The day I delivered Clare Louise

                                                    December 26th, 2013 3:15pm 

                                                              Induction day

Hubs and I are making sure we have everything we need.. All four bags. To be honest we looked like we belonged in a Vera Bradley catalog (that was said to us in the hospital :-D) . I had a diaper bag, an over night bag for me and hubs and an extra bag for goodies from the hospital (diapers, those huge, lovely pads and mesh underwear and whatever else may come while we are there). 

We went to Panera, before heading to the hospital to have my last meal before being induced. I would not be able to eat any solid foods once they started giving me pitocin. I was so anxious and nervous. Would I be able to make it x amount of hours without eating anything? (I get really light headed if I don't eat for long periods of time, so I was worried about that.) Anxious to not have to test my blood anymore (although they did do it in the hospital a dozen more times before I was discharged.) 

We arrived at Troy Beaumont at promptly 4pm. We sat in the waiting room for about 20-30 minutes waiting to be called. We are surrounded by family and friends waiting to meet their new grandchild, niece or nephew, best friends baby. That was going to be our families soon! Waiting to meet our little peanut! 

4:30 someone came over and said, "We normally have a lot of babies born on Christmas Day but it seems like a lot of mommies and babies decided to wait until the day after to come! All of our rooms are full of moms who naturally went into labor. Here are 2 $5 coupons for the cafeteria downstairs. Come back around 6pm. Sorry for the wait."

I was so disappointed. I was just ready to be in a room, in a bed and getting the show on the road. Instead we got back on the elevator and walked what seemed like a mile to the cafeteria. I can't remember what we ate but it wasn't very good. We thankfully had an iPad and we were able to play backgammon while we waited. We played quite a few games. 

6pm and we decide to head back upstairs. We check in and Yay!! They're ready for us. We collected all of our bags and headed in to get checked in. 

In walks a nurse and I was shocked! I knew her!! She was one of my old high school friend's sister!! We said hello and hugged. I couldn't believe she was going to check me in! What a crazy experience. I was closed and MAYBE 30% effaced (I still have no idea exactly what that means) I just know that our little peanut wasn't ready to come on her own! 

After getting checked in we finally were into a room by.. Ehhh 8:30-9pm. I had a nurse come in and greet me with a needle to put an IV in for pain killers, antibiotics and pitocin. It hurt so bad! (The next day a nurse told me the IV was put in incorrectly and she replaced it with a new one in my hand... Few!) 

Everyone was so excited that the day was finally here! Anthony's parents came up to visit us and help us get settled in. It was nice to see friendly faces and as always there to help with whatever we need!  

11:30pm Since I was no where near ready for labor instead of starting pitocin they gave me the miso pill (which is meant to soften the cervix) accompanied by a nice sleeping aide to help me get some rest. A nurse would be back around 2 To test my blood. Since they hadn't given me pitocin yet I was able to eat the next morning. 

Hubs was so amazing. He slept on the little bench and checked on me often. 

Friday morning rolled around and I really didn't feel any type of labor happening, although the monitor said differently. I was having tiny contractions. Instead of starting the pitocin they decided to do a balloon. I believe that was to help me dilate . A nurse came to check on it every couple of hours. It took all day long. 

5:30pm rolled around and there was a doctor change. Dr. Herringa was the on call doctor for the weekend. I had seen her a couple times during my pregnancy. She was new to the practice, but I knew from the few times I saw her I was in great hands.

She came in to check my "balloon" and it came right out! She was surprised it hadn't already been pulled out. I was a little disappointed because that meant they could have already started the pitocin. But it is what it is. 

Later that night my parents and my grandma came to visit! It was nice to see them! They were asking how I was feeling, what's the update? My grandma couldn't figure out why I was in the hospital and why the baby still wasn't here. Back when she had her kids I'm not sure if they even had them in a hospital. :) 

So they hooked me up to the pitocin later that night and by early am (7ish) Saturday morning I was in heavy labor. I was having horrible pains in my rear. I felt constipated. It was a HORRIBLE feeling along with contractions. They were able to relieve me thankfully. A couple hours later the anesthesiologist came in to give me my epidural and I was a little annoyed because he started talking to my husband about FOOTBALL! I assume this was to distract me?? Lol I guess it did. It peeved me off and I wasn't thinking about the huge needle being injected into my back. 

