Month 9 - Heidi

Month 9: Baby!

Age: 9 months

Weight:  19 lbs. 3 oz 

Major calendar events: Ash Wednesday

Milestones:  Started early potty training!  Cut third tooth, FINALLY rolled over, rediscovered her toes, met my grandpas best friend, and also started dancing on her own....(quite possibly the most exciting for me so far hehe)  The first time I noticed her dancing was when an Oreo commercial came on the TV... video below!

Sleep:  Excellent!  8pm-8am at night... been trying (kind of) to get Heidi to nap during the day in her crib.  This worked great one day and then not so much the next day.  But hey - baby steps, right?!

Likes: Dancing, waving, clapping, smiling, grocery shopping... any opportunity to be social, 

Dislikes:  Not much!

Best moment:  Watching Heidi "dance" to worship music in church!
Worst moment:  Nothing big comes to mind

Eating: Breastfeeding 100% of the time, every 4 hours (breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner before going to bed!)  Heidi now gets upset if we are eating in front of her and not sharing - she definitely wants to participate!  (I think this started with water bottles and other beverages, as soon as I was done taking a sip she would get SUPER excited, jump and waive her arms and flail her legs and wait for me to share!)  We haven't been that good about preparing food for her to eat so that we can all sit down to dinner (usually she's too tired to even make it that far anyway) but I let her taste a LOT of things off of my own plate - which she LOVES!  (I swear she is way more open to trying new things if it's off of my plate vs. coming from a bowl and a spoon while she's sitting in her high chair at the table!) 

Things I want to remember:  How EASY this phase is... I know it's about to end once she starts to crawl (so any day now) but right now she is so content just sitting on the floor and playing while I do my hair or fold laundry. She has been sitting up on her own for a very long time, so we have been able to really enjoy this stage for quite some time, but I know life is going to change DRASTICALLY once she starts moving around.  Soaking up every minute I have right now to get stuff done while she sits and plays!

Month 9: Mama

Life feels normal, yet at the same time still so surreal.  Ryan and I still look at each other all the time in disbelief that this is our life.  This is our baby.  We are parents!  It is still weird to think about...!  As for my monthly TMI update:  It took my body 9 months but everything has now returned to normal!  (Ovulation and all!)  I haven't attempted any runs longer 6 miles, but my body (with the exception of my fluctuating boobs) is 99% back to what it was prior to having a baby - which feels SO good! (There are some things *ahem* that will never be 100% the same - OBVIOUSLY.  I will probably never be able to jump on a trampoline again that's for sure.)  I do realize that some people (okay MOST people) could care less about when I got my period back (haha) however, this WAS something that I was curious about prior to having a baby myself (how the heck does that work??) which is why I have been including this in my monthly Heidi updates. While every body is different - I still wanted to share my experience with how that worked for me!

Here are some pictures from our 9th month with this crazy lady!

Dancing for the first time ever!

Having fun with dad!

Church play group!

Heidi has a new admirer... he's a lot more into her than she is into him...

Group trip to the vet!  Talk about having your hands full...

Sometimes (not very often) bath time is LESS than enjoyable...

...but most of the time bath time is the best!

Lunch date!

And sometimes we're just straight up crazy.

A VERY special moment as Heidi meets my grandpas bff for the first time.

MATCHING COATS WITH RbBaBe!

The BEST way to nap.

Picnic time!

A for effort Heidi.

SUPER not so sure about this whole "swing" thing...

The verdict?  Swinging is awesome!

The cool new way to watch TV.  Everybody's doing it.

Waving to yourself immediately following bath time is a must!

MY love! 

Recipe - Easy Chicken Divan

This is a casserole recipe from (you guessed it) my mom! I don't recall actually having this when I was younger but recently came across this recipe she had sent to me years ago. We love it!

