My take on breastfeeding

There has been so much talk these days on Breastfeeding. Positive talk and negative. When I hear the negative I just think that people just aren't educated on the topic.

Breastfeeding is natural! Nutritious! The healthy choice! Easily digested for babies, full of antibodies to help protect against illnesses, builds a strong bond with your baby, moms burn calories too!  Just look up all the benefits!

I admit that I was I was not educated on breastfeeding. When I was younger I thought no way would I breastfeed... I just didn't understand it really. No one ever talked about the health benefits of it, and the amazing bonding experience with your child. They never taught us about it in school, our parents never educated us on it either. I'm glad I changed when I became pregnant and educated on the health of my baby and myself.

I'm also so glad to see Breastfeeding talk all over the media and social media sites. Positive and the negative. Getting everyone to understand and learn about it! It's a good thing! always was, always will be!

Breastfeeding isn't as easy as one might think, it is hard for some of us.

Put the baby to the breast and he will suck and milk will flow right!? Nope not that easy. So when mom's try and don't have a successful outcome it's stressful and some moms just can't get enough milk and have to resort to formula. Ok too! The most important thing is that our babies are eating, healthy and happy. Formula feeding isn't that easy either, it's expensive, lots of bottle washing, may make the baby gassy having to try many different brands.

My first couple weeks of Breastfeeding was tough. My baby wasn't latching that well, I wasn't sure if he was eating enough. He cried a lot, I topped up feedings with formula too. I was exhausted and felt like giving up. The great thing about where we live is that we have a free service, a hotline you can call for information about Breastfeeding and a trained nurse helps you. You can even go in and they will show you what to do. I did both. It really really helped. I also had so much support from blogger/twitter moms and RL friends. A support group is a must! (and you will, I repeat will have negative people telling you your baby is starving because you are breastfeeding haha, no he is not. He feeds more often because breastmilk is easily digested which is soo healthy for his little body, also teaching him healthy eating habbits)

Even though I read up on Breastfeeding before baby K came along there were sooo many things I didn't know!!

I didn't know what growth spurts were until I had a baby feeding every hour for 24 hours! ha!

I didn't know what a clogged duct was until I was in sooo much pain from it. Ouch!

I didn't know what over supply was until my breasts were in pain and my little guy wasn't eating that much haha. I had to pump and freeze supply which wasn't a bad thing.

I remember the best advice I had from a friend was to try it for 6 weeks and if by then it wasn't working out then decide what to do. By the 6th week it was all good! I had the hang of it. The toughest was the first 2 weeks. And of course still had little issues here and there but nothing to do with latching or supply.

I remember thinking I would only breastfeed for 3 months... Then it came and went, and thought 6 months I would wean, well we are at 9 months and still at it ;)

So if you feel down and think you may not be able to breastfeed for long, just take it day by day!

Dressing for Breastfeeding wasn't a big deal for me. I bought 5 Breastfeeding tops and tanks and button down shirts or easy to lift or pull down tops or dresses. It's easy really!
A must for me is a nursing bra, I love them.

If you are a little uncomfortable with breastfeeding in public, just get a cool looking nursing cover. Also great to hide distractions from the baby so he can eat in peace. I have a nursing cover so I breastfeed everywhere and anywhere. Depending on where I am, like home or family or friends house I don't use the cover of course.

I was shy at first but that quickly went away.


I just needed my baby and a bag of diapers and wipes and me and we are ready to go out. No bottles no warmers no nothing. If you know me, I hate too many moving parts haha so Breastfeeding was great for me. We just came back from a trip, and Breastfeeding was soo convenient. I breastfed in the plane, the bus. Kept baby calm and happy.



We are now on month 9 and I'm soo happy I made it this far.

I have 2 months to wean as I'll be going back to work in October. Weaning is not easy! Especially when I love Breastfeeding my baby too!

Kristian is eating 3 meals a day and nursing in between. So I've been trying to cut back. I'll start with day time weaning. I do not want to go cold turkey. And I love the benefits my baby gets from my breast milk too. So I want to first start with the hours I will be at work. So weaning from 8am -6pm is my first goal I'll start with. And go from there! Again, getting support from other moms is a good thing... I go to twitter for this and I have an amazing group of moms that give me advice.

Many moms breastfeed well over 12 months. Like I said before, I thought I would breastfeed for only 3 months. So I can't say when we will officially be weaned and I'm totally happy with my decisions so far. Both baby and I love our time together when he nurses.

