Holidays, the Ergobaby Swaddler, and Brown Rice Pudding

Hello folks, and Happy New Year! We have a full blog post today, so I may as well jump right into it.

Holidays
This year was the first time we didn't spend Christmas back home in Vancouver. It was also Edgar's first Christmas. Compared to last year, this year was quiet. DH had taken the last of his vacation time left for the year so that he wouldn't have to work from Christmas Eve until after New Year's Day. We only went to DH's cousins' houses for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. While nice, it was nothing like being back at home.

The afternoon of Christmas Eve, I was making my special coleslaw for Christmas Day, but I accidentally sliced my thumb open on the mandoline while cutting up the cabbage. We drove out to the clinic because both DH and I were unsure if it needed stitches. It happened to occur right in the middle of one of Edgar's feeds, and we had to pack both him and the bottle up to rush out the door. Thankfully, it didn't need stitches, and we were still able to make it to Christmas Eve dinner at a decent time. Even so, I don't think I'll be making coleslaw for quite some time; I can't even go near the mandoline right now without feeling freaked out a bit.

Christmas morning was a pretty normal morning for us, as Edgar's still too young to really understand what is going on. I'm really looking forward to next year when Edgar is going to be able to have some fun on Christmas morning and actually open his presents. That evening, we went to DH's cousin's house for dinner. DH's cousin had a lot of people over, and Edgar was passed around to plenty of people eager to hold him. I felt pretty darn proud of my cute, chubby boy.

Chicks dig the double chin, man.

Having DH at home for the week has been a good thing, especially since I couldn't get my injured thumb wet at all (which made diaper changes kind of difficult for me). It gave us the chance to get our apartment cleaned up a bit. I've also just started trying to pick up exercising after having not exercised since fairly early on in my pregnancy. I'm really looking forward to shedding the pounds that I have left over from pregnancy (about 15 lbs remain of the original 51 lbs gained), and I'm hoping to be at least 10 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight before the next time around. I was already overweight to begin with, and I'm fairly certain the extra weight and being out of shape made the pregnancy and the recovery a little more difficult than it could have been. As such, I would like to be a bit healthier and more in-shape before carrying another baby. Wish me good luck!

40 weeks vs. 2 weeks post-partum. I've kind of hit a plateau with 15 lbs left to go before pre-pregnancy weight.

On December 31st, we woke up to discover all three of us had colds. DH had the worst of it, I had a normal cold, and Edgar had a touch of the same cold that we had. Thankfully, we're both on the mend and Edgar seems pretty normal other than being upset a little more easily, needing more cuddling than usual, and a stuffy nose.

As such, we also had a quiet New Year's Eve. We stayed home, watched some shows on Netflix (we don't have cable; that's a story for another time), and called each of our sets of parents to wish them a happy New Year. The next big things for us this month are my birthday on January 7th, and our visit to Vancouver from January 29th to February 4th/8th. Here's hoping this year is better than the last!

Ergobaby Swaddler
Edgar has never been able to sleep well in his crib without being swaddled. Problem is, he is quite a bit bigger than the average newborn and was breaking out of his SwaddleMe. We'd go to pick him up from a nap and there would be an arm or two sticking out by his face. Sometimes, he'd even wake himself up because he had broken out. Even worse, sometimes I'd find him rolled onto his side because he used the leverage that he back of the swaddler to roll over.

Another problem was that he runs quite warm. As such, when we tried the SleepSack Swaddler by Halo, which is made of fleece, it was making him so hot that he was drenched in sweat each time I went to pick him up after a nap.

He also couldn't stand having his arms by his sides, which is the position in which most swaddlers seem to put babies' arms in order to work effectively.

One day, while researching baby carriers, I came across the Ergobaby Swaddler. It seemed like, from the video, that it would solve the problems we were having with other swaddlers.

After consulting with DH, we decided to wait a little while. Then, when DH crawled into bed after having another "fun" session of trying to get Edgar into the SwaddleMe, he gave me the go-ahead to order the Ergobaby Swaddler. When it arrived, it became clear that this product was going to make bedtimes and naptimes a lot easier. The fabric is of good thickness without being too warm, and the velcro, which had been a problem with the SwaddleMe, was of much higher quality even though it was still "baby safe" velcro.

The washing instructions were a little vague, but I just washed it as we do with all of Edgar's clothes: cold water regular cycle and automatic dry on high heat. It seems to come out okay with that, but takes a little while longer than regular laundry because the velcro parts need to be fastened to each other while being cleaned.

The first time we swaddled Edgar with this, he loved it. He doesn't fight quite as much as he did in the other swaddlers, nor does he overheat. It's also much easier to carry him around with his arms not being at his sides. It's miles ahead of any of the other swaddlers we've used. The only downsides are the drying time and the fact that it's a little difficult to adjust on the fly, as one of the arm parts goes under him.

