Toppy Toddler Bib Review...

...I get SUPER stressed when it's meal time. I feel like all of AR's clothes get ruined because she ALWAYS gets food on them. I've tried rolling up sleeves, taking her shirt off which then I feel bad because it's 20 degrees outside, and I've tried a variety of bibs. I finally found Toppy Toddler's No-Mess Bib. Here's a description from their website:

"Toppy Toddler's No-mess Baby & Toddler Bib, makes feeding CLEAN & EASY. This WATERPROOF Bib is specially designed to be used with an attachable placemat, and forms a pocket to catch food that falls from spoon and misses baby's mouth.

Triple protection from food spills, save TIME & MONEY with Toppy Toddler's No-mess Bib, which keeps your floors, table and baby's clothes clean.

Use with a table or high chair, at home or on-the-road. Easy to clean. Simply rinse off with soap and water OR toss in washing machine and tumble dry low."

Let's check it out. It's a regular bib, but it attaches to a placemat. The placemat has a hole in it for a suction bowl to sit on the high chair. I love that it attaches so that it saves all the food from falling in her lap. Plus I don't have to do anything at the end of the meal except wipe down the high chair, no worries about gross food sticking to it. I can just throw the bib and the placemat in the washer and viola-easy cleanup!

This is how it velcroes together. It's also very soft material so it didn't itch or bother AR while she wore it.

So far it's been working well for us so we'll definitely keep using it in hopes of not ruining any more clothes! You can check them out on their website, Facebook, or Twitter.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Pampers Swaddlers First!!!

...Hey Mommy friends! Remember those days when we brought home our new babies and put them in those teeny, tiny Pampers Swaddlers diapers that looked gigantic when held up next to our little ones? My favorite part of those were the color changing line that let me know when it was time to switch out the old for the new. Well, I have some great news; they are now available through size 5. Woot, woot!

 

Pampers wants to be around for all of our children's "firsts." First tooth, first step, first haircut-all of it! They are celebrating by having 30 days of awesome giveaways with a grand prize of a year's supply of Swaddlers and wipes! They'll be giving away daily prize bundles in addition to the grand prize on their Facebook page. Oh, and keep reading for a chance to win a prize bundle from me, too!

In addition to their awesome Facebook giveaways, they are also hosting a #SwaddlersFirst Twitter Party  on December 5 at 9pm EST. You'll want to be sure to RSVP here for a chance to win their prize pack.

Prizes include:

3- Celebrating Firsts Gift Packs, ARV ($250), which include:

*Baby's First Friend Doudou Bear Plush Doll

*Baby's First Tooth and First Curl Treasure Box

*Baby's First Words Boko

*Baby's First Steps Plush Toy

*$50 Shutterfly Gift Card to celebrate all "firsts" moments

*Baby's First Bath Robe

*Pampers Swaddlers

and the grand prize is a Canon EOS Rebel T3 DSLR camera worth $450!!!

To participate, follow your hosts @DoubleDutyDivas, @BridgetteLA, @CeceliaMecca @AngieKcom @WhatMommiesNeed @RamblingChick, and the sponsor @Pampers and be sure to RSVP.

Look how comfy she looks in those Pampers without a care in the world.

Here's Baby L mean mugging the camera in her new Pampers bath robe! I love it, she's so adorable.

As if that's not enough opportunities to win, I'm giving you one too! Enter my giveaway for a chance to win the following prize pack:

*Baby's First Friend Plush Doll

*Baby's First Tooth and First Curl Treasure Box

*Baby's First Words Book

*Baby's First Steps Push Toy

*Pampers Swaddlers

Giveaway will start at midnight, December 1 and close at midnight, December 7. Good luck and enjoy those first moments with your little ones! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

You can follow Pampers on Facebook, Twitter or check out their website for more information about Swaddlers. 

This review was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Pampers. I was provided the featured product free of charge to facilitate my review, but all opinions are 100% mine.

Our Nursing Journey...

...I did it! I was able to breastfeed AR for a whole entire year. I'm doing a little happy dance because I'm pretty dang proud of myself. When I was pregnant, my original goal was just to make it the 12 weeks I was home on maternity leave. By the time I went back to work, I couldn't imagine not nursing but I'd heard from my co-workers how hard it was to pump and keep up with it when they returned to work. I set a new goal to make it to 6 months. Once I got back to work and realized I could do it, my new goal was a year and I made it! I can't say how flippin' excited and happy I am!!!

I can't complain though, AR and I have had a pretty easy breastfeeding relationship. She latched on right away at the hospital, the LC squirted colostrum across the room from my boob, AR will take bottle, sippy cup or boob, she doesn't care so long as she gets milk. That's not to say we didn't have a few obstacles but compared to some other stories, ours were minor. We had the situation when I returned to work and she went on a nursing strike and I had my one day of post-partum depression because my baby wouldn't nurse. That's when my mom told me to suck it up, either make it work with breastfeeding or throw in the towel, just stop feeling sorry for myself. I'm so glad we persevered through that. Then I constantly worried about my milk supply when in actuality, I was probably always fine but I just never wanted to dip into my frozen stash.

My husband didn't understand that. He just saw it as breast milk was taking over the deep freeze so let's use it up. In my mind though, if I had to use a bag of frozen then I had failed, I wasn't producing enough milk and this was the one and only thing I could give her from me only. Occasionally, I think this clicked with him but not for too long because the next week, we'd have the same discussion.

Speaking of the frozen stash, not only was I able to breastfeed my own child but I was also able to help out at least 5 other babies including one all the way in Florida when we were on vacay!

