TBT - Brazil 2010

In honor of Throw Back Thursday I thought this group of photos would be great.  It could also be that I am itching for a wonderful vacation like this again.  Our trip to Brazil has many wonderful memories and was a perfect babymoon before my daughter was born.  I was about 25 weeks pregnant during this trip.   We did some great sightseeing, ate some amazing food, and I ended up visiting the Brazilian emergency room because I got sick as dog.  No matter what, we had a trip of a lifetime and cannot wait to go back.  

Many thanks to our Brazilian friends that have become our extended family.  We truly enjoyed and learned so much during this wonderful trip.

It's not misspelled, in Portuguese it's spelled with an "s"

Brigadeiro - Yummy! Check out this recipe

The thing I wanted to have most but couldn't!

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Sight seeing in Rio

Christ the Redeemer

An amazing meal at a churrascaria

Chin chin!

This is where the "Girl from Ipanema" was written

Salvador da Bahia, Brazil

Nosso Senhor do Bonfim Church 

 

Our ribbons

Cheese on stick sold along the beach, yummy!

My poor swollen feet couldn't fit into these

I was sick as a dog in this pic, fever and all

Sugar cane juice with ginger, made me feel better

Caipirinha - Popular Brazilian cocktail

Mercado Modelo

My version of Pregnant Capoeira 

The end of our trip.  Wore that shirt so no one would get confused.

Right off the plane went straight to the ER.  Trip well worth it!

See you soon Brazil!!!

Baby Food - Easy Recipe

Here is a real easy option for a quick baby meal.  My little man is into anything and everything that has yogurt and he loved this one.  

Ingredients:

1/3 cup sweet potato, chopped

1/3 banana

2-3 tbsp plain or vanilla yogurt

Steam sweet potato 25 minutes or until tender.  Mash cooked sweet potato and banana.  Then mix in the yogurt.  All done!

August = National Breastfeeding Month

Breastfeeding has been a big part of my life for the past 2 1/2 years and I couldn't be prouder of myself.  There have been many ups and downs and I never thought I would come this far.  I am now nursing my 2nd baby who is eight months and its going strong.  I can talk and talk about breastfeeding forever but I just wanted to point out some tips that surely helped me.  Any mom who decides they want to breastfeed will know that it takes extreme dedication and hard work in the beginning months, but it's all well worth it. 

What made me decide to breastfeed?  I just wanted to give the best I could to my baby, simple as that.  My husband and I took a couples breastfeeding class, I read about, researched it, and couldn't stop digging around for info on it.  The more I learned, the more I knew it was right for baby and me.

One great resource that helped me with any questions and/or concerns was KellyMom.com.  Anything and everything you may think of can be found there.  In addition to that I was addicted to breastfeeding forum found on the What to Expect When You Are Expecting website.  There I was able to see that I was not the only mom with the same exact concerns. It also helped me learn from other mom's experiences.  The forums was also were I learned of a couple of products that helped me have a successful breastfeeding experience.  

• Medela Tender Care Lanolin Nipple Cream
• Brest Friend Nursing Pillow
• Medela Pump-In-Style Advanced
• Pumpin Pals Flanges
• Medela Harmony Manual Breastpump

If your budget allows, all or most of the above may help in your nursing experience.  Here is the breakdown why it helped me.

Medela Tender Care Lanolin Nipple Cream

My 1st time breastfeeding was new to me and also to my daughter.  Which translated to improper latch in the beginning.  Some babies are awesome at latching from the get-go and some are not.  My daughter had a bit of a lazy latch which caused redness and cracks around my nipples.  This lanolin cream helped ease it a little along with manually expressing milk to apply on the cracks.  Just make sure to let it air dry and you will be good.

Brest Friend Nursing Pillow

This became my breastfeeding tutu.  With the round the clock nursing on demand, I found myself walking around the house wearing this pillow all the time.  That is why it felt like a tutu.  I tried a Boppy pillow initially but I didn't feel the support I needed.  So I researched a little and came across this one.  Boy, did this make a difference!  I finally felt that baby was in a good position and so did my back!  I think this just took away one less worry.

