I treasure bath times with my son, I really do. If I leave work bang on time and speed walk to the station I can make it home just in time for a 10-minute splash about before bedtime. By now, my wife Anni and I were in a good routine where I’d have a bath with him, then she’d take him, give him a massage and feed before putting him in his cot whilst I made us dinner. Three months in and we could finally put him down to sleep (after a bit of a fight). It was working, just and even though I didn’t get to spend that much time with him each evening, we were all eating well and getting the minimum amount of sleep we needed.
One cold winters’ evening when he was about two months old I planned to come home from work, give him a quick bath and make a hearty dinner for Anni and I. Rushing in the door I gave my family quick kisses before running a bath, stripping off and diving in. (This way I also got to have a quick power bath to myself each day whilst Anni got him ready, oh the luxury!). I lit some candles, put the Lion King soundtrack on and eagerly awaited my son’s arrival.
Splashing about with him I watched his little eyes widen as his body made contact with the water and listened to him gurgle as we squeezed a sponge over him. I felt all of the worries of life and work fall away, at the end of the day. This was all that mattered.
After about ten minutes his eyes began to get a bit droopy. Bath times are tiring for babies and we didn’t want to miss the boat for him getting a good night’s sleep. As Anni got herself ready to feed him in our bedroom I lifted him out of the bath, lay him on his towel on the changing mat and turned around to get his clothes, already salivating at the food I was going to cook for us later.
A stupid mistake.
I heard loud screams and quickly turned around to see my son urinating (quite strongly) into his own face. Obviously, this was not a pleasant experience for him, so he also decided to scream and cry at the same time, whilst dousing his newly cleaned body in his own urine. Anni rushed in, with that look in her eyes that mothers get when someone else makes their baby cry, picked him up and gently hugged and cooed him. The poor little guy needed not only another bath to clean him again but a lot of hugging and reassurance from the both of us as well. Dinner would need a rethink, so instead, I just made some rice and seabass, which is so quick to cook but more importantly I also learnt a very important lesson about bath time.
Ingredients
-two portions of seabass
-150g of wholegrain rice
-half a can of sweetcorn
-one mango
-one avocado
-juice of one lime
-fresh coriander
-knob of butter
-one wholegrain wrap
-one lime
Method
-Boil the rice, drain and set aside
-Squeeze the juice of one lime into a pan, season the seabass and cook skin up for around 3-4 minutes. Then flip the fish over, add the butter to the pan and cook for a further 2 minutes, spooning the butter over the sea bass. Set aside
-Slice the mango and avocado into strips and arrange on the whole grain wrap
-Finely dice the coriander and add half to the cooked rice, along with the sweetcorn.
-Spoon the rice onto the tortilla and then cover with the seabass. Sprinkle the remaining coriander over the top of the fish
Why is this good for mum and baby?
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Seabass
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Protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins B, potassium, magnesium
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Wholegrain bread/wraps
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Vitamin B, magnesium, potassium, iron, fibre, zinc
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Brown rice
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Vitamin B, magnesium, potassium, iron, fibre
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Avocado
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Vitamin A, B, C, D, E, K, folate, potassium, omega-3 fatty acids, fibre, magnesium, calcium, iron
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Mango
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Fibre, folate, iron, vitamin A, B, C, E
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Limes
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Vitamin B, C, calcium, magnesium, folate
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Coriander
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Vitamin C, K, calcium, fibre, iron, magnesium
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About At Dads Table:
I'm a passionate chef, new Dad and recent graduate from Leiths School of Food and Wine in London who is on a mission to overhaul the way we think about food in pregnancy and early parenthood. When my wife first became pregnant I couldn't wait to start researching what were the best dishes to make for her to ensure both her and our baby were getting enough of the good stuff. I was disappointed to see that most advice centred on what you can't have, rather than on what you can. I, therefore, decided to write my own recipes to accompany her through the different stages of her pregnancy. When we both became parents I began to then focus on dishes that were quick to make, would give us energy and could, in most cases be eaten with one hand.
For more recipes see www.atdadstable.com and find me on Instagram at www.instagram.com/at_dads_table
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