MeganStecker.com

I meant to write cup of tea, but it came out cup of teat and I felt like maybe that was applicable since I’m still breastfeeding and, well, teats are part of that? Maybe? No? It’s just delirium setting in. Mmmk, I’m alright with that.

These past few weeks… months… whatever. For the past little while I’ve had some things on my mind, so I thought, let’s have a little chat over a cup of tea (or teat if that’s what you’re into).

I’d start by telling you that I’ve been having a hard time lately. But, simultaneously enjoying my life immensely. I love being a mama more than I know how to adequately put into words and being at home with Christian and Eleanor makes me feel like life couldn’t get much better… but… if I push just beyond that I’m questioning everything, re-evaluating everything, sorting through some things that I’ve pushed aside for just a little too long. There was a big shift when I turned 30 and it absolutely blindsided me and these days I’m just trying to sort through it one thing at a time. I will say this, though, the only thing that has made this complete uncertainty any better is talking through it with the people I love. Admitting that I’m a little lost rather than keeping it all bottled up. Having great people, great friends, great family really is so good for my soul.

Next I would tell you about my recent fascination with freezer meals. The past couple weekends I’ve been making freezer meals for my sister and friend Jessica that both having babies. I’ve made an extra batch and just stored it in the freezer for us to have on hand too. There’s something immensely satisfying about freezer meals. I’m pretty sure it might have something to do with writing out the baking directions in sharpie on the foil.

Which leads me into food allergies – we are FREE of food allergies at the Stecker house. After 8 months of no gluten, dairy, soy and assorted allergens, due to Eleanor, we are officially clear and hoping to stay that way. I never wanted pizza so badly and our first reunion was oh so glorious. #bodybypizza

If we’re staying on the food train, which why would we ever leave? Then, I would ask you if you’ve ever made my favorite chocolate chip cookies. You can bet your bottom that I have made these no less than 8 times in two months. That’s approximately 1 batch per week. I want to feel sorry about it, but I’m not. Not even a little bit. Plus, if you’re feeling lazy you can just stick all the dough in a pyrex and call them cookie bars (just reduce the salt by 1 tsp. if you do).

Next I’d ask you if you’ve read Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children? I obsessively consumed the trilogy and find myself thinking back on it many months after finishing. They’re technically young adult books… but I hear 30 is technically a “young” adult… see what I did there? Anyways, we saw the movie this weekend and it was just so-so. I’d give it a 6 out of 10.  With that said, you better believe I’ll still go see any sequel that they make (please, please movie makers, make the sequels).

Lastly, I’d remind you that Christian and I have been married for five years. All I can think is, “boy that went fast”. He is the calm to my storm and the logic to my fervor. I couldn’t have dreamed up a better person to go through life with and feel incredibly lucky he’s all mine.

At this point, I’d have drained my entire cup of tea and probably need to wrap things up!

I’ve loved reading day in the life posts by some of my favorite blogger that have had children! Just as well, I thought it might be fun to look back in a few months to see what our days were like at 3 months! Here we go!

2:30 AM – I hear Eleanor whimpering/crying out in her sleep so I pull back the (warm, warm) covers and head over to re-insert her pacifier. I head to the bathroom since I’m up and double check that she’s good before going back to bed.

5:30 AM – Christian gets up to get ready for work. Eleanor starts to stir, so I get up and re-insert the pacifier and turn on the sound machine and auto-rock feature on her rock ‘n play. I cross my fingers that this will buy me a couple more hours of sleep and head back to bed. [A few minutes later Christian kisses me goodbye and heads downstairs]

7:30 AM – I hear a distinct squawking coming from the rock ‘n play. Little E’s eyes are wide open and she’s ready to roll. I drag myself out of bed, head to the bathroom and go grab her. She gets a diaper change before we settle in for her first nursing session of the day.

8:00 AM – She’s finished eating and burping. I settle her into her rock ‘n play for a few minutes so that I can pump. I’ve been pumping every morning (after her first feeding) since she was 2 weeks old which has allowed me to really build a freezer stash!

