You Scream, I Scream, We all Scream (while I secretly cringe)

I know it's normal for babies to cry but is it just me that gets nervous when my daughter cries in public?

I tend to be a person that overly cares what other people think...even perfect strangers. Believe me I know this is an issue I need to work on but for the foreseeable future it's a trait I'm stuck with.

That being said, whenever Sophie cries in public I feel a little bit nervous and then I feel bad for the people around me. If we go to dinner and she gets a bit fussy, I suddenly find myself signaling the waiter to back up our food to go and apologizing to the strangers around me.

Thankfully Dan is much more calm and has the common sense to realize that babies cry. It's what they do. A lot. So I need to deal with it. He's usually the one that looks at me (like the crazy person I am) and says "just give her a minute", then she stops crying once she's found her toy or found her hand to chew on, and we go back to our dinner.

Now I'm in public often (as normal non-hermit people are) and I see babies out all the time and I hear them cry or get fussy and I find it normal. I often feel sympathetic for the baby's mom who obviously is doing what she can to soothe the crying baby, so I don't know why I feel guilty when my baby cries.

Anyone else relate?

Mother's Day

So obviously I'm a little behind on this blog, but it's my goal to write more each week....let's see how I do.


May 2013 marked my very first Mother's Day and it was.......uneventful, just like I wanted it to be.

Dan and I both agreed that for mother's/father's day we didn't really want to make a big deal out of it. I'm not Dan's mom and he isn't my dad, so we didn't understand why we should have to make a big celebration for one another or get each other gifts.

Instead, we decided that when Sophie gets older if she wants to get us a gift or make us something that is fine, but neither Dan nor I need to get a gift or plan some big hoopla for the other. It just works for us that we were both on the same page.

That being said, I did have a nice Mother's Day and went to Jack London Square for a little Farmer's Market Action and a Cocktail Al Fresco (my favorite way to drink...outside in the sunshine).

Agitating Advice.....Fun Failure #3

I think so far one of the hardest things that comes along with this motherhood business is all the advice that everyone has for you. Yep...harder than the sleepless nights, endless feedings, hormones, etc is complete strangers coming up to you and giving you their two cents on how they think you should raise your child.

Don't get me wrong, I am a newbie and gratefully accept most of advice....but mostly I appreciate advice from family, friends, people I know that have had children, etc. Complete strangers is a whole other story.

It's off putting when someone you have never met and most likely won't ever see again, comes up to you to give you some not so "constructive" criticism in the disguise of advice. So far I've been told that I shouldn't take my baby out in public before they are three months old, that having an infant in a grocery store is just an invitation for germs, that you can never have too many blankets covering a baby even when it's 80 degrees outside, and many others.

Most of the time, I just smile, say thanks and let it go.

For some reason, on St. Patrick's Day I had one of my first major meltdowns, ignited by the advice of strangers.

Our neighbors are good friends of our and were playing with their band at an outside patio on St. Patricks Day. We wanted to be supportive, so we told them if Sophie was in a good mood, we'd try to drop by while they were playing for a little bit to show our support. It was a warm day, I checked with my neighbor to make sure it wouldn't be too loud for Sophie and we brought mini earphones for her to wear in case it was louder than we thought.

So we joined the green-wearing crown (it wasn't even really that crowded) and went for a bit to show our support. We were there for about 20 minutes and Sophie was asleep the entire time. We had her away from any speakers and obviously the music wasn't bothering her since she remained asleep the whole time. That however did not stop people from coming up to me telling me that babies shouldn't be anywhere so loud. Add the never ending advice to the fact that I overheard a group of people talking about me bringing a baby out and "couldn't I afford a babysitter" and you have the basis for my meltdown.


I almost started to cry right there, informed Dan that we needed to leave right then, and rushed to the car before the tears started flowing.

I can usually let these things go but for some reason on this day, at this particular moment, it really bothered me. I had a good talk with Dan and my girlfriend about it and decided that I just have to be confident that I know how to raise my own baby.

So lesson learned: people are going to have their own opinions. Some of it is helpful, some of it isn't.  I just have to roll with it and not let it bother me.

Dating My Husband

Dan and I have been married for almost 5 years now but we've been dating since we were in high school....that's a whole lotta dates.

Not to be cheesy but I can without a doubt say that he is my absolute best friend. I never get tired of him and he is my favorite person to hang out with.

One thing that both Dan and I completely agreed upon before we had a baby was that we still needed to put in the time to be "us". Obviously our live changed once we added Sophie to the mix, but both of us truly believe that it's so important to still have "Brynn and Dan" time. 

I never thought I'd say this, but it's hard to do. It's insanely hard to leave Sophie for even a minute. Don't get me wrong, we bring Sophie almost everywhere we go (she's been out to eat so many times since being born it's kinda funny), but I had to force myself to leave her with a family member a few times to go on a "date" with my hubby.

I read somewhere that nurturing your relationship with your husband sets a great example for your baby and I agree with that. I think it's so important for a child to see a loving relationship between their dad and mom and it makes for a happy family dynamic. 

So, in the two months that Sophie has been born, we've gone on 2 dates san Sophie. And they were both wonderful! It's great to just take a step back and not talk about diapers, breastfeeding, laundry, the cute thing Sophie did that day, etc. I made a rule that on date night we can't talk about Sophie the whole time....let's face it, sometimes you just crave adult, non-baby related conversation.

So find a family or friend that would watch your little for you for even just an hour and go on a date with your partner.

Breaking into Breakfast

The old saying is true......breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

As a Registered Dietitian my first piece of advice whenever I met with a client was to make sure you have breakfast.

