Our amazing daughter is 3 months old. I can't even believe it. Heres a little update on her..
First off all she sleeps A TON! She wakes up about once a night to eat, sometimes twice. I just put the boob her her mouth and within 5 mins shes back to sleep, so I think its more of a comfort then actually hungry. She still sleeps with us so it makes it pretty easy, and she never has to cry or even fully wake up. Thats super helpful lol. She's starting to be awake a little more durning the day, but not too much. Sometimes I wish she was up more lol. I spent A LOT of time with her in bed cuddling though. I could get a lot more done durning the day, Ill be the first to admit it....but Id much rather be cuddling my baby!<3 She's starting to not be latched on as much, and she doesn't like when I hold her like a baby anymore:( Really child your 3 months old -I should be able to hold you like a baby for much much longer! She is starting to show some interest in her toys that I hand her, but usually just for a split second. She still loves her bouncy seat and has a blast playing in there. Its nice because since I don't put her in there a lot its like a treat LOL. She uses it to shower and so I can go to the bathroom..thats about it. We use her bumbo seat for dinner and so I can clean up the kitchen. She likes to sit in that too:) Her swing...ehh its hit or miss. I use that for about 10 mins a day if that...usually so I can take the dog out haha. Her activity mat she does like and she will play for a little bit. But her fav thing ever is just to lay in bed and have me talk to her. She's all smiles!
I met a lady at the doctors office who had this really smart 3 year old, she was telling me I should start reading to Alyssa every single day..I was reading to her just not every day. After seeing that amazing girl and talking to that mom I decided she was right, and really more bonding time can't hurt? Now I am kind of obsessed...I grab a handful of books (usually between 5-10) and I read them to her every night. She seems to really love it. She's been getting back to being pretty fussy in the evenings again so I use the gliding chair to rock her & get her calmed down...then I read to her till she falls sleep!
We have moved bath time to the bathtub instead of the sink. One day she was pretty fussy so I decided to bring her bath sling and put her in the tub with me...(I can't stress enough how much I LOVE baths) it calmed her right down, and I realized how easy it is to just get into the bath with her. So every since then I just take baths with her.
She rolls all over now, from back to belly, back to back. Its so cute to watch her roll haha. The first time she went back to belly I was like HOLY CRAP I thought you weren't supposed to do that for months LOL. It was really exciting..proud mama moment<3
She's usually a pretty happy baby, and shes getting MUCH better about the car. She hardly cries, and when she does I can *usually* get her calmed down. I think the more comfortable carseat helped A LOT. We still do baby wearing and she loves it sometimes other times she wants to get out and look around. I started putting her in her stroller when we go some places, she really likes sitting in there too it seems. Its so nice to have all these options lol.
She's growing up so fast, its so amazing. I LOVE being a mom, its the single most amazing thing that as ever happened to me. I get asked a lot now that shes getting older if I am thinking of putting her in her crib or bassinet (basically getting her out of our bed). Justin and I pretty much agree we will know when its time, and its no where near time. He still wakes up quite a few times out of a dead sleep and looks over to make sure shes breathing...(I don't wake up nearly as much anymore but the snuza has a lot to do with that, I more wake up and worry its turned off). Now that we have more room in the bed, I see no reason to get her out. She'll leave when shes ready, we make a lot of jokes about how our kids will be teenagers still sleeping with us. Justin just said something about us having 6 kids and a dog in our bed haha ---we are NOT having 6 kids;)
Another new thing she started is crying when I leave her (to go to the gas station because thats the ONLY place I go alone, I won't even run to walmart lol) uh-oh. I left twice and both times she scared the whole time=/ He thought she was hungry, but since the gas station is seriously a min away by the time he thawed the BM, warmed it up, put it in a bottle I would have been back...so he just waited....she wasn't hungry -either time lol. I knew because I just fed her right before I left and also because the second she saw me she stopped crying the second time, and the first time as soon as I grabbed her she was good. I felt really bad for him hes like 'what you don't love daddy anymore'. Its just because I am with her 24/7 and I am usually the one to calm her down. So I said we needed to start working on that, letting them get her more when shes crying. It seems to be helping:) Yesterday I went to the gas station and she did great:) He said hes realizing he has to keep her busy the whole time so she doesn't notice I am gone, by walking around with her, talking to her, singing to her. It felt great to come home and NOT hear her screaming last night! She's warming up to him (side note she did amazing with him until the stupid field training)<3 Although the moment when your baby is upset and only wants you feels great LOL.
