What I’m Into in January

This month, my pregnancy has become even more real to me, with full-blown nausea and fatigue that often accompany the first trimester. We’ve also chosen a midwife, and will have our first appointment with her tonight. At 7 weeks pregnant, our baby is now the size of a blueberry and has begun developing important organs like lungs, a brain, and a stomach. If we’re lucky, we may be able to hear baby’s heartbeat with a fetal doppler at our appointment tonight, although it still may be too early.

At the end of this month I will be beginning my training as a life coach. Just before I became pregnant with Cody I began this same program, but felt that I had to put it on hold when I started to feel the symptoms of pregnancy. I also felt that I would not be able to work as a life coach while balancing being a stay-at-home-mom. Well, now that I’ve done it for two years, I feel confident that I can balance work and motherhood, and I’m ready to try again. The timing is definitely funny, with me being pregnant again, but this time I am determined to power through. After all, this part only lasts a couple of months, if my pregnancy with Cody is any indication. The second trimester will hopefully be much more comfortable for me! But anyway, my training as a CPCLC or Certified Professional Christian Life Coach, will involve a weekly 3-hour webinar session, as well as outside reading, buddy assignments, and other homework. It’s going to keep me busy, but I’m ready for the challenge!

In the meantime, my training as a Hypnobabies Instructor is coming along well. I’ve almost completed all of the pre-requisites that need to be finished before the in-person training in New Mexico, which takes place in April. So fortunately, I won’t have to balance Hypnobabies training and Life Coach training at the same time (for the most part).

Our family is doing well, including our dogs and guinea pigs. Marley is starting to show his age more with noticeable hearing loss and a more frequent need to go outside, but otherwise still acts like his same self, including bouts of puppy-like energy. Amelia and Clementine have adjusted to their new home smoothly and our three little pigs are a happy herd.

Cody’s antics this month include talking more and more, an obsession with mac and cheese and cheese puffs, getting his second molars in on one side, and beginning to identify a few letters and numbers. He also said “I love you,” to me today of his own volition, which is a moment I will always remember. As we’ve explained our expectancy of a second baby to him, he has expressed different emotions from despair to excitement to curiosity, and he has also told us his preference for brother, sister, or neither–it changes frequently. Overall, I think he will be ready to be a big brother when the time comes, although it will certainly be an adjustment for him.

That’s what the picture looks like for us in January… and here’s what I’m into this month.

What I’m Watching:

This month is bringing back a bunch of my favorite shows, so I’m pretty darn excited!

Bones – One of my all-time favorite shows has begun it’s final season. I’m going to enjoy every single episode of watching my favorite characters solve crimes with nothing but a few bone fragments or a puddle of dissolved remains.

The Bachelor – Ah, my guilty pleasure; this show along with its sisters the Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise. I can’t get enough of the manipulated and dramaticized journeys of these individuals to find love. After all, being on this show is the last hope for so many of them, or so they would have you believe. Why? Because what better way to find lasting romance than on reality TV! Right? 😉 Seriously though, I love it. I’m excited to watch Nick’s journey this season! Personally, I’ve always been a fan of his and never understood why he was seen as a “villain.” Whatevs.

Series of Unfortunate Events – Yes, you read that right. It’s now a TV show, premiering this month! As one of my all-time favorite book series from my childhood, I don’t think I could be more excited about this. The casting of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny looks perfect, and to top it off, they’ve got Neil Patrick Harris (from How I Met Your Mother, another favorite of mine) playing Count Olaf. Yeeeee!!!

What I’m Reading:

Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices) by Cassandra Clare
I’m still working on this one. It’s a thick book, and I only have stolen time to read it during Cody’s naps, after doing more important things like writing this blog post. 😉 So far, I’m really enjoying it! It’s especially cool to see the glimpses of my favorite characters from this universe, from previous books. Plus, the storyline in this book is interesting and of course, the forbidden romance that has yet to be confessed is compelling.

The One Year Hearing His Voice Devotional: 365 Days of Intimate Communication with God by Chris Tiegreen
This book was a gift from the Christian Coach Institute where I will be training soon, and I’ve been enjoying the short, yet meaningful daily readings as part of my morning routine.

