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!

Breastfeeding part 1 (Truth behind breastfeeding Myths)

Okay, breastfeeding is unfortunately a sensitive subject in this culture.  It is possible that living in a country founded on capitalism might have a bit to do with it.  Without getting political, I would like you to consider this...  Who is going to make any money on a product that you can make by yourself and only you can make yourself?  You won't see so many advertisements for it, and you won't have pharmaceutical sales reps pushing it in doctors' offices.  On the contrary, they are going to be pushing for something that they can profit from even if it is an inferior product.

Why would people buy something that isn't as good as something they could get for free?  Because they are told that their bodies are lemons... their bodies are not good enough to make this awesome product.  But how often is it true really?  According to research, only 1-3% of women truly cannot breastfeed.  Yet, this is not what you would think with the sales of formula being so high. It breaks my heart when I hear a women say she wasn't able to breastfeed her child... especially when I know how much she wanted to.  From what I've personally heard from women who have said this, every single one of them, had extremely terrible advice given to them or doctors and nurses who simply didn't give them the time, encouragement and support they needed.

I myself was a formula bottle-fed baby.  I grew up to be a strong healthy women, who was even healthy enough to grow up and be a breastfeeder.  So I know that formula doesn't equal a terrible start to your baby. But if you truly desire to breastfeed you baby because you want to have that unique bond with your baby, or save serious money so you can spend that money on buying adorable baby clothes (because your breastfed baby is going to grow fast!) give breast your best!

Below is some information from Colorado State University about breastfeeding written to child care providers.  Another good source is La Leche League.

Truth Behind Breastfeeding Myths – Guidelines for Child Care Providers
Like many things in this world, there are truths and myths about breastfeeding. Many of the myths about breastfeeding keep women from breastfeeding their infants. Breastfeeding is the recommended method of infant feeding. Listed below are the truths about some common breastfeeding myths. This information can help you help parents know the facts.

I know that I can’t breastfeed!
According to many researchers, only 1-3% of women truly cannot breastfeed. Some reasons why a mother cannot breastfeed include a temporary illness or breast surgery which has damaged the milk ducts. Some mothers feel they cannot breastfeed because they did not breastfeed their other children. Often times increasing a mother’s knowledge on breastfeeding and giving her the proper support and encouragement will help her try breastfeeding her infant.

I am not producing enough milk!
Many mothers choose to quit breastfeeding because they feel they are not producing enough milk. For the first 2-3 days, mothers produce a small amount of colostrum, which is rich in protein, vitamins and immune-helping agents. Because it is produced in small amounts, many mothers think this is not enough for their infants, but it is! It is all that an infant needs for the first few days of life. Also, parents of breastfeeding infants often are concerned with the weight loss that occurs with newborn breastfed infants. If a parent is concerned about the amount of weight loss their infant is having, it would be important for you to tell them to talk to their health professional and/or a lactation consultant.

My breasts will look funny and sag if I breastfeed!
This is not true at all! Genetics control whether or not a woman’s breasts will sag and this often can occur with pregnancy, but not breastfeeding.

If I go back to work, I can’t breastfeed!
Working and breastfeeding can take a little extra planning! Many companies are supportive of breastfeeding especially if they know the benefits that breastfeeding can provide. These benefits include a healthier infant which will lead to his/her mother and father having to take less time off of work! It is good to purchase or rent a breast pump from local hospitals and health departments, including WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) so the mother can pump her breastmilk. Also, it is important for the working breastfeeding mother to have support from you, her child care provider.

I don’t have a good supply of milk because I am stressed and tired!
The most common causes of low milk supply are poor latch-on of the infant to the breast, poor positioning of the infant to the breast and not feeding the infant enough throughout the day. If a mother is feeling stressed or tired, it is important for her to find help among a supportive family member, friend, health professional or child care provider to help her decrease the amount of stress in her life if possible.

I don’t drink milk, so how can I make milk?
There is no mammal in this world that drinks milk to make milk for their infants. A mother does not have to drink milk to make milk.

