These German Christmas cookies are a very popular treat at our house. They come together quickly, and are grain free if that is something that is important to you.
You can find a printable version of the recipe here and a video here
These German Christmas cookies are a very popular treat at our house. They come together quickly, and are grain free if that is something that is important to you.
You can find a printable version of the recipe here and a video here
Sigh... I'm back at it - losing the baby weight. I think in the course of 12 full-term pregnancies, I have gained about 500 lbs and lost about 450 lbs of it. This is no small feat. I am sure there are moms out there who effortlessly lose the baby weight through breastfeeding or genetics without having to make an effort, but I think for most of us, this is not the case. As for breastfeeding, many of us moms GAIN weight while nursing. Ugh.
Obviously, a nursing infant's needs must come first, but for mom's physical and mental well-being, taking care of herself should also rank high on the list of priorities.
In the two videos below, I talk about what I have found works for me as far as losing weight postpartum between pregnancies, while breastfeeding.
I have added a Paypal "donate" button in the side bar on the right. I am choosing this approach as an alternative to using a subscription such as Patreon to continue sharing content, because I want any resources I share online to remain free. At the same time, I would greatly appreciate any support that would allow me to not just produce more content, but also provide the funds to do fun things with my family.
If you have benefitted from the content I have shared here and elsewhere throughout the years, please consider supporting my time and efforts. My current goal is for all of us to be able to go on a long-planned trip to see my family in Germany. We had purchased plane tickets to go in 2020 before Covid hit. Those tickets were canceled and refunded. I set the funds aside and rebooked the flights in 2021, after travel restrictions into Germany were lifted in late May. Unfortunately, they were reinstated in August, shortly before we were scheduled to travel. Again, I eventually received full refunds for all the tickets. However, those funds are no longer enough to cover all the travel costs, as prices for plane tickets etc. have gone up considerably due to inflation, plus we had some unexpected expenses that ate up some of these travel funds. So this year, even though no Covid restrictions remain, we were unable to travel due to cost. I am working extra hard and long, in hopes of being able to fly to Germany next May or June, along with all nine of the kids from Miriam (15) down, and possibly one or two of the older boys (who would be paying their own way).
All that to say, if you ever want to support my time and efforts on this blog financially, please do so through this link. Thank you so much!
We are thrilled to announce the safe arrival of
Oliver Philip Anderson
born on Tuesday, May 31st, at 6:58 p.m. weighing 7 lbs 7 oz. and measuring 20.75 inches.
Due to my advanced maternal age, I chose a hospital delivery this time around, even though the pregnancy was uneventful and free of any complications.
Little Ollie (or Olliephant, as Eva calls him) is turning out to be a super easy and mellow baby. He is nursing and sleeping very well, and has been smiling from birth. To say we are beyond thrilled is an understatement.
We are so thankful to God for a healthy pregnancy, safe delivery, and perfect little son. Babies truly are God's greatest gift this side of eternity.
Disclaimer: Please remember, I am not a medical doctor, or any sort of medical professional. This blog post is intended to provide food for thought, not to diagnose or treat anyone. The opinions expressed below are mine, gleaned from 11 natural pregnancies and deliveries (including 9 midwife-assisted home births), as well as my current 12th pregnancy at age 43.
I have had five babies in my 20s, five babies in my 30s, and am currently on my second pregnancy in my 40s. While I was a lot younger and more energetic two decades ago when my oldest were babies, the benefits now are that I a) have older helpers and better resources, and b) have learned a lot about pregnancy and childbirth throughout the years.
One of the things I have thankfully never struggled with is high blood pressure, during pregnancy or otherwise. However, due to a congenital defect with my right ureter, I have a tendency to develop kidney pain and kidney infections if I am not very diligent in preventing them, especially during pregnancy when baby cramps my organs. Thankfully, I have always successfully treated these issues with alternative remedies, without them getting to the point where they negatively impacted my blood pressure. This post is to sum up what I have learned, and what I believe has helped me keep my blood pressure in the low normal range all these years, even as my "advanced maternal age" puts me at increased risk of developing gestational hypertension (and in spite of having teenagers - ha!).
According to the CDC, in the United States, high blood pressure happens in 1 in every 12 to 17 pregnancies among women ages 20 to 44, and high blood pressure in pregnancy has become more common.
Officially, there is no known cause of preeclampsia, and no known cure except delivery of the baby in extreme cases, no matter how premature the infant might be. The main symptoms are high blood pressure, protein in the urine, persistent headache (may or may not be accompanied by changes in vision such as seeing spots), and swelling of the hands and feet. Please note: some swelling can be normal, or a sign of less dangerous conditions such as dehydration. Swelling in the face is often a sign of an extreme case of preeclampsia, a medical emergency.
No doubt about it, preeclampsia (pre-e) is a very dangerous condition that cannot be left unaddressed. Where I diverge from the mainstream medical opinion is that there is no known cause, or cure. Nothing happens for no reason. And if we find out the reason, we can then counteract it.
It is widely accepted in the medical community that kidney disease can cause high blood pressure. I am convinced that high blood pressure in pregnancy likewise comes down to diet and the kidneys, and how well they are able to function. The kidneys are tasked with filtering waste products from the blood stream and retaining nutrients. When they are unable to do so (or do so fully) due to being overtaxed, blood pressure goes up.
In particular, I believe the three main culprits that negatively affect blood pressure during pregnancy to be: 1. dehydration, 2. not consuming enough protein, and 3. undiagnosed urinary tract/kidney problems.