There have been pros and cons to breastfeeding. Most of the cons brought on by myself. I really haven't had any social engagements without her this past year. Mainly because if I wasn't at work, I wanted to nurse her, I didn't want to "waste" a bottle of milk when I could just nurse her myself. Not to mention I'd have to take the pump, find some place to pump, store the milk, etc...or rush home before my boobs burst. At the same time though, I feel like we're a lot closer because I take her with me everywhere and I get to spend each morning and most evenings cuddling with my sweet baby. Another con, which there's no way around it, is pumping! It wasn't bad but when I was at work, I'd always be right in the middle of something and have to stop to go pump or schedule meetings around 10a and 2p but I had to do it so there was no way around it. I really don't think I need to list the pros: cost, relationship, etc...not to downplay it but I think I've discussed it before.

I keep saying I'm going to stop at a year but my mind really hasn't grasped that we're coming to a close with this chapter. I have to stop pumping at work because my space will be gone for the summer. Jenelle gave me hope today that I could drop my work pumps and still nurse in the am, pm and weekends. I have a huge freezer supply so I plan to try that and still have some fresh milk for her. I'm just not ready to say we're done. We all know AR will be our only child and when I'm done breastfeeding her, I won't ever get to do it again.

The funny thing is, when I was pregnant, I wasn't all gung-ho about breastfeeding but I guess in the back of my mind, I knew it would work because I never really thought about any other option. I never thought I'd be one to nurse until she's one but we did it; AR and I together with the support of her daddy, our family, co-workers and mommy friends!

AR's 1st Birthday Party: Friend Style!!!

...on her actual birthday, we had 10 babies over to the house to help celebrate AR's birthday. It was definitely a full house! I can't believe how well ALL the babies did...no meltdowns, hair pulling, biting-they all just played and had a great time.

 

AR was so sweet. She greeted every baby and mom when they got there. She even crawled into Liz and Megan's laps when they arrived. Baby Eleanor was still sleeping when she got here so AR had to go check on her.

Of course, AR was super excited to see her bestie, Emma, and gave her hugs. 

The living room quickly got crowded so we all headed outside to play on the quilt. 

Eleanor woke up and joined us!

The water table was a huge hit! Luke and Charlotte never left it and Nana let AR climb right into it. 

AR was VERY excited when her babysitter and her daughter stopped by to play.

She got this hot pink chair as a gift which I'm sure she'll use a lot this summer.

My sweet baby girl and me

There were a few dads at the party but they sat out back and chatted while the babies and moms played in the front yard

I had mini cupcakes which Baby Dez loved!

C seemed to be a fan too.

By the end of the party, AR was wore out. Here she is kicking back on Marcy.

Here's the big girl standing and kind of zoning out, she was getting pretty tired.

Nana took AR and Emma on a wagon ride before they left.

AR is so lucky to have so many and such great friends! I'm excited to see all of them grow up with her over the years. Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us!

Where's the Baby???

...can you find the baby?

Someone's found the curtains...

"Hey, Mom! Here I am!!!"

Silly girl...#lovemyAR!

Diaper Derby!!!

...this past Saturday, AR and I met up with Jenni, Emma and her parents at the Home Show. They were having a Diaper Derby aka crawling contest at noon. We got there about 10:30, Jenni and her family earlier, because they were only taking the first 20 babies that registered. Emma and AR were spots 1 and 2.

 

Emma was in the first heat against Minnie Mouse. Her mom was her "launcher" and Jenni was the "caller." Emma and Minnie just wanted to play though! After they got going, Emma won her heat.

AR was in the third heat. Papa Brink was her "launcher" and I was her "caller." You could use one item to coax them to you. I used her Cheerios and as soon as he let her go, she took off! One Cheerio flew out and AR picked it up and ate it when she got to me.

Then we had the final heat (there ended up being only 6 kids that registered). It was AR, Emma and another baby. AR took off fast but instead of going for the Cheerios, she was going for Jenni's phone! Emma wasn't too far behind her and I think the 3rd baby barely moved. Her mom said she got scared and froze up. Here are all the winners which this picture will be in the Post sometime this week so we're winners AND celebrities!

Maybe our girls should get on a Diaper Derby circuit, what do you think? Oh and did I mention that AR won a $100 Visa gift card for first place and Emma got a $50 one! 

Sweet Potato Cookies...

...I found a recipe on Pinterest for teething biscuits. It used rice cereal or single grain oatmeal. This seemed like a perfect way to get rid of all the oatmeal because AR doesn't eat it any more and there's a TON leftover (plus I have an entire unopened box). I followed the directions like I was supposed to but added more water because mine were really sticky. I baked and baked and baked and they never got hard like a teething biscuit is supposed to so mine ended up being sweet potato cookies instead!

Here's the recipe from the blog Imprintalish:

Homemade Teething Biscuits (or Sweet Potato Cookies)

1 cup flour
1 cup dry infant rice cereal
1 ripe medium mashed banana (1/3 cup-I have also substituted pureed carrots and sweet potato)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 425ºF / 220ºC. In a bowl, mix together flour, cereal and cinnamon. Add in oil, banana and water. Mix until dough comes together to form a firm, non-sticky dough. Add water or flour (1 tablespoon at a time) if necessary. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out about 1/2 inch thick and cut into shapes or bars. Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly brown. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Matt and I both agree...bland but it's not meant for us sugar craving adults! Instead of giving AR her normal half of an Eggo for breakfast, I let her have a cookie for breakfast with her fruit. Here she is tasting it..

Hmm...that bite wasn't big enough, let me jam some more into my mouth!

Mmm...de...lic..ious!

 

AR was a big fan if you can't tell by the huge mouthfuls! I had to take it away otherwise she would shove it all in her mouth. I figure, minus the vegetable oil, they've got to be pretty healthy. We'll definitely be making these again...until we run out of baby cereal!

Mad About You...

