I don't know what got into me, but I was a baking fiend on Tuesday. I just had this drive to cook like wild. Now I didn't snap shots of my banana nut bread (which was a hit at Kyle's work~ he brought home an empty dish) or my Chex Mix (seriously, nothing too fancy there). I did document two new dishes I undertook. The first is a French dish that we enjoyed once with our friends,
the Reindls. Lauren, a pastry chef extraordinaire, introduced us to the clafoutis. Kyle and I had a lot of blueberries and strawberries that we thought would be perfect in it.
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| My aunt Pam gave me this treasure. Kyle & I love our Julia cookbooks. |
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| She calls this dish a fruit flan, but I think it's inaccurate. WordReference.com calls it "fruit baked in batter". That's definitely a good description; it's like an enormous sweet and fruity pancake. |
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| My back-up dishes after I broke that one the other day.... |
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| Yummy fruit & blended batter |
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| Tiny treats |
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| All we need is a dusting of powdered sugar and some friends to enjoy it! |
As for a surprise dinner for Kyle, I whipped up a Giada recipe for twice baked potatoes. I substituted some cheese and left out the prosciutto and parsley, but they were still awesome.
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| Underneath that layer of cheese is a ridiculous mixture of mushroom, onion, garlic, creme fraiche, more cheese and (of course) potato. I need to make this one for Miss Foo sometime... |
I think a natural segue would be to look at my belly. After all these good eats, surely I must look more pregnant. Seriously though, I am at the point where I can tell a difference from week to week. I just feel really big all the time. On a different note, I had lost some of my fitness momentum when it got so ridiculously hot this month. I've been active but not really in a way I can keep track of. This week I decided to hit the gym and get used to relying completely on walking on a treadmill in an air conditioned room. I've also been doing some squats and lifting 5lb. weights to strengthen these arms for serious baby lifting and holding.
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| I didn't change out of my workout clothes before capturing these precious moments. |
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| This may be the most comfortable outfit I own at this stage in the game (33 weeks). |
I talked to a midwife this week who recommended I get a little more serious about planning for the natural birth (turns out my hope and dependence on alternative pain killers during labor don't hold a candle to that all mighty epidural...). So with that, I turn to you, my web community, for tips and resources for going natural. I'm not wild about taking another class~ are there videos you'd recommend for practicing at home? I need to get serious about preparation at this point instead of just dreading having to bring this baby into the world the hard way.... Help me!
2 comments:
ON going natural...I'm sure there are videos somewhere, mostly about positions during labor.
I have some books I could drop off sometime if you'd like to borrow them...just e-mail me. One is Ina May's Spiritual Midwifery, another is the Dr. Sears' birth book which has pictures of all those labor positions, and I think I have the Bradley Guide to Childbirth...
Since I've already had a C and then a VBAC I kind of feel like these can't really help me now...so you are welcome to borrow them! I feel like I've been keeping up with you vicariously through your blog but would love to chat in person sometime soon! We've been meaning to have you both over for dinner and banjo-playing soon, though I can't say the meal would be quite as delicious as the one you just described making! I know you (nor I) can make too many plans in advance these days, but I thought I'd still offer!
You look GREAT by the way. I'm at 35 weeks and so much more way huge than you! Trust me.
I had my first child naturally and am planning to have my second (any day now) naturally. I took a Bradley Method class (highly recommend it), but since you aren't wanting to take a class I would recommend a book on Bradley Method. I like "Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way" revised edition by Susan McCutcheon. It is super informative with helpful pictures. Bradley Method is also referred to as Husband Coached, to help if you are googleing it.
The main tenant of Bradley Method are relaxing. When you relax all of your muscles (except the uterus which is working hard) you allow your body to move the baby into position and prepare itself without fighting it. BM doesn't promise a pain free delivery but it is possible. Contractions are not comfortable. The book describes what your body is going through at every stage of labor. I found it super helpful to think of this process and to visualize it during labor. The book also has lot of relaxation techniques for you and Kyle to practice.
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