6 months!

Can you believe my baby is six months old? I can't.  I just can't. I wont! It's not true!

okay..... it is.

:o)

he's getting so big (well, he's really just a squirt, but he seems big to me!)  He's eating avocado, brown rice, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and peas.  He can sit by himself, roll over any which way he wants to, (usually onto his tummy, which he seems to prefer.) He scoots around the kitchen floor (carpet is still a challenge,) and he LOVES the johnny jumper.  He wants to stand all day, and will pull himself up from sitting if you hold his hands.  He never stops moving- except for when he's asleep.  When we wear him in the moby his feet continually kick.  I love it!  He still coos and squeals a bunch, and lately sticks his tongue out and says "da da da da da da." His laughter is so contagious- he makes strangers smile everywhere he goes.  One of my favorite things to do with him is take him to Costco- all the old people love to stop and talk to him and smile at him and grab his feet- and he's so polite and plays along!  Oh, Momma's pride and joy. 

On a less (much less) "momma's joy" note- he's just about weaned himself, little stinker.  At his 6 month appointment he'd dropped down to the 3rd percentile in weight (doc still says he's fine and stop worrying!) but said I should offer a bottle after nursing just to see how much more he'd drink.  Well, a few days of that and he decided that bottles are SO great (still breast milk) that he could do away with the boob all together.  He'll still nurse in the middle of the night, because he's too sleepy to notice. haha.  That's the only time he'll let me hold and cuddle him too, so go figure!  So now I'm pumping every 2-3 hours and just giving him bottles during the day, because the battle to nurse was breaking my heart.  (For a few days, he would scream and cry real tears every time I'd put him to breast!  On the other hand, when he sees a bottle, he smiles and reaches out and kicks his feet. Stinker.)  It's not a supply issue, because I pump the same or more ounces than he's drinking.  He's just letting me know he's a big boy, I guess!  Wont be the last time.... I'm sure!  I'm going to give it my best to keep this up for another 6 months because I know that breast milk is absolutely the best thing for him.  So- got any good books you want to lend me?  I'll be having plenty of time to sit and read- (15 minutes out of every 2-3 hours, to be exact!) hahaha

A soggy saga...

In retrospect, none of this is as terrifying and dramatic as it was at the time. And with my delightful experiment this morning, I must tell the whole story. And now, of course, I can use a bit of humor as I tell the world about something maybe only new moms care about: milk! If that's enough to turn you away, please, stop reading. More bodily fluids and grossness follow. But this is my blog, so I'll tell of all the details.
A little while back, I lost my milk supply. I'm not sure where it went- a vacation to Thailand, perhaps? A little siesta? Who knows. But I was mortified. Oh, I felt like a failure as a woman and mother! Here I had TONS of milk for a couple months, stock piling it in special little BPA-free baggies, (so proud of my frozen stash) and then one morning I woke up after not nursing one side for around 16 hours and I was flat as can be. I freaked. After nursing the baby, I offered him a two ounce bottle of defrosted milk. He loved it. After nursing him a couple hours later, I offered him a four ounce bottle. Oh, the JOY in that little plastic package! Devastated, I sat in the living room with my son in my lap, bawling. "I'm starving my baby!!!" I wailed. What's wrong with me? What happened? I used to pump once or twice a day because I was "full" and when was the last time I did that? Two weeks ago? Three? And when was the last time I full anyway? No leaking here... What has changed? Oh.... January first... the hunt for my old waistline. (I knew it was under there SOMEwhere...) Watching what I was eating, cutting out all junk, exercising every day, taking care of two babies and not myself - I took lactation for granted and didn't even realize poor Rowen was on a diet too. So I offered him a bottle after every feeding and he drank about four ounces each time. That was a Friday. I began the love affair with my hand-held Medela that day. Nurse, bottle, pump, wash, repeat. All weekend long. Monday finally came so I could take him to the doc and have him weighed. Sure enough, all my greatest fears were realized on that little scale- he'd dropped from the 25th percentile in weight down to the 10th. (More bawling.) The nurse helped me set up an appointment with the lactation specialist for later that week. So, being the internet information junkie I am, I looked up everything I could do to increase my milk supply. I ate beets, barley, beer, brown rice, oats, and even milk shakes made out of raw kale, pineapple juice, and bananas. Oh yeah, baby. I started taking copious amounts of fenugreek. After a day of that I started smelling pancakes everywhere I went. Especially when I peed. I shortly realized it was ME that smelled of maple syrup. The smell was wafting off my skin like I couldn't finish my breakfast at IHOP and decided to take the rest home with my in my pocket. Of course, it's not the worst smell in the world so I continued taking the lactation wonder-herb. (Do you smell maple syrup? Oh no, that's just Brianne.) By Friday, I wanted to fill my pump with gasoline and light it on fire. A full week of nurse, bottle, pump, wash, repeat had me at my wits end. Desperately afraid that I'd stunted my baby's growth for life, I made it to my lactation appointment that day feeling like my supply was on it's way back and we were doing okay.
Praise the Lord, it was. The lactation specialist thought Rowen looked great. She weighed him before and after a feeding and he guzzled three ounces in a -very- distracted five minute feeding. She was very sweet in the way she told me that I was being a rather silly first time mom, and gently pointed out all the fat on Rowen's naked little body. She also told me that breastfed babies often drop in weight percentiles around 3 or 4 months- and that's their NORMAL growth curve. The charts are based on formula fed babies, who typically gain weight faster that breastfed babies. (Which, if breasted is what's natural, shouldn't the charts be based on THAT? just my opinion...) So, okay, okay, I'll stop panicking.
It's been a couple weeks and I'm still trying to pump daily to keep my supply up, and still taking one fenugreek capsule with each meal because, well, I'm a freak. (who doesn't like maple syrup, anyway?) Well, feeling a little "flat" on Wednesday made my relaxation about nursing fall to the way-side and I start to panic again, feeling like this may become an ongoing battle with my breasts. Come ON! So, more kale shakes for me and back to two fenugreek capsules with each meal, and of course: more PUMPING! Ahh, love-hate.
This morning, I realized I'm down to my last three capsules of fenugreek. It's just ground up fenugreek seed in there- and freddies sells fenugreek seed in bulk, so I'm thinking I can save money by buying the seed, grinding it, and taking it every day that way. (I'm so cheap.) So, to test my theory (thank heavens I did) I take a capsule apart and pour it into a bowl to measure how much it is, and then try it out. One capsule is 1/4 tsp. I pour it on top of a spoon full of cottage cheese and gulp it down. (My plan was yogurt, but I had a bowl of cottage cheese out for breakfast, I figured it would be about the same.)