...If you haven't heard, my baby doesn't sleep. I dread bedtime because I never know if she'll give it up easy or fight me. If I'll be up all night or maybe get a couple hours of sleep...in a row. Every night is a crapshoot. What amazes me is that no matter how rough a night it is or how little sleep we've all gotten, my sweet AR always wakes up with a smile, a pat on my cheek and my heart melts.

I feel like we've tried everything: rocking, patting, sshhing, co-sleeping, gentle CIO, CIO, teething gel, Infant Advil, gas drops...you name it and we've tried it. I've made an appointment with the Sleep Lady. It was supposed to be today, I've been waiting 3 weeks to go, on Sunday I started a countdown...4 nights until answers, 3 nights until answers. Then on Tuesday, they called and oops! they'd double booked. I was so upset that I almost cried. I really feel helpless and hopeless that nothing will work and this didn't help. So we rescheduled for this coming Tuesday so hopefully there's sleep in our future. I've been keeping a sleep log for almost 3 weeks and I've even videotaped her fussing and crying at night for the Sleep Lady to see herself. I'll let you know how it goes.

The whole time we've been having sleep issues and Matt brought up CIO, in the back of my mind I keep thinking of an episode of "Mad About You." This is what I feel like our house is like at night. However, I must say that they are very positive and supportive during all of this. If you've ever been awake every hour on the hour, walking back and forth between rooms then you know that this is no way you are that kind to anyone around.



I love my sweet AR and I'd give up every night of sleep for her but I'm really looking forward to sleep in my future.

Donating Milk...

...our deep freeze is being taken over by breastmilk. No, seriously, it is! With hunting season around the corner and the first batch of what I pumped going to "expire" soon (aka 6 months from when I originally pumped it), I decided to look into milk donation. I totally and 100% feel this was a God thing.

I'd been deciding whether or not I wanted to do it for a couple reasons. 1. I'm a hoarder. I didn't want to give any away because what if I needed it. However, at this point, I have easily over 1000+ oz frozen, enough to feed AR every feeding of every day for 2 months and some. 2. I really didn't know much about it or where to donate it. As I saw that I was running out of space, I decided to look into it. I researched online, I called the hospital and I asked Kristal, my go-to gal on all things breastfeeding. I couldn't find much online except creeper stories. The hospital told me the closest milk donation center was in Indiana and I'd have to ship it there in dry ice (way more work than I wanted to put forth). Then Kristal told me to check out the Facebook Group Human Milk 4 Human Babies (that's the main group but then you can type in your state's name to find local). Basically, you post whether you are looking or donating and work out the logistics with the other person.

I talked to Matt to make sure he was okay with me donating and he said, as long as I did it at a public place and didn't take AR with me then he was okay with it. So I visited the site Thursday night and I read through ALL the posts back to July debating on what to do. Then right before bed, I decided I'd post and see what happens. The next morning, I woke up with 2 messages from people interested. And this is where, I feel it was a God thing...

Lady #1
She is has a 4 month old and has returned to work so her supply is decreasing. She lives one town over, not super far away but I rarely get down there. Just so happens that I'm working a half day and headed there to pick up SIL's Christmas present and it happens to be her day off work as well! I tell her I'll bring her 50 oz. She asked if I wanted to be paid for the milk. I told her if she wanted to give me a couple bucks for the bags that would be great (after all that's really the only expense I'm out). I'm getting ready to leave and I pull out ten 5-oz bags and you can't even tell I've taken anything out of the freezer so I go ahead and pull out another 12 bags. I meet up with her and give her 110 oz of milk. She hands me a thank you card and we go on our ways. I run my errands, get home and open the card. She gave me $60 in cash!?! Totally not what I was expecting (or wanting, just wanted to get rid of some milk!). I emailed her and told her that was way too much and she replied that it was worth it to not have to stress for the next month about feeding her baby. I let her know to contact me when she needed more and don't give me anything!

Lady #2
She lives about 45 minutes away...in the same small town that my sister does. God thing: My sister just happened to be coming to my house on Sunday and was able to take some back to her. She was sweet and gave me an entire box of freezer bags. My sister told her I was a milk-producing machine to which she replied well, if she has any more, I'd be happy to take it. I think I'll text her any time I go to visit her and take her some if I have it.

Lady #3
Saturday morning, I check my FB and I have another email from a lady who lives 2 towns north of us. She said she would be willing to come to me so I told her I worked on Saturday (just one town away from her) and she could meet me there. Perfect!

So there you have my milk donation stories. So far, they've all been very positive experiences and as I said, God totally intervened that I posted at the right time that I could help these 3 ladies and their babies out. However, even after giving away 200+ oz, our freezer is STILL full, just a little bit more organized but it's a good problem to have!

Trying to Figure This Out Before My Hair Falls Out!!!

...OMG! I'm kind of at a point of I have no idea what to do regarding sleep and introducing solids.

I decided AR was ready for solids and started giving her single grain oatmeal. I read on this, called the Gerber hotline, I was ready. After 3 days, I stopped because I read about open gut and the nurse at the pedi office said to wait until her fouth month check-up which was yesterday. Those three days, she took it very well and seemed to like it. After her check-up yesterday, the doctor said to go ahead and intro. Plus she needs to be eating every 4 hours instead of every 3 and this may help. I have no idea how I'm going to stretch her out to 4 hours because after 3 she acts like she hasn't eaten in days!

So this morning, I decided to read up again on intro-ing solids. I'd decided we'd start again this weekend. Then I read that intro-ing solids could lead the baby to wean off the breast early. So now I'm back to being in limbo of I have no idea when to start! Ugh...

