Spring break in DC

Almost 1 year after our last DC trip, I was back but this time with my parents and Henry for spring break. The weather wasn't as nice and I missed the cherry blossoms again but we still had a great time! We stayed in Foggy Bottom (The Fairmont DC) which was a short metro ride/long, but manageable, walk from the National Mall and DC's most famous attractions...and close to Founding Farmers, yep I took my parents there...such great food! Our hotel room was spacious, which was necessary for all of the baby paraphernalia (pack n play, stroller, boppy) and very nice.

I was a little nervous being away from home with Henry, which I'm sure is completely normal, but he was a champ. Of course, it helped that there were four extra willing hands to take care of him. We stopped a couple of times each way for Henry to eat and stretch and while in the city, he either rode in his stroller (The BOB with a car seat adapter) or his carrier. I carried him for our Capitol tour, over an hour was a bit much but he slept the whole time.

We were able to meet up with Alicia twice, which was so, so nice!

Here are a few photos of our trip via Instagram (I had my hands full enough without a camera too!):

Meal planning

Normally, I do the meal planning and then the shopping but this weekend Chris offered to stop at the grocery store on his way he from Crossfit, I texted him a basic list so we are working from that:

Monday- casserole from the freezer and sautéed green beans
Tuesday-baked chicken and Brussels sprouts
Wednesday-left over beef and sweet potato chips
Thursday-quinoa fried rice with broccoli and chicken
Friday-???

Henry has a cold so that is my first priority this week...so we may be eating granola bars if dinner doesn't get made!

6 weeks after baby-a post on Mom

Now that Henry is 6 weeks old, I'm feeling back to my "old" self (I don't think I'll ever be that person again but you know what I mean). I think I spent the first month adjusting to motherhood, basically trying to survive to life with a newborn, and being very sleep deprived :). The past two weeks have been much better, Henry is sleeping in longer stretches-about 4 hours at a time at night. I've also returned to the gym...so nice! My favorite way to blow off some steam is to workout and I've been able to get back to Body Pump and yoga classes and even was able to run (very slowly but still!). I've been reminding myself that my body spent 9 months growing Henry and gaining weight and it will take a while to come off. Chris and I have worked out a schedule so we can both get in our workouts and still spend time as a family and take care of our baby boy.

We also had our first date night over the weekend thanks to my parents coming into town to babysit. Nothing too exciting, just dinner and a bit of shopping on the east side of town, we were gone about 3 hours which was plenty for me. It was so nice to spend time with Chris and reconnect as a couple. And yes, I was still nervous about leaving Henry...even with my parents watching him!

Now that we're 6 weeks out, I can look back on Henry's birth without shuddering and now am open to discussing having another baby-though no time soon :) I'm planning on sharing his birth story at some point but wanted to wait a bit to gain some perspective on the whole experience and feel like I'm getting there.

Photos in workout clothes-1 month postpartum, Outfit photo-6 weeks postpartum and one of the baby boy :)

Meal Planning

We had our first weekend out of town with Henry, back to our hometown to visit family.  It was a success!  Henry did well in the car (thanks to a little planning, he slept most of both hour and a half drives).  He got LOTS of cuddle time with family and was pretty much held non-stop :).  We took his Pack N Play home for sleeping and he was up at his usual times-midnight, 3am, 5am and 7am.  No worries about the time change affecting his schedule since he doesn't have a set one yet :).  I'm planning on starting to regulate his schedule in the next few weeks so when I go back to work at the end of April we have a routine.    

Because we were out of town over the weekend, I hit up the grocery store for a few staples today with Henry.  Thankfully, this trip was a success as well.  Our local store is very customer focused and they truly made shopping with an infant easy and they still bag your groceries and put them in the car!  Now onto meal planning:

Monday-Pork chops with butternut squash and qunioa stuffing (stuffing came from the freezer)
Tuesday-something from the freezer
Wednesday-Crock pot beef burritos with spinnach wraps
Thursday-Baked chicken and sauteed green beans
Friday-Creamy tomato sauce with shrimp and cauliflower

What are you having this week?

"Fried" chicken

Last weekend when meal planning, Chris asked for baked chicken. I wanted something a bit more interesting than just seasoning it and throwing it in oven so I came up with this recipe (or more like technique) based on some fish my mom made for us a few weeks ago. It turned out delicious despite the smoke alarm going off (setting off Lila and then the baby... It was a hot mess for a minute). Guess its time to clean my oven :)

Ingredients:
1 fryer chicken, ours was split in halves (I couldn't find quarters)
2/3 cup almond meal
Seasonings as preferred (I used 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, a touch of cinnamon, 1 tbs paprika)
Olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 425
Line baking pan with foil and place cooling rack on top (this allows air in all sides of the chicken so it gets crispy all over)
Place all ingredients in zip top plastic bag and shake to coat chicken
Place chicken on rack and spray with olive oil
Bake 1 hour or until done

That's it :). Easy and delicious!

Note, I left the skin on for Chris but removed it on my piece before eating. I think the coating would stick to the meat if the skin was removef as well.

Henry- week 5

First of all, 5 weeks old-where does time go?!?! Oh yeah, it's spent nursing...a lot. We've been rewarded with growing! H is now up to 8lbs 2oz (weighted at my nursing moms group). He also is officially out of the newborn diapers and into size 1's. The newborn sized clothes will be next, as they are getting short in the sleeves and are exposing his starting-to-be chubby wrists.

Henry is really starting to enjoy his play mat while on his back-tummy time is still not so fun. He really is starting to move those arms and legs and he coos and talks to the other baby, the one in the mirror.

The weather is starting to turn here so we've enjoyed lots of walks in the stroller and in the carrier.

Henry had his first nap in his crib. I'm slowly getting him comfortable with it so he can transition to it full time before info back to work. I left the nursery door cracked so I could peek in on him and Lila had to check on him several times, I couldn't keep her out of the nursery!

Favorite things-the first month

As a first time mom, I wasn't exactly sure what we would need when our baby arrived. Luckily, most of our friends and family have children already so I've been able to ask what folks love and hate and borrow some things! There are certainly a few things that have made the first month easier for both Henry and I.

Henry-
Aden + Anais square swaddling blankets-they are square and make swaddling easier (A+A make awesome burp cloths too).
Swaddling sacks-we have both Miracle Blanket and SwaddleMe.  Both have been effective for us.
Pacifiers-Henry likes to suck a lot!
Pack N Play with bassinet-one upstairs and one downstairs (so nice to have one on each floor!). The downstairs one is for naps and changing and the upstairs one is in our room for night time sleep in our room until we transfer to the crib.
Video baby monitors-so nice with a two story house!
Baby swing


Mom-
Sleep-it's fleeting and comes in 2-3 hour chunks but so wonderful!
iPhone/iPad-something to occupy me during all the feedings
Happiest Baby on the Block-advice on how to calm a fussy baby
Breast pump/bags/nursing pads, etc -I've got a whole bunch to say about this, will be writing a post about breast feeding
Moisturizers (lotion, chap-stick)-for dry skin due to hormone changes after baby.
Freezer meals-so so nice to have a few easy dinners to choose from!

Moms, what were your first month must-have items?

Meal planning

Lately, we've been hanging at home (obviously) but the leftovers are stacking up so I only have three meals planned. We are attempting our first weekend trip with Henry for a family bridal shower so I'm keeping it simple this week:

Monday-Mexican Quinoa with avocado
Tuesday-baked chicken with Brussels sprouts
Wednesday-beef roast in the crockpot with sweet potatoes, carrots and onions

Additional sides/prep:
Baked kale chips
Roasted parsnips
Paleo fudge
Paleo banana bread