Happy First Birthday to My Baby Girl and Do-It-Yourself Finger Paint! January 16, 2012

Daily Smoothie Habit: 1 grapefruit, 1 lemon, 1 apple, 1 cucumber, handful of spinach, 1” knob of ginger, 1/2 scoop Sunwarrior vanilla protein powder all blended up without water- YUM this is one of my FAVES!!!!!

 

My baby girl turned one on Sunday! Birthdays for us are not about presents or birthday cake. Instead, we focus on the person celebrating the birthday and spend the day doing fun things that person wants to do. In the future, celebrating Harpers’ birthday will probably entail a party and dessert of some kind. This year, however, she is one and really not interested in that sort of stuff yet so we decided, why bother? Instead we decided to do something that she would think was fun.

 

The fun thing about having a one year old is that pretty much anything new is fun for her. She also LOVES making a mess. So, we decided this year for her birthday we would introduce her to something new that she could make a huge mess with: FINGER PAINT!

 

 

I found this recipe online via several sources and decided to test it out for the following reasons:

 

1. It was easy and used minimal ingredients

2. It was edible so when Harper tried to eat it (which was inevitable) I did not have to worry too much about it

3. It was easily washable from clothes and surfaces so I could let her make a big mess and not worry about it staining anything.

 

Harper had a ton of fun making a big mess with these paints but if you plan on letting your little one create a work of art that you can keep as a precious momento do NOT use these paints. The paint looks very faint on paper and is great for little ones who make a big mess and stick some in their mouth every now and again but it is not making any masterpieces!

 

Anyways,

 

Here is the recipe I used. Enjoy.

 

Homemade Non-Toxic Finger Paint

 

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 cups of water

Food coloring (you can get all natural food coloring from India Tree)

1. Add the cornstarch to a medium saucepan and slowly add water, whisking constantly so that no clumps form.

2. Once the water and the cornstarch have been mixed, heat the pan over medium heat and stir constantly until the cornstarch mixture thickens. It will look something like this:

3. Remove mixture from heat and divide evenly into separate bowls. Add food coloring and mix until desired color is achieved.

4. Store covered until ready to use.

Note: The paint might harden a bit if you let it sit too long. Just add a little water and mix it well until desired consistency has been achieved.

 

Here are some pictures of Harper having fun with finger paint!

 

1st Birthday Fun! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Introducing Solids to a Baby the First year and a Baby Food Recipe January 13, 2012

Daily Smoothie Habit: 1/2 banana, three handfuls chopped kale, 1 large zucchini, about half a bag of Trader Joes Very Cherry Blend Frozen Berries, 1 inch knob of ginger, fresh squeezed orange juice from three oranges.

Note: It is the end of the week and I’m running low on fresh fruit and veggies! So this smoothie is a concoction of what I had left. Needless to say it was not my favorite, but still drinkable and so healthy!

 

 

My baby girl is turning one on Sunday! I cannot believe it has been a year already! Time has flown by! When it came to introducing solid food to my baby I think I took everything the doctor told me and basically threw it out the window and did the exact opposite! I am a huge advocate of breastfeeding and I knew that for the first year of Harpers’ life and as long as she wants after that, breast milk would be her main source of nutrition. So when it came to solid foods, I was not too worried about what she was eating or how much and I really only fed her solid foods as an introduction. I wanted her to learn the look and feel of food, I wanted her to get used to sitting at the table with us, and I wanted to tickle her taste buds with all kinds of new tastes and textures!

 

Harper had her first experience with solid food at six months old and it was avocado. I do not think a single bite actually passed her lips but she had fun making a huge mess! After avocado, she had banana (First doctors rule I broke: introduce vegetables before fruit) and then hummus (second doctors rule I broke: introduce a single food at a time and wait three days before introducing a new food). From 6-8 months I only fed Harper solid food about once every three days or so and for the most part she just played with it. If any of the food passed her lips it was usually by accident.

 

By 8 months old Harper was actually starting to ingest the food as well as play with it so we started feeding her more regularly, about one to two times per day. Avocado and Banana were now her favorite foods and I found she preferred feeding herself to being spoon fed so we did a lot of finger food including tofu, steamed carrots, steamed broccoli, avocado, banana, diced soft fruit, beans, steamed sweet potato, etc. Most of the time I would just feed her bits and pieces of what we were eating. Again, the majority of the food got smooshed, spread across the high chair, or fed to the dog, but her poop changed so she was definitely ingesting some of it! It was around this time that Harper learned how to drink from a straw as well so we started giving her water at her meals and she shared a lot of smoothies with me!

