Dear Baby To Be

Dear Little One,

You haven’t even been created yet, but I already love you. There are a million possibilities inside my body, each one holding half the DNA for a different person. Some days I wish that we could make you now, my patience wearing thin and my arms aching to hold you. And then I am reminded of something profound.

Each month, a new set of possibilities is released. Each month, the potential for an altogether different creation, a different personality, different features, a different child. And I am just waiting for YOU. If I got pregnant this month, I would have a baby, yes. But it wouldn’t be you. You’re still in the wings, awaiting your moment to shine. So baby, I’ll wait.

I’ll wait for you to make your silent entrance, for you to be created, and then for you to grow. And someday, hopefully not to long from now, I’ll bring you into this big beautiful world and teach you to live life unconventionally – to live it like YOU. And I’ll love you forever. Because I waited for you.

With all the love that I posses,

Mama

Roasted Chickpeas

Today I'm sharing my recipe for Roasted Chickpeas, a healthy, high-protein wonder food that makes an awesome snack, salad topping, and more!

Roasted chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) are a very versatile food. They can be made sweet or savory, and are an especially perfect snack for me as a vegetarian because of the high protein content. 

This recipe consists of just three ingredients - chick peas, olive oil, and seasoning.  
There are many seasoning options for roasted chickpeas, but here are some of my personal favorites.

• Lemon Pepper (Mrs. Dash Lemon seasoning, black pepper, onion powder)
• Cinnamon Sugar (cinnamon, sugar)
• Chipotle Pepper (Mrs. Dash Chipotle Pepper seasoning)
• Pumpkin Spice (sugar, pumpkin pie spice seasoning)
• Apple Spice (sugar, apple pie spice seasoning)
• Chili Lime (Mrs. Dash Chili Lime seasoning)
• Tomato Curry (tomato sauce, curry powder, garlic powder)
• Sesame Soy (sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder)

Step 1: Drain the chickpeas, rinse and dry. I dump them into a clean dishtowel and pat dry, but you can also dry them with paper towels. 

Step 2: Toss the dry chickpeas with just enough olive oil to lightly coat them. 

Step 3: Add your chosen seasonings and mix.

Step 4: Spread the seasoned chickpeas onto a cookie sheet and bake for 350 degrees for about ten minutes, then broil until chickpeas start to turn a deep golden color.

Step 5: Enjoy!

The Two Week Torture

Mommy blogs call it the TTW - the two week wait. It's the approximately 14 days between ovulation and your period's due date - also known as the end of the agony when you can finally take a pregnancy test.

It really is true misery. Every little thing is a mind warp. My brain is spinning. "Are my boobs sore? Was that implantation cramping or gas? Oh! I'm nauseous! Is that in my head or is it real? In reality, it's probably too early to have any symptoms. But I want a symptom, so much. 

I finally broke down and took a cheap internet pregnancy test strip on day seven. I knew it was a total waste of a test, but I had to do something! Of course it was negative. I made it two more days, to day nine, and took another one. It was negative too.

Four more days until I can test again and actually maybe get a positive. It's torturing me. I broke down into a puddle of tears yesterday when my husband found the onesie I had been hiding as an announcement gift. He felt so bad, but I just couldn't stop crying. 

This wait is so. damn. hard.

And so it begins...

I've been waiting for this day for months - the day we start trying to expand our family. I caught myself grinning today as I changed my Hellobee status from "Waiting to try" to "Trying to conceive". I can't wait to change it to "Pregnant"!

I'll be blogging about our (hopefully short) TTC process, but right now I want to talk a little about our "pre-conception" time. Since we had to wait longer than we would have liked to start TTC, I threw my baby-fever energy into making sure we properly prepared for this new phase in our lives.

This is what we did to prepare for TTC and maximize our fertility.

• I got a preconception doctor's appointment, including blood work and urine analysis to check for any deficiencies. Everything was perfect!
• I had a dental check-up to make sure I didn't have any issues that might worsen with pregnancy, and also to check in on my late-blooming wisdom teeth. Still not coming in!
• I started taking prenatal vitamins. I struggle with taking big pills, and I wanted to make sure they were whole-food based, so I picked Rainbow Light Prenatal Mini Tabs. They are much smaller than most prenatals, and you take three a day. They taste gross though.
• I started charting. Thankfully, I'm blessed with short cycles of 25 days. 
• Both my husband and I changed to a more healthy diet. We're already vegetarian, but we decided to cut out some of the refined foods in our diet and try to eat more organic raw foods.
• The diet had a lovely side effect - I lost a few pounds and ended up close to my ideal weight. We'll see how long I stay here...
• Then there was the biggie. Caffeine. Anyone who knows me knows that my giving up coffee is the ultimate proof of how much I love our future child. I mourned for my coffee. I'll be writing another post about my adventure of finding the perfect alternative to my highly caffeinated habit. 

What did you do to prepare for TTC?