If I breastfeed my baby, he/she will be spoiled later on in life!
Holding an infant while he/she is feeding is very important to reduce the infant’s chance of choking and ear infections. It is noted in research that infants who are held and cry less throughout the day appear to feel more safe and secure in their relationships with others as they get older.

If I breastfeed my baby, my mother or my baby’s father will not be able to bond with the infant!
Feeding is not the only way that other family members and friends can bond with the baby. Burping, diapering, bathing, rocking, holding, cuddling and playing with the infant are all things that are important for an infant’s growth, development and bonding with others. If a family member really wants to feed the baby breastmilk, it can be given in a bottle.

If I breastfeed my infant with on-demand feedings, my baby’s father and I will never have any alone time together!
Becoming a parent can change your lives forever – but this can be a positive thing! Whether a mother breastfeeds or formula feeds her baby, a newborn requires much attention for the first few weeks of life. It is important to know that a newborn infant’s needs will decrease over time. This is also a great time to work on developing your parenting skills together as a team. 

There's an app for that.

It is so great to have a smart phone when you have a baby. You can easily surf the web while you are at pediatrician appointments, feeding, or when you can't move from your seat because she finally fell asleep in your arms and you don't want to risk moving her. FaceTime becomes a feature you actually want to use when you are calling the grandparents! And best of all, the apps. For just a dollar or two you can buy an app to replace something the baby stores are charging you out the bum for. Here are just two examples, but to stay on a budget and keep your house from baby clutter, think: Is there an app for that?

I was so happy when my sister-in-law let me borrow her itsbeen to help me monitor my feedings and diaper changes. My mother said she knew me well and doubted I would use it. Boy was she wrong... for almost one week. The hardest part about it for me was keeping up with it. Every time I sat down to feed I would try to be prepared by having my water, my cell phone, my computer, and my itzbeen. After forgetting so many times I finally looked on my iPhone for an app and sure enough there were many! So finally I got to a point where I only had my phone to track feedings and I used my phone for the internet so I only had to keep up with it and my water. I'd say that even within 3 weeks I ditched the monitoring all together. She was growing at a healthy rate and I was feeding on demand anyway so it became pretty unnecessary. Skip the $25 itsbeen and go for the $1.99 app on this one. While there are plenty great ones to choose from, the one I settled on was the Baby Feeding Log by Aron Beaver.

It's true that white noise can help soothe a baby to sleep, but should you buy a special toy to make that noise? I say only if you love it and think its cute. But if you are like me and want to reduce toy clutter you can download the TMsoft White noise app. My favorite setting is on the free version- it sounds like you are in an airplane, but without the crying baby! It puts me to sleep just as well as it puts my baby to sleep. It also has a timer on it so you are not listening to it for 8 hours at night... (as if a baby sleeps 8 hours a night).

White Noise

Relax. Sleep Better. Feel Better.

Talking on the phone AND needing a white noise machine? Turn on the radio to static. It works like a charm on our baby when she gets upset in the car.

Real really simple nursery

When I was pregnant I did loads of googleing to find great ideas for keeping it simple when we had our baby. To my surprise that was not as easy as I had expected. For the most part I had to figure it out on my own. I suppose that is because not many advertisers want to advice you to buy as little as possible. But here I blog out of the goodness of my heart, not to sell you anything!

The picture above is how we started out. Our "nursery" was in the corner of our own bedroom. We actually have a second bedroom but with my mother staying with us for a few weeks to help us get adjusted while the baby was here, we wanted her to have her own room. We also just thought it would be easier to care for the baby in the middle of the night if everything we needed was in our room. That ended up working really well.

But let's break it down. A friend of mine gave me the wire drawers that have been great because I can see right through them and know exactly where everything is. The top drawer is filled with diapers so I don't even have to open it, I just grab from the top.

