Healthy Tipping Point

Bringing a newborn home is so exciting – and stressful!  It really helps to ease the transition if you set up what I call ‘survival stations’ throughout the house (organize your stations before you go into labor!).  With Henry, I had three types of stations – diaper, breastfeeding, and in-the-bathroom. 

I started compiling my survival stations for Little One this weekend. Here’s what I put inside:

Diaper Station – Newborns dirty a lot – a lot – of diapers.  And you’ll be sending a lot of time on the couch.  So instead of relying on the changing table in the nursery (which your baby might not even sleep in yet!), set up a diaper station.  We kept ours in the living room.

Newborn / Size 1 Diapers

Wipes

Diaper Rash Cream

Onesie change

Pajama change

Burp cloths

Old dish towels (to change baby on – trust me, a towel on the floor works just fine, and you’ll get newborn poop everywhere no matter how hard you try to be tidy)

Plastic grocery bag for dirty diapers (they won’t smell too bad yet!)

Optional: Extra swaddle, pacifier, coconut oil (a great moisturizer for baby’s skin), any medication the baby may be taking (such as gas drops or gripe water)

Breastfeeding Station – Newborns eat.  A lot.  And if you’re breastfeeding, that means you’re pretty much tied to the couch as you and baby get the hang of it.   The breastfeeding station should probably be close to the diaper station!  Hah.

Breast pads (you’ll probably leak, at least at first – I wore them the entire time I was breastfeeding)

Snacks

Water bottle

Book

Paper and pen or smartphone to track feedings (optional, but you’ll probably want to track a little at first. I never found an app that I loved with Henry, but I’ve heard good things about Baby Connect)

Burp clothes or old towels

Baby wipes

Optional: Nipple shield, nipple cream (again – try coconut oil!), and something to help support baby (try a pillow, the Boppy pillow, or My Breast Friend).

In-The-Bathroom Station – The first few weeks of the post-partum period can be messy and uncomfortable.  Expect the heaviest period of your life! 

Extra underwear or extra pairs of the giant mesh panties they give you at the hospital

Breast pads

Witch hazel (can relieve the pain of stitches or hemorrhoids – you can make awesome witch hazel cold pads by dousing maxi pads with the witch hazel and popping them in the fridge)

Stool softener (talk to your doctor first, of course)

Maxi pads (I liked the overnight ones the most because they provide so much coverage)

PERI BOTTLE (It deserves all caps!  You’ll get one in the hospital –ask for an extra.  Fill it with water and spray it on your vagina as you urinate to prevent burning)

Optional: Doctor-approved painkillers, hemorrhoid wipes/creams (like Tucks), and Gas-X.

I’d love to know what types of “survival stations” you set up and what goodies you recommend new moms include in theirs!  Also – what should moms put in c-section survival stations?

I just got back from a really fun blog trip to Boulder, Colorado.  We visited the Celestial Seasonings headquarters.  I drank so. so. so. much tea.  SO MUCH TEA.  It was great!  More on the trip later, but for now… Can I wax poetic about Boulder?

I’m already making plans to go back to Boulder with the Husband.  Maybe next summer?  The scenery was beautiful.  The shopping was endless.  The food – oh, the food! – was some of the best that I’ve ever had.  Farm-to-table restaurants on the corner of every street.  Unique and exciting flavor combinations.  And everything was so healthy!  I wish I had a chance to explore the outdoor activities in the area because the mountains looked so gorgeous.  Hence, why I need to go back!

We stayed at St. Julien –  it was one of the most beautiful hotels that I’ve ever seen.  I will not even consider another hotel for our return trip.

We shopped and ate in the downtown Boulder walking mall.

The best restaurant that I ate at was, by far, The Kitchen.  Highly recommend.

And, of course, we toured the Celestial Seasonings factory, which is also open to the public.  Well over 100,000 people take the tour every year!  I learned so many cool and useful tea facts that I can’t wait to share.

I’ll admit that the nice side benefits of the trip included seeing my blog friends and having some much-needed solo time.  I kept joking that this trip was my Solo Babymoon.

Don’t worry – the Husband gets a Solo Babymoon, too.  His is coming up!  And then the whole family is going on one last “Party of Three” roadtrip. 

Speaking of the kiddo, when I got home on Friday, I was sooo relieved to see that Henry finally felt better – the sickness that struck him on Sunday lasted all week.  It was a doozy.  He only left the house twice in five days – to go to the doctor and to go on one walk!  It’s nice that he’s returned to normal.  Now, the rest of the house can, too… Slowly but surely.  It’s going to be a process. 

Hope you’re having a healthy weekend – I know we’ll be living up the puke-free times!

Just for clarity’s sake, my trip to Boulder was part of an upcoming sponsored post from Celestial Seasonings.

Look at what I INHALED for breakfast yesterday!

Okay – this is one of those meals that don’t LOOK amazing but sure taste delicious.  It’s a chia seed pudding (so an excellent vegan yogurt replacer) with baked green apples, cinnamon, and maple syrup mixed in.  And it’s so, so good.

