My new normal

This afternoon I met up with my good friend over at http://www.believinginserendipity.com/

We went for Sushi! Our babies wanted to be held so we ate and held them haha! Sorry i forgot to take pics of the sushi, the rolls were huge and I was making a mess! But they were delicious!

By the time I fed and got kris ready and made it the restaurant and ordered food, time was ticking... It was feeding time again. As soon as we left I fed Kris in the car. Breastfeeding in the car is totally my new normal ha!

He fell asleep on the way home so i took advantage and stopped at some stores before heading home ;)

My days revolve around the baby's schedule, but I think I've been doing pretty good at organizing our days out.

Here are some pics of us mamas

A coconut dream

I've been Breastfeeding baby boy for 2months! Breastfeeding does have its challenges and having a support group and other women to talk to helps so much! I always have a million questions.

Since Breastfeeding I noticed some foods that baby k was sensitive to. Milk/cheese (dairy), chocolate, spicy and I think coffee but I'm not too sure. I only drink a little these days and I don't see the same reaction that I do when I have an actual glass of milk.

I do miss my milk though!
My SIL suggested I try coconut dream milk. I tried it out with my cereal and loved it! It gives the cereal a soft coconutty taste. So coconut dream is my new milk!

Last week when Kristian was sick and not eating that much I decided to pump a lot and feed him with the bottle... Well to my surprise he refused the bottle! I love Breastfeeding but i have some occasions coming up and would like him to take a bottle so I don't have to nurse and can leave him for a couple hours too. So I bought the Medela calma bottle which says mimics Breastfeeding. So we will try it out!

Kristian is also becoming so aware of things, when I talk or he hears something loud, he'll stop nursing and look up at me. It's too cute, but wonder as he gets older he will want to be in the middle of it all instead of nursing with mama ;(

This week I wanted to start on some if the goals I made for myself... That didn't work out so well. Monday is my new start date ;)

Busy week! The good and the bad

This week I was fully booked! Ha! I'm almost finished my Christmas shopping so im happy about that! Are you!?

Yesterday I had a rough day! I didn't get much sleep due to a blocked milk duct. Omg painful!!!! I didn't even know what it was! I applied heat and massaged and made baby nurse a lot from that breast. It went away. Thank goodness!

Today a good friend and I with our baby boys went out for lunch! I was worried about where I would breastfeed if I needed to. Baby K was good and slept most the time, the cries started when we were leaving haha! I breastfed him in the car before heading home.

Here are some pics! And cute gifts Isaac got for Kristian ;)

Im a Breastfeeding Mama and Baby Rules

Breastfeeding has been going really really well. Baby K eats every 2-3 hours and is always satisfied which is awesome! He is the perfect timer and when he is hungry boy does he let you know. Sunday while we were out we had to stop and I breastfed in the car so we could make it home in peace haha!

Somethings I do love about Breastfeeding: no washing bottles, and no preparing bottles on the way out.
Only downfall is my comfort level with Breastfeeding in public, but I'm getting better at it. ;) patience is key.
My family is really comfortable with it because my SIL breastfed her daughter. So with my family I breastfeed in front of them (covered ;)

I haven't been able too pump at all,
I don't really need to, and worry if I pump between feedings I will either take away from his next feed or produce more than he needs. Am I right or wrong moms? I'm going to speak to my lactation nurse about this as well.

I noticed some foods that give my baby terrible gas. So far the main ones are milk (dairy) and spicy! I also think chocolate and coffee are culprits. I'm totally missing all these!! But worth it, I hate seeing my baby cry with tummy pain ;(

Did you need to cut anything out from your diet while Breastfeeding?

My little guy has some red pimples around his eyes ;( I think it's from being overheated. We've been to a couple occasions where baby K has been held a lot and got very warm and sweaty.

It's funny when you have a newborn there is soo much more that bothers you that didn't before. I'm much more sensitive for one. I also get upset if I feel my baby is uncomfortable. When we are out, I don't like it when people have strong perfume (not just a little im talking showered in perfume) on while holding baby K, i also just read that it's not good for newborns to breathe it in. Oh and people kissing a newborn all over his face with big people germs, hellll no! Makes me crazy! One other pet peeve I have that actually gives me anxiety... When people hold the baby and leave to another room where he is out of my sight. Mama bear totally kicks in and I can't even think straight!

