We were all up at 3am last night!
Me with the little one.
Matt because one of our employees called in that she had a crisis and couldn’t do sweets, so he went to work at 3am (just 2 hours after going to bed himself!)
And my Mom because she was G-chatting me from PARIS where she is vacationing with her girlfriends!
When I finally did get up, I had coffee waiting in the pot. I grabbed a quick shower and put baby in his crib. We are still practicing getting to like our crib! Today he slept in it in the morning for about 20 minutes total – a record! I think he is warming up to it. (I’m reading The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems and LOVE it. It’s one of the best baby books I have read yet (the best perhaps?) Easy to understand, well written, organized and advice that seems sound and based on lots of experience.)
I didn’t get too much of a naptime break, but Karen came over this morning to help out. When she arrived, I made a fast breakfast.
MY OTHER RECIPES
I had plans for French toast but decided to have American
toast instead since it didn’t involve dirtying a pan. (Or perhaps this is English toast?!)
High Five topped with Barney Butter, pumpkin butter, sliced banana, chia seeds and coconut. Plus lots of milk in my coffee for extra protein & calcium.
Karen and I alternated baby care and working in the morning and watched Call The Midwife while I fed Maze. We both love the show! Especially just having had a baby – it’s so relatable. I also had a tile guy come to repair our shower – the soap shelf fell off last week, leaving a gaping hole in the wall! We’ve had to shower downstairs since. What a pain! But the best news is the repair is DONE and only cost $68!
Late lunch!
I made us salads piled high with leftover brussels and sweet potatoes, pecans, gorgonzola dolce and sunny side up eggs
Hunka hunka bread on the side
My friend Lara came over in the afternoon to bring dinner with her son August. M had a breakdown while he was feeding (a first – it was at the end) while they were here. Lara was finally able to silence him with some swift experienced mom moves – I was impressed! And while Lara held the baby, I made a quick snack – pear and trail mix.
The dinner she brought over was fabulous! Piled high with real food and flava.
Sweet potato + black bean tostadas/burritos. She grated a sweet potato (brilliant!) and cooked it with beans, corn, corn tortilla pieces (I believe!) and Mexican spices. We piled that on whole wheat tortillas with salsa and lots of shredded cheese and baked it in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the cheese was melted. Meanwhile, I mashed an avocado with 2:1 greek yogurt for a delicious and nutritious cool topping. Cilantro and spinach for garnish!
I like to eat this with a fork – I eat off the topping – and when the toppings are low enough to make a burrito, I roll it up and eat the rest that way!
Thank you Lara + August!
I love that when Matt has been at work all day the last thing he wants to do is cook dinner – he just wants baby time! And when I’ve been home with the baby all day, all I want to do is cook dinner! I happily cooked and cleaned the kitchen solo while they kept me company.
With both were craving something sweet, so I made milkshake mashes for dessert. This is just about half a cup of Breyers Vanilla mixed with half a cup of milk mashed into a milkshake. A sprinkle of granola or tsp of peanut butter takes it to milkshake extraordinaire level!
This post has been sponsored by Mazen’s First Crib Nap!! YAY!
How wonderful to have Grandma Karen close by! Soon enough Maze will be sticking bread bags :).
Lol I love the posts sponsor! Sounds like you guys had a rough night!
I can’t believe how much you guys had going on at 3am! Crazy!
That dinner looks delicious. I love big piles of food. I’ve been using sweet potato as a spread a lot lately. My favorite is mixing it with chipotle and cumin to make salmon tortilla pizzas.
So glad Mazen is getting used to his crib!
That salad sounds DE-LISH! Must put good blue/bleu cheese on my shopping list. Have you tried any of the smoked blue cheeses? We bought one recently at WF, and it paired beautifully with mushrooms! Give it a try if you haven’t!
Not yet !
I’ve never heard I that show by I can see it being relatable. And I hope Matt gets some serious sleep tonight!!!
So what were the magic “swift mom moves”?
Rock a bye baby style and some side lunges!
It is great whe they sleep in their cribs. Mine slept in co-sleeper at night but cribs for naps and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I never let any of my 3 get used to sleeping in bouncy seats or carseats or swings (we used them, just not for naps) because I heard so often how it’s a hard habbit to break.
Hey!! A new topping for nachos. Maybe I can get my daughter to finally eat avocados. .
S/n: I can finally wrap a towel around me with no skin showing! It’s the little things that make losing weight and getting healthy exciting!
🙂 what’s your total loss now?