Alyssa and I are going home in a few weeks, I am SO excited! I can't even wait for everyone to meet her/see her again.
:)))
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
What would I have done if I couldn't BF?
Because I am so PRO breastfeeding I get asked quite a bit.... what would you have done if you couldn't BF?
Well first off let me start out by saying I was very determined to breastfeed. I told myself from day one I would do EVERYTHING in my power to breastfeed. I wanted Alyssa to have 0 bottles 0 formula. Of course we all know she landed in the NICU so plans didn't go my way. HOWEVER...I know for my next baby how to make changes. First off, they gave her formula because her sugar was dropping -without even asking me. Chances are at the time I would have just said yes, but next time I know that I WILL bring a sign that says no bottles no formula, I trusted the nurses when they told me they wouldn't give to her without talking to me-and they did. Not to mention, they say they 'need it' but they really don't. I have seen countless friends get told that & they refused the formula and guess what -no issues. I guess thats a scare tact from hospitals? Idk doesn't make much sense to me. But that was my first lesson learned -don't trust people. Second, when she was admitted into the NICU I stressed over and over and over how important it was to BF. Those 3 days she got pretty much all formula. I pumped but because it was just colstrum I didn't get much. She wouldn't eat from me, because as soon as I put her to the breast she fell asleep -she was very comfortable my arms. I didn't realize I got get donor milk (from someone I don't know, or a friend). Thats my second lesson learned...if I have have another nicu baby I will find someone to give me breastmilk. You live and learn...
With that being said -I got VERY lucky with Alyssa because when she came home we did have some issues, but I had a really supportive mom who told me "she might miss one meal, maybe even two but she will NOT miss a third -don't you dare give that baby a bottle". I couldn't get her to latch, and neither one of us was getting it. Long story short we finally got it. With no bottle needed. Im excited to say that she hasn't had formula since we left the NICU, and I was able to donate all of it to other moms in need:)
Now back to the question -what would I have done? For me, breastfeeding was everything. So I if I couldn't have EBF I would have felt guilty or more felt like I failed -I know I would have - but I also know I would have done EVERYTHING in my power to at least give her SOME breast milk. I have watched mothers struggle their entire BFing relationship and STILL make it past 6 months...most have to supplement with formula. I watched moms struggle with not enough milk, no latching, no milk, pumping issues, using a nipple shield for months on end...so I learned A LOT. I know that it would be really hard for me if I didn't get to EBF or BF at all but I wouldn't be offended when people talked about how wonderful it was or how they think formula is the most awful thing ever (yes people believe that) because I know that I would have given it EVERYTHING I had. I know I would have cried like hell, but then realized that I did everything humanly possible to BF and that I didn't go down without a fight. -That I couldn't feel guilty for.
I am however planning to find a friend(s) when I get pregnant next time that already knows the plan and would be willing to donate her milk to me if I ever get into a situation that I need it
So if you are a BFing mom that didn't make it, or had to supplement remember are still amazing for trying and giving it all you had. Remember you did your absolute best and no one can ask for more<3 Don't let people make you feel guilty!
