Breastfeeding Essentials

Aden + anais swaddle | Aladdin Mason Tumbler | Lansinoh Lanolin | Nursing Tank | Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pads | Medela Tendercare Hyrogel | Nursing Bra | Medela Pump In Style

I am really passionate about breastfeeding. It is another amazing connection with your child outside the womb. I encourage every mother to at least try breastfeeding, you never know you may just love it! I exclusively breastfed my son up until last month when I started making him baby food. Currently M eats 2 solid meals a day and continues to breastfeed every 2 hours. That little man can eat!

In order to be successful you really need some essential things to help you, especially in the beginning. The first 3 weeks are the hardest and it might be tempting to throw in the towel because oh.my.goodness it hurts! Just when you thought you were done being in loads of pain giving birth, you have a very hungry newborn nursing round the clock putting your girls through pain you never knew existed! You may dread each feeding, bleed a little but I promise you it is so worth it once you get past those first few weeks.

Lets begin shall we....

Nursing Cover: 

My amazing Mother sewed me three nursing covers that I used for the first 3 months whenever I was away from home. As my son grew he wanted to start playing peek a boo and those covers weren't cutting it anymore. I use these swaddle blankets tucked in my bra straps and wrap it around my son who is also very distracted eater.

Water: 

W a t e r is so important. You have to stay hydrated it keeps your supply up, your supply is liquid gold. Don't cry over spilled milk, unless it's breastmilk then you may shed a tear you worked hard for that!

Lanolin:

This will be your BFF #1! Use this after every feeding and it will give you some much needed relief and the best part is you don't need to wipe it off before your baby eats next. 

Nursing Tank: 

I love these nursing tanks from Target. I use them to sleep in and in the beginning paired with a nursing bra so my whole side wasn't exposed. I have since found a solution that doesn't expose my side without have 2 sets of clips per side which just takes too much time when your baby is hungry. 

Nursing Pads:

I love these disposable nursing pads they are soft, absorbent and you can't even tell that they are there. 

Tendercare Hyrogel:

Introducing BFF #2. These lovelies will cool down your nipples if you so happen to get engorged adding insult to injury to your already sore girls. 

Nursing Bra:

This is hands down the best nursing bra! I am not one who would even think to go with a seamless bra but while trying them on the amazing woman who helped me at A Pea in a Pod said I needed to try this one out. It is comfortable and surprisingly supportive!

Breast Pump:

I have never actually used this pump, I use a hand pump, but if you must pump this is the way to go. When I say exclusively breastfed I truly mean it, M has never drank out of a bottle. I hyper lactate and followed the advice of my lactation nurse and pump only when necessary since I stay home. Instead of using a bottle we give M breastmilk in a sippy cup (started at 3 months) when needed. 

I would love to answer any questions if you have any.

5 On Friday

| one | Two weeks ago I posted about M needing this adorable jacket...

So the very next day Old Navy had a massive sale and I was super excited to get it, except it wasn't in stores. Long shopping adventures story short I finally got it yesterday!! 

| two | When I turned on my laptop this morning I saw I had an update available. Naturally I clicked on it to see what it was all about. OS X Mavericks update is available aaannnnddd its FREE. Kinda felt a little like Christmas. Thanks Apple :)

| three | We got this brilliant family costume idea, hey better late than never. Went out to exchange M's and get our costumes yesterday and sadly we are really late so it truly might never happen this year. Totally forgot Halloween is next week, how did it sneak up on us so quickly? M is going to be a dragon and we will coordinate somehow. 

| four | I found the best french toast recipe, I have made it four times already. I made some extra this morning to freeze so I can have it anytime. 

photo credit

| five | Teething, oh teething. Where do I begin?! M is still currently toothless at 7 months but has been teething since he was 3 months. He is such a happy go lucky baby but this week teething has got the best of him. We are pretty much glued together at all times, chewing on everything, he is not a huge fan of nursing like he usually is and naps, psh what naps. Thankfully he is still getting good rest at night because this little buddy needs it. Teething we don't like you at all, can we speed this process up a bit? I don't like seeing my baby is pain :( Please do share any tips if you have any.

source

Mom-Lovin Hop No. 21

Today I am super excited to be guest co-hosting the Mom-Lovin' blog hop with Hannah, Lena and Andrea. It is one of my favorite places to link up. I have met some pretty awesome ladies on this hop. Come join in the fun!

