We're guessing that you spend a LOT of time dealing with food for your Bunch - nursing, planning, preparing, feeding, cleaning up, etc. etc. As moms of very young children with tiny tummies, feeding is probably our single most time-consuming activity (after changing diapers?) But how much time do you spend feeding yourself?
When the youngest of my Bunch was about 6 months old, I actually weighed almost 10 pounds LESS than I had when I got pregnant with my first baby. I would have been really happy if I could claim this was due to healthy eating and exercise. But no - instead it was due to sheer lack of time to eat. Babies have a tendency to keep us hopping with their Constant Needs, and TWO babies meant that I barely had time for a sip of water, more less a full meal.
A hungry baby is a fussy baby whether you are breastfeeding, bottle feeding or doing a mixture of both. Avoid the feeding frenzy and enjoy the beautiful bond that comes with feeding your baby with these helpful tips and accessories. Breastfeeding Essentials. Breastfeeding seems simple enough: Baby, meet breast.
I'm almost always hungry because I make food but can't seem to finish eating it before I'm interrupted, or I think about making food for myself but I'm too tired to actually DO it, or (worse!) I've had a chance to consume food but I had to do it so quickly that my body doesn't even realize it has eaten! Frankly, it's easier just to stick to a liquid diet of Carnation Instant Breakfast, coffee, and Diet Coke, than try to figure out what, when, and how I'm going to eat. I am so sick of worrying about food for others that I literally cannot even deal with it for myself.
It's all fine and good to talk about how we moms should take better care of ourselves (and we should!), but the reality is that we probably won't until our Bunches are a little older because there is NEVER.. ENOUGH. TIME. So instead, let's share our favorite tips for feeding ourselves as best we can, given the circumstances. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Carnation Instant Breakfast, as mentioned before. Mornings are the worst at my house and there is no way I'm gonna get to eat. Instant Breakfast can be made with skim or whole milk and easily paired with the uber-portable (and healthy!) banana. This has been my Breakfast of Champions for five and a half years now. I also went on a bottled smoothie kick for awhile, but I just like the chocolate better.
- Fruit and veggie trays. I take time to cut up fruit for my kids but never eat it myself. If I buy a pre-made fruit/veggie tray, I will eat it. There is no method to this madness. Just telling you what I do. Linda just buys baby carrots and calls it good with those and some hummus.
- Water. I fill up a huge bottle every morning and then drink the whole thing, refill it, and drink the whole thing again - between the hours of 5 and 10 pm. At least I'm getting my daily allotment of water - so what if I'm drowning myself because it's all at once.
- Popcorn. It's a snack! It's a meal! Low-cal and super filling, it's always a good choice. Just be careful you don't leave a trail of un-popped kernels - choking hazards for the wee ones.
- Hummus. Goes with carrot sticks from the veggie tray or whole grain crackers from the box in the pantry. Plus the kids love it too. Yum.
- Cereal. I treat myself to a junk food box (Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms, etc.) every once in awhile and eat it as 'dessert' before I go to bed. Cereal is good for you, even if it's coated in sugar, right?
- PB&J. The world's most perfect food for people of all ages. In a pinch, I will slap one together on yummy whole wheat bread while I'm making one for the kids and scarf it down with a glass of milk to give me energy to keep going all afternoon.
- Meat. Linda always makes a little extra chicken, steak, shrimp, etc. to munch on for some extra protein. It also helps when you have to throw it in the little bit of leftover Mac & Cheese that the kids didn't finish. That + protein makes a meal.
- Hard boiled eggs. Every weekend--even now--Linda boils a dozen hardboiled eggs. Again, in a pinch the eggs help round out an all-carb meal with a bit of protein.
- Tortillas. Linda is a big fan of this Tex-Mex treat. She stocks up for the week with several packages of flour tortillas and uses them as wraps for all-things-leftovers. She says anything in a 'wrap' tastes great. Throw in a few veggies and you have a meal.
Feeding Frenzy 2 online, free
Baby On A Feeding Frenzy 2
Help me add some more easy, (semi-)nutritious foods to my repertoire. What's your favorite fuel?
Note: Before you get too excited about Baby Bunching as a potential weight loss strategy, please note that by the time my Bunch was 3 and 4, I found the muffin top creeping on. With my lifting, carrying, and chasing responsibilities significantly reduced, my job as mom had become more sedentary, but I continued to graze absentmindedly like I had for the past 3 years. Now that I have a one-year old again who is constantly on the move, my weight is back down. Starting to see a pattern?
Baby Feeding Frenzy 2 Weeks
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