I think I'm pretty good when it comes to family and friends getting their time with baby K, but some rules need to be followed. And I think my rules are valid. I've known other moms with much stricter rules and I totally get it!

I want my little sweet boy to be safe and comfortable and free of germs. After all he is only a month old! I should have been much stricter from day one....

Family Love- Adorable cousins

 I love this picture of the cousins together. Look how adorable they are.

Baby M is so sweet and has the most adorable goofy personality she calls Baby K, 'baby' haha she is too sweet.

My grandparents haven't seen baby k since he was just born, so they were soooooo happy to see him. My grandfather gets upset at anyone that pronounces the baby's name wrong haha.  He said he loves the name Kristian and doesn't want people to say it wrong, or in short... I'm guilty I call him Kris most the time ha!


 
I'm not the most comfortable with breastfeeding out of my home yet, I have my nursing cover that works great but I also bought a couple nursing tops, and I love them! I bought them from Momzelle.com and they are in Canada so they shipped in 1 day!

Friday the carrier I ordered from http://www.etsy.com/shop/SooShabbyChic came in too. 

 

  it's so cute and love keeping my little guy away from the cold and germs. 

My baby boy

I haven't been blogging about anything but my little boy, well he is taking all my attention these days. I'm so happy for the blogger App, it makes it easy for me to put in a quick post on my iPhone ;)

Breastfeeding is going well, baby and I finally have it figured out ;) so that makes us at 2 weeks of exclusive Breastfeeding. Yay! Although somedays I feel a little overwhelmed and exhausted and I'm still not comfortable with Breastfeeding in public yet. I'm working on that.

Wednesday I brought Kristian to get his hearing tested. They usually do it at the hospital when he is born, but my hospital missed that test.

It was so quick, less than a minute and he passed. Yay!

Saturday Kristian will be 4 weeks! Monday we will go to the doctor for his 1 month checkup. Tuesday he will be 1 month!!

I put away almost all his newborn clothes ;( and his swaddle blankets that use to fit his whole body only go mid waist now. My baby boy is growing so fast!

Im 3 weeks old!

I can't believe that my little boy is already 3 weeks old!!!

We had to put away many of his newborn clothes already ;( he is growing big and strong. He moves his head a lot and is very strong in lifting it when he is on his tummy. He is starting to make cooing sounds too. Soo sweet! He stares right into my eye and it just melts my heart. I love him soooo much!

It's only been 3 weeks and breastfeeding is going well although there have been certain times of the day (6am to 1pm then about 6pm to 11pm) where the baby wants to he nursed every hour!!! He also refuses formula all together now. He prefers and only wants breastmilk.

I have a lot of amazing women around me in my life and amazing women on twitter that have really been supportive and telling me to keep at it and not to give up. I'm grateful for that. Thanks ladies! You all tell me it will get easier.... I'm holding you all to it! Haha.

I am proud of myself though, and when I think that I kept at it for 3 weeks I know I can keep going. If I don't drop from being super tired and exhausted that is haha.

I ordered a baby wrap this week too! The baby K'tan!

I bought it from www.peaceofmindbaby.com and since they are located in my city it arrived in only a couple of days! I tried it out yesterday and it's comfy!!

Sterilizing bottles-what do you do?

Today baby K had his 2 week check up. He is up in weight and his doctor was happy! He is now 7lbs 13oz ;) my big boy! Our doctor really wants us to breastfeed only, which we are trying. We are doing well but we top up with formula a couple times a day. I'm pumping between Feedings when I can to use that as the top up as much as possible. Either way it's working for us so far and doctor was glad we found what works best for us ;)

Before I gave birth I was always concerned about sterilizing bottles. I heard many different things from different people. So last week I asked his doctor If I should boil the bottles and nipples etc. He said I could if I want.... But didn't elaborate. So today I asked again ;) he said soap and water is just fine and boiling is not necessary. Which sounds great to me! I've been making bottle soup for 2 weeks now haha! He also told me to watch the documentary "babies". My SIL told me about this movie a couple weeks ago. So I'm eager to watch it.