and then....

OH MAN!!! IT'S STUCK!!! To my teeth, to the roof of my mouth, STUCK like GLUE. Thick, slimy, horrible tasting glue. And no, it doesn't TASTE like maple syrup at all. I'm running around the kitchen like an idiot while gagging uncontrollably, trying to find something to GET IT OFF!! Cold water, nope. More cottage cheese, nope. Swishing water around, Oh gosh. Gag, gag, gag, ack! I heat up a little water hoping hot water will melt it away, (standing in front of the microwave for 40 seconds gagging with my mouth open and holding my nose- what a sight!) I swish that around, burning my tongue, and nope, that doesn't work either. So I SCRAPE it off with my fingernail, alternatively gagging and swishing around scalding hot water. (Are you laughing yet? Because this is really funny. I was laughing at myself!) Phew- it's mostly gone. So what do I do?
"hm... maybe if I mix it in better instead of sprinkling it on top, it wont stick to my mouth. That was gross." (read: I am SO cheap.) So I mix the contents of another capsule in with a spoonful of cottage cheese. This time it doesn't stick so bad, but I'm gagging so hard I
PUKE
IN
THE
SINK.
And who wants to see cottage cheese twice? Really.

So I think I'll be spending the $8.99 on a another bottle of fenugreek in the breakfast-saving capsules.

Hooray for milk!I don't know where I found this, so I cannot give credit where credit is due. But, here you go:

Increase Milk Supply Shake

1. The next time you're at the grocery store, stock up on bananas and kale. The kale should be dark green in color and not wilted. The riper the bananas, the better, and try to buy organic.
2. Wash the kale and tear the leaves from the stems. Toss the leaves into a seal-able freezer bag and push out any excess air before freezing.
3. Peel and chop the bananas in fourths, place into a seal-able freezer bag and push out any excess air before freezing.

This might sound time consuming, but it really doesn't take much time at all, and if you have a baby sling, your baby may enjoy helping you in the kitchen.

Recipe:

1/2 cup pineapple or pineapple-coconut juice
1/2 cup soy, rice, almond, coconut, or any variety of milk (or skip the milk and add more juice)
4 chunks (the equivalent of 1 whole) frozen banana
1 large handful frozen kale leaves


Blend all ingredients until smooth. Serves two. This shake is also great during pregnancy and for kids who won't eat their vegetables. It really does taste good!