To the left of the wire baskets you will see the "diaper champ." AKA waste of money. It wasn't really helpful, obviously with cloth diapers being larger than disposables. I thought I could use it to throw wipes in but it didn't get the wipes into the bottom part very well. Also the wipes don't smell bad after even a poopy use, so it was pretty pointless and ended up in the recycling bin within a week of Baby being born. It was replaced with a small trash can we already had at our office desk. It has a step peddle to open the lid which helps make for quick disposal.

Also we have a small table set up with a lamp on it and baby wipes. Originally we had a wipes warmer. AKA waste of money #2. It really didn't keep the wipes so warm. By the time we took it from the warmer to the booty it was cool again. We also had to keep it warm by constantly wetting this pad on the bottom of it. And as it turns out, it doesn't bother the baby one bit to have a non warmed baby wipe. (update on this: I was actually at a friends house who had a lionheart wipes warmer and it actually worked pretty good.  Still not a necessity but at least I know they at least do work.)

If you want to keep it extra simple, skip the wipes all together! We told a friend of ours that we don't use wipes after a number one because the pediatrician said it wasn't necessary and even better for the works down there not to. They replied that they don't use wipes at all for one or two! They just run their baby's bottom under the water! I would love to do that, but the sink is way too far away to do that. It is my dream to have a bathroom big enough for our whole changing table set up though. That would be perfect and perhaps make Elimination Communication easier... what is Elimination Communication? It will have to be the topic of a completely different blog!

We also have one hamper for our cloth diapers which is pictured... and not pictured is a hamper we got later for messy baby clothes. Which we go through quicker than you would know!  (we now know that keeping a bib on the baby is a lot easier to change than her whole outfit- it catches drool and spit up well)

In the corner is our pack n play with built in changing table. Awesome! If you are trying to keep it simple in your house, always try to get combo deals like this. The changing pad has worked well for us. Baby A is 15 pounds and 25 inches long (yes she is in the 95% in weight and height) and this thing is holding out well. The pockets on the sides are great for holding diapering supplies. There is a place to hold just a few wet wipes. It is pretty pointless to use this because I'd be refilling it everyday. However if I were to take it on a trip, which I haven't yet, it would probably be useful then.  (update on this: we did travel with it and it is very difficult to take apart and put back together with the changing table and canopy on it.)

Graco Pack 'n Play Portable Baby Play Yard

As for the crib section... during the first month this sections was called the baby storage unit. We pretty much just thew blankets and toys in there as we got them from visitors. We kept her in the Rock N Play to sleep in. Eventually we cleaned out the baby storage unit and would place her in it on occasion for just a few minutes just so she would be in a safe place when I was in a pinch and needed to set her down. By two months old I was placing her in it for naps. Only recently I have placed her in it for a whole night's sleep. There is a mat that makes it into this "crib" like setting, that we can take out when she is older to play in. I'm not sure how that will go. It seems so small and cage like to contain a child in, but so far this pack n play has been awesome enough to make it worth its money even if we don't use the bottom part.

As I mentioned before she sleeps in a Fisher Price Rock N Play, pictured below.

Fisher-Price Newborn Rock 'n Play Sleeper

This thing is wonderful! I originally considered co-sleeping with the baby. There is some controversy over this, but seriously the only people who roll over their children and suffocate them are drunks and druggies. Occasionally she slept in bed with us, but it made for a slightly uncomfortable night for us as we were overly cautious not to roll over her... and also my husband is just a big guy and I'm a bed hog so we didn't really have room for a third. But if you are able to, I know that there are many different beds you can put in your bed for added security and safety for your baby. If you rather not add something in your bed and keep it simple, just be sure to do the safety research.

So our alternative was the Rock N Play. The rock n play sat by our bedside all night long. It has no electronics on it and can easily be moved all around the house. So wherever we needed her to be to nap she could nap there.

It also made the middle of the night feedings much easier. I just picked her up, laid her in bed with me to feed, and then when she fell back asleep, I just put her right back in.

