Got milk?

who needs more milk??? This mama does, or did....well still does but whatever.  To help increase my milk flow, it will be 2 happy years of breastfeeding on the 28th by the way, I got the chocolate fenugreek bars and the milk water tea chai spice.  It really tastes delicious.  I have always had a tough time with those nasty scrumptious mother's milk teas. I would drink them of course but not easily.  This chai tea I gladly drink 2-3 times each day, no problem.  The fenugreek bars are awesome as well.  For the fenugreek bars you get a 12 day supply.  I will be pretty upset when I run out, I have 6 left at the moment, I may order more when I need another boost.  This stuff has allowed me to pump .5 - 1oz of milk a day instead of my normal .25 or less.  Oh and that is without me taking my 12 fenugreek pills and mother milk tincture, UGH that stuff, the tincture, is AWFUL but again it works.  That's besides the point.  The point is go check out this wonderful place and order something.  I am not paid by them to say this, I was never sent anything from them.  To be honest, I saw a review on Marayam's blog and said "what the hell, it can't hurt to order"  So...there you have it.  If this doesn't tempt you maybe a photo or two of those fenugreek bars and tea will! lol

DELICIOUS!!!!!

breastfeeding

Sorry for the ridiculous hiatus!  I WILL be back, trust me.  The semester is winding up and quick.  Juries, AKA finals for music majors, are this Monday.  YIKES! Not to mention I am still working on Christmas decorations that I fear won't be up in time for this year and trying to get things pulled together for Audrey's Nemo birthday party!  Can I tell you how excited I am about it???  I have a billion wonderful ideas and am pretty sure I am more excited than Audrey although she is completely thrilled.  I let her pick between Nemo and Cinderella for her party and Nemo won out.  I was secretly hoping for Nemo to be honest.  In any case. This video made me laugh.  I have seen it several times before but it's still just as funny! ENJOY!     Of course, it didn't take me but 6 months to be comfy w/o something covering Audrey.  I could care less now!

bittersweet moments

The closer it gets to August the more I keep thinking how much I will miss my little girl during the day.  She recently learned how to say I love you and it melts my heart completely.  I ask her for big hugs and kisses and get them all the time.  I know while some mama's can't wait to get their little ones in another room to sleep, I am dreading it honestly.  Audrey sleeps on her mattress right beside my side of our bed and I love it. I can hear  her, and bring her in bed to snuggle and nurse around 3am most nights.  I love cuddling.  Our well laid out plan has gone a little astray.  The nanny we had will be out longer than anticipated and won't be back until the beginning of October.  This caused me quite the panic attack.  I am such a planned person and am very very picky when it comes to someone watching my little one.  In the end, I broke down and got on care.com and put a VERY specific profile that I am sure will scare some people away, but it will be the people I wouldn't be interested in anyway I am sure.  As far as my milk supply goes 5pm works far better for pumping than 8pm.  I can get 2oz at that time, the issue is not using it.  I had 4oz stored up and am back down to nothing...OY!  I am also playing for a movie in mid-August it's a 1 day all day type thing so....you can see where I might be getting a little stressed.  I go from a stay-at-home mom/occasionally gigging mom turned part-time working mom/still occasionally gigging mom.  I pumped, but not like all the time, at least not recently.  When Audrey was small I pumped because she needed milk during lessons or Carlo had to put her to sleep sometimes because of a lesson.  Now, I only pumped when I needed and if i skipped a day it wasn't a huge deal.  Sure it was nice to have an extra 8oz in the freezer, but now it's critical to pump EVERY day!  I can't afford to miss a day.  Audrey drinks at least 2oz for nap, maybe more, I am not sure honestly. I am the only one who has put her down and she nurses to sleep so yeah.  My mom-in-law, who was watching Audrey while I was at a workshop the other day, attempted to put her down for a nap, it didn't happen.  Instead, Audrey and I took a late 3:30pm nap and she went to sleep at 7pm.  Anyway, here I am being all bittersweet.  Forgive me. I love my little burrito so..much and enjoy her so much.  I know this new job I have will be good for us, trust me I know it will be, but it's not any easier.  I love teaching and playing and am really exciting, but this will be the first time I will be away  from Audrey on a regular basis.  What can I say attachment parenting worked not just for her but me too, I am quite attached.  How could you not be attached when you have a little one that is as cute as Audrey?

she put mama's shirt on all by herself!

