Witching Hour & Afternoon Tea; It's all a day in the life of LLC

While Halloween festivity seems to be on the rise here, it's certainly all the rage in my native US of States.  I remember some of my early costumes fondly, particularly a bunny suit that matched my dear Floppy-eared Rabbit.  Now that LLC is on the scene I wanted to get in the spooky spirit: Chris carved a pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern, we hung strands of black bats in our window and LLC and I dressed as matching witches to great our trick-or-treaters....of which there was one.   One solitary trick-or-treater.  All my visions of our cackling selves greeting candy-mad children at the door were shattered but we still had a pretty good time making spooky faces at Chris.  Did I say we?  I'm not sure what LLC would have to say about that but she seemed to enjoy my antics..... really, she did.

As if the little lady had not had enough excitement for one week, on Tuesday we joined Huggies and the other Huggies Mums for afternoon tea at The Dorchester in London.   While we chatted about our kids, the Huggies Bundle of Laughs comedy channel and life in general over tasty sandwiches and cakes, LLC scoffed a cucumber sandwich and then enjoyed many cuddles from the Huggies girls and Young Mummy, who didn't even get cross when she knocked her glasses or phone onto the floor.  I'd never been to tea at Dorchester before and fear I may be instilling expensive tastes in LLC from a tender age!

It's been a busy past week in the life of this 9 month-old!

Get a Taste of This!

The fact that I'm craving and eating cake with the passion of Majorie Dawes cannot be a good thing.

Cake.  It comes in so many varieties and is often so good.  It completes my coffee afternoons with other mums.  Unfortunately, when eaten several times a week it's not doing much for my post-pregnancy fitness.  I'm not mad and suggesting that I deny myself cake in totality - it's just dawning on me that eating cake three or four times a week may not be the healthiest of  ideas. 

So I decided to cut back since I really couldn't justify the voracity of my sweet tooth.  That is until I came across the acceptable indulgence that are Milkmakers, which seriously take the cake, or should I say, the cookie!

Loaded with brewer's yeast and ground flax seed, these super cookies, designed specifically for breast feeding moms, will up the quality and quantity of my milk supply.  I'm not going to delve too far into the chemistry behind these cookies; I'm just going to roll with the retailer's promise that LLC will get more nutritious milk and I will get to eat tasty cookies, almost as good as cake, without guilt.  Everyone's a winner.  Everyone but my bank account, since at $44 for 30 cookies they don't come cheap!  Plus I don't know if they ship to England.  Sigh.

Going with the Flow

I may feel a bit more uncomfortable by day (maybe this is a good sign??) but my mantra this week is to just "go with the flow."  I'm ignoring that I'm almost two weeks past my due date.  In a moment of weakness I asked myself if my body is hormonally defunct and not programed for birth, but then I got a grip and reminded myself that all pregnant women are designed to give birth eventually and besides being ridiculous, it was presumptuous to consider myself a special exception.  I'm not nuts, I promise you...

I've been pretty successful at not dwelling on when it's all going to kick off this week, but at the same time have done a few more things to encourage the little lady to flow on out of me.  These include:

• Another curry with Chris - we are taking advantage of our "only us" time while trying to spice up my system.  This meal - a Madras main - was spicier and tastier than the Rogan dish I had last week.
• I ate another pineapple - yum, I do love pineapple
• I went for induction acupuncture - I visited a therapist highly recommended by my yoga teacher in hopes of opening up channels of energy within....I'd never been for acupuncture and don't really understand the science behind it, but I did find the session relaxing, soothing and pleasant.  I could barely see/feel the needles, even when the therapist stimulated them throughout the session.  He explained that his induction technique is more stimulative and less relaxing than other forms of acupuncture, but he was very gentle all the same and no part of the procedure was uncomfortable.
• I went for a second membrane sweep - again, this was more uncomfortable than painful, and generated similar symptoms to my last sweep.  Unfortunately there didn't appear to be many changes down below - baby's head is engaged but not fully, cervix is soft but posterior - but the midwife said she did a thorough sweep and that things could change quickly once my body decides it's ready for birth.
  
