>exercise ball

>When we learned of our first child we researched all the baby gear to help keep her calm and happy. Swings. Bouncers. Vibrating chairs. Noise machines. All cool things, but none of which she enjoyed for more than five minutes, making the things we did purchased wasted dollars.

Then, in a new parents group, we discovered a new use for an exercise ball… A way to soothe our infant. And we began bouncing. And bouncing. And bouncing. And we had a happy baby.

Now that baby number two is here, we continue to bounce. And bounce. And bounce. And she’s happy, too.

My advice? Before shelling the cash out for the fancy baby gear, give your little one a bounce. Exercise balls run about $10, so if your kiddo doesn’t like it, it doesn’t break the bank.

— Post From My iPad

>poop euphoria

>Never thought id be this excited about someone else’s poop… But Hayden had a breast milk poop last night and she only received two bottles yesterday… Which means she took it from me and enough to generate poop (and spit up). She is nursing as I type this for the third time today. We may have turned a corner. Now if we can just lose the nipple shield!

— Post From My iPad

>more boob

>I’m currently sitting here (on my iPad) typing and pumping. Sadly, my supply has diminished greatly, so I am on fenugreek, milk thistle and power pumping to get the supply back up. Getting Hayden to latch long enough to eat a substantial amount is still challenging, but we are continuing to try. I will at least pump for a couple more weeks then move on with formula, should we never achieve a good latch.

In the mean time, we are washing her four bottles and my pump gear repeatedly. Hoping for a latch soon… I hate doing dishes!

— Post From My iPad

>bottle maham

>

I remember when I was pregnant and preparing my registry for my upcoming baby shower I was completely overwhelmed. There are so many gadgets and do-dads that a mom’s head can spin. But I remember the one thing that just about made my head spin off my neck was selecting bottles.

There are bottles that prevent gas. Bottles that for colic. Glass bottles. BPA free plastic bottles (which they all are, now). Bottles that fed the baby without your assistance. So many choices… What was a mom-to-be to do?

I planned (and did) to nurse, but thought I should be prepared in the event that didn’t happen – immediately or ever. So I registered. I thought I wanted glass bottles, but I got the opinions on those. And I was in some agreement. Since plastics had all become BPA free, it made sense to venture down that road for when we get to the point that the baby could hold their own bottle. Finally, I settled on the basic, BPA free Evenflo bottle that didn’t have any bells and whistles. At least big bucks weren’t spent should it not be used OR it be the wrong bottle all together.

Then Hadley arrived. And while we did the nursing juggle the first couple of weeks, she was able to nurse. But these bottles… The no frills bottles fed her so much quicker that she preferred them over my boob, making nursing a bit of a challenge. But could you blame her? She’s a hungry growing baby, who would want to work for food?

Off to Babies R Us I went… Again. In search of something else. Something that made her work for her food until we could make it work together. There I stood. With all my baby gear that I thought I had to have on me… Baby in the car seat, popped in the shopping cart. The hated diaper bag with enough diapers and wipes for a week, plus two changes of clothes (It was a ridiculous amount of stuff and I learned to minimize in the coming weeks). This nice woman with an older newborn saw that my new mommy head was about to spin again and offere

d her two cents. “Try the Born Free.” Of course, they were the priciest of the bunch at $10 per bottle. But I grabbed the $50 starter pack and off to the counter I went to shell the cash out.

The same day, my mother arrived to help with Hadley. We went to Day One baby center, which was up the street from our house. It’s one of those one stop shops… The sell clothes, strollers, toys, baby wearing gear, books. They offer lactation consulting,

baby care classes, and new mom groups. It’s an awesome place (and pri

cey, too). There, my mother purchased a bottle that looked like a boob. Literally. It looked like a big ole boob. And that sucker was pricey, too. Like $14 or so.

So we went home with our wares and took them for a test drive. The boob leaked. Like my boobs were leaking, only worse. Which was a pisser considering it was so expensive. That boob found it’s way into the trash can that evening. But the Born Free seemed to slow my ravenous child down.

We still use those Born Free bottles with sippy lids. They are the only cups that Hadley will drink milk from. She will use regular cups for juice and water, but milk must be in the Born Free’s and nothing else can go into them.

With Hayden… Well, nursing is a different struggle. The lactation consultant recommended that we use First Years Breastflow bottles. These bottles are $5 or so a bottle ($12 for a three pack) and are awesome for a baby you are trying to teach to nurse. Maybe more awesome than the Born Free’s. Basically, there are two nipple chambers that the baby has to suck the milk through, replicating what it is to nurse. The feeds take some time because the babies have to work, but considering I am trying to get her onto the boob I feel like she isn’t getting used to a quick flow.

