>must have monday: the moby wrap

>Recently I took Hadley and Hayden to a birthday party at Gymboree by myself. As my luck would have it, Hayden decided to scream and refused to sit in the sling. I had to rely on others to engage and keep Hadley safe, and I was so upset.

One of the moms at the party has two kiddos who are older, but the same age difference. She recommended the Moby Wrap. She said when her eldest was around Hadley’s age, she was able to put her newborn in the wrap, feel safe that she was snug and was able to nurse her in it.

My head was reeling and I wanted one, pronto.

I purchased mine used, but the Moby’s are certainly not expensive (starting around $40). You can purchase them on their website, http://www.mobywrap.com, or at specialty shops. You won’t find the Moby at Babies R Us or other large chains (at least here in Orange County).

There is a lot of fabric, but once I got the basic wrap down and Hayden inside for the first time, I quickly realized that she was snug and secure. And then I felt comfortable trying other positions.

On that note, the Moby seems to be able to handle many positions, which a lot of carriers can not. There’s the front position facing in and out. You can carry them cradled, like a sling. Hip carry. Breastfeeding. You can carry twins. Shoot, when they are walking, you can probably tie it around their waist and use it like a leash (just kidding) (maybe not). Needless to say more, it is very versatile once you get the hang of it.

So, Hayden has been responding well to it. Jonathan even put it on when she was on his watch the other day. I’ve been putting it on before going anywhere (kind of like a shirt) and I pop her in as needed.

My one gripe… She is still so little that she needs support and all the fabric can be warm. Especially if you are out and about on a warm day.

Other than that, a super cool carrier! I highly recommend.

(sorry no pics, my desktop computer is enroute to our new home. I will be iPadding this week)
— Post From My iPad

>family friday: hadley quip

>Last night as Hadley finished up her dinner, she laid her head on the table and said “I sleep.” So we put jammies on, she enjoyed her evening milk and a few minutes later she was out. Like a light.

>family friday: hayden – two months old

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Hayden, my love,

You turned two months on Wednesday and we celebrated with a visit to the doctor’s office that included your vaccinations. “I sorry” as Hadley would say. But you were a champ and oh my goodness how you have grown. Your stats:

Head: 37 cm

Height: 22 in

Weight: 10.57 lb

Doc says you are growing beautifully and he was quite taken with you. He worked so hard to get you to smile. You had one on your lips, but you just wouldn’t give it up. That’s right, play hard to get, my love.

You are nursing much better, too! In fact, if we didn’t have the distractions that we do, I think you would camp on the boob much like your sister did. But, we are a busy family and I am quite content with the breastmilk to formula ratio we have established. Obviously, the most important thing is that you eat and are well nourished, but I am so glad we are able to have the time we do nurse to bond. It reminds me of those wonderful moments with Hadley and I am so happy that you and I are making those memories, too.

In the last couple of weeks your awareness level has increased, which resulted in a fussy baby. But in the last couple of days you seem to have settled in with your surroundings. You are smiling and curious about your surroundings. For the first time in awhile, we had a lovely family lunch out in a restaurant with you awake. You just laid in your stroller, cooed at daddy and looked around while we ate. I am so happy that you seem happier.

You are sleeping pretty well, too. I think giving you formula before bed helps with the five hour stretches of sleep you’ve been enjoying (knocking on wood now). Once we move, we will transition you into your own room and mommy will start sleeping in another room.

On that note, the big move is coming up. Our moving pod left last week and daddy drives to Minnesota on Sunday. Once he arrives, he is going to get the house ready for us and you and Hadley will have your own room. I’m a bit of a nervous wreck as I will be alone with the two of you for near a week, but we will make it through. I’ve reached out for help, so that ought to help make us all a little less bleary eyed once we depart for Minnesota on your first airplane ride.

Grandma Mel and Aunt Heather came for a visit last week and what a wonderful time we had. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family on both sides that love you girls to pieces. TO PIECES, I tell you. Even though we are moving to Minnesota where none of our family lives, we will get on airplanes and visit grandmas, grandpa, aunties and your uncle.

Hayden with Aunt Heather

My love, it’s near 7 a.m. and you are still snoozing away peacefully in the other room. I can’t get over how much you look like Hadley when you sleep, but I also see your own unique beauty. I spend so much time staring at you and I just can’t believe how lucky I was, twice, to have such lovely children. I am looking forward to so much as you grow and become your own person.

I love you to pieces.

Mamma

>lazy afternoon

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Just hangin’ out in their undies passing the day away.

(when did Hadley’s legs get so long?)