 

Now that she is almost a year old, Harper is eating three meals a day. Some meals she will only eat a bite or two, while others she eats quite a lot. She is still breastfeeding a ton so I do not worry so much about the times she does not eat her food. I am however, trying to find sneaky ways to get more greens and super foods like chia, hemp, and flax seeds in her diet. I also introduced nut butters into her diet a couple months ago as well. I started mixing almond butter, tahini butter, coconut butter, and sometimes peanut butter in with her foods(Third doctors rule I broke, avoid introducing nuts the first year of life). Harper has 6 teeth now so she does well with more raw foods. She loves chewing on slices of apples, carrots, and cucumbers and LOVES rice cakes. I have tried different grains with her but she is not really a fan of oatmeal, rice cereal or any other type of grain cereal. I let her have some homemade rice pilaf the other day and she loved that. She is very curious and is willing to try almost anything. I always give her sips of my smoothies and bites of my salads and more often than not she likes them! I always have a lot of options for Harper at each meal because after a few bites she is usually done with that food. I also make sure she has a mixture of spoon fed foods and finger foods because she usually insists of feeding herself!

 

I am a huge advocate of fresh food. I hate eating anything that is frozen or canned. I think because of this I have a huge aversion to buying pre-made baby food AND to making big batches of baby food and freezing it. To be honest, I have not felt the need to. I have always been able to find finger foods or make a quick one serving meal for harper in a flash and it is so fun to see her trying all these new foods and figuring out what she loves and what she thinks is just ok.

 

 

This recipe below is something I made for Harper today and will definitely be a recipe I use a lot in the future. It is so easy to make, so healthy, and she LOVES it! It uses Chlorella and Spirulina, two green superfoods that are packed with a TON of micronutrients, vitamins and minerals. I get mine in pill form here. I usually ground up 2-3 pills with my mortar and pestle and stir them into her food. You cannot even taste it.

 

What kind of foods were staples in your babies diet the first year? How did you get your child to eat his or her greens?

Green Monkey Mush

Vegan, Raw, Gluten-Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free

Makes 1 Baby Serving

 

1/2 banana

1 teaspoon almond butter

2-3 tablets Chlorella and Spirulina tables, ground to a powder (or use Chlorella, Spirulina, or some other green powder. Start with a very small amount as slowly increase it as your child gets used to the taste.)

 

Directions:

 

Add everything to a small bowl. Mush the banana with a fork and stir to until all ingredients are blended together. Feed to your baby. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

When Your children are At their Worst… January 11, 2012

If you have young children at home:

 

print this out, post it on your fridge, and read it everyday. I call it the Mom’s Mantra For Sanity. It helps. I promise.

 

When Your Children Are at Their Worst…

You need to be at your best.

You need to set the tone. Quietly.

You need to calm down.

You need to use your hands gently to help.

You need to approach your child in a true manner that shows you actually want to help them.

You need to be able to pass this duty to someone else in your family if you cannot do it right this minute. This does not mean you have failed, it means you are human.

You need to still be able to love your child, even if you do not like them right this minute.

You need to know, this too shall pass.

You need to know there is no perfect peaceful house.

You need to know your child is not doing this on purpose.

You need to know your child loves you and wants to connect with you more than anything.

You need to acknowledge you are doing your best and you cannot do more than that.

Losing the Baby Weight… March 15, 2011

 

Harper is two months old today! It has been two months since I gave birth, and two months since I was last pregnant. After Harper was born, I only had 7 pounds to lose to get back to my pre-prego weight. Now, two months later, I have ten pounds to lose. You can imagine how bummed I was when I realized I was gaining weight, not losing it! After thinking about it though, I was not very surprised.

 

I had gestational diabetes during my pregnancy and was very careful about what I ate. I stopped eating all carbohydrates and dessert and ate a ton of vegetables and protein. Because of this, I did not gain much weight during my pregnancy. After Harper was born, I did not have to watch what I ate anymore, so I started eating carbohydrates and dessert again and stopped eating so much protein. There was a period of a couple weeks where I think I ate dessert everyday! Normally, I would not worry about it too much because I have always been a very active person, but with a new baby, I have no time to work out and I have decided it is time to get serious about losing my baby weight.

 

So I have set a few goals for myself:

 

1. Start doing Cross-Fit in the morning- I need a workout that is intense and will get me results, but with a new baby in the house, I only have about 20 minutes a day to work out. I have never done cross-fit before but it seems like the perfect workout. The workouts are super short but kick your ass! The two websites I am using for my daily workouts are www.crossfit.com and www.crossfitla.com.