Her sleep...yeah, it sucks. She's STTN three times in the past month but those were only fakeouts because the other nights, she's up at 11, 1, 3 and sometimes every 30 minutes after that. At her check-up, the doctor asked if she was a good baby. I said, "She really is a good baby but she hates to sleep." Her response, we can fix that. Ha-like it's that' easy! I told her everything we do and she said that I should lay her down awake so when she wakes in the middle of the night she can put herself back to sleep. Okay, so most nights she falls asleep at the boob but not a deep sleep. Like when I lay her down her eyes open or some nights she's wide awake and I'll lay her down and she'll put herself to sleep. So I'm really doubting that this will work. In fact, I tried it with her nap just a few minutes ago and then spent 15 minutes calming her down. So yeah, I will never sleep again. Feel free to leave your tips but I guarantee I've tried it all...bedtime routine, dropped the night feeding, don't go in until she's crying and then just paci, ssh and rub belly if I have to. I tried about 5 minutes of CIO and put a stop to that. Both the nurse and doctor said I was doing everything right SO I just need to learn to function on zero sleep.

Then she said that she needs to be taking 3 naps a day totaling 4 hours and she shouldn't be awake for more than an hour and a half at a time. I looked at her schedule to see how we could adjust that and there's no way she'd only take 3 naps and not be awake for more than an hour and a half. As I type this, she's laying in her crib wide awake and has been awake for almost 2 hours.

I'm so frustrated of reading and stressing and trying things and it not working and reading and analyzing... I feel like AR is such a good baby, she just HATES sleep which affects the whole family and our attitudes. I'd hold her all the time to get her to sleep if I could but I can't and I know that won't help the problem. I really have learned to function on less sleep and most nights, I accept that when I lay down at 9:30, I'll be up in an hour or so but other nights, I just want to cry because I'm.so.tired! And I'm always the one that gets up to get her but Matt insists that he's up too because he wakes up when I get up. There's a huge difference between constantly getting up and sshhing (that's all I feel like I do some nights) and trying to fall back asleep vs waking up briefly and laying in bed while someone else takes care of her.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining (well, I guess I am). I just needed to vent this out. I love AR more than anything in the world and I'd give up every night of sleep for her. It's just frustrating because I know she can STTN but she just refuses too. Plus I have NO idea what to do with the food thing! I wish she'd come with an owner's manual :-)

Introducing & Making Homemade Baby Food...

...I knew before AR arrived that I wanted to make my own baby food. Being married to an outdoorsman whose boss grows veggies and sells them to a local restaurant, it was really a no brainer for us. Once we fell into routine with AR and I saw all the fresh fruits and veggies around, I couldn't wait to start making baby food. Over Labor Day weekend, I took advantage of the lazy, rainy Saturday and started the adventure.

I searched all over Pinterest but mainly just followed this website. It lists what fruits and veggies to introduce at what months. I also read that baby food is good in the freezer for 4 months. Basically, everything I made over Labor Day weekend needs to be used before the end of the year.

In the next couple weeks, we plan to introduce cereal. I'm leaning towards starting with single grain oatmeal over rice cereal. Her 4 month check-up is on 9/18 so I plan on waiting until then and talking to the doctor. She's definitely showing interest in food but I don't think her swallowing is quite there yet. She always spits out her Vitamin D drops but I'm also thinking that maybe the cereal will help her swallowing (and cereal is much cheaper than spitting out those Vitamin D drops!).

Now on to the making of baby food! I spent about $12 for all the food and here's what all it made:

The haul included: green beans, carrots, zucchini, butternut squash, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, apples, plums & peaches.

I peeled, chopped, pureed everything and then put into ice cube trays. I let the trays sit for about 12 hours then popped them out and put them into freezer bags, labeled and put them away.

So here's how I did it...

First step, WASH EVERYTHNG!

Sweet potatoes, squash, carrots & zucchini:
I baked all of these items at 400 for about an hour. When it was soft, I pulled it out and let it cool. Then I scooped the insides out, put it in the Magic Bullet and done. I did add a little water to the thicker veggies to make it a thinner puree.

I didn't use the Magic Bullet for the sweet potatoes, I just mashed them with a fork, so they're a little lumpy (they were the first ones I made) but I figure I can puree a little more when I get them out. I used a HUGE zucchini. For the carrots, I wrapped them in foil then baked. The squash I used wasn't that big so it only made like 5 cubes.

Cauliflower & Green Beans:
I boiled the green beans and steamed the cauliflower. The I put in Magic Bullet and voila-baby food!

Plums, peaches & Apples:
Peaches and apples are both in the Dirty Dozen so I was sure to peel both of them. I also peeled the plums too. I used Golden Delicious apples but I think I'm also going to make some out of Granny Smith apples too. Once it was all peeled, I cut them into smaller bite-size pieces and simmered them in some water. Then I put in Magic Bullet and pureed. I tasted the plum on and it's pretty good.

I also plan on giving her bananas and avocados but those are so soft that I plan on buying fresh and mashing to give to her, no need to freeze. I figure any fruits she doesn't like, Matt and I can mix with oatmeal and as she gets used to more food, we'll do the same for her as breakfast. I'm sure with the leftover veggies, we can throw them in stew or chili or something so none will go to waste if she's not a fan.

I feel like we have a lot of orange veggies and not many fruits. I'm going to keep my eyes open for some other things I can make. I'm also starting to save coupons for yogurt so I can save some money there too. We plan on waiting to start on a weekend so tha we're not rushed. We also plan to start with veggies first so that she doesn't get used to sweet from fruit. When we get into regular routine, we'll do a fruit in the morning and her veggie at night. I'm excited to start this chapter with AR!

While I got the food out to take pics, I decided I'm show you how the breast milk is REALLY taking over the deep freeze. This is just the top layer, there's bags/cartons of milk below everything you can see too! And so far, we've only used 2 bags of frozen milk!!!

