A Night Without Papa + Protein Mug Cake
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Friday
Arthur slept in until 8:23 - my mind was blown. I don’t remember the last time he’s slept in so late, but I think he needed it. Miklós wondered if he might be catching up on sleep he missed during our trip - he might be right. The little guy was pretty fussy yesterday evening, so hopefully the rest did him good.
He was so well-rested, though, that he didn’t sleep during his 10:00 nursing session like he usually does, which led to a kind of fussy baby in the early afternoon. I pacified him with a small snack, and a new food at that: eggplant! I had cooked some pieces with olive oil and borsikafű (summer savory) the previous day, and gave him a couple to suck on. He ate them, but I wouldn’t say he was particularly enthusiastic about doing so, so I’m going to count this as a meh in the Arthur books. Though I’m not sure if it contributed to the explosive diarrhea he had afterwards. It’s been quite some time since he did one of those. I can’t say I was thrilled, but I was happy that we opted not to go with his dad to Tilburg for another home viewing. I would not have liked to deal with that on the train.
At his usual afternoon snack time (after a nap, thank goodness), Arthur ate the rest of the eggplant, which he was a bit more enthusiastic about, followed by the rest of the spelt-carrot-lentil-fennel purée. I mixed half of the purée with peanut butter, and the other half with formula powder. He was quite hungry, and seemed enthusiastic about both versions.
And then for dinner, we were back to an old favorite: Weetabix! I served prepared it with soymilk for the allergens, and drizzled in a little walnut oil for the same reason. This tried-and-true favorite remained a hit with Arthur, who happily slurped down his dinner. According to Miklós, he said Mama again afterwards, but I didn’t hear him say it at all during the day.
Anyways, on Friday, Arthur Newt consumed the following:
eggplant (new food!)
(spelt) pasta
carrot
lentils
fennel
parsnip
peanut butter
formula (milk powder)
Weetabix
soy milk
walnut oil
Saturday
Arthur synced with his mama this morning - a 7:45 wakeup for the little dude. He was pretty grumpy when he woke up, and was a brat to my nipples, which he’s been pretty rough on lately in general; they are pretty sore at the moment. Another sign of teething? Sometimes he goes through phases where he really tugs and chews on them; the latest development is he also claws and clutches at my nipples when he’s not nursing, and is able to do some damage that way as well - he has some finger strength! One more incentive to keep his nails trimmed.
Arthur did say Mama a number of times today, which I was thrilled about. As his dad said, he knew he had to suck up to me today; we were on our own for the afternoon and night as Miklós was going to Den Hague to vote.
Arthur started off his afternoon snack with some avocado marinated in lemon juice. It remains a hit with the dude. We followed it up by a new fruit purée made of apple, peach, and mango! The latter two fruits were new ones for Arthur, but he seemed to like the purée. He certainly enjoyed holding the pouch and attempting to get the fruit out of it, so it was a good activity for him.
As usual, I opted to keep his dinner simple and low-mess, so it was the same thing as the previous evening: Weetabix and soy milk (I skipped the walnut oil this time). It’s still one of his favorites, and it was very low-mess tonight - he didn’t even need an outfit change afterwards!
But, putting him down to sleep was a challenge. I spent nearly an hour trying to get him to go to sleep; but he was wired. He was very sweet and giggly, but didn’t want to sleep at all. I think he thought he was having a fun sleepover with Mama or something - he giggled while I read him his usual bedtime story, when I rocked him, when I put him in his crib. I'd think he was falling asleep and put him down in his crib, and then he'd get all excited again.
I finally left him in the room on his own, feeling terrible, but wanting to get some sleep myself. He was giggling in his crib when I left, and cried for half a minute or so afterwards, but that was it! I don't know if he just went straight to sleep afterwards or what, but I was thrilled. He honestly was a total sweetie that evening.
Anyways, on Saturday, Arthur ate:
avocado
lemon juice
apple purée
peach purée (new food!)
mango purée (new food!)
Weetabix
soy milk
Sunday
Arthur woke up at 7:30. Luckily, I had woken up at 7:20, so we were all good. He was fairly patient while I fed the bunnies and unloaded the dishwasher, before finally feeding him his breakfast.
