Guacamole and Simple Quesadillas

Avocadoes are full of healthy fat that is so necessary for building a healthy baby and breastfeeding.  Toddlers generally love them too.

Guacamole
2-3 ripe avocadoes (cut them open and scrape the flesh out with a fork)
juice of one lemon
2 cloves of garlic (optional) - minced or pressed
1 teaspoon of cumin
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients in a bowl with a fork or potato masher.  You can use a blender too, but I prefer the chunky consistency from the fork. Serve on top of quesadillas or with veggies, tortilla chips or on sandwiches.

Quesadillas
4 tortillas
1 cup of cheese- mozzarella, feta, cheddar or a combination
1-2 cups of well chopped veggies - peppers, spinach and green onions are some favourites
1 cup of protein - precooked beans, chicken, shrimp or ground beef.
Hot sauce to taste

Fill tortillas with ingredients, fold over and bake in toaster oven or oven for 10 mins.  Smother with guacamole.

Hummus Recipe

I am going to post some recipes on my blog, as requested by my doula clients, Birthing from Within class participants and friends.  

Hummus

Hummus is so easy to make.  It keeps for about a week and is great to have in the fridge to give you the healthy calories you need when pregnant and breastfeeding.. It is one of the best foods for calcium absorption and is an excellent source of protein and fibre. Best of all it is easy to make and tastes great. Serve with pita, flat bread, crackers or raw vegetables or use it as a sandwich spread.

Ingredients:

1 large can of chickpeas, drained

¼ cup tahini (sesame paste)

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of 1 lemon

Sea salt to taste (pregnant women need more salt, to build amniotic fluid and increase their blood volume)

2-3 tsp zatar spice (mix of thyme, sesame and sea salt)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

Directions:
• Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.

• Add additional olive oil if needed to achieve the right consistency.

• Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired.

adapted from www.cookbooksandrecipes.com

Mothers

Julie and Ellie - Early Days

Happy Mother's Day.  What a lovely opportunity to take a few minutes to reflect on ourselves as mothers or mothers-to-be.

How do we let go of the judgement that we feel from the world around us, and more importantly the self-judgement?

Learning to say: "I am doing the best I can with the resources and knowledge I have and moving forward."

Learning to let go of the organic quinoa falafel cakes we saw on Pinterest, but never baked. Let go of the parenting book we didn't have time to read.


Let go of feeling guilty about yelling at our 3 year old for digging up the section of the garden we just planted and putting pine needles in the watering can -- eventually even letting go of the yelling (maybe).

Instead, how do we learn to embrace the early morning request for a group hug with mommy, daddy and 6 stuffed animals and hold on tight for an extra minute, instead of rushing off to make breakfast?

How do we give in and relax at the idea that our 3 week old needs to nurse for six hours straight, put up our feet and read a juicy novel, while he lies on our chest?

Julie and Ellie - Today

During pregnancy, how do we prepare for birth and motherhood in ways that nourish us, whether it is preparing a special place in our home for our baby, or in our hearts.

I am off to enjoy my daughter's company.  I hope that everyone has a wonderful day.

Pain and intensity are an inevitable part of birth...

...yet much can be done to ease suffering.

Often during pregnancy, people share stories of their birth experiences.  Sometimes these stories give us a sense of how exciting birth can be, of the amazing accomplishment of bringing a baby into the world. 

Unfortunately, sometimes people who tell these stories had a birth that was scary for them, where they suffered.  Hearing these scary experiences, the pregnant parents naturally look for a way to avoid something similar for themselves. 

One Birthing from Within principle is to help parents recognize that pain and intensity are inevitable during birth, and to focus on what we can do to ease suffering, which is the story that we tell ourselves about the pain.

Learning ways to cope can change a scary experience into an awesome one.  It is not about removing the pain, but about seeing it differently and being able to handle it. Some of the pain-coping methods we practice in class are extensions of what women will naturally do when in labour.  The reason I teach them is allow both parents a chance to understand how they work and to practice them, so that they come naturally, even in difficult situations.

