Baby Spag Bol :-)

Another little recipe for my followers who are also weaning, this is even more popular with Ruby than the Pasta recipe. This is the recipe we introduced mince with.

I dry fried about 1lb of mince in a fairly deep pan with half a chopped onion, and then crushed a clove of garlic, chopped it and chucked it in too. Once the mince was nice and brown, sprinkle in some herbs I used basil and sage. Next put the tinned tomatoes in, I used plum tomatoes and chopped them in the can myself but if you have chopped in your cupboard just use them. 

I grated some carrot in and then decided to add some courgette, sliced and quartered. Leave it too cook, then blitz it with a blender, or if you have one, a baby blender like the Tommee Tippee Explora one I have used. It is great makes a nice size portion, has 3 settings and is easy to clean, I love ours and have used it from the first spoonful, worth investing in. 

For the spaghetti I mixed into the sauce, I just cooked it like normal, drained and stretched it across the chopping board and then chopped it to little lengths I knew Ruby would eat, as your baby hits different stages you can alter this to suit, also altering the amount you blender the sauce, evenly not blending at all. 

Very easy tasty recipe, I used Tesco Value Spaghetti and tinned tomatoes, carrots onions and garlic nice and cheap, the mince was from the local butchers (so I know there is only good stuff in the mince) and the courgettes were a freebie from a friends garden, so a bargain meal makes loads! 

Give it a try :-) 

C 

Pasta Recipe

A couple of weeks ago I knocked Ruby up a pasta sauce with tinned tomatoes, a red pepper, a courgette, a clove of garlic and a few herbs, she absolutely loved it and it was really simple to do, so I wished I had taken some pics to share. I hadn't so I cooked up another batch to share with you guys.

I changed it slightly mainly as I didn't have all the ingredients, but it was still just as tasty, not quite as good as the pepper alternative, I used mushrooms this time, this is also the first proper home made meal Rubes has had with mushrooms in.

I also didn't have a tin of plum tomatoes so I used fresh ones we had in the fridge.

First I steamed the tomatoes and courgettes, as I was lacking in other ingredients I used 2 medium sized courgettes and 6 normal size tomatoes, once they were steamed I chucked them in a pan with a splash of boiled water, enough so its saucy. Then I washed and sliced the mushrooms and popped them in and crushed the tomatoes, then I simply let it all simmer for probably 10 mins whilst I boiled some pasta up.

Once the pasta and the sauce were cooked I blitzed them in the blender, and served to our little piggy :-). These quantities make masses of sauce so have some tubs ready or freezer bags and freeze for a quick fix tea for another few meals.

No added salt, fresh ingredients, quick, easy and cheap. Oh and tasty. 

C 

Coming Home

We bundled Ruby up in umpteen layers, fastened her into her car seat, I delicately placed myself in the back of the car with her, and we set off home.

As soon as Ruby had arrived in the world and we were moved down off the labour ward, we desperately wanted to be home, even more so after Gary got sternly told off for sitting on my bed :-(. As a result we left the same day and were home for tea, which was great. We had family arrive a few minutes after we got home, bearing bags of fish and chips, I can’t really remember… but more than likely we would have had nothing prepared for tea, so a big bonus.

Ruby had slept all day in hospital so I think we were in a false sense of security bringing her home, she was wonderful until about midnight when we went to bed then her eyes flicked open and the crying started,  I remember asking Gary to take us back to hospital, at this point we had been up for two days with no sleep. I can now look back, laugh and think it was a good thing, it was our hardest point and we compare any crying sessions now to it…needless to say with even the smallest bit of sleep in us they never seem as bad as that first night did.

I was feeding Ruby myself so I just think she was hungry and my milk took a day or so to come in, so I think if I was able to go back in time I would have stayed in hospital over night for the support…but then it was so special being at home and waking up all in the same bed as a family for the first time.

The midwife visits were great, I loved our midwife, the first morning she just came up to our room sat on the end of the bed and was such a positive person to have around, laughing and reading our paper whilst we sorted Rubes out, defiantly make use of their visits have any questions ready even the silly ones, because believe me she will ask you some nice embarrassing ones too.

Ruby doesn't have any older siblings, but we had wondered how her arrival would effect our cat ‘Mika’ at first she was pleased we were home, happy to have her tea and a little inquisitive of the odd smelling little person we had with us, once she realised this little person made noise she was less impressed, and disappeared outside far more than she used to. As Ruby got bigger they grew very close, but since Ruby has started crawling Mika has backed off, realising she can’t escape from her by going upstairs, so again we find she spends a lot of time outside.

The first two weeks flew by and were very special Gary had extended his paternity leave with a weeks holiday which was great, we spent days out as a three and when Ruby was 2 weeks old we ventured out on a road trip to a shopping center for the day, Ruby slept the whole day and it was lovely getting out and spending time with Gary.

We said the whole way through our pregnancy that we would always make time for a date night at least once a month, in reality it is hard, Gary’s mum and my mum were great and had Rubes for a couple of hours so we could go to the cinema. On the first cinema night the breast pump came in very handy as it was a uncomfortable journey after a few hours not feeding, pumping whilst Gary drove us home in the dark- if only I could have done it whilst watching the film, oh well it made us laugh, not your normal end to a date night.

My biggest tip is take the support from people if they offer, the offers will slow down, your partner goes back to work and you realise months later there is no need to feel guilty about having some you time, even if it is a bath whilst daddy watches the little one.

Not many days in, and Ruby fired poo in a jet as if you had turned on a hosepipe, across her bedroom from the cot top changer, across the carpet and up the wall. I remember it so clearly and the thought always makes me crack up, Gary was helping change her, he shot back and threw himself onto the bed laughing, I was holding Rubes to the changer whilst trying to get a breath between laughs, we laughed and laughed. I have heard many similar poo tales.

If you do things as a team you will feel so much more support and everything is that little bit easier. Thank god both of us were there, neither one of us would have believed it unless we had seen it.

 I found that at 8 o’clock every night I got baby blues, it was like a switch, I was fine feeling really good, glowing with this special love then suddenly I was teary and needy. Gary was great, I explained as best a hormonal new mum could and he just knew a cuddle would sort it, it only lasted for a couple of weeks, but its really important to know its ok, and that to share any feelings you both have with each other.

It is the best experience; nothing is as special as making their moses basket up, and waking up as a family in your home for the first morning. Although Ruby wouldn't sleep in her basket and for the first two weeks we all crammed in our double bed for the majority of the nights.

Enjoy every minute, everyone said to us ‘they don’t stay little for long’ at the time whilst you are changing countless nappies, non stop feeding, wiping up sick and grabbing a few hours kip when you can, you think they will stay small, floppy babies forever, but they don’t.

I am constantly amazed when I look at Rubes pulling herself up to standing, babbling, and crawling around the house generally leaving a trail of destruction behind her, that only 10 months ago she was brand new, wrinkly, small and totally dependent on us…I will admit I miss it a little.

C