2. Walk Chester or swim 5 days a week- This will hopefully be an easy one for me because I have been walking Chester almost daily for a few weeks now. As for swimming, I absolutely love it, but have not had a chance since Harper was born and I am excited to get back into it.

3. Cut way back on sugar and no sugar after dinner unless it is a special occasion or we are having dinner with friends- If you have not been able to tell by my food journals, dessert is a HUGE weakness of mine! I have noticed the more I have it, the more I crave it… the less I have it, the less I crave it. It is time to wean myself off desserts and sugar again. I, however, have to be realistic and realize if there is dessert in front of me, and other people are indulging, I will have a very hard time saying no. So, during times such as dinner with friends or special occasions, I will allow myself to eat that super sugary dessert, but the rest of the time, I will try to refrain.

4. Drink more water and tea-My goal is to aim for three glasses of each a day

5. Plan out meals in advance- Especially dinner. I have been in a dinner “rut” lately and end up throwing something together for convenience or out of laziness because I did not plan ahead and was just not feeling creative. Planning my meals in advance helps me make sure I eat healthy, snack less, and do not get caught eating that last piece of cheesecake because I did not plan out a healthy alternative to eat instead.

6. If I eat a heavy or calorie dense meal, follow it up with a light meal instead of continuing to eat heavy food- This is an important one for me. I often, after eating too much or eating a very calorie-dense meal, will just keep on eating that way the rest of the day because I have already “ruined” my diet for that day. I need to stop doing this, so I am going to try to be better about following a heavy meal with a salad or something very light for the following meal.

7. Weigh myself, but only once a month- I am trying to lose weight, so I have to weigh myself to check if what I am doing is working, but I do not want my focus to be my weight, but rather how I feel. So, I am only going to weigh myself once a month. That way I can track my progress, but the majority of the time I will not be focusing on that number on the scale!

8. Take more naps! And remember that it is okay to take a break every once in awhile- With a new baby, a good nights sleep is a thing of the past for me and I often am very exhausted during the day. I have never been good at napping, but when I am really exhausted I lose all will-power and end up eating things I should not or eating out of stress instead of hunger. It is amazing how much better I feel when I force myself to sit back and just relax during the day when the baby is sleeping, something I need to do more of.

9. Remember that this is not about losing the weight but feeling good about myself- When I eat healthy and exercise I feel great and my goal is to keep feeling great!

 

Now, there are a lot of goals here for me to remember. And losing weight and following goals is much easier said than done. So to help me remember and keep these goals fresh in my mind, these goals are now posted on my computer desktop. So, now, when I go on my computer everyday, they will be right there in front of me!

 

What are your weight loss goals? And what do you do to make sure you follow them?

 

Busy Busy Busy!!! March 1, 2011

Sorry for the lack of posts here but I have been very very busy! Here is a peak at what I have been up to…

 

Taking Pictures with my new Canon 60D!

 

Making vegan cheesecakes! I made this chocolate cheesecake with chocolate ganache for a friend!

 

 

And one of the most exciting things I have been doing lately is trying to start a business selling Vegan and Raw Cheesecakes! We are still at the very beginning stages but it is something I have been wanting to do for a long time and I am really excited about! I started a blog where I will be posting new cheesecake flavors, information about ordering a cheesecake, and any other updates while we get our website up and running!

 

Come check it out at www.GreenBellyGourmet.wordpress.com!!!

 

And of course I have been spending lots and lots of time with my beautiful baby girl!

 

Meet My Little Angel- Harper Ansley Barlow February 2, 2011

 

Sorry for the lack of posts but I have a good excuse! Harper Ansley Barlow joined us on January 15th at 11:23am! We did not get the homebirth we were so much hoping for but our baby was born healthy and perfect so I could not ask for much more!

 

Here is my story:

 

When I reached 38 weeks pregnant my doctor ordered an ultrasound to check the size of the baby. Since I have gestational diabetes there is a risk of having a very large baby so it is routine to check the size once the baby is full term. Well, you can imagine my surprise when I got a call from my doctor later that evening telling me that my baby is measuring three weeks too small and they are concerned that she is not getting enough nutrition from the placenta. My doctors’ recommendation after speaking to the specialist at the hospital is for me to come into the hospital that evening and get induced!

 

I am mortified by this news. This is exactly the opposite of what I want! I tell the doctor I need to discuss it with my husband and I will call him back. After discussing my options with my husband and my midwife, we all decide more information is needed. Ultrasounds that estimate the size of the baby can be unreliable and up until that moment i was told by my doctors and my midwife that everything looks great. The other reason I decide to wait is that I am not dilated at all which means I am not a candidate for induction so my chances of a very long labor leading to a c-section are much higher. I call my doctor and tell him I am not going to get induced yet but I will go in for biweekly non-stress tests (NSTs) and if they show any signs of fetal distress I will get induced immediately. My doctor is not happy about my decision, of course, but it is my decision to make so there is not much he can say about it.

