Baking, making, eating

It always feels good to start the week off right with good food. 

1. Lucky Almond and Chia Choc Chip cookies

2. Gluten free banana and blueberry muffins with sneaky avocado

3. Sweet potato, zucchini and pumpkin slice 

4. Cacao rough balls

5. Chicken and vegetable soup

6. Chia choc pudding

We had a lovely Sunday spent at home. Junior had a friend over and Turbo busied himself with a marathon Lego building Fest in his room. Baby P slept well during the day or was happy to chill out on the floor watching her mummy and daddy busy in the kitchen.

It was a reasonably hiccup free day, except for the quick trip to the hospital after Turbo got hit in the head with a cricket bat by his brother. It was an accident, of course, and fortunately, the cut on his eyelid looked A LOT worse than what it was. Funny though, I was immediately taken back to when I was 6 and got hit in the head with a cricket bat by my own older brother. I wanted to be wicky. I stood way too close. My injury was pretty bad, a deep cut to my left eyebrow resulting in stitches and panicked parents. And a broken cricket bat...

Never the less, it was a very productive day in the kitchen. Mr Man even made chicken terryaki and vegetarian nori rolls for lunch. And a HUGE pot of popcorn was popped on the stove for the kids lunch boxes and snacks throughout the week. 

Nic Nurtures x

Cutting out dairy

image source - wellnourished

Baby P has been experiencing baby eczema. Poor little pet. Her skin has been rather dry since birth. I wondered if it was the water, seeing as we live in the country...perhaps it's a tad hard. I've tried different lotions and creams from coconut oil to sorbolene. A visit to the local doctor didn't turn up much, a quick look over and a prescription for hydrocortisone cream. I don't want to give my baby that...she's too new. 

So after much research and chatting to other mums I've started her on Moo Goo and decided to cut dairy out of my diet. According to the Eczema Association of Australasia, dairy can be a trigger for eczema. This was further backed up by my Naturopath friend and other mums. There is something about the protein in cows milk that can irritate the digestive  system and create allergic reactions, like eczema. And, this can be crossed over from mum to bub through breast milk.

Now, I don't consume a lot of dairy, or so I thought. But when you consciously take note of your intake, it can be surprising. I have been consuming 500grams of cows milk (2 coffees per day), cheese at lunch, butter and about 200grams of yoghurt. Not to mention the chocolate one just has to consume when breastfeeding. 

So it's now three days in, and I've cut out 80% of my dairy intake, switching cows milk for soy or almond milk, and no cheese at lunch...I have feta in the fridge for when I feel the cheese need. The switch in milk means that I am only consuming one coffee a day and enjoying plenty of peppermint and green tea and bucket loads of water.

I've been making alternative sweet treats for myself using raw cacao and coconut oil. I have also cut down on my bread and wheat intake as these too can provide an allergic response in some people. I find great inspiration from Georgia Harding at Well Nourished. Her recipes are easy to follow and the ingredients are easy to get hold of. The easy peasy fruit whip  is one of her recipes, and it went down a treat with the kids and I. Her chia berry ripe (pictured) is my choice of breakfast for the week.

I am feeling pretty good, if not a touch lighter. I'm sure Baby P is feeling a bit better too, although she is teething, so it's hard to tell. However, her skin is improving. Using the Eczema and Psoriasis Cream a few times a day is helping the red patches behind her knees and elbows and under her neck and chin. We are also massaging her twice a day with Skin Milk Udder Cream and this is helping her dry skin immensely, she is getting that lovely soft baby skin back. I am also using this cream on my face and neck...so far so good.

I'd love to hear your experiences with baby eczema or going dairy free.

Nic Nurtures x

Weekend Stills, Show Time

1. Riding the mechanical cow

2. Getting a cuddle from the GWN 7 dog 

3. Freestyle BMX, totally rad!

4. Watching the cow tamer judging

5. This guy carved a crocodile out of wood with a chainsaw.

It's that time of the year again, Show time in our neck of the woods. The boys were lucky enough to go to the Perth Royal Show in the school holidays. My big boy had his first game of Under 12's cricket this morning, so I took the Turbo and Baby P along to check it out. It was a very overcast and windy morning, but we had such fun checking everything out and bumping into friends.

