Announcement! Baby Shea 2.0 is coming in June!

Surprise! We are having another baby!

Where to begin… I have been feeling very quiet about this pregnancy. Once I told my people directly, I didn’t feel the need to be vocal about it. We are so excited! But I know so many who have suffered losses over the past year, and I just wanted to keep it closer to home for a while. But since I decided to spend more time sharing on SHED, I’ve found it increasingly difficult NOT to share this massive thing going on in my life. What better time than Valentine’s Day to share the love?

Baby James has no idea what is happening!

How did you find out?

We found out in October, right after we got back from our trip from Colorado. I was definitely not expecting it, so probably were more liberal with our actions than I would’ve been–had I known. Whoops! I thought my cycle was going to start the day we left. And then it didn’t come and didn’t come. Conor thought I was being overly obsessive, but on late day 6 I took 3 tests, and it was a resounding positive! COVID life meant Conor was home, so I didn’t have to keep the news to myself all day. We were both so shocked and happy. Still are, really!

Do you know Baby’s Sex?

We found out in December that baby is a GIRL! I was thinking I was going to boy mom city, so I am very pumped that girl clothes are in our future.

What is the baby’s Due Date?

Baby girl will be joining us sometime in early June! Most likely looking like she will be a gemini! This also means we will have 2 under 2 for more than a month! WAHHHHH

How many weeks are you?

I am 23 weeks. I will be 24 weeks in a few days. More than 1/2 way!

How Has Pregnancy been?

Pregnancy has been different from last time. The first trimester was still exhausting and nauseating, but I haven’t had the baby blues that I did last time. I’ve heard that boys can wreak more havoc on your hormones, which could be the case. In general, I’ve felt in better spirits and ready to take more on. Well, in some ways. In other ways, I’m even more exhausted from chasing after a toddler all day. I’m mostly just happy that I feel more like myself than I did the last time around.

I have also started to show sooner, unsurprisingly! This week, I definitely have been feeling belly! I’ve also had a much stronger sweet tooth this time around!

Do you have a name picked out?

We have several names in the running, but nothing decided yet. We are waiting to share the name (whenever we decide) until baby girl is here!

How has James handled the news?

I don’t think he has any idea what we are talking about! We keep telling him he’s going to have a little sister. He likes to push his stroller around, and we tell him he can push the new baby in the stroller, and he points to pictures of babies when we say that. But overall, I don’t think he really gets it. He’s in for a shock come June!

Is this why you moved?

Yes! We needed more space, ASAP!

Is this why you are only posting pics of carbs?

YUP. When I’m prego all I want are CARBSSSSSS.

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So that’s our big news! Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any other personal or general pregnancy/baby questions. <3 <3 -AHS

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.

Our Bohemian Nursery Tour

If you follow along on Instagram you may have noticed a change recently… my handle changed from @shed.for.the.wed to @shedwellness. Can we say hells yes to Shed for the Wellness!!! Because making “soulful, healthy, eating decisions” is not something that you do just to prepare for weddings. It’s what you do to fuel your life, whatever life stage you are in! As my life has evolved the topics we cover have grown too. More changes will come down the road, but as for now, think of the change as a way to encompass SHED living for all! Along those lines, I asked and you guys answered, you want more baby! Which leads me to our topic today– our nursery tour! While this may be a stretch from talking about healthy eats–beautiful spaces are good for the soul! Having a nursery you like to spend time in falls into the “Soulful” part of SHED! So without further ado, I hope you like it as much as we do!

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I’ve had a lot of people ask me about the nursery and what were some of the key pieces that brought it together. I will be honest, it is still a work in progress. We were gifted some beautiful name art, but I have yet to get them framed! I’ve moved the chair and ottoman several times, so the art surrounding those corners could use a little facelift. But overall, we just are in love with the nursery!

We wanted James to have a beautiful, zen place to spend his time (um and mine!) and wanted it to feel like an extension of the rest of the home. I think we succeeded because now it’s our favorite room! While having a beautiful nursery is far from necessary, it definitely helps with my own zen. It helps me to have a space where everything goes, and it inspires me to keep up with all of the laundry! It’s actually one of the easiest places to keep clean in the house (for now! lol).

We hoped to create a mostly gender neutral room, but with some pops of color. We didn’t have a theme, but bohemian, earthy, eclectic is the vibe we were going for. I knew we needed a big new dresser because oh my goodness, SO MANY BABY OUTFITS. I’d been eyeing a campaign-style dresser and it works just perfectly.

