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Edison’s First Trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific!

As I mentioned in my post yesterday (seen here), our little guy has taken quite a liking to aquariums (and animals in general!). My husband, my parents and I have been excited about the idea of bringing him to the Aquarium of the Pacific for a while now, but we figured we would have to wait until he was a little older for it to be interesting to him. After he took such a strong interest in his crib aquarium toy, we decided to go to the aquarium and see how he liked it. We all went on Monday, and for a baby just shy of 8 weeks old, he was shockingly enthralled with all of the sea animals! I think he barely blinked the entire time we were there. :) He had the best time hanging out with Grandpa, looking at all the fish and other animals!

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At the end of the day…all worn out from his adventure. :)

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Turkey, Quinoa & Mixed Veggies Casserole

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One thing that I used to make fairly regularly for dinner before our son was born was a turkey and couscous casserole. Since there are quite a few things that I am now avoiding eating after noticing reactions from the baby via my breastmilk, I am trying to modify some of my old standbys so they are now free of wheat gluten, dairy & soy (as well as no egg or chicken for my own allergies). Since couscous is made from wheat, I decided to try using quinoa instead. Very similar to the couscous I am used to using, but it has the added benefits of being higher in protein and gluten-free!

I started by cooking four servings of quinoa in water in a medium saucepan. In a separate pan, I added some olive oil, two cloves minced garlic and half a package of ground turkey. I cooked the turkey until opaque, then added in about a cup and a half of beef broth. After that, I added in a variety of veggies: red and yellow baby tomatoes, chopped yellow squash (blanched and frozen from the garden), peeled and chopped sweet potatoes, and baby spinach. Once the quinoa was finished cooking, I added that into the mix as well, added salt & pepper to taste, and cooked for a few more minutes. Super easy, and I had extras to save for later!

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Finally Loving Tummy Time!

Little Edison had hated his daily tummy time like many babies. He loves looking at the big aquarium in the pediatrician’s waiting room, and loves looking at our little frogs. His Grandma got him this little crib aquarium toy, and now he actually loves doing his tummy time while he stares at the sea animals moving around. He loves it so much, we thought it would be fun to bring him to the Aquarium of the Pacific! We went on Monday, and he was so fascinated by all the fish and sea creatures. :) Pictures from his adventure coming soon!

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What I Wore: Accessorizing the New-Mom Style

I have quickly realized that being a new mom comes with some unexpected extras…things like dark under-eye circles and hair that is often dirtier than you would like. Instead of giving up all hope of feeling/looking decent, I am trying to learn to accessorize around these fun little extras. Great shades and concealer hide the dark circles, and fun hats and dry shampoo help get you through between washes. My hair takes forever to blow dry and straighten, so on one occasion I even had to ask my mom to come help with the baby so I could just get my hair washed. :) The little guy does not like to nap which does not leave me much time to do things that take a long time.

Button down shirts worn over nursing camisoles are really starting to be very useful for nursing the baby. I wore another scarf here that was great as a nursing cover. I generally am not a big fan of button-down shirts since they tend to make me look huge and boxy, but I have found that as long as I belt it or tuck in at least part of the shirt, it really helps me feel like I am not drowning in the shirt.

These new flats are amazingly comfortable and feel like I am walking on a cloud! I love them. :) I also discovered an added accessory bonus this day…sparkly bracelets are great for keeping the baby occupied during diaper changes! He watched my wrists moving around and glittering, and before he had time to make a fuss, the diaper was changed!

Hat: Forever 21
Sunglasses: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Scarf: H&M
Blouse: Nordstrom
Nursing camisole: Motherhood Maternity
Sweater: Anthropologie
Pants: Anthropologie
Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Shoes: Dr. Scholl’s

Edison is wearing FAO Schwarz and a hat from H&M.

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What I Wore: Learning to dress for style & function

It has been a long, long time since I have done a fashion post! The last one I did was actually shot in the first week of my pregnancy with Edison, before we realized I was pregnant. :) I quickly started feeling way too sick with all-day-long morning sickness to be in the mood to take any pictures. I would have liked to have done a couple of maternity style posts, but once I started to actually look pregnant, I was on bed rest by then. Putting the pregnancy at risk in order to get some pictures was so not an option. Besides, the only time I was wearing anything other than my grandma’s baggy sweat suits was on my brief trips to my doctor’s appointments. :)

For my first 7 weeks postpartum (after I left the hospital), I pretty much lived in one of my pairs of leggings and one of my baggy black tees or tanks. I had a hard time wearing much of anything else because of the bulky binders I was wearing to help support my pelvic bones. I had to dress strictly for function, and started to feel like I was wearing a uniform each day.