The Controversial Cover

Alright Readers, have you seen or heard about the cover of Time magazine?? If  not check it out here!  Carlo heard about it before me and he grabbed a copy of it the day it came out. Most of the stores around here are not carrying this cover because of course extended breastfeeding, especially public extended breastfeeding is so.....taboo!! Of course, it's a heated subject, extended breastfeeding that is.  It's true that A LOT of people think extended breastfeeding and public breastfeeding as gross and something they don't want to see. As most of you know I have no intention of weaning Audrey.  She will wean when she is ready.  She is 15 months old and still going strong with breastfeeding. She nurses 3-4 times during the day and usually 2 times at night.  I LOVE breastfeeding, no lie.  No matter what has happened during the day, no matter how cranky, busy, or crazy the day is, we are always able to re-connect via breastfeeding.  As far as my opinions on the article I feel like it labeled attachment parents BIG time calling our parenting style extreme.  I am still not sure how such a natural style of parenting can be labeled extreme.  I personally find spanking to be extreme, but of course, here that's considered, normal.  A little backwards don't you think??     Let me know what you think of the article??

As I am writing this I am watching Pregnant in Heels and there is a home birthing couple, who wants to use elimination communication and she wants to eat her placenta.  It's REALLY fantastic.  Of course, I am not a fan a Rosie so much during this but the fact that it's a couple who want a home birth and are bringing either placenta encapsulation or placenta eating to mainstream is AWESOME! I haven't seen the whole episode so....I am going to go.  There is also a mom later in the season who doesn't believe in vaccinating. I can't wait!!!     UGH, this whole elimination communication is making me angry, but that's something else...

a picture is worth a thousand words

check out this link.  It has a picture that is amazing, I love this picture, seriously.  It's also very well written.  Let me know what you think!


http://yourbirthcoach.com/2011/12/05/we-live-in-a-bottle-feeding-culture/#comment-4859

Would you like cookies for your milk?

As I was perusing Facebook a few days ago I saw this link for a momma's milk cookie recipe on Gentle Choices, my birth center's page.  I was really excited about this for a couple of reasons.  1. It gave me an excuse to bake; I bake once or twice a week as it is and look for a challenge to make a recipe GF and DF if it isn't already. 2.  I have only seen these as something you order from a company, which I wouldn't do personally, so I couldn't wait to try them. (yeah, I love baking, guilty right here!!)

In any case, the link goes into detail about the galactagogues used in the recipe: brewers yeast, flax seeds, and oats.
 I had heard of brewers yeast because my midwife told me I could bring a beer to the birthing center to boost my milk once Audrey was born.  Of course, I was really excited about that and had a purple haze with a slice of lime ready; I do enjoy a cold beer. Too bad I was unable to drink it. :-(

I had also heard of oatmeal. I found it while playing around on Kellymom, a FANTASTIC source for breastfeeding moms.  Here's the link to the article on oatmeal, but I advise checking out more than just this article! http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/oatmeal.html

As for flax seeds, I honestly thought I was to avoid them but realize that you can't have it while pregnant.

So, do these cookies work?? I am not sure honestly.  I personally believe a combination of things can help milk supply not just one thing.    I will let you know in a few days. ( I took fenugreek tonight so it's an unfair assessment at the moment)

Ways to boost milk supply
1. Pump every 2hrs for 15 minutes. (this is a weekend type thing.  I did this once after I started to catch something and my supply went down some)

2. Tea!! Drink mother!s milk or More Milk us tea 3 times a day.  ( if anything it will give you a reason to relax for a second.

3. Take Fenugreek.  Sure you will smell like maple syrup, but how awful is that really??!!! You can drink the tea, which is bitter, or take the pills.  The link on  peaceful parenting has how much you should take.  I suggest the pills although I have both in my pantry!