By now I was having, "hold on to the side of the bed, squeeze my husband's hand off" contractions. But I wasn't feeling them in my abdomen I was feeling them in the lower behind area. It was unbelievable pain that the epidural couldn't take away. They even tried another type of pain medication but that didn't really work. 11:10am (I assume that's what time it was) I looked at my husband and said,"I feel like I need to push NOW! I think I need to start pushing... I NEED TO PUSH NOW!" And it was like Dr. Heeringa and I were on the same wave length because in she walks. It happened SO fast. 

I remember pushing, I had my eyes closed and thinking... Just push as hard as you can! This baby is coming right now! Don't think about whatever pain you can feel. I remember how calm Dr. Heeringa was. What an amazing coach she was. And best of all I remember my husband, up by my side in awe, telling me how amazing I was doing, actually participating in the birth of our little girl. (Before the birth of Clare, Anthony was extremely nervous about the entire process. He was positive he wouldn't be able to watch her come out. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to cut the umbilical cord.) Anthony saw our baby come out and cut the umbilical cord! He was my rock! He stood by me every single second of the 38 hours we were in that hospital until our Little Girl came out! 

They put Clare on my chest and I was in awe and shock. I couldn't believe I had just pushed this little tiny human out of me! 

The experience was amazing. It was NOTHING like what you see in the movies. (What ever is?) There was just my husband, the Dr. And two nurses there ready for when Clare came out. The lights were dimmed and only the overhead light was on. 

I remember during the time I was pushing the phone rang! I decided it better I not answer it since I was a little busy at the moment. 20 minutes later I believe they called Anthony's phone. It was my parents, my sister, Anthony's parents, my 98 year old grandma (who is now 99), my Aunt Emma, and my cousin's Bob and Kathleen. The lady that called for them told them, "Normally when they don't answer the phone that means they're having the baby!" 

So here she was, this beautiful little 6# 13oz, 19 1/2" Angel. Clare Louise DiTrapani

As soon as they were finished getting Clare all cleaned up and we tried breastfeeding once, they allowed everyone in. It was extremely overwhelming but I think I was in such disbelief that I barely remember how I felt. Pictured below are some of the family and friends that came to visit us in the hospital. We will be forever grateful for you being at such an emotional time in our lives with us. 

My Cousins Kathleen and Bob drove down with my Aunt Emma to pick up my Grandma just in time for Clare to arrive! What an amazing day that was! Enjoy the pictures below! 

This is a picture of four generations. From left to right: My mother, my grandmother, Clare and Me. 

Proud grandparents, Anthony's mother, father and Clare. 

Proud Grandpa (my father) and sleeping Clare 

Proud Auntie Michelle! (My Sister) 

Proud aunt and uncle's From Left to right: Dominic, Joe, Nicolas (Anthony's brothers) and Monica (our sister in law, Joe's wife) 

    My aunt Emma! 

    My cousin Kathleen! 

   Anthony's grandma 

   Our friend Kathryn! 

   Our friend Ryan! 

   Clare and her Great Grandma Rose!

   Daddy in awe! 

   Mommy snuggles! 

Spinach, mushroom, and caramelized onion pasta with a cream sauce!

So since lent started I've had to get creative with no meat on Fridays. We had my in laws over for dinner this past Friday and that means cooking for 8 people. I have to say over the past 12 years I have learned how to cook for a large number of people who eat a large portion of food! So really I'm normally cooking for at least 10-12 people. Haha 

I was sick of the same old same old so I went to pinterest (of course) to find something I could make. I wasn't finding anything that caught my eye so I just typed in veggies. This delicious recipe for a creaming spinach, mushroom and caramelized onion dish popped up. So I thought, why not add it to pasta!! 

So I did!! 

I ended up doubling the vegetable portion and tripling the sauce portion. I ended up using 3 pounds of pasta and that was just enough for us. I had leftovers for lunch the next day.