Easy Chicken Divan

Minutes to prepare: 20 minutes
Minutes to cook: 30 minutes
Number of servings: 4-6 servings

2 10 oz. packages frozen broccoli stalks (or chop a head of broccoli and lightly steam it)

4 cooked chicken breast halves, sliced

1 c. mayo (I prefer greek yogurt instead)

2 cans cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 t. lemon juice

½ t. curry

½ c. grated cheddar cheese

½ c. bread crumbs

1 T. butter, melted

Trim fat off of chicken and slice breasts in half. Heat oil in a pan on the stove and cook chicken through. (If you are using raw, fresh broccoli cook/steam that and drain well. P.S. I have never used fresh broccoli! I always buy bags of frozen organic broccoli and it's great!)

Arrange broccoli in a greased oblong baking dish. Place chicken slices over. Combine mayo/greek yogurt, soup, juice and curry and pour over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine crumbs and butter and sprinkle over all. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until hot through. Good with a green salad and rolls.

Recipe - 12 Minute Toss

Yet another favorite recipe from my mom! This one is so yummy and suuuper easy (if you already have some shredded chicken hangin out in your freezer)! Thanks mom!

12 Minute Toss

Minutes to prepare: 10 minutes
Minutes to cook: 5 minutes
Number of servings: 4 servings

2 c. (approx. 8 oz) cooked, shredded chicken*
12 oz. spiral pasta (tri-colored spirals are good)
1 c. sliced, sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
2 T. oil from tomato jar, plus additional olive oil to taste (approx 1/3 c.)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried oregano
½ t. salt
Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta.  When it has about 5 minutes to go, heat oils in a medium skillet.  Add garlic and sauté briefly (try not to let it brown).  Add chicken and seasonings, sauté until hot.  Add tomatoes and heat through.  Remove from heat.  Drain pasta and return it to cooking pot.  Pour chicken mixture over and stir.  Place on serving plates.  Sprinkle generously with parmesan.  (Good with rolls and a salad.)

*How I prepare shredded chicken: I buy the largest package of skinless chicken breasts (with bones) I can get.  Place them in a large pot, and add some chopped onion, a carrot, some fresh celery leaves, a large splash of white wine, salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil, cover loosely, reduce heat and simmer approximately 15 minutes.  Turn off heat and let sit until cool.  Remove chicken and pull meat off bones.  I divide meat into approximately 2c. portions, wrap and freeze.  Then when I need chicken for a pasta dish or a main course salad, I just remove a package from the freezer several hours before I need it.  (Or you can defrost in the microwave.)  (I also strain and freeze the stock to use later as a base for soups or rice instead of water.)

Recipe - Chicken and Cous Cous

This is another recipe I got from my mom. I grew up with this dish and now it's also frequent go-to for our family!

Chicken and Cous Cous

Minutes to prepare: 15 minutes

Minutes to cook: 20 minutes

Number of servings: 4 servings

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 egg

3 T. lemon juice, divided

½ c. flour (I probably use more)

¼ t. garlic powder

½ t. paprika (I use more)

3/8 c. butter (3/4 of a stick)

3 t. chicken flavor base or chicken bouillon (3 cubes if in cube form)

¾ c. boiling water

Trim the chicken and pat dry.  In one bowl beat egg with 1 T. lemon juice.  In another bowl mix flour, garlic powder and paprika.  Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture and then dredge in flour mixture to coat.  Heat butter in skillet and then brown chicken on both sides (turn carefully).  Dissolve bouillon in water and add remaining lemon juice.  Pour this mixture into skillet with chicken, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until chicken is done.

Make cous cous according to package directions.  Serve chicken over the cous cous and spoon some of the pan drippings over all.  Garnish with a little parsley (if you have some) to make it look nice.

God is Crazy - Take 2

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11: 28-30

*Warning - this is a long one.  The details are important to me and to the story but if you don't have 5 years to read this whole thing and you are more of a Cliff's Notes person - feel free to scroll to the bottom of this post for a summary.  It won't hurt my feelings!*

So here we go. 