8:30 AM – It’s bath time! I gather all the necessities (towel, wash cloths, clothes, a cloth diaper) and get the bath all set up. Eleanor pees twice during her bath which means we have to drain the water and refill twice. Once she’s squeaky clean, I dry her off, lotion her up and get her dressed. Her outfit is a bit big, but I wanted to make sure that whatever I put her in would hold her cloth diaper since it was our first attempt!

9:00 AM – Nap time! I can tell that E is getting tired by a few yawns and a few cranky bouts of shouting. I wrap her in her halo swaddle sleep sack, give her a pacifier and turn on her sound machine. She’s out in a matter of minutes.

I head downstairs to put my milk in the freezer, eat breakfast (a chia pudding, coconut milk and spinach smoothie), do a quick scan of my online blog feed and check email. Today, I also put on the ending key note from Alt Summit (a recommendation from The Small Things Blog) to listen to while I get things done.

10:55 AM – Eleanor is up! I see her moving around on the monitor moments before she starts crying. I head upstairs to get her. This was a longer nap than usual, she usually sleeps for about an hour before wanting to be freed from her crib. I feed her, change her diaper and we play. She spits up multiple times (also not the norm) and I end up needing an outfit change and so does she.

We spend time looking in the mirror, playing on our tummy, dancing to some hip hop and play with some soft rattles. She’s pretty spent and starts to baby shout her disapproval.

12:30 PM – Nap time! I put her in her crib (same routine as her earlier nap) and head downstairs for some lunch (gluten-free chicken noodle soup). I’ve been texting with my friend Kelly, so I get re-caught up on the texts I hadn’t read and respond. The kitchen is a mess, so after lunch I do a few dishes and just generally pick up.

I, also, start writing this post and talk to Christian for a while during his lunch break. In between all of this, I run upstairs three different times to re-insert her pacifier. It doesn’t usually happen that many times in one nap, but today’s all about breaking the norm.

2:30 PM – She’s awake and ready to party! I head upstairs to get her. She’s awake but I can tell she’s wavering on whether she’ll stay up for good. After two bouts of falling asleep while nursing, I throw in the towel. We change her diaper and back downstairs. She plays with her little kick and play piano and we do a bit of tummy time as well as walk to the mailbox to drop off some mail. The rest of the time I listen to her tell me stories and we dance around the family room.

4:00 PM – Nap time! I take her and put her in her crib (same routine as her earlier naps) and head back downstairs. I carry some things to the basement, start a load of laundry and begin thinking about dinner (honey dijon chicken with broccoli and quinoa)… I better get a head start before she wakes up and needs to eat!

5:15 PM – She’s up! I spend 15 minutes trying to get her back to sleep, no go. Time for a diaper change and feeding. We head downstairs so that I can turn the stove on and put the broccoli in the oven. Once she’s done eating I put her on her play mat so I can finish dinner!

6:05 PM – Christian is home! He takes Eleanor with him to get changed while I finish dinner. She’s pretty happy for a few minutes, but starts squawking around 6:15. We put her in the swing while we sit down to have some dinner.

6:45 PM – Eleanor is dozing in her swing and we’re watching the latest episode of Castle. During a commercial break we pause to get Rick Krispy treat. The dogs take big time advantage of snuggling their parents while Eleanor takes a nap. We try to give them a little extra love at night to make up for giving their sister more attention these days.

7:15 PM – I give Eleanor a little snack while Christian and I watch TV. I play with her for a bit and hope that she’ll doze a little more before we head upstairs for the night. No go. We end up dancing with her, swaying around the room and trying all manner of activities to keep her happy rather than crying.

8:30 PM – We start wrapping things up downstairs – packing up leftovers, getting Christian’s lunch ready for the next day and doing dishes. We wash all the pump parts and head upstairs.

8:45 PM – Christian and I brush our teeth and I wash my face. Eleanor gets a diaper change and we put her in some footie pajamas. She usually plays with us for a bit before we give her a final feeding.

9:15 – Time for her last feed of the day! I fill up her tummy, burp her and then wrap her in her swaddle sack before putting her in the rock ‘n play for the night.