First Bottle...

It's not really fun getting no sleep. It's okay- I know it's just a short period of time, and i'm not really wishing it away because I know he's going to grow up way too fast. But a 4 hour stretch of sleep wouldn't hurt! So, since he's nursing SO well, we decided to try out a bottle on Friday so that I can nurse him in the evening and then head straight to bed, and Matt can take care of the next feeding with the bottle while I sleep. Of course, little food-monster, he took all 3 ounces from Daddy without batting an eyelash. (I, on the other hand, (after taking photos) went into the bedroom very sad! Thinking ridiculous thoughts like "he doesn't need me!" and then "of course he does, that stuff does NOT come from the store!") hahaha
It's Tuesday now and we still haven't tried this trick again because my little angel has been feeding 3-4 hours at night instead of 2 for the past couple days. So I've been heading to bed early with the expressed milk ready to go for Matt, and Rowen sleeps the night away so Matt never gets a chance to feed him before heading to bed himself! Oh well :o) At least we know we can! It's amazing how much better I feel sleeping two hours at a time instead of one hour at a time. I guess our bodies just get used to what they can get! I guess God knew what He was doing when He made us "mommies."

p.s. if you were wondering, we're using the Adiri Nurser. It's way cool.

Three weeks have whizzed by...

Well hello there, long lost blog readers :o) Not much time for posting these days... But here's a few shots from yesterday and a little about what's going on in our lives the past week as we get to know baby Ro!


Good morning! I think this is how he says "I love you" -such a sweet angel baby :o) Makes the long nights worth it! We've been nursing about every two hours- which means about an hour or so of sleep at a time for me. Wee-ha! But he's so darling I just can't complain- (too much.)

We try to get a little exercise every day - hooray tummy time! He can lift his head up off the floor for a second at a time, and his legs are kicking machines. Little stud muffin... I, on the other hand, desperately miss my work outs. Three weeks of no exercise makes me feel like a slug- and I have three more weeks of recovery to go. *sigh*


Cloth diapering is going great. We are going through nearly 20 diapers a day (man- what a pooper!) so it's fun to think of all the money we're saving! The laundry's not so bad- I do a load every day but it's not like you have to match socks or fold the shirts just right or anything- it's just wash, dry, and dump into the right basket when they're done. We're using a little TP to scrape the poo into the toilet and then rinse the rest out - it's amazing that they aren't staining with his mustard-yellow poo. Three cheers for Charley's Soap. And his huge diapered booty is so darn cute! One downfall to said booty- onsies don't quite fit right. But there's this super nifty little gadget I have to share with you:the Onsie Extender! I picked up a pack of them at Mother Nature's for 5 bucks- they make his cute little halloween outfit (and all other onsies) fit just right. (Thanks for the cool duds, Nanna!)


Rowen is quite the "suck"er. He tries to latch on to just about anything near his lips. When he's hungry he goes at it in full force, ramming his little head into things. We call it "bobbing for nipples." hahaha. I can't wait until he figures out where his hand and mouth are- then he'll be able to suck his fingers to his little heart's content! Last night he repeatedly got his fist in there for a moment at a time- I had to catch it on camera of course. He was trying so hard!

We like to wrap up the evening with a nice bath about every three days. He's liking it much more than he did the first couple times! Water in the face is no big deal, and he seems to like a good little scrub. However, he does hang on to his seat for dear life!
He's napping and sleeping pretty well- we're doing our best to put him down awake (albeit groggy, barely awake) so that he can learn self-soothing skills. He's doing a great job :o) (Proud Momma!) there's one exception, of course: the 7:00ish hour. For whatever reason that is fussy time. So he's happy falling asleep on Daddy's chest, and that's all right with us for now. He's still so small and snuggly and cute any way- resistance is futile.
Night night!

One Week Old!!

Can't believe it's already been a week- Hasn't Matt been GREAT about updating the blog? I, on the other hand, am either nursing or sleeping or nursing or eating or nursing or.... you get the idea: no time for blogging :) But our little champ has been napping for an hour and a half and I'm finally caught up on email and facebook- so I thought I might be able to sneak in a few details about MY whole experience! (a few details- haha- this is going to be LONG- but I've been storing up for a week!)