Back when I was roughly halfway through my pregnancy, I wrote a post about how God had already been revealing himself to us in BIG (and small) ways.  (You can read that post HERE!)  He was showing me (or opening my eyes to) how he has a hand in every aspect of my life and that if I trust in him fully, he will bear our burdens and lead our hearts.  

As I have said previously, I definitely don't think that God always reveals himself in giant flashing light kind of ways (although, sometimes) but now that I am able to look back on that journey, I want to continue to share how God further revealed himself to me during my pregnancy. 

It was actually right around the time when I had posted the above blog when I started to feel really depressed.  I’m sure that the pregnancy hormones did have something to do with this but I believe their role was minimal.  Pregnancy fills your entire being with an insane amount of love, warmth, anticipation and excitement.  But it can also have this strange way of making you feel very very alone at times.  Regardless of your situation, regardless of friends, families or how supportive your amazing husband might be… sometimes you just feel like this is something you’re doing all on your own.  It is a pretty huge burden to bear!  Let me also be a little more specific about my exact situation.  I had quit working shortly after I found out I was pregnant (you can read the full details by clicking the link above!) and was growing a baby full-time by the end of September.  I spent all of my days resting, napping, organizing and cleaning the house (sometimes), eating and planning for baby.  I would maybe go for a run or walk the dog, go to the grocery store or run errands or walk around the mall.  It sounds pretty good doesn’t it?  And it WAS!  It was awesome - such a wonderful time to focus on myself and spend precious time with my baby growing inside of me.  However, almost all of my friends work full time.  I was obviously in no state to meet friends for a late dinner, go out to happy hours or even stay out past 8:00!  (Pregnancy makes you just want to stay in all the time no matter what.)  This is obvious to most people - so they don't even bother to invite you in the first place.  (Note to self - always invite pregnant friends even if you already know the answer is no! It feels good to be included!)  While I was at home, it seemed that everyone else’s lives just continued on and I wasn’t and would no longer be a part of them.  Ryan would come home from a long day at work and after we would eat dinner he would promptly fall asleep on the couch or in bed while we watched something on Netflix.  I started to really break down… and at nighttime especially… as we all know exhaustion just magnifies our emotions by about 1,000% minimum.  I missed my time with my friends and coworkers and family and with Ryan.  I would start off by getting angry at my poor, tired, hard-working husband.   But then as I would explain to him how I felt, I just became sadder and sadder.  My only companion was my dog.  My only conversations throughout the day were one-sided.  It was hard.  My stay-at-home life was lonely.  I’m sure that for a lot of people this doesn’t really come as a huge shock.  “Duh!” you’re probably thinking… I can’t NOT take responsibility for my situation at the time… I don’t want to pretend like it wasn’t my fault that I had gotten myself into this… however it wasn’t exactly how I had pictured my pregnant-life going in the past.

I don’t want to come off as whiny or ungrateful.  I KNOW how lucky I was to not have to worry about working while pregnant.  I really don’t have a lot to complain about.  So bear with me here….

Following (during) a meltdown one night, I told Ryan that I needed something more.   I needed to do something, make a change or get involved in something.  I had been looking online at some yoga studios in the Houston area and was considering taking some prenatal yoga classes.  Surprisingly, there were only 2 or 3 studios that offered specific prenatal classes (many studios just said “we don’t have prenatal classes – just come to our regular classes and the instructor can provide you with modifications!”)  I wanted a class geared towards pregnant ladies – but I also just wanted to BE around other pregnant ladies!  Another issue that I ran into on my hunt was “hot” yoga.  As a pregnant woman, hot yoga sounded pretty risky (and not recommended).  It’s super DUPER important that you don’t get overheated when you’re pregnant.   So ANYWAY… long story short… I ended up deciding on Joy Yoga, a yoga studio on Washington.   They offered prenatal classes, always kept the studio below 80 degrees and also (based on class descriptions) seemed to be extremely accommodating towards those who needed modifications for injuries or pregnancies.  And thus began my journey with yoga.  (It felt SO good to be around other pregnant people!  Just knowing that I wasn't the only one going through something like this was incredible.  Yoga was such a blessing to my life and continues to be to this day.)  Word of advice to new soon-to-be-mammas:  Find something to do with other pregnant women - yes even strangers!  It will benefit you in more ways than you know. 