• I busted out my high heeled boots for walking - I've been walking a lot but reverted to flats as pregnancy progressed.  With all the snow and ice of late, any type of heel was out of the question.  But now that the roads are clear, I decided some extra clunking and thumping a la heels might combine with gravity to suit my "baby please drop down further in my pelvis" purposes.  
• My butt is totally the shape of my Pilates, now birthing ball - if I'm sitting at home, I'm on that ball.  I may not have used the ball for years but with the amount of time I've clocked on it recently, it is totally worth the investment!
  

Though the NHS policy is to induce labor by 42 weeks, following my midwife sweep today I spoke with the doctor at hospital who agreed that as all appears well with baby/me, I can delay induction provided I come in for daily, 45 minute fetal monitoring.  That means if I don't give birth by Friday, I begin the monitoring. If the monitoring shows all is well, I can continue down this route until I give birth or decide to be induced.  The midwife/doctor answered my questions and listened to my thoughts objectively. 

Maybe something will shift before Friday, but if not I'm going to give my body and baby a few more days to go with the flow before deciding in favor of induction.

The Waiting Game

I’m not playing the waiting game; I’ve convinced myself that I might as well have a month left of my pregnancy. Sure.

That’s why I just took a walk around the block, bounced on my ball for over an hour, ate practically a whole pineapple and am going for a curry tonight.

Actually though, I’m feeling pretty calm and though I’m making my way through many of the old wives tales in the book, I’m feeling overall positive this week. Let’s hope this high lingers.

Getting out of the house continues to be my savior. Monday I went swimming and had a great chat with an 8 month pregnant lady at the gym….It was a refreshing swim and I felt good, however I did finally suspended my membership, earning a few raised eyebrows when the staff heard when I was due!

Yesterday I met up with the other girls in my NCT group – all still pregnant but one who has recently had a lovely little boy. Having lunch and hanging out with others at a similar stage of this pregnancy journey is reassuring, supportive and fun. We lucked out and have a great group of ladies who are going through a similar life shift, have a laugh together and have no qualms about leaning on each other as we simultaneously stagger into the abyss that is parenthood. It felt good to be out and to be social. I then topped off the day at pregnancy yoga, which continues to be relaxing for body and mind.

So now I sit a temple of calm, full of pineapple but not too full for a spicy curry tonight. Actually, food is today’s theme since I promised Chris I’d make him some banana chocolate chip muffins. We’ll enjoy them, and hopefully they will keep the midwives well fed for our imminent home birth – how’s that for positive thinking?!

Thanks everyone for the continued support!

Feet Up, Stocking Up

Chris and I are, dare I say it, prepared for Christmas. We decorated our house a few weeks ago, attempted some paper snowflakes (below, our first attempt), hung a home-made wreath on our door (this one we didn’t make but it’s the kind of one I want to try), sorted out our present purchases and mailed off all our cards. Woohoo! Now we have some time to mull wine (Chris loves doing that), put our feet up and listen to The Gift CD, one of our Christmas favorites. It’s our last Christmas without a little one so we better make the most of it!

My other mission of late is stocking up – not on Christmas candy and cakes (though I had to buy some of those too) but on food in my freezer for when the little lady arrives. Pregnant Mama E suggested this to me some time back, and I’ve since heard others say how useful the cook-freeze-stock plan of action proves if you have time to do the cooking in the first place. This weekend I made meatballs, lasagna and some veggie chili for temporary hibernation in our freezer. If anyone has any other ideas on easy to prepare and freeze dishes, I’m all ears! I’m anticipating a the first few weeks I won’t have so much time for cooking so hopefully this stock will provide a well needed head start – we do still need to eat, after all!

Here I am post-cooking - I don't think the sitting down angle is working for me but I no longer have any shame when it comes to these photos!

The Tasty Side of Nesting

We just ordered carpet for our bare, stripped but unfinished stairs and I've been throwing out tons of crap to make space for baby drawers, diapers and fun things like that. People say I'm nesting in preparation for bubba. Call it what you like, but it does feel long overdue (the throwing out crap part at least) and kind of therapeutic.

What I'm really enjoying though, is my raring interest for cookery! I've always enjoyed cooking but don't have the time to be uber-creative in the kitchen after a long a day at work. Now with baby on the way and my pregnant body to fuel, I'm upping the ante and broadening the scope of culinary delights that I can serve up.