>topless thursday: nursing baby #2

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Photo by Sarah Christensen of Becoming Sarah

Nursing my second child has been an interesting, frustrating challenge (to say the least). Not only did she have some “preemie” challenges, even though she wasn’t technically a preemie, with latching and ultimately feeding, she also has a big sister who is under two and was a boob fiend until she was 15 months old. Oh yeah, and is a very curious, busy kid. Needless to say, these two factors alone has made nursing challenging.

In the beginning I was producing a lot of milk. A LOT! Like ten ounces in a ten minute sitting when Hayden was only four days old. My freezer is full of milk, still (Unfortunately, we figured out that she has reflux and some cows milk sensitivity, so all that milk sits). But, I couldn’t get her to latch properly. So, I decided to be patient. Put her to the breast, feed her by bottle, pump.

Let’s just talk about the attempt to breast feed, feed by bottle, pump scenario… Mom’s who’ve had to do this know that this is no walk in the park. When you have a kiddo that latches, you only have to do one of these processes. But add two more tasks. Plus, feeding a newborn every two hours. You may as well leave your pump bra with all the gear attached and never leave the house, because this is all you will have time to do. Not to mention the nights are a bear. It’s really not a reasonable situation when you have a tot running around trying to keep your attention, too.

Anyway…

After three weeks or so of this vicious cycle, I sought the help of a lactation consultant. This is when it was determined that Hayden has premie tendencies – not transferring milk from breast and falling asleep at the breast – when it came to feeding and we devised a plan to teach her how to nurse. The plan included using a nipple shield and a supplemental feeding device (a syringe with a long tube that goes into the nipple shield and provides bate of expressed breast milk or formula to encourage baby to suck).

While the plan was a good one, it wasn’t working. And the more frustrated I became. My baby was screaming. Sounded congested. Not nursing. My milk supply was drying up because I was not pumping like I should. And I was sad that I felt I couldn’t nurse my child. I gave myself a deadline of two more weeks to make it work, then we would go to 100% formula.

Back to the lactation consultant we went… She became concern of Hayden’s lack of weight gain from birth weight (I don’t think she understood that she lost nearly a pound of that at the beginning) and the fact that she seemed colicy and seemed to have reflux. The new plan was to visit her doctor, cut out dairy, nuts and chocolate from my diet, pump and bottle feed, then reintroduce the breast the following week. So, off to the doc we went… Not a huge concern with weight, but we were provided with baby Zantac and instructions on how to manage reflux. And pumping I did.

I went back to the lactation consultant’s breast feeding support group the following week to see if we were making progress with nursing. But, per the usual, Hayden fell asleep in the clinic and wouldn’t nurse. I started to cry. Right there among all these blissfully happy, breastfeeding mommy’s. Mine wouldn’t nurse. I was going to have to formula feed as pumping eight times a day just wasn’t a possibility for a mom who was busy with another kid. The consultant felt my pain and lent me a scale to take home to do pre and post weighs to see if Hayden transferred milk when she would latch.

The next day, Hayden transferred 2.5 ounces. There was hope.

So I continued trying and it got better. I eliminated the breast shield. And she go even better at it. She even seems to look for the boob.

NOW… Hayden is two months old and nursing like a champ. However, I have found that nursing her exclusively is just not possible with Hadley. I like to go out and do things with Hadley. And sometimes we just don’t have an hour to allow Hayden to feed off the breast, so we give her a bottle during those times. Also, I tank her up with formula before bed and we generally get a nice five hour stretch of sleep out of her. After that, I nurse her (which is a good time for us because everyone else is asleep).

While I had hoped to feed her breastmilk exclusively, at least I feel good that she gets breast milk and we have that bonding time. I needed to recognize what my capabilities were as a busy mom of two under two, not beat myself up about not being able to do it the same way I did it with just one baby, and set my limits. I think we have a good system that everyone is content with.

>wishful wednesday: a second car

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We are a one car household. Have been for some time, with the exception of the couple of instances when my mother was out of town and she left her car to our care. But prior to living in Southern California and Nevada, we lived in the heart of San Francisco and we really could have easily had been a no car household. San Francisco has wonderful public transit and terrible parking, so you could understand where we are coming from.

Bottom line, we need a second car. If not to transport kiddos, just to transport ourself if we are without the kiddos. Often, poor Jonathan is left at home with CNBC and no way out because I am out with Hadley for the day. Or, like now, for instance, Jonathan had to run a few errands and I am home with the girls, wishing I could load them up and go get some lunch.

We are getting ready to move across the country in a week and a half. So as a means to pass the time, we’ve been researching cars. Test driving cars. Going round and round with conversation as to what our second car should be. Or should I say, how it should function. For example:

* Should our second car be a “family car” that can carry

two car seats and a double stroller comfortably.