How do you wash bottles? For my pump I have the microwave steam bags which I love.

After his appointment we went to buy some clothes and went to best buy to pick up pictures.

Baby K was soo good and just slept the whole time yay!

Lactation nurse, weight loss and more

Thursday ramblings ...

Tuesday we went to a lactation nurse for help with breast- feeding. She gave me great tips. She told me what to look for when baby is sucking. Example 1-3 sucks and a swallow is a good sign. 4 or more sucks means he is working a little too hard and time to switch to the other. She also told me to pump in between feedings so if baby needs a top up, I use breast-milk. I was doing really well and was soo happy. But last night baby K wasn't latching. It was like he kept sliding off. So I pumped and I also gave 3oz of formula. This morning is better so fingers crossed! Breast-feeding is sooo challenging!

K also had a bad tummy ache. He was crying a lot! :( must have been something I ate that hurt his tummy.

I massaged his belly and did leg exercises. Today he seems better.




Baby K is almost 2 weeks old! Time is going by sooo fast!!

Can you see that grey mark in the crease of his foot... It's called a Mongolian spot. Neat huh! Very common in East Asians and Native Americans. I'm Italian background and husband was born in Honduras.

Christmas is around the corner and I think I will start decorating! Baby K's stocking has been ordered! 

 zoe is not impressed by baby K, he cries and I hold him and she just stares and me all day long lol

Weight-loss - So far I dropped 15lbs whoohoo but I need 40 to go to get to my goal weight. I'm not diving into any weight-loss program just yet, all my focus is on my little newborn.  In a couple months I will. :)

My hospital bag is packed and ready for baby!

4 weeks to go! I've had my hospital bags for a while now. Just always adding and removing things from it. 

So far I have 2 bags. 1 for me and 1 for baby.

Baby bag:
- 3 onesies
- 1 coming home outfit
- 3 blankets
- 3 hats and 3 socks
- a pacifier
- diapers
- wipes

Me:
- pj's
- robe
- socks
- pads
- nursing pads
- under garments
- creams
- personal hygiene products
- makeup ( ha! We'll see if I get a chance to use it lol)
- slippers
- coming home outfit
- hospital papers
- Camera

Think I'm missing anything?? Packed too much?

Last week my doctor gave me a number to our public health line for breastfeeding support. It's a free service, so I called.

The nurse was on the phone with me for an hour ;)

She gave me some websites to go on and recommended some books as well.

She gave me these tips:
Try and breastfeed within the first 24 hours. That way our body knows to produce.

I asked about the different ways of delivery, C section and Vaginal and she said as soon as mom is awake and baby is ok then breastfeeding is safe and ok.

She also said to get baby on me, skin to skin as soon as doctors are done checking him out. Allowing baby to look for the nipple as he cuddles on my skin. She repeated skin to skin is soo important.

She also suggested I lean back when breastfeeding. Not sit up. That way baby doesn't feel like he is falling but safe and secure against mommy.

Breastfeeding moms, I'd love to hear your advice?

29 weeks pregnancy update - bare belly

Bare Belly!

This week!

How Far Along: 29 weeks!

Size of baby: 2.9 lbs!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I really want to stop weighing myself, because we all know it's going up not down haha but today I stepped on... 29lbs for 29weeks yikes! If I gain steady a pound a week, with 11 weeks to go, i'll be up 40lbs. I will not utter the total weight that makes me ahahha.

Maternity Clothes: Still a Mix of Mat and regular clothes

Movement: feeling his hiccups!

Sleep: 3rd trimester brings on the zzzz's, I'm always tired!

Cravings: Choc Chip Cookies! and milk of course!

Symptoms: Moody! Crazy hormones has me snapping and annoyed at everything and anything! LOL

Again, I apologize to friends and family.

What I'm looking forward to? Holding my baby in my arms for hours!

Strange changes: Stretch Marks on my booty and hips. And peeing a little if I laugh too hard (tmi) LOL

Some new items:
Breast Feeding Book :) I'm learning soo much and also learning about all the myths out there too. Glad I'm reading up on this, I feel really excited to BreastFeed (never thought I'd ever say that out loud haha)


Have a great weekend!