So I’m 6 weeks into life with 3 boys under 3 and a half. And I just keep telling myself, more children have been had, at one time, under more primitive conditions than my comfortable home, with playroom, plethora of toys and baby gates... lots. of. baby gates. As I write, my 6 week old is on my lap because today is a non-swing, napless kinda day - you know the kind, and if you are without children at the moment... you will ;). Putting my growing, mental to-do list aside while I'm confined to the chair, I reflect on the numerous classes I’ve taught and attended, articles read and written, on how to rear and (in my line of work) feed children. It occurs to me - how many of these said “experts” ACTUALLY had or remember life with children? Normal, functioning, perhaps multiple children?
This coming from a woman who spent her early, childless, know-it-all, driven, twenties ticking off countless new moms as a children’s nutritionist and lactation consultant. Ha. haha. ha ha ha ha ha. Oh the imminent eye rolls and cursing from those poor women lugging their screaming infants and snotty tots out to the car.
I was blessed with a first child who fought sleep and nursing. I knew all the book-smarts on nursing, I even went back to old text books, desperate to simply troubleshoot the situation - I TAUGHT this, I WILL make it work! I was determined to nurse that boy! After 4 agonizing, tearful, frustrating, painful and fruitless weeks - I pumped every feeding - every bottle for 11 months. Special bonding experience? What? Between me and Medela maybe. My second was a better nurser, my third is by the book. Ha! Either it took me 2 years of practice to master it, or kids are just different - novel idea. Especially when it comes to children, there comes a time when you take what you know, do the best you can and, well, wing it to survive.
I'm learning its easy to fold, and look to a plethora of processed foods and Fast Food to just get them fed. But there is a happy medium that establishes good habits, gives kids proper nourishment and keeps us sane (relatively speaking :) ). Here are some potentially “frowned upon” new-mom survival suggestions with my RD filter:
- Frozen can absolutely be your friend. Fruits and veggies - every meal if need be. For meats (i.e. chicken nuggets), the trick is to look for the least amount of ingredients - without additives (its frozen - that’s the “preservative”). Tyson has some decent options - I’ll let you know when I find my favorite. You’re aiming for <1500-2000 mg sodium per DAY, so let that be your guide - 400-600 per meal is acceptable. Always look for NO Trans fat and low saturated fat (3-4 g or less) - aim for Canola or Olive oil in the ingredients, with vegetable oil as a distant second vs. soybean or safflower. Pair with fresh items, not fried, like french fries (i.e. fruit, corn, whole grain pasta, or whole wheat toast/crackers etc as your carb). Stock up on frozen meals like Cedarlane, Amy’s bowls, or Kashi - be choosy though - you can’t go solely by brand. (Same guidelines as above)
- Use and abuse peanut butter and yogurt - great protein, good fats (PB), live cultures (yogurt). The key is to keep it as simple as possible - i.e. ground peanuts or minimally flavored greek yogurt.
- Don’t be afraid of rotisserie chicken cooked at the store. Its lean, “fresh,” and can be used for multiple meals.
- Whole wheat waffles - morning noon or night. Batched homemade then frozen or Kashi waffles are my favorite.
- Certain granola bars and fruit/yogurt “squeezies” travel well and are helpful with church nurseries, early mornings & “I’m done” nights. Not all are created equal - our favorites are Lara bars, Cliff kids A-Z organic bars, Kashi peanut peanut bars and a plethora of organic fruit and veggie pouches - with or without yogurt. We get Happy Baby delivered monthly through Amazon.com because its cheaper with more variety. And coupon search for others. Yes, you are losing some of the nutritional integrity with the pouches since they are heated to ridiculous temperatures before packaging. Homemade, fresh/frozen is always preferable - aaaand welcome to survival mode - these are still difficult veggies for kid consumers (spinach, broccoli, beets etc) with high antioxidant fruits (like berries, many times out of season, expensive & messy in cars ;)) and some with yogurt (see above). They typically have lower sugar and calories than juice, with more nutrients. I’ll take it in a pinch for sure We limit ours to 1 (sometimes 2) a day, since they can be downed in a record 2 seconds by my 19 mo old. (*advise - not to be sole nutrition for babies who are under 9 months to a year, who should be learning how to eat with a spoon vs. straw/sucking of solids).
- Don’t sacrifice family dinners. This is our new-year’s resolution for 2012. Its late once my husband is home. Its easy to throw them in front of a cartoon to, well, regroup. The family sitting down together is important not only for building table manners, saying grace as a family, and portion control, but as they get older, fostering open communication etc.
- If you DO find time to cook, get your “sea-legs under you,” or simply feel daring - The Sneaky Chef is my new favorite cook book.
May the force be with you.