I recipe called for three onions. I used about 5 huge onions because I know onions always shrink down to just about nothing, and caramelized onions are so good! called for 10-15 mushrooms. I used about 5 10oz packs of pre cut mushrooms. It was a good amount. It called for 3 cups of spinach. I just threw in as much as I wanted. I probably would add even more next time because spinach also shrinks down a lot. 

The sauce called for 1/4 cup of milk, 1/3 cup of heavy cream, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and a 1/4 tsp of salt. I tripled this sauce. Next time I might 4x it. 

To give you a heads up it does take a little bit longer to caramelize onions, about 30 minutes total. We didn't end up eating until about 8pm, so I would suggest starting earlier than I did. But when your husband works until 6:45 and you have a 14m old running around it doesn't always work out that way! 

But some of the complements I heard were, "wow, I'd order this in a restaurant!" "This was worth the wait!" "Wow, this is delicious!" I was cooking for some people who have high expectations and who are picky. So I'd say this recipe will be added to my cook book and be a norm in our family!! 

Here is the original recipe, I added pasta! 

http://juliasalbum.com/2014/04/sauteed-spinach-mushrooms-and-onions

Weaning from the pump

So everyone's goal while pumping is simple, make enough milk for my baby to drink for however long your personal goal is. 

My original goal was to pump until I had enough milk in a deep freezer to get her to a year... Simple, right? So I thought. 

I started pumping a couple days after Clare was born because of latch issues and since that day I was an over producer. I was making 30-60oz (at my peak) of milk a day. I worked my butt off for it! I woke in the middle of the night, pumped through mastitis, missed out on spending time with family, instead spending time with my pump. Listened to countless people tell me, "You should drop a pump, you don't need to pump that much! You're making so much milk!" "You're over stimulating you're breasts, you shouldn't make that much milk." And countless other accusations and comments. Those types of comments  come with the territory of being a mom I guess. You're going to be criticized, critiqued and looked at with a weird eye no matter WHAT you do. So I say, do what makes YOU and baby feel good.

Anyway, so starting around 9-10 months postpartum I started having major anxiety just thinking about dropping pumps and eventually quitting. What was Clare going to drink? I had this ridiculous thought in my mind that I didn't want her to drink frozen milk because the antibodies were not as prevalent as they were in fresh. Personally, I'm crazy. I admit it. 

I talked about weaning with a friend and my pumping group on a weekly basis. I'm surprised they didn't kick me out and she didn't defriend me. That's why it is so important to have a good, solid support group; to talk with people who UNDERSTAND how you are feeling and going through or went through what you're currently going through. 

On Novemeber 3rd, 2014 just past 11 months post partum I dropped to 3 pumps per day. (3ppd) I was able to maintain 28-30oz per day (30opd) until the middle of December when I dropped to 22-25opd. But I was still making JUST enough milk for Clare to make. I would make it to my goal of a year!!! 

The feelings I was having really weren't what I expected. I was expecting to feel proud of myself, happy, excited to wean! I made it!! I did something that probably less than 5% of the world can say they did... Yet I was feeling almost empty inside... Anxiety was at its highest. 

Everyone around me was asking me, "When are you going to stop pumping?" "Why don't you just quit? You made it to a year. Not many people can say they did that!" That made me feel SO MUCH better... NOT! 

No one in my life could really understand what was going on in my head, in my heart. I was feeling guilt about dropping to 2ppd in fear my supply would tank, as so many people stated when you drop to 2ppd that's when you tell your body you're weaning. 

But on December 27th the day before Clare's birthday and party I only did two pumps. I barely felt engorged (that means my breasts didn't feel like they had a ton of milk in them) I felt a little full, but wasn't in any kind of pain. I dropped my mid day pump and never looked back. 