Well first off let me start out by saying I was very determined to breastfeed. I told myself from day one I would do EVERYTHING in my power to breastfeed. I wanted Alyssa to have 0 bottles 0 formula. Of course we all know she landed in the NICU so plans didn't go my way. HOWEVER...I know for my next baby how to make changes. First off, they gave her formula because her sugar was dropping -without even asking me. Chances are at the time I would have just said yes, but next time I know that I WILL bring a sign that says no bottles no formula, I trusted the nurses when they told me they wouldn't give to her without talking to me-and they did. Not to mention, they say they 'need it' but they really don't. I have seen countless friends get told that & they refused the formula and guess what -no issues. I guess thats a scare tact from hospitals? Idk doesn't make much sense to me. But that was my first lesson learned -don't trust people. Second, when she was admitted into the NICU I stressed over and over and over how important it was to BF. Those 3 days she got pretty much all formula. I pumped but because it was just colstrum I didn't get much. She wouldn't eat from me, because as soon as I put her to the breast she fell asleep -she was very comfortable my arms. I didn't realize I got get donor milk (from someone I don't know, or a friend). Thats my second lesson learned...if I have have another nicu baby I will find someone to give me breastmilk. You live and learn...
With that being said -I got VERY lucky with Alyssa because when she came home we did have some issues, but I had a really supportive mom who told me "she might miss one meal, maybe even two but she will NOT miss a third -don't you dare give that baby a bottle". I couldn't get her to latch, and neither one of us was getting it. Long story short we finally got it. With no bottle needed. Im excited to say that she hasn't had formula since we left the NICU, and I was able to donate all of it to other moms in need:)
Now back to the question -what would I have done? For me, breastfeeding was everything. So I if I couldn't have EBF I would have felt guilty or more felt like I failed -I know I would have - but I also know I would have done EVERYTHING in my power to at least give her SOME breast milk. I have watched mothers struggle their entire BFing relationship and STILL make it past 6 months...most have to supplement with formula. I watched moms struggle with not enough milk, no latching, no milk, pumping issues, using a nipple shield for months on end...so I learned A LOT. I know that it would be really hard for me if I didn't get to EBF or BF at all but I wouldn't be offended when people talked about how wonderful it was or how they think formula is the most awful thing ever (yes people believe that) because I know that I would have given it EVERYTHING I had. I know I would have cried like hell, but then realized that I did everything humanly possible to BF and that I didn't go down without a fight. -That I couldn't feel guilty for.
I am however planning to find a friend(s) when I get pregnant next time that already knows the plan and would be willing to donate her milk to me if I ever get into a situation that I need it
So if you are a BFing mom that didn't make it, or had to supplement remember are still amazing for trying and giving it all you had. Remember you did your absolute best and no one can ask for more<3 Don't let people make you feel guilty!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Why I post the things I do...
I have been wanting to write this blog for quite some time now...but Ive been pretty busy. Alyssa is sleeping now so its the prefect time.
I want to explain somethings.
After having Alyssa I found a ton of awesome parenting groups/pages on Facebook. A lot of them are breast-feeding support. Its wonderful to have online support because SO many people are against BFing in public or just in general. And there are lots of questions about BFing -is she getting enough, whats wrong with her latch, why isn't she eating, are their enough diapers, can I take this med and so on and so forth. BFing can be really hard, esp with people commenting 'I could never do that, so your baby poops like 6 times a day ew, shes always attached why don't u just bottle-feed, she eats to much'...so I found support online. The more I read about BFing the more proud I became of me doing it. When I first wanted to BF it was because my mom said its better for the babies and she loved the bounding time. She always said she didn't know if you could bound with your baby without BFing because she never didn't BF lol...then she saw Justin with Alyssa...and she realized YOU CAN bound the same. She said it was so amazing for her to watch, she loved it<3 Well, the more I read the more passionate I get about the subject, and the more I want to educate people because it IS hard and so many people give up after a short short amount of time because they just don't have the support or the right information. So many times I hear that someone didn't BF because their family didn't so they didn't know where to start. Or they didn't know its healthier. So THAT is why I post things...plus I want people to see how amazing it is because it IS hard at the beginning -sometimes REALLY hard. Thats not to say that I think a mom who choses formula is any less of a mother then someone who BFs, because I don't. I used to say that I thought it was horrible when a mother doesn't even attempt to BF...and that still makes me kind of sad ---BUT then I realized that some people don't have a mom who told them how amazing it was. Would I have chose to BF if my mom if wasn't for my mom -Ill never know. So how would they know if someone didn't educate them. So THAT is why I post things...I am not saying 'oh I am better then you'. I don't think I am a better mom then anyone.