What you have for breakfast is just as important and actually having breakfast. It's important to not only set the tone for your day, but it's extremely important to have protein in the morning when you wake up.

Here are a few of my new favorite breakfast items that I've been having this past week:


A poached or fried egg on top of a bed of micro greens (sometimes I use arugula or spinach) with some smoked salmon.

Eggs are a fantastic choice for breakfast. They are full of protein and quick to cook. The only issue I have is I don't really care very much for eggs on their own. Dan can eat 2 eggs everyday no problem, but I have to dress them up because I don't really love them all that much. Adding smoked salmon adds a little more protein and heart healthy fats. I add just a little greens as a way to add to my daily vegetable servings.


Greek Yogurt with cut fruit and a drizzle of honey.

I fell in love with this dish when I was on vacation in Greece two years ago. Greek Yogurt is lower in sugar than most other yogurts, gives your body healthy bacteria and is packed with protein. Adding just a touch of honey gives it a touch of sweetness.


Ranchero Style Egg White Salad

This is an item I purchased at Trader Joe's that I love. It's got a little kick to it but is low in fat because it's made with whites only and is low in calories. It's pre-packaged so it's great when you are running late or need a quick meal without prep.

Paired with a cup of black coffee....delish

Living the Lifestyle

I've given myself almost two months to "take it easy" and just spend time getting used to this new role as a mom and bond with Sophie.

Now that I've almost hit that two month mark, I feel like I've gotten into a good routine (I use the word routine very loosely since that seems impossible with a baby) with Sophie and feel that it's time to get healthy.

I've decided that it's important to really create a healthy lifestyle.....healthy food, regular exercise, activities, fresh air, time with friends, etc.

I think creating a healthy lifestyle will not only make myself a happy person, but make my marriage that much stronger and will create a healthy lifestyle full of good habits for Sophie when she gets older.

So....day #1was today!

After I woke up at 6am to feed Sophie, I decided instead of going back to bed for a few hours, why not just go to the gym. I was already up and awake....so I did it.

I must admit I didn't really "hit the gym hard" or anything, but it felt good to workout again after about a year of not really working out at all.

Tip: The gym is a ghost town at 7am on Sunday morning. Which is perfect for me because I get a little intimidated when it's full!!

Sirens and Stolen Blankets, Fun Failure #2

If you're anything like me, one of the best parts of prepping for your baby to be born is choosing their coming home outfit to pack in your hospital bag.

I had so many clothes all ready for Sophie, just hanging in her little wardrobe, waiting for her to come home, envisions in my mind of all the future fun I'd have dressing her up cutely in her little dresses and cute little onsies.

Flashback to the day after Sophie was born: we didn't sleep at all in the hospital, but Sophie was eating great, peeing/pooing normally, all her vitals checked out, so we wanted nothing more than to check out and go home. We didn't see any reasons to stay in the hospital one more day.

By the time we got the dr. to issue dishcharge orders, pack up our stuff, etc it was about 8pm on Saturday, February 2nd. Sophie had a bit of jaundice, so we were waiting for her labwork to come back before we'd know if we would be allowed to leave. Sophie was sleeping, so I had her two "going home" outfits laid out on the bed while we waited for the nurse to come give us the green light to go home.

As I sat there, I realized that one of her going home outfits was too big. My sisters and I were big babies and a friend of mine just recently gave birth to a baby that didn't fit into any newborn outfits from day one. So I had brought two outfits: one size newborn and another 0-3 months. Sophie was little  when she was born, so the 0-3 month outfit was completely too big.

That left me with only one other option: a short sleeved dress to be worn with tights and a small little cropped cardigan. Life Lesson: Don't pack a short sleeved dress for a baby going home in the middle of winter, tights don't fit newborn babies, and cropped cardigans are really not functionally at all. It was raining out that night and freezing cold. To give myself some credit, I expected to be taking Sophie home the next day at 11am and not at 9pm at night.

I figured I'd just have to put her in her dress and cover her real tight with a blanket until we got her to the car where we could put on the heater and make sure she stayed warm.

Then the nurse came in with a wheelchair (for me), our signed discharged papers and stood there waiting for us to go down to the car. I wasn't exactly ready to be rushed out so quickly. I figured they would come in and tell us we had the green light and then they'd give us some time to get ready. This wasn't the case.

So, I sat in the chair, the nurse handed me the baby, and we set off to the parking lot. Mind you, at this point Sophie was still swaddled in her hospital blanket and the outfit the hospital put her in right after she was born. It just so happened that birth outfit was a shirt and a diaper. No pants, no socks.

The nurse made a comment to me as we were leaving "Don't let anyone here know I let you leave with the hospital's swaddle blanket". I covered her up with the blanket we brought so that the other nurses wouldn't see us leaving with their blanket.

As we got to the doors exiting the labor and delivery unit, a siren started going off and nurses came out of nowhere running toward us. I immediately thought we were going to be in trouble for leaving with the hospital's blanket.

It turns out, all babies born in this hospital have a little chip taped on their leg to prevent anyone from taking them from the unit. In other words, an alarm to prevent any baby from being stolen from the hospital.

Our nurse forgot to remove Sophie's alarm once we were discharged. The nurse explained we were discharged and taking home our daughter and we were able to leave once everyone was convinced we weren't trying to steal our own baby.

We got to the parking lot, it was dark, raining, and cold. Needless to say I had to take off her swaddle blanket to secure her in her car seat, and that's when I realized we were taking home our baby wearing nothing but a hospital issued shirt and a diaper.

Fun Failure #2 - not packing a functional outfit to take home my baby in.
On the positive side: we got a free swaddle blanket out of it.