The silly season is upon us and everywhere I look the tables are full of temptations. Between all of the end of year birthdays, work breakups and family Christmas parties it can become a little overwhelming. Then there is New Years to contend with. So here are seven ways to ditch overindulgence.
Having a full stomach means you will be less likely to snack on some not so healthy options. My breakfast protein mug is the perfect breakfast to keep you fuller for longer.
Keep yourself hydrated by drinking plenty of water. It can help minimise a hangover and can also help you feel fuller, without the boat from soft drinks.
Soft drinks can just add to the bloating you may already feel after a large meal, so stick to water.
Sharing really is caring. It’s also great because you know exactly what went into it because you made it. Healthy festive bark always goes down a treat.
Many different teas are known for aiding in digestion. Peppermint is my favourite and green tea is also another favourite.
Getting your body moving after a big meal can also help digestion along, and remove that ‘too full’ feeling.
The silly season will be over before you know it. You will be writing out your goals for the new year and this will all be a thing of the past.
After childbirth, everyone wants to hear your birth story. What you expected, what you experienced and of course what pain medication you had.
My number one goal for the birth of my daughter was to avoid a cesarean. The next goal was to avoid an induced labour. But I was given an induction date at my 40-week appointment. Which was 12 days after my due date. I honestly didn’t try to interfere too much but I felt confident that I could avoid being induced. I had two ‘stretch and sweeps’, the second being a bit more vigorous than the first. Approximately 50 hours later, I thought I was going into labour. I got up to go to the toilet while watching a movie in bed when a glob of something landed on the floor. It looked like the inside of an egg. A runny outer bit with a darker coloured glob in the middle.
Since I wasn’t sure what to do, I called the hospital. The hospital said they would probably send me home, but I should come in for a checkup.
My husband and I arrived at the hospital at 11 pm Friday night. I was monitored and appeared to be having very mild contractions. But the baby had not yet dropped into position. She was still sitting quite high. The nurses decided that I would be kept in overnight for observation. It was then that I knew I would not be going home until I had my baby. My induction scheduled for the next morning.
I got very little sleep that night due to the increasing contractions and extreme back pain. The back pain only got worse. My Saturday was spent being monitored and walking around the ward, stopping every so often when the pain took my attention.
Quick bathroom selfie while wandering the ward before my waters broke.
At 8 pm I was connected to a machine again. But I was so uncomfortable and felt like I needed to go to the toilet. I buzzed for the nurse to unhook me but after waiting about five minutes I couldn’t wait any longer. Feeling impatient, I decided I would try to go to the toilet and I wouldn’t go back to bed until I had urinated.
That was when my waters broke.
The most accurate way for me to describe my waters breaking was a tsunami. As I was on the toilet, a gush of water laned in the toilet with such force it bounced back out, all over the floor. I felt immediate relief from what I had been feeling but I knew I would be meeting my baby very soon.
Into a wheelchair and off to a labour suite. I spent a lot of time swearing until my midwife told me how best to direct my energy. She also told me the best way to hold my legs.
My mum appeared at my side not long after I arrived in the labour room. I had made it very clear to both families that I only wanted my husband present during the birth. However, my mum had just finished her shift on another ward and came to see how I was. She offered to leave as was my original wish but I wasn’t about to send her home to wait for news of her first grandchild’s arrival. I put my mum on ice duty while my husband was at the business end giving me lots of encouragement.
It appeared that I was tearing so a doctor came in to perform an episiotomy. Within three hours of my water breaking, I was holding my daughter.
My daughter arrived at 10.46pm weighing in at 9lb 3.5oz (4180g) on our 3rd wedding anniversary, November 5.
I felt strongly about delayed cord clamping, my husband cut the umbilical cord after it had stopped pulsing.
The same doctor that performed the episiotomy came back to add a few stitches but left before doing anything. The damage was too extensive, I needed to go to theatre to be repaired. I sat up and asked to move across to another bed.
I fainted.
When I came there were about 10 staff around me. And I was whisked down to surgery. I remember the anesthetist had beautifully kind eyes, I trusted him immediately. A catheter and spinal block later, I was struggling to stay awake. Luckily a nurse told me that I could sleep. I was in surgery for about an hour. It turns out the tissue was so soft that the stitches kept tearing the tissue.
I finally arrived back in the maternity ward around 3 am. I was exhausted and absolutely famished. My husband had basically been left alone with our daughter while I was in surgery and he was glad to see me.
I received two blood transfusions, as I lost quite a lot of blood during the birth. Later that day I tried to get up to have an assisted shower but fainted again.
All up I had four nights in the hospital and three units of blood. Our daughter had no name for a day until we decided on Elise May. Elise was not on our shortlist but May is my middle name, as well as my mother’s middle name.
Finding appropriate toddler foods can be difficult so I’m sharing my favourite toddler friendly zucchini recipes. I’ve been so lucky that my daughter seems to like everything we have given her. There have been a few things that she doesn’t appear to like, but I’ve noticed it comes down to the texture. There have also been a few cases of things not agreeing with her little tummy. But she seems to have grown out of most of those.
It doesn’t take long before your toddler wants to feed them self so having bite-size food is a must.
Zucchini slice was one of the first combined foods I made for my daughter. And it has always been a big hit. She loved it so much that as soon as she saw it she would refuse to eat anything else, so we had to hide it until she had eaten other foods first.
In January I was gifted half of a very large zucchini. With that, I made a zucchini slice, a batch of Zucchini Greek yoghurt muffins and a batch of Double Choc Zucchini Muffins. All of these went into the freezer to avoid wasting any. They all defrost really well, either in the fridge or in the microwave. The surprising thing is you wouldn’t know that there are any vegetables in the chocolate muffins!
This recipe is adapted from Julie Goodwin's recipe.
Combine the grated zucchini, carrot, and cheese in a bowl.
Add the flour and mix, ensuring everything is coated in the flour.
Add the beaten eggs and mix thoroughly.
Pour into a slice tin.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden on the top.
Allow to cool before cutting.
If you are freezing the zucchini slice, cut it into portions then put it back into the slice tin and into the freezer. After approximately 24 hours, removed the tin from the freezer and distribute to ziplock bags.
I like to beat the eggs in a bullet blender.
Kathleen (noun), newly 30, bustling employee, inventive house wife & wannabe creative, just wanting to share the favourable parts of my life.
