My Breastfeeding Story

Nursing was not what I had expected, in some ways much easier than I expected and in other ways much more challenging than I had anticipated. 

I am writing this post to hopefully help encourage any breastfeeding moms out there, it was always so helpful to me to have other nursing moms to encourage me and talk me through the difficult times. 

After Harper was born, I had my immediate bonding time with her and I tried nursing her at that point but she was pretty uninterested at first. Harper had jaundice and that made her very sleepy. The nurses told me to expect her to cluster feed and want to nurse every hour or two the first night...that did not happen, she was tired and just wanted to sleep. We had the lactation consultant come in and I pumped for a while trying to get some milk to come in. At this point Harper was trying to latch but was having a difficult time and oh my goodness it hurt so badly!! The nurse kept saying that it shouldn't hurt if she was doing it right. I tried to suck it up and continue but after a couple of hours of trying and her latch   wasn't getting any better, the consultant suggested trying the nipple shield. This thing was AMAZING and I have no doubt that without it I wouldn't have been able to nurse for very long. 

By the time we left the hospital Harper was still pretty sleepy from the jaundice but the best way to correct her levels was to feed her as much as I could and to flush out her system. 

My milk took 5 days to come in, I think since I was induced it took longer since my body wasn't quite ready yet. I had to supplement with formula for those first few days until my milk came in because of her jaundice. Once my milk did come in I fell into a steady routine of nursing and pumping to build up my supply those first few weeks. 

I got Harper on a schedule of nursing every three hours. As soon as her jaundice cleared I was able to go four hours at night which was so much better than the every two hours I had been having to do. 

Using the shield, Harper's latch was great and I was so happy to be able to nurse her pain free. I still had questions though about nursing, which side I should start on, when to switch her to the other side and so on. I attended a lactation class when Harper was two weeks old and when I asked them about switching breasts during a nursing they told me not to move her until she came off on her own. Well my hungry little one never wanted to stop. She would nurse on one side for 35-45 mins and then be done. So I began to nurse her on one side per feeding, every 3 hours. This seemed to work great until Harper was around 2 months old and I noticed that my milk supply was totally going down. Harper would start screaming during nursing and get so frustrated that it wasn't coming out fast enough. I spoke to some friends and other lactation consultants who told me that since I had only been feeding her on one side per feeding it made my body think it needed to produce less since it was really 6 hours until the same side was used again. Harper was growing and wanting to eat more she wasn't satisfied. 

I was so frustrated and spent about a week and a half pumping before and after each nursing, drinking tuns of water and trying to build my supply back up, all the while thinking it would maybe be easier at this point to just do formula. I had so much help and encouragement though and I was able to bring my supply up again. I was so relieved! From that point on I used a nursing app on my phone that would keep track of which side I last fed on, and each nursing I would pull her off after 15 mins and switch her to the other side. We kept up this great routine and around 3 months old I stopped using the nipple shield. I didn't even have to ween her from it, I just tried taking it off one day and it took her a few mins to latch and that was that! 

We continued with our nursing of every 3 hours until Harper was around 5.5 months old, that is when we started her on avocado and I moved to every 4 hours. (except at night, she stopped nursing at night at a month and a half).

At 10 months old Harper got Roseola and dropped a nursing since she wasn't feeling well. Once she was better I tried to see if she wanted that nursing back in the day and she wasn't interested. She dropped another feeding a few weeks later. At this point I was down to only 3 nursings a day. She continued to ween down and by her first birthday she was nursing only in the morning. I planned to go another few months or so but a week after her birthday she got sick and did not want to nurse anymore. It was sad because I didn't know that her last nursing was going to be her last. My baby was growing up though and just wasn't interested anymore. As much as I do miss that closeness and bonding sometimes it is nice to be done and to be able to do things and go places without having to plan it around feedings. I am so glad that I nursed her a little over a year and definitely plan to do the same with my future kids. 

Thanks for reading and please comment for any questions. Hope this can encourage and help any other breastfeeding moms out there!

Harper in the Great Outdoors

We are lucky to live somewhere where you can be outdoors pretty much all year round. Sure we have our rainy and cold days, but no snow, no below freezing temperatures all winter long. Since we are blessed to live in the beautiful Southern California sunshine, outdoor playtime is a fun and important time in daily schedule. 

As a child my sister and I loved playing outdoors, we didn't play video games and we were not allowed to watch very much tv. Therefore our outdoor play turned our ordinary surroundings into whatever amazing adventures we were having in our imaginations. 

