R is for Random: An Impulse Buy

This is very similar to the swing set I had as a kid:

vs.

This is the stimulation overload play castle

I literally put in my "shopping cart" this afternoon for Tripp:

Flippin' amazing, no?

Too soon?! 

(I didn't go through with it...don't worry Mr. C.)

I want to play in there now! 

Guess I'll have to wait a few more years...

Happy Monday everyone,

xoxo LC

A Day in the Life

Puppy kisses. Jump jump. Chew on jump jump. Sleep. In that order.

T is for Truth: Breastfeeding 101

Hello Blog,

I missed you. 

And I missed you dear readers.

Thanks for your patience.

My thoughts as of late have been occupied by breastfeeding. 

Thrilling...I know. 

Some of my more curious friends have been asking about how it's going, 

so I thought I'd share some of my experience and tricks thus far.
Cliff Notes version...

Let me just start by saying that although breastfeeding can be hard work at times,
I wouldn't change the time I get to spend with T for the world. 
Since coming back to work, I truly realize now how special the moments are during.
No matter if you last a day or a year, any effort spent is well worth it.

I've lasted a little over 3 months to date and I've decided to keep going.
(Until the boy bites me that is! Then we are D-O-N-E!)
I struggle sometimes but know that ultimately I have the rest of my life to get my body back
and for the time being, this is what's best for my little one.
We are toying around with the idea to start supplementing at night, so I'll document that as we know more.

Mr. C feeding our child. Multitasking at its finest.
He was trying to eat his own dinner too!

1. My Breastfeeding Lifesavers
The nurses told me that apparently fair skin and light hair/eye women
have more sensitive skin and therefore breastfeeding can be even more painful.
Thus my lifesaver list:

 

Medela nipple shields:

Can get online, any baby store, even Target. 

Totally helps protect super sore nipples. 

Yes, breastfeeding hurts. And it didn't get easier for me.

I use these every time I feed. Pain to have to clean all the time, but they've helped me last as long as I have.

Earth mama-Angel baby natural nipple butter:

This stuff is amazing! 

No better way to describe it other than its like chap stick for the nipples.

Lansinoh disposable breast pads:

Put these in my bra (Bravado) to help with leakiness. Lovely.

I use a set a day. 

Medela tender care hydrogel pads:

You store these in the fridge. Last about 1 month.

These are great but make sure to clean your skin with a damp cloth before feeding.

Philips Avent 2 in 1 breast care thermopads: 

When the Medela gel pads aren't cuttin it... I keep these in the freezer.

2. How & When to Start Pumping
I googled the heck out of this. I literally typed in the search: "How Do I start Pumping?"
Boy was that a mistake. I got all sorts of weird, non breastfeeding related topics!
What I determined was this:

Since birth, I always fed him one breast at a time during a feeding. So when I wanted to start pumping,
I simply fed him from one breast, until he was satisfied, and then pumped the other breast.

Once I got the hang of it, I fed from both breasts
during a feeding to keep my supply up and body symmetrical! :)
Now when I pump, I typically pump both.
However, sometimes I have to pump one at a time depending on how the feeding goes.

This pump is awesome!
The first couple of times, I only got a few ounces- like 1-2oz.
He was about 7 weeks old.
I felt like a milk factory, how could I not get a full 5 oz bottle?!

However, what I  had to remind myself was
that your body produces just the right amount of milk at that stage of the baby's life.
Eventually, my supply would increase as his appetite would.
So I continued to pump, probably 3-4 times a week, freezing the milk.

I went back to work around 9 1/2 weeks,
and had a pretty good stock of milk for his first few days at church school.
We tested out a bottle of breast milk (we like these) several times before school,
just so it wouldn't be a struggle at the last minute. He took right to it. My hungry boy!

Pumping at work is another story....

3. Breast Milk Storage Do's and Don'ts
These are the rules I follow:
a. Fresh milk lasts in the freezer 3-6 months.
Make sure you label with the date you pumped. I use these bags.
b. Fresh milk lasts in the fridge 3-8 days.
c. Fresh milk lasts on the counter for 6 hrs.
d. Fresh milk, either from the fridge or defrosted in the fridge, lasts up to 1 hr after warming.

When warming a bottle, never use the microwave.
It can cause hot pockets of milk that can burn their little mouths. :(
Warm in a saucepan on medium/high heat, filled with water, up the the milk line in the bottle.
It's ready when you test it on your wrist and you can barely feel it. It should be luke warm.
I swirl it around and shake a little to make sure the warmth is distributed.

Hope this helps some of you!
Ultimately you have to do what's best for you and your family. 
Cheers!
(with a glass full of milk that is!)
XOXO-LC

A Day in the Life

At dinner the other night:

He loves his Daddy...

XOXO- LC

T is for Truth: A Reflection, Post-Baby.

Ok, Mr. T...shield your eyes. 

{well, maybe not now, but one day...you still can't read yet...

OR! maybe you're a baby genius and are logging on 

and reading this at church daycare right now?!}

I digress.

Ok, for those of you that are the rainbows and bunnies 

and "I don't want to know" types...

This post is NOT for you. 

In effort to keep this as concise as possible,

because let's be honest, I can go on for days about this stuff;

I'll include some of my favorite and most trusted links

to help clarify and elaborate on these topics.

I've hit the 2 1/2 months post-partum milestone. 

And I'm starting to really reflect (and understand) 

what I just put my body and mind through. 

And it's not over yet...but there's a light. 

I've compiled a list of my top 5 "things" that affected me personally, 

but then included links to some other relevant lists that my body is just as familiar with.