That's when all of the symptoms of weaning started. I started getting headaches, moody, and sad. I knew all these symptoms could happen but I didn't think they were going to happen to me. I NEVER get headaches and now I started getting them daily. It was like I was pregnant all over again. I am so thankful for the essential oil PastTense because it took away my headaches and tension almost immediately! I didn't want to take any medication for it. It could mess with your supply and I'm not one to take any type of medication unless I'm about to give labor. :)

So as I sit here 14mpp doing my morning pump before work, I still have the guilt (hence why I'm still pumping). I still have the anxiety, but because I have no idea what kind of milk to give Clare. I have a deep freezer with about 1,600oz in that I try to use 1 bag a day (normally an 8oz bag). Clare is drinking anywhere from 12-18oz a day. That means I have enough milk to get her to about 18 months old. 

So why am I still pumping???? I want to get her through flu season, and well frankly I'm a control freak and she loves her Mama's milk. If she see's a bottle she signs please, more! Maybe she just loves her bottle and if I were to put cows milk in it she'd drink that just fine too. But I'm not ready to figure it out just yet. 

DōTERRA: my new obsession

So a couple months ago I had a friend personally message (pm) me on Facebook when she noticed I was having trouble with Clare's teething. She recommended I try an essential oil called Clove. She told me to dilute it in coconut oil and put it directly onto Clare's gums. I was skeptical, yet hopeful. 

So I created my concoction of 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and 1-2 drops of clove oil. Whenever Clare seemed like she was in pain I would do my best to rub it all over her gums. (It is rough getting into a 10 month olds mouth!) I really think that and the amber necklace she was wearing helped. We rarely had to administer Tylenol or Motrin. It seemed to help, a lot! The only time we started using motrin again was when Clare would no longer keep her amber necklace on. That day was sad to me :( my child will not leave a hat on her head, a bow in her hair or her necklace on! 

I was also hoping to find something that would help with my husband's migraines. He gets them at least 3-5 times a week. So, I also ordered a bottle of peppermint and a roll on of PasteTense. Peppermint has so many different uses I found out! Not only is it great for curing headaches and migraines but it's also good to use on the bottom of your little ones feet (diluted in coconut oil, as peppermint is a hot oil. That means it burns, kind of like icy hot) when they have a fever. It will help reduce the fever. You can also use it on yourself as an adult and put it on your head to ride a fever. It is a natural cooling agent. You can diffuse it to help you wake up and it can also relax your muscles. 

The PasteTense has become a favorite of mine and my mother's. I started the weaning process of pumping (breastfeeding) about 2 months ago and have sense started getting pretty bad headaches. I have found much relief in PastTense. I also put it on my shoulders when I feel tense or tight. This specific blend is made up of wintergreen, lavender, peppermint, frankincense, cilantro, marjoram, roman chamomile, basil and Rosemary. 

I received my kit the other day and it came with 10 oils and a diffuser. It came with, lavender, peppermint, lemon, breathe, digestzen, oregano, on gauard, deep blue, melaleuca, frankincense and a diffuser. 

Clare got a booboo on her finger a couple days ago so yesterday I decided to create another concoction with 1 tablespoon coconut oil and a drop of lavender and a drop of melaleuca. It has been working great and her scab is already looking better.

I love to put a drop of lemon in my water everyday as it can help detoxify. It can also be combined with water and white vinegar to make a house hold cleaner. There are so many other uses for it too! 

As I dive deeper in the world of oils I plan to write a post about each specific oil I use and how I use it. Please stay tuned!!

This is a picture of my starter kit! I love all of my oils and I plan to do a lot with the oils! Please share how you use your oils at the bottom! If you have any questions or are interested in more information about any dōTERRA products please feel free to email me at Jamie.ditrapani@gmail.com or leave a comment below! 

My first experience making baby food

I have had a few moms come to me and ask me what I feed Clare and how I made her baby good. The world of food is so wide and if you have a little one that is adventurous you could have a lot of fun with trying new foods! 

I started making Clare's baby food when she was about 6 months old. I'm not going to lie, the first time I made it, it took like 6 hours. However, I did make a huge batch and had Clare with me! So lots of interruptions to change a diaper, have a bottle, put down for a nap (which this was when Clare was striking naps unless I was holding her so I was in the midst of the cry it out method) and I had to pump too. 