Ever since Harper was little I have tried to get her outdoors as much as possible. When she was tiny we would lay outside on the porch. I would point out the trees, birds and other things surrounding us. 

Now, at 14 months old Harper is overjoyed every time we go outside. The second the front door opens, she runs out, dancing, smiling and completely ecstatic. 

We will bring toys out with us sometimes, books and sit on the swing but usually she is very entertained picking up and throwing rocks. Taking walks around the neighborhood is fun too and something that we especially like to do when Kyle is home. 

I hope that Harper grows up with as much of an amazing imagination as I did. There are so many wonderful things to learn as a kid when you play outside and experience the world around you. 

Top: H&M

Denim Top: H&M (boys section)

Jeggings: Target

Boots: Target 

Homemade Baby Food

I never looked at the ingredients that were in foods until after Harper was born. When Harper first started baby food at 5.5 months old she had been strictly breastfed before that and I didn't want her first food to be something that was processed and really didn't have much nutritional value. I stared doing some research and talked to some friends who felt the same way and decided rather than give her rice cereal I was going to start with avocado. Avocados are a food that is becoming more popular as a "first food", the nutrients and fats in them and closest to breast milk. 

After Harper had avacodo for a couple months I started to shop around for different baby foods and as I read the ingredients I couldn't believe how many foods that advertised as "organic" had so many other ingredients in them that I couldn't even pronounce. This is when I decided to just make my own for Harper. I found a great website that gave advice as to when you could introduce certain foods and also had different receips for your baby. (http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com) I didn't want to spend the money on a Baby Bullet so I used a handheld mixer. It was such easy cleanup, and so simple! 

I used one similar to this that my in-laws had, but I have seen them for less than $20 at t.j. Max and other stores. I would either steam or boil different fresh fruits and veggies, blend them with the mixer while it was warm and then spoon it into ice cube trays and cover with plastic wrap. After it was frozen I would remove the food chips and put them in labeled freezer zip locks. I could make so much food in bulk and it was SO much cheaper than buying already made baby food. When she was ready to eat something I would either take out the certain amount of frozen cubes and thaw them in the fridge or in a glass bowl in the microwave. When Harper was first starting out I also would mix in water or breast milk to water certain foods down that were too thick for her. Remember though when heating foods in the microwave, do not include any with breast milk as it should not be microwaved. I was loving making her food, knowing exactly what it was that she was ingesting. 

Once she got a little bit older I did find one brand of store bought baby food that we used when we went to the beach or somewhere where it was more difficult bringing her homemade food. Plum Organics baby food packets had no weird or added ingredients. Just whatever fruits or veggies it was supposed to be. 

Hope this was informative and has encouraged you to try making your own baby food. You will be surprised at how easy, fun and cheap it is!! Enjoy! 

{Baby Blues}

I love dressing Harper in blue tones because it just brings out more of the blue in her gorgeous eyes. My mother-in-law got this adorable outfit for Harper yesterday, it was supposed to be for Christmas but she couldn't help it and gave it to us early...."For the blog", she said . 

Hat: Crazy 8

Shirt: Crazy 8

Jeans: Target 

Shoes: Crazy 8 

Dots on Dots

I have loved polka dots for as long as I can remember. I think it runs in the family because my mom loves all things polka dots too. So of course, I am gonna dress Harper in them as much as I can. This is an outfit that my mom got her for her first birthday and itt was perfect for this cool, foggy morning. 

I love mixing polka dot prints with other ones in the same outfit. It can add to the outft and make it more fun, especially when mixing large and small dots. These skinny jeggings are great because they are a lot thicker than her other jeggings and they have adorable pockets on the back. I am obsessed with these little fake ugh boots! They are so easy for her to walk in, zip up on the inside so quick to get on and off and they also have a regular sole so they aren't slippery. 

Top: Target

Vest: Target

Pants: Target

Boots: Target

Headband: etsy shop mintandarrows 

Sleep. Who Needs That?? How to Sleep Train Your Baby.