Last Tuesday we went in for our 41 week check up, and little Rowen was still floating way above my pelvis and my cervix was still completely long and closed- no signs of my body preparing to go into labor. Being a week over due already didn't help- and after two weeks the placenta can start breaking down so the uterus is possibly a dangerous place to be for a baby after that point. My doctor said we could continue to wait it out that week if we needed to, but again- no signs of "hope" for a natural start. She also could not recomend induction as the chances of it working were slim to none, and that could make it dangerous. At this point in my perfect pregnancy, it the odds for a safe delivery and healthy mom and baby were shifting over to the surgical birth side. My doctor also made it very clear that she would be more than happy to get me in to some of her collegues for a second opinion if we felt we needed one. But we trust her and the way she's worked with us this far so there was no need- what she was telling us was just the facts. So, after discussing all the options and spending some time in prayer, Matt and I decided that the safest and best delivery at this point for this baby would be cesarean. My doctor happened to be on call Wednesday so we scheduled the surgery for 5pm so that she could be the one to do it. As most of you know, I had really wanted a natural vaginal birth so it was a hard decision to come to and I was nervous about the surgery and the epidural and the recovery etc- but God was SO faithful to my nerves and my heart! There was concern about the epidural being difficult, but it went without a hitch. The anesthetist did a great job and after a little trial and error with the dosages everything was perfect. The surgery then went perfectly as well, no complications whatsoever, and I was thrilled to discover I could "feel" the entire birth, minus pain. That was wonderfully unexpected. When the doctor pulled him out and he made his first cry it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard and I've been in love ever since!
They showed him to me and then cleaned him up a bit and did their thing, and then placed him by my head and Matt and I got a few moments with him- I was in awe. I couldn't really see him since he was right next to my head and I was strapped down, but ooooh I could feel him and smell him and it was all so delicious! Matt went with him to do the baby thing as they finished sewing me back up. I couldn't wait to see him- but I don't remember it taking long. The "clean up" was suposed to take 30-45 mintues, and I'm sure it did, but I wasn't watching the clock. The next thing I remember is being wheeled into the post-op room and seeing him in his little bassinette so perfect all bundled up- they let me nurse him right away and it was just beautiful. I dont' have words to describe all of the emotions - it was so euphoric and unbelievable - (I know, gush gush gush!)
We had to be in post-op for a little over 2 hours before being taken to the recovery room. Meanwhile all our family was in the waiting room since about 7:00- so it was a Happel/Hosford/Leahy/Carroll/Rekate/Christiansen party for about two hours before they finally let them in to see us! We were surrounded in the love of 13 visitors at 9:00. Everyone got a chance to hold Rowen and he was alert the whole time- quietly observing everyone with a little peep here and there, always settling down so easily. It was quite a night!
We were in the hospital until Saturday noon and had lots of great care and visitors- I'll recomend St. V's to anyone- they were awesome. But I was so happy to be headed home!

Recovery has been slow and a wee bit tender- but going VERY well. My dear hubby keeps reminding me to take it easy and I'm doing my best to obey! ;) Nursing is going so smoothly I can't believe it- from the very first try he's been 10-15 minutes each side and every 1-3 hours. Which is helping him sleep about 3 hours at a time at night- and boy do I know that we're blessed by that! Everything he does is amazing and we are so thankful and filled with joy- I just can't describe it. Aahh, love.

Everything has truly been beyond comprehension. I know that being so completely covered in prayer has made such a huge difference on our whole birth experience and everything concerning his first week of life. God has chosen- for whatever reason- to bless us with this amazing tiny being and we just can't get over it!

So thanks for your prayers, thanks for reading this incredibly long blog, thanks for your well-wishes and visits, thanks for the meals if you've been one of the providers :) thank you for being our friends and loving little Rowen into his new life! It's amazing!

Matt's mumblings: Rowen is two and a half days old.

Ok, so we didn't want to be those parents who think that there baby is the cutest and the most perfect baby, but it is hard when he is. Rowen is doing so good we can't even believe it. He is eating like a champ every couple hours, he sleeps good and when he is not sleeping his eyes are big and open taking in all the sights. He is not fussy and doesn't cry unless he is hungry or needs a new diaper, and he has past every test with flying colors. Even when he is poked and proded he doesn't complain or cry.

We feel so blessed. The Lord has been so amazing through out the whole pregnancy and now we have this perfect little bundle of joy that we can look at everyday and be reminded of how truly amazing He is.

Thank you all for you thoughts and prayers and all the wonderful emails. Not only are we blessed having Rowen here, we are blessed to have such wonderful friends and family to share this special event with.