* Should our second car be a “fun car” that can take a car seat or two in a pinch, but really intended for adult use only, whether it be on errands or date night. Our Acura MDX would continue to function as our kiddo car.

* Should we spend very little money and buy a beater.

* Should we buy a beautiful, used car, like a BMW o

r an Acura (worked out well with our MDX).

* Should we take advantage of 0% APR deals cu

rrently available and buy new.

Lot’s of considerations and, really, no wrong answers. But, in the mean time, we have enjoyed test driving some rides. So far, of all the cars we have driven, I have been the most impressed with the new Toyota Rav 4 and the Mazda 6.

The Rav 4 is quite spacious and comparable to the MDX, the engine is peppy (so Jonathan tells me) and has that wonderful new car smell. Plus, Toyota has some excellent financing deals.

The Mazda 6 (fully loaded) is amazing! You’d think you were in a BMW. The interior is luxurious and spacious, and the exterior is beautiful. Not to mention it has a bit of kick to it’s step. The trunk is even large enough for a double stroller.

I don’t think that we will purchase a new car… Well, maybe. We’ve been enjoying a debt free lifestyle. But these are both cars that I am wishing for.

Any second car recommendations out there? (No mini van’s – not a fan!)

>terrible two’s tuesday: milk or apple juice

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Photo by Sarah Christensen of Becoming Sarah

This morning Hadley woke up a little later than normal… Which is a refreshing change as my kiddo is not a good sleeper. Never has been. Our morning ritual is to enjoy some morning Jo (mine is coffee, hers is milk or “nook” as she refers to it).

So this morning, after our snuggles, I asked her if she wanted milk. She said “No.”

I asked her if she wanted apple juice instead. She said “No.”

Then she said “Nook.” I responded with, “OK, let’s go get some milk.”

Then she said “Apple juice.” My response, “Apple juice it is.”

Then she said “No.”

“Milk?” I asked. “No.”

So, off to the kitchen we went where she spotted her Elmo juice cup from yesterday. “Apple juice. Apple juice. Apple juice,” she started repeating over and over again.

“So you’d like some apple juice?” As I pulled the milk from the refrigerator. “NOOK!” she yelped with a little dance.

And “nook” she got.

>must have monday: nursing wraps

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I heart my nursing wrap. It’s my second one and I love it! It made nursing in public easy and doable for me.

Personally, I’ve been using Bebe Au Lait nursing wraps. Not only are the prints beyond adorable, there is a lot of fabric to offer sufficient coverage, which is important to me. They also have a nifty piece of terry cloth to wipe your kiddo off after particularly wet nursing sessions.

But there are lots of nursing wraps out there!

Recently I discovered the Slurp and Burp nursing cover. Super cool idea and I would totally buy if I didn’t already have my Bebe. It’s fits like a baby sling and you open the pieces up to allow your baby to nurse. Eliminates a lot of fabric, while still offering coverage.

Whatever your preference is, if you are a modest nursing mama, I recommend picking up a nursing cover for successful feeds.

>coming soon: new look. new feel.

>I am in the midst of a blog revamp. A new custom design is on the way and will be in place, hopefully, mid-June. And, more immediately (like, on Monday), a reorganization of blog posts.

In an effort to keep me on schedule with my posts, and to offer me a few minutes everyday of “mom time,” I am putting some organization to my blog.

Must Have Mondays – Here I will review my favorite products (baby, kids, mama or otherwise) and maybe someday my little blog will interest manufacturers to have me do a giveaway.

Terrible Two’s Tuesdays – We are in the terrible throws of terrible two’s here in our household. Somedays are funny. Somedays are down right upsetting. Here I will share our laughs, woes and any tips and tools that we discover along the way to cope with this fun stage.

Wishful Wednesday – Hopes, dreams and maybe a bit of stuff I want.

Topless Thursdays – No porn here. I am a breastfeeding and loving it mama. I nursed Hadley to 15 months and I am currently nursing Hayden. Here I will talk about my experiences, funny or serious, and discuss topics as they pertain to nursing.

Family Friday – My opportunity to talk more about my family. Hadley quips. Family outings. Etc.

So check in next week to see my new, better organized blog!

>hadley quip

>Hadley has been interested in Micky Mouse lately, I think because he is on her Huggies Overnights. So, today I thought it would be fun to make an impromptu trip to the Happiest Place on Earth to visit the old mouse. But we got out of the house too late to justify the cost of entry and to battle rush hour traffic home. So, I took her to Downtown Disney, which entailed a tram (choo choo) ride and a long shopping extravaganza at the Disney store. Plus a bit of ice cream and another choo choo ride to the car. She was content. As we were leaving the parking lot, I heard a little voice say “Bye, bye Nicky Nouse.” it was very sweet.

— Post From My iPad