When moms-to-be ask my opinion on bottles I recommend the following… Wait till the baby is here! Figure out if they will nurse. If they are gassy. Don’t spend a lot of money on bottles until you are sure you know the kind of eater your child is. And don’t let the process make you lose your head… Your baby will eat, whether its from your boob, or a Born Free, or Breastflow, or Dr. Browns, or Evenflo. It will all work out.

>nursing update

>According to the loaner scale, Hayden took 2.5 ounces from the tap this morning. This mama is feeling more encouraged! Need to keep this going, not let her get to the crying hungry point, or too busy with my day.

— Post From My iPad

>game plan

>We took Hayden to her 2-4 week well baby appointment yesterday and the doctor is happy with her weight gain, albeit she is still little.

Today we went back to the lactation consultant and I was pumped because it seemed Hayden was nursing successfully, mainly because I would feed when I was completely full and could feel my breasts lightening. But it didn’t work that way at the lactation consultant’s office. No. She consumed .1 ounces in 45 minutes. Probably because she was wanting to sleep instead of eat. But it left me deflated.

The lactation consultant kindly lent me a scale to take home to do pre and post feed weigh ins to see if those successful feeds were in fact successes. My fingers are crossed that it will show that she is nursing and just needs to practice. But if we don’t see this happen by Friday, Jonathan and I decided that we would go to 100% formula and let me dry up.

I’m sad at this thought. But pumping eight times a day is taxing. And being frustrated is even more taxing. So I must relent…

>Hadley quip

>While I was pumping my boobs this morning, Hadley was enjoying her cup of milk. She tapped her cup against one of the pump bottles and said “Cheers!”

Then she said, “The mama, the pump.”

Exactly… I’m one with the pump.

— Post From My iPad

>gadget love

>Greetings from my new iPad!

I don’t know when it happened, but I became a sucker for gadgets, especially Apple gadgets. I’ve been a Mac user most of my professional career and have probably owned a good handful of their products.

I made the mistake of test driving an iPad at Best Buy on Sunday. It was all I could talk about, which was probably a nice reprieve for Jonathan from my normal convo of boobs and milk and latching. Obviously, I was in love with this thing! And he fed my new obsession by purchasing me one as a surprise yesterday.

Things I like about the iPad:
– I love that it syncs with my Mac Mini desktop, keeping data updated on both machines. Since Hayden’s arrival, I have been using my old Mac laptop, that is beyond glitchy, doesn’t stay online well, and doesn’t sync with my desktop. But its handy for laying in bed with nursing babies.
– Who wouldn’t love it’s sleek, pretty design!
– There are lots of cool, free (or low cost) apps.
– It supports iWork, even though I will likely stick to my desktop for projects that require iWork.
– Its portable… In my purse!

Things that could be better:
– I wish there was a camera for still photos and to iChat. I bet future models will have this feature.
– the keyboard is a little cumbersome, but I will get used to it. I just don’t know how they can make it better. At least they offer an external keyboard.
– The cost of some apps and books.
– A USB port might be handy, but then again its meant to be an addition to your computer, not just your computer.

All in all, a really neato burrito gadget!

>guilty irritation

>One of the most upsetting things to me about raising an (infant) toddler with a newborn is the irritation I feel towards her at times.  It’s terrible that I’m even admitting this, but I must be honest here.

Don’t get me wrong…  Hadley is the most beautiful, sweet, loving and (generally) well behaved child with the best personality.  What’s not to love!?  I’m so in love with her I feel like I keep myself from bursting every moment, of every day in the short 21 months she has been with us.

But since baby has arrived, she has a needy side that often comes out in wirey misbehavior.  Especially at night. At bedtime.  And while I know what is happening (and really if this is what it is, it’s not that bad in comparison to what I’ve heard), I can’t be angry and must keep patient.  But then there is that long night happened with our, sometimes, collicy newborn, and I am over the top exhausted, I find myself feeling irritated.  

And I hate it.  Then I cry. Because I’m irritated.  And I feel bad about feeling irritated. Which is completely irrational.

Jonathan, bless his patients with me, reminds me that my kids don’t have to please me every moment of every day.  It’s OK to feel irritated.  And there are plenty of irritating moments to come.  That it doesn’t diminish the mommy I am to her.

All this makes me feel better.

But I still feel terrible when I feel irritated with her.

>living temporary

>I think we’ve been living in temporary situations for too long… And here we are in the best situation yet – steps from the beach – and we are anxious to get moved. If we could move to Minnesota today, we would.

Have you ever felt like buying flowers for your table and stop yourself because it isn’t your home? Even if you are going to be there for several more weeks? I’ve felt like this for the two and a half years and I am over the top excited to move into the home that we own. To buy things to decorate. To paint the walls. To buy flowers and enjoy seeing them on my table.

And we are getting closer to our move. We’ve booked our moving container and it will be at our home in Minnesota on June 4th. Jonathan is leaving on May 28th to move the car there, complete some painting and furniture assembly. My aunt, the girls and I are flying out on June 5th.

Looking forward to buying flowers for my table.