Tips on pain-coping during labour:

·         Sometimes mothers are exhausted and might find it helpful to be ‘talked through’ a couple of contractions.

·         Partners - DO NOT tell her to ‘breathe’ or ‘relax’.  Birth is not relaxing.  Encourage her to rest in between contractions.

·         Parents practice together before the birth and find out what works for her.

·         If nothing is working, do something completely different!

What about epidurals?  Many women get epidurals and some will tell about how the birth was terrible until they got the epidural.   When epidurals work properly, they provide almost complete pain relief.   However, there are potentially major risks involved.  In my Birthing from Within Class, we discuss the epidural as one pain-coping tool.

Unexpected events happen during birth and the more preparation you do, the better you will cope.   Labour is painful, and getting through may or may not include an epidural.  Sometimes, even if you plan to get it, the epidural is not available or it doesn’t work correctly.  Having a variety of strategies to cope with pain will help you adapt regardless of the situation and to feel more positive about the entire birth experience.

In my classes, we spend at least 5 hours on pain-coping (1/3 of class time).  This article is intended to give some generally help, regardless of whether you take a Birthing from Within Class.  Practice of pain-coping and integration into your daily life will great increase how effectively you are able to use it during labour.  Hiring a doula who understands pain-coping can help too!

This article originally appeared in the Nuturer, Mommy Connections Lethbridge (March 2012)

Lethbridge City and Baby Trade Show

We are sponsoring this trade show, taking place Saturday, March 3.

For more info and to see our blog post on their page click here.

We hope to see you there.

Returning from Birth

This article originally appeared in The Nurturer - a publication of Mommy Connections Lethbridge

Giving birth is a journey.  During pregnancy we prepare.  This preparation might include taking classes, reading books, preparing the baby’s room, having a baby shower and other types of more personal, emotional preparation.

The birth itself is a transition - from the self you were before to the birth of yourself as a mother.  There is a lot of focus in our culture on the well being and experience of the baby. It is equally important that you, as the mother, are nurtured and supported in your new role.  Surround yourself with people who will protect and support you in the first few days and weeks postpartum, while you are learning your new role.

As you learn to recognize yourself as a mom, you may start to wonder what happened to the ‘old you’.  Where is the woman who went to the gym four times a week or who spent an hour a day painting or who cooked gourmet meals? When we have a new baby (or two or three children) sometimes we stop doing other things that give us pleasure and our lives are all consumed by parenthood. This is okay.  For a while.

As time passes many women find that they are starting to return to their old interests, or pick up new ones.  Your world expands again beyond motherhood to include other things.

There was a woman who lived on a farm and had two horses. Before she had kids she rode them every day.  Even well into her pregnancy, she went for rides, spent time with the horses, grooming them and just enjoying their company.  Even though she was happy when her daughter was born, she missed her horses.  So she made a promise to herself that when her daughter was a little older, she would go back to her horses, even if it was only a couple of times a week.  When her daughter was about ten months old, she arranged for a teenage neighbour to come and babysit three times a week so she could go riding.  She saw having that time for herself allowed her to be a better mom.

What I have just described is called the Ceremony of the Return.  Coming out of your birth and early parenting experience and wanting time for yourself is healthy and positive and it helps you come back to your family refreshed. 

You need:           Symbolic object; tags; pot or ground for burial 

·         Think of something you love to do that will be impossible or difficult to do the first year after birth

·         Pick an object that symbolizes/represents that part of your self

·         String and tag the object with a date one year from your baby’s birthday

·         Bury the object in the ground or in a pot.

·         In one year, around baby’s birthday, dig up the object and make a commitment to resume the activity you love.

January Newsletter

Read the Birthing from Within Lethbridge January Newsletter for lots of great info about our classes and doula support, plus community events and discounts for pregnant women and families.