With all these BFing, natural parenting pages came a BIG topic that I wasn't ready for: circumcision. As I was reading all the comments about it, I just skipped over those statuses because 1) I had a girl. and 2) I didn't see the problem with it. Well the more I went on these pages the more I realized people are SO against routine infant circ...and I wanted to know why. So I decided to do some research. What I found shocked me. Im not going to go into a big long note of why you shouldn't do it. Ill just say Id LIKE you to research it before you do it, and watch a video. JUST because its always best to make informed decision. With that being said: I would never judge someone who circ there son.. you are doing what you think is best for your family. As I am doing what I think is best for mine. I wouldn't say that makes me better then you by any means. I am just not like that. BUT I do feel like I need to post things on Facebook because how can people learn if no one is teaching them? I have already had a few people message me and thank me for posting because they had no clue. I can't just let go of that...I can't. Same with BFing I have had people say I saw your Facebook posts and it made me want to BF....thats amazing. I am just pretty thankful for those groups because if it wasn't for them we would have circ our son without giving it a second thought =/
Abortion is another big one -I am posting because its something I feel super strong about. If I can change at least ONE persons mind its worth it.
And last but not least carseat safety is a huge one. If you don't chose to extended rear-face thats FINE. But I am not going to stop posting things about it...heres why. When I was pregnant the subject got brought up and Vicki explained how it was safer. I thought she was nuts...because honestly it didn't make sense to me. How was it safer? We were in the car with another friend and she agreed with me. Vicki was trying to explain (and getting pretty heated haha) and we weren't listening. This was before I had seen articles ALL over Facebook explaining how much safer it is. Over the next few weeks Vicki made it her mission to change my mind...one night we were at my house and shes like well you really listen to me and watch this video. She changed my mind....and I seriously thank her because if it wasn't for her I would have turned Alyssa and 1...and its just not as safe.
So, in conclusion -I am not posting these things to make you feel like an asshole for doing them. Or to say I am better then you, or saying I am judging you for your choices. I am posting because I feel strongly about the topics, and I want to inform others. If you don't agree thats fine, I still love you. Theres tons of things other people post on Facebook that I read and think what an idiot, buttt guess what everyone is different...and theres going to be plenty of times we read each others stuff and think, shes an idiot. Doesn't mean we can't still be idiots together haha. Its kind of like pay it forward, I learn something I want to pass the info on. Doesn't mean I am judging you for choosing something different. I have tons of friends who are against epi, induction, any meds durning labor really, c-section...they post things about it ALL the time. I had an epi & I was induced (water leaked) do I get offended...maybe for a quick second but then I realize they are just trying to inform people of the info that THEY learned. Its not a personal attack on me haha. Oh and FYI Alyssa is 2 months old and I already find things I did wrong...I didn't know. Ill do better with the next baby, its a lesson learned.
Sooooo remember -I am not judging you. And I am no where near the perfect mom -although I am so close its scary -LMAO jk!;)
I want to explain somethings.