It is at a incline which helps digestion I'm told. I am so grateful she has not suffered from colic but I'm told that this incline is really helpful to those colicky babies.

One more praise for this thing is that if your pediatricians and baby books have freaked you out about not letting babies roll over and sleep on their belly, you don't have to worry about it in this thing.

Our little girl seems to talk in her sleep so I wasn't getting very good sleep so we transitioned her into the other room. This transition has been super easy because she is still in her same rock n' play so she doesn't seem to notice or care.

Well I'm sure this blog isn't going to win any blog awards but I sure hope it helps someone out there in thinking of ways to keep their home baby simple. I will continue with more simple tips on bathing, diaper bags, and baby carriers next time.

Giving birth to a 10 pound baby.... naturally

We are ten days away from 3 months ago when I gave birth to Baby A. When the clock hit midnight July 23, 2011 a contracting pain in my back struck. Thus the name contractions.

Midwifes had been preparing me for what to expect so I would know it was a contraction and not just another random pain of pregnancy. As they said, it felt much like extreme minstrel cramps that radiated from my back to my front. I told Chris and he said, "That's great! You should get some sleep then!" He wasn't being a jerk, this is what the midwives and dulas had suggested. But it wasn't going to happen for me. I went for a walk.

My brother who was in town for the weekend and staying up late on the computer saw me walk out the door. He caught up with me quickly.

"Everything okay? Whatcha doin?"

"I think I'm in labor."

"What?! What are we doing out here?! Don't we need to do something?!"

He hadn't taken the "centering" courses Chris and I had that kept us a little bit calmer.

I told him that walking is good to do in early labor and because this was my first pregnancy it would probably take several hours before going into late labor. Then I changed the subject to just talk with him. He would be leaving for Ukraine in just two weeks so I wanted to have good bonding time.

I came home to lay in bed for a little while; not sleeping but just thinking and contracting. I downloaded an application on my iPhone that helped time contractions. In retrospect I should have bought this application before going intolabor and should have bought the full version rather than buying the free version that only allowed me to track a certain amount of contractions. This application was extremely helpful when answering the midwife's questions about my labor.

In the meantime I did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the bathroom, scrubbed the bathtub, and actually so much is a blur I don't remember what I did till 4 am when I finally called the birthing center. I spoke to the sleepy midwife on-call who felt I was a little too calm to be in labor. But my contractions were around 6 minutes apart and strong. She told me I could probably hold out a little longer. So I attempted to rest for an hour and called her again when they were 4 minutes apart. Another woman was in the birthing center giving birth so she said I could come in when I wanted since there would be people there anyway.

I took a shower and woke my mom to tell her what was going on. She braided my hair. Its so wonderful to have my mom braid my hair. My mother was the one to braid my hair when I was a child. Even into adulthood it has been a soothing experience to have my mamma braid my hair just as she did when I was a little girl.

Chris and I got in the Jeep around 7:00 am with the empty carseat in the back and headed to the Taco Cabana near the birthing center. All the way timing my contractions.

I had some doubts this whole time... was this really it? It felt different then anything before but I just had this feeling it wasn't really the time. Perhaps I was just fearful and it manifested itself in doubt. I texted my friend Felicia F who said she would photograph the birth, to tell her that we were headed to the birthing center and she could take her time coming up there when she was ready. I expressed my doubt to her. But she told me not to worry, it was time.

I had a couple flautas at Taco C and vomited them quickly. Another sign of labor. So we headed over to the birthing center to meet with the midwife. She checked me out and I was indeed more dilated than she expected. I've since heard that many of the women who have gone to Centering classes have remained calm during their labor and confused midwives into thinking they were not very far along. So I continued my early labor in the beautiful birthing center room. Chris was by my side the whole time.

Chris massaged my back through the contractions. I laid on a birthing ball (exercise ball) for a while to relieve some of the pressure. We did something like a middle school dance for a while that also helped with the pressure. Then eventually I laid on the bed and rested. Every time I contracted I would tap him on the arm without talking and he would massage my back. (Okay maybe it was more like a loving punch in the arm.) I was starting to look a little to pale and throwing up frequently so they put me on a liquids through IV.

