celebrating another little sproutlet and gettin’ jiggy with your posse rather than getting all goo goo gaa gaa over the mother to be.  Less newborn luxury items, more nappies.  Less ‘baby shower games’, more cool and fun stuff.

Those who have sprinkles include mums with big age gaps between babies (not me), mums who are finally having a different gender baby (me!) and also self indulgent mums who just like to be the centre of attention but have already had babies and a  previous baby shower but are looking for any excuse to have a party (also me).

I had a baby shower when I was pregnant with T and it was lovely.  We did all the baby shower games and typical baby shower stuff.  My loveliest of lovely friends celebrated with me and we had a super special time.  I didn’t want to have a ‘repeat’ party so Mum and I set out to make it different and special.  I was also super clever this time around; with my shower for Theo, my beautiful bestie hosted it for me, but me being a teensy bit of a control freak, quite possibly took on a bit too much responsibility and ran myself a bit ragged preparing.  This time, still a control freak, but a smarter and more realistic control freak, knew I just wasn’t going to be able to do everything, delegated some food jobs to those who were willing.  My mum of course was super helpful in the lead up and preparations for the sprinkle, which definitely made things easier for me.

The obvious difference between T’s shower and LSP’s sprinkle was the fact that we were celebrating a sparkle princess this time, so the party of course had to be themed accordingly!  After being shouted to my first ever high tea lunch by my mother in law, I knew that my sprinkle would be the perfect occasion for a sparkly fancy pants, dress up high tea.  I also did not want to play any ‘shower games’ but still wanted something fun for my guests to do, so I began sourcing ideas on Pinterest.  Heaps of pins that gave me ideas can be found on my Pinterest Baby Sprinkle board.  While you are having a look, feel free to follow.  We ultimately decided on making beautiful baby headbands for LSP and writing out our wishes for her which I can make into a booklet to read her when she is older.

I am now going to show you a truck load of photos.  I can hear the excitement!  I’ll show you all the bits and pieces and a few of me in my new favourite dress.  I’ll even wrap things up with my latest bump shot which is now 2 weeks old.

 

The Preparations

The table all set up and pretty before the guests arrived.

Each setting consisted of a sheet to write your wishes for Baby Girl Marini, High Tea menu and plan and a matching bottle of spring water.

The two best ‘wishes’ of the day came from my bbf, Cassie with ‘I hope you grow in proportion’ and my sister in law, Wendy with ‘I hope you always wash your hands after a poo’. Gold.

What to do when you have no idea what to call your baby.

The drinks station (can I just say that my Pink Lemonade was TO DIE FOR) and ‘make a headband’ station with all bits and bobs required to be super arty farty and creative.

The lolly buffet. Guests fill their bags with whatever they fancy together with their sweet smelling soap from Lush. Thank you for sharing my special day!

 

Foooood.  The High Tea.

I had helpers with the food.
My mum made the Tomato, Basil and Bocconchini Bites and the Mini Fruit Salads.
My mother in law made the Ribbon Sandwiches, Scones and Raspberry and Chocolate Mousse Cups.
Cassie made the Zucchini Slice and the ever amazing Coconut Cupcakes.
I made the Pink Lemonade, Sugar Onesie Cookies and Peanut Butter Balls.

Are these not the most amazing beautiful cupcakes you have ever seen? Trust me, they tasted even better than they looked!

T Bear eats, I mean plays with a cupcake. Marshmallow frosting is fun!

 

Some of the amazing presents.

Yes. A giant My Little Pony!

Cupcake knitted beanie from Fiona. can’t wait for newborn photos in this (with matching nappy cover – hurry up Fiona, knit like the wind!)

Boob Pads.

Some super cute clothes.

Always was secretly jealous of people who had nappy cakes, now I am one of them! A nappy trike from Cassie, Hollie and Kathy.

 

Some photos of me in said dress.

With D and my 2 little babies.

Matching shoes. $15 from target. Win.

 

The sprinkle creations.

All very beautiful and from the heart.

 

And as promised the bump shot.

 

I had a wonderful day and am just so thankful for my beautiful family and friends that made this day so special.  I love you all long time.  LSP will be the luckiest baby girl alive to enter the world and be loved my so many.  My heart swells.  Thank you peeps x.

 

Sprinkle aside, in other news – today marks 10 days until my c-section.  10 days until we meet little LSP.  I wonder if, seeing as walking and moving is getting so damn difficult I can sit on my buttocks and do 10 blog posts in 10 days?  This is my personal challenge to myself.  This is post #1.  Do you believe I can do it?  Not even I believe I can do it at this point in my pregnancy but by jingo I am going to give it a good try!