Enjoy the new pictures.

on Deciding to Breastfeed

As many people have told me they love hearing the crazy things I've learned through this pregnancy, I feel it's almost a duty to write a little something about breast milk vs. formula. Only because this time last year I had no clue, really. And being a part of the child care industry, fairly well informed about things that matter most to young children, I find myself now rather shocked at the lack of information I had. Seriously.
Let me first tell you that formula is a God-send for many women and babies, and it's a solution when breastfeeding becomes impossible for whatever reason. I think every mommy out there wants the absolute best for her babies and would do the best thing if she was able, or aware of it. I'm not out to make anyone feel guilty, and I know this can be a very touchy subject. If your baby is a formula baby, for whatever reason, I'm not talking to you. Er- I'm not aiming any of my words at you. I'll still talk to you :) haha. I know so many moms who use formula and they are GREAT mothers. Don't misread my heart, here. This is for those of my readers who have yet to make this decision, and like me, don't know any better. I'm not citing any sources either, so take what I have to say for what it is: just advice from a friend. Do your own research. This is a BIG topic and I think every mom should be as informed as she can to make the right decision. Currently, only 54% of U.S. babies are breast-fed; the rest are fed infant formulas. That tells me that there is a serious lack of information out there.
My first thought about feeding when becoming pregnant was of course to breastfeed- since I'm a bit of an under-cover hippie and just like things the natural way. Also because it's free- and formula is so expensive. A year of formula and bottles can cost somewhere around $1000 & $1500, and that's not including the extra cost of more doctor visits. It's also time consuming- working with babies, I've made a LOT of bottles. And washed a lot of bottles. And sanitized a lot of bottles. Oiy. And..... not that this really matters much.... it's stinky. Formula is way stinkier than breast milk. And not just when it goes in, either. Phew!
So then, being the information junkie that I can be, I started doing some research a while back and reading things in baby books here and there. Much of it, I'm surprised to say, was new information. I read an article early on that really threw me for a loop about the marketing and language of formula. First of all, we are a way-over-marketed-to society. Formula is part of some BIG companies, with lots of advertising dollars. No one is marketing breast milk. So take that into consideration for the lack of real information out there. Then consider the language. We've all heard that "breast milk is best" and "breastfed babies have lower risk of illness and infection" and "breastfed babies have higher IQ" and it all sounds nice and idealistic. But what happens when you turn those sentences around? "Artificially fed babies have increased risk for illness and infection," "artificially fed babies have lower IQ" etc. It sits with us differently. Not many of us feel we need perfection; second best if perfectly acceptable. But when we hear it the other way around, it's hard to think of it as "second best." Here are some more:
Artificially fed babies have an increase in hospital admissions, allergies, asthma, rashes, and ear infections, etc.
Artificially fed babies have increased occurrences of diarrhea, constipation, and other digestive problems
Artificially fed babies, as adults, have higher incidences of obesity, illness, and depression.
And the scariest one that I can't believe I'd never read before: Artificially fed babies in the US have a death rate 21% higher than breastfed babies.
That last one I read just last weekend, and it's why I decided I should write a blog on it. That's huge. 21%? Obviously, there's got to be more to it than the formula alone, considering education levels and socioeconomic status can reflect use of formula, but seriously. That's a high number.
I'm feeling really negative- let's turn this back around for a bit.
Breastfed babies are smarter! The components found in human milk are not found in any other mammals' milk and can't be artificially reproduced yet. And it's cumulative. So the longer your breastfeed, the smarter and healthier the kid.
Breast milk finishes the development of the digestive tract, which isn't adequate to handle any foreign food until 6 months. (formula, cereal, etc.)
Breast milk is so cool. God knew what He was doing, and it's amazing to me! Breast milk's composition changes with the age & nutritional needs of your child. And not just from colostrum (the first milk that's not really "milk" yet- but a high protein substance that's full of antibodies and things they need to get life started on the right track for the first few days) to "milk." 3 month breast milk is different from 6 month breast milk is different from 12 month breast milk. I don't know why, but that is so incredible to me! Just another reason to be in awe of our Creator.
Breast milk contains at least 100 ingredients that aren't found in formula. It's composition is still unknown to scientists, and therefore unable to duplicate. It's also living- that sounds kinda gross- but it's important in the way the baby gets the nutrients and fights germs. It's incredible, really.
Oh, there is so much more, but this is getting beyond long. Let me also mention quickly that it's great for mom too- women who breastfed have lower risk for breast cancer, loose weight quickly, and baby and mom produce happy hormones that they pass to each other through breastfeeding.
Crazy!
So again, I hope I didn't hurt anyone's feelings- I just felt that I needed to share a little about what I've found in the past nine months. Best of everything to all you mommies and perspective mommies out there!