Five on Friday {v.5}

Last week I began sharing items I enjoy for babies.  We started with sleep items.  This week I thought I would share breastfeeding items.  Amber, who we also went to high school with, is sharing some helpful tips here too.

I am writing this full of mixed feelings.  Breastfeeding is HARD.  You are told it is the more natural thing.  I call it the most unnatural natural thing.  I breastfed Liam until he got sick and stopped eating at 8 months.  We are also coming to an end with Aubrey (I'll share more on why with her 6 month update next week).

{one}
a good breast pump

You will be spending far too much time attached to this machine after you return to work. I actually didn't mind pumping with Liam, it is just time consuming and a pain to wash the parts.  This has been more difficult with Aubrey, just because I also have an almost 4 year old running around.

 

You will also need storage bags, your milk will interfere with your husband's ice cream storage. By pumping in the first few weeks and building up a freezer stash you will have plenty of milk stored away for when you return to work or have a night out.  This is also how I am going to be able to continue giving Aubrey breastmilk for another 2 months.

 

{two}

 

I bet in your breast feeding class you were also told its not painful.  She lied!  It HURTS for the first 2-3 weeks.  You just need to get past that, beyond the initial few weeks it really is painless.  To help you with those first few weeks make sure you get some lanolin cream.

 

 

{three}

 

Okay.  You are going to think I am absolutely crazy for this.  Gel pads that you can keep in the freezer to put on your boobs after you feed.  Wetting a diaper, then freezing it will also work.  Ice on your boobs has never felt so good.

 

{four}

 

bra pads.  Leaky boobs. Enough said.

 

{five}

 

A nursing pillow.  I used a boppy.  I have also heard great things about my breast friend.  Whatever you choose, you want to bring the baby up as close to the food source as possible, keep your posture, your back with thank you.

 

Love you B!  Hope I haven't scared you yet :)



Five on Friday {v.4}

I still have more 2014 goals to share next week, but today I am excited for my first Five on Friday post of 2014.

My best friend from high school is having a baby and soon.  I am so excited for her.  She asked me a while back to share with her some things I found necessary.  I am going to share some things I like having, not that they are necessary, and each baby is different.

This week I thought I would start with things for sleep {not that I know what that is anymore}

First the obvious, a place to sleep.  Beside the crib in the nursery, both Liam and Aubrey started off in a pack n play in our room.  I have also heard a lot of great things about this Rock n Play.  And I really wanted one, but that would have been another piece of gear around our house and I just couldn't justify it {although I might have gotten more rest between then and now if I did}.

 



Sleep Sacks.  I have found my babies sleep much better when they are wrapped up.  Woman thinks I am torturing my children, but it is comforting to them.  Infants are used to being in a cramped place and by wrapping them tight they cannot wake themselves up as easily with their startle reflex.

We got this noise machine with Liam, but all babies are different.  We use this SO MUCH MORE with Aubrey.  I don't lay here down without turning it on.

Okay so the night light is more for you.  A baby is not going to be scared of the dark.  I like a dim night light for myself when I am up feeding Aubrey at night.  I don't like it too bright to wake her up, but I do like to see what I am doing.

Finally a monitor.  I love our Motorola video monitor.  It has a 2 way radio in it so I can talk to Aubrey when she wakes up, not that it calms her down...  No a video monitor isn't necessary, we didn't have one with Liam, but it has made me more comfortable being able to see Aubrey.

2013: A Year End Review

Its been real 2013 but its time for you to go!  My word for 2013 was purpose.  I set out to find some purpose in my life.  I am still working on that.  I love my family, I am getting my health and body back after having a baby.  I still have more purpose to work on in the New Year.

We started January off with the big announcement we were adding to our family.  I wasn't exactly enjoying pregnancy at this point (did I enjoy it at all this time?) definitely wasn't fun feeling hungover when I couldn't even taste the delicious beverages!  It had been a journey for us to get to this point, we were beyond excited.

But what goes up must come down and January had the worst ending when we had to say goodbye to my dad.  He may have been my step-dad who I tried to get rid of at everyturn when he first came into the picture, but the man kinda grew on you.  He was so great to our family and we miss him everyday.  It gives me so much joy to hear Liam talk about him, but I know those memories will fad for him and Aubrey will never know him.

 

February was spent daydreaming about our new baby.  Will Liam have a brother or a sister?  How can we decorate the nursery?  We took Liam to the doctor with us when we had the ultrasound.  I was a bit nervous, he really wanted a sister, how would he handle the news if he learns Baby Fudge is a boy?  Luckily we didn't need to find out, Liam was ecstatic to be getting a baby sister!

We also had a fun snow day. It doesn't happen often around these parts, but it was an experience for Liam.

 

I love March.  Liam's birthday, warmer weather.