Now that I am feeling a little better (and have stopped wearing the Velcro/elastic contraptions), I am starting to try to learn how to dress for this new phase in my life. I need clothes that are accessible and breastfeeding-friendly. I also don’t want to wear a bunch of dry-clean only clothes since I always end up with spit-up and other things on me daily. I figured that once I lost the majority of the 40+ pounds I gained during my pregnancy that most of my pre-pregnancy clothes would fit me again. I only have about 10 pounds of that weight left, and almost none of my clothes fit. Pregnancy completely changed my body in ways I did not expect. My hip bones widened significantly, and my rib cage expanded by over 10 inches during the pregnancy. I hoped that they would go back down after the pregnancy, and they have a little, but I definitely have a completely different shape now. I also have the new challenge of not being ready to wear heels or wedges yet thanks to the lingering pain in the ligaments between my legs and pelvis. Until those are healed up a little better, all of my outfits have to look good with flats, which is a big change from what I am used to wearing.

Both of my guys have been very patient lately as we have spent much of our weekend time trying to find things for my new-mommy wardrobe. First order of business was a new purse that will work with almost anything. I don’t want to ruin any of my nice vintage bags with any kind of baby-related stain, and I needed something that could be worn over my shoulder or cross-body. I wanted something easy to clean, a great neutral color, big enough to hold a burp rag and a few other baby essentials. Sometimes the diaper bag is just too much for a quick trip, or I need something more accessible when the diaper bag is in the bottom storage compartment of the stroller. I ended up finding the perfect solution…this Marc by Marc Jacobs bag that actually matches my diaper bag. :) It even has two straps so it can be worn cross-body or over the shoulder! It is quilted nylon, and wipes clean so easily. I am so in love with this bag. :) Expect to see it with pretty much all of my upcoming fashion posts.

After we found the purse, the next order of business was finding some clothes that fit my new shape. I am a total high-low shopper, and love shopping at a wide range of places. One of my favorite things to do is spend an afternoon digging through some of my favorite thrift stores to find some great pieces. This outfit is perfect for an afternoon of thrift store shopping. Some thrift stores don’t have the best dressing rooms, so I love to wear a base layer that I can try things on with. I start with a black nursing tank and black leggings, and add on top of that. The baby is not a big fan of the nursing cover, so I have been wearing scarves that I can use as a nursing cover as much as possible. That way he can still keep his one eye watching me like he enjoys doing, and I can cover up a little. :)

Over my leggings and nursing camisole, I added a button-down tunic, that allows for easy access, a large vintage scarf nipped in at the waist with a vintage belt, and ballet flats. It worked out perfectly for our day of thrifting and shopping.

Scarf: vintage (was my Grandma’s, from one of their many vacations)
Belt: vintage
Tunic: H&M
Sunglasses: vintage
Leggings: Still wearing my maternity leggings since they do not rub on my c-section incision which is still sore. Brand is unknown but they were from Macy’s.
Nursing Tank: Motherhood Maternity
Shoes: Chinese Laundry
Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs

Edison is wearing H&M Kids, from their organic collection. :)

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Baby Edison – “I prayed for this child”

Time has been flying by lately. I feel like I am trying to play catchup after so many months of inactivity. I spent most of last week trying to catch up on almost two months of housework that had to get put aside while I recovered from the extreme Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction pain, as well as recovering from my c-section as well. One of these days, I want to start working on really recovering my garden as well, but that will take a bit more time. Whenever I have a few free moments, I have been trying to finish working on processing all of the pictures from baby Edison’s newborn sessions that I shot. I am extremely proud of the session that I posted on our photography blog today…be sure to take a look (link here)!

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Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soy-free, Egg-free Tomato/Prosciutto Pizza Recipe

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For the most part, our baby boy has been feeling better now that the dairy and soy seemed to have worked their way out of my system and his. However, after snacking on a bunch of tortillas one evening, I noticed that his stomach started getting really upset again. He didn’t have all of the extreme symptoms he was getting from the dairy & soy, but it was still enough to raise a few red flags for me. I decided to try to add wheat gluten to my list of potential allergens to avoid while breastfeeding. I was really craving some pizza, so I decided to try making one from scratch that would not have any gluten, dairy, soy, or egg in it. Seems like a tall order and that the result would not be worthwhile, right? It came out amazing! I cannot wait to make this again. Just as good, if not better than any “regular” pizza that I have had in a while!

Ingredients:
3 fresh artichokes
1 package Bob’s Red Mill Pizza Dough Flour
1/2 large tomato
handful of basil leaves
Earth Balance Soy-Free Margarine
Daiya dairy-free soy-free cheese
Two slices of prosciutto

I started by steaming a few artichokes from our garden. Next I started preparing Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Dough Mix, and made the dough according to the instructions. Since I have an egg allergy, I used Ener-G Egg Replacer instead of real eggs.

After the initial short baking of the crust, I brushed on some melted Earth Balance Soy-Free Margarine with a pastry brush, all over the crust. Then I sprinkled on some Daiya dairy-free and soy-free mozzarella cheese. I added some thinly sliced tomato and julienned basil. I removed the leaves from the artichoke hearts (and saved the leaves to eat while the pizza finished cooking), and broke up the artichoke hearts into chunks and added on top of the pizza. I cooked for the remainder of the time recommended on the dough flour package.

Once I removed the pizza from the oven, I finished by adding the julienned prosciutto slices. I added the prosciutto at the end so it didn’t end up overcooked. The end result was amazing…I can’t wait to make it again! On a side note, you could always leave the prosciutto off for a great vegan option. :)