Baby’s room is almost finished but you can’t expect that post until after she is born or it will give away her name!  Yes, we have finally chosen a REAL name for LSP.  Select few who may or may not have been told the name already – lip are sealed or I’ll kill you dead (said with my craziest wog eyes glaring).  I’ll show you how to decorate your baby’s room on a shoestring budget with nothing matching and still make it look (I hope) beautiful for a sparkle princess.

Boobs – Milk Production = Pinterest. Confused? Read on.

Firstly, I’m baaaaaaack.  Thank you all for being patient with me.  I’m still struggling a bit with feeling tired in the evenings but I am desperate to suck it up and push a post out.  Sleep can wait!

 

So what is up with that title?  Let me break it on down for you peeps.

 

Lactating boobs make milk.  Magic milk.  Milk that babies love.

Sometimes during a mothers breastfeeding relationship with her offspring, she might find for one reason or another that her magic milk is not as abundant as she would like.  If she does not wish for the milk bar to shut up shop, certain steps must be made if she and her child would like to continue the boob feeding ritual.

Firstly, one must remember the mantra – supply equals demand.  What this means is the more the baby feeds, the more milk the jugs will make.  This is great with a squidgy newborn baby because you can attach them to your breast all the ding dong day, and hey presto, the milk shall overflow.  However, not so easy with an older baby who has far more important things to do than suck on boobs all day.  With older babies you can trick your boobs into thinking more is needed by pumping after feeds.

Secondly, you can take super drugs and herbs that are supposed to tell you milk ducts, those little bags of goodness that reside inside your boobs and fill with liquid gold, to get off their lazy backsides and fill up with more milk.  (Disclaimer – this is my creative interpretation.  I am not a doctor.  Don’t sue me if your milk ducts go on strike.)

Thirdly, you can eat lots of lactogenic (yes it’s a real word) foods.  The theory is they will also give your boobs a kick up the arse and force them to do a better job.  Oats are probably the best known for  their boob-kicking-kung-fu skills.

Lastly, alchos will tell you to drink a Guinness.  Why?  Because they are alchos.

 

So what has all this got to do with me?  And more importantly, Pinterest?  I’m getting to that…

 

In recent weeks I felt that my boobs were not living up to their full potential and I decided that I had to be proactive in making them work harder for T.  I’m simply to bloody busy during the day, and heaven forbid I give up any of my valuable sleeping time, to sit around doing nothing while pumping.  So that wasn’t the option for me.

I bought a little bottle full of super power by the name of fenugreek, to slap my lazy boobs around some.  I felt that those pills of awesomeness gave my boobs the jump start that they needed and after a lactating slump things were feeling fuller once more.  In the boobs.

However, I have since decided that taking herbs is not the thing for me and have decided to try to maintain my flowing boobs with a more natural approach, and this is where Pinterest comes into play.

 

I fucking love Pinterest.  I could sit on Pinterst all day long repinning all the pretty pictures and saying things like, ‘that’s a great idea’, ‘I could do that’, ‘that looks so yummy’, ‘I would rock that dress’ and ‘one day…’.  Up until now, all I have ever done is pin stuff.  What I really want to do is actually cook some of the fabulous recipes I’ve found or make some awesome crafty shit or do something home improvementy.  What is the point of pinned cool shit if I don’t use it to make my life better?

So I thought – Boobs need milk.  Oats make milk.  I bought oats for breakfast.  Not enough.  BRIGHT IDEA!  Make oatmeal cookies.  PINTEREST.

I did a search for oatmeal cookies and found what I thought was the best looking recipe of the lot – Soft and Tender Oatmeal Raisin Cookies by Bridget from Bake at 350.

This is what hers look like –

See? Full of chunky, oaty, lactogenic goodness!

Things started off well.  Then disaster struck.  In my haste, I accidentally dumped the brown sugar into the flour bowl instead of the butter bowl.  I didn’t have enough of any of the ingredients to restart.  I tried as best as I could to scoop out the sugar and put it where it belonged.  The result – brown looking flour and flour in with the mixture to be creamed.  It’s all going to end up together isn’t it?  She’ll be right, mate!

Fail

Turns out that is was alright.  Maybe they would have been better if I wasn’t so clumsy, but D and I think they taste pretty darn good.  Thank you Bake at 350!  Here are my cookies –

I also added choc chips, just for giggles.  I think they look pretty good!

