Body Image - (My) New Mom Perspective

I know there is a HUGE range of perspective on the new mom and body image, and I know that we often hear about the negatives. The stretch marks, the extra belly skin, how NONE of our clothes fit, how our tits HURT!

And the list goes on.

My experience is quite different from the tales we so often hear. Like much of my pregnancy, life post pregnancy for me has been quite easy.

My stuff
stretch marks? Yes.
Still wearing mat pants? Nope.
Two pairs of pre-preg pants. Sometimes my pre-preggo jeans.
Still have a bit of a paunch.

Feeling good
Eating healthy (for the most part)
I was resting for quite some time, partially thanks to my c-section infection and time needed to heal. It was PRET-TY bad!
Perspective. The weight won't stay on forever. My priority is being mama and not losing weight and getting back into shape so shortly after giving birth.

During my pregnancy I gained 38 pounds. 20 pounds of that I lost in the hospital. 9 pounds of that was baby, the rest was fluids, water weight (that went straight to my boobs) and placenta. I lost 10 pounds pretty quickly by breastfeeding, but as I said previously, I had a c-section, so I had to take it easy. Then my incision got infected (while I was still in hospital. Yes, I brought up with all nurses and anyone who came into my room that it felt weird, everyone said it was fine... until I walked into the ER 11 days later... turns out, I was right, there was something weird!) so I had to take it easy for much longer.

Right now, I am 5-ish pounds away from my pre-preggo weight. And I'm not sweating about it. My priority is still being a mom rather than getting back into shape. I don't want to be fixated about a number on a scale.

Today, I woke up feeling tired, but a few minutes into the morning, I felt awesome. I felt energized, I fit into my pre-preggo jeans, my babe slept until 8:45 in contrast to her normal 6:30, I got my makeup done. And I had a good poop. Yup, I said it, deal with it.

Most days, I feel pretty good. Some days I wake up feeling exhausted and I really don't know how I'm going to get through the day. Most of the time it's with coffee and ice coffee. How I feel about my body image changes with each of those feelings. For the most part, I'm super comfortable and confident about my body.

My body is freaking awesome. I grew a child. I never felt more beautiful than when I Was pregnant. I felt freaking gorgeous, and I think that showed. And well, I still feel pretty awesome. I feel pretty... and, I have to say, I have the cutest kid ever. How can I EVER hate anything about my body when it housed her, kept her safe and nurtured her?

Yes, I have stretch marks, I have a scar above my pubic bone, I still have a bit of a mummy tummy.

My body is the only one I have and I have made a choice to love my body. The way it is right now. Flaws and all. Because the way it is right now, is perfect in my daughters eyes. And I want to take a lesson from her, to teach her a very important lesson later on. That our bodies are beautiful the way they are. I don't want her to hear me say "I'm fat and ugly and wrong." Because she will believe it, and she will learn it, and she will live it.

I want my daughter to learn the lesson later, that she already knows now. Her mommy's body is perfect the way it is. And so is hers.

Two Months of Loving Victoria

Time is slipping through my fingers far too quickly. I see her growing out of her cute clothes, and I remind myself to love every second of my time with her.

 

She is getting SO big. Her feet. Her hands. She's bulked up. She's grown longer. It's hard to remember how small she was before.

 

 Her hair is getting thicker and darker, and her eyebrows are darker than they used to be.

 

 One of my favourite things is when she smiles in her sleep. Possibly the cutest thing ever.

 

 

 

I love seeing my Little Miss with my mom.

 

 I recently learned that Victoria is a snake according to the Chinese zodiac

 

I also recently learned that her birthstone is emerald

Her cry is constantly changing pitch and tone. She is starting to babble more and more. The cutest is when she babbles while smiling REALLY big!

 

One Month Of Loving Victoria

This little girl is really laid back and quiet so far... so far.

I love the smell of Victoria's breath. Since she's breastfeeding, it smells sweet <3

She didn't sleep in her bassinet for ages. She slept next to me in bed or on the couch. Now she starts out the night in her bassinet, and when she wakes up she either  comes to bed with me or we head to the couch.

In 5 days in her second week of life, she gained 11 oz and was almost 1 full lb over her birth weight already... only 1 oz off.

She is really good in social situations. We had our first social outting and she was spectacular!

This kid is NOISY when she eats! She is constantly making sounds while nursing... she's especially vocal when she is nursing while tired or half asleep.

 I am amazed at how soft her skin is

There is constantly milk in her neck folds

Even when I'm exhausted, I'm content to just hold her - even during the rare fussy times (and more often as she is more awake and aware of the world)

I have mastered the art of eating with one hand while holding my babe

Patrick Stewart Is Pretty Much AWESOME!

http://lemonsweetie.tumblr.com/post/51652237280/let-me-tell-you-a-thing-about-an-amazing-man?c=upworthy

Mom-To-Be Freezer Meal - Baked Penne W/ Sausage & Creamy Ricotta

If you didn't already know, I adore pasta! It's one of my passion foods... and surprise surprise, it's a carb, which I also love. So it was a given that I had to find a freezer meal friendly pasta, and thankfully, there are lots that work for freezer meals.

 

 

When I came across this baked penne with sausage and ricotta I knew right away that I wanted to give it a shot. Sadly, upon my first taste test, I wasn't overly impressed. It tasted SO bland. Even with the spicy sausage and the fennel.

BUT! Upon my second taste test after it'd been in the freezer for a few weeks, it tasted so much better. No doubt the flavours set in while it had been sitting in my freezer. I would make this again, but rather than eating it same day, I'd let it sit in my fridge or freezer to let the flavours mingle. I didn't have penne on hand, so I used rotini which I had plenty of in my pantry.