I’m so late to answer this. Last weigh-in was 20 taking me to 225.4. Weigh-in is tomorrow. Hoping to be down to 220.
A real long power nap is due for both you and Matt. As usual, food looks so good, I’d have a hard time deciding what I wanted to do: eat? or sleep? Hmmm….stomach is always first 🙂
My kiddo didn’t nap well in the crib until 4 months, when we sleep trained him (using “Sleep Easy” techniques). I read all the other books – Baby Whisperer, BabyWise, Harvey Karp (actually just the DVD, which is awesome) and the one you said is like one long run-on sentence (can’t remember the name but I TOTALLY agree, I could hardly read any of that!). Like you, I loved the 5 S’s, and took bits and pieces from all the others. Here we are, almost 9 months, in the middle of separation anxiety, crawling, and pulling to a stand, and my former champ sleeper is now refusing to crib nap again. It’s true what those experienced moms tell you, everything changes all the time! So annoying but… I guess it’s never boring?!
Toast with coconut sounds divine this morning!
Thanks for all the recomendations on books…. and your honest thoughts on them. It saves me a lot of time! Soooooo helpful!
Hooray for Mazen taking the nap in his crib! That’s awesome!
What a tasty looking dinner!
I love that you mixed up avocado and Greek yogurt, too. I’ll have to try that some time. Not only is it nutritious (and delicious, I’m sure), but with avocados being on the expensive side right now, it’s also a way to lengthen the use of them.
Yay for crib naps!!! Team work is where it’s at when it comes to making a house work well! I’m so glad you guys are getting into the swing of things! I hope you have a great day, Kath!
Hurray for crib naps! Naps are awesome, hopefully he catches on to that soon and learns to love the crib. Glad the tub repairs were swift and inexpensive, it can be one more thing on an already swamped list but it’s great when things can be handled quickly and without a lot of drama.
Loving these one posts a day 🙂
Wow, I didn’t know your employees are at work so early. I’d love to read “a day in the life of a baker” if Matt would be interested in doing one.
I love your mugs! Where are they from? (The ones you used to make the milkshake mash)
He has done 1 actually, but I can’t find it since I’m on my phone. But if you search for Matt great harvest you might be able to find it easily.
Mugs are former open Sky deal
I tried looking for it but couldn’t find it. If you have a chance can you link it here? If not..please don’t worry at all!! I know you have the baby to tend to 🙂
Here it is!
https://www.katheats.com/matt-at-home-chapter-5
Love the avocado/Greek yogurt topping idea. That dinner looks amazing!!!
I love salads and healthy recipes, though in Scotland I fear I may be in the minority.
Milkshake mash! That has always been my favorite way to make a milkshake, forget the blender! I like the texture and ALWAYS add Peanut Butter to mine.
Here’s a tip.. melt the PB every so slightly in the microwave so it will swirl into the milkshake better. The cold of the ice cream will solidify it again but you’ll have those nice ribbons we all dream of!
You had quite the night! Your dinner looks spectacular…I am not sure how I would attempt to eat it…your one layer at a time sounds good.
The milkshake mash sounds yummy! Just what’s needed after a long day and a sleepless night. 🙂
Lunch time salad looks delicious!
& poor Matt – working at a bakery must be misery in the morning! Especially when you are not running on enough sleep! Does Matt go to bed very early (usually) the days he is up well before the sun rises?
Yes if he has to work an early shift, but most of the time he doesn’t have to
The first crib nap…that’s a huge milestone! Congrats!
And I love anything that doesn’t involve dirtying a pan 🙂 Love how you went with American style on that one..ha!
And a repair for $68….that’s a nice Repair Gods smiling down on you blessing!
Grated sweet potato?! What a fabulous idea!
Two things:
1. LOOOOVE those milkshake mugs!
2. For your avocado + greek yogurt dip, was it 2:1 avocado to yogurt, or the other way around?
Thanks! Congrats on the crib nap, Mazen!
Yep, a to y
Love those tostadas! I am totally stealing the sweet potato shavings idea! 🙂
So glad you like Call the Midwife. I watched the series in the summar and loved it. I heard they will be having a Christmas special so watch for it. I think I want to read the book it was based on now. So glad to hear someone else has watched the show.
BTW, your baby is adorable!
The book is amazing! I only have caught the first episode so far. But while the show was good, the book has so much more detail and is much better. Hope you enjoy it too!
I read the Trilogy book last week, from my local library, it is much better than the series on tv, it covers the whole time working in that area.