Here's that link with the recipe!

http://www.drmomma.org/2010/08/lactation-cookies-recipe-increasing.html

Check it out and have fun baking!!  I used smooched bananas instead of applesauce, Pamela's GF flour mix, and only 1cup chocolate chips, and almonds instead of walnuts.  So play around with the recipe dear readers and ENJOY!! :-)

The Breastfeeding Bridesmaid with the Baby

I never realized how difficult it is to have a baby that is breastfed and be in a wedding party until now.  I am in one of my very oldest and dearest friends wedding in October who is truly being super accommodating, but I have still concluded that until you have a baby you never really understand what it is like.  For example, I was looking forward to going out of town to go to the bachelorette party and was about to start pumping again to prepare.  I like to keep a small stash  handy for when I have to play gigs for recitals and teach lessons and what not, but it's not enough for me to be away for over 12 hrs. (I have never been away from Audrey for more than 3 hrs)  In any case, I just received the invite and it is for THIS coming weekend! :-(  That means I can't go!!  I have also made plans that include getting my bridesmaid dress altered this same weekend.  Before Audrey I would have just picked up and headed on over to Houston no problem and dealt with the dress altering another time but no can do anymore.

Another thing is that I will be bringing Audrey to the wedding and will be breastfeeding, not bottle feeding.  The bride mentioned she will have a babysitter in the room next door during the reception which is a great idea, but it just won't work for us. (I am bringing my sling and have okay-ed it with the bride)  You see, I have never left Audrey with someone who isn't family, plus she will only be almost 9 months...  The bride was also surprised that I was still breastfeeding and that I didn't bottle feed her.  I think it is WAY more convenient to just "whip em out" so to speak than to pack our 2 glass bottles, our small to-go ice chest for the milk, and of course a breast pump because, well... I may just pop the dress open with my milk filled ta ta's if I don't pump.  Speaking of pumping, that brings up another question/problem:

What am I going to do the day of the wedding while getting ready with the bridal party???

  I am planning on bringing some frozen milk for that day which will mean I have to take pumping breaks.  Of course, I may also just let Audrey breastfeed because that's always easier.  I feel bad because Carlo will have Audrey and she will need to nap...now here's where we run into another little problem.  Audrey nurses to sleep for naps and night time.  She has also been known to NOT take a bottle from anyone except me. Weird I know, but it's true.  Of course, she hasn't taken a bottle since July and even then it was a fight.  She even went to bed one night, while I was playing a gig, without eating because she refused the bottle!!  So, we'll see how this goes.  I am nervous to say the least and while I am looking forward to the wedding I need to balance my job of being a mom with my job for that one day of being a best friend to the bride.


*This post is nothing against the bride or other members of the bridal party, I admit I was the same way before having Audrey.  I do wish I could pick up and go as easily as I used to, but of course, then I wouldn't have Audrey, and I wouldn't want to change! :-)





UPDATE:

                The Keekaroo High Chair is AMAZING!   I can't say enough good things about it! It looks good, is easy to clean, Audrey loves it, etc...  Here's the proof that she LOVES it! :-)

Another UPDATE:   The diaper rash JUST cleared up today! Well, whatever it was whether caused by food or a yeast infection it just wouldn't go away and NONE of my choices worked!  So, I went another route.  I stopped by my local cloth diaper store, Elemeno-Pee, and picked up some cloth wipes and made my own anti fungal wipe spray.  Between the wipe spray and putting Caldendula Cream on it consistently it is all cleared up! YEA!

Breastmilk: The Original Happy Meal

Hey everyone!

         HAPPY WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK!! :-)

In honor of this week, which was technically August 1-7, I will be posting different stories of moms who held their ground and quoted the laws protecting them when people told them to cover up or leave when they were breastfeeding in public.  I wish we lived in a country that was more accepting of something so natural.  Breasts were intended to be used for feeding a baby/toddler/child.  It makes me sad that when we go out to eat, or anywhere really, I have yet to see a mom nursing. I am proud of the fact that I have the ability and am able to provide food for my baby girl and I have no intention of weaning her.  It is up to Audrey when she is done with nursing and if that is when she is 2, 3, or 4 even that is perfectly fine with me.  I love the bonding time we have and it is the best thing for her.  I was lucky that my sweet little princess latched immediate in recovery and nursed for a whopping 23 minutes on one side and 17 minutes on the other.  We have had no real problems and are still going strong.

On a side note, I bought my first actual nursing tops and totally intend on using them to breastfeed in public.  I am very excited to get to use these shirts and wear  them until they get holes in them!   I am also going to tackle learning how to breastfeed Audrey in her sling.  I will be watching videos and practicing at home first to get comfortable, and by the end of the week, and from now on, I will simply be able to let her eat on the run.  I will also post a photo of me feeding her in the sling just to show everyone how discreet it truly is.   

Here is a funny ad by celeb moms on the benefits of breastfeeding! So with that said, whip em out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7SM7Hvjqny4