We had a lovely time after breakfast; Arthur hung out in his high chair and ate some pumpkin purée while I prepped a batch of my lactation brownies, then hung out on the mat downstairs with CC. Arthur did a great job balancing on his hands and knees, reached for CC with his arm, and even tried to move his leg, though that resulted in a face plant. Still, it’s progress! It was cute; CC was pretty interested in Arthur, and when he started fussing a bit when I walked to the kitchen, CC ran over to babysit. He might have regretted that when Arthur pulled on his ear and later, pulled out a chunk of his fur, but it was still nice to see some brother bonding happening.
We tried out Arthur’s baby carrier with him facing forwards; it was the first time I had worn it that way, but it went well! When he’s in it facing out, he’s pretty much experiencing the world from my perspective, which I think is pretty neat. When we returned from our grocery store errand, I gave Arthur the rest of the apple-peach-mango purée while I unpacked. I think he was pretty hungry; he guzzled it down! Afterwards, he crashed hard - he hadn’t slept very long during his 10:00 nursing session (I think he had had some digestive issues; he was really straining to produce a small and very solid poop), and more than made up for it at the 1:00 one!
For his second afternoon snack, Arthur had some ready-made purée made of carrot, rice, and chicken. I thickened it up with some formula (plus, you know, milk and iron, baby!), and he seemed to like it. We followed it up with some more practice drinking water from a cup. He wasn’t really able to hold the cup or drink from it properly this time, but he was enthusiastic about sucking on it!
Arthur was excited to see his papa home from Den Hague in the afternoon, and even pulled out some dadadas for him. I was happy that he included plenty of mamas today as well. I was also very happy that he saved a massive poop for his dad; according to Miklós, it extended far past his diaper up to his stomach. The two of them had a short walk before it was back to another long nursing and napping session on Mama. I kind of wonder whether he's going through a growth spurt or something, because he's been drinking quite a lot today.
I usually give him eggs or grains for dinner, as those are the least messy, and tonight was no different: oatmeal! I had prepped it earlier in the day, and stuffed it full of allergens; the oats were cooked in soy milk with peanut butter and walnut oil mixed in. There was also a bit of cinnamon in there because I also want to keep him used to spices! Oats, soy, and peanut butter are three of his favorite foods, so this was, unsurprisingly, a hit with my dude.
So, Arthur’s Sunday menu was:
pumpkin purée
apple purée
peach purée
mango purée
chicken
rice
carrot
formula (milk powder)
oatmeal
soy milk
peanut butter
walnut oil
cinnamon
The past few days have been a bit hectic, with Miklós away quite a bit. So I haven’t made anything special or exciting for dinner. I did, however, make what is quickly becoming one of my favorite snacks: a protein mug cake! I liked the other mug cake recipe I tried from The Big Man’s World, so I figured his protein version would be a hit as well. And it certainly was! I’ve made it a few times since initially trying it - first I followed the recipe pretty much as written, and then last night I tried subbing a flax egg for the egg, and I think I liked it even better that way! Anyways, here’s how I make it:
Protein Mug Cake (serves 1)
Ingredients
1 scoop (30g or ¼ cup) vegan protein powder (I used unflavored rice protein)
1 tbsp coconut flour
1 egg OR 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
1 ½ tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp granulated sweetener (if using a sweetened protein powder, reduce/omit)
½ tsp baking powder
¼ cup milk of choice (I’ve used soy and dairy and both were good)
Optional add-ins (not in the original recipe, but I think they’re nice): a sprinkle of salt, a splash of vanilla and/or other extracts, a sprinkle of decaf instant coffee
Instructions
If using the flax egg, make it by whisking the ground flax and water, and letting it sit for at least 15 minutes to thicken up. To reduce dirty dishes, just do this in the mug you want to use for your cake. If using a regular egg, skip this step.
Mix all of the ingredients in a microwave-safe mug.
Microwave for 1 minute. It will be a little gooey, but it is awesome this way!
Enjoy warm!
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