What foods do/did you plan to intro first? What did your kid like?

Updated: I forgot 2 things to tell you all! 1. I covered the ice cube trays with saran wrap when I put them in to freeze. If you find ice cube trays with cover, I'd highly recommend that instead. 2. The fruits were harder to pop out when frozen. My assumption is because they are sweeter and sticker so I had to use a fork on some of them to help get them out.

How Much???

...question to the mommas out there. I've had two days that I've been away from AR and she's had bottles. I leave 4 oz bottles for her. Both times I've been gone, the people watching her say that she only eats about 2 oz at feeding time then about 45-60 minutes later, she'll finish off the bottle. When I nurse her, I only feed her at feeding time. We don't feed one side and then do another an hour later. At most, we might spend 10 minutes between boobs and that's just when she falls asleep and I can't wake her up right away. I was worried she wasn't gaining/eating enough but after her doctor's appointment this week, she's in the 75th percentile so I'm not concerned about that.

My question is hmm...why? With less than three weeks left in my maternity leave, I'm just trying to figure out how much milk/bottles I need for the sitter. We go meet with the sitter tomorrow so I'm hoping she might have some insight as well.

BFing 101: Freezing and Hittin' the Bottle...

...okay, so I'm no expert on BFing and I still feel from time to time that I have NO idea what I'm doing but I thought I'd share my experience.

First off, AR has been a great little nurser! We're on a bit of a schedule these days. We wake up at 5am (which is what we'll have to do when I go back to work) and feed then eat again at 8, 11, 2, 5 and 7:30 then bedtime. She'll wake up around 12-1am and feed. Sometimes she'll start to wake up at 4am. I'll go get her if she's crying and just feed one side then put her back to sleep, then I'll let us both sleep in until about 5:30 and then feed the other side. Some mornings she's just grunting and slowly waking up because when I go to check on her, she's still sleeping so then we'll wait and feed at 5. No, I'm not strict on these times. Usually we hardly EVER make it to the actually time and we'll feed at 40-50 before the hour (i.e. 7:40 or 10:40) and sometimes if she's sleeping, we'll eat late because I'll let her snooze.

Since the start of week 3, I've been pumping to start stockpiling. I was all over the place when I'd pump, sometimes after every feeding, sometimes once a day and sometimes I'd get 5 ounces and other times I'd barely cover the bottle of the bag/bottle. I was also leaky all over especially at night.

I have finally fallen into a routine where I pump after the first 2 feedings (5am and 8am) then again after the 2pm feeding. I usually wait about 20-30 minutes after she eats to make sure she's full before I pump out all her milk but still have plenty to time before her next feeding. I still leak from time to time but it is DRASTICALLY less than those first couple weeks. Occasionally, I'll leak at night but usually my boobs, especially the right one, is rock hard but the time she feeds in the morning. Once I feed her and pump though, the hardness goes away.

I am a milk hoarder though. Matt will say let's thaw out some milk and I'll feed her tonight. I'll be like no-that's for when I go back to work! I think my fear is that my milk is going to stop so if I stockpile it then that'll give us some extra time to continue with breastmilk.
Something we didn't think about before she got here was how to store the bags of breastmilk. Seriously, with all the baby stuff out there, you'd think someone would cash in on some overpriced thing to store it in! We've used baby wipes containers and baskets but once the milk freezes and expands, we can't fit a WHOLE lot in there.

On the left is a bag of frozen milk and on the right is fresh milk that's about to be frozen.

Here it is in the wipes container and as you can tell, there's only like 7 which is maybe a day's worth once I go back to work? I'm hoping when I go back to work to still nurse her at 5am, maybe 5pm and 7:30pm. I'm hoping we've dropped the late night feeding by then but if not, we'll prob alternate nursing and bottle so that I'm not the one whose always up once we're both working.

I was really hesitant to introduce the bottle because I didn't want to ruin her latch. I'll be honest though that the main reason I didn't want to was because I really enjoy that time I have with her. But it's a catch 22 because it's hard both mentally and physically to be tied to her 24/7. Last Thursday, we finally gave her the bottle and she took it like a champ! And I must admit it was nice to lay down in my bed and read a little while the two were doing this.

I'm pretty sure she was going through a growth spurt because all she'd do last week was eat, sleep and fuss. So by the time bedtime rolled around, I hadn't pumped a feeding yet because I'd been feeding her almost every hour and a half and didn't have any extra to pump. I'd gotten about an ounce and half so at 6 when she started to get fussy, I suggested we give her that to see if that would make her happy until I could pump a full feeding. By the time I had the bottle ready (Matt argued with me over warming it up vs serving it out of the fridge-FYI our BFing book we got from class said you could serve it at room temp or from the fridge), she was a hot, fussy mess and would NOT take the bottle. I suggested that Matt try to calm her down first to which he got mad at me for hovering because he "had it under control." He went into the nursery with her, rocked her and got her calm then she took the bottle no problem.

Here's AR and her daddy taking her first bottle with her hair all a mess!

That's all I've got! Feel free to leave questions or tips.

Baby Class #4...

...It's been over 2 weeks since our classes ended and I'm just NOW getting to write about this so here goes, sorry for the delay! Again, some of this may not be the nicest things to think about but I'm sharing the knowledge...

The first part of the class we did a review of everything we'd learned, luckily, we all passed! Then we went on to learn about what would happen after birth and touched on some infant care.

*After birth, you will bleed for approximately 4-6 weeks. My response, "So we get 9-10 months of no period and then 4-6 weeks straight?" Our teacher said yes. Again, one of those things that I never remember pregnant women telling me before...

*Involution-uterus shrinking back to normal size; breastfeeding will increase this.

*After you return home, you need to call if you have a fever over 100, bad smell down there, increased uterine pain, heavy bleeding, pain or burning when going to the bathroom.

