Recipe Day Monday

No matter what is going on, when you make cookies, you get an instant boost of happiness! With Miss Lizzie still fighting that nasty cold I decided to make another batch of lactation cookies to really up my milk supply for her. One of the few things her pediatrician said that I could do for her while she is sick is to make sure that she is well hydrated by nursing at least every three hours. So into the kitchen I went and whipped up these delicious little babies. This recipe was created especially for me by my culinary school graduate, nutritionist, health nut little sister Natalie. I don't know about y'all, but every recipe I found for lactation cookies either included a hunk of butter or buckets of sugar; and that was the last thing I wanted to eat after Gestational Diabetes and tons of pregnancy weight gain. These cookies are a step away from the scone like cookies out there and more like a traditional cookie, almost peanut butter cookie like in consistency. Dense (so you only need one or two) but yummy! 

I love my stand mixer

Nice and Chunky, full of good stuff for you and your babe. 

I only press mine down a little but if you like them thinner, press them a little more. 

Yum. 

Don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients. I got most of them from our grocery store, Publix. The only thing that took some searching for was the Brewer's Yeast. I found it at an independent vitamin shop in town. If you live by a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's I've heard from a few people that they sell it there. The entire process only takes about 15 minutes not including baking time. And if you like your cookies a little bit more done or crunchy, leave them in an additional 2-5 minutes. This recipe is truly one of the simplest recipes I have ever tried. Give 'em a whirl, and let me know what you think! 

Happy Due Date Day (sort of)

Today is my due date. I should be pacing around my house, drinking weird tea, eating spicy foods and praying that this baby makes her way out soon. But... little miss Elizabeth Rose decided to make her grand entrance a month ago! October 4, 2014. What should have been my Baby Shower day turned into my Delivery Day and little girl's Birthday.

You wanna talk about a surprise! You don't get a bigger surprise then your water breaking at 3 am, 750 miles from home, at your own mother's house, the day of your baby shower, a month before your due date. Her delivery was a true blur. Since she was breech and had not flipped naturally yet, we had an inversion scheduled for the week after the shower to try to get her all set up for a natural delivery. Well, needless to say, we never did make that doctor's appointment.

A whole month old already 

We were in Texas for the baby shower that my mother had been tirelessly working on for weeks. Everything was starting to come together and it was all looking so gorgeous. Pinks, grays, creams and golds had taken over my mom's color scheme in her house. There were chiavari chairs and tables in the backyard waiting to be set up. Gorgeous blush and cream roses were being delivered. And I was hours away from trying the cupcakes that I had been told were going to change my life. I was so excited for the first party for my little girl. Instead I wake up at 3 in the morning to a Niagara Falls situation. At first I genuinely thought "Oh my God, I am so pregnant I can't hold my pee in anymore" then I knew in a split second it was my water. Oh no. Hubby sprung out of bed so fast and ran downstairs to tell my mom and step dad that the plans for the day had changed a little.  

From the time my water broke to when Lizzie was delivered was only two hours. Two very fast hours. I think I was in shock when we arrived at the emergency room. I was way, way to calm. We walked in, I said hello to the nice nurse at the desk; then I told her my water broke, that the baby was breech and that I was 35 weeks along. All with a smile plastered on my face. I remember a cop by the desk chuckling at me and the nurse saying "Okay then, lets get you up to labor and delivery". After that, it was an hour of a few tests, some needles and monitors, then I was whisked away to the OR. The spinal wasn't much fun to get. Not feeling anything from the chest down is disorienting to say the least, but the blue curtain you see in every photo and movie really does exist. The delivery itself was very fast. When Hubby came in and sat next to me, we talked about how this was not what we thought we would be doing that Saturday. Haha, life's funny that way. I remember saying to him that it was so surreal that we were going to be parents soon; then I hear the doctor say "In about 2 minutes...I see feet!" I had no idea that she was that far along in the operation. I didn't feel any of the tugging or pulling pressure that some ladies do when they get a cesarean. So it was a real surprise when we heard a little cry from behind the curtain and Elizabeth Rose was born at 5:09 am.

