Sometimes I end up doing posts here on Mommies Home.net that come from me researching questions this Mommie has. This is one of those posts, as I ended up with one heck of a headache yesterday. I was in more pain than labor:-) That being said, what can those headaches be caused by after child birth?

Well, one of the first things is an epidural headache. This is when the epidural needle goes to far into the spine and punctures the dura of the spine. I saw one of these on that show Bringing Home Baby, it looked horrible! As the chances of getting this are 1 in 200, and my headache didn’t start up until around 10 days out, this obviously wasn’t the cause of my problem.

Tension headaches could be the next culprit on my list. Stress (and I have stress!) coupled with lack of sleep, caring for a newborn and being overall overwhelmed could definitely be taking a toll. As I am proud to report, our newborn sleeps very well, waking about 2 times during the night to get a feeding. His feedings are quick, so my lack of sleep sure feels minimal. Not sure if this is what my throbbing headaches could be from, but I know stress definitely doesn’t help.

The last easily identifiable cause for the near migraines is the lack of water. We were told in the hospital that some high percentage of all headaches are caused by lack of hydration. Even though I’ve been trying to get a good amount of water in me, as I need it to keep my milk up, it’s not always the easiest thing in the world to do.

That being said, I think it’s probably a combination of stress and hydration that are at the core of my headache problems. Hormones also have a large role to play, as they always do with any new mother. All of these factors need to be kept in check after a pregnancy in order to take care of yourself properly. Guess I have to go drink some water while listening to Enya….

Then the peanut world exploded when salmonella was found as the culprit in making hundreds sick and killing some people that ate peanut butter… While the outbreak is traced to the Peanut Corporation, it is still hard to hear, night after night, the horrid effects that this is having on people and their health. While companies like Jif are trying to make sure people know that their product isn’t affected, I’m not sure that families care.

When there was a breakout in relation to green onions here in Colorado, even the local Taco Bell stopped using them in their nachos. They have yet to add them back. When it happened with tomatoes, it was the same way. Companies had to take huge steps to ensure consumers knew that their supply wasn’t from the tainted one. But honestly, I don’t think it helped any.

We finished up our peanut butter this morning and I’m going to hold off on buying anymore, including anything with peanut butter in it. It’s astonishing that this company could have knowingly distributed tainted peanut butter. I can only imagine what would have happened if one of my children had gotten a hold of some of that. Not only that, but the danger to the baby still inside of me.

So for a protein boost I’m heading back to my other favorite, eggs. An egg white packs quite a protein punch without all the fat of peanut butter.

So will you stop buying peanut butter? It’s definitely a personal choice at this point!

When I had my first baby, I didn’t want to be away from him, not for a second. In the hospital I wouldn’t let them take him out of the room, even when I was so exhausted I couldn’t see straight. I get home from the hospital and was taken aback by having to breastfeed him every hour and a half, and then I wouldn’t go to sleep when he did. I would try to clean, or cook, or eat. At night, I slept with my hand on him in his bassinet so I could make sure he was breathing.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when I had a case of the baby blues that was rather intense, I’m still impressed that it was as bad as it was. It never occurred to me that not getting enough sleep would have anything to do with the baby blues. I just never put the two together. So what can you do?

Effects of sleep deprivation include:
- Irritability
- Inability to concentrate
- Lowered immune system
- Mood swings (crying being one)
- Inability to deal with stress of any kind
- Decreased appetite

These are just a few of the signs, but couple that with the stress and uncertainty of a new baby and the crying that comes along with the little package and you’ve got a recipe for some bad times.

So what can you do to help avoid this?

Eat Right – I know it sounds bad, I mean you just had a baby, you deserve some Krispy Cremes. I’m with you there, but there’s nothing that can sap your energy quicker than high starch, high fat, high calorie foods. Try to eat right and you’ll see the difference. I usually have a veggie drink as my afternoon snack. I juice some carrots, broccoli, spinach and whatever else sounds good. I slam that drink and I immediately can feel a boost of energy. It’s great for when I’m feel sapped and lethargic.