YUM! I love burritos or tacos for dinner. I made some vegan taco filling the other night and have been loving the leftovers. I’m thinking tonight I might make some quesadillas and guac with the leftovers.
Yay for M’s crib nap!
aww yay for his crib nap 😀
Yum, yum… I have an avocado obsession at the moment!
I loved the Baby Whisperer books too…very helpful. Except I hated how she addressed the reader as “Love” all the way through. Oh well. 🙂
You’re a better woman than I– I don’t think I would have wanted to talk to my mom in Paris when I was up at 3am with my baby, ha!
You mean “luv” ; )
I love these 1-a-day posts! I have to say, though, I live in the UK and English toast is usually topped with canned beans in tomato sauce. They tend to look at me like I’m a crazy person when I tell them of the deliciousness that is the combination of peanut butter and banana. 😉
That dinner looks incredible! Love the idea of grating the sweet potato..ultimate speed! just what you need with a baby to look after!
Uggghhh 3 a.m. being up?! Yikes. I would die. And that’s why I am not a mom right now. Haha
Best to you!
I’m glad breastfeeding is getting better for you. I’ve breastfed 3, the last two tandem(!). While only my middle child had real sensitivities to my diet, I wanted to share with you the time with my first when he refused to nurse after I had consumed a fabulous plate of brussels sprouts. Nothing else ever bothered him, but that cruciferous meal ended in tears for both of us!
Ugh well I guess if you have to be up at 3 in the morning, at least you all had company! Poor Matt.
So glad that Mazen had a nap in his crib! 🙂 That dinner looks delicious! I love Mexican inspired meals.
hi kath, new reader here, just wondering if you post EVERY SINGLE thing that goes into your mouth
?
nope! For example, I eat a Larabar or similar every night at 3-4am. And taste things here and there. This is every meal and substantial snacks only.
I have to join all of those who are liking the once a day post! It’s so much easier as the reader to stay caught up.
Hope M continues to stay in the crib for longer periods of time. I remember the days when I had little ones if I got a shower and hot meal it meant I had a good day!
I like the baby whisperer. Is this one different from that one?
Congrats on Maze first nap in the crib, but where did he nap before?
3 am wake up must be hard! But you are still so up spirit. That’s great!!! 🙂
This is a follow up to her original with more details on HOW to do things
Great! Just order it!
I liked the Baby Whisperer too, though the pat/shushing never worked for either of my kids. I liked the flexible routine though. Eat play sleep routine, but watched the baby’s hunger and sleepy cues if needed earlier or later. My daughter fit her 3 hour eating schedule, but my son ate a lot more often, every 1 1/2 to 2 hours it seemed for a long time. Every kid is different and I think she encourages more flexibility that other “scheduling” books while still keeping some routine in your schedule.
I think I have commented on this before, but the BEST sleep book I read was Ferber Solve Your Childs Sleep Problems. It is not a never ending run on sentence, but a while written explanation of the science behind child and adult sleep patterns. He has a chapter for crying in out in limited circumstances, and if you don’t want to do that then that is fine and just ignore that. But the understanding of brain activity during sleep cycles and stuff like that was very informative. It also has a lot of information for when they get older, like such as night terrors, bed wetting, sleep walking, and other things that can come up later. Not just a cry it out book/scheduling book.
Cool, thanks for the rec! I’m amazed that Mazen seems to be on the 3 hours routine too – although give or take 30 minutes everyday. And the shush/pat seems to be working for us so far!
Phew! I’m glad to learn that Maze is falling into a 3-hour routine. The reason I asked about his feeding routine before is because I was worried he was a “snacker”.
“The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems” is the one book we used and every tool worked for us. We followed the routine and it worked beautifully for us. It takes resolve but we found, in every case, short term pain led to long term gain for all of us, baby included.
I love your blog and the new bay is adorable! Makes me realize how excited, but not ready, I am to have my own!
We are the same way!! When Brandon walks in the door from work he happily takes Clara and then I happily take over dinner duty plus clean up! It is nice having a break from baby duties for a few hours. 🙂
Both lunch and dinner look delicious. It’s such a shame when everybody is too tired, nobody’s happy!
Sounds like a busy day in Mommyland! Wonderful of Grandma Karen to help. This crazy phase will pass!
I want your toast
A yummy day! Just an aside though…I probably wouldn’t say why Matt had to go into work early. The employee probably wouldn’t like everyone knowing he/she had a crisis…maybe just say he had to go into work early!
Kath didn’t identify the person.
