Hi friends! Happy Monday – it’s kind of hard to keep track of the days of the week right now when the days and nights (and weekdays and weekends) blend together! I think one of the strangest things about a big life change like having a baby is realizing the rest of the world is going on like usual. I’m reminded of this anytime we get out and about! It’s like, “but, my whole world is totally different – how can everything else be the same?!”
We spent most of the weekend being cozy, although yesterday our friends Zach and Kathleen stopped by with lunch and to meet baby Riese! It was great to see them – I miss seeing Kathleen at least once a week for our early morning workout dates! Also, the homemade chicken noodle soup she made us was deeelish.
Shout out to my mom for helping us clean up our disaster of a house (and for holding Riese while I showered – Matt was out walking Freyja) before they came over! It’s amazing how hard it is to keep the house even relatively in order when you have a newborn. Obviously I knew our friends would understand but I didn’t want them to show up and have things be a total hot mess and us be unshowered… I feel better if I’m at least somewhat put together! My mom texted us in the morning to see how we were doing and I was like “Well, our friends are coming over in 2 hours and the house is a huge mess and both of us need to shower and I need breakfast and Riese needs to be fed and Freyja needs a walk… help!!” We are SO lucky to have her nearby. She has been doing all sorts of errands, laundry, dish washing, and baby holding for us over the past 2 weeks! Thank you mom!! She has also been baking me various nursing snacks – I’m working on being more proactive about having food nearby before I’m stuck in a chair and starving with nothing in reach while feeding Riese. The latest baked good she made was my Red Lentil Granola Bars (<- recipe)… yum!
Some other eats from the weekend included some fried eggs (with the yolk SUPER runny – ah, I missed that while pregnant!) plus bacon and leftover squash:
Plus some leftover make-your-own-salad with avocado toast and butternut squash soup.
My friend Mary came over late last week and brought us these fun make your own salad ingredients for lunch – and left us with a big batch of homemade soup and a loaf of homemade bread, too! Thank you Mary! 🙂 I could get used to all these fun visits and food deliveries… 😉
I’ll talk more later this week about what we’ve been eating lately – stay tuned!
In other news, it snowed here on Saturday – our first of the season! Who else got snow this weekend? It feels like it was early, but I guess that’s just because it has been so mild over the past couple weeks.
I stayed cozy indoors with Riese all day on Saturday while it was snowing, so by Sunday I was ready to get out and about! We took a family walk in the afternoon sunshine – fresh air still makes SUCH a difference with boosting my mood.
Also – I’m obsessed with the vest that Brooks sent me to test out that I’m wearing in the photo! I LOVE vests for running and walking because I tend to overheat easily, and this way my arms can get some air while my core stays warm. I have a vest from 4 years ago from Brooks that I really love but they hadn’t come out with one I loved as much recently, until now! It’s the Cascadia Thermal Vest – SO comfortable, just the right amount of weight, wind resistant, insulated, lots of pockets, and super cute, too. 🙂 It also comes in jacket form. I wanted to be sure to mention it now in case you want to put it on your Christmas lists! And speaking of Christmas lists, if you want more ideas, I’m not doing a new gift guide this year because I looked back at last year’s and it’s basically still all the main stuff I’d recommend! So, check out my holiday gift guide for foodies, runners, and fitness fans if you’re looking for some ideas! And one more thing – if you are a runner with lots of gently worn shoes/apparel around looking for somewhere to donate them, check out Soles 4 Souls – it’s a great way to give back this holiday season. And if there’s not a drop off location near you, you can donate via Zappos for Good. Thanks to Brooks for the heads up about these great programs! <3
I will leave you with two things. First, this cute photo – Riese seems to like being smushed up against the guitar while Matt plays music for her – too cute! <3
And second, a few links based on questions I got from my the first 2 weeks blog post:
- Regarding my hair, I let it air dry (I brush it in the shower with the conditioner in, but then once I rinse it out and get out of the shower I don’t brush it again), then I use this curling iron (1 inch version) to add some waves to the front and top pieces. It’s a pricey curling iron but it’s THE best I’ve found. Highly recommend.
- For my expectant mamas who were curious, this is the nursing nightgown I loved – I’m actually wearing it right now! It’s really soft and cozy and I love it now that we are home, but it was especially amazing when in the hospital. Like I said it was basically the only thing from my hospital bag (besides toiletries and our going home outfits) that I actually used. The only other things I’d make sure you have on hand if you want to breastfeed is cooling gel pads (the lactation consultants in the hospital gave me a sample of these – ask for some but buy more to have waiting at home – and they were AMAZING when I was having some pain from the early feeding poor latch situation – I wore them nonstop for a week and a half). Just wipe off your breast with some warm water before you feed the baby in case any residue is left, and don’t use them with any lotion or nipple cream – they won’t be as effective. I’d also suggest getting some bra liners so you don’t leak through everything you own once your milk comes in. These organic bamboo nursing pads are washable/reusable and great for wearing overnight, and I also have these disposable nursing pads to wear when out and about just in case I want to swap them out – they are also less obvious than those first ones since they are much smaller/thinner.
- For breastfeeding pillows, some of you noticed that I have two – the boppy (the infant feeding size – it’s pretty small so once they are a little older you use it as a prop/lounger) and the brestfriend. The brestfriend is nice because it has a little more support (it has a back portion) and I like using it when in a chair. If I’m feeding her somewhere where I want to recline a bit after, though, I like the boppy because it doesn’t have a back so it’s easier to reposition without waking the baby!
And speaking of all this feeding – my back and my hips are really hurting from all the awkward sitting and lying down… I thought my hip pain from sleeping on my side would go away after pregnancy (that’s when it started hurting, and I figured it was because of the extra weight/awkward front belly), but my hips ache just as badly now after I sleep on my side as they did when pregnant. Argh! I have a pillow between my legs but it doesn’t seem to matter. Did anyone else have this problem? Thoughts? I always used to sleep on my side pre-pregnancy and never used to have this issue. Any advice is welcome!
Have a nice day guys!
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