Happy Thursday :)

Our Guest Co-Host this week is Ileana at Simply Inspired Me

Ileana writes about her life as a wife and mama. She shares lots of great tips for moms including her favourite baby accessories, and pregnancy tips. Check out her super cute DIY post on making embossed baby footprints! CUTE! Be sure to follow her!

Our featured Mama of the week: Elizabeth from The Bradleys

If you long for authentic writing and real relationships through the interwebs, Elizabeth is your girl! She is a breath of fresh air in blog land and super sweet to boot. Elizabeth writes about her life and family living in Thailand. Go check The Bradleys out! You won't be disappointed. 

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.rootandblossom.com" title="Root and Blossom " target="_blank"><img src="http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y532/Hannah_Terpstra/67ddaa98-6359-42d4-bb84-92ae21b49af6_zps84f1f0e6.jpg" alt="Joyful Life " style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Please, if you are new to the hop or have been here but haven't left a comment, please let us know on our own respected blogs that you are a new follower so we can be sure to follow you back! 

Also, If you are interested in co-hosting FOR FREE shoot Hannah an email at hannahsjoyfullife (at) gmail.com to get on the list, growing your followers couldnt be easier! 

Homemade Coffee Creamer

It's no secret to those who know me [in person] that I like a little coffee with my cream. Yeah you read that right, I use lots of cream in my coffee. A couple of months ago after seeing so many recipes on Pinterest I decided to try making my own creamer. Except I didn't have some of the ingredients they were calling for and no fancy cream bottle to contain this deliciousness in. I got over the cream vessel and went ahead and made a batch, I was in love and have made my own creamer since. I was really excited for pumpkin spice creamer and bought some and was so disappointed I dumped my coffee and made poured myself a new cup with this stuff.

Here is what you need:

32 oz Container
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp almond extract
Milk (enough to fill the rest of the bottle)

**Since then I have not found the perfect "pretty" container so I use a 32 oz Nalgene water bottle and it works just fine

Open the can of condensed milk and pour it into your container. I use a thin spatula to get it all out of the can. Add almond extract and fill the rest of the container with milk. Use the spatula to break up the milk as best as possible and shake it until everything is mixed. Enjoy with a cup of hot coffee :)

I have not tried any other flavors yet, but plan to make pumpkin spice in the next week or so and with during Christmastime an eggnog creamer,

A Little About My Mr

1. He is truly a kid at heart. Playing games of any sort is something he loves doing. I know that he is looking forward to M to get a little older so he can make forts and buy a set of Nerf guns.

2. He is ridiculously good at games, like really good, people give up or will stop playing because he always wins.

3. He hates sleeping in and I [did] love to sleep. He would much rather wake up early and head out than sleep in.

4. He loves hats, he has so many of them and is always looking to buy more.

5. At least once a week he misplaces his wallet.

6. Family always come first, and he has been this way since the day I met him. Now that we have a baby I am so thankful that he feels this way because it takes us twice as long some days to get our routine tasks done and it doesn't bother him one bit that we have to pull over to change/feed our son sometimes back to back. 

7. He is newly addicted to buying and things Craigslist. 

8. I used to annoy him when we were kids [yes we have known each other for 21 years] he ignored me and went straight to playing with my brother...how things have changed over time :)

9. He doesn't have a middle name! 

10. He is the funniest person I know, we laugh so hard my stomach hurts.

5 on Friday

| one | My friend posted a picture of a ball pit she made for her son. This has been on my husband's to do list for as long as I can remember. Last week we drove all over the place to find the perfect "pit". Sadly when we put M in it he freaked out. Then all of sudden over the weekend he fell in love. He literally crawls up to in and dives in and swims on top of the balls it is hilarious.

| two | Speaking of ball pit, I guess the edge on this gives M the idea to start STANDING!!

| three | Woke up today and it was gloomy outside. Cannot even tell you how happy this makes me!! If only it could stay this way.

| four | I'm convinced that M needs this peacoat from Old Navy.

Old Navy Quilted Fleece Peacoat

| Five | I wrote my first ever DIY post about how to emboss your baby's footprints here. It was really fun taking the writing it and taking the pictures I may just have to write more DIY projects.

DIY Baby Footprints

Whaaaaa, a DIY/crafty post? Before my freetime was consumed by cleaning, cooking and all sorts of other chores I actually enjoyed crafty things. I am a perfectionist so most projects took me forever hence why I have given it a rest for a while. I love baby toes, especially M's tiny toes, so stinkin' cute. I have been trying to find the perfect way to save these tiny prints with out spending a ton of money. We splurged on a beautiful handmade ceramic imprint of his hand and foot when he was a newborn and I don't regret it but spending $70+ dollars monthly just seems a bit much to me.

