My focus in my whole career until that moment had been nipples, babies and milk ejection. It was a huge surprise to me when I had difficulties latching my own baby.  I had never considered this before. Me? Well I figured I was even a greater failure, having such a large knowledge base to fall back on.

So what to do, when you yourself have spent hundreds of hours counseling mothers on this very issue? Well you pull out the texts books, and the teddy bears.  Yes. I actually practiced latching my teddy bear.  In all fairness, I was trying to mimic the swift movement of baby to breast in order to ensure proper positioning and latch.

And then I threw the teddy bear at my husband. It wasn’t really his fault( I am saying this to be polite). The sleep deprivation, the extreme guilt and feelings of being a horrid mother had set it. I took it out on him, when he asked me how it was going.  You know that look your partner gives you..that stare that comes while you are latching a teddy bear to your breast with breastfeeding diagrams sprawled out in front of you?

After consulting with all of the lactation specialists/co-workers I could find, I managed to improve the feeding. But what really stands out for me now is one thing in particular. Support. No new mom should be without it. Right along with nipple cream and breast pads..there you have it.

Turns out, it wasn’t going to be the knowledge that would save me!

As much as I needed the guidance to work through the pain ( and cracking..) what really made the difference was just being around new moms. At the time I had some nurse friends whom had had babies recently. One in particular, kept inviting me over. She just kept saying “support, that is all you need”. But somehow, what I thought I needed was some kind professional to latch my baby at each feed, a big breast pump, pillows, shields and a teddy bear.

It wasn’t like she really did anything specific. She just  visited with me, and breastfed in front of me. I too started to just breastfeed and the whole process started to lighten up. The complicated part of feeding my baby, was replaced by great conversation and just the right amount of mommy advice.

Later, I joined a mommy group. Had it not been for this,  I still feel as though my husband would have had to call some kind of emergency help line, watching his wife frantically work her way through the continuous challenges of motherhood.  Women need to chat with one another! Especially during such a major transition. It is not a myth. Support for new moms will save the day!

Submitted by Jaci Botterman of Mommy Connections Ridge Meadows

And lately guess who has decided that pooping in the garden like the dog is fun! To my horror my child is testing me to the extreme and I am lost for words. I have tried the don’t get angry, the don’t react treatment, the act like that’s okay try again, the bring to the potty  right away tactic…but here’s the thing. My daughter will tell you while she’s doing it or just did it standing up and then I will tell her to run to the potty. I follow in a desperate attempt to land her lovely gift in the target bowl but most times with failure. Her panties will be down, she’ll be on the potty and her underwear will be filled with present for mom to clean up. To top it off my little miss smarty pants will then get up put her hands against the wall as if I am going to frisk her and tell me to wipe her bum! I have now decided it’s time to call in some needed help! The Potty Expert! Stay tuned for my Potty Training Hell solutions…HOPEFULLY!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to our ladies night out and helped donate to this family! They were shocked with the generosity and so appreciative.

To see the interview of the family from Global BC Please click here.

If you would like to make a donation to help this family out you can make a donation through email money transfer or to their paypal account to wewillbeatcancer@gmail.com or to their trust account with Coast Capital Savings under “The Bennett Family in trust”

So after some research of my planning my own recipes, taking some from the net and Pinterest, I collected 18 recipes (some of them I split in to two bags to stretch my dollar and I spent just over $200.00. ( I feel like I could have lowered this spend if I went shopping in the states for groceries…that will be on the to-do for next month) Anyways these are the recipes I selected and made. I also doubled up on a few to make a total of 25 recipes and then made my own home-made fajita seasoning mix. An awesome recipe I found online, and I had everything in my spice cabinet so it was a no brainier. This way I know exactly what is going in to our meal and I know we are eating clean!