 

This year we planned Liam's birthday party at the park.  We had a pirate party... unfortunately it snowed.  We still went but it was cold and Liam was not interested in playing.  But I think his friends had fun... like I said snow is unusual here, I can't believe it happened twice in one year, so its an experience.

 

Of course the next week it was 79 degrees outside.

 

Baby Fudge got a name.  I continued to grow, as did she.  

We celebrated Easter.

And Liam got his hearing aides.  Oy! Those things are EXPENSIVE!  Not just for the devices but his ears grow so quickly we are continuously in getting new ear molds made.  And the darn devices have "broke" several times, luckily it hasn't been our fault so we haven't paid to have them fixed.

I was apparently really busy growing a baby in April, because I didn't write much.  Sorry!

 

May was spent at doctors appointments and celebrating Liam being 2 years cancer free!  His doctor called this year one of the biggest milestones for him, 2 years cancer free!  Its amazing how much he has been through in his short life.

 

We continued to celebrate Liam being cancer free with Cancer Survivor Day.  Just look at how much he has grown! 

 

Brian was also celebrated for Father's Day.  I cannot put into words what a great father he really is.  Liam has so much fun with him.  They are constantly wrestling and running circles in the house.  Each morning when Liam wakes up he is disappointed to hear Daddy went to work.

Liam started swim lessons this month.  It was a rough start, but he has came SO FAR!

And I got some sewing done.  I LOVE making these carseat covers, they are so convenient, I never take Aubrey's off her seat.



Difficult from the day she was conceived, Aubrey made her appearance 3 weeks early and light on the pounds. 

But as we were busy celebrating, our dear friends were receiving life changing news.  Keep fighting John Ryan!

 





 

As we adjusted to life as a family of 4 I found myself very reflecting and emotional.  Crying over Liam's hair. but in my defense it is unruly!  and it was so adorable before we cut it!  I have been refusing to cut it again in an effort for the length to weigh it down... Lets just say Brian hasn't enjoyed this idea.

 

I also started "running" in August.  I did not start off with anything impressive to me and had to keep telling myself 'you just had a baby', but it was time for me to get out of the house and work on ME.  This was not easy to do with 2 children, still isn't!

I spent September spreading Awareness.  Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. 

Liam

John Ryan

Drew

Nolan

 

And I had some fun sewing for the upcoming holidays.

 



 In October we did a lot of traveling (a lot for having a 3 month old).  First we went to MI, Brian and I went to a football game and the kids got in a lot of family time!  Then we were off to Atlanta for Brian's sister's engagement party.

 

The best season of all made its appearance in November.  And Liam got to spend plenty of time outside with his father.  They just love doing lawn work together :)



 Then the end of the year finally arrived.  We spent so much time getting ready for the holidays.

  Liam learned the true meaning of Christmas in preschool.  It was so cute listening to him tell the story of Mary and Joseph.  Unfortunately a stomach bug also passed through our house.  And ended with an eventful trip to Michigan for ICEmas.

c a
The icestorm caused a lot of problems for people, leaving some without power for 7 days!  Luckily we were only without power at woman's house for about 2.5 days.
 

Family Photos

Okay, so I obviously wasn't planning on sharing these.  Not that I wasn't ever planning on sharing them, I assumed I would when they were taken, but then Aubrey came early and I didn't even see these pictures until after she arrived and thought well what's the point of sharing them now. 

But recently I started thinking about them again, and I didn't want maternity photos taken per se, I had wanted one last family photo session to remember our family as it was before adding another child.  So with that thought, here was our family photos as of June.

 

 

Thank you to our fabulous photographer, Candy Howard.  We absolutely recommend her if you are in the Charlotte area.

Are you worried?

More often than I can say I have been asked if I am worried Aubrey would get sick. Is it possible for her to have cancer too? Although Liam did not have to gene for his cancer, I guess I was worried, but the worry started before Aubrey.

When Liam was going through treatment I didn't think we'd have another child, I just couldn't go through that again. I also didn't want to replace the experiences Brian and I missed with Liam.

Then when we decided to have another child, it was taking us a while to get pregnant. My doctor had wanted to see me back in December to discuss options, but we found out about the pregnancy in November, Thanksgiving Day. Even though it never made it to that point, I had already decided in my mind we were not going to have any medical intervention to get pregnant. In my heart I felt if I wasn't able to conceive another child it was God's way of protecting me- it just wasn't meant to be. Thankfully we were pleased with Aubrey.

I always knew if we were to have another child I would take a year maternity leave. It was very difficult to go back to work after Liam was born, even more difficult after staying home with him through treatment. As cliche as it sounds; I have seen how precious life really is. I knew I wanted to stay home with Aubrey during this early time and cherish every moment.

I don't think I will ever be the calm parent when it comes to my children's health.

 

I know the pictures are scary.  They are a reality of a time in my life that has changed everything.