Now the real test will come in the morning.  Will my boobs be nice and full of yummy milk?  Only time will tell.  I did however, take a plate to my bff, Cassie’s house for her birthday.  C is a chef and in my opinion the best cook in the world.  Her cakes can take you away to places unknown and cause your taste buds to do dirty dances on your tongue.  So for ME to take cookies to HER is a pretty nerve wracking experience.  She liked them.  Cookie success.

Here are a few pics from the celebrations.

T with beautiful birthday girl, C in the background eating something that is not my cookie. Taken with iPhone, excuse the blurriness.

J with mo more chicken pox!

K chilling in the hammock. Peek-a-boo!

Sorry peeps, no photos of me today.  Sad, but true, my mojo seems to have wandered off again.  What does a girl have to do to keep her mojo from disappearing?  Wax, like more than once?  Re-do her regrowth AGAIN?  Gee wizz, the up keep of this mojo is pretty exhausting stuff 😉

So anyway, if you are having a problem with your milk bar, I say you should try what I have.  Not 100% sure they will do anything for the lazy boobs, but they are pretty darn yummy.  Actually, I am 100% sure they will make you fat, so please do try not to eat them all at once, and I accept no responsibility if you tip the scales at 1000ooo kg.

Mumma Bear feeds her Baby Bear.

D does 99% of all the cooking in our house.  It’s not that I can’t cook.  I can.  It’s not even that I don’t like to cook.  I do.  It’s mostly that pretty much all of my attempts at cooking a beautiful elaborate meal for my husband (the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and all that jazz) went down like a lead balloon.  I kind of like healthier and more gourmet food than D with lots of vegetables; and interesting veges too – not just potato and carrot, so my meals have always resulted in something to bitch and moan about.

‘Oh, this souffle is too… fluffy.’

‘I’m not too sure about this cheese stuff, what is this ‘ricotta’ you speak of?’

‘I fucking hate cous cous.’

‘Seriously Soph, broad beans?  Are you mad?’

 

Actually, I think our cooking arrangement just seemed to happen because I was working out of the house more hours than he was.  We are both teachers, but his school is close to home and mine was a commute, so I left pretty early and usually got home later exhausted.  Quite frankly, it works for us.  I love not having to cook and he likes to do the cooking.

 

I do however, really REALLY enjoy cooking for my littlest doodle.  Now that I am at home, I have time during the day to prepare food for him.  It’s been a month since we introduced solids and he is now eating like a champ.  I weighed up my options very carefully between going down the traditional weaning route or the baby-led weaning route and decided to find a middle ground and have settled on Theo-led Weaning.

The principles of Theo-led Weaning are simple.  Feed baby yummy food by spoon and offer some type of finger food with each meal.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.  He is really good with eating food from the spoon and it perfectly capable of munching on lumpy bumpy foods no problem.  He is not that keen on finger foods yet, even though I keep on offering them.  He’ll get there.  He’s a champ.

I kind of feel like cooking T yummy food lovingly prepared by me is an extension of my breastfeeding him.  I feed him my delicious milk, which is lovingly made by my body and then I also feed him scrumptious food lovingly made by my hands.  OK, don’t get all technical on me.  I don’t actually grow my own food or any of that nonsense, but I DO physically go into the shop and BUY it myself and that totally counts.

I do the whole ‘make batches of food and freeze them in portions’ business.  I’ve got heaps of meals in my freezer at the moment, it’s great.  Beef casserole, assortments of vegetables and fruits, creamy porridge, chicken and three veg.  All yum, yum, yum.

 

I made two super easy meals today that the T Bear loved for lunch and dinner.

Pears and Blueberries for lunch with yogurt.  Mouth-watering!

This really is the easiest in the world to prepare. Just peel and chop your pears and chuck them in the pot with a heap of frozen blueberries.

No need for water as the pears contain plenty.  See?

Simmer until it is all soft and squishy and you are done! How easy was that?

Pour your concoction into your $20 Kmart bullet blender. If you don’t have one, you need one. That thing is da bomb! Blend that bitch up.

If it is really runny you can thicken it with some rice cereal, but that will depend on how juicy your pears are and how runny/thick you want it. Pour it into your containers and freeze. Now sit back and enjoy a cuppa.

I feel I need to share one of my favourite things with you.  That long boat looking thing with the green lid on the right is dead set, hands down the BEST thing I have bought in regards to feeding T.  I freaking love them.  They are called Qubies and are basically super cool ice cube trays, but awesome.  Perfect size for food portions.  T started off eating 1 cube (30ml), then 2, and now he eats 3 cubes a meal.  Once I freeze meals, I turn them out into clip-seal plastic bags and mix and match for dinner.  They are so easy to use, nothing gets spilled and they look good.  I like pretty things.  I wish they had pink when I bought mine.  Once I’m done using them for baby food, I’ll keep them busy with cocktail making frozen supplies.  The only thing I regret about my Qubies, is that I didn’t buy more of them.  2 isn’t enough, I wish I had 4.  That way, I could cook up more food and not have to cook, freeze, turn out and bag, cook some more, freeze.  Only 20 bucks a pop, money well spent.  You’re welcome.