RECIPES

1. Lazy Day Turkey Stew (Split in to Two batches)
2. Macaroni & Cheese with Broccoli
3. Crock Pot Cheese Tortellini (Spilt in to Two Batches)
4. Savory Chicken ( Split in to Two Batches)
5. Chicken & Spinach ( Split in to Two Batches)
6. Lemon Garlic Chicken
7. Ranch Chicken
8. Pulled Pork
9. Greek Dressing Whole Chicken
10. Lemon & Herb Whole Chicken with veggies
11. Herb Whole Chicken
12. Italian Sausage & Shrimp (I use Mild Turkey Italian Sausage, and split in to Two Batches)
13. Saucy Chops
14. Chicken Fajitas ( Split in to Two Batches)
15. Beef Tacos
16. Crock Pot Ribs ( Split in to Two Batches)
17. Cream Chicken and basil
18. Chicken in a Hurry

This is a bit of a process to blog so I will be posting it over the next week. I will include 3-4 recipes and my last one will cover how to do it exactly.

LAZY DAY TURKEY STEW – Super Clean, healthy, hearty and we LOVED!

3-4 lbs Ground Turkey Meat
2 cups approx. of baby red potatoes ( you can use whatever kind you have in the pantry really)
3 cups approx. of baby carrots (chopped or whole, whatever you prefer)
2 onions chopped
6 celery stalks chopped
1 can of Kidney Beans or Chick Peas (whatever you have, we like kidney beans)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 can of tomato Sauce
2 tbsp of Brown Sugar

Split between two freezer Ziplock Bags, remove air & seal, mix around in bag, lay flat and freeze.

Instructions to pre-write on zip lock with sharpie pen,
-Thaw
-Add 1 Cup of water or Chicken broth, cook on low 4-6hours

Enjoy with fresh bread or on it’s own.

Macaroni & Cheese with Broccoli

1 box (13.25oz) of rotini, shell or macaroni pasta

- 4 TB butter
- 4 cups shredded cheese (I used a Colby-Jack blend, but Cheddar would work great too)
- 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature, cubed
- 1.5 cup of milk
- 12oz evaporated milk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika

Thaw,
Dump in Crock pot
Stir in UNCOOKED noodles
Top with Shredded Cheese   (DO NOT mix at this point. The cheese will melt and make it’s way through the noodles.)
-Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours.

CROCK POT CHEESE TORTELLINI

1 bag of frozen tortellini (Bought two bags)
1 small bag of fresh spinach ( I had frozen spinach in my freezer so used that instead)
2 cans of italian style diced tomatoes
1 box or 4 cups or chicken broth (low sodium organic chicken broth)
1 block of cream cheese ( used Light to cut down calories)
1 lb. of roll sausage ( i used turkey sausage)

I Browned the sausage and then put all ingredients in to two zip lock bags to make two meals. ( So Split the ingredients in half) Seal the bags and make sure air is removed, mix with hands and freeze.

Pre-write on the Ziplock bag with Sharpie
Thaw
Crock pot on low for 5-6 hrs.

Lindsay Faber and I connected through facebook when I stumbled across her work. It’s stunning, breath taking and simply put amazing. I have worked with a variety of photographers over the past few years and she is one of the best. Not only did her finish product come out beautiful, but her attention to detail, and the time she took to understand what was important to us was more than I had expected and left me confident and impressed with her services.

When booking with a photographer, you typically call them and they ask you some questions about what you are looking for and then you book your session date. They will then come take your family photos and you get to view them on their online gallery after they have edited them. From there you decide what you like. Which is great, don’t get me wrong but when Lindsay’s approach is completely different and her passion for photography comes through when meeting her. She will come to your home for a consultation first to get a feel of your decor as she understands that these photos are more like art for your family and will be captured on walls around your home.  She likes to glance at your existing photos around the house to see what your style is, which I liked. She will then explain her packages to work with your budget for your family photos. Then you book your session.

At our session my sweet little girl wasn’t feeling so hot (she had started with a cold that day) and because of it wasn’t so sweet to begin with, a typical 3 yr old wanting to be independent and be in control. However, Lindsay slowly got her involved to the point that she was loving being photographed and had fun! We all did, she was amazing at directing Ashlyn and Marcus along with my hubby and I and the finish product speaks volumes. After editing our photos, she came to our home to show us the slideshow and the photos she had taken. I cried! I normally get excited and touched when seeing our family photos but I was so over come with how she captured us I had a few tears. This Photography session was like no other we had experienced and after 2 hours of trying to narrow down our choices of photos we finally picked out what we wanted.  Thank you Lindsay for capturing my family, and for your gift, you are truly talented and everyone should take the opportunity to work with you. We are now and forever one of your clients!
Check out Lindsay’s work on her website  or Facebook!

