Sip n See Party

This afternoon I hosted a "Sip N See" for my sister-in-law."  In late December she gave birth to her first daughter, her second child.  She has plenty of baby gear from her 1st who is now about 19 months old and she was given a work shower where she received loads of girly items.  So this party was not about giving the mother and baby gifts but just celebrating the baby girl and mamma.  

Since Sip n See's are a rather new trend in these parts, and we wanted to make sure it was not confused for a "shower" where she'd receive more gifts.  So I thought it would be fun to make crafts at the party!.  Finally, I had an opportunity to try out some of my pinterest pins!  On the invitation I stated we would be doing crafts rather than gifts.  I had hoped this would make it clear that it wasn't a baby shower and it worked.

Before the party, my mother-in-law and I prepared bags of crafts.  Each had the materials needed inside with a note on how to do it.  I marked each bag with a black, purple, or pink bow to say if it was a difficult, medium, or easy craft.  Really none of them were super difficult but people that love crafting might like to do more involved crafts while people who don't could just do the simple glue on a bow type craft.

A plus to having a Sip N See rather than a shower before the baby is 

born is the mamma can enjoy adult beverages!  

Chocolate fondue fountain for desert.

Ladies sippin' and creatin'

A few boxes were set out of random crafty items for people to do a little more than what I put in the bag. 

When a craft was finished the crafter could bring it to the mom and baby.  

Creating a tutu

Even the little guests participate

The whole party with their creations!

This party was a relaxed way for friends and family to see and hold the new baby.

Everything made at the party.

We had a lot of fun, and I think that my sister in law really liked it.  She was hoping to have a stress free get together and that's just what we had!

Cloth Diapering

I bought 4 flip diaper covers for $13.95 each ($55.95)
(and then with my luck the next week they were by one get one free- oh well)
and then about 35 prefolds at $1. 78 ($62.30)
3 Stay Dry Inserts totaling $12.95
Total cost: $131.20
Added cost: $0.21 per laundry load

Not bad right?  Of course it actually cost me more than $131 because I bought several other diaper methods till I found this one.  If I would have figured it out in the first place it would have only been $131.20 plus about a dollar per month on laundry!  (I wash about once a week- would need to wash more if I wasn't practicing elimination communication)  I hope my findings can help someone skip all the hassle of experimenting and just jump to this system.

A few months ago I did this video on prefolds and I think it is pretty useful if you just prefer using a different type of cover (other companies DO have some designs that are much more cute than Flip but in my opinion not as simple and not one-size).



But this video is my more recent video as I have discovered the simplicity of Flip!

Adelaide's Room

Probably four months ago, we converted the guest room into Adelaide's room.  The set up changes month to month, but I've finally gotten it to a place I like now.... I think.  So I took some photos and before I did I thought, oh I should put the pretty flowery blanket and matching pillows down and put the cool headboard up so this photo ends up on everyone's pinterest across the country.  But then I realized I should keep it real. ;)  I at least tidied up a bit first... here is what we got...

You can see baby over by the basket by her bed... she loves rubbing her hand up and down the wicker.  Babies love the most random things.  

We have a queen sized mattress on the floor.  I got the idea from someone who introduced me to Montessori style nurseries. (Click on the link to learn more)

I believe feeding at night time is very good for baby health so I feed her 2-3 times (on her cue) through out her 10-12 hour night sleep.  I end up in the bed with her for probably half the night...I fall asleep while feeding her and she falls asleep while eating!  When we have house guests, we allow them to stay in our room and Chris and I both sleep in there with her.  We're not a full-time, year-around, co-sleeping family.  We're not against it, but just find it better for us personally not to do it all the time. 

Since she is a crawler and roller now, I've started lining the bed with pillows at night so that if she rolls she doesn't roll off and bonk her head.  Its not life threatening if she does, but no one wants to wake up to a thud on the head!  I also have the video monitor so I usually know when she starts rolling away.  As she gets older we will come up with new ideas as we need to. 

I often have a few layers of blankets on the bed so that if she spits up in the middle of the night (she has some major spitting up messes sometimes) I can just pull off one layer without having to change the sheets completely in the middle of the night.  

Using a mattress with regular sheets and blankets should be done with caution from what I hear.  Our baby is able to roll around on her own and sit up with no problem so we don't have to worry about some of the things that you have to worry about with much younger babies or less developed babies... I guess.  I just thought it'd be responsible for me to mention that.  Do the proper research to see if this is right for you.  Or ask me, I'd be glad to help you talk it through.