On Saturday I got this genius idea to emboss his foot print! Best part about this project is I had everything already!!

You will need a VersaMark watermark stamp pad, which is waterbased and non-toxic, an embossing heat tool, embossing powder and card stock. Michaels and Jo-Ann's Fabrics always has a 40% coupon so this project will cost you around $20.

Stamp your baby's foot with the ink pad, press it firmly onto the card stock. Be sure to have some baby wipes handy to wipe off those tiny feet when you are done. Sprinkle the embossing powder generously over the stamped footprint and shake off any remaining powder. Turn on the heat tool and slowly move it over the footprint. Slowly you will start to see the powder gloss over. Let it stand for just a few seconds before touching it. Once it sets your done!

Voila now you have your very own keepsake and you can make it as many times as you want.

So What Wednesday

So what if....

- I have wanted popcorn for the past couple of nights but don't even consider making it because M's room is right by the kitchen. I have no desire to eat popcorn any other time if the day.

- My 6 month just got 2 new pairs of Converse and he can't even walk yet. We got an amazing deal on them $11.99 each with tax included no shipping. Couldn't pass them up! I love diapers.com & their Familyhood of sites :) 

- Halloween is only 3 weeks away and I still don't have my husband and my costume figured out to coordinate with M. 

Baby Wearing

This week is International Baby Wearing Week!! This post has been on my to-do list for some time. After reading Andrea's post I knew there was no time like the present. When I was pregnant with M, I knew that I wanted to breastfeed, and much later into my pregnancy I decided to cloth diaper. But baby wearing? No! I thought hmmm I'll get a Bjorn and we can use it when we go to a museums or crowded events. I had no idea that they are bad for babies hips. My cousin told me about the Ergo and I was sold in minutes and it went on my registry. 

We started off using a Moby wrap. After watching a YouTube video like 20 times I felt slightly less intimated by the never ending fabric. I used that for the first 2 months but M was impatient while I tried to get the perfect wrap. It was time to break in the Ergo. However he was too small so we bought the infant insert. After a very short adjustment phase my son found his happy place strapped onto him mama. 

I never imagined that I would love wearing M so much. I wear him when I shop, cook, out on a walk and when he gets fussy. I love that my hands are free (I am a multi-tasker) and my baby is happy as can be :) Happy baby wearing week!!

Why I Love Fall

Pumpkins: Not for carving because I am really terrible at that one year I made this really cute (or at least I thought so) fishbowl carving only to cut the wrong pieces and ended up with a gaping hole on the side. Thank goodness for my mother in law who performed surgery on it and pinned everything back in place. I mean for eating. If there is a pumpkin flavored treat I'm trying it and chances are buying it or making my own version at home!

source

Boots & Sweaters: I like sandals but I love boots and sweaters so much more. I don't work out and no it's not because I have an infant I can make time I just don't! I have a million others things to do plus I carry around a 16.5 pound baby does that count?! Ok moving right along... wearing sweaters and boots instead of shorts and tank tops is my kind of day.

Weather: I really dislike being hot! Fall has the best weather. It's not too cold but it's also not hot at all. I also love the occasional rainy fall day!

Fall Colors: Red, orange & brown makeup the colors of my family room. Seeing them all over just makes me smile. Specially on my nails :)

Thanksgiving: Since I got married I have started to love Thanksgiving even more because we spend our time with both families. Christmas is still my favorite but Thanksgiving comes in second for sure. I love getting together with family and eating that delicious dinner! More importantly I really enjoy the pause in life where people reflect on what they are thankful for. If only it were like this more often.

Ok Summer you are lingering, it's time to go away until next year!

5 On Friday

|one| I'm really conscious of what I put on and in M's little body. I have never cared more about chemicals then I do now.

|two| With that being said I received my first essentials bundle this week from the Honest Company. I'm beyond exited to use everything!! I got their hand and face lotion, baby oil, produce wash, healing balm and all purpose cleaner.

|three| M & I are having breakfast together every morning it's nice to enjoy my meal and not fight baby hands with every bite :)
|four| We are finally getting around to finishing decorating. Thank goodness I was getting tired of nothingness!

|five| It has taken me literally all day to finish this post. Finding time to blog is like finding the socks the dryer eats mysteriously.