We look forward to our little baby when we are pregnant. We have dreams of our beautiful baby in a blue or pink blanket. We think of cuddling in the winter and swimming in the summer. We know we will have to work off the baby weight but hey, we have a whole year off work to do it right? Then reality hits. The baby weight is not coming off and everything is broken! What did my baby do to my body?

I never, ever imagined peeing myself doing  jumping jacks.

I LOVE being at home with a baby. I would have more if I could afford it. I do not mind diapers, I do not mind night feedings and I love being at home with them. I do not love what happened to my body after several children.

There is a reason your mom never told you this. If she did, no one would have 4 babies, after all, moms want grandchildren. You do not really think about it either. I did not worry about it after my first or really my second. This last baby has made me stop and think about it. I sit here writing at my computer almost bald, squinting, missing a piece of my tooth wearing my super support bra and control top leggings and then I forget what I was going to do….

I never stopped to think about it before. A social media post brought up the subject which made me sit down and made a list of all the things a baby changed in my body. This blog post is not about complaining but for fun because I found it entertaining to make the list and I thought I would share it with you. Here it is:

What did my baby do to my body?

• My hair is falling out in chunks, I can not wear my hair down
• My eye sight got worse with each baby
• Baby Brain… I somehow lost IQ points
• Needing extensive dental work after each baby
• Breasts that no longer are full and perky
• One boob is bigger then the other, by a lot
• No one told me my tummy would be as wrinkled as a 15 year old pug
• Thighs have spread
• My ab strength became non-existent
• Pelvic floor is weakened, it is dangerous to sneeze
• My pre-baby shoes do not fit

Now some of these problems are fixable. My hair will grow back, or so they tell me.  I can get new glasses. I can fix my teeth and buy more shoes.

I am also lucky. I have access to a product that have helped me with my sagging skin. I was able to stock up before the baby. I also started taking a brain supplement again to improve my focus, memory and energy. I had been on this before but unable to take while pregnant or nursing. I feel all around better on this supplement. I joined Hot Mama, a wonderful group of moms working on getting fit. All of these things have me starting to feel a little bit more like myself.

So why do we all do it? Because having our babies is the best thing that has ever happened to us in our entire life. Our children reward us each day with their love and joy. I can not even imagine my life without all our children. They truly are a blessing and I am very thankful for them. I would gladly do anything for them, including any changes to my body. They are like badges of honour.

However, I just might have to have a funeral for my one dead boob.

Every June, moms everywhere let out a sigh that they do not have to deal with school lunches for a while. You pack what you think they need but the kids don’t eat it. Mine complain about lunches and either bring the uneaten lunch home or throw it out at school depending on the kid.

I have used a system for a couple years now and I find it works really well. It involves some prep work every Sunday and supervision but I do think it saves time and kids eat their lunches. Each Sunday I arrange the fridge and pantry full with choices from each food group. Each kid has to take 1 food from each food group and can take 2 of some such as fruit and veggies or grains. I put each food group in baskets and for the first year, I labelled them all. On a poster in the kitchen, I wrote out each food group and ideas for lunches from each group. It took a couple weeks but the kids caught on quickly.

To start I went to the dollar store and got a bunch of small bins. One for protein, dairy, fruits and veggies in the fridge. Then I got one for treats and a big one for grains in my pantry. Now you just need to load them up with options. Here are some ideas

School Lunches

Dairy                        Protein                          Fruits and veggies                    Grains                   Treats 

cheese                      sausage                        grapes                                       rice cake                rice crispy treat

yogurt                      sandwich meat           cucumbers                                  bread                     granola bar

milk                          hot dog                         carrots                                        hot dog bun            bear paw

pudding                   pepperoni                   apple/orange                              crackers                 cookies

smoothie                 Chicken leg                 sliced peppers                             muffin                    popcorn

Every Sunday I ask, what fruits and veggies do you want this week? What protein? You then have to go shop, go home and package everything in individual portions. You can do this 2 ways. You can cut up or portion your fruits and veggies into ziplock bags and place them in the fruit and veggie bin or you can cut them up in containers and have your child pack them in a reusable tray. I found lunch kits with divisions that work quite well. My older kids can pack their own portions ziplocks  because they are too cool for tupperware. Even with the shopping and portioning, I still feel less stress when making lunches. You just do more work one day then each day.

Now LEFTOVERS! Here is the trick, I keep alternates like left overs and soups for the kids that hate sandwiches. Some of these might count as protein and a grain, for example spaghetti. My daughter points out the tomatoes can be a fruit and veggie but I say that does not count. Your house, your rules!

Tips: You need to supervise them or do a lunch check for the older ones or they start packing whatever they want.

I feel that this helps them learn how to make a balanced meal and it also gives them control over what they were eating. My daughter especially was more likely to eat something that she picked.

I hope this enough to provide you with some ideas and to get you started.

I would love to hear your lunch solutions…please share.