 

SO! Without further ado, here's the recipe:

Baked Penne with Sausage & Creamy Ricotta

 

Ingredients:

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced (I almost always use more garlic. Use to taste)

1 pound hot or sweet Italian fennel sausage, casings removed

1 (28 oz) can tomato puree

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp ground fennel (I didn't use ground - and I think I used around 1 tbsp or more)

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 pound penne (as I said before, I used rotini)

3 cups ricotta

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

 

In a large saucepan, heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Add the minced garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 15-30 seconds. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the meat, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato puree, water, sugar, bay leaf and fennel. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until thickened, about 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.

 

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

 

Reverve 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce. Transfer the remaining sauce to the pot with the pasta. Toss to combine.

 

Spoon the pasta into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour the reserved meat sauce over the pasta and dollop large spoonfuls of the ricotta on top. Gently fold some of the ricotta into the pasta; don't overmix - you should have pockets of ricotta. Scatter the mozzarella on top and sprinkle with the parmigiano-Reggiano.

 

Bake the pasta in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until bubbling and golden on top. Let rest 20 minutes before serving.

 

*Make ahead/Freezer meal:*

Prepare the reccipe above but spoon the pasta into a freezer- and oven-oven safe container. (I line mine with aluminum foil so there is less clean up at the end) Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the pasta and dollop large spoonfuls of the ricotta on top. Gently fold some of the ricotta into the pasta; don't overmix - you should have pockets of ricotta. Scatter the mozzarella on top and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Cover and freeze. When ready to serve, defrost and bake the pasta in 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes, or until bubbling and golden on top. Let rest for 20 minutes before serving.

The Difference Between Comfort Eating & Healthy Eating In Pregnancy

This entry is based on my experience with how I felt while I ate healthy - as well as when I ate less nutritious foods while I was pregnant.

Much like anyone, pregnant or not, one major point I noticed while I was eating healthier and more nutrient rich foods is that I had more energy and I felt better physically. I mean, even when I was eating healthy, I did have periods of time where I was still physically fatigued - let's face it, that's part of pregnancy, and can happen to anyone, pregnant or not, thanks to a variety of factors, say... a bad nights sleep?

On the opposite arc, when I ate nutrient deprived foods, I had lower energy and was more sluggish. As my pregnancy progressed, I noticed that I couldn't eat as much junk food and that eating the amount that I could pre-pregnancy and early in pregnancy actually made me feel physically ill. What do I usually want to do when I feel ill? Well, drink a tall glass of water and go have a nap or go to bed a little earlier. How did that work out? Well, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I needed to throw up. I could still smell the food I'd eaten earlier in the air, and boy! Thanks to hormone changes and heightened sense of smell, those smells were very potent - which didn't make me feel any better at the time. There was even one night I woke up feeling not only like I had to throw up, but I also had really bad diarrhea. Not a fun night for me, I can tell you that much.

Another huge difference I took note of - Victoria moved a LOT less when I ate crappy food with little or no nutritional value, even if it is loaded with sugar! And she moved quite a lot when I eat food that's good for us. I never would have guessed that this would be the case. It's becoming more and more apparent to me that junk food is toxic and that the habit of eating these junk/comfort foods is an addiction.

One thing I can say - if my baby didn't want it when she was in utero, why the hell should I be eating that crap?

What do you think about the eating habits of North Americans? Do you feel that pregnant women take licence to eat whatever they want whenever they want because they are preggo? Or have you noticed pregnant women you know making a conscious effort to eat healthy with a few treats thrown in?

Don't forget to scroll down past the comments and feed the goldfish!

My little girl is here! Introducing Victoria!

My little girl has finally made her long, hard, laboured grand entrance into the world. While I won't be telling that tale in this entry, I figured there is no better day to introduce her to you than on mothers day. My very first mothers day.

 

 

Victoria was born 5:43 AM by c-section May 6, 2013; weighing in at 9 lbs. Pink, healthy and with a good set of lungs :)

 

I never thought that it would be possible to love someone SO freaking much... I mean, you hear other parents talk about their amazing love bond with their children and that there's nothing like it, but until you experience it, you don't have ANY idea.

So far, my nicknames for her are: My little piglet (she snorts when she eats), My little turkey neck (this girl has some serious neck chub ^.^), sweet pea or sweet heart and little darling. I still haven't decided if I'm going to use Vickie or Tori... we'll see.

This 'little' girl has huge feet. A lot of her socks don't fit her.

Chatum adores Victoria. He has decided to take on the roll as 'Victoria's protector'. Whenever she makes the slightest squeek, he stands at alert and checks things out to make sure things are all okay. He loves to smother her in puppy kisses.

Oh, and that bassinet you see her snoozing in in the picture above? We don't use it, like, at all! Victoria and I are spending our nights sleeping side by side out on the couch for the time being, since it's more convenient for me. I can have everything I need set up within arms reach on the coffee table so I don't need to get up (especially nice when I'm breastfeeding while laying down) and if I do need to get up to grab something quick to eat or to run to the washroom to pee, I only have to go a few feet.

 

So far, this Mothers Day, I was able to get in a fantastic nap, snuggle with my baby, oh! And we've had our first 'spa day' together. Me, playinng the esthetician. My daughter, got a sponge bath (to get rid of that milk run off that gets stuck in her little turkey neck folds) her nails and toe nails trimmed (because it sucks when they scratch me in the middle of the night) and an infant massage with vanilla oatmeal baby moisturizer.

 

I hope that you are having as great a day as we are. Just thought I'd brag about my little gem. :) <3