*Advice: Simplify your life! aka Blogging, FBing, Tweeting may not be a priority.

*Baby blues or post partum depression-if you feel depressed for more than 3 weeks, call your doctor and the doctor will usually see you within 24 hours

*If you are not breastfeeding, you will get your period back within 4-6 weeks. If you are breastfeeding, well it's up to your body when it returns.

*Although right after delivery, you will think that you never want to have sex again, at some point you will so think about family planning.

*Usually okay to walk 10 days after birth but check with doctor for exercise release.

*Start sunglasses early, like even as an infant. Sunglasses aren't just for looking cute, you'll be starting them early on protecting their eyes and they won't fight it later when you want them to wear them.

*Stork bite-birth mark on neck or forehead.

*Milia-clogged sweat glands like baby acne.

*Babies focus best 8-14 inches away and on bright colors.

*Babies can recognize scent and taste. They love to feel your skin and hear your voice.

*Within 24 hours, a screening will be given to your baby. This is required by the state of Missouri.

*Set your water heater to 120.

*If baby has tummy issues, move clockwise on tummy.

*Newborns eat 8-12 times/ day.

*Hunger signs: sucking motions, movements/sounds, turns toward breast, hands to mouth. Crying is a LATE sign of hunger!

*Breastfeeding lowers the risk for obesity. Completely drain one breast before moving on to the next.

*You can start pumping 2-3 weeks after birth and can introduce a bottle.

*They will have breastmilk only for 6 months then you can introduce cereal and other food. Recommended to add new foods every 3 days starting with veggies then fruit. At 9 months, introduct meat, whole cow's milk at 1 year old and skim milk at 2 years old.

And that my friends is all the knowledge I gained in our 4 classes. I know there's a LOT more to learn. I'm wanting to take a breastfeeding class before Baby G arrives but just haven't had time to get signed up. If I do, I'll be sure to share that knowledge too or if any of you have and can send me a link to your post, I would greatly appreciate it.

Cotton Babies...

...so I've always heard of Cotton Babies but I just assumed they were an online store. Much to my surprise, Sarah told me last week that they are based out of St. Louis and then Aimee told me that they will actually fit you for a nursing bra. Tuesday was my last planned full week day off until Baby G arrives (exciting and scary at the same time!) so I figured I'd go check out the store. Well, Monday night was our last baby class and the teacher told us that they sold breast pumps at cost!?!

Tuesday morning I headed to the store and didn't see much of a breast pump selection and then my eyes turned and I saw the exact one I'd wanted down to the carrying case (I wanted the backpack). I tried to contain my excitement and asked the sales lady how much it cost...it was $75 CHEAPER than what Target and Babies-R-Us were asking.
She then helped me find a good nursing bra and I went to try them on (Lordy, let's not even talk about what size I had to get!). While in the dressing room, I pulled out my phone to figure how much the pump would cost at the other places with the additional 20% off coupon you get towards the end of the registry and it was STILL about $10 cheaper than the plain old price at Cotton Babies.
When I walked out, I asked if they always had the pumps in stock and she said no. They keep your name on a list and when they arrive they call you but they don't specifically order them for you. I had to make a split second decision and I went for it-I bought my breast pump!!!

So what was supposed to be a trip to the store to "check things out" turned into an expensive, yet inexpensive trip and since I spent so much money, I got this free linen/cotton swaddle blanket with goldfish:

I definitely plan on going back to get another bra after Baby G arrives and I want to possibly check out one of their breast feeding classes if time allows it. The next 6.5 weeks are going to fly by!!!

Happy birthday to the best Grandpa ever! We still miss you but think of you often. Odd...his name was Cotton and this post is about Cotton Babies!

Frustrated & Grateful...

...I'm writing this on Sunday afternoon about 1pm. It's fantastic because I worked last week Monday-Saturday, got up today and got all my "chores" done and now I have time to chill and blog...it's great!

Let me start off by saying that I'm extremely frustrated right now because our house is a HOT MESS! Seriously, I cannot find ANYTHING. I have one nice pair of black maternity pants that I've worn once and cannot find them ANYWHERE. This isn't a huge deal right now but I definitely need them for the conference I'm going to at the end of the month and as showers and church things pick up.

With that being said, I have NO WHERE to put anything. Before, Matt had the computer room closet and I had the master bedroom AND the guestroom closet. Now I just have the master bedroom closet and I can hardly move anything to see what I have. Most of my dresses, graduation gown, prom dresses, etc...are being stored in Matt's closet so HE has no room to search for anything either. Simple solution-get rid of what I'm not wearing, right? Well, that's the hard part because I'm normally any where from a 12-16 so post-baby, I have NO idea what to expect! I hear I'll wear continue wearing my maternity clothes for awhile but I'm hoping I'll get down to at least a 14 by Christmas. I'm researching half-marathons to run in the fall so I can get back on track but that's another post for another day. And I have gotten rid of a TON of stuff already...prom dresses at a resale shop, I'd taken my 15+ pairs of pajama bottoms and kept my favorite 5 (for both winter and summer) and my box of sorority sweatshirts has been divied up and given to active girls still in college (Busted! I kept a few of my fave). Okay, so Matt suggested boxing up all my smaller clothes and putting in the basement to pull out when I'm ready for them. In theory that's a great idea but currently, our basement has a bath to the dog cages, the basement door, the washer/dryer and back out (it's one big circle).