How did you spend your Saturday?

Nic Nurtures

Make mine a double

A few weeks back I wrote about sleep and how Baby P was sleeping through the night. Oh how all that changed when she hit 4 months. It's like as soon as that fourth trimester was over and she hit 16 weeks, she became a different baby.

Some nights are good, she'll go down and wake once, around 1am and then again at in the wee hours of the morning. Thats ok. I can cope with that.

But the last three nights have been extremely tiresome for me...Baby P is waking every hour from about 10.30pm to 4am. It's hard work, this getting into a good sleep and waking every hour.

So you start thinking about what is going on for her. Is she too cold? Too hot? Is it teeth? Is she really hungry still? She's not really upset, but she is whingey, tired too, she just wants to go to sleep and not wake up. Like me.

At 20 weeks there is a lot going on developmentally. She is 'talking' so much more making lots of lovely new sounds. Her movement is coming leaps and bounds. She rolls from front to back and nearly from back to front. Her muscles are getting stronger, in a few weeks she will be able to sit (supported) upright. So much going on, so many new brain connections forming and processing.

No wonder she is not sleeping well. It must be one of those wonder weeks. I feel far more patient and relaxed with my third baby though, perhaps it's because I've been here before, I know this phase will pass. Perhaps it's because she is my last and I am savouring the midnight snuggles and cuddles. 

For now, I'll make mine a double. Double shot of coffee that is, and be grateful for my espresso machine. 

Nic Nurtures x

Lazy days, Rivermouth stills

1. The Rivermouth looking towards the surf break.

2. Dig dig digging. No matter how old they get, the boys love playing in the sand. 

3. Testing the water, refreshingly chilly.

4. Junior Hoges takes a break whilst Turbo digs out a moat. 

5. Baby P enjoys the texture of beach sand on her feet for the first time.

6. Building a sandcastle up the side of a rock, cooperating together.

The last day of school holidays meant sleeping in, scrambled eggs for breakfast, coffee and an adventure down at the Rivermouth. The sun was shining a warm 22 degrees and the sky a brilliant blue. I've loved having the boys home and they have learnt to enjoy each other's company with minimal fuss and fighting. 

May you have a super week, 

Nic Nurtures

Saturday tea break

Gosh has it been two weeks already? The school holidays seem to have just flown by. I've loved the break in the school routine and the kids have enjoyed each others company too. There has been so much going on down here...

Trips to the city and Royal Show
An overwhelming Ikea shopping trip
Negotiating city traffic 
Unwell mother in law - Deep Vein Thrombosis, not fun. Not. Fun. At. All.
Viral Tonsilitis for me - ick!
Baby P not sleeping well during the night
Baby P nearly rolling over all the way - so much developmental stuff going on with her right now at 20 weeks...no wonder she is not sleeping well
Grandma Molly (my mum) comes to stay for 4 days...yay!
Sorting, organising, decluttering of the bedrooms

And one of the lovely things to happen in the these two weeks - the Kangaroo paws have begun to flower! It is so lovely to come home and see them reaching up to the sun. 

I'm currently savouring a big cup of tea and cookie whilst the boys are down the road, Mr Man is snoozing on the couch to the sound of Bathurst and Baby P is asleep in her pram - the only place she seems to day sleep these days. I should probably catch some zzz's too...but there is too much internet to catch up on and Sunday baking to plan.

Hope you've enjoyed your kids these holidays,

Nic Nurtures 

Community Garden Stills

1. Community veggie plots

2. mosaic art on the garden path

3. high vis scarecrow next to the potato mound

4. veggies grow next to the chook pen

5. no waste, large compost recycling station

6. rainbow windmill

7. earl grey tea, banana smoothies and chocolate cake

8. the boys sharing a book

We a took a trip to Busselton to pick up a delivery from a local courier company and discovered the Busselton Community Garden across the street. This place is an eco green thumbs haven. And to top it off, the sweet vintage inspired Pepi Cafe complete with mini op shop inside provided us with the perfect morning tea! In the middle of the light industrial area, this place is a community treasure.

Nic Nurtures