Ingredients (for two servings):

• 3 small/medium Granny Smith apples (or 2 large ones)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• Cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 1 and 1/4 cup almond milk, unsweetened
• Drizzle of maple syrup

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a glass baking dish.
• Slice apples into small wedges.  Place in baking dish.  Top with coconut oil and cinnamon to taste. Cover with baking safe lid or aluminum foil.
• Bake apples for 35 minutes.  Remove and let stand until entirely cool (at least two hours).
• In a tupperware with lid, mix apples, chia seeds, and milk.
• Refrigerator overnight until liquid is totally absorbed, stirring once or twice during the process.
• To serve: drizzle with maple syrup.  Top with pecans, walnuts, or other nuts, if desired.

Walk Harder

I have long been a fan of walking.  Sure, it’s not as glamorous as running (with the races and medals and all that), but it always feel so go to stroll.  So whether you regularly walk and are simply looking for a way to make it extra sweaty or you’re wanting to use walking to break into exercise, here are some suggestions.

(“W” is for walking – Once I walked a half marathon in Central Park.  Walking 13.1 miles was honestly harder than running it!)

Add Lunges: The best tip first!  I throw in a series of walking lunges at the halfway point of my walk.  It’s challenging for my leg muscles, it always triggers a sweat, and my heart pounds afterwards. At traffic lights, I’ve been known to bust out some squats or push-ups as I wait for the light to change.

Pump Your Arms: I find that I pick up the pace when I pump my arms.  No idea if this is just psychological or what, but pumping my arms motivates me to go faster.  Although your’re not going to truly tone your arms, chest, or back without resistance, I also find that my upper body feels looser and more relaxed when I pump my arms when I walk – probably because it’s a good stretch!

Carry or Push Weight:  Parents – bring that stroller.  Nothing picks up a walk like pushing 50-odd pounds up a hill, am I right?  We also love our hiking backpack, which we definitely use around the neighborhood as much as we do on the trails.

Ditch the Distractions:  Stop chatting on the phone or multitasking on a work project in your head.  I love to maximize my time as much as the next person, but I’ve found the more things you focus on –> the less effort you put into your workout.  Also, your dog can definitely count as a “distraction!” I love walking with James (Maggie is not a fan of walking), but he goes pretty slow, and I like to let him sniff around as much as possible.  When I’m trying to walk as workout, I do an initial “pleasure” lap with the dog and then return him home for a second round.

Take it to the Trail:  Choose a hilly course or try off-road walking – you’ll recruit different muscles in new ways!

Sign up for a Race:  There are PLENTLY of 5Ks and charity events that are walker friendly.  You can do a 5K even if you plan on walking the entire thing!  Just check the race website to make sure you’ll meet any cut-off times, and be sure to line up at the race start at the very back of the pack so you don’t accidentally hold up the runners.

Related post —> 6 Ways to Maximize your Run/Walk Habit

How do you “walk harder?” Any other fans of the walk out there?

I read a great book over the weekend – The Leftovers.  No, it is not about Thanksgiving turkey.  Hah.  It’s a great story about what happens after The Rapture occurs – millions of people suddenly vanish, leaving their friends and family behind to grapple with their new reality. It’s been turned into an HBO series – if the show is anything like the book, I really want to see it!  Anyway, if you’re looking for a great book, The Leftovers is an excellent – and eerie – choice.

In addition to a book recommendation, I have a yummy recipe!

In line with my favorite of all favorite recipes, this one is super simple and easy to prepare.  The most complex step is roasting the delicata squash, and delicata squash is my favorite squash of all because you don’t have to peel it!  I rarely buy other squash because it’s such a nightmare to peel – so it’s nice that you can eat delicata squash’s tasty skin.

Basically, this delicious recipe is pretty darn easy to make.  Win, win.

Delicata Squash Honey Mustard Quinoa

Ingredients (for 3 – 4 servings):

• 1 cup red quinoa, measured dry
• 2 cups water
• 1 delicata squash
• Drizzle of olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• 2 cups raw baby spinach, loosely measured
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• Salt, to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375. Meanwhile, remove the edges of the squash, slice it lengthwise, and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.  Then, slice into 1/2 inch C shapes. Dip in the drizzle of olive oil, arrange on a cookie sheet, and bake for 35 minutes.
• On the stovetop, cook the quinoa in the water for 15 minutes or so, according to package directions.
• In a large bowl, mix shredded carrots and thoroughly chopped spinach.  When quinoa is cooked and still hot, pour on top of veggies to soften them.
• When squash is done, add to quinoa mix.
• In a microwaveable bowl, combine mustard, honey, and coconut oil.  Microwave for 30 seconds to soften and then thoroughly mix.  Pour over quinoa mix, combine, and add salt to taste.

This would be an AMAZING vegetarian Thanksgiving entrée (or a nice side dish for a more traditional meal).

Thought of the Day: