Traveling With{out} Baby

I'm sorry it's been so darn quiet around these parts over the last week. Truth be told it's been a bit crazy and busy.

Last week I traveled to Las Vegas for my annual work trip for the Licensing International Expo. I was gone for three nights and four days. While I love this trip every year, I did not necessarily relish leaving my Sweet P for such a long stretch. But I wanted to participate in the event as its the biggest trade show of the year.

Ok in the interest of full and total disclosure, some part of me was pretty psyched to have some 'me' time. A whole 5 hours on the plane to watch/read whatever I wanted! A full king sized bed all to myself! Without being woken every hour by pacifier cries! Full glasses of red wine in the evenings with nary a worry of having to do a feeding!

You get the point.

So I planned and planned and planned (and cried a little) and made it happen, but not without a little foresight and a LOT of help. Here are some tips for how we all got through it.

Call in reinforcements.

I am so lucky to have Shaun as my partner because he really is a phenomenal dad. He is so hands on and is perfectly capable of taking care of Sweet P. But...I think we were both a little nervous about the trip with me being gone for so many nights. We kept the daytime as our usual routine (with my mom and our nanny gettin' er done) and had some extra hands in the evening until bedtime. Shaun's parents came by for dinner two nights and my mom, cousin and aunt came over to keep company for the third night. Luckily Sweet P stays asleep in she goes down for the night so all went well in that department.

Plan for feedings.

Sweet P is still exclusively on breast milk but is obviously very accustomed to taking it in the bottle. I wanted to try and keep things as normal as possible for her and didn't want to have to switch her to formula, so this is where my freezer stash of milk really came in handy. It was really heart-wrenching to go through half of my stash in a mere 4 days (I worked for months to build that up!), but I guess this is what it's for, right? I made sure to fill up gallon-sized ziplock with the smaller frozen bags milk. I always freeze and label the individual bags in 3 or 4 oz portions, so I measured out the appropriate amount for each day. I labeled the 3 ziploc bags with the day it should be used and the total amount of milk in the bag. Shaun made sure to move these to the refrigerator 24 hours before use so there was ample defrosting time!

 I use the medela pump 'n save bags.

Have an emergency action plan in place.

This is good to have for all of the time, but I thought it was especially important for our nanny to know exactly what to do without me just a cab ride away. I let her know the chain of command for phone calls - Shaun, followed by my mom, etc. And I always have emergency contact phone numbers up on our fridge for easy access. This list includes both of our cell phones and work numbers, our parents numbers, the pediatricians number and address.

Have clean clothes.

I made sure to have all of Sweet P's clothes, sheets, mattress pads, burp cloths and blankets washed and ready to go. This kid flies through laundry like it's nobody's business, so having everything washed and ready made me feel better knowing that she could survive for 4 days in case laundry didn't get done while I was away {luckily we have the best nanny in the world and she does P's laundry just about every day. I'm spoiled}.

Try to relax.

I was so nervous to leave her, mostly because I had irrational Mom fears, including but not limited to: what if she forgets who I am? what if she hates me when I get back? what if she forgets how to nurse and that will be over before I'm ready?

But all of my worries were put to rest each day when I got many daily photos and reports from Shaun, my mom, his mom and our nanny. And when I returned home on Thursday evening, I woke up my little Sweet P and she grabbed my face with both of her hands, smiled, and then wrapped her arms around my neck. It was just about the best feeling in the entire world. 

And at the end of the day? We all made it through and are better for it!

What are some of your tips when being away from your children? 

Do you feel bittersweet about it, like I do?

Chocolate Velvet Cake

So I'm mildly freaking out.

I'm leaving for my annual work trip to Las Vegas today and well, I'm on the verge of a meltdown if I'm being honest. And while I usually love and look forward to this trip every June, this year I will be away from my Sweet P for 3 nights. On top of that, I have a lot more to worry about than just which restaurants and bars {and breakfast buffets!} I must try while I'm out there {though that is certainly a concern}...like making sure everything is set to run smoothly while I'm gone, fitting into dresses not meant for a 4 month post-partum body, and figuring out how to not only pack my breast pump but how to carry back all of pumped materials in a few days time.

Anyway.

Yesterday we celebrated Father's Day!