Which leads me to the basement where everything that was in the upstairs spare rooms are now downstairs piled up waiting for us to go through the old boxes and decide what we can REALLY part with since the last time we went through the boxes. For instance, the snowball maker that's been used once, I threw in the garage sale pile and Matt got upset saying he was keeping it for the baby. I narrowed my eyes and didn't say a word to which he put it back in the pile with a "fine!" So apart of the boxes we're keeping, we have a garage sale pile! This is Matt's idea which normally I would be all for but with so much going on, I just don't feel like we have time for it (I work at least part of every weekend in March). So I told him if he wanted a garage sale, it was all him. He's hoping we get enough money to get stuff off our registry we still need, I think we'll be lucky if we break $100 but hey, that's better than nothing! Back to the disaster called our basement, I was looking for my gift box (I buy gifts throughout the year and put in a box and then when birthday/holiday rolls around, I have my own shopping center) and I couldn't find it anywhere. Matt came downstairs with me, had to move a few boxes and we found what I was looking for. It's also very difficult when I can't lift or move heavy boxes. We also have ANOTHER huge pile of baby toys that friend's have given us which I am TOTALLY grateful for but right now we're in a holding pattern. Everything piled in the basement until the upstairs is done, then move downstairs up until the basement is done THEN everything back to normal. Okay, I'm getting stressed thinking about all that! I'm sure you all don't care about any of this but it's really been bothering me so I had to just write to get it all out there! Whew-feel better!

Now, let me get on to some awesomeness! Saturday I worked all day so my FIL came over and helped Matt paint the baby room and touch-up the computer room. I was thrilled when I came home and the paint looked good. It turned out a bit more blue than I thought it would but that's okay because I was worried it would look too white so I'm liking it so far. Matt's cousin is coming in February to paint a mural in the room and then we can start moving things in! I promise pics later don't worry. On top of the great job that Matt and his dad had done, my MIL had come over and cleaned!!! I didn't know ANYTHING about that so I was totally shocked and completely grateful. Like I stated above, our house is packed like sardines so she only cleaned the master bath and our kitchen but whew-that was a LOT. My stove top is spic and span now, my toilet scrubbed and I am one happy lady!

Then as though that wasn't enough, Matt came downstairs to wake me up (I'd slept in the basement on the couch because it was a little too painty smell for me upstairs still) and told me to get up because he was cooking breakfast! Yummy-scrambled eggs with bacon AND sausage and biscuits. He knows the way to my heart...the baby's too, s/he likes to move a lot after a delicious meal!

So while I feel completely overwhelmed because our house is a bit of a hot mess, I'm completely grateful for all the work that is getting done on it. I'm also grateful for my in-laws who gave up their Saturday to help us out and for my wonderful husband, who I don't always give credit to, that's done an AMAZING job on getting lots of things done. We still have a long way to go but it'll get done!!!

If Baby G is a boy...

...we have his name picked out! Well, we've had it for awhile. This is a name we'd decided on when we first starting trying and then we didn't discuss it the whole time we went through fertility treatments and when we found out we were pregnant, we STILL didn't discuss it much.

I didn't want to find out the sex and I didn't want to tell names. Matt wanted both. So we compromised and agree to NOT find out the sex but we could tell names. It was kind of a win-win for me because Matt had already been telling people our boy name!!! So without further ado...if Baby G is a boy, his name will be Gunnar Jackson.

Matt really wanted the name Hunter for a boy but I denied that. 1. Because every other of his friends has a child (both male and female) by the name of Hunter and 2. I thought it was a little too cliche since Matt loves to hunt. I absolutely LOVE the name Gunnar because I only know 2 other people by that name (one in college and one my dad's age). I think it's unique but not too crazy and it means "battle warrior." I worry that it might be a bit cliche too with the hunting theme but I got over that quickly. Jackson is both my dad and my grandfather's middle name. I got the middle family name since the baby is taking on his last name.

At Christmas, we told our families our boy name (and this is probably why we're a bit more hesitant on settling on a girls name and telling people; hence the whole reason I didn't want to tell names in the first place!). Here's how everyone reacted:

Matt's mom, sis & brother-LOVED IT!
Matt's dad-"Well, I guess I'll get used to it."
Matt's Grandma-"Well that's a good German name." (It's actually Scandinavian but we didn't correct her.) Five minutes later when the name was mentioned again, "What kind of name is that???"
My dad, sis, niece & grandma-LOVED IT!
My mom-likes Gunnar, hates Jackson (go figure! and is now trying to push a family middle name from her side on the girl name and also argued that it wasn't fair to Matt's family)

Some people we've told will say, "Gunther?" which makes me think of the barista from "Friends." But I don't care because that's our boy name and Matt and I both absolutely LOVE IT!!! In fact, we call the baby Gunnar more often than not, so should this baby come out a girl, she's not going to be very happy with us!

Surviving the Registry!

...Yes, friends, I survived registering for all the baby stuff and I'm happy to say Matt and I are still married. After all the comments about what to register for, I spent an ENTIRE weekend researching baby products. My mind was on OVERLOAD but when I started to get overwhelmed, I stopped and said to myself, "Self, as long as you have:

1. A car seat
2. Diapers
3. Food
4. A place for the baby to sleep

then you'll be okay." Matt may be running to the store every 5 minutes but we'll have the basics to figure things out as we go. Needless to say, my registry was 3 handwritten notebook pages!?! Matt was shocked when he got home from hunting and I showed it to him. I thought I was being smart and had gone ahead and registered for the "small stuff" at Target without him. Then last Thursday, we headed back to finish up the registry and World War III almost broke out. He questioned EVERYTHING I wanted to register for and not in the I'm curious and want to know way, more in the WTH? way. By the time we got to the end of the list, I'd given up and let him register for whatever he wanted. We left the store sans Slurpee (I was really craving one once I walked in and saw the machine) and near tears.

