Halfway through painting the trim.
There have been big changes going on lately in the Gladwin family. We have officially moved into our new house! (post about that coming soon!) This house has been a dream or ours for many years. Over the last 3 years we have put innumerable hours into dreaming up, designing, hiring, firing, redesigning and building this amazing house that we will live in for the rest of our lives. He absolutely loves this hat.
During this time, we also got pregnant and had a baby! Zachary is an awesome, almost-2-year-old. He’s full of wonder, too smart for his own good (and mine for that matter) and frankly, a handful.
We have always said we would have 2 kids, for a number of reasons. The most important to me being that I have always felt like that would feel like a complete family to me. I grew up with 3 little siblings, and while I love them all and wouldn’t change a thing, I also think that I would have a very hard time giving as much attention as I would want to 4 children. One has always felt lonely.
Now, I have to admit, I’m not so sure. Can we just have one and feel like a complete family? We do, though there has always been the expectation of another soon. Will I always want another baby? Even if I have another one, will I still always want yet another baby? I have plenty of friends who are very happy with the number of kids they have, yet still long for a newborn, and another chance to experience the magic that comes with all the ‘firsts’ of a new life.
I had a difficult postpartum period, Zachary was great and healthy, I was physically healing well. Out for a walk. Zachary really loves to be walked to sleep on my back. Outside walks always work faster, and he sleeps longer.
Mentally, I was a mess. It took me almost a year to realize I was dealing with postpartum depression. I didn’t realize that spring and summer had happened and that we could venture outside until mid-June. Zero sex drive. Attending births was too scary. I couldn’t remember the last time I had belly-laughed. I started several treatment routes, and began to feel more human by September. The last 10 months have been hard, lots of uprooting and shifting ground, but I have for the most part been able to stay even-keeled and emotionally healthy.
Now, here we are, at the time when we always imagined trying for number 2, and I feel like we JUST got a hold on real life. So, do we just go for it, know it will be amazing, and life changing – again? Or, do we hold off, wait for things to settle further (will they ever settle?) and then have the conversation again? I’ll let you know where we land. We had great help through the whole build! Friends and family help us move in on building day.
When I was newly postpartum, a lovely friend brought me these amazing lactation friendly peanut butter balls that were so nice to have around and just grab when I needed a snack. I scoured the web looking for the recipe that matched. I found this one at TheBabyGoat.com and it is amazing!
The tiny ones are for the toddler 🙂
I have changed it A LOT though over the past year a a half, and have added even more nutritional yumminess! I have also doubled the recipe (sorta).
edited version:
In stand mixer mix:
1 cup ground flaxseed and chia seed (in whatever ratio you like)
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, and/or hemp hearts
4-8 tablespoons brewer’s yeast (optional – though a GREAT source of nutrients and protein)
1-2 tbsp turmeric and/or cacao powder. (optional)
Add, while mixer is running:
1-2 tbsp vanilla or almond (or both) extract
2/3 cup honey– mix well
mix in:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4-1/2 cup room temp butter (depending on how okay you are with eating lots of butter 😉
At this point add nut butter (peanut, cashew, sunflower seed, almond, etc) until it holds together to be able to form balls. I then add:
1/2-1 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2-1 cup chopped nuts
Roll into balls, put into bowl, eat all the time! (or as I all too often do, don’t make into balls, eat with spoon out of mixing bowl every time you walk by the kitchen…)
These are so yummy and addictive. They are chock-full of healthy ingredients, so you can snack guilt free. Enjoy!
Welcome Ariana Riegel! Ari and baby Zora
I’ve known Ariana for almost 4 years, through the entirety of building my business and truly identifying as a doula. While I was Program Director for the non-profit Doulas Care, Ariana wisely took advantage of the affordable birth doula class offerings through that organization. I was so excited that she was going to be entering into this amazing world of birth-work.
I knew she would be a natural! Ari has a warm and nurturing spirit. She joined a non-profit organization as a volunteer for an entire year out of college, just to be able to give back to her community. Ari was then hired by her organization in a coordinating position once her volunteer tenure was through. She is smart and fast on her toes, a great skill when dealing with unexpected situations, especially in a medical setting. She is careful and deliberate as well, she’s always very careful when talking about a problem she’s working through to make sure no confidential material is shared that shouldn’t be. These are all qualities that made me so sure that supporting her dream of being a birth worker would not be a waste of my time. I know Ari will be a blessing to any family that allows her to support them through their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum time.
Stay tuned, she will be introducing herself early in the New Year!
It’s been a long time since I’ve done any sort of updating here, and a lot has changed in my life.
I was living my dream of doula-ing full-time taking 3-4 clients per month, and loving life. When I thought things couldn’t get much better, my husband and I found out we were going to be welcoming a new little soul into the world in August 2013. Winter, Spring, and Summer were full of birth energy, both from my clients ( I attended 21 births during the first 2 trimesters!) and my own.