Gemma Extra Wide Dresser from Pottery Barn Kids. Changing Basket from the Basket Bazaar. Sound machine/night light by Hatch.

My mother-in-law is the queen of rattan and she gave us a lot of these small details– the hanging basket on the wall, toy rattan chairs, little umbrella container, etc. We change up the shelves all the time, but I love having my grandmother’s Blessed Mother there. She passed right before I went to college, and it makes me feel close to her. Other items are things we’ve collected from our travels and art we’ve found at local art fairs.

Rattan mirror from Target.

I fell in love with rattan cribs when I was pregnant, and it really set the vibe for the rest of the room. However, they are NOT easy to find in the US. The ladies at Valentine and Co (based in Perth, Aus!) were super helpful in getting this gorgeous crib to us.

James has had so much fun in the macrame swing, since he has been able to sit up we use it almost every day! The Lovevery Play Gym has really been the most utilized of all of the nursery items- he plays there every day! And it really does grow with him.

That little book shelf was not supposed to be permanent, I found it headed for the trash outside our building. I cleaned it up, and I love reusing such a random piece–but we probably need something a little bigger.

Play Gym from Lovevery. You are my sunshine morse code art by Covert Design Co on Etsy.

Jute rattan crib from Valentine and Co. Stars and Moon mobile from Firefly in Love on Etsy. Canopy from World Market. Chair from Anthropologie (can’t link because they don’t make this print anymore).

Macrame Swing from Finn + Emma.

James used the Moses basket bassinet (now currently filled with stuffed animals!) for the first three months in our bedroom. We loved it’s low profile and how it fit so well with our room’s vibe. He can still sit it in, but he’s such a big boy, he’s really outgrown it lengthwise. Right now it is perfect for all of his soft toys!

The glider was probably the most challenging item for me to pick out. I really struggled with finding one that I liked aesthetically, but also was going to be comfortable. This one is beyond comfortable and it doesn’t look frumpy! I have spent countless hours feeding him and rocking him to sleep here, so I am so glad we prioritized comfort.

The sheepskin rug was actually in my nursery when I was a babe, so I love having it for James. The faux sheepskin stool my step mama made for me a few years ago and I love it. We use it as a side table.

Signature Bilia Bassinet and stand from Design Dua. Pup not included.

Glider and Ottoman from Wayfair. Rug from HomeGoods.

So that’s it! Our sweet little man loves his bohemian-chic, rattan paradise (okay and so does his mom!). What do you think? How are you designing your nursery for your little one?

Cheers -AHS

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.

New mom living and the direction of SHED

Our big strong 6 month old man! (We have decided as a family to not share pics showing his face to any public social media at this time.)

My sweet baby boy turns 6 months old this past month, and it has given me pause for reflection. These 6 months have been some of the most contented (albeit exhausting) months of my life. During this time, I have taken a maternity leave of sorts. Along with this, I’ve taken a hiatus from the SHED social media account, and have taken steps to limit my consumption on my personal social media accounts as well. I have tried my hardest to focus my energy and attention on this precious muffin.

That being said, living this way is really isolating. Being a mom is hard. I’m alone with him most of the day, (and especially in winter) sometimes we never leave the house (I’m actively working on changing that!). Not having other adults to talk to and not being able to relate to much of the professional workforce is challenging. It’s an exhausting, never-ending job with no pay, and you never know if you are doing the right things. But yes, it is incredibly rewarding too. Waking up and spending our days together, while monotonous at times, are filled with precious moments. Nothing makes my heart happier than when James finds me in a room and gets the biggest smile on his face. Doing my best for him every day has given me so much joy and honestly, I feel like it is the best job in the world.

“At the closing of the day,
Strengthen what remains.
And oh, what a beautiful season.
Oh, what a beautiful life. ”

— Tedeschi Trucks Band

So after a lot of time and deliberation, I have decided to scale back my coaching business significantly. Right now, baby is too unpredictable to have a consistent schedule with regular calls, and I want to spend as much time as possible with him at this stage. I will still be coaching, but only a very limited number of spots will be available. I will be focusing on finally launching the printed edition of the SHED cookbook. Guys it’s so close, I can’t wait to share it with you!! I also will be focusing a bit more on mom life- just because that is what is happening with me right now!

I will be coming back to social media, slowly but surely. I do miss the real connections I have made with many of you and I’m looking forward to connecting again! Cheers, AHS