My mom came in at some point too. She sat on the other side of me and just softly rubbed my

arms as I asked her to do. This was something she and my dad would do for me as a little girl to help me sleep. Of course it didn't put me to sleep but it did help relax me. I even stopped telling Chris I was contracting so he thought I had stopped having contractions. But they were still there and still strong, I just finally was able to bear the pain a bit better.

Eventually a new midwife was on duty, Vicki. She checked me out and I was dilated enough that I was beginning heavy labor. The assistant filled the bathtub and I got in. I was in that tub from noon till about 2:30. The pushing was difficult. Chris was behind me the whole time holding my arms up in the tub. At one point he was shaking so much I asked, "why are YOU shaking!?" He said his arms were going to sleep!

After two and a half hours I just wasn't progressing enough. The position wasn't working for me. Vicki, who had been sitting there with me the entire time, told the assistantto get out the birthing stool. I was really hoping for a water birth but at this point I cared more about getting the baby out than having a pretty water birth for the photo books. So I got on the stool as she suggested and started pushing. I was feeling extremely weak and having trouble breathing so the assistant gave me oxygen that really helped clear my head and let me focus better. Then things really started moving.

Chris supported me from behind the whole time. He had one of his hands on my belly and he said he could feel the foot in my belly start moving down.

After maybe 30 minutes on the stool the baby's head started to come out. Vicki suggested I get up on the bed (to reduce the chances of tearing I found out later) but I couldn't do it. I didn't want to get up and just wanted to get the baby out. So I took some big pushes and out the baby came!

My first words were: "THAT FELT SO WEIRD!"

The midwife sitting on the floor caught the baby and the assistant helped wipe her down and handed her straight to me as they both cleared the mouth so she could breathe.

I said, "Hello baby, I'm your mommy." Then I looked down at her and asked "Are you a boy or a girl?" Chris took her legs and tried to separate them frantically but gently to find the answer and said, "It's a girl."

He had tears in his eyes. I was so happy in that moment. We embraced and never in our lives had we felt so close.

After just a few minutes they asked me to get on the bed so I could deliver the placenta and get the cord cut... I don't remember in which order it all happened so fast. They asked Chris to cut the cord but I suppose he was so overwhelmed at just looking at the baby on my chest that he told my mother she could do it. She cried and her hands shook as she proudly cut the cord.

I had a considerable amount of tearing ... the baby's head was 15 and 1/4 inches around! So Vicki sat on the bed to sew me back up while Chris and I just admired our little baby who sat on my chest.

Family sat on the other side of the door anxious to get in, but Vicki insisted we be alone with the baby till I was done being worked on. It was a little painful despite the topical numbing drugs they gave me before she began the stitches, but having Baby A helped distract from the pain.

After they cleaned up the room and cleaned me up a bit they allowed family and friends in. Everyone took their turn holding the precious baby. Neill brought me McDonalds that I tried to eat but felt too excited to eat. While everyone was present, Vicki measured Adelaide and checked her out. What a joyous moment it was when the scale said TEN POUNDS. Everyone cheered, giving me a little nod of respect.

When everyone had left I got up to use the bathroom for the first time and I fainted. They quickly got me into bed to give me an IV and oxygen. Vicki insisted I eat more and drink a whole smoothie that Chris prepared in the birthing center's kitchen. I simply lost more blood than normal while giving birth and it just took me a couple hours to feel better.

So she was born at 3:12 pm and around 9:00 pm that same day we headed home with her in the backseat carseat of the Jeep.

Would I do it again? It's the question everyone asks. Yes I would. From what I've heard, my experience was one of the more extreme ones; most women do not get IVs or oxygen or faint. The likelihood of it being so difficult the second time are pretty low... and that wasn't even so difficult. I'm glad I was very present for the birth rather than in a drug blur.