Accept Help – Ya, sure. This one is so hard for me. I never want any help from anyone because I’m capable of doing everything myself! Of course that has led to some crazy, frustrating times where I end up crying while ripping my hair out. Sometimes you need help. If someone offers, you may just want to take them up on it. I’m hoping this time around I’ll accept enough help so I can get some sleep at some point. Swallow your pride and accept assistance. If you’re bottle feeding, it’s time for daddy to step up to the plate and help, so get some sleep!

Forced Hygiene – I laugh as I write this, but it’s true. I went from getting up early every morning, jumping in the shower, blow drying my hair, putting makeup on and dressing well to suddenly having a baby. Then everything stopped. I would take a shower about, oh, once every three days. Sweats were perfectly acceptable. My hair didn’t see a blow dryer for at least six months straight and a braid was my idea of “doing” my hair. It’s actually recommended that you do your regular hygiene routine, even if you have to force yourself to. It helps with not only your smell (lol), but your outlook and in turn your energy level.

Those are just three things to help out and get you some extra energy or Z’s. You’re baby comes first but remember (as I forget constantly) that you are the primary caregiver and if you don’t take care of yourself then how can you take care of your baby?

All of this B-R-A-T diet mumbo jumbo is leaving this Mommie craving two things, fruits and vegetables! I can’t wait until I can start back in to my regular way of eating again. But since I’m still on this silly diet, I wanted to make sure I don’t overdo it when I ease back into my regular diet. So I was wondering how much fruit is too much fruit?

One thing with fruit is that they do pack a lot of calories overall. If you’re trying to diet, you’re supposed to keep an eye on that. While an apple is better than a chocolate bar, the apple still has a chunk of calories.

The average adult is supposed to be getting around 5 servings of fruit a day. The same is for kids, but keep in mind that they have much smaller stomachs, their portions can be much smaller than that of an adults.

I like to give my kids fruit for breakfast, but I try to switch it up. Best way I know how is to buy what’s on sale for a good price at the store that week. We don’t have any Loquat trees in our yard, so having a variety from the store saves my kids from getting to bored!

Honestly, I was doing about 4 a day and then doing about 4 of veggies as well. Hopefully I can get back to that level!

Ideas on fruit intake? Let Mommie know, I’d love to hear it!

I had mentioned in a post before Christmas that I’d definitely have New Year’s resolutions, but that I just haven’t thought of any yet. But now we are closing the first week of 2009, so I guess I should get my resolutions up here so I don’t make a liar out of myself!


I do have a few things I want to work on, but nothing I want to call a strict resolution. They all are really going to start taking effect after the baby is born, as I feel like I don’t have the energy to do them all to perfection now. Of course don’t get me wrong, once the baby is born I’ll have less time, but I won’t have the huge belly weighing me down.

- Eat healthy – I had started down this road to being quite a fit and healthy mommie before I got pregnant. It wasn’t that long ago, so I think I can still recall the tricks on how to make it happen. Again, it’s not a diet, as I’ll need calories for the baby still, it’s just eating healthier. Honestly I eat pretty healthy as it is. I cook healthy and always seem to have healthy breakfasts and lunches, it’s just the afternoon snack, dinner and the before bed snack that end up being horrid for me. But all in all I eat healthier than most people I know. A plus for me this year is that I got that juicer. I bought a book on juicing and have juiced pretty much everyday. I’m getting way more veggies than the rest of my family and I feel good about doing it too. So I’ll try to keep that up, along with my morning protein shakes that I really love so much.

- Declutter – My husband says that this is just signs of me nesting, but it’s not true. I just want to decrease the amount of “stuff” we have, hopefully sell a ton of it. It just makes everything look terribly messy.

- Me Time – I get none of this, just flat out. I need some Mommie time. I have no idea how I’m going to get it, but I need it desperately. I’m not asking for time to grocery shop, I’m not asking for alone time while I’m waiting for a kid to finish an activity, not alone time when the baby is sleeping, I mean REAL Mommie time, where it’s about me and not the family. Hmmm, no clue how that one will ever happen, but it’s a goal to shoot for.

- Save more – This year I want to save some more of our money. Not sure if that will happen either, but it’s great to try! Last year it was credit card debt and we did it, so this year we’ll focus on the saving instead of spending side.