What I’m Cooking:

Ramen – Using a recipe I modified from Munchery, I’ve been enjoying this delicious noodle soup with chicken and veggies. It’s soothing to my sensitive preggo stomach, and it’s pretty nutritious too. This is one of those meals that I have to force myself to stop eating when I’m full. I plan to share the recipe soon!

Baked Potatoes – Okay, this is pretty basic. But there is almost nothing I’ve been enjoying more during this nauseous time than a good, baked potato. I especially love using red or yukon gold potatoes. Butter and salt on top, of course. Yummmmmm.

Steak – Before this pregnancy, I rarely indulged in a steak. I thought it was too expensive and a less healthy choice compared to chicken. But now, with a higher daily protein and iron goal, I’ve been incorporating steak into my menu once a week. I’ve been surprised to find that some of the very affordable cuts are still delicious, and not hard to cook. It’s giving me new skills in the kitchen, so that’s a bonus. So far, a simple salt and pepper rub and oven broiling method have worked well for me. Mmmm, meat!

Recipe of the Month – Chicken Dumpling Stew

This recipe is for one of the most taste-bud-pleasing, comforting, and easy recipes in my cook book. It uses a lot of “cheat” ingredients, which is one reason it’s so easy. It also uses a slow cooker, which usually means a low-involvement dinner that basically cooks itself. What’s not to love?

 

Servings: about 6

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 5 hrs

 

Ingredients:

4 skinless boneless chicken thighs

2 tbsp salted butter

1 can cream of mushroom soup (condensed, 10.5 oz)

1 can cream of chicken soup (condensed, 10.5 oz)

1/2 carton chicken broth (16 oz)

1 bag frozen mixed veggies (16 oz)

1 bag frozen diced onions (12 oz)

Seasoned salt

Pepper

Dry parsley (optional)

1 can biscuits

 

Instructions:

Place chicken thighs in slow cooker along with everything but the biscuits: butter, cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, mixed veggies, onions, salt, pepper, and parsley. Stir to mix somewhat – but it doesn’t have to be perfectly combined at this point. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

chicken-dumpling-stew-in-pot

Tear biscuits into small pieces and drop into stew. Continue to cook on high for 1 hour, or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165 and biscuits are cooked through. Use two forks to tear chicken into smaller pieces. Serve and enjoy!

chicken-dumpling-stew-bowl

Notes:

The measurements for the ingredients are based on what was available at my grocery store. If you have a bag of mixed veggies or onions or canned ingredients that are slightly bigger or smaller, don’t worry about it, just toss it in. The stew will still be delicious!

Chicken thighs sometimes aren’t available as boneless and skinless. In that case, it will take a little bit more work to separate the skin and bones from the meat. You can carefully cut off the skin first, and then cut chunks of meat away from the bone, and toss them into the slow cooker just like that. Either way, don’t worry about cutting them up before cooking, because it’s super easy to shred those pieces after they’re cooked. Just probe around with two forks and tear up any big chunks you find, before serving.

Almost all of these ingredients can be purchased organic, or you can prepare them yourself if you prefer. Mixed veggies can be prepared with fresh produce by mixing peas, corn, chopped baby green beans, and thin chopped carrots. You can dice fresh onions. Even cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, and chicken broth can be made from scratch, if you prefer. And of course, buttermilk biscuits can be made by hand as well. I like to use shortcuts when possible, but you can make this recipe as “from scratch” as you’d like! Recipes for all of those things can be found easily online.

The {Bedtime} Struggle Is Real

bedtime-struggle

I’ve mentioned many times that my family is a co-sleeping one. We love sharing our bed with our precious son, and couldn’t imagine sleeping in a separate room from him. Those snuggles, special memories, and the closeness and security we all feel being together are priceless. There are moments we’ve been able to enjoy that would never have happened if we weren’t co-sleepers, like hearing Cody’s first laugh, in his sleep in the middle of the night when he was two months old. Being pat gently on the face and greeted, “hi mama,” first thing in the morning is another thing I treasure.

Plus, when you’re breastfeeding on-demand with a high-need baby, co-sleeping is really the only way to go. Rolling over to nurse and falling back asleep is so much better than trudging down the hall, nursing in a chair, re-settling the baby in the crib, and then dragging yourself back to bed. Co-sleeping has allowed me to be an active nighttime parent without sacrificing sleep any more than necessary. And even though my sleep has been interrupted every night for more than the past two years, it has still been adequate and I have never felt sleep-deprived. It may not be for everyone, but co-sleeping is definitely for us!