The care was unbelievable too. If I was in a hospital trying for a natural birth, the doctor would likely have only been there to "catch" the baby not there the whole labor as Vicki was. Then again, most doctors would have pulled an "emergency" cesarian after such a long hard labor rather than just getting me to switch positions. Also most doctors won't sit on the floor to deliver a baby.

But to be fair, if I didn't have that option, and maybe lived in a town where birthing centers were not available and there were no reliable midwives then I would have the baby in a hospital. The baby would still be born, and I would still be a happy mommy in love with my daughter.

I believe that even babies born via cesarian are born "naturally." You can't look into a baby's eyes and say she is not natural because she was born in a surgery. They just were brought into the world a little differently.

But if you are a healthy woman having a single baby pregnancy, I would highly recommend having a baby this way. I've not met one women who has regretted it.

For a great documentary to get a better idea of what the midwife experience is like, please watch "The Business of Being Born."

Bigger News

It seems something as big as this I would have posted the day I discovered it. But it was too much to blog about. The same day as my last post I was feeling a little sick. Like sea-sick, every time I bent over to pick something up off my messy floor I felt a little nauseated. I first blamed it on my new glasses. So I took them off. Then I started thinking about the past month and one week, and thinking about an event that hadn't taken place yet. Usually nothing tobe alarmed about as this happens often enough. But that mixed with the feeling of nausea just made me a little worried.

Of course I knew it was possible, but was told it was also unlikely. Due to

the doctor's beliefs that I had endometriosis and a medication I was on the year previous said that it often gives women a lot of difficulty conceiving, I believed it was highly unlikely that I could be pregnant even though we were not taking all the precautions in the world to prevent it.

However, anytime I feel a bit sick, it's Chris's joke to say "I bet you are pregnant." Sometimes I wonder if he was wishfully jokingor if he just thought I was complaining too much. So I went ahead to the pharmacy to geta test.

Got home, did the thing, waited 2 minutes. Well, I looked after about 1 m

inute to see the double line. Double line means your pregnant. Okay, so maybe the 2nd line will go away by the 2nd minute. 5 minutes pass and it is still there.

Suddenly I couldn't decide if I was happy, scared, nervous, or some othe

r feeling that other languages have a word for but english doesn't. Why must Ionly speak one language?!

How would I tell Chris? Should I wait a couple days? Should I call him now?

I went to the little kids toy store not far from my house for some inspira

tion. It was there. A ugly but slightly cute pea in the pod stuffed toy. The

pod made a perfect place for me to slip in the pregnancy test next to the baby pea. I had it wrapped up and called up Chris to tell him we were going out that night to celebrate me getting new glasses. I picked him up- he suspected nothing. We went for a walk around downtown Austin- he suspected I wanted to eat out somewhere expensive. I tookhim to the Capital where I told him I wanted to give him a present as we sat at a bench in front of the steps. I told him I wanted to give him a present- he suspected another lame shirt.

As he opened the present to see the ugly but slightly cute pea in the podhe laughed a little in confusion. Then as he looked at the test, itall started to click. He was excited.

Since then.

Well I had a few days to be excited, and then it started going downhill with some serious morning sickness that lasted from morning to evening and into the night. I went to the doctor several times to figure out something to help me keep food down. I took some different medicines (I ended up sticking with Metoclopramide) but nothing really worked. The best thing I could do is just stay at home and rest. Even getting in the car made me ill. The drive to Thanksgiving in Mountain Home Arkansas with my Dad's side of the family was so rough... If I didn't understand anatomy I would have thought I thew up the little baby.

Today is my first day of my second tri-mester and things are settling down a bit... I'm talking mostly about settling in my tummy. Car sick is still my main problem. Even when I am the driver! Once I get sick it takes hours to feel better. Then if I drive for hours as I did this weekend to go see my family in Hallsville, I'm sick for a couple days. If only I could stay home all day or ride my bike everywhere for the next 7 months.

I wonder how often I will post about this new big thing in my life.