6 months!

My little peanut is 6 months old! I absolutely cannot believe the time has gone this fast! She's learning and growing so fast! 

She's mastered the roll, can grab and hold toys, exchange them between hands, has great hand mouth coordination,  tries to feed herself, holds her bottle (but still won't latch a bottle just chews), has NO teeth yet, can sit unassisted for 1-2 minutes and is working on crawling! 

She started stage 1 solids recently, and let me tell you solid poop is AWFUL! It is so smelly and just gross!!! I've nearly puked each time she's pooped! Even the husband has dry heaved! 

Her sleep has been awful, she is either getting teeth, gassy from solids, or just growing, whatever it is, it's been brutal for me! Every 1-2 hours all night!

Breastfeeding is still going fantastically, she's such a boobie monster, I love our bond! I've recently done an interview for a local news station on breastfeeding and milk sharing, as I've donated to multiple moms in the area! I'm nervous for it's turn out, I don't want to come off as arrogant at all! 

Life is good, I can't believe how much I've changed for the better, I started school, my diet is getting better, and working out as much as I can, and include Madeline :)

6 month picture!

Our Christmas picture!

She loves her feet!

Daddy let me feed myself!

Travels with baby!

This day has been coming for months and I've been dreading it! The holiday travel! I took Madeline on a short trip to Baltimore, well not that short but 7 hours, this time we are going to Wisconsin and it's 20 hours and on top of that we have the dog, whose kennel takes a majority of the back of our pathfinder! As you can see! 

The cat was suppose to join us as well, but a last minute game plan and I decided to take the neighbors offer to come feed and clean her litter box, thank god I did, there would of been absolutely NO room with her! 

So we packed, I has to under pack this time, compared to normal, we have our suitcases, her pack and play and random Christmas presents, my pump, and boppy pillow! I learned the hard way when I didn't bring my pump last trip! Ouchie!

So far so good, I'm typing this as we drive currently 4 1/2 hrs to our first stop for the night, ohio! Madeline has had one melt down, she is just to interested in everything to sit in that seat, not to mention she was hungry and wouldn't take a bottle, I don't even know why I pump, when I do I donate it, I was really hoping for a night out when we went home, but I don't see that happening!

Madeline has mastered rolling all over the place, very interested in our food, wants everything in her mouth, hand eye coordination is awesome, she now reaches for her birdies on her bouncer chair

Will update again soon!

Exercising pre and post baby!

I cannot express enough how important exercising is, and how I wish I would of stuck with it more than what I did! Now I'm not saying you have to be all crazy about it, and never start a crazy routine that your not use to once you find out you are pregnant! 

Here's my little workout introduction! Basically when we moved to Hawaii in 2010 is when I began taking my fitness seriously, mainly because I wanted to get out there and do all these amazing hikes Hawaii has to offer, which by the time we left 3 years later, I had finished over 60 hikes, some repeats, none the less amazing! I went to the gym regularly, and began running, which I love! I completed a full marathon (26.2 miles) in December 2011, along with a half marathon and other random 5 and 10k runs! 

Approximately 2 months pregnant here

So when I discovered I was pregnant I was still hiking, and hiking often, in fact the day I found out i was pregnant I hiked a 6 mile waterfall hike, now to be honest after becoming pregnant hiking worried me some, mainly my heart rate, which I monitored with my polar ft60 heart rate monitor, my true love :) I continued hiking all the way until February along w light runs, and gym workouts! Then I moved home while we were pcs'ing (permanent change of station) my husband is in the Marine Corps! So I moved to Wisconsin for 2 months in the middle of winter with no gym access, this was my downfall, at 20 weeks I stopped working out! I was working nearly 30 hours a week as a waitress, so I was on my feet A LOT! I was also eating a lot! 

Me on the left at 5 months pregnant 

So when I got pregnant I weighed 130 and when I gave  birth I was 165! Lost 25 lbs within a month, then gained back 7, and recently lost 3 of that 7, so I stand at 144 with 14 lbs ideally to go, I'm not worried about weight as much really, as long as I look fit! 

Fast forward to 8 weeks postpartum, we invested in a BOB jogging stroller, best investment ever!! Totally love it, and from here I started stroller warriors, a group of running military spouse moms with babies and children! From here I started the couch to 5k, I finished my first 5k post baby on November 2nd with a time if 35:02! I also did the color me rad 5k a couple weeks prior with a time of 34 minutes approximately, I don't consider it so much official since it was more of a fun run!