The closets in our house have those folding out doors that always seem to get off track and they take up unneccisary space... so I just took them down and threw 'em in the attic!  No more hiding things in the closets, but I like feeling like there is just a tad bit more open space.  I was able to put a piece of furniture in there (where I keep her cloth diapers) and her little potty!  Its like she has her own bathroom.  

Well let me stop being so wordy and just show you the rest in pictures:

Top of the chest of drawers.  I got them and her
whole bedroom set off of Craigslist!  

Matryoshka doll my mom brought home from
Eastern Europe back in 2008.

Whimsical little lamp my brother gave me for Christmas back when we were in college.
To the left of the lamp is the video monitor.

A hat Chris wore as a baby, a piggy bank from Chris' mom,
and a sweet bedtime book with matching rabbit.

What is that purple thing?
A normal bean bag chair?

No!  It's a stuffed animal holder!  She has so many, now we have a place to put them all.
It also doubles as a nice chair or pillow.

The butterfly and the elephant were decorations from a shower someone gave me.
I just glued on some ribbon from a gift and they became bow holders!

Ziplock containers make good dividers for small things in the drawers.

Long sleeve shirts on one side, Long sleeved onesies on the other.

Short sleeved shirts on one side short sleeved onesies on the other. 

And on the bottom drawer all the pants I rarely put on her.  Life is too short to mess with baby pants!  I usually only put them on for photo ops and special occasions.  Leg warmers keep her legs warm the rest of the time.

During my photo shoot she decided to stand up!  What a strong baby!

Box of books... I bet I need to move those so she doesn't tare them up when she starts crawling in that direction.
Basket of blocks I move around the house depending on where we are.

Sweet rocking chair with a horse rocking on it... Rocking horse?

Oh here is a picture of that wire drawer set by the potty....  that little green thing is a potty when you lift the lid.
I also keep some cleaning supplies hanging at the top of the drawers for a quick clean up.

So that was Adelaide's room as it is today!  It will likely change by next month but I like it how it is for now :)

Breastfeeding Part 3 (Chastity's experience)

Fun thing about Facebook is talking to people you haven't talked to in 10 years.  One such person for me was Chastity.  We went to Hallsville High School together and haven't spoken since but with the beauty of Facebook she messaged me when I had my baby.  A year before me she had a baby boy prematurely and had to learn a lot about pumping.  She gave me all sorts of tips and while I rarely pump, I know many of my friends will need to so I want to share her wisdom.  After all, its my friends I'm writing this blog for.  It's my way of passively giving unsolicited advice when they have their babies. ;)

So with Chastity's permission I'm going to basically copy and paste our Facebook conversation... minus the parts about if we are going to our 10 year reunion or not, and added a few bolds so if you want to skip to some good stuff.

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  9 August 201
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  11 August 2011

  Chastity 

  • We're doing great! It takes time to adjust to having a baby but so worth it!
    How is nursing working out for yall? My son was premature and I wasn't able to nurse. I exclusively pumped for just over 7 months with a supply of 50+ ounces a day. I was able to fill a 5.0 cu ft deep freezer and have enough breast milk to get him through his first birthday! I can't be much help nursing but if you pump at all, I might be able to help if you have and questions 
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  11 August 2011

  Elizabeth A Guilbeau

  • Wow that's a lot of milk! That's great that you were able to do that- after all "breast is best!". Nursing is going okay for us. She came out ready to nurse so I was pretty luck there. Since I've gotten more tired recently it's been more difficult to stay on a good routine though.
    
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  11 August 2011

  Elizabeth A Guilbeau

  • Oh and btw, what kind of pump did u use? Mine is already starting to act up- I might need a new/different kind soon.
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  11 August 2011

  Chastity

  • Because my son came early (it was expected but still a surprise if that makes sense) I hadn't bought a pump yet. The hospital set me up there with a Medela symphony that seemed to work well. When I had to leave the hospital, they set me up with a rental because my insurance paid for it. It was a Lactina something. Older model but it worked for me. I rented it from Good Shepherd [hospital] but for some reason they stopped doing that so I had to buy one. I strongly recommend buying the medela freestyle. I only used mine a couple weeks but it was so nice. You can walk around and fold laundry, do dishes, even go to the bathroom! I can't tell you how many times I sat down to pump only to have to stop to go pee lol. 
    
    
    No matter what, if you pump you HAVE to make a hands free bra. You can buy them but they are $30-$35 each most places. I can not tell you how much easier and less stressful this bra will make pumping. I think I ended up making 5 or so to make sure I always had one. Also you have to make sure your shield size is correct. It can determine your milk supply and cause clogged duct and mastitis if your shield is too small. Don't be surprised if after awhile it seems your normal size is too small. I had to buy a bigger size after pumping awhile. Staying on a schedule, nursing or pumping, is extremely important. 
    