And now, what you really want to know.  Did T like it?  Of course he did.  I added some natural set-in-pot style yogurt and he gobbled it up.  You could feed it on it’s own or with porridge.  T loves yogurt.

Mummy, you’re awesome.

I ate it all.

 

I feel like I have posted way too many photos and really, probably no-one is interested in this shit anyway.  I did also cook up a batch of Tuna, Potatoes and Greens today that the little doodle ate for dinner and LOVED.  If anyone is interested I will share.  Seriously, if ONE person comments that they would like to see how I made T’s dinner I’ll show you, but also feel free to tell me to keep it to myself if you’d rather slit your wrists than see a baby food tutorial.  I’m still a noob with all this blog stuff.  I’m just write what I feel, baby.  Today I spent a lot of time in the kitchen so tonight I am feeling like a cook.  If ANYONE EVER follows this recipe (if you can even call it that) pleeeeeeease let me know, that would be unreal.  I’ll love you long time.

Mass Magic Milestones. I warned you they were coming. It’s going to be long.

Okies.  I said this post would be on it’s way.  Well, it’s here – da da daaa!!!!  Welcome to a quick flashback of the last 6 months of my life.  Warning – mad labour woman and boob feeding pictures coming up.

I go into labour in the wee early morning hours on December 21st 2011.  Little Baby Bear was born at 11:27pm by emergency caesarean.  If you are lucky I’ll treat you to his crazy-time birth story later.

This is me after about 16 hours of hard labour. It took all my energy to not flip D the bird taking this photo. I warned you – tragic.

Looking pretty happy with ourselves.  We made him.

My first breastfeed whilst still in recovery.  I absolutely love breastfeeding, this really was a magical moment for me.

This is the tasteful version of ‘the first breastfeed’. Is much as I’d like to post a beautiful picture of T on breast, I think I will keep those for my personal collection. Scary wild woman hair and 6 chins.

K and J have their first cuddles.   1 day old.

Jai and Bear

Kai and Bear

T comes home.  3 days old – 24th December, Christmas Eve.

Carried over the threshold. Yes, that is Red Rooster you can see in the foreground. I made D stop and get me some food on the way home from the hospital.

T’s first Christmas.  4 days old.

My Christmas Miracle. Theodorable.

First Smiles.  4 weeks old.

Look at those chubby cheeks!

First time grasping a toy, even though we think it was a complete fluke.  It still counts.  6 weeks.

T says, ‘I have no idea what I’ve done, but Mummy, you obviously think it’s something special.’

Sitting with support, what a clever little muffin.  8 weeks.

‘I’m adorable, and I know it.’

First swim.  Do you count this first one as the one that they actually enjoy, or just the first time they get wet?  I am going with the first time he gets wet.  Did not like.  9 weeks.

‘Mummy, get me the hell out of here, you evil witch!’

He starts cooing.  2 and a half months.

He starts lifting his head up in tummy time and not crying about it.  10 weeks.

Deer caught in the headlights.

Starts consistently sleeping through the night.  10 weeks.  Don’t be a hater, this all went to shit sometime between 4 and 6 months for many reasons, and is only now finally getting back on track.

If you wake the baby, I’ll kill you!

Begins to transition out of his swaddle.  14 weeks.

Seriously, I’ll kill you dead.

Actually enjoying a swim 🙂 15 weeks.

So damn cute it kills me.

T starts rolling over.  He was pretty slow to start off and it took a few more weeks to be able to roll the other way but now he is a rolling machine.  4 months old.

Really begins to laugh in earnest.  4 and a half months.

First jump in a Jolly Jumper.  These things are awesome.  4 and a half months.

Sleeps on tummy happily without waking up all freaked out, after rolling in his sleep and not being able to get back.  5 and a half months.

Sleeping with butt up in the air.

T becomes acquainted with his new walker.  5 and a half months.

And last, but certainly not least, T begins solid food (and solid poo-d).  5 months, 3 weeks.

And that pretty much gets us up to date.  Thank you for sticking with me.  Coming to a Magical Milestone soon will be sitting unaided but we are not quite there yet.  I’d love to hear of any important milestones anyone thinks I may have missed.  I am sure that are some that I’ve missed out.

Peace out.