Practice makes perfect, or more accurately, makes edible, enjoyable meals so my newfound dedication will hopefully pay off even if some meals go awry along the way. And while I'm up for attempting a more challenging slow cooked lamb shank or texmex jambalaya, I'm not talking all fancy complicated recipes here. I'm talking practical, healthy and a step off the beaten path from the tried and tested stock meals I can dish out with my eyes closed on a weekly basis.

I'm sharing one dinner and one dessert option I recently came across. Both are pretty tasty and easy to pull off.  The salmon dish is chock full of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, which our bodies don't make naturally and thus need from our diet. Sorry if you're not a fish person.  The omegas are also important brain fuel for baby. The cookie recipe is super fiberlicious and thus a great answer to the dreaded pregnancy constipation I keep hearing about.

Oh, sorry about the mix of C vs. F temperatures and grams vs. cups below....I've shared one UK and one US recipe and don't have the energy to do the conversions!

Salmon with pine nuts & lime

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients: 2 salmon fillets weighing approx 130g each, lime (juice & rind), 1 tsp chopped parsley, 2 tbsp pine nuts, finely chopped lemongrass

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C / Gas mark 4.

Place salmon pieces on a flat piece of foil in baking dish.  Squeeze over the lime juice, zest & lemongrass. Sprinkle with parsley and black pepper; fold over foil to create parcel.

Cook in oven for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle over pine nuts.  Return to oven to brown the nuts and finish cooking the fish for about 5 minutes.

Serve with new potatoes & steamed broccoli or spinach, pouring cooking liquid from parcel over potatoes and veggies.

Oaty Apricot & Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients: 2/3 cup brown sugar, 2/3 cup sugar, ½ cup softened butter, 1 egg, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 ¾ cup oats, ½ cup chopped dried cranberries, 1/3 cup chopped dried apricots, 1 cup flour, ½ cup wholemeal flour, ¾ tsp baking soda, ¾ tsp salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment.

Cream together sugars and butter. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix well.

Combine the flour, soda and salt; stir to mix. Add to the creamed mixture, kneading with the back of a wooden spoon to moisten all the dry ingredients. The dough will be stiff. Form tbsp sized balls of dough and place on baking sheet. Allow about 4 inches between each cookie.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until light brown. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on baking sheet before transferring to cooling rack.

Happy cooking and more importantly, happy eating!

Blame My Sweet Tooth on the Little Lady

My previous post, When "Cheers" Become Fears - Alcohol in Pregnancy is being featured in Blog Nosh Magazine tomorrow! View it on the Blog Nosh's birth and adoption channel. Also, if you are a faithful reader but not yet a follower of this blog, please sign up via the link on my sidebar!

I'm now at 24.5 weeks and my baby is the size of an ear of corn. Picture that ear of corn inside my burgeoning belly! Also bear in mind that this picture was taken tonight, post work out at the gym and dinner so it's not the most complimentary shot - I said I look like a worn out whale and Chris says that I look pregnant! Ahhh, but it's late and I'm tired.

Where it really felt like my bump blossomed over the last few weeks it doesn't feel too different from last week to this week. Baby is now almost foot long and just over a pound - she's a pretty skinny little thing but she's soon to flesh out, and this week her brain, lungs and taste buds are developing! Apparently her sweet taste development can bring on sweet cravings - so when I say that "the baby needs this ice cream," she really does! Somehow I'm not sure I can justify my longstanding sweet tooth and tendency toward haribo, hot cross buns and ice cream on my daughter to be's developing taste buds but what a great excuse!

This weekend I took her to her first cricket match where Chris bowled well and took one wicket. Chris is a cricket fiend though this is the first season since I've lived in the UK that he has not played cricket for most Saturdays of the May-September period (yeeha!....did I say that?...for those that don't know cricket, it's an all day sort of game). Being that I haven't been to any of his other one offs this season, I enjoyed watching and explaining the game to bump. I was sitting on a bench on my lonesome next to the pitch, doing some pelvic floor exercises and rotating my ankles for circulation as I cheered on the guys. Chris didn't even see me chatting away to baby intermittently but said the ankle swinging and leg rotations made me look mental enough!

Not that he should talk. Tonight he decided to run our "potential name list" by our bump in hopes of getting a kick, shift, some type of response from baby about her future name. He read through each name on our list, paused for 10 seconds with his hand on my belly awaiting a response before moving on to the next name. Too bad she wasn't in a game playing mood and we got no kicks...either that, or she doesn't like any of our potential names and we are undecided enough already!