 

The NSTs show that my baby is active with a very strong heart rate. We also repeat the ultrasound the next week and she is still measuring very small. As my due date approaches with still absolutely no signs of impending labor my doctors are slowly able to wear me down and I begin to worry more and more about the health of my baby. At my doctors appointment on Thursday, January 13th, two days before my due date, three different doctors lecture me on how I must do what is best for my baby. They say that because she is full term she will thrive outside of the womb and the best thing is to get her out as soon as possible. The guilt trip wears me down and I go home crying. After talking to my husband and midwife I realize that if I induce and end up needing a c-section but my baby is born healthy, I can forgive myself. If, however, I wait and something happens to my baby, I will never forgive myself. We all decide that for this reason it is best to induce. So I take the day to wrap my head around my decision, clean the house, do some grocery shopping, and bake a vegan cheesecake, then pack my bag and head to the hospital in the evening to get induced.

 

Since I still am not dilated, they decide to start me on Cervadil, a medicine that is placed inside the cervix for 12 hours to help start dilation. They tell me it can take up to three tries and 36 hours to get the cervix dilated! The Cervadil is placed in my cervix at is working! The midwife comes into my room at noon on Friday to check my dilatation and is surprised to find I am 2 cm dilated. The next step is to start Pitocin but because the Cervadil is working so well we decide to wait and see if things will progress naturally.

 

The midwife comes into my room at 8pm Friday night to check me again. I am still having regular contractions about 5 minutes apart but they are not terribly painful yet. However, when the midwife checks me I am only 21/2 cm dilated. The midwife says it is time to start Pitocin, which I am still hoping to avoid so I ask for three more hours. If nothing happens in the next three hours I tell her I will start Pitocin. So, from 8pm to 11pm I walk around the halls, sit on the birthing ball, and do everything I can think of to help my labor along. When the midwife checks me at 11pm I am only 3cm dilated. Feeling defeated, I reluctantly agree to the Pitocin (Now looking back, I wish I had stuck to my instincts and refused the Pitocin).

 

Most people who get Pitocin are started off at level 2. I warn them I am highly sensitive to drugs and my midwife agrees to start me off at level 1. I am glad for this because right away I am hit with intense contractions coming at a minute and a half to two minutes apart! After only about half an hour they take me off the Pitocin because it is causing my contractions to come too close together, but for the rest of the night my contractions continue to increase in pain. The pain is nothing like I have ever felt in my life, it is so intense it feels like for those thirty seconds that the contraction peaks I am going to die. With the help of my husband and an absolutely wonderful godsend of a nurse I am able to deal with the unmanageable pain for about 6 hours. At 5am the nurse comes in to check my dilation and I am at 5. At this point I have been up for two nights straight and I am completely and utterly exhausted. I try to fight it as long as I can but I just keep thinking about how badly I need to sleep. I finally give in and decide to get an epidural.

 

Within 15 minutes of getting the epidural I am fast asleep. I got about three hours of sleep which felt absolutely amazing. At around 8am, as I am deep in my medicated sleep, three  nurses rush into my room and wake me up. They tell me the heart rate of my baby has dropped and they need to move me. So they move me to my left side but the heart rate does not go up. They try the right side but that does not work either. They decide to break my water and put an internal monitor on the baby to get a more reliable reading. Luckily, her heart rate was fine, for some reason the external monitor was not picking it up correctly.

 

Too wired to sleep anymore after that stressful debacle, but still too drugged and numb to move, I lay in bed for another couple hours waiting and waiting. As of 8am Saturday morning I am 7 1/2cm dilated, so I am expecting it to be at least another 5 hours or so before I am fully dilated and need to start pushing. At around 11am my epidural starts wearing off and I start feeling contractions again. They get really intense so I call the nurse and let her know. She says she can “top off” my epidural but she wants to check my dilation to see how far along I am first. To both of our surprise I am fully dilated and the baby is very low. The nurse tells me I am ready to push and rushes off to get the midwife. 23 dizzying minutes and just 6 pushes later, Harper is born.

 

Looking back at my experience, there are definitely things I would do differently if I could go back and relive the experience. I would definitely have refused the Pitocin because I firmly believe that without the Pitocin I could have gone through the entire labor without the Epidural. Overall, however, I am glad with how everything turned out and so grateful to have such a happy and healthy baby girl!