    
    I pumped around the clock every 3-4 hours for 7 months! I was exhausted! They say it takes about 12 weeks for your supply to be more stable, I say at least 16 weeks. Are you having any problems with your supply? There are lots of things you can do and take to up it. I took fenugreek for a few days to try to get my milk to come in faster but didn't take anything after that. Also how is she on your milk? Matthew had a lot of gas issues but I think it was due more to him being premature and still adjusting.
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  12 August 2011

  Elizabeth A Guilbeau

  • Actually she has TERRIBLE gas! It is the only thing she is fussy about. It makes me sad because I dont know what to do to sooth her when she is working out a toot... Though when she does finally get it out it is soooo funny! How does such a big noise come out of such a little bottom?
    So I have been a little worried about my supply. The midwife said I shouldn't worry cause I am making exactly how much she needs- problem with that is that I have none stored up for situations when it's awkward to pull out the boob. I've never heard of what you are suggesting, but I might give it a try. I welcome any other suggestions too.
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  14 August 2011

  Chastity 

  • Sorry it has taken me so long! Try taking acidophilus. It will go through your milk to her and it should help. I'm not sure how long it will take because I was able to pump so much milk I was always ahead of him. You should ask your peditrician about it though because it can be given to babies. I think Matthew was too small at first and that's why ours asked me to take it. I was told that the chances of it being something I was eating were pretty slim but I seemed to notice when I ate green veggies especially broccoli that he seemed more gassy. 
    
    
    Also someone at my baby shower gave us a "frosty bear". It's basically just a cold/hot gel filled pack. We would microwave it a few seconds then wrap it in a towel and put it on his belly. It would help almost immediately. Sometimes it fixed it and sometimes it didnt last long but in the least it gave us all a break. 
    
    
    As for your supply, you can take fenugreek. It's suppose to be natural. I can't say really how much of a difference it makes because I didnt take much but I've read a lot of good things. There is also mother's milk or tea. 
    
    
    You have to massage. I'm not sure why it makes such a difference but it helps to stimulate your milk production. If you massage for a minute or two before you pump or nurse it will help you have a let down a little quicker too. If you ever feel any knots or have sore spots make sure to massage a little extra there while nursing or pumping because it is probably a clogged duct and that helps to loosen it. I personally pumped both sides everytime. I feel like this made a big difference in how much I produced. I know some are saying now to nurse one side the full feeding and switch sides the next. I recommend getting a cheap nursing bra with the pull down flaps. This way you can nurse on one side and use the other side to pump hands free. 
    
    
    Using a hands free bra is the biggest suggestion I can give anyone wanting to pump. All you need is a cheap bra ( I bought the 3 for $10 sports bras at walmart) and make slits in them. Put it on and mark about where your nipples hit in the cup with a sharpie. Cut where the slit is but make sure you start with a pretty small hole. Your going to slide the neck of the shield through the hole but your going to want to make sure it fits tight so it stays in place. Just hook your pump up like normal and you should be able to pump without holding the shields in place. If that doesn't make sense let me know lol. This makes it so much easier to massage wtihout spilling milk. Do you plan on trying to pump enough to freeze or just to keep a couple in the fridge just incase?
    
    When I found out I was pregnant, I signed up with babycenter.com. In their community section, I found a message board for exclusive pumpers. That's where I found most of my help and tips. They have other boards too for pretty much everything. You may try reading some through the boards on there if you don't already.
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  27 August 2011

  Elizabeth A Guilbeau

  • Hey Chasitity!
    So I'm sitting here pumping away, and I remembered that I never thanked you for all your advice! I've taken a lot of what you said and applied it.  I haven't made a bra yet, but I love that idea! A few months ago I found one on sale and I keep using it, but if I need another one I'm going to use your idea.
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  30 August 2011

  Chastity 

  • Your so welcome! I don't think I mentioned it earlier, but of you plan to freeze any of your milk be sure to defrost it in a ziploc bag. The milk bags you buy to freeze it in are awful about leaking! I stopped pumping the beginning of April and Matthew just had his last bag of breast milk Friday. He will be 1 September 13th. When I stopped pumping I calculated him cutting back on his milk around 9 months only to find out that because he was premature he wouldn't cut back until right at a year old. I also lost a good bit of milk with the bags leaking, especially when the milk bag leaks as well as the ziploc bag. I'm a little sad he didn't get a complete year of breast milk because I thought I was freezing enough to get us just past that. I can't complain though. I got about 2 1/2 weeks less than a year of free milk if you don't count all the time and work that goes into it  If you have any questions or just want to talk, let me know! I'll be as much help as I can.
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