Anyway, the first batch of baby food consisted of the following: 

Sweet potatoes- sweet potatoes are so easy to do! All you have to do is wash the skin, poke it a bunch of times around it with a fork and put in a foil lined baking sheet. I put foil down so the pan is easy clean up. I pre heated the oven to about 375°. You want to leave them in until they're soft to the touch. Just like a baked potato. Once it is finished cut the sweet potato in half, let cool down a little then scoop out the flesh and place it in a bowl. If you would like the consistency of the puree thinner just add a little water at a time. Do not use breastmilk or formula if you are planning to freeze it. 

Plums and Peaches-  plums and peaches were not so much fun the first time I did them. I choose to boil them  whole. Bad idea. It took forever for them to cool, I had to peel them which took forever, and then pit them. That was a ball! I feel like I lost so much of the fruit. The next time I made them I steamed them. (See more details about steaming fruits and veggies below.) I peeled them, cut them in half and took the pit out, and then quartered them. I then put them in to my pasta pot for two, pictured below. I put just enough water where it wouldn't fill past the colander. I steamed them until they were fork soft. I never timed anything.  

Peas- I bought a steamer bag of frozen peas and put them in the microwave. I later found out that microwaving food was the worste way to cook food. I rarely will hear Clare's food up in the mircrowave. The microwave kills a lot of the nutrients in the fruits and veggies. So if I were to make peas again, which I didn't because A. She didn't seem to care for them at the time and B. by the time I tried them again she could pick them up and eat them by herself, I would steam them in a pot. 

Zucchini - zucchini I ended up doing in an actual steamer (see picture below if you don't know what a steamer is.) I did not peel my zucchini but there is research that shows it can cause gassiness or give your little one a tummy ache depending on how they deal with it. I knew my daughter didn't have a hard time processing anything or have any issues so I chose not to take the skin off. I cleaned them, peeling them, cut them in 1/2 and then cut the 1/2 pieces into little half moon shapes. After I was done prepping I threw them all into the steamer for about 6-7 minutes. Again you want them to be fork soft so you can easily puree them. 

To puree my foods I used an immersion blender. It worked great. CAUTION: DO NOT STICK YOUR FINGER IN WHERE THE BLAD IS! I did that when I was making chicken and ended myself up in the hospital... I'm lucky I didn't cut my finger off.. It was our 2nd wedding anniversary and thankfully I was only at the ER for an hour. Anyway!! Pictured below is me using the immersion blender.  Next time around I plan to use my nutribullet to puree my little one's food. 

This is the one I have. I received this as a wedding gift from crate and barrel. I also used the food processor attachment when making smaller batches of foods like strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. 

The first time I stored my food I did them in the infantino storage bags. I honestly wish I would have just did them in ice cube trays because my daughter wasn't eating 4oz at one sitting. BUT, they are great for traveling with and when you are trying foods out for the first time they're great because you'll end up using them if you feed your lo the same thing 3 days in a row. I didn't do that with Clare. I plan to do that with my next child because it is just easier! 

You can use a couple different items to steam your fruits and veggies. I don't like to buy one stop items; I like items that can be used more than one way, which is why I used my pasta pot for two from crate and barrel. It is great for cooking pasta for just my husband and I, and I have used it countless times to make her babyfood and also finger foods. Pictures below is the pasta pot for two.

Another easy, inexpensive way to steam your fruits and veggies is a steamer basket. You place it inside of a pot and put a lid on it once the water below starts to boil. That is a very important part of steaming, THE LID. 

The last method, that I also used when I made the zucchini the first time, was an actual steamer. You can also use this steamer for many other things, as you can see pictures below. I like to make my rice in it, also. 

Please feel free to leave questions you may have about purring foods. My next post will have more details on berries, squash's including yellow, pumpkin, acorn and butternut. Also, spinach and carrots. 

The Easiest, fastest pasta you'll ever make!

I Almost three years ago when my husband and I were living in our little two bedroom townhouse I found a pasta recipe that called for four ingredients: pasta, 3 cloves of chopped garlic, 1/2 cup olive oil and 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. (Salt and pepper to your taste) 

I can remember my mother in law and I standing in our little tiny galley style kitchen chopping clove after clove of garlic because we had to triple the recipe! (My husband has a large family and I was still learning how to cook for one.) it turned out pretty good but I was looking for more flavor!  Since then I have doctored it up into the most delicious pasta!! 