Now, as I have mentioned previously, I knew before I was even pregnant that I wanted to plan for a natural hospital birth.  That being said, I knew that it would be super naive of me to think that Ryan and I would be able to waltz into the hospital, not having any clue what we were doing and successfully follow and stick to the plan.  (I mean, I already knew that I was totally underestimating the pain and experience that is labor and giving birth.  I was fully aware of this.)  So I also knew that I wanted to have a doula present.  I knew that I needed help.  I wanted a doula there not only to offer support to me (and Ryan too!) but also because I was a little nervous about having a natural birth IN a hospital.  I had read tons of horror stories about women who had strongly desired to have natural births but instead had drugs and epidurals practically forced on them unnecessarily.  I needed to know that there was a third party there to act as an advocate for me and my needs/wants.  I wanted a presence that would truly understand the desires of my heart and wouldn’t allow anything to be forced on me unless medically necessary.  However, finding a doula (especially when giving birth in a hospital) was extremely difficult an overwhelming.  It's easy to find midwives/doulas associated with birthing centers, however finding someone who is willing to travel to a hospital (and also AFFORDABLE!!) is much harder. Having a baby is expensive (especially when your husbands insurance changes to a crappier plan midway through your pregnancy grr) so we really didn't have $1,000+ (or however much) floating around to spend on an expensive midwife/doula that we just happened to come across online.  So these were additional challenges that we were up against. 

***Side note:  A lot of people have previously asked me what a doula is/does.  Well, if we’re being honest it usually goes more like this: “A what?  Huh?  You’re having a what?  What is that?”  The best way that I can describe it is that a doula is similar to a midwife in that she provides support to the mother (and father) during childbirth.  However, unlike a midwife a doula is not really involved medically in the process of labor and delivery.  A doula is there more to hold the space, focus on the energy in the room and provide moral support.  This is my understanding anyway.  It may not look like much on paper – but TRUST me it’s so much more than it sounds – and so necessary for drug-free labor and delivery!

*Reminder - if you're getting bored and thinking "just get to the point already!" please see the bottom of this post for a summary*

Now, ironically I ended up liking the regular yoga classes (taught by one instructor specifically) a lot MORE than the prenatal classes, so I only attended maybe 4 prenatal classes total?  2 of those prenatal classes that I went to were taught by an instructor named Michelle.  At the beginning of both classes, she introduced herself and told us a little bit about her life.  She explained that she had trained to be a doula, however she had only participated in a few births and was looking to get more experience. (Turns out, she had trained for a year and a half in Kauai -   which is my favorite island and where Ryan and I went for our honeymoon.  Such a cool little connection we shared with her.)  I really liked her attitude and her energy, so after the second class I decided to talk to her.  Asking someone (out of the blue) to be your doula is kind of a big deal, so I didn't want to just put Michelle on the spot and ask directly. I decided to ask her for more details/recommendations on finding a doula to attend the birth (secretly hoping that she would end up being THE one!)  After offering a few suggestions on people/places to look into she ended with "... or maybe I could do it!"  YES!  So we exchanged numbers and planned to discuss more details over tea.  I was overjoyed.  

