Eating right is vital for parents of preemies

When your baby is in the NICU, the last thing you think about is yourself. In fact, that’s how is is for a long time. When your baby is sick, you grab a bite here or there, or maybe you don’t eat at all. If you are a stress eater, like me, you eat everything and anything. When you get your baby home, things like grocery shopping and self-care go out the window when you are worried about ordering oxygen tanks and scheduling the 33rd doctor appointment for this year and it is only July (sigh).

The problem? Not taking care of ourselves is detrimental to our babies and children. When we are hungry we are stressed and perform poorly. When we eat junk, we do not function as well. One of my favorite sayings is “everything we do to ourselves, we do to our kids.” Our kids are sponges, even in the NICU. They are hardwired to pick up on our emotions and moods and quickly learn to model that behavior.

When you are hungry you will be tired and you won’t process information as well. If you were on an airplane, would you want your pilot to be starving?

Here’s another thing. Babies need to model their eating after someone. As our preemies grow up, they are at high risk for eating disorders, due to sensory issues, physical weakness, medications that affect alertness and appetite, and a whole bunch of other reasons that are totally unfair. How can you expect your baby with a sensory integration disorder NOT to stuff food in their mouth if you are stuffing your own mouth. How can you expect them to assign importance to eating if you don’t? Yes, there are a billion things to do, but take it from me, you won’t get any more of them done eating nasty left over mac and cheese running around the kitchen (it does, however, get you a nice muffin top). Your baby needs to see you sitting down for dinner and taking small bites, enjoying your food. They need to see the social aspect of food and the mechanical aspect of eating.

So how do you accomplish that?

Two words: crock pot.

I never used a crock pot until the boys were in the NICU. After a few weeks of eating crap, which only made me feel crappier, I decided we needed do something. Problem? Too tired, mentally and physically, at the end of the day to make something. All my recipes are throw and go (I am sorry, browning the meat beforehand, no matter how much nicer it looks, totally defeats the purpose of a crock pot). My recipes are also healthy and the other crock pot bonus – cheap.

We do crock pot Monday. That way, my first day back at work after the weekend I come home to dinner already made. Today’s recipe was chicken and beans, TexMex style. It took me 5 minutes to prep this morning, and that includes removing the skin from the chicken thighs!

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 cup pinto beans, washed.

1 cup water

1 small (16 ounce) jar Pace picante mild salsa (you can do medium if you like it muy caliente).

2 tbsp. flour

8 skinless chicken thighs, bone in.

1/2 red onion, diced.

What you do:

Put beans, water, and salsa in crock pot. Add the flour and stir until major lumps are gone. Add chicken thighs and some salt and pepper. Sprinkle with red onion. Cook on low for 8 hours. I let it go for 10 hours, because I start it before I go to work. Any more than 10 hours and the chicken over cooks.

Calories (because I care about that stuff): 450

If you serve it with some sour cream and cilantro it looks fancy.

If you friends ask what they can get you, tell them a crock pot!

Remember, taking care of yourself IS taking care of your baby.