 It turns out that I most likely went into labor because I ended up developing preeclampsia. During the delivery my blood pressure was sky high and it did not go back down on its own. So while Lizzie was in the NICU for monitoring I was being monitored too. Have you ever had a magnesium drip? Yuck doesn't even begin to explain it. The first 24 hours of her life, I felt like I had the flu and I couldn't leave my room to go see her. So Hubby and my family got to spend quality time with the little lady while I was trying to rest up.

My Step Dad Gary meeting Lizzie 

My Step Mom Karen seeing her newest granddaughter 

My Daddy and Miss Lizzie 

My Mommy and Lizzie Rose, her namesake 

After only 12 hours in the NICU, Lizzie was given a clean bill of health and was free to venture outside of the nursery. I was the one doctors were worried about now. I can't tell you how many times my blood pressure was checked or how many medications I was given, but it was all worth it when I got to hold her for the first time.

Hubby was so fantastic during the whole thing. From the moment he woke up that early Saturday morning, he took care of everything. He was my rock during the delivery and the three days in the hospital that followed. He was a natural with the baby and I loved seeing him wheel her into the room every morning with such excitement to be with her all day. Then he'd wheel her out every night to take her back to the nursery for tests, sweetly saying to her that she'll see mommy tomorrow. Those first few days were some that I will treasure always.  

We ended up spending two extra weeks in Texas, just to make sure me and the baby were well enough to travel back to Florida. It was definitely a blessing in disguise to have my water break while in Corpus. My whole family was in town for the shower so everyone had the chance to meet Lizzie a lot earlier then they would have otherwise. My parents got to spend time with their grand baby when she was first born. That was always something that they knew would most likely never happen. It is moments like those that get sacrificed because of our military lifestyle. But my parents were able to not only be there when she was born but an additional two weeks of loving on the little was given to them. The biggest blessing was having all of my sisters in town. Two of the three no longer live in Texas. Katie lives in Philadelphia and Natalie lives in California now. For them to be able to see and hold their niece, to be in the hospital waiting room the morning she was born was priceless. I think God had a very big hand in the whole thing. He made it so everyone was able to be there to celebrate her birth together and most important of all, that both Lizzie and I were healthy.

So my little lady had a plan of her own the whole time. The joke in my family now is that she knew she wanted to be born a Texan, and she made it happen. She wanted to be with her family when she was born. So little Lizzie Rose was born in Corpus Christi, Texas just like her mama, and it was one eventful, beautiful day.

Time for some updates

It has been more then a hot minute since I have written. Ooops. At first it was a nice vacation feeling that went along with not writing but recently I really started to miss it. I was looking at old posts and I started to get nostalgic about things that just happened last year. That got me thinking about all of things that are changing in our family and I really want a place to document them not just for us but for our families.

So let's get the ball re-rolling with a prego update: I am rounding up the second trimester at 25 weeks and heading straight into "Get this baby out of me now" third trimester time. Just check out the view of my feet now.

Hello down there! I remember when I could see more then just the tops of my anchors. I wonder how much longer until the view is just toes? And sooner rather then later, those will disappear too. All of the ladies in my family get big when they are carrying their youngins. Not just a little big but 'Are you having twins?' big. We are shorties and we have nowhere for them to go but out. I am the average height in my family at a whopping 5 feet tall, so we do not look like Giselle when we are pregnant with cute bellies and thin limbs at nine months. Nope. True story... my wedding rings came off in my first trimester and they will not return until well after this little one is in the nursery.

Speaking of the nursery...it's not ready. Haha. No way Jose. I have the vision on my head of what I want it to look like but the most we have done so far is browse the cribs at Babies R Us while we were doing our registry and a few furniture stores. But I think we might have found a winner! The first big, baby purchase is in the works and I am so excited. Let the shopping commence! Look out baby goodies here I come!