'Where the Wild Things Are'

Yesterday I posted about the supposed benefits of reading to my bump. One of my favorite childhood books is 'Where the Wild Things Are' by Maurice Sendak. Aside from from ranking high on my list of baby reading material, I just came across these fantastic Wild Things themed cupcakes.

I want to go the extra mile for my daughter so maybe I need to take a page out of this baking chick's book and learn how to fashion these tasty cakes. My mom used to paper mache and paint my sister and me pinatas....maybe I can generate a similar "kiddie wow factor" at birthday parties by serving up some of these bad boys! But now I'm getting ahead of myself....

Belly, Blues and Benefits

I'm going to blame the frightening nature of this picture as the reason that it took me so long to get it posted online! Note to self: remember to take belly shot in the morning when freshly dressed and looking put together, not before bed! That's my cat Rico I'm holding. I think he leaped out of my arms about a second after this shot was taken! As you can see, I don't really have a baby bump yet but my waist is inflating.... If you see me every day or know me well, you might notice but I don't think you would if you walked past me on the street. I went to pregnant B's flat on Saturday night and feasted a fantastic dinner, however in the midst of stuffing my face I started to feel really bloated. This sometimes happens now if I eat a lot in one sitting. I suspect this is only going to happen more as my insides get squished together.

When I was walking to the train station after work, I started feeling down. I'm not really sure why. I'll blame it on the hormones. My post-work walk is usually a time for me to peacefully unwind, but today I began reviewing the "administrative logistics" of our post baby life.....the financials, returning to work, child care, etc. All things Chris and I have thought about and planned for, but today it all seemed a overwhelming. Then I remembered that I left our car on the other side of town by a different train station since I went to the dentist this morning. So did I go on longer train ride and get the car, or just head home and hope I could convince Chris to take his evening run to the car to bring it home? Then my phone went dead. Then my work XDA went dead. So I couldn’t call Chris to discuss. Why all this got to me, I don't know, but in the moment, it did. So what did I do? I made a spur of the moment beeline into a candy shop and bought some candy. Ah the power of a cherry truffle. Then I bought a vanilla shake from Burger King. Then I stopped thinking and felt a little better. Then I remembered what I'd just eaten and felt like a pig. I'm not sure why I'm sharing this - I guess it's honest insight into my wacked out thought patterns.....again, I'll blame this all on my raging hormones.

On the issue of financials, I've been doing some research on the financial support options I may qualify for while on maternity leave. Chris and I both work, and even though I should receive statutory maternity pay (SMP) for up to 39 weeks, we'll have a bit of a financial hole where my salary used to be. Here is my quick overview of the financial support available to new moms/dads in the UK. (Looking beyond SMP, paternity pay and maternity allowance). Some or all may apply to you, though note this is my quick digest and full official details can be found by surfing the links below.

* £190 Health in Pregnancy Grant: available to all pregnant moms. Get a claim form from your midwife at your 25 week appointment, ensure the midwife fills out her part of the form and then make your claim as instructed on the form within 31 days.

* Child Benefit: available to all parents with children up to 16, or 18 if still in full-time education. You'll receive £20/week for your first child and a bit less for subsequent kids. You should receive a claim form in the hospital once your baby is born or you can download it online. Make this claim as soon as your baby is born!

* Child Trust Fund (CTF): £250 voucher from the Government that you can invest on behalf of your child. It is for your child only, but can't be touched until they are 18. Once you register for Child Benefit, you will receive the CTF voucher.

* Salary Sacrifice/Childcare Vouchers: You can elect that the first £55/week of your salary can be converted to childcare vouchers free of National Insurance and tax. (You will then pay NI and tax on your reduced salary)

* Child Tax Credit: Paid out if your household income falls below £66,350 for a child under one or £58,175 for children over one. It is based on your household income from the previous tax year, but will be adjusted to account for your reduced salary while on maternity leave (ie, if your income is usually over the bracket but falls under while you are on mat leave, you can make this claim)

* Working Tax Credit: Additional tax credit for families on with low household incomes. More details site listed above for Child Tax Credit.

* Sure Start Maternity Grant: One off payment for families on low incomes. A number of conditions apply that you can read about on this link.