 

It was a lot of fun to be with my Dad, but to also celebrate Shaun's very 1st Father's Day! He is such a wonderful, hands on Dad to Sweet P and I know I could not do this crazy ride without him.

Since this week was also our Secret Recipe Club reveal, I decided to make a dessert from {Sweetly} Serendipity. With so many incredible options like Raspberry Crumble Cheesecake Bars and Peanut Butter Brownies, I had a tough time picking just one thing. But since I had limited time {and limited ingredients in my kitchen!}, I went with Taryn's Chocolate Velvet Cake.

I really enjoyed the simplicity of this cake. It wasn't too chocolatey, was definitely velvety and the batter tasted like a light, satiny chocolate frosting. I also added a simple powdered sugar glaze for a donut-like effect!

Chocolate Velvet Cake

*Adapted from {Sweetly} Serendipity

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¼ C sugar
1 tsp water, at room temperature
2 tsp instant espresso powder
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 C all-purpose flour
½ C unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ C buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350°F and position an oven rack in the center. Grease an 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pan. 

Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a mixing bowl with hand mixer. Beat on medium until almost white, 4-5 minutes.

In a small bowl, stir together the water and espresso powder until smooth. Add the eggs and beat with a fork. With the mixer running on medium, add the eggs to the butter mixture about 1 tablespoon at a time until completely combined.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into the medium bowl. With the mixer running on the lowest speed, add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, beginning with one-third of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilk. Repeat with the remaining flour and buttermilk, ending with the flour. 

Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top. {Now is when you should do a little batter sampling!} Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. When cool, remove from the pan.

Pour on a simple glaze made of powdered sugar (about 1/4C) and water (about 1Tbsp). Let set, slice and serve!

Did you celebrate Father's Day?

How do you handle the stress of traveling?

To see other great recipes from Secret Recipe Club members, visit the links below!

Mad Easy Macaroons   Cowboy Cookies   Summery Zucchini Tomato Lasagna   Chocolate Cherry Hand Pies   Garlic Oven Fries   Asian Fried Quinoa   Brownie Pudding   Black Bean Sliders   Cinnamon Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread   Ina's Muffins   Taco wontons   Green Monster Pasta   Caramel Chcocolate Chip Cookie Tart   Nutella French Toast Rolls with Cinnamon Sugar   Blackberry Ice Cream Tart   Coconut Almond Rice Krispie Treats   Tomato, Basil, & Balsamic Orzo   Caramel Espresso Bars   Chocolate Velvet Cake   India Leigh   Blueberry Muffins   Chocolate Fudge Brownie Parcels   Chicken BLT Salad with Avocado Dressing   Summer = Gin. & Basil... Garden Gimlet   Honey Lemon Bundt Cake   Butterscotch Drop Cookies   Orange curd puff pastry tartlets   Flourless Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies   Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dog Biscuits   Peanut Butter, Banana, Chocolate Chip Cookies   Cajun Ranch Chicken Pasta   SALTED CARAMEL S'MORES!   Peanut Brittle   Banana Mini Muffins   raspberry crumb bars   Easy Cheesy Crescent Sandwich   Peanut Butter Fudge   Veggie and Pearl Couscous Herb Salad   Asparagus Dill Quiche   Mini Peach Cobblers   Baked Potato Burritos   Moroccan-Spiced Nuts   Breakfast Bownies   Warm German Potato Salad with Crispy Bacon   Steak Pizzaioli   Crab Rangoon Grilled Cheese   Zucchini Sourdough Bread

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

What I'm Reading Now

Recently I've been in a bit of a book rut. I tend to go through spurts where I can't get through books fast enough, and then will take long lulls of not being inspired by any to read. When I saw that Khaled Housseini had come out with a new book, And The Mountains Echoed, I downloaded it onto my Kindle without even reading the synopsis. After being totally obsessed with A Thousand Splendid Suns and liking The Kite Runner (not as much as Suns, though), I knew that this would be a book to add to my list. At just 50 pages in, I've already cried twice. Sigh.

On a happier note, I also just finished Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. I blew right through this one. I was actually quite indifferent towards her prior to reading her book and only picked it up as a nice, easy read and hoping for a few laughs. Well, I ended up laughing out loud through the whole thing. Defnitely recommend!

What are you reading lately?