What is the Purpose of Your Face?

Meal Planning Monday (a day late)

I didn't have a chance to blog yesterday....piano lessons, making dinner, watching movies.

1. Chicken Teriyaki with Vegetables
Yep, a carry over from last week. We had this meal last night and it was super yummy. We had the chicken and veggies over brown rice. Lydia claimed to not like this meal this time. She ate it last time. Maybe it's because I mixed up the rice and veggies and chicken all together instead of leaving it separate. She ended up asking for soup, didn't like that, then Daddy gave her a lunchable. Spoiled girl.

2. Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Another carry over from last week (we ate at my mom's house a few times and then went out to eat).

3. Lasagna

I'm not linking a recipe....there's nothing special about this recipe. It's one I have always made, except I am going to use ground turkey instead of ground beef.

4. Smoky Corn and Black Bean Pizza

This one is really yummy and Brian really liked it. There's no meat, but it's very satisfying. We will have salad and fruit with this meal. 

5. Sloppy Joe's

Usual recipe - adding sloppy joe mix to ground turkey. We have yummy whole wheat buns, pickles and cheese slices to put on the joe's. Plus baked beans and salad for sides.

Tip Tuesday

Babywearing: the practice of wearing or carrying a baby in a sling or in another form of carrier. It has been practiced for centuries around the world.

When Lydia was born I had no clue about "babywearing". I didn't really know it was a thing or how handy it actually was. I got a simple baby carrier (don't remember the brand) to wear her when we'd go on walks, etc. But, I never really liked it. Nowadays it would be called a "crotch dangler"....in other words, not the best carrier around. This time around, I knew I wanted a really good carrier. I knew that it would come in handy have two kiddos. 

So, I got a K'Tan - one of the best inventions of this century! I love it! It's very similar to a Moby wrap, or any other type of wrap. Except, it already comes pre-wrapped. You don't have to tie anything or wrap anything around your waist. The K'Tan comes in two loops of fabric that you put over your body. You put baby in, make it tight and voila - a perfectly wrapped baby! Here's the how-to video that helped me:

Gideon LOVES his K'Tan. When he was really tiny, all I had to do was put him in the wrap and he would immediately fall asleep - and sleep for a long, long time. When I was at a 3-day conference earlier this summer (Gideon was 7 weeks old), I wore him in the K'Tan the whole time and he was perfectly content. Now that he's a little bit older, he still loves his K'Tan, but also likes to look around. I walked around Wal-Mart with him in the wrap and he was looking around the whole time.

The K'Tan doesn't hurt your back and is really easy to wear. You can wear it for hours and have no issues. There are several different ways to wear the K'Tan, but for right now, I just have Gideon against my chest with his legs out. I can see myself wearing Gideon for a long, long time. It is so much more convenient going grocery shopping or out and about with Lydia when I am wearing Gideon vs. pushing him in a stroller. I wish I had known about the K'Tan with Lydia - she may have been a much happier baby with it.

Here are some benefits of Babywearing:

1. the mother's oxytocin levels increase with having baby so close, which creates more of a maternal bond, easier breastfeeding and care, thus lowering the chances of postpartum depression.

2. infants who are carried are generally calmer (have definitely seen a difference between Lydia and Gideon)

3. attachment between caregiver and child is stronger

I love wearing Gideon and highly recommend it to everyone! Especially if you have multiple children.