- Exercise more – This really goes with the first one, as I was doing a great job before I got pregnant. I was below my pre-pregnancy weight and looking good. Now it’s time to start that process again. Seemed like a long road…

So that’s enough of those “resolutions” for 2009. I’m not sure that any will occur, but like I said, they are goals.

I was reading through a magazine the other day and came across an article on how to get your kids to eat vegetables. It didn’t go into tricks on how to get them to eat veggies, instead it had these recipes to try on your kids to get them to eat veggies.

I’m all for new recipes, but there’s this new trend on the “trendy” food. It made me laugh, as the following recipes were included:

Minty Peas (basically frozen peas with mint mixed in)
Red Pepper soup (pureed red peppers with garlic)
Cauliflower Popcorn (sprinkled with Parmesan cheese)
Curried Acorn Squash

While these sound like things that I could serve at a dinner party, I’m not really sold on the idea of serving it to my 20 month old. My daughter might try them, if we bribed her enough, but not my son.

So instead of making some crazy stuff I probably wouldn’t eat, how do you get them to eat veggies?

- Serve them up first. The beginning of the meal is when they are the hungriest and are more likely to eat veggies.
- Offer up dip. Kids think it’s fun and it’s usually a dip they love.
- Let your child pick the veggies in the store. If they are a part of it, they may be more likely to eat them come dinner time.

I feed my kids tons of veggies that they don’t know about, basically including them in sauces and most recipes I prepare. It’s a boost of veggies for the adults and the kids, both of which need the additional veggies.

So do you feed your kid gourmet type veggies? What do you do to get your kids to eat them?

For adults it’s easy to just reach for the home espresso machine, like a Rancilio Silvia, but it’s not so easy to reach for the healthier option. Funny as it may sound, an apple has more of an effect of waking a person up than that big cup of Joe.

For children it’s the same way. If you can get them to eat part of an apple in the morning, they will be more alert in the morning at school. I give my daughter half an apple with her breakfast and then half an apple for her lunch. This keeps away the mid-day sleepiness as well.

Try it, they say an apple a day keep the doctor away, well it also keeps you from counting sheep!

First of all, don’t bring the barbecue inside. Just thought I’d say it, you never know what type of person will read this and think it’s a good idea to bring it indoors. Just don’t do that.

You really have two options for your family. One is the counter top grill, which just plugs in and acts as a mini grill for you. A good option if you can find one large enough.

The other option for healthy grilling, as I said before, is the George Foreman grill. They make it large enough now for the whole family. There’s something to be said for seeing fat pour off your food, seriously, and it should make you feel better as a parent to feed your kids food that is a tad healthier.

So this winter, think about ways to continue to feed your family right, even if you can’t be out on the deck grilling!

Now that Christmas is all said and done, I always turn my thoughts to the year ahead. This year I have many goals, but one has gotten a little help from a Christmas present from my husband. He always scares me because he doesn’t really ask me what I want, he just thinks about what he thinks I might want and then gets that. This year he got me a gift that I just love, but I’m sure 99% of people wouldn’t…

I open up a gift on Christmas Eve from him and I didn’t know what it was right away. Turns out its a juicer. Many people wouldn’t want this as a gift, but honestly I wanted one. I try to be healthy, as healthy as I can (not during Christmas though, sorry doc). One thing that has been missing is my vegetable intake. I can down fruit in a shake just fine, no problem there, but by the time dinner comes around, I have no desire to eat veggies. I eat some so the kids see me eating them, but I really like my protein and carbs at dinner.

So I had been wanting a juicer for a while, mainly to get my 3 veggies in a day. I always say I can drink anything, and truly I can. I don’t care what it tastes like, I can down it in record time. Now I can juice my veggies and have a good, healthy mid-day snack while taking care of the prerequisite veggie consumption.

We’ve juiced some fruit already, but honestly I drink them in a shake in the morning, so I’m not foreseeing juicing to many fruits. Today I juiced my first set of veggies, which consisted of carrots, celery and broccoli. I slammed it and actually it wasn’t that bad. Anyhow, it kept me away from the Doritos my husband was eating and made me feel very happy about my choice of afternoon snack.

I’m hoping to incorporate this into my daily routine, as I know I need it. As for the rest of the family, I think they’ll just stick to veggies at dinner!