Baby James turns 1 (plus recipes!)

Reaching for the healthy smash cake…

…so overwhelmed by real sugar!

At the end of July our little man turned 1! I can’t even believe how quickly this year has flown. I know I’m his mom, and I’m supposed to be obsessed with him–but he just amazes me more and more every day. He is walking, super on the move, has soooo many teeth, and is just the sweetest little love bug.

These decorations were very affordable and cute from amazon. Shop HERE. *This links to my Amazon shop where I do earn a commission!*

Because we are living in COVID times, we skipped the party. But we have had small, individual gatherings with all of the grandparents. The decorations have been traveling with us to their respective homes! I’m really missing my other favorite humans, but less people means less work? Kinda? Not really, but that’s what I keep telling myself.

I haven’t been overly obsessive about what we feed James, but he has had almost zero refined sugar. Since we had 3 celebrations–I came up with a couple of alternatives to the traditional smash cake. The last bash he finally got to taste the real deal and it was a moment to remember. He was amazed by sugar!

At our first tiny fête I made him a watermelon cake. It was truly fitting because the kid loves watermelon more than anything. Really, I’m pretty sure he is 95% comprised of fruit. He ate so much watermelon as I made the cake, that he ended up just most of the berries off of the cake instead! But he loved it, and was able to munch on it for several meals to come.

At the second party, I made him a healthy-ish smash cake. It was basically a glorified muffin. I found the recipe on pinterest (here is the original- recipe by Love in my Oven) but had to make adjustments based on what we had. Ideally, it was supposed to be made with whole wheat flour, which was my intention, but my grocery was sold out(!!!) for 3 days straight. It was a bummer, but I used regular ole all purpose flour with no regrets. I also needed a small spring foam pan that I failed to realize I didn’t have until I was making the cake. So I used a loaf pan, and cut it into tiers, thus its super weird shape! Do you want to know the best part about a one-year-old’s birthday? They have no idea what’s really going on, so I didn’t even feel bad about the cake being oddly shaped!

It was hysterical- he was so into it at first, but we wouldn’t let him have it because we weren’t ready yet. By the time we actually gave it to him he had lost interest and had no idea what he was supposed to do with it. He did eventually “smash” into it and couldn’t stop eating it. So I also consider it a win! Also because it was healthy-ish, I gave him the leftovers for lunch the next day. Note: the whipped cream started to melt, so I would take it out at the last second if I were to make it again.

Lastly, the adults needed a lil something too, so we had a signature cocktail. In this case, we went on theme and did a 3 ingredient watermelon-tini. I don’t actually know the measurements, I just went off of taste. All three “recipes” follow.

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Watermelon cake

Serves 5 for dessert

Ingredients

• 1/2 large watermelon

• About 1 cup assorted berries (I used blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries)

• 2 small sprigs of basil or mint for garnish

Equipment

• A large sharp knife

• 3 plates/ dishes to be used to trace the tiers of cake

• Toothpicks (optional)

Instructions

After watermelon is halved, slice (with rind still on) into 3 layers. Use 3 different sized plates or pans to cut out each layer of cake.

Assemble three layers. You can use toothpicks to keep the layers together (I didn’t because it seemed solid, but could be helpful). Layer berries on each tier. I did blueberries on the largest layer, blackberries and raspberries on the second tier, strawberries and basil on the top tier. Sprinkle remaining berries around the base to decorate the plate. Enjoy your fruit fiesta!

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Healthy Smash Cake (adapted from love in my oven)

Serves 1 [with leftovers - (or not, depending on destruction)]

[Note: original recipe here. I left her instructions on what I thought would have been better if I had followed them, but changed to include my ingredients accurately.]

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 1/4 cup white flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 banana, very ripe

• 5 strawberries

• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

• 1/4 cup 2% milk

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Frosting

• 1 cup whipping cream

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• sprinkles (optional for garnish)

Equipment

• 6″ springform pan (or two 4 1/2″ pans per her direction) Note: I just used 1 loaf pan and cut it in half to create layers

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and butter and flour a 6″ springform pan*

2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. Place the banana, strawberries and applesauce together in a blender and mix on high until completely pureed.

4. In another small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the fruit puree, the milk, egg and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and carefully stir with a large wooden spoon until just combined.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

6. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before running a knife along the edge of the pan and removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

7. If wanting to create 2 layers, use a long piece of dental floss to cut the cake through the middle. Wrap the cooled cake in saran wrap until ready to place on a plate and frost.

Whipped Cream Frosting

1. Place a mixing bowl and beater in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours before you are about to prepare the whipped cream. Pour the whipped cream into the chilled bowl, and beat on high with an electric mixer until the cream is the consistency you prefer.

