Morning guys! How’s that for a long blog post title?! I guess I have a lot to say today! 🙂 First up, I’m back on the grain salad bowl train for lunch – I almost added some soft boiled eggs to this a la my Kale and Quinoa Salad with Soft Boiled Eggs, but I had already had eggs for breakfast and that seemed like a lot of eggs, so, chickpeas for protein instead it was! This creation was arugula + brown rice + chickpeas + avocado + feta + canned beets + balsamic vinaigrette. Plus some kombucha on the side. More recipe ideas in this post: grain salad bowl recipes.
For dinners this week, we had Blue Apron (affiliate link), which is always a win. This Asian stir fry in particular was really delicious – we added some string beans to it to get in some extra veggies. Great flavor! Here’s the recipe on their website if you’re interested: Spicy Chicken & Stir-Fried Vegetables.
Last night we had a really good chili (also Blue Apron (affiliate link)) that we doctored up a bit by adding some extra fresh diced tomatoes to the mix, as well as a huge bundle of kale (stems removed and leaves chopped). I love kale in stews/chilis – it wilts down nicely so it’s a great way to get in a ton of greens without it seeming like you are eating a ton of greens, and it holds its texture well. It absorbs the sauce of whatever it’s in well, too, without altering the flavor profile at all. If you’re looking for a similar recipe, my Turkey, Veggie & Barley Chili is similar – as is my Butternut Squash & Turkey Chili.
Served with a side of baby observation. I feel like Matt and I are playing table tennis and she is the judge or something. Lol! She seems to enjoy being in the mix at the table vs. in the rock ‘n’ play on the floor, so this is a nice way to keep her calm during dinner without having to actively hold her. (Don’t worry, we make sure that chair is very secure/can’t slip around – and keep an eye on her the whole time too.) That’s the Baby Bjorn bouncer… love it.
One other food highlight from this week: tuna sandwiches for lunch! I made these for me and my mom on Monday when she was over babysitting so I could work. We split half and half so no one had to eat only the end pieces of bread. 😉 The tuna salad was just tuna + mayo + dijon mustard with some arugula. Yum!
In other news, our nanny started this week! She’s wrapping up with her other family so we had her ease in with 2 days this week – she worked Tuesday and Thursday. Next week, she will do 3 days because Monday is a federal holiday (we are giving her paid federal holidays since Matt is home those days). Then moving forward she will be here Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 8 to 6, and Friday from 8 to 2. So far, things have gone really well! I’m actually really glad now that our first nanny bailed on us because as stressful as that was, I think this one is a way better fit anyway – she’s more flexible with timing (the other nanny couldn’t stay past 4, so evening client meetings would have been tough), and she’s really lovely and patient with Riese and nice to have around the house. I feel lucky that we found her (thanks to a blog reader – so grateful)! It has been tough emotionally, though – it’s hard to let someone else that’s not family care for Riese all day. I definitely found myself feeling jealous of the nanny because she got to hang out with Riese while I was stuck working (I like my work, and I want to keep doing it, but it’s still hard). They went out for a couple stroller walks this week and I really had to not even think about it because a) I was jealous that she got to take my baby out on a fun walk, and b) it’s kind of terrifying to watch your child walk off with someone who is essentially a stranger. I mean, obviously she wouldn’t have been a nanny with amazing references for so many years if she wasn’t trustworthy, but yeah. I had to just not think too hard about it because I knew if I did I might freak out, so I was just like “Alrighty… have fun and call me if you have any issues!” and got right back to work to distract myself. I’m definitely feeling grateful that I’m able to work in and out of the home, though, and still breastfeed Riese often, even though it would maybe be a little easier emotionally to just be gone totally? I don’t know, maybe not. It’s really nice to still have a little time with her during the day, though, and I’m feeling lucky I am able to compress my work schedule to spend Wednesdays and Friday afternoons with her. I’m sure as the weeks pass we will settle into a routine and things will feel easier and more comfortable as we get used to it… but yeah. It’s hard. All the feels.
Anyway! Speaking of walks, it has been really warm here – hello, global warming – yesterday was literally 70 degrees?! I had a call at 3 that I didn’t need my computer for so I took Freyja out for a long walk while I was on the call. I actually got a tiny bit sunburned because I was in a tank top and didn’t even think to put sunscreen on – I mean, it’s February?!
It felt lovely to get some fresh air – I love taking calls while out walking if I can! I also had the chance to try out a new pair of shoes that my friends at Brooks gifted me. I’m thrilled to be working with them as a Run Happy Blogger Ambassador again for 2018, and they sent me a new pair of running shoes of my choice to kick off the partnership! I decided to mix it up from my old fave the Ravennas and go back to my very first running shoe love – the Adrenaline GTS. For awhile in recent years those shoes were feeling too bulky/stiff for me, but I tried on this new version (the Adrenaline GTS 18) at a running store last week and LOVED them – much lighter and more flexible than the older versions but still with their signature really good arch support, and I loved the color and the mesh/knit upper. (They have a TON of other color options, too.)
I can’t WAIT until I can run in these you guys – I’m having a bit of a hard time now being patient with my body in terms of running. I am so happy I can get back out to yoga and strength classes, and even though I was cleared at 4 weeks by my doctor for running I’ve been waiting because I don’t want to do anything that’s going to slow my C section recovery or set me up for issues long term. Plus, for a long time I was way too tired to want to run anyway. But now at almost 3 months post-C section I’m starting to have a bit of a hard time with patience, even though I know that’s still not really that long in the scheme of things. I attempted a block long jog while out walking Freyja the other day and it still really hurt on my incision area, which was a bummer because I guess I thought by now I might be able to slowly start to build back up to running short distances again. I know it’s all somewhat individual but… any tips/advice from my runner readers who had C sections? How soon were you able to start running again post-surgery? Did it hurt at first? I feel like I should wait until it doesn’t hurt because it seems like a bad idea to push through the pain, but is a little bit of discomfort totally normal at first?
Anyway! Brooks also gifted me a new sports bra, which I have already put to good use this week considering 3/4 of my sports bras are way too small right now. This is the FastForward CrossBack Bra and I love it! Really comfortable, supportive but not too compression-y, and I like the back enclosure vs. having to pull it over my head. It’s perfect in one size up from my normal size and so nice to have another sports bra in the mix so I don’t have to do laundry after every single workout. 😉 My only complaint is I wish the cups were sewn in vs. removable.
Lastly, thank you guys so much for the advice re: yesterday’s blog post about the tongue/lip tie situation as well as the pumping in the night situation! I usually go to bed with Riese around 8:30 or 9 (I know, I’m so cool – totally not a night owl at all) so I’m thinking for a week or so I will pump during the night if I’m really uncomfortable just to build up the freezer stash a little bit (it’s pretty sad right now), and then if she’s still sleeping okay I’ll just let my body adjust so I can sleep too. Either way, it’s soooo much better than when we had a billion wake ups a night – waking up only once feels so luxurious, even though I don’t sleep super well the second part of the night. It’s funny how perspective changes because if I got woken up for 30 minutes to an hour at 4 a.m. and then was kind of in and out of sleep for the rest of the night before having a child I’d be like, worst night’s sleep ever! And now I’m all, WINNING!! Lol.
Have a nice weekend guys! I might take Monday off since Matt has the day off – we’ll see. So I’ll either see you back here on Monday or on Tuesday! We have our appointment with the other specialist on Monday re: the tongue/lip tie, so we’ll see how that goes, but it sounds like it’s going to be worth doing the procedure based on what you guys shared. Really hoping it helps make breastfeeding easier and more efficient for the little one… stay tuned!
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