Before I realized I needed the infant adaptor to hook her carseat in! 

Color me rad 5k

Our first 5k

I've got a long way to go, but it's a start!

Sprinting in at the finish!

Usually snoozing while we are out running :)

Baby wearing

This topic is still a work in progress! I absolutely love wearing Madeline, she is getting use to it, but seems to enjoy it also! The hot North Carolina summer prevented the early wearing days, which seems to be crucial to the baby, for future enjoyment, don't quote me on that though. I didn't even know much about baby wearing before Madeline, my world was opened to it shortly after she arrived, I knew I wanted an ergo style carrier, it seems to be the most popular style carrier, after doing a good amount of research, I decided on the Beco Gemini, and let me tell you, I absolutely LOVE it!! Here's why! 

Facing out

Head rest down!

Head rest up! She was about a mon and a half here I'd say!

1. It has 4 different carries

 - hip carry

 - back carry

 - inward facing

- outward facing

2. It doesn't require an infant insert like the ergo does and costs about 10-20$ more than the ergo though 

3. Holds 7-35 lbs and has snaps at the base to allow infant to sit legs out without putting to much strain on their legs, and has an infant head support that folds up, located where here little hand is holding 

4. Criss cross straps in the back, for me I think allows more comfort for the wearer 

5. Love the designs

6. Beco designed the baby to be able to safely sit facing out, most carriers that face out are considered crotch danglers, and an cause hip dysplasia

http://www.hipdysplasia.org/developmental-dysplasia-of-the-hip/prevention/baby-carriers-seats-and-other-equipment/

   

Things I wish we're different are things like no pouch to carry extra things and a hood, I don't also enjoy wearing it around the house that much, more out in public

My next carrier is the moby wrap 

Pretty easy to use! 

1. Holds up to 7-35 lbs

2. Easy wrap styles for beginners (like me!) YouTube also has a lot of tutorials

3. Supposedly you can nurse in it, seems to difficult to be honest

4. Easy and more comfortable to wear around the house and easier to bend over in than the beco

Things I don't like, stretchy fabric doesn't allow for wear bigger than 17-18 lbs in my opinion, no back carry, just not as good of quality like the woven

Other great types of carriers than I will also be reviewing and posting my thoughts on in the next few months are the ring sling and woven wrap, I'm very interested in a ring sling, just need to try it on Madeline and see how she likes it!

Baby wearing is seriously addicting!!!

Breastfeeding

So basically, I figured I'll start with an introduction to why I decided to do each of the lifestyle choices I've chosen, and once completed explaining my reasoning for each, I'll then go off of each of those to make a weekly blog of my experiences and types I've found to make things easier!

Still to come:

- Cloth diapers

- Baby wearing

- Attachment parenting

- Exercising

- Future plans for us

Breastfeeding

My choice to breastfeed honestly wasn't an automatic decision, my sister and I weren't breastfed, nor was my niece or nephew, so my instinct was to say formula, then I was like ok, well I'll breastfeed, but I'll pump and give her a bottle, and that decision basically stood until she was born and I started breastfeeding, I then decided she would be strictly breastfed, I did give her 4-5 bottles while my mom was visiting, so Matt and I could go out a couple times, and she could bond with Madeline. She had no confusion going right back to the boob, so that was great.

Our first time breastfeeding!

Right from the start, she has been a great nurser, she was placed on my chest and nursed at about 30 minutes after birth, from the start her latch has been amazing! My nipples were pretty sore the first 2-3 weeks, just the initial latch was painful, if it's painful beyond that there is something wrong with the babies latch. I also joined a Facebook group called breastfeeding mama's, they were a great help for answers before she was born, I read so much and asked so many questions that I taught myself and didn't even need to take a class, I was so fearful of failing at providing Madeline with the absolute best nutrition possible that I needed for my own peace of mind to read and re-read everything I could, I bought the book "Making more milk", which I definitely recommend! 

Mastitis 

This is what mastitis looked like!

