Hi, friends.
Here I am, over a year later, finally updating the blog.
My baby is a year old now, and his first birthday felt like a big accomplishment.
Motherhood, it turns out, was a really tough adjustment for me.
Caleb was a fussy newborn and all-around terrible sleeper, both for naps and at night-time.
I'd heard about sleep deprivation with a newborn of course, but I wasn't prepared for the effect it would have on me to have interrupted sleep for months at at time.
It is painful to me to admit, but the first few months of his life were a dark and hard time for me.
I felt like a constant failure for never getting him to nap well and always having a fussy and over-tired baby, and the severely interrupted night sleep made me feel like a sad shadow of my former self. To make matters worse, Adam went back to traveling during the week, so I was alone with a non-sleeping baby four days a week.
I survived that time mostly due to my sister, who spent many days and nights with me soothing a fussy Caleb, and my friends who brought by food or just came by to provide company.
Thankfully, over time, his daytime sleep improved, and with a lot of hard work, he started sleeping longer stretches at night. I went back to work, which brought another set of challenges, but overall once he turned four months old, he became a much happier baby, and he's become more and more fun ever since.
Since he turned six months old, our moments of joy and laughter far outnumber the hard or frustrating moments.
These days, my baby is adventurous, opinionated, endlessly curious, and always on the move. He loves exploring, throwing things, taking books off the book shelf, banging toys together to make loud noises, and generally tearing up a room. I love every single thing about him and kiss his chubby cheeks every chance I get.
These banana pancakes are his very favorite thing to eat. He's been eating them since he was about eight months old, and I make them pretty much every weekend.
This is a five-ingredient, one bowl recipe. I never measure any of the ingredients, and the pancakes always turn out fine. These pancakes are more moist and less fluffy than your traditional pancake, but that makes them easier to chew and swallow for little eaters. I cut the pancakes up in small pieces for Caleb, and I can generally only give him a couple pieces at a time, otherwise he will stuff all the bites in his mouth at one time! His love for these pancakes is intense.
He can eat this entire recipe in one sitting, although I usually try to stretch it out over a couple days. I often double the recipe and save the leftovers in the fridge for easy breakfasts during the week.
While I know this recipe might not be appealing to many of my readers, I hope it might be useful to some of you. For others, here's another healthy banana pancake recipe you might like.
Thanks for sticking around, friends. I hope you find something this week that makes you as happy as these banana pancakes make Caleb. : )
Easy Banana Pancakes for Baby
Ingredients:
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 egg
2-3 tablespoons baby oatmeal (or oats, pulsed in a blender or food processor)
dash of cinnamon
dash of vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons butter or oil of choice
Directions:
1. Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Whisk together mashed banana and egg. Add oatmeal, cinnamon, and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
3. Pour batter into pan. (I usually make 3 pancakes) Once bubbles form on the surface, flip to the other side. Cook until both sides are golden brown.
Let cool before serving to baby. Enjoy!