My journey with our doula was more than I could have ever imagined and was JUST as much about the before and after as it was about the birth experience itself.  Before the birth, Michelle and I got together a couple of times to get to know each other, discuss birth plans and just hang out!  A week or two before I was due, she even came all the way out to our house to practice some labor positions, discuss WHERE/how I would labor at home and even led me in a mini at-home yoga session.  Her presence during my labor and delivery was... what's a stronger word for helpful... VITAL. I am struggling to put into words how meaningful and important it was to me to have her there.  She dropped everything (who knows what plans she had to cancel!) to come and spend 7+ hours with me in the hospital.  She didn't leave until well after midnight and was I'm sure starving, parched and exhausted.  A few days after we returned home, she came over and cooked us lunch, held our baby, brought me some post-partum goodies and even gave me an ah-mazing professional-level post-partum massage.  As we said our goodbyes and I watched her walk our of our front door I broke down (I'm even crying as I think back to this time).  I couldn't help but think to myself that God truly brought not one but TWO angels into our lives through this experience, and Michelle was one of them.  How did we get so lucky?   Why us?  Why did Michelle choose to help us and be a part of our story? 

Even towards the end of my pregnancy, I can remember a specific moment where Ryan and I looked at each other and realized how nuts this all was.  Nuts because there is only one way that all of these events were strung together to create a perfect path.  Knowing that the way all of these things happened was no accident.  Think about it...

Let's summarize: I quit my job before finding out I was pregnant, but prior to accepting another job offer.  After spending several months at home by myself, I started to feel very lonely, so I spent some time thinking about what I could do to change this and decided to give yoga a shot.  I sought out a prenatal yoga class in Houston and ended up going with a studio called Joy Yoga.  I attended 2 Saturday morning prenatal yoga classes, taught by Michelle who happened to mention that she was a trained birth doula (and I could be wrong on this but I don't believe that she was or at least continued to be the regular Saturday a.m. instructor for that class.  Had I chickened out and not talked to her after that second class I attended, there is a good chance I would have never seen her again!)   But I DID talk to her.  And she agreed to join us on the best, craziest, most intense journey of our lives.  The rest is history.

Perhaps to those who do not believe in God this series of events is just a big coincidence.  A string of occurrences that just so happened to fall into place.  But my heart refuses to believe that these things happened by accident.  By chance.  Because I KNOW for certain that God was with us the entire time, guiding my heart and showing us the way.  Because the God that we believe in... that's what he does.  He takes our concerns and our worries and our burdens... and HE takes them on for us.  Places them on His shoulders and carries the weight.  And if we follow Him, trust in Him, He leads the way for us.

We are so unworthy.  But our God is so good.  

Recipe - Easy Feta Chicken Bake

Happy February!  This week's recipe is a go-to for our family.  It's actually a recipe my mom used a lot when I was growing up and passed down to me when I was in college.  It's super easy, and doesn't require very much prep at all.  Enjoy!

Easy Feta Chicken Bake

Minutes to prepare: 10 minutes
Minutes to cook: 45- 50 minutes
Servings: 4 servings

2 T. olive oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 T. lemon juice, divided

salt and pepper

1 pkg. (4 oz.) Athenos crumbled feta cheese with basil & tomato

1 red pepper, chopped or sliced

Kalamata olives (you can slice these if you prefer)

1⁄4 chopped parsley (If you have it - I usually leave this one out.  You can also top the chicken with fresh chopped basil prior to baking, but again I only do this if I already have some on hand.)

Drizzle 1 T. olive oil in a baking dish. Add chicken, 1 T. lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with red pepper slices, olives and some feta. Drizzle remaining 1 T. olive oil and 1 T. lemon juice. Bake 45 - 50 minutes at 375 (or however you normally bake chicken) until chicken is done and feta is lightly browned. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with a salad and rice, pasta or cous cous (we are cous cous junkies so that's what we always go with - Near East roasted garlic and olive oil cous cous).  Spoon leftover juices in pan over chicken and rice/cous cous.

My mom (who is practically a professional chef!) in the kitchen, glass of wine
in hand - the BEST way to cook!!  (Sorry mom hehe!)