Two weeks before Alex was born we bought a deep freezer. We'd wanted one since Mateo was born and were finally able to make it happen. A mama friend of mine inspired me to freeze meals. She makes a whole month of freezer meals at a time and then has lots of dinners at her disposable throughout the month. With tots and babies...I really liked that idea! Now I only had two weeks to fill up our freezer so I didn't do NEARLY as much as I'd wanted...but slowly but surely it's beginning to fill up.
I had made several batches of beans in the crock pot (pintos, garbanzo, black) and froze them in tupperwares. Easy to take out for burritos, rice bowls, hummus, salads, etc. We also made some whole chickens in the crockpot and froze some zip locs of shredded meat to pull out for tacos. And, since my mom gave me lots of tomatoes, I also made a few batches of spaghetti sauce and some stewed toms.
I also froze a bunch of berries that we picked (including lots of free blackberries near our house). Also blueberries, strawberries, and "triple crown" berries that Mateo helped me pick. I used my birthday food dehydrator and dried a bunch of produce that my mom gave me from their garden...apples, pears, etc. Also made some pear sauce, fruit leathers, etc. You cant' really tell from this picture, but the whole door of the freezer is full of fruit leathers and berries for the winter.
And the most recent addition to the deep freezer....PIZZA! Just cheese, sauce, and pepperoni for now. I figure I'd add veggies later so they'd be fresh. Now I just need to find a gluten free pizza dough recipe that Aaron likes so I can freeze pizza for him, too.
And, if you know anything about caring for preemies, then this next picture won't surprise you too much. Another reason we're glad that we have a deep freezer at at a time like this...
One of the not-so-fun things about having a premature baby and wanting to nurse is the ridiculous amount of pumping they recommend you do. But... I feel dumb complaining about pumping and think that rather I need to be thankful to even have a supply and even be able to nurse! I have no idea what happens to premature babies that are born in poor countries without wonderful NICUs like we have here. It stabs my heart to think that they probably would not survive. As hard as seeing your baby have a feeding tube is... at least they can be properly nourished until they are able to eat the "normal" way.
Alex has become a really good eater, despite some reflux and massive amounts of spit up. We go through the burp clothes pretty quickly. But despite that (which the doctors aren't even concerned with) he gained almost a pound this last week and is up to 6 pounds 7 ounces! A little over a pound to go and I will be a VERY happy mama when I can carry him in the baby bjorn. It will make running errands with two little kidlets much easier. I'm already foreseeing my first trip to WinCo with them both. Mateo in the cart, Alex in the front pack. That will be quite a feat!
I still have almost two weeks having Aaron home, which, even though it's not been easy or fun and we've been having to pray for extra grace and patience with each other, has been a huge blessing. My mama friends often comment on how much Aaron helps with baby stuff and how involved he is. I now realize how it all got started that way. We make really hard babies. I honestly couldn't have survived Mateo's baby days w/o him...and I won't be able to survive Alex' baby days without him either. All the nursing, pumping, waking up baby to eat at night, lack of sleep, lack of energy, taking care of a toddler,etc. etc. I feel worse for Mateo, b/c I don't like giving him less than my best. I just don't have it to give right now and I appreciate the grace he gives us...the grace only a two year old can give to a mom.
In the coming weeks I plan on adding some meals to the freezer. There are tons of sites with freeze well recipes and tons of resources. None of which I have time to look at right now...I barely have time to write this post except that Aaron and Mateo ran an errand and Alex is still sleeping in his car seat upon returning from the pediatrician. I will add some recipes that freeze well and some other ideas. I will most definitely have to become very efficient with meal planning, cooking, etc. I am convincing myself that I'm up for the challenge. Pep talk. I can do this. Jesus will enable me to survive this again and eventually thrive.
I may make really hard and challenging babies, but they definitely become cute and lovable toddlers. There is hope.
Baby Mateo....
2 year old Mateo
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