So that's my little take on Breastfeeding,  what's yours!?

9 month checkup

Today was baby Kristian's 9 month checkup!

He weighs 16lbs

His doctor said he is a little on the lighter side but perfectly healthy and he is not concerned at all as is weight has been increasing perfectly for him. Kris is exactly at the developmental stage that he needs to be too, which is always great to hear.

He told me to continue feeding him all sorts of different foods and said not to worry at all and try everything!! He even said peanuts! But I'm not ready for that yet!

I asked about weaning from breastmilk within the next 2 months to homomilk he said to go ahead and do it. He said sippy cup only, no bottle. Which is fine Kris never took a bottle. He also told me not to be concerned about the reduction of milk. He wants to see his patients with less milk more foods. He has too many mothers drowning their kids appetites with milk. So he does not want me calling with concern if in 2 months Kris isn't drinking any milk Ahaha he actually said that once he weans off breastmilk he probably won't drink any other milk and I would just need to feed other things like cheese and yogurt daily. Our doctor is a little different on this topic than most books I read. But I trust him and feel good following what he suggests.

I feel much better now knowing that when I wean in 2 months Kris would have gotten all that he needed.

I got some great ideas from twitter friends on different foods to try.

So I have been changing up his meals. Mashing up foods we eat and giving him a variety.

Our next doctors appt will be at 12 months!

Second tooth and standing up!

Kristian's second tooth is out!

He loves to do things on his own. Like feed himself baby cookies.

I'm starting up a new menu for him. Adding more of chunkier foods and foods he can pick up and feed himself.

He is growing up sooo quickly!

He calls me mama! And when he wants to nurse he says mummummum haha so cute!

He will clap when you say clap and he is starting to lift himself up!

He wasn't fastened in his highchair last night and he stood up! Yikes!!!

Today we have his 9 month doctor check up. I'll post on that tomorrow!

Our first family vacation!

We just came back from our first family vacation! To Mexico!

 I did not know how it was going to be travelling with a 9 month old. I had to pack everything! I can say that I did over pack for the 4 day vacation we went on. But better have more than less!!

Kristian absolutely loved it!

And it was not hard either! Both ways I only needed to change him once on the plane and it was easy, the plane had a change table. We also took turns holding him in the plane and he was happy. 



I was impressed with my little travelling little boy.

On the way there he was awake the whole plane ride... about 3 hours to Mexico.




He loved looking out the window. He even clapped when everyone else did at the landing ahahh!

And on the way back he slept the whole time!

During the trip we let him lead us with his schedule everyday and it worked out.

We woke up daily around 8am, I fed him his cereal in our room then we went out to breakfast then to the beach or the pool.  Around 11am is his usual nap so we would either go back to the room for an hour or let him sleep on the beach. Same went for his afternoon and evening naps. We did get back to our room early (Not the single party trips with a baby haha!) We were in our room at about 10pm. 



The vacation was soo relaxing. We loved our hotel. Grand Sunset Princess in the Riviera Maya!

We brought a small umbrella stroller which was great to have, The resort was pretty big, so we did a lot of walking!

The weather was amazing!

Kristian loved being out in the sun all day! I kept him in the shade a lot and with a hat and Aveeno Baby sunscreen too!





He did nurse a lot more the past 5 days. I brought jarred baby food for him and he didn't want any of it! I fed him some fresh fruits and nursed him.  All was fine and he was happy.




He even slept great there too! waking only once to nurse!

I can't wait for our next family trip! We has sooo much fun!

9 months old and first trip to the Zoo!

Baby K you are 9 months! I can't believe it! In 2 months you will be going to Daycare full-time! My big boy!




Your appetite is stronger these days! You eat Cereal for breakfast, Fruits/veggies and a meat puree for lunch and fruit/veggie/meat and cereal for dinner! I feed you bits and pieces of some things like whole fruits and veggies and meats and bread tooo, depending on my lunch and dinner haha. You love the mum mum crackers, but boy are they messy. You are still breastfed. This week about 3x a day and 2x a night.

Your first bottom tooth finally came through! And the second one looks like it will be out soon!



You are sooo adorable! I love you sooo much! You are a little babble head, I swear I hear you repeat things I say, things like THIS and THAT and CHEESE and  BALL.You do repeat me when I laugh all the time which is so cute! You are always talking away when we are in the car too. 

You move your little bum and clap when you hear music, We can't get enough of that!