So here is a to die for recipe that I decided to make! The picture is a half and half and boy oh boy will you be in LOVE!

California Pizza (My copy cat of Earls Pizza)

Pesto Sauce
Sundried Tomatoes in Oil
Feta Cheese
Prawns
Pizza Crust (we prefer Whole Wheat Thin Crust – or if you want to get real fancy you can make your own…I’m not quite there yet though)

1.Pre-heat the oven to 450.
2.Take your pizza crust and instead of tomato sauce lather with Pesto Sauce (We love the Kirkland Brand from Costco it’s I believe $9.00 for the tub and goes a long way!)
3.Then Laywer with uncooked, peeled prawns, Sundried Tomates and sprinkle with Feta Cheese ( no need to worry about pre-cooking the prawns if you do this they will be hard and like rubber, plus you will be putting it in the oven right away anyways)
4. Cook for between 11-14minutes – it just depends on the thickness of your crust and how crisp you like it for length! Then Let cool for a couple minutes, slice and enjoy!

Mozzarella Chicken & Pesto Pizza

Ingredients
Shredded Mozzarella
2 Chicken Breasts
Pesto Sauce
Red Onions
1 tsp Olive Oil
Pizza Crust

1. Pre-heat oven to 450
2. Cut up the chicken breasts into pieces
3. Put Olive oil in frying pan, let heat up slightly and then put chicken in and let cook. While the chicken is cooking, spread pesto out on the pizza crust.
4. Once chicken is cooked, push a side and add sliced red onion pieces in to saute.
5. Once Onions and Chicken are cooked add about 2 tablespoons of pesto sauce and mix
6. Spread Chicken and Onion Mixture evenly over pizza and then top with Mozzarella Cheese and put in the oven for aprox. 11-13minutes.

Then ENJOY!!! This has become a family favourite and favourite among friends…a must try!

]]> http://www.mommyconnections.ca/ridge-meadows/2012/10/04/pizza-pizza/feed/ 0 http://www.mommyconnections.ca/ridge-meadows/2012/10/04/babydollboutique/ http://www.mommyconnections.ca/ridge-meadows/2012/10/04/babydollboutique/#comments Thu, 04 Oct 2012 07:34:33 +0000 amandacollett http://www.mommyconnections.ca/ridge-meadows/?p=1144 Continue reading →]]> Nursing bra’s can sometimes mean the not so sexy feel good boring sports bra look that tends to make you feel blah and remind you that, yes, at this point in your life you are like a milking cow! However nursing can have it’s perks…your girls may have never been so full and round and perky! And they may tend to just naturally have that perfect cleavage that you just can’t avoid…which can be very exciting for the smaller chested girls…I am referring to myself!

For me bra shopping can be daunting and I can never find a bra that I am in love with, stylish, comfy and pretty that actually fits me perfectly! Thanks to Amber, the owner ofBabydoll Fine Lingerie rest assured you will walk away a happy customer and your girls will never have looked better while being comfortable at the same time, a major bonus! Amber is a certified bra fitter and has a large variety of nursing and regular bras to choose from. We started by measuring me and then started our fittings. And guess what I’m apparently a Size 30DD….Ah What? Was my reaction. If you know me you know that “my girls” don’t look like a DD…I’m pushing a C, maybe a full B to the norm’s standards so when Amber told me this I was needless to say shell-shocked. My reaction…wait till I tell my husband that!
So here is how it works ladies…Your cup size is relative to your band size whether you go down or up in the band size. For example, a 32C is the same cup size as a 30DD but can fit completely different. Meaning that even though it say’s DD it’s still the same size as the cup but the band is just different. Typically the smaller your band width the higher the number and vice versa. Crazy isn’t it!

Some of my favourite nursing bra’s were the YOU! Lingerie the Amber plum #10005. Super comfortable and no wire but suported making it sexy, comfortable and practical! I loved this bra and it was totally a winner! Another favourite was Hot Milk’s bra’s, they had lots of hooks which is great for your expanding and contracting rib cage for before and after baby arrives.

Not to mention not only do they carry nursing bras but they also rent a Medela Breast Pump which is fantastic if you want to avoid purchasing one, you just have to purchase your own pumping kit which is $55.00. They also carry a hands free breast pump bra from Simple Wishes…brilliant in my opinion!