When most people think about having a baby, chances are the first thing that comes to mind is the lack of sleep. You hear the horror stories of the babies that cry all night long, have their days and nights mixed up, and prepare yourself for months of being exhausted. When Harper was born I had no idea what to expect or what my plan would be to sleep train her, I just knew that it was something that had to be done! Please keep in mind I am just sharing my story and how we did things, everyone has their different parenting thoughts.
A key I had learned from watching other mom friends of mine was that I didn't want Harper to get used to sleeping in my arms all the time as an infant. The habits that babies form when they are little can be very hard to break later. I am not saying that I never held her or anything like that, I just tried to let her have equal time in her swing or laid out on a blanket on the floor. I have to say, that was one of the best choices I made as a new mom. She loved having her "playtime" on the floor and it taught her to explore the stuff around her, as well as got her used to laying on her own.
She slept in the bassinet in our room for her first 4 weeks or so. I never let her sleep in bed with us at night because I didn't want it to become a habit. There were many nights where nursing would have been so much easier if she was just in our bed, but I am glad I held out. I am a really light sleeper and wake up to any little noise, so when Harper was about a month old I moved her into her own crib in her room. She did fantastic and that was when she started to sleep longer stretches. The other thing I did that helped her sleep better was to have her sleep on her stomach. (I know that's not what they recommend these days but she never spit up and slept so well like that) She loved laying on her stomach and I noticed it made her feel full longer so she would sleep 6 hour stretches or so around a month old.
When Harper was 4 months old we moved in with my in laws to save money and Harper had to sleep in our room for a little while. At that point our amazing sleeper stopped sleeping through the night and would wake up several times wanting her paci. It was torture! After a month and a half or so of this I started letting her just cry herself back to sleep because I didn't want her to think I was going to get up in the middle of the night to give her her pacifier. It was hard at first (especially since she was in our bedroom) but on the first night of letting her cry, she cried less than 3 mins and fell back to sleep. Letting her cry it out instead of getting up to give her the paci made a huge difference in her sleeping habits. Babies are a lot smarter than you think and they catch on pretty quickly with what you are and are not going to do. Just remember when letting your baby cry it out, start with small amounts of time and work up to longer amounts. When you go in to comfort them, rub their back, sing to them, tell them it will be ok, and walk out again. Try not to pick them up every time or else they will think that you will do it every single time they cry at night. Crying is NOT hurting them at all, it is way harder for you as the parent than it is to them. If you really have a hard time listening to them cry, try standing outside or turn on some music for a couple mins. If you stick with letting them cry it out for a few days, a week even, they should be totally used to it and be sleeping through the night!
When Harper was about 7 months old we were able to move her into her own room. I wasn't sure how it was going to go, afraid that she had gotten used to sleeping in our room. But in her first night back in her own bedroom she slept 8 hours and only woke up once. I think she could sense that we were not in the room with her anymore and knew there was no point in waking up crying. haha In the couple months that followed she started sleeping 10-12 hours at night. It is amazing! She goes to bed around the same time every night and wakes up at the same time every morning.
Another thing we use that really helps her sleep well is an air purifier fan. It creates great white noise so that she isn't awakened by random things outside or noises in the house. There are so many wonderful sound machines or fans that will do the trick! I even have a sound machine app on my phone in case we are at someone else's house for her nap.
I have helped a couple friends with advice and support about getting their babies to sleep at night and guess what, it worked with them too! Keep in mind, every baby is different and has different sleeping habits. Also, if you are sleep training your baby once they are a bit older it may be more difficult at first as you are having to break them of things they have been used to for a while. It is possible though, just be patient, persistent and have someone you can vent to and get support from.

Here are some great links I have recommended to friends that I found on Pinterest about helping sleep train your baby.
http://www.parents.com/baby/sleep/issues/teach-baby-to-sleep-in-7-days/
http://www.incredibleinfant.com/baby-sleep-training/sleep-training-mistakes/
http://get-your-baby-to-sleep.com/one-week-to-better-baby-sleep-habits/http://www.babble.com/baby/sleep-training-101-9-tips-for-encouraging-better-sleep/
http://get-your-baby-to-sleep.com/sleep-training/

Thanks for reading and feel free to share with other parents!
Questions or comments? Leave them in the comment box please!

Fall Fun

Today Kyle had the day off work and we took Harper to the pumpkin patch with some friends. I remember last year when we took her, she was only a few months old and we said how fun it would be next year when she would be running around. Now that year has flown by and there she was today, exploring on her own like a big kid.

Top: Target (I loved this black tee so much when I saw it! I love black clothes and was always so annoyed that I could never find cute black things for girls when Harper was a a baby. Now that she is fitting in bigger sizes I am finally able to find some.) 

Overalls: Babies R Us (I always dislike the photos of me in overalls as a kid and I am pretty sure I swore that when I had a child I would NEVER dress them in overalls. But gosh, when I saw these I couldn't help it, they are so darn cute, AND they were on sale!)

Shoes: Carter's 

Photos are a mix between ones that I took and ones that my sis-in-law, Cammy took. She has a great fashion blog, check it out! •••lastofthemoheak.com•••