After having Alyssa I found a ton of awesome parenting groups/pages on Facebook. A lot of them are breast-feeding support. Its wonderful to have online support because SO many people are against BFing in public or just in general. And there are lots of questions about BFing -is she getting enough, whats wrong with her latch, why isn't she eating, are their enough diapers, can I take this med and so on and so forth. BFing can be really hard, esp with people commenting 'I could never do that, so your baby poops like 6 times a day ew, shes always attached why don't u just bottle-feed, she eats to much'...so I found support online. The more I read about BFing the more proud I became of me doing it. When I first wanted to BF it was because my mom said its better for the babies and she loved the bounding time. She always said she didn't know if you could bound with your baby without BFing because she never didn't BF lol...then she saw Justin with Alyssa...and she realized YOU CAN bound the same. She said it was so amazing for her to watch, she loved it<3 Well, the more I read the more passionate I get about the subject, and the more I want to educate people because it IS hard and so many people give up after a short short amount of time because they just don't have the support or the right information. So many times I hear that someone didn't BF because their family didn't so they didn't know where to start. Or they didn't know its healthier. So THAT is why I post things...plus I want people to see how amazing it is because it IS hard at the beginning -sometimes REALLY hard. Thats not to say that I think a mom who choses formula is any less of a mother then someone who BFs, because I don't. I used to say that I thought it was horrible when a mother doesn't even attempt to BF...and that still makes me kind of sad ---BUT then I realized that some people don't have a mom who told them how amazing it was. Would I have chose to BF if my mom if wasn't for my mom -Ill never know. So how would they know if someone didn't educate them. So THAT is why I post things...I am not saying 'oh I am better then you'. I don't think I am a better mom then anyone.
With all these BFing, natural parenting pages came a BIG topic that I wasn't ready for: circumcision. As I was reading all the comments about it, I just skipped over those statuses because 1) I had a girl. and 2) I didn't see the problem with it. Well the more I went on these pages the more I realized people are SO against routine infant circ...and I wanted to know why. So I decided to do some research. What I found shocked me. Im not going to go into a big long note of why you shouldn't do it. Ill just say Id LIKE you to research it before you do it, and watch a video. JUST because its always best to make informed decision. With that being said: I would never judge someone who circ there son.. you are doing what you think is best for your family. As I am doing what I think is best for mine. I wouldn't say that makes me better then you by any means. I am just not like that. BUT I do feel like I need to post things on Facebook because how can people learn if no one is teaching them? I have already had a few people message me and thank me for posting because they had no clue. I can't just let go of that...I can't. Same with BFing I have had people say I saw your Facebook posts and it made me want to BF....thats amazing. I am just pretty thankful for those groups because if it wasn't for them we would have circ our son without giving it a second thought =/
Abortion is another big one -I am posting because its something I feel super strong about. If I can change at least ONE persons mind its worth it.
And last but not least carseat safety is a huge one. If you don't chose to extended rear-face thats FINE. But I am not going to stop posting things about it...heres why. When I was pregnant the subject got brought up and Vicki explained how it was safer. I thought she was nuts...because honestly it didn't make sense to me. How was it safer? We were in the car with another friend and she agreed with me. Vicki was trying to explain (and getting pretty heated haha) and we weren't listening. This was before I had seen articles ALL over Facebook explaining how much safer it is. Over the next few weeks Vicki made it her mission to change my mind...one night we were at my house and shes like well you really listen to me and watch this video. She changed my mind....and I seriously thank her because if it wasn't for her I would have turned Alyssa and 1...and its just not as safe.
So, in conclusion -I am not posting these things to make you feel like an asshole for doing them. Or to say I am better then you, or saying I am judging you for your choices. I am posting because I feel strongly about the topics, and I want to inform others. If you don't agree thats fine, I still love you. Theres tons of things other people post on Facebook that I read and think what an idiot, buttt guess what everyone is different...and theres going to be plenty of times we read each others stuff and think, shes an idiot. Doesn't mean we can't still be idiots together haha. Its kind of like pay it forward, I learn something I want to pass the info on. Doesn't mean I am judging you for choosing something different. I have tons of friends who are against epi, induction, any meds durning labor really, c-section...they post things about it ALL the time. I had an epi & I was induced (water leaked) do I get offended...maybe for a quick second but then I realize they are just trying to inform people of the info that THEY learned. Its not a personal attack on me haha. Oh and FYI Alyssa is 2 months old and I already find things I did wrong...I didn't know. Ill do better with the next baby, its a lesson learned.
Sooooo remember -I am not judging you. And I am no where near the perfect mom -although I am so close its scary -LMAO jk!;)
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