Overall, I give the Ergobaby Swaddler a 9.5/10. Not perfect, but pretty darn close.

Brown Rice Pudding
We had some extra brown rice kicking around, so I decided that I wanted to make some rice pudding. I found this recipe online, and it was really good. I did follow the reviews and halved the syrup and used only 1/2 cup raisins (1-2 cups is just ridiculous). Even so, it was still a little too sweet for me. I might lower the amount of syrup next time. I also used soy milk instead of regular milk, and it still turned out nicely.

Ingredients
2 cups cooked whole grain brown rice
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup syrup or honey (I did 1/4 cup, as mentioned above)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice (I used 1/2 tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg)

Directions

In medium saucepan, combine rice, milk, syrup (and raisins, if including them), and bring to boil.
Reduce heat & simmer 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat & stir in butter & cinnamon.
If desired, garnish with additional cinnamon.

Home for the Holidays

Happy New Year, everyone! Before I get started, I'd like to apologize for not posting over the holidays; it's been exceedingly hectic. DH and I flew back home to Vancouver for Christmas with our families and friends. I'd like to share our trip with you!

First of all, I want to clarify that I like the convenience of flying. I do not, however, enjoy take-off. Thankfully, DH has sturdy hands. I managed to not break them this time around. I'm sure he found my wimpering everytime there was minor turbulence to be quite amusing.

We spent the first three nights (Dec. 20, 21, and 22) staying at Shae's house (DH's best friend's sister). She has an adorable daughter, and we had a great couple of somewhat quiet days with them. It was nice to have some calm before the next few crazy days.

Waving to the camera!

The next three nights (Dec. 23, 24, and 25)  were spent at DH's grandfather's house (Kung Kung). From there, we visited with our families. We had presents to give out to DH's neice and nephew, as well as my sisters and their boyfriends, Shae's little girl, and my best friend's little boy.

It looks like so many like this...

On the 23rd, we had a triple-date (all three of us sisters and their significant others). We went ice skating and then out for sushi afterwards. Getting together with all six of us without the parents around was a nice change, and we had fun!

Ice skating!

We gave my middle sister's boyfriend a mini zen garden... which was a hit, seeing as he is a landscaper. My sister sent me this picture later on. Apparently, their cat likes it too!

She also rubs her face in the sand...

We were able to spend Christmas Eve morning with one of our original Japanese class friends, Antonio, before heading off to see DH's father's side of the family for dinner. It was nice to see everyone that we had been unable to say goodbye to before we began this adventure out in Calgary. Some of them were not even aware that we had left until well after we had arrived in Calgary.

We also gave DH's niece and nephew their presents that night. For his nephew, we bought The Chronicles of Narnia book series in a box set. It's one of my most favorite series of books, and I had to patiently wait a few years to buy it for him, as he was not old enough for them until this year.

For his niece, I had a doll specially made to look similar to her by Laura Hunter of rovingovine. The doll arrived at my parents' house just on Christmas Eve morning, and I absolutely adored how cute it was! DH's niece took a while to warm up to it, so it wasn't a total home-run, but I definitely will be ordering more from Laura once DH and I start our own family. She was a delight to deal with, and the doll itself is absolutely perfect!

So cute!

From there, we dashed over to my parents' house for snackies and time spent with my dad's side of the family as well as my Grandma on my mom's side. We opened some gifts there that night, and we were back first thing in the morning for breakfast and gifts with just my immediate family and the guys (middle sister's boyfriend and DH).

Got to see my parents' doggie as well!

From there, we went to visit DH's Grandmother (Poh Poh) in the care facility in which she is staying, along with the parent in-laws. It was quite a nice visit. It began to snow while we were there, and we were able to chat and stay for a while before dashing off to dinner with DH's mother's side of the family.

The next day, we went to see Les Miserables with my immediate family and all the guys (DH, middle sister's boyfriend, and little sister's boyfriend). I absolutely loved it! If you love the musical, I'd highly recommend seeing it.

After the movie, we drove over to DH's sister's house, where we visited with DH's parents, his sister and brother-in-law, and niece and nephew. Mom-in-law brought over dinner, and we ate together. We drove from there to the Abbotsford airport, from which we flew back to Calgary.

All in all, though it was a hectic holiday, I am so thankful that we took the time to visit with our families this Christmas. One thing DH and I realized over this trip is that the decision we made to move to Calgary was the correct one. We thought we would miss Vancouver, but when we arrived in Vancouver, we realized that the only thing we missed about Vancouver was our families and friends. We can always visit. We'll probably drive down in the Summer. I suppose Calgary is just right for us.

So now, I go back to baking bread for dinner with DH's friends tonight. It's been rising as I've been typing this post out, so back to baking I go! Happy New Year and best wishes to everyone!