Check them out online or at their retail location on 11997A 224th Street, Maple Ridge Ph: 604-477-2724

My husband and I love Almond Milk with our Cereal and this can get kind of pricey. Of course trying to save a buck I discovered the easiest way to make Almond milk and only with 1/2 cup of Almonds makes 4 cups of milk! Plus it will last for up to 2 weeks in the fridge!

Here’s How….

Ingredients

1/2Cup of Almonds

1 tsp of Vanilla extract (if you like vanilla flavour-optional)

4cups of filtered water

That’s it!

Soak your almonds in a cup of fresh water for 8-12 hours, drain and rinse. Then blend in a blender with 4 cups of water. Strain with either a cheese cloth over a bowl or a sifter (I used a sifter as I don’t have a cheese cloth) over the bowl to collect the Almond pulp. Then add the optional teaspoon of vanilla for extra flavor!

This is extra delicious with Kellogg’s Almond Vanilla Cereal!!! Now enjoy away!

This afternoon we decided to make Homemade Breadsticks and Homemade Avacado Dip. Ashlyn (my 3 year old helped mix the flour and roll out the “bread snakes” and place them on the baking pan. Then she helped mix the yogurt, avacado and squeeze the lemon for flavor. This recipe is great for little ones and tots. Keep in mind this recipe has simple ingredients so there are no bursts of flavors per say but are great for picky eaters, introducing foods and all around a great recipe because you know exactly what you are putting in to it.  Check out the recipe below.

BREAD STICKS

3/4 Cup White Bread Flour (I used just all-purpose)
3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Bread Flour
1/4 – oz/7-g sachet active dry yeast
1tbsp Olive Oil
about 3/4Cup lukewarm water

No-Salt Bread Sticks – Preheat oven to 425Degrees F. Put the flour and yeast into a bown and add the olive oil and enough water to mix to a soft but not sticky dough. Knead for about 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 4-6 pieces. Roll out each piece to a long, thin sausage like and cut into small sticks about 3 inches/7cm long. Place on a nonstick baking sheet and cook for 8-10minutes, until golden and crisp. (I also brushed on additional olive oil to help golden them slightly.)
Store for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

AVOCADA DIP

1/2 ripe avocado
1tsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice
2-3 tsp of plain greek yogurt

Mash the avocado with a fork and mix in the lemon juice and yogurt. Store for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.

]]> http://www.mommyconnections.ca/ridge-meadows/2012/09/07/bread-sticks-and-avacado-dip-10months-and-up/feed/ 0 http://www.mommyconnections.ca/ridge-meadows/2012/09/05/whole-wheat-honey-bread/ http://www.mommyconnections.ca/ridge-meadows/2012/09/05/whole-wheat-honey-bread/#comments Wed, 05 Sep 2012 11:32:00 +0000 amandacollett http://www.mommyconnections.ca/ridge-meadows/?p=1097 Continue reading →]]> So I found this recipe and the title was “SIMPLE” Whole Wheat Bread! Sounds right up my alley! I decided that I wanted to try making bread without a bread maker and this is a task that intimidates me the most. Kneading and punching and waiting for dough to rise, not enough flour too much flour, not the right kind of flour…if you ask me lots can go wrong.  But here I am going all in and trying to be the 50′s housewife in a sense or the farmers wife so to speak when it comes to the kitchen. This is the finished product. I wouldn’t say they turned out like the sliced bread I would buy at the grocery store but more life a small loaf of bread. Decent, alright for my first go. Would I say it was a 10…no, and 8…maybe a 7 would be more like it. Making bread from scratch is not easy and really is an art in some way.
I followed the recipe as best as I could except made it completely 100% whole wheat, where the recipe calls for some white flour as well as whole wheat. Maybe that would make the difference I’m not sure. See my thing is that I can always smell the yeast when I’m cooking and I am not a fan of the smell. So I feel like that’s all I smell the whole time and I think it throws me off. Regardless it was okay, my husband ate it…and he has no problem being kind but telling me that it sucks if it does. He did mention there was room for improvement…and I would have to agree. Practice makes perfect I guess….I hope!