All the families I got to work with were wonderful, and the babies are, of course, amazing. What a fun time. I stopped attending births as I entered into my third trimester. This was due to my growing belly making physical support harder, but also to start to move my birthing energy and knowledge inward. To have some time to reflect on my own pregnancy and focus on my own little one.
After Zachary was born, I tried to jump right in again into doula work. Leaving my baby proved too anxiety producing, so after a few difficult months of back and forth, I decided to step back and take some real time off with my new family. While I did support a few repeat families, (which is so amazing!!) my summer was relaxing and spent doing a lot of self reflecting and working on myself. he’s amazing!my family
What did I learn? I learned that I absolutely love being a mother! I learned that being a stay at home mom is very challenging, lonely at times, and the most rewarding thing I have ever done. I also learned that I LOVE doula work and birth work way too much to stay away for long. Supporting families as they welcome a new member into their arms is something that will continue to be my calling for the rest of my life. Having the honor of being present for these transformative moments is something I am eternally grateful for. I hope I continue to learn and grow as families trust me to hold their space.
Thank you to all of the families who have allowed me to support them over these past 3+ years. I will forever hold each of your families in my heart! Love, Katy
Let me tell you a little about young coconut. It is an amazing eat. You might have seen these special fruits (or seeds or nuts, whichever you prefer to call it, because they’re all correct) at the grocery store, but been intimidated by the fibrous fortress that protects the treasure inside.
First, it really isn’t all that hard to open as long as you have a decent chef’s knife or cleaver. You can find a quick instructional video here.
One of the most satisfying things to do with a young coconut is open it up, drink the juice and then scoop out the meat. That is one serious treat, right there.
But what about other forms of coconut? Milk, dehydrated, freeze dried? They’re all super tasty AND good for you!
So, why do you want to consume coconut? According to the Coconut Research Center in Colorado Springs, here’s a list of reasons:
Digestive Benefits
Improves digestion and absorption of other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
Improves insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose.
Relieves stress on pancreas and enzyme systems of the body.
Reduces symptoms associated with pancreatitis.
Helps relieve symptoms and reduce health risks associated with diabetes.
Reduces problems associated with malabsorption syndrome and cystic fibrosis.
Improves calcium and magnesium absorption and supports the development of strong bones and teeth.
Relieves symptoms associated with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and stomach ulcers.
Improves digestion and bowel function.
Skin and Hair Benefits
Supports tissue healing and repair.
Applied topically helps to form a chemical barrier on the skin to ward of infection.
Reduces symptoms associated the psoriasis, eczema, and dermatitis.
Supports the natural chemical balance of the skin.
Softens skin and helps relieve dryness and flaking.
Prevents wrinkles, sagging skin, and age spots.
Promotes healthy looking hair and complexion.
Provides protection from damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
Helps control dandruff.
Seasonal Benefits
Reduces inflammation.
Supports and aids immune system function.
Kills viruses that cause influenza, herpes, measles, hepatitis C, SARS, AIDS, and other illnesses.
Antimicrobial Benefits
Kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, gum disease and cavities, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, and other diseases.
Kills fungi and yeasts that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete’s foot, thrush, diaper rash, and other infections.
Expels or kills tapeworms, lice, giardia, and other parasites.
Helps prevent periodontal disease and tooth decay.
Healthy Weight Benefits
Is lower in calories than all other fats.
Supports thyroid function.
Promotes loss of excess weight by increasing metabolic rate.
Is utilized by the body to produce energy in preference to being stored as body fat like other dietary fats.
Helps prevent obesity and overweight problems.
Provides a nutritional source of quick energy.
Boosts energy and endurance, enhancing physical and athletic performance.
Improves utilization of essential fatty acids and protects them from oxidation.
Is heart healthy; improves cholesterol ratio reducing risk of heart disease.
Protects arteries from injury that causes atherosclerosis and thus protects against heart disease.
Additional Amazing Benefits
Helps relieve symptoms associated with gallbladder disease.
Relieves pain and irritation caused by hemorrhoids.
Helps protect the body from breast, colon, and other cancers.
Functions as a protective antioxidant.
Helps protect against osteoporosis.
Helps to protect the body from harmful free radicals that promote premature aging and degenerative disease.
Does not deplete the body’s antioxidant reserves like other oils do.
Helps relieve symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Relieves symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (prostate enlargement).
Reduces epileptic seizures.
Helps protect against kidney disease and bladder infections.
Dissolves kidney stones.
Helps prevent liver disease.
Does not form harmful by-products when heated to normal cooking temperature like other vegetable oils do.
Has no harmful or discomforting side effects.
Is completely non-toxic to humans.
Need I say more? This really is a super food.
I will tell you that one of the main concerns that modern, western dietitians have with consuming large amounts of coconut is it’s saturated fat content (100%). Do not fret, dear readers. Saturated fat is not the big bad wolf that the dietary authorities have led us to believe. Here is a fantastic article on healthy fats.
Over the next several weeks I’m going to do a series of Coconut Themed Friday Food Posts! Stay Tuned! In the mean time, go get yourself a couple of those Young Coconuts. Delish!