Yeah I know…but a lot of people know her bakery/have been there or know the employees…it’s just a general statement that’s all.
I love sunnyside up eggs on salads… YUM. Never done it at home, only out to eat (breakfast salads), but no reason not to do it myself. I’m impressed you manage to eat so well with Mazen… I’m pretty sure I was on Lean Pockets at that point with Jed:)
For some reason, I prefer French toast over American or English toast. I love savoring the flavor of milk and egg on my toast. I even add cheese or cinnamon to it.
So did Maze sleep in his crib based on something you took from the book? Our little guy (6 weeks) primarily naps on us these days, but last night we had a break through 5.5 hour sleep stretch! (I think he could tell mommy REALLY needed it!) The amount of books is overwhelming to me, we’re considering implementing the 12 hrs by 12 weeks, I’m just afraid it will be too strict.
No I’ve just been introducing it and getting him more comfortable and being more patient about patting him and soothing at the crib instead of just automatically wearing him.
I think having help is critical. I’m glad Karen can help! And a great dinner like that is a delicious way to fuel up to then take care of Mazen! 🙂
Dear Kath,
the Hunka hunka bread looks so… “intense”! whole food for sure, but could you kindly tell me more about it? is it a special recipe?
The nights will get easier with Maze, do not worry.
It’s High Five from our bakery, Great Harvest Bread Co. It’s 100 % whole grain with flax, mullet and sunflower seeds. 5 grams each of fiber and protein per slice!
Wow, that is a winner 🙂 Excellent!
Everything looks so delicious! I just want to eat all of it!! 🙂
So delicious and healthy!. I love Veges and wheat bread.
Oh my gosh, poor Matt! And lucky Mom! 🙂
Looks like another great day-hope you all are surviving with such little sleep and that you get some more tonight!!!
Be careful with that book. I have had several lactation consultants say they really dislike her breastfeeding advice because it can lead to low supply (especially in the early months if you are following her advice to “stretch out” the feedings by denying breastfeeding by 15 minute increments). Not really sure what that teaches the baby besides them getting upset that they are hungry. I can’t imagine that not feeding them when they want to eat will “teach them” to wait longer. If I’m hungry, making myself wait longer to eat in no way makes me less hungry or more likely to go longer between meals the next day. If in doubt, I always tell moms and dads to put themselves in their baby’s shoes and ask how they would want to be treated in the same circumstance.
I’m also not a fan of any type of sleep training before the age of 6 months (even Ferber says this). Hopefully you’re able to take what works from the book and leave the rest–just be sure to ultimately listen to Maze and not a stranger in a book that doesn’t know either one of you.
Durning the day she says to listen to the baby for hunger, and feed them early if they need it. It’s her night recommendations that puzzle me Because I don’t think there’s any way he could go 3 hour intervals the whole night. I went to a le leche meeting and they agreed that was unrealistic. If the baby wakes up hungry, you gotta feed him! Honestly I don’t know how anyone feeds not on demand – I wouldn’t be able to stand it if I knew he was hungry. I think her soothing techniques are good, and they are helping us nap in the crib.
A baby stomach is small (so the quantity he/she takes in is not so much) and breast milk VERY easily digested, therefore babies breast-fed are hungry at short intervals. This is why mums who want to get a longer night strech give bottle milk.
Glad to hear you’re using your mama common sense with it 🙂 And see that’s the thing–babies don’t have the intellect to understand why we are meeting their needs in a timely manner during the day but not at night. Not meeting their needs between the hours of 9pm-6am will not teach them to be “better babies” but it will teach them they can’t count on us to always be there for them. And as famous psychologist Erik Erikson says, “The babies MAIN job in the first year of life is to learn trust.” How can they trust us if we aren’t there to meet their needs when they can’t physically do so themselves?
I just posted a quote on my FB page yesterday that said “If parents don’t expect their babies to be “independent” for 6-8 hour stretches during the day, why would they think it’s realistic at night?”
I use the Snuggle Me cushion for my infant massage classes and A LOT of the moms end up buying them for naptime because the babies tend to like the coziness of it. She does say you can use it for co-sleeping but not to use it in a crib when you’re not around. I think most babies don’t like the crib because 1) they are on their back (which may be good for SIDS prevention but it’s not a position babies like and it triggers their Moro reflex) and 2) It is a hard surface and it feels very “wide open” to them and not secure and safe like your womb was 🙂 http://www.snugglemecushion.com
Oh my gosh your toast looks amazing! I’m not a big french toast fan so I love your English toast 😉