2. Frost the bottom layer of the cake first, then follow with the top layer. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve*

Notes

1. You could also use two 4 1/2″ pans. Reduce cooking time to about 20-23 minutes.

2. I recommend frosting the cake no more than 3-4 hours before serving to ensure the whipped cream maintains its shape.

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Watermelon-tini

Serves about 5

Ingredients

• 1/2 watermelon pureed and frozen

• 1/2-1 lime

• Vodka of your choice

• Sprig of mint or basil for garnish

Instructions

Partially thaw watermelon puree, just enough so you can break it apart and add chunks to the blender. Once in blender, add vodka (I did a generous pour 😉, but you can start with less, and add more to your taste.). Squeeze half of lime. Blend until chunks are gone and liquids are merged. Taste. Add more vodka or lime to your preference. Add garnish, if you please. :)

Note: swap out vodka for soda water if you are looking for an alcohol free treat. Watermelon is super hydrating, so this is also great variation if you are feeling under the weather.

The Birth Story of our Sweet Baby James

[But before you get your hopes up for lots of baby pics, we have decided to keep face photos of our sweet pea to our private social media accounts for now.]

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share this story, mostly because it’s obviously very personal. But at the same time, if my story can in anyway help other women or first time moms mentally prepare for what’s to come, I wanted to share. So in that spirit I wrote side notes through out the story that have some educational tidbits for mama’s to be! (Notes for my first time prego friends in [italics]. :)) I also didn’t get too graphic just because those details don’t really feel apart of the story, but I did go there with some of the FAQs.

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On July 28th, 2019 - our whole world changed forever! Sweet baby James came into our world after about 21 hours of labor. He was unexpectedly large, 9 lbs 4oz and about 22 inches long! It was love at first sight. That’s the summary. A more detailed story follows…

Before bed the night my water broke! My last prego mirror selfie. Almost 41 weeks.

It was a beautiful Friday evening in late July, and at 6 days past his due date, we had given up on our little man coming on his own. We were convinced we would need to use our scheduled induction date that wasn’t for a few days (FYI it was July 30, hoping for a July 31st bday, ahem, like Harry Potter). We had eaten a lovely dinner al fresco (ahh dreaming of summer rn!) at our local Italian joint with my parents and were in bed by 11. I am so thankful for the early bedtime, because a long day was ahead of us. [Note: I said early bedtime and I laugh at that now, 8:30 is a proper early bedtime for us all these days lol]

At around 2:58 am I was up going to the restroom (as one does who is 41 weeks pregnant) and on my way back to bed, my water broke! We ate some Cherrios [note: eat before you go to the hospital- they won’t let you eat when you arrive, and who knows who long that will be!] and by 3:45am we had made it to the hospital and were chilling in triage. I wasn’t having any contractions yet, so my husband and I were just having a party. Playing music, getting excited to meet our baby boy within 24 hours! [Note: once your water breaks, the doctors want the baby safely delivered within 24 hours because there is a higher risk of infection after that point. Otherwise, we would’ve waited at home for the contractions to start. The way this happened is not actually most common.]

Sunrise over Lake Michigan from our room.

By 7 am we were moved up to labor and delivery with the most gorgeous view from our room. We watched the sun rise over Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful start to the day! I wasn’t very dilated at all, so they set up my IV and started the pitocin flowing to get things moving.

[Note: the one thing I really knew I didn’t want was an induction with pitocin- and that’s what happened. Childbirth is a lesson in surrendering control. It’s preparing you for the rest of parenting–you have to be ready to roll with the punches!]

Things progressed quite slowly, but the contractions were getting stronger and stronger. By about noon I was ready for an epidural. In my birth plan, I wasn’t positive how I felt about medicating, but I had done enough research to know that there really weren’t enough convincing reasons for me to not get one (IMO). I thought I may want to walk around, or give birth in a squatting position. I was also worried about not being able to feel my legs [note: that also apparently isn’t supposed to happen, but I had heard anecdotally it was quite common.]. I just wanted to see how it felt in the moment. Well in the moment, I had no interest in walking around or squatting (although I did try it when I was pushing- it was not nearly as great as I thought it would be!). I can say whole heartedly, I definitely wanted that epidural!

This is right after I got the epidural. The definition of blissed out.

My anesthesiology resident struggled with getting it in the right spot at first [note: that sucked. It took twice as long as it should’ve. My husband wasn’t allowed in the room. And I had asked to not have a resident and they still sent one. Stand firm in what you want. Unlike me.] but once it was properly in place, it was amazing. I was on cloud 9. It was the best I had felt since before I was pregnant. I was on the verge of tears I was so happy. I remember thinking that this is how childbirth should be- so happy, so much love. It was wonderful. It also allowed me to rest for the following 8+ hours and prepare for the hard part! I swear the only thing we did for the bulk of the day was watch SVU reruns. [Note: bring a laptop if you care about your entertainment. I loved the SVU reruns, but you won’t know what’s the hospital programming will be. It could be awhile.]