Yet one thing I have sometimes felt misled about when it comes to co-sleeping is the idea that doing so will lessen bedtime battles and bedtime anxiety. The idea is that since your child knows you will be with them throughout the night, they don’t fight bedtime as much as other kids who are dreading the long period of separation. Yet for us, bedtime has been an increasingly challenging routine.

It started with Cody occasionally having a hard time falling asleep, or seeming “wired” at bedtime. Then it became a common situation to spend up to an hour trying to put him to sleep. As attachment parents, we don’t believe in sleep training, and we have always helped Cody go to sleep by nursing, rocking, and snuggling in bed. But we came to a point where none of that was working. We’d already been using white noise, blackout curtains, and a consistent bedtime routine. We started eliminating any screen time within a couple of hours of bedtime. We tried putting him to bed earlier, or later, or at a more consistent time. Nothing seemed to help! Finally, we tried giving him a very small dose of melatonin on nights when he was taking over 30 minutes to fall asleep. When that became almost every night for about two weeks, we finally decided that something had to change. We were not comfortable relying on drugs to get him to sleep!

I did some research, weeded through the sleep-training sales pitches, and finally came across an article written by a fellow attachment parent and co-sleeper, describing exactly my problem. The solution was simple, but kind of sucked: making your bedtime the same as your child’s. At first I was resistant. Cory and I have really enjoyed our hour or two of alone time to relax together at night. We also often used some of that time to catch up on chores. Losing it was not an appealing idea. Yet as I read this article, I realized the truth of the matter, which was that many nights we weren’t getting that time anymore anyway. At this point, we were spending an hour or more putting Cody to bed, and then pushing our bedtime out further and further just to have 45 minutes or less of time to ourselves. It was inefficient, stressful, and pointless.

We knew that we had two realistic choices. We could sleep train our toddler, going against our instincts as parents and undermining the strong attachment and sense of security we have built with Cody since his birth. Or, we could make another sacrifice on this parenting journey, and start going to sleep with him to put an end to his bedtime anxiety.

Attachment parenting is many things, but easy and convenient are not the words I would use. And you know what? That’s okay. Parenting shouldn’t be easy or convenient. Parenting should be about sacrifice. It’s about giving everything you have and are to raise your children to be the best they can be. It’s not always fun, and it’s not always comfortable. But boy, is it worth it. That love… it’s like nothing else.

So we followed the way of love, and gave up our alone time to help Cody have a better bedtime. It has been so much easier already. The bonus is that even though we don’t have that alone time, we do get more sleep, which I desperately need now that I’m pregnant. Plus, Cory can get up earlier in the morning and have time to himself for working on his personal projects, which works out really well considering the morning is his most productive time of day. I still get my alone time every day during his nap, which has been really good for a long time! I think it’s interesting that he has no issues going down for naps (except on the days when he randomly decides to skip it), but bedtime has been so difficult. This kid likes to keep things interesting!

Anyway, Cory and I still have time alone on the weekends during Cody’s naps, and we allow ourselves TV time in the evening even with Cody around. He’s going to be a very “cultured” child, you could say. 😉 There may be a time when we decide that “adult” TV isn’t appropriate for him, but for now, we’re okay with him being exposed to the stuff we watch. We tend to be fairly protective over what images and words and themes go into our minds anyway. But that’s a topic for another post.

As far as bedtime goes, it has been stress-free since we made the change. He still doesn’t go to sleep very quickly yet, but at least now we’re using that time to fall asleep ourselves, rather than laying awake and waiting for him to fall asleep. And I can say one thing for sure; I have been enjoying the extra sleep for myself.

We’re Expecting!

pregnancy-announcement

Happy New Year, readers!

I hope you and your family have an excellent year full of joy, growth, and life at its fullest.

This year is going to be an exciting one for my family, because we’re expecting our second baby in August!

At just six weeks pregnant, it’s amazing to know that our little baby already has a heart that’s beating and the beginnings of arms, legs, and facial features. How unbelievable is the miracle of life? God’s creative power never ceases to amaze me. We can’t wait to welcome our second babe into the world. <3