Start by putting a pot of water on for whatever type of pasta you want. Add some salt (which will help the water boil faster) and cover the pot. (A watched pot never boils) 

Then, chop up some onion to your desired thickness (a whole onion is probably good if you're making one box/bag of pasta) and a couple cloves of garlic. (depending on how garlicky you want it you can always add more or less) 

Chopped onion 

Chopped garlic 

Coat a medium to large size pan with olive oil. You can always add more later but you'll want enough to cover the pasta with, it's like a sauce. Turn your stove top on to medium, medium high heat to get your olive oil hot. (You don't want to burn the onion so watch the pan to make sure it's not TOO hot.)

Once your olive oil is hot you can add the onion. I'd let the onion sauté up for a couple minutes and then add the garlic. You don't want the garlic to burn. You want the onion to be translucent. (almost see through) Once the onion has reached the translucent stage you can add the red pepper flakes (if you want it mild, only add a little, if you like it spicy, shake away!) salt and pepper to your desired taste. 

Once the pasta is finished strain it and add it to the pan. If you pan isn't large enough, that's ok! Put the pasta into a bowl and pour the olive oil, garlic, onion and red pepper flake mixture over it. 

Once again I forgot to take a picture of the food before we are but this was what was left over in the pot once we served ourselves. 

The fun thing about the pasta is you can add whatever you'd like to it! We have added mushrooms on more than one occasion. (You can cook the mushrooms before you add the rest of the ingredients and set aside.) You could also add spinach and/or red/yellow peppers to add a little color. The possibilities are endless! You could even add a protein to the dish and make it a meal! 

That's the fun thing about cooking!! You can take a recipe and turn it in to your own!! 

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do and change things up! Share here what you did to change things! You never know who's reading, they might want to try it too!! 

Recipe:

1 box of pasta

1 medium to large onion, chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

Start with 1/2 cup olive oil (add as needed)

A pinch (or a couple shakes) of red pepper flakes

You can also add:

Mushrooms

Spinach

Red or yellow peppers

Chicken or any other protein you'd like. Maybe tofu if you're a vegetarian. 

Turkey meatloaf

Goodness, it has been a while since I've posted! The past couple of days have been crazy busy! I hope you enjoy this recipe. 

Even though my daughter is 13 1/2 months old I am still learning to balance my time when it comes to making dinner. I hate putting her in her play pen but she's at the age where she is getting into everything! No matter how much I plan, I never prep during her nap time. 

This turkey meatloaf recipe has saved me on many occasions. It is healthly, easy and doesn't take much prep time at all! This time around Clare sat nicely in her height chair while I prepared everything but by the end she was begging to get out! 

First, measure out/prep all of the ingredients. Finely chop up the onion, whisk the egg, and measure out the milk and Panko crumbs. 

Next, add all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix together with your hands (or a spoon, but hands are best). 

Once the meat mixture is combined line a baking sheet with tin foil (easier clean up) and shape it into a log. 

Then make the sauce that  goes on top of the meatloaf. It is brown sugar, mustard and ketchup. 

Mix the brown sugar, mustard and ketchup together and then spread it all over the meatloaf! 

Place the meatloaf in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes (or until done)

Serve with mashed potatoes and corn, or whatever your heart desires! We were both so hungry I forgot to take a picture of it done. This is it... 1/2 eaten :-D

We ended up making corn and a pasta side dish that I'm going to blog about next. :)

Enjoy!! If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment!

Turkey Meatloaf

Preheat oven 350 

Cook for 45 minutes 

1-2lbs of turkey (the original recipe calls for 2, I always just do the package I get from Costco and it always turns out great!)

1 egg

1 small onion or 1/2 of a medium/large chopped to your desire. I like finely chopped 

1cup of milk

1 1/4 cups of bread crumbs (I use Panko) 

Salt and pepper to taste

Ketchup sauce

1/3 cup ketchup

3 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp mustard 

(I sometimes do extra because it taste so yummy!!)