The dilating took forever. Around 10:30pm (almost 19 hours after I got to the hospital!), they told me I was finally ready to start pushing. I was feeling good. My doctor and nurses coached me through the proper breathing (I hadn’t taken any classes on that!) and we started to roll. I was doing great (albeit, I did feel like I was going to vomit when I pushed. But in the scheme of things it was pretty chill). I was doing so well, in fact, that my doc left to help another woman in labor who was struggling quite a bit more than me.

Sheer exhaustion and unbelievable happiness captured in one photo.

When she came back, the whole vibe had shifted. I was writhing in pain, and had completely stopped pushing. The pain was excruciating and getting worse and worse and so she decided to give me a full reboot on my epidural. The same resident came in from before, and he “reupped” me. It didn’t help. In fact the pain was getting worse. My husband played some Lizzo (my only request for my “birth mix”) and I begged him to turn it off. At that point the attending anesthesiologist came in and saw that in fact, my epidural had fallen out (!!!!!!). [Note: guys that is not supposed to happen. Ever. Also quite dangerous.] How the first guy missed it was beyond me. But regardless, my doc delivered the bad news that there was nothing they could do at this point to help with the pain. All I could do was to push. And somehow I gathered up all my strength and pushed! Oddly (or not so much), pushing helped the pain. It was like my body was rewarding me for doing what it was supposed to do. And at 12:42am on 7/28 our sweet baby entered the world!! It was such an incredible moment. I was beyond exhausted–so shaky from what my body had been through. And so overcome with emotion. My heart was exploding with love for this little human, so full of joy that he was here at long last, and overflowing with gratitude that we all were healthy and well.

It was definitely the hardest thing I have ever done. And by far the best. <3

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FAQs

I’ve had a lot of people ask me follow up questions on my labor experience and some of the decisions I made. I will try to answer some of those here! *I am not a doctor!! Just sharing my own experience. Please do not take any of the following as medical advice.*

How did you decide on getting an epidural? After that horror show, Would you get one again?

As I mentioned above, I just wasn’t sure about it. I had done research on it, and felt comfortable with it from a safety perspective for myself and baby. Also as I said above, I wasn’t sure if I was going to want to move around, or squat, or any of it really. In the end I didn’t want those things, so the epidural made sense. From a more hippy perspective, I had read Alicia Silverstone’s book, The Kind Mama, and she talked about giving birth to her son without medication and how it was a primal sensation. And how connected she felt to her son through it. As someone who has now been through with the epidural and also without, I can say, I definitely felt more zen, connected, and at peace with the birthing process with the epidural versus without. For a while I definitely thought I would get the epidural again. But recently, someone pointed out that because it had fallen out there was a chance I could have been paralyzed… so coming from a place of fear, I may not do it for our next child.

Where were your labor pains?

Honestly, I think they were both in the front and in my back, but I didn’t feel them until after the pitocin kicked in. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember where they were at this point, just remember that they were painful and not fun.

Do you wish you had taken classes on breathing?

At the time, I was felt fine with how it happened. I did not feel ill-equipped. However, just recently I watched the GOOP Lab show on Netflix on the power of the Win Hof breathing technique, and I think it could’ve been a great back up since the epidural failed me in the end.

What did the water breaking feel like?

For me it was like a gush of warm liquid flowing down my leg. It was very obvious, because I had just gone to the bathroom- you just kinda know that it wasn’t a release that you are aware of. It’s almost like it is happening to you vs something you did yourself. The water kept coming too. I stuffed wads of paper towels in my underwear on the way to the hospital. I was luckily prepared for this because someone had warned me that it isn’t necessarily one gush and then its over. It can be for some people, just not in my case. Side note: most people actually have contractions before their waters break.

Did you have an Episiotomy? did you tear?

I did not have an episiotomy. My doctor and I both were in alignment about not going that route. My concerns were that sometimes they can go too far, and recovery would be worse than a tear. And I felt tearing was more natural and what our bodies anticipate. I did tear a bit, and they did have to give me stitches down there right after he was born. It was uncomfortable, but after the labor experience I was too exhausted to really be too bothered by it. Everything is very sensitive down there after giving birth. Ice packs are your best friend. I didn’t take any hard core pain killers, just a combo of heavy duty acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Also, stool softener. Because pushing down there is not fun for the first few weeks.

Were you able to breastfeed right away?

Yes. Within the hour after he was born he had latched and was nursing right away. We have been really lucky in that respect. It came naturally to us as a pair, despite the fact he has a tongue tie, which can make it harder on both of us.