Medela Pump-In-Style Advance 

I initially thought that a single electric pump (Swing Breastpump) would do the job when I was going to get ready to head back to work.  But after researching on that friendly forum I saw the benefit of this awesome double electric breast pump.  My trusty pump has been everywhere with me.  I have pumped at home and in my car (many times) and it has truly been awesome.  I don't know what I would have done with it.  It helped me express enough milk to freeze that it gave my first baby enough to milk to drink until she was 14 months after weening herself at 11 months.  Might I add that it is still doing a great job with baby #2.  I love how easy it is to pick up and go. 

Pumpin Pals Flanges

This was another find from the forums that I was extremely happy I invested in. At first I was like, "Darn something else to buy", but this truly made a different for me.  I bought a couple different Medela sizes and they just didn't feel right or work for me.  After checking out Pumpin Pals' website it totally made sense how the angled flanges felt more natural.  So I gave it a try and haven't used anything else.  I even use it with my manual pump.

Medela Harmony Manual Breast Pump

You are probably asking if I have an electric pump, why do I need a manual one?  Well for me it worked on multiple occasions.  I don't use it as often as the electric but it is there when I most need it.  For moments that I need a quick expression this was the best.  Long car rides, date night, on breaks when at a meeting.  It was not a necessary item but it sure helped.  It also worked to pump the breast that baby was not latched to in order to help increase my supply a bit.  Happy I invested in it. 

Harmony Pump fitted with Pumpin Pals Flange

Baby Food - Looks Yummy!

My son is 8 months and I try to make most of his food.  The day of Stage 2 purees were long gone even before he was 7 months.  Little man likes his food hearty with lots of flavor.  How things have changed from when I had my 1st baby (only 28 months ago).  I am not so afraid to try different things until they work.  All the baby books I read were good and informative but nothing prepares you fully and you just have to go with the flow.  Each baby is very different.  So with that said here is a little recipe from Annabel Karmel's book, Top 100 Baby Purees.  I tweaked it a little for my liking.  

Ingredients:

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 parsnip, peeled and chopped

1 Flounder fillet

2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

2-3 basil leaves (optional), chopped

1 tbsp milk

3 tbsp unsalted butter

1/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Chop carrots and parsnip and place in a covered steamer for 15-20 minutes.

Place Flounder fillet in small pan.  Cover with a little milk and 1 tbsp of butter. Cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes.

 Peel, seed, and chop the tomatoes. (Drop tomatoes in boiling water for about 30 seconds in order to peel the skin off.)

Add remaining 2 tbsp of butter to pan then add tomatoes and cook until mushy. Add basil (optional) and cheese.  Stir until melted.

Add carrot, parsnip, and fish and mix until will incorporated.

At this time I mashed an individual serving in this lovely little bowl to the consistency my little man likes it.  If it too chunky you can definitely puree in a blender.  You can also add a little milk (breast milk or formula) to thin it out if needed.

He has a few meals ready for this week.

  

Family Beach Time...

Finally, we were able to have a family beach day the last time we went back home.  Every time before that we tried scheduling a beach day and one of us always ended up sick.  So, this time around we were all miraculously in good health,  THANK GOD!

Some of the little people were not too happy with the element of water and refused to have anything to do with it but eventually dipped a small toe in.

Along with a good time, a recharge of the batteries is needed. The kids ended up taking a lovely nap that let us grown folks enjoy the day as well.  

It was a perfect day of no worries and enjoying each other.  Looking forward to the next one!

New Month, New Do ...

Finally got enough nerve to chop it all off!  It's been a while since I last visited my local salon.  I think my daughter wasn't even one yet and now she is two.  After debating with myself I just went and got it drastically cut.  I cannot remember the last time it has ever been this short.  Needless to say, I love it!  Just to give you an idea, this is how much was cut.

I will definitely be sending this little bundle to Locks of Love which is a non-profit organization that helps children under 21 who are suffering from long term medical hair loss.  I know it will make someone really happy.  Check them out if you are interested in donating www.locksoflove.org . 

I myself feel 10 pounds lighter and am looking forward to the rest of the summer without the weight of all that hair.