You are 16lbs and in size 4 diapers. You still fit in to some 6 month clothes but mostly 9 month clothes.


Some days you are up at 7pm, some at 830pm. Mommy likes the 8:30 time :) haha.

You love to be out and about. I take you everywhere pretty much! And we will be going on your first trip soon!

Today you went to the Zoo for the first time! You had a blast! It was a hot day!

Watching the butterflies

Fishy!

We love you soo much!

Just some weekend fun!

Fun at the the mall!

Shopping for baby K.

Some clothes and back to school items haha sounds funny but I keep calling daycare school.

Today at the mall Mickey and Minnie were there! So we stood in line to take pictures.



Kristian fell asleep while we were in line and I had to wake him up to meet Mickey. He was in a fog haha so wasn't too impressed.


Kris has been sleeping soooo much better lately. I'm soo happy about that!

His appetite is getting bigger too. I need to make even more food these days. This week I gave him a mix of food I made and jarred baby food too.

The last couple days I took him out the whole day from morning to night. I must say I am impressed with my little man. He is soo good for his mama. I'm able to go out and about with no problems. Love my little boy!



Today we are hitting the zoo! And today he is 9 months! another post to come later!

Our vacation is near!

Soon I'll be in the Riviera Maya at an all inclusive family trip!

Now that we have baby K, packing is much different. I use to only think of myself and what I needed to travel But this time I have been working on my list of what to bring for baby K!

I need to think of all his food to bring, spoons, bowls, toys, clothes, diapers, wipes, creams, blankets Etc my list is pretty long haha.

I wrote out a list to follow for traveling and a list of things while at the resort Ahah. Planning is key. I have everything I need and ready to travel!

We will be going for 4 days. So it's short but much needed ;)

I'm really excited for our first family trip!

I'm looking forward to not having to cook and clean for 4 days. Haha

Can't wait to see this cutie enjoy the beach ;)

Chicken soup purée

Yesterday DH was home with the flu! So I made a big pot of soup for him.

I sautéed onions, garlic, celery and carrots then added organic low salt chicken broth and some water. I then added chicken thighs and backs. Brought up to a boil added cilantro and bay leaves then simmered on low for 2 hours. I also added butternut squash near the end.


While that was cooking and baby K was playing so well in his playpen so I  also made pear, plum and pea purée for him.



Once the soup was ready I took out some chicken, carrots and squash and puréed it for baby K. He tried it yesterday and loved it! I made enough to freeze for the week. Yum!

Tonight's menu, enchiladas!

My sweet boy is growing up!

Baby K is almost 9 months old. The past week/ weekend I've seen soo many more changes in him.

He now claps and bounces when he hears music which is adorable!

He is gaining more strength and lifts off his toys to climb on them. He isn't crawling yet, but slithers and goes backwards and side to side haha.

He loves playing with toy balls throwing them and getting them back.
He loves playing in his playpen with all his toys. (great for me too, I can cook or do dishes as he plays ;)

He is starting to eat mum mums (baby crackers) alone! This is great for me too because he stays entertained with it!Ha!

He is eating a variety of foods these days. Tomorrow I have a new recipe I want to try out. Chicken and carrots with olive oil and onions! Delish! Hahaha

We are planning for our trip that's coming up! I have a huge list of what to bring! Eek! But I'm soo excited to see baby K play on the beach!

I took a CPR first aid course

Yesterday a couple friends and I took a CPR and first aid training course. It was 3 hours long and it taught us soo much!

I'm sooo glad I took this course. Especially now that I have a little one.
But I really think everyone should have some training on this.

In Ontario there's a 'good samaritan act' in Canada each province has it's own. Basically protects the person that offers someone help and that acts in good faith against any legal action afterwards. So if someone needs help and you can help, helping is way better than doing nothing at all!

We learned what to do when someone is choking and coughing and choking and not breathing, we learned what to do when when someone is passed out and not breathing... Taught us how to perform CPR on children and infants.

We learned how to assess the situation calmly without freaking out.. (hard part!) Calling or asking for help in a situation.

We learned the number one rule in water safety... Be in arms length of a child when in or around any water!

We learned basic first aid on how to treat bleeding with applying pressure... What to do with sprains and strains...

Also learned how to use a epipen and a AED (automated external defibrillator)

It was a great course!

I can tell you that during the course I felt nervous! And felt worried and scared about if I ever need to use what I just learned. But I'm soo glad I took this course. I feel way better knowing that I could offer help if ever needed.