9:45 PM – I get in bed and read and do a final scan of my email I’m trying to stop checking email at bed time, but its a hard habit to break! After a few minutes of that I pick up my book. I’m currently ready the Josephine B. trilology — I’m a sucker for historical fiction and this is no different.

10:45 PM – Lights out! So we can start all over again tomorrow!

Each day is different. Her napping schedule and temperament will seem consistent until it’s not — tis the way of babies! We also usually have a few outings during the week and definitely some visitors, we just happened to be on our own yesterday!

I sure love every minute at home with Ms. E and couldn’t be more grateful to have her as my girl.

 

 

 

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

When I found out I was pregnant I was cautiously optimistic, but also THRILLED. Even through the extreme food aversions, nausea and other less pleasant pregnancy symptoms, I was happy to be pregnant and nothing was going to stop me.

Despite my quest to savor and enjoy as many moments of pregnancy as possible, there were still moments where I felt rough, exhausted or just plain uncomfortable. There’s only so much smiling you can do when you’re back feels like it may crack in half and the thought of eating makes you gag. It’s even harder to smile when all you want to do is sleep, but you know that you’ll never get comfortable… meaning there’s no end in sight to your insomnia.

There were, however, a few key things that helped (my tried and true buddies) me get through the rough patches. And those, pregnancy superheroes were:

1. Bump Nest. The whale roll is a real thing. Trying to turn a full sized, pregnant mammal while readjusting for comfort was pretty darn near impossible. I’d shimmy around trying to find the position of least suffering, all while moving my army of pillows to support me. It was a pain, quite literally. Enter the bump nest. This thing saved my pregnant life each night from about 16 to 32 weeks (at 32 weeks, all sleeping bets were off). It was great in both belly and back support and was easy to turn after one of my many night time bathroom trips. The only cons: that both sides weren’t full length and that the portion under my knees deflated a bit after a while.
2. Life Factory Water Bottle. You know you have a hydration problem when your doctor comes in and tells you that your urine is high in ketones and that you had better giddy-up on the daily water intake. I hauled this water bottle around with me just about everywhere and filled it up at least 6-7 times a day. Plus, I loved that it wasn’t plastic. As a personal policy, I try to avoid plastic when I can.
3. Reed’s Ginger Candy. For starters, I loved these things even when I wasn’t pregnant. However, my nausea in the first trimester garnered them an even higher ranking. They’re delicious and the ginger really helped to settle my stomach when I was having a hard time getting anything down.
4. Breville Juicer. The food aversions were real. No chicken, no vegetables, no big hunks of meat… the list could go on. By the end of pregnancy I was convinced that I would probably never eat vegetables or chicken again and I was truly sad about it. In order to make sure I got some sort of fruit/veggie nutrients, we bought a juicer. I faithfully drank (or gagged down) a glass of juice each day from week 7 or 8 until the third trimester. If you’re having a hard time getting anything of real nutritional value down, I would highly suggest investing in one of these bad boys.
5. Ritz Bits Peanut Butter. I turn to peanut butter Ritz Bits whenever there’s an emotional high or low in my life. They’re like an old comfy sweatshirt on a bad day or a big glass of bubbly for the carb addicted on a good day. So, it was no surprise to me that I turned to them during each phase of my pregnancy. They’re the perfect food when you need a little something to stave off nausea. They’re the perfect snack. They’re the perfect little treat to kill a few minutes. Really, there isn’t a bad time to eat these.
6. Stash Lemon Ginger Tea. I have a huge drawer in my kitchen devoted solely to tea. I like tea. I’ve turned to fertility tea when I was trying to get pregnant, I drink throat coat when I’m sick, I drink green tea because it tastes delicious and because it’s good for you. Which means, that I turned to lemon ginger tea to help with my nausea… and it helped (at least a little).
7. Belli Elasticity Belly Oil. I rubbed this oil all over my abdomen each and every night. I still came out of pregnancy with stretch marks, but I’m pretty sure it could have been worse. It smelled good and definitely left my skin soft. I liked the belly oil so much that I also used their facial products during pregnancy too!

Even though my sweet girl is here, I still miss being pregnant. It’s such an incredible experience… both pregnancy and motherhood. What were your favorite items when you were pregnant? What made your life easier/more comfortable.