Overnight Oats: A Guide To Pre-Made Breakfast

Yup, feeding yourself always comes second to feeding your ever hungry little munchkin… or walking the dog, or doing the laundry, or getting in a run, or rushing to shower before work… whatever it is that makes your mornings busy, overnight oats are easy to prep ahead of time to get you through those busy mornings.

BASE

• 1 jar

• 1/2 cup oats

• 1/2 cup milk or almond milk

• 1/4 cup greek yogurt

• mix-in of choice

MIX-INS

• 1 tablespoon each of pumpkin, maple syrup, and crushed pecans

• 1 banana, 1 tablespoon peanut butter

• 1 tablespoon honey, 1/4 cup blueberries (frozen, fresh, or dried)

• 1 scoop protein powder plus any fresh berries

• 1 teaspoon vanilla, raisins, sprinkle of cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup, walnuts, dried cranberries

• 1 tablespoon cacao powder, 1 tablespoon honey, crushed almonds, coconut flakes

Coaching: Combine all ingredients in the jar, shake, and store in fridge for up to 5 days.

The Baby Items You Actually Need

Being the person that I am, I had already completed my baby registry before I even started the second trimester… A few things wrong with this approach, the first being that I used Babies R’ Us and then a few weeks later they went out of business and I had to re-do my registry on Amazon. (Amazon actually worked great, and I highly recommend it especially if you have a lot of people sending you gifts vs giving them in person.) Second, there were so many thing out of stock or had new models by the time 6 months passed. No matter when you create your registry, it is super overwhelming because every list out there has a bazillion different “must have” baby items and then there are about a million variations and brands to pick from. That being said, I’m sure my list won’t be perfect for all your needs, but I figured I would share what I have found to actually be necessary and super helpful as I navigate this new thing called parenthood.

Nursing
-If you’re planning to breastfeed, the Haakaa Pump with lid/flower is a must. It catches the let down on the opposite side you’re nursing and with using just that and not even pumping, I have saved 10-12oz of milk per day since my milk came in at day 3.

-Nipple Cream is a must.. the first month, breastfeeding is hard on the body as it adjusts to feeding your baby. The Mother Love brand is what my birthing center provided, turns out, it is the Amazon best seller and of course is organic.

-I didn’t realize how many Nursing Bras I would actually need. Usually, I don’t wash my normal bras very often.. but when you’re leaking milk everywhere early on, you might go through two or more bras within 24 hours. Also, Nighttime Nursing bras are important. *Note for the runner moms: do not wear your sports bras except for working out. They get really tight and can cause clogged ducts or mastitis infections.

-Speaking of mastitis, it feels like the flu. I ended up on a 10 day antibiotic because my fever spiked to 103.8 and wouldn’t come down. During that time, I learned that hot showers, expressing, and Sunflower Lecithin help tremendously.

Baby Stuff
-Nightlights… buy them before you come home with your baby… we didn’t, and the first night home I couldn’t sleep at all because my anxiety was too high since I couldn’t see him. Have these already purchased so you have a dim light that is bright enough to see your baby’s face. This stress wears off after a bit, but at least for me, the ability to rest was very difficult at first.

2-The Lillebaby Active Carrier has been my saving grace… Athens hates walking in the stroller, so until he likes it, I have carried him in the carrier at least once a day, if not more often, due to needing free hands to get things done… I have to put him in the carrier if he is fussy and I bounce on the physio ball while getting work done on the computer. If you get the infant insert, you can use it at 7 pounds… I didn’t have that so I used a different wrap carrier until he was big enough to fit in the Lillebaby.

3-A running stroller! (I have the Thule Glide) This is an obvious one for me, but I think essential because getting outside and moving your body is so important! Definitely important to get the carseat adapter so you can start when your baby is little vs having to wait 6 months until they can go in the regular seat of the stroller.

4-A noise machine! Doesn’t matter the brand, or whether its an app, or on the baby monitor, or a fan. Just having some white noise goes a long way in helping Athens sleep more soundly!

5-Outfits that zip… at nighttime those first few months when you have to change diapers at 2am, snaps are the worst. Get some zippered sleepers for bedtime.

6-Let me tell you, as a mom, you need at least 8 arms to carry everything, so having a Back Pack diaper bag makes life a tiny bit easier.

For Mom
1-Prenatal/Postnatal pelvic floor and core strength routine. I did one 4 days per week prior to birth, and then starting at 3 weeks postpartum, I did another round of 4 days per week with a postnatal routine. I worked with Celeste at ReCOREfitness who is amazing and specializes in mama runners :)

2-Dryer balls… it’s true, you do a lot more laundry. The dryer balls are nice since you cannot use dryer sheets on baby clothes. They also help soak up the moisture so it takes less time to dry!

3-I highly recommend getting your Ferritin levels tested in each trimester and then again 3 months postpartum. Growing a baby, and having a baby, takes a lot out of your body. Staying on top of your ferritin levels and supplementing with iron if they start to drop will help your energy levels and allow your body to more easily return to running. I take Thorne Iron Bisglycinate and it has been a game changer for me when I started taking 50mg per day after my levels dropped in the second trimester.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any questions or share your baby must haves in the comments!