After a LONG discussion, we decided we would try again together and headed to Babies-R-Us this past Sunday. It went so much better! I almost got overwhelmed when I printed out 3 other friends registries to get them a gift and realized I didn't have "everything" the same as them but I ended up just getting them a gift and not stressing over it. I was also pretty excited because this is the first time that I parked in the Expectant Mothers parking spot!!!
I will tell you this though, an hour in a half registering really makes a girl have to pee...I went twice. Once when I first got there, right when they opened and I thought wow these bathrooms are really clean. Then I went about an hour later and I was gagging they were so gross...pee on the seat, long hairs on the seat-ugh! I'm going to do my best to teach our child not to pee on the seat.

When I got to work on Monday, my co-workers looked up my registry. What do you know that my boss had the exact stroller we registered for and I had the carseat in my car that we're going to use! Both of us and another co-worker, headed outside to see if the carseat fit (it did!) and I got to try out the stroller-woohoo! I feel much better knowing that it will work.

So are we done with the registry? Probably not but I have started it and have a good heads start on it. I'm sure there will be lots of additions along the way. I plan on adding some big stuff like a video camera and steam cleaner (stems and sanitizes bigger stuff so no chemicals to clean-woohoo!). Do I expect someone to buy that for us? Probably not but closer to your due date both Babies-R-Us and Target send you coupons so we can at least buy it and get some money off.

I officially bought the dresser that will match the crib tonight. Thanks to my sister for letting us borrow the crib and to my daddy for buying the dresser! I'm really excited about the swing we found because you can take the seat off and it's a bouncer! We weren't planning on registering for both so when we found this we were super pumped!

Now my plan is also to borrow things because 1. it'll save us money and 2. we won't have to store it once we're done using it! So here's my list of things we need to borrow, anyone out there that knows me IRL and cares to share, let me know! Of course, my number one priority is safety so I plan on borrowing these things as long as they are safe.

To Borrow
1. Bumbo
2. Play mat (where the baby lays on their back and plays with the stuff above them)
3. Moby Wrap
4. Exosaucer
5. Stroller-not like a travel system or a jogging stroller, just something smaller and more compact
6. Safety gate (if it works with our door frame7
7. Any other toys (big or little) and clothes (once we know the sex)
8. Crib (borrowed from my sister)
9. Infant carseat (borrowed from my bestie; still in good shape; gonna take to the fire department for inspection)

My mom is also known as the Quilting Queen so Grandma has a list of things to make:

To Make
1. Boppy Covers (Thank you Pinterest for this link!)
2. Shopping Cart Cover (Again, thank you Pinterest for this link!)
3. Baby Quilt (we didn't really pick out bedding, just plain colored sheets and then we'll use the quilt to decorate until the baby is old enough to use it)
4. Lamp shade (already have the lamp, going to buy a shade and try to match it to the theme of the nursery)
5. Wall prints to frame for the nursery

So there you have it! We survived registering but we have a long way to go! Say some prayers for me and Baby G as we have our glucose test next week. In the meantime, tune in for posts on our boy baby name (it's official!), the bump debate and the winner of my giveaway!

Giveaway and Girl Names Needed!!!

...okay, all! Matt and I are doing massive cleaning and storing and packing and repacking of our house to make room for this little baby that's coming our way. In the process, I have found decorations that have been stored away and not pulled out since oh...2006 when I moved into my house!

We also need help with girl names!!! We have our boy name picked out (another post for later) but cannot agree on a girl name. Our front runner right now is Autumn but I have two drawbacks to this name:

1. Matt has a cousin named Autumn although in the 5+ years we've been together, I don't ever recall meeting her.

2. Is she going to resent being named Autumn but being born in the spring? Matt said, "No, she'll say, that's the ironic part...my parents named me Autumn but I was born in the spring." I said, "Yeah right, she'll be like, No, my dumbass parents named me Autumn but I was born in the spring!" Matt was like our Autumn would never say that. I said, I bet that's one thing we can bet she'll say.

So here's the criteria...

1. Middle name is probably going to start with an R, either Rose or Rosalee.

2. Last name starts with a G.

3. Something different, but not too out there. I loved being the only Alyssa in my classes growing up but hated my name being pronounced wrong.

4. Nothing too common...so if it's in the top 50, it's a no-go.

5. I would really like a G first name but so far haven't loved any G girl names i.e. Gretchen, Gia, Gina, Grace

I'm going to give one lucky commenter this wall hanging made by my momma. So please leave a comment with your best girl name suggestions! You have until 1/31 at 5pm to submit an entry for the giveaway but feel free to leave girl name suggestions whenever. I'll announce the winner on 2/1.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Baby G at 21 Weeks!!!

...last Thursday, Matt and I got to see the baby at 21 weeks! It was a pretty awesome experience. However, we only got to take home headshots because we didn't bring our own disc and we didn't find out the sex. There were some super cool shots of the spine but these are my favorite that we got:

This one was in 3D. The little turkey had his back to us so we had to wake him up so we could get a face shot. It was so precious because we got to see him yawning!!! He also had his hand across his face like, "Come on guys, let me sleep!" And look at that tiny ear!

The tech said the whole time she was chasing him around to get measurements and pics but when the faceshot came, he was like good night! Now we know for next time to bring our own disc and we can bring home a lot more pictures.

The appointment went...okay. Well, it went great for the baby but just okay for me. All looked well with the baby, heart rate was 151 and he weighed one pound. Yes, I keep saying he but I have no idea, it's just intuition that it's a boy.

Now my part of the appointment...well, she finally got on me about my weight, she did give me credit that it had been the holidays but moving forward I really need to watch what I'm eating. Of course, I bummed around about that all day but what can you do? I'm going to start walking and trying to eat more fruits/veggies. I know the holidays and all their desserts really took their toll on me. Hopefully a few changes and I'll have the weight thing under control! Please keep the prayers coming for Baby G and me.