So here we go.

In a nutshell and in no particular order:

1. Breastfeeding: Your Boobs Will Rock (literally)

Fortunately, little T took to breastfeeding real fast. Like seriously, the kid can eat. Imagine a vacuum cleaner, one of the Dyson Animal ones, yanking on your ta-ta's for 15, 20, 45 mins at a time. And lucky me, I have the most sensitive skin ever. Bad combo. 

When your milk comes in, you can truly feel it. That's what they mean by "let down". (Google it if this is a strange term to you) For the first few weeks after baby ("A.B."), I experienced everything from lumps under armpits, (yes, I thought I had cancer. I know, dramatic) leaky faucet nipples, porn star sized boobs (compared to what I came from), and the list goes on. 

Regardless, I'm going to try for as long as I can...or when he gets his first tooth. OUCH! 

2. Sleep is a Really Bad Joke (for at least the first 6 weeks)

Let me give you an example:

House Guest: "Lauren and Mr. C, so are y'all getting any sleep?"

Mr. C: "Ya, I get like 8 hours or so."

(yes, I want to slap him right about then)

House Guest: "Lauren, what about you? You're sleeping when he sleeps, right?"
Me: Smile and Laugh. Then change the subject. 

(What I want to say but don't: "No actually, I'm not sleeping because you're here. And when you're not, I'm catching up on laundry that's covered in spit up, putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher as often as a hotel restaurant, vacuuming up all the dog hair that's collected everywhere, and watching re-runs on Lifetime because I'm too tired to sleep...because I know the second I do, Mr. T will be awake and wanting to suck the life out of me again.")

And that's all there is to say about that. 

3. The Delivery

There are no words. In the beginning, when you're about to start pushing, it honestly feels like you have to go #2. Then, when you're actually pushing, it feels like the most intense pressure/pain like you've never felt before. I'll have to share Baby T's birth story one of these days...let me just put it this way...my epidural wore off. Soooo, ya. 

4. So Long Cinderella

You know how poor Cinderella's entire fantasy land comes to an abrupt halt when the clock strikes Midnight? (This is before she marries the Prince, of course) Well, that's kind of how I feel since the delivery. Most of my pregnancy, I felt like I had "the glow": long, thick hair; clear, fresh-looking skin; long, strong nails, etc. Welp...I'm wondering where my fairy godmother is right about now. 

I'm pretty sure it's the jacked up hormones, coupled with breastfeeding, mixed with the horror movie aftermath of the delivery that stirred up one "ugly" cocktail. Some of the side effects, just to name a few:

a. My hair is falling out. I'm avoiding looking down at the shower drain these days...

b. My skin is so dry I could sell out the lotion isle at Target and drink all the water on the face of this Earth.

c. My weight. Although the old clothes technically "fit", they just fit differently. Everything distributed all weird now. (can't wait till I can start working out for real)

d. My Lady Parts...sex = forget it. I'll say no more. 

It's probably taken me a solid 9 weeks to start feeling somewhat normal and half way "pretty" again.

5. I Was Stir Crazy

In every sense of the word. I was emotionally connected, spending all my time focusing on little T of course, but physically and mentally, I was in the twilight zone. At first it was fun watching hours upon hours of mindless TV and movies; but believe me, the "new-ness" wore off. There was only so much time in between feedings/diaper changes/naps to catch up with household chores and my own needs. So needless to say, I felt kind of on "repeat" for weeks on end. Same routine, every single day. Good for the baby...after a while, became boring for Mom. Some days went by so fast, some were SO slow. 

Now, it got exponentially so much cooler once little man started becoming more social: started smiling, cooing, doing amazing things like that. And after about 6 weeks, I started slowly taking him out and about, on short, quick errands (like to here) and that broke up the day a little bit. Now that I'm back at work, that's a different story. (More on that another time.)

So for everything I couldn't/didn't say...check these out:

Pregnant Body- 20 Things They Don't Tell You

(Numbers 1-20 are REAL people)

Parenting Advice- Thank God I'm Not Alone

(so true)

Happily After Giving Birth

(Having a sense of humor helps)

And yes it's true when they say, 

"and it was all worth it".

XOXO-LC

R is for Random: If Tripp Could Talk: Part 2

I'm thinking this needs to be a weekly post.

He just makes too funny of faces not to.

Plus, I have fun with it. 

Yes, he will hate me in 18 years for doing this. 

(And Yes, I'm OK with that...)

If Tripp could talk, I wonder what he'd say:

Mom Rules. Dad Drools. 

(j/k Mr. C!)

and one more, because I just can't help myself...

Happy Friday!

XOXO-LC

C is for Clothes: The First Day

This one time, (at band camp...)

I had time for this blog. 

Well no longer will I neglect it. 

It's my scrapbook for goodness sake. 

And there's been several milestones as of late that I need to document...

The first of which being our offical "FIRST DAY": 

My first day back at work. His first day at church school.
(a post on our first day soon)

And not that you all really care, but here's what we wore! 

Mommy wore:
(Like on the first day of school, I set out these outfits the night before.)

{Hot Pink Jacket from The Limited : Flower Blouse from Old Navy :
Striped Skirt from White House Black Market : Guess Pumps from DSW :
Bracelet from JCrew : Green Satchel from Kate Spade}

Tripp wore:
(I was tired therefore the pic is blurry)

{Cowboy outfit from Zutano : Monogram Bib from 3 Marthas : Boot Socks from Trumpette}
*All from Babies On The Boulevard*

XOXO- LC