I had one roadblock so far, and that was mastitis, this was the most painful thing ever, it's pushed some women to stop breastfeeding, but nothing would stop me, it starts as a red spot on your breast, usually pretty faint, mine started with a headache, and extra tired feeling, I took Tylenol, not realizing it was a fever reducer, and by the time it wore off I had a 102 degree fever, body ache, chills, hot sweats, basically flu like symptoms! I said I'd take labor over feeling like that again, the next morning I was put on antibiotics (note it's good to take a probiotic along with the antibiotic, you can buy them at Walmart or wherever really, to prevent the baby from getting thrush or yeast, since antibiotics kill both good and bad antibodies). My mastitis really improved after the first 2 doses, and within 24 hours my fever broke, very thankful!!!

Nursing in public, normalize breastfeeding!!

This! This is such a controversial topic, I was also pretty much like no, that's gross, I will be the first to admit I was very neive and kind of stupid about it, after I had Madeline and realized there was nothing weird about breastfeeding, I had no problem, nursing in public and nursing uncovered, in August 2013 we attended the big latch on event, Madeline was 3 weeks old and the youngest baby at the event.

Us at the big latch on 2013

We are now at 3 months strong of exclusively breastfeeding, Madeline is growing and getting stronger each day, my love for that baby is forever growing! I plan to breastfeed until she's ready to be done, hoping to be weaned around 18 months, but I'd it's before or after, that's ok too!

My sweet babe and I!

I'll go into detail on these topics at a later date!

Introduction

I am a bit behind the game here, but I have wanted to start a blog on our journey as new parents for the first time, our decision to exclusively breastfeed, our journey with cloth diapers, and how we deal with life's everyday obstacles!

Matt and I, about a week before the big arrival! Lol, I ate ice cream, my teeth are it normally blue!

 About me!

I'm 29 years old, and my name is Tammy, my husband is Matt and he's 27. We are both from a small town in Wisconsin, and met while working at a pizza restaurant. Matt enlisted into the Marine Corps in 2004, we were later reunited in 2008, and we married October 10th. Stationed at MCAS Cherry Point, NC, we went through a deployment together, and moved onto Hawaii for the next 3 years, where on October 26th, 2012, we found out we were expecting! The military would move us one more time to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

December 13th was my first OB, we heard the heart beat, I was almost 13 weeks pregnant! We had a healthy baby! No gender yet though.

Then in January at 15 weeks, we went and found out we were expecting a baby girl!! We had decided on two names Jocelyn and Madeline. We decided on Madeline, the middle name would be Jean, my sisters middle name.

My pregnancy was perfect! No morning sickness, no swelling, not any major complications! Baby girl was very easy on me! Heartburn was an issue come 32 weeks, definitely was uncomfortable, kept the tums by my side at all times! I absolutely loved her kicks and wiggles, but her hiccups , not so much!

39 weeks!

Fast forward, my water broke on July 6th a day before my due date while we were walking, I went home, showered and packed the last of my things needed for the hospital, while Matt went and dropped the dog off at the kennel. He came home, and me, him, and my mom were off to the hospital which was an hour away.

When we arrived at the hospital! 39 weeks 6 days!

I was checked in to the hospital and checked again I was at 4 cm, which I'd stay at for the next 23 hours! During this time we walked, and finally I was hooked up to pitocin, like maxed out pitocin, after 16 hours of labor I freaked myself out and got the epidural, where'd I'd still be in labor for another 7 hours, at 22 hours they were prepping me for a c-section if I didn't progress within the next couple hours.

LOL! Being checked was extremely painful!

Suddenly at 3:30 p.m. with lack of better term, I felt contractions, STRONG, like I was about to poop my pants! I was checked, and at a 9, it was time, nerves overcame me and I became emotional, and
very scared! The next 2 hours were very painful, as the epidural had worn off! My mom nearly passed out, it is funny now to think of why ( I was tearing ), in which I'd need 6 - 8 stitches, I can't remember exactly, the pain was unreal! No words! I was exhausted, but at 5:55 p.m. on July 7th, Madeline Jean made her entrance!

Madeline was placed on me immediately for skin to skin, where she was breastfed within the first 30 minutes, it was an amazing bonding experience, and set us up for success! I'll go into that in another post!

Fresh out of the womb and nursing!

After a exhausting 2 day hospital stay, because I was in labor for 24 hours after  my water broke and they wanted to monitor for infection, we were sent home for an adventure of a life time!

Happy family! 

Stay tuned :)

<3