RAINY DAY CHOCO OATMEAL COOKIES

I'm finally off from work... and of course the forecast is RAIN 3/5 days and 70s ALL WEEK. So much for my beach plans! What better way to kick off the staycation than baking cookies on a rainy day! I had no eggs in the house, and I also wanted to sneak in some oatmeal into the cookies without actually tasting them... but I only had old fashioned rolled oats. Luckily rolled oats can be used for ANYTHING.

I ended up moving the mixer to the floor because we don't have enough counter space for my helper to be helpful!

RECIPE

1 cup of butter (2 sticks)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup boiling water

2 cups oat

1 bag of chocolate chips

- beat butter, sugars & vanilla until light and fluffy

- add flour, salt

- dissolve baking soda in boiling water and mix

- add oat and choco chips

- preheat to 350 and bake 10-12 minutes. (uncreased sheet- this recipe is basically all butter anyway!)

- cool before moving cookies

Always my #1 helper

Emilia is amazed at the kitchen-aid. Honestly, so am I!

Adding choco chips

eating cookie dough!! Benefits of eggless dough!

Soft, chewy chocolatey deliciousness!!

Homemade baby food pouches

I never pictured myself as an organic, homemade pureed mom... but here I am, making Emilias babyfood and then packaging them into pouches!! Honestly, it can be a little time consuming and I don't always have that much time to do it. I spend the morning/afternoon on my day off making these pouches and hope that I have enough for the week and hopefully into the week after. I steam all the veggies and whatever I don't get the chance to puree, I will freeze. My mom will help me steam veggies and meats to freeze. 

Some of Emilia's favorite puree combos:

- butternut squash OR kobacha squash + yams + carrots

- green peas + squash + carrots

- white beans + carrots + broccoli  + yams

- yogurt + berries + banana  (because berries alone are too tart)

- white rice porridge can be added to any puree also ( although not my favorite because it makes the mixture thicker and sticky)

*when starting out, I did only veggie purees. Slowly started adding meat into the mix.. chicken, shrimp, fish, beef. THANK GOD SHE LOVES IT ALL!!

- I use the Infantino squeeze pouches for Emilia because the plastic is soft and its easy for her to squeeze and suck out the food by herself. The squeeze station is also a super efficient way to fill the pouches. I love that the pouches are clear so you can see what is inside, AND the pouches are disposable (not reusable) so its convenient when you're on the go. You can also freeze the pouches and it melts within minutes of placing in hot water... so that's a plus also! Only bad thing is non-recyclable, so may NOT be the best for the environment. 

Filled Infantino Squeeze pouches 

She loves her pouches! I also put on a silicone topper so she wouldn't squeeze out all the contents of the pouch. 

Infantino Squeeze Station 

For Henry, I use the little green pouch because it is reusable. It is easy to clean with a brush and because it is top fill, and side squeeze, the chances of food spilling out are very slim!! Other reusable pouches are bottom fill, so if you overfill or don't close the pouch tightly, food will spill out. Because it is reusable, the plastic is a little stiffer so you have to such harder to get the food out. Emilia is unable to eat from this pouch efficiently. I have to squeeze the food out for her to help her eat it. 

Henry basically uses these pouches for snacks. his favorite combos include:

- yogurt + berries + banana + honey

- yam + carrots + squash

*he will also eat anything Emilia eats in puree form, unfortunately, he will not eat the veggies on a plate!!

Are you having a C-section?

The though of having a C-section can be very scary, but not if you are WELL PREPARED! If your first C-section was an emergent C-section after a failed trial of labor, your planned section will be a much different and hopefully MORE PLEASANT experience.

We use SPINALS for C-sections.

What is an SPINAL? It is ONE SHOT (!!)  into your back and the local anesthetic is injected directly into the subdural space. To get a spinal, you're in sitting position and your back is cleaned. The numbing medication feels like getting the flu shot at your doctors office. The spinal med is injected and within 5 seconds, your legs get warm, tingly and numb. You won't be able to move your legs for couple of hours.

The risk vs benefits of a spinal are SOOO LOW. The risks involved are the same as with Epidural (see previous post). The drop in blood pressure is more dramatic with spinal because onset is so much faster. With the drop in blood pressure, you may experience nausea and vomiting but it is easily treated. The risk of a high spinal, where your diaphragm and respiratory muscles are weakened, is also higher with spinal than epidural. As long as you have supplemental oxygen and your pulse oximeter is reading normal, you are fine!!

LASTLY, I always advise my friends to watch one C-section video on youtube. Once you have your spinal and you are comfortable, the operating room team will allow dad to come inside (must wear disposable scrubs, hat and mask!) to sit next to you.
If you go into the operating room knowing what to see and expect, you will be less nervous. Don't worry, you will not allowed to look over the "blue drapes" to watch the actual C-section!

GOOD LUCK!

Should I get an epidural?

YES!!! Absolutely!! Rest as much as possible, while you can!

I spent the day on L&D, and thought this would be the perfect entry!! ALL my patients were jumping off the wall anxious today, so in the hopes of alleviating others' fear, here is my post on epidurals.

What is an EPIDURAL? Epidural is used for laboring patients. The skin on your back is numbed up with local anesthetic (feels like a flu shot) & the epidural needle is placed (don't worry- you don't see it). When your anesthesia a provider (M.D. or CRNA) finds the right (epidural) space, a small, thin, super flexible catheter is placed and the needle is taken out. You will receive continuous epidural meds through the catheter until the baby is born and then the cather is taken out.You will be numb from your bellybutton down but will be able to move your legs. Strength in the legs will be decreased, so you will not be able to walk around. Takes about 10 minutes for the effects to fully set. You might have heard of a "walking epidural", but for liability issues, no L&D will allow you to walk around with an epidural. You may be TOO COMFORTABLE so that you may not feel the need to push when you are fully dilated. Your anesthia provider (M.D. or CRNA) can decrease the dose so you are able to FEEL the contractions more.
If you need to get a C-section after a trial of labor, a much stronger med is given through the epidural cather and it can be used for the Section.

When can I get an epidural? ASAP! Sooner the better (from the point of the anesthesiologist). Especially if your ob is starting Pitocin. The recommendation used to be 1-2L of IV fluids before epidural or spinal, so the nurse will put in an IV and give you fluids before calling the anesthesiology. Now its recommended to "co-load" instead of "pre-load".

It's OK to be nervous! My birth plan was: HAVE A HEALTHY BABY & GET AN EPIDURAL.
 I place epidurals for laboring patients ALL THE TIME. BUT when it was my turn to be the patient, I was still a LITTLE nervous. JUST a LITTLE.

NO, an epidural: 

• DOES NOT harm the baby
• DOES NOT slow the progression of labor
• DOES NOT cause nerve damage
• DOES NOT cause back pain

Risks involved:

• bleeding (but not any higher than with IV placement)
• infection (but not any higher than with IV placement)
• headache
• incomplete relief

Waiting for my epidural

Emilia, less than 12 hours old!