This is pretty common in pregnancy, especially in warmer climates, or during the summer. Hence the common swelling of legs and feet, without it being a medical concern. Dehydration itself is unlikely to cause pre-e, but it can be a contributing factor if your diet is off, or if you are already having UT/kidney issues.
Having lived in Arizona for 16+ years, where we typically have 6 months or more of temps above 100 degrees F, I can assure you that a) water is not enough to hydrate the human body and b) salt is NOT the enemy, and is actually vitally important in maintaining electrolyte balance and hydration.
Mainstream medical advice for moms with swelling or pre-e is to cut back on salt. If we were talking about the sodium found in pre-packaged and junk foods, or snow-white (i.e. nutritionally empty) table salt, this might be true. However, a quality high-mineral salt is essential for maintaining electrolyte balance and hydration.
To combat dehydration, you should:
- Stay away from any caffeinated beverages, since they have a dehydrating effect by increasing urine output. Every one cup of caffeinated beverage must be offset by at least two cups that aren't. Caffeine also raises blood pressure.
- Drink plenty of herbal teas that are hydrating AND safe during pregnancy. If you don't care for the flavor of these, they can be greatly diluted and still remain effective. My favorites are rooibos, pregnancy tea, and special tea blends for UTI health (more on this later). You can also try drinking coconut water (blergh), or eating high-water, alkalizing foods such as melons and cucumbers.
- When drinking water, always add something to make it more hydrating, such as: sliced cucumber, fresh mint, berries, lemon slices, ginger, a splash or apple cider vinegar or juice, or whatever else sounds good. I literally go nine months without ever drinking just plain water.
- Salt food to taste with a high-mineral salt. If the salt is white, it's worthless (even if its labeled "sea salt" or something like it). My personal favorite for many years has been Redmond's Real Salt. "To taste" looks different based on individual factors. Here in Arizona, we salt our food to crazy levels. When we first moved here, it blew my mind how much salt the locals were using, but we have since acclimated. Many out-of-state visitors become heat sick when visiting here and going out during the heat of the day, if they don't start using considerably more salt than they are used to. Do reduce sodium from ready foods such as frozen meals and fast food.
- There are commercial electrolyte solutions on the market. Many of these contain zero-calorie sweeteners that I personally avoid, but organic Gatorade (both powdered and ready-bottled) can be very helpful.
- Take an epsom salt bath after a particularly hot day, or if you weren't able to stay as hydrated as you would have liked to be.
- If your ankles do swell, rest lying on your left side while increasing fluids / electrolytes. If all else fails, this trick is sure to get your ankles back: Add a shredded zucchini to a medium-sized saucepan, add water to cover, and steam on low-medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain out the zucchini, and drink the zucchini water. Not very tasty (THAT'S an understatement!), but super effective at reversing any swelling of your ankles or hands.
- If the dehydration is due to an acute medical event such as food poisoning, which prevents you from taking in fluids by mouth, you may need to have IV hydration therapy. Thankfully, there are now many services available where a medic will come to your home and do this, no need to go the hospital. I recently had to do this after getting norovirus while already dealing with first trimester morning sickness. Fun times!
2. Not consuming enough protein
I would consider this one of the two biggest culprits behind pregnancy hypertension and pre-e. Ironically, one of the warning signs of pre-e is having protein in the urine, which might lead one to believe that the expectant mom is getting an excess of protein, but quite the opposite is actually true. It means that the pregnant mom's body is cannibalizing her own protein stores (muscle tissue) to provide the baby with protein, which is then excreted in the urine because the kidneys are overtaxed.
Research in recent times is confirming what the Brewer Pregnancy Diet, developed several decades ago by Dr. Tom Brewer, has been saying all along: a diet high in protein (at least 80-100g of protein per day for a singleton baby) greatly reduces the chances of developing pre-e, by providing the expectant mother with this vital nutrient, and preventing the cannibalization of her muscle tissue and overexertion of the kidneys.
Please note: high protein does NOT equal low-carb. The Brewer Diet also focuses on healthy carbs and other nutrients in the correct balance. Since this approach to pregnancy nutrition has an excellent track record spanning many decades, I will not go into detail here, but all the information is available on their website and countless other online sources.
If you have never actually added up how many grams of protein you are consuming in a day, chances are, you are not getting the recommended 80-100 grams daily. By contrast, the mainstream recommendation for "sedentary" adult women who are not expecting is just 46g of protein per day! Of course, such protein deficiency is often made up for with excess carbs, which increases the other major culprit behind pre-e (discussed in point 3 below).
In a nutshell, according to the Brewer Diet, a pregnant mom should be consuming the following each day:
It's really easy to make your own sourdough starter. This is the method I use for making a starter using einkorn.
I recorded a short video tour of our new home.
This is a super fast, super fun activity that the kids love. I would say it's best suited for ages 2 and up.
We moved into our home in Tempe in December of 2005, when we had just three kids: Solomon (4), Isaac (2), and John (12 months).
As our family grew, we kept finding ways to make our home work for us, including enclosing the patio to make a school/dining room, and enclosing the carport to make our tiny second bathroom into a large master bath. You can see a video of how we made it work with 13 people in 1,650 sq ft here.
We had been weighing the pros and cons of moving for years, but always decided to stay. This summer, with 11 kids ages 19 down to 1, the scale tipped in favor of moving. I will do a longer video on our reasons for moving, and what finally pushed us over the edge.
Today, for the sake of nostalgia, I am sharing a walkthrough video of our home of so many years. Enjoy!