Flexible when necessary

Well, this time this week I thought I would be posting my second entry on weaning from breastfeeding. That's not happening! I have found that anytime you think you have a handle on how things are going to happen, life happens. Things were going quite smoothly with dropping our afternoon feeding and substituting whole milk. Monday through Friday it worked great. Katie was a touch more clingy in the afternoons than she had been, but her sleeping was right on track and she was taking the milk just fine without a reaction.

Enter life. Saturday began just like any other Saturday, but ended with an unforeseeable incident that left us leaving our house for the afternoon with little notice. I forgot the milk and decided to nurse Katie after her afternoon nap thinking we would get back on track the next day. Saturday night though she woke with a fever and has been sick for three days now. Though her symptoms were few, loss of appetite was one of the main symptoms. For the first couple days nursing was about the only nourishment she received, so I opted out of weaning. Thankfully this afternoon Katie began returning to her normal happy, fever free self. I was able to successfully substitute her evening nursing session for whole milk.

My plan to get us back on track is to only drop the afternoon nursing for the next two days. If that continues to go well, I will then drop a second feeding. I've now decided to drop her first feeding of the day next. Hopefully by next Monday we can be back on track. I say that thinking back to my quote above, "anytime you think you have a handle on how things are going to happen, life happens." So, for now, I will do the best I can, be happy with where we are, and not be too disappointed if things end up off track.

Gotcha Day

As many of you know, we adopted our first son, Seth, from Colombia, South America when he was 9 months old.  The first day we met him was August 30, 2007.  In our family, we call this his "Gotcha Day." Gotcha Day is a term used by many adoptive families to celebrate the day that the child or children became a part of the family.  Some families simply call this "adoption day" or "family day." We love the term "Gotcha Day"- for us it means "this is the day we finally got you into our arms and we became a family forever." 

Gotcha Day is more significant to me than his birthday (which we celebrate too, of course, and has its own significance) because it meant the end of a long journey for us, and the beginning of another. Our adoption process took nearly three years, which was nearly a year and a half longer than the original expected length. We believed with our whole hearts that God led us to adoption and that Colombia was where our first child would come from- but the journey was longer and harder than we expected. Some days it seemed like there was no end in sight.  But then on August 7, 2007, we got the phone call telling us we had a son! And in Colombia, you travel very quickly to meet and adopt your child, so we were there just three weeks later. 

Meeting Seth, holding him, bringing him home with us, and finally having our baby was something I will never forget.  I will post more info about adoption as time goes on, but I wanted to share with you a few thoughts. First, a lot of things in life require us to wait. I have come to believe that if God leads you to something and then asks you to wait for it, there is a reason. For us, that reason was that God had picked Seth out for our family, but we had to wait to be matched with him as our specific child. In fact, we began the adoption journey years before Seth was even born. Secondly, now that I've also given birth to a biological child, I can say without a doubt there is no difference between loving Seth and loving Eli as my children.  I think all parents would say that you appreciate and like different traits in your different children, but as far as attachment, bonding, feelings of protection, and just general love- there is no difference for me. 

At the moment they handed Seth to me three years ago, he became my son forever- and I believe that it was supposed to be that way. So we are going to go on a picnic today to celebrate Gotcha Day, and remember the amazing miracle that happened to us. I am so grateful and so overwhelmed with the blessing of Seth as my son.  If any of you out there have ever considered adoption, please feel free to message me with thoughts or questions. I am happy to share our journey and help in any way I can. Happy Gotcha Day to my precious baby boy- who is now 3 1/2!  

Stuff We Like: Walking Wings and Video Monitor

Just a quick note to comment on two baby items I am loving right now.  First, we bought Eli these Walking Wings.  They are technically supposed to be for helping a child learn to walk, but I don't think they're actually helping him that much at this stage. However, he only wants to be vertical- he isn't loving the crawling thing and just wants to chase Seth around. So these have helped tremendously. I can support him and help him balance while he runs (yes, runs) after Seth. I used them at the library yesterday, too. 

Also, we bought a video baby monitor awhile ago.  Expensive. But I can say it's been 100% worth it. I love being able to look at Eli in his crib to see if he's just resettling or waking up. I can make sure he hasn't rolled over into the crib slats. I can check on him whenever I want, and as you can see by my picture, it's really clear. I can see him breathing. I love love love this. He is just such a noisy sleeper, I don't have to worry about him now. This would be a great "big" item for a baby registry!

Sacrifice

Today I feel like a failure. I actually had the thought on the way to work this morning that maybe I can't do this. Maybe I wasn't cut out to be a mom, trying to work and holding stuff together.

I remember the days of getting up and only being responsible for myself. I took a shower, put on whatever nice business clothes I wanted to, ate what I wanted, left on time...I had it together. Today my morning went like this: up to nurse Eli at 5, back to sleep till 6 when I finally let him get in bed with me to try and keep him asleep till 7:20, up, give Eli medicine, eat (while Josh dresses Eli), nurse Eli (while Josh dresses and feeds Seth), pump because Eli didn't eat enough, get ready (no shower), grab all the stuff Seth needs for preschool and my pump and work stuff, and rush out the door (late). I got Seth to preschool 10 minutes late, which meant I missed the "drop off" time window and had to get out of the car and take him in myself (making me even later to work). After dropping him off, it was the point on my drive when I had the "maybe I am not cut out for this" thought...and it got worse.

When I got to work, I was 10 minutes late for a meeting I scheduled with our 401K plan people. I walked in late and was greeted by the woman I had setup the meeting with, who I'd never met. She was about 23 years old, tall, skinny, blond and dressed perfectly in business clothes- jewelry, nails done, etc. Now, not that I've ever looked like her, but I at least used to be able to try. I came to work today in jean capris, a striped Old Navy shirt and tennis shoes (acceptable attire in my office). This girl looked at me like I was an alien. I don't pretend to know what she was thinking- for all I know, she was wishing she got to wear Nikes to work instead of Manolos. But the voice in my head filled in what I imagined she was saying: "You come to work like THAT? Did you even shower? When was the last time you had a hair cut? Those shoes are from like 1999. I hope I never look that slobbish." I made it through the meeting, and she was very nice. Was she who I wanted to be, or just a person in a much different stage? She stuck in my mind all day.

Some days it really hits me- the large number of small sacrifices we make. They ARE small ones, but there are a lot of them. We sacrifice mostly our comfort: the ability to sleep when we want to; the luxury of taking care of ourselves- haircuts, showers, nails (my latest manicure involved me biting my nails and spitting them out the window when I drove- gross, huh); our free time; time with our spouses and friends; exercise time. A friend recently pointed out to me that while "me time" is important to most of us, there is nothing in the Bible that directs us to pamper ourselves or just "focus on me." If you are a mom, you know all about these small sacrifices, and probably have a list of your own.

So what I kept coming back to with the meeting girl was this: why did she add to my feelings of failure? I felt that way on the drive to work, but being with her really brought me down. I haven't completely found the answer. The obvious pat answer is that I am focusing on the wrong things: my comfort, my clothes, my hair, and that's true. I shouldn't define my success that way. And everyone got where they needed to be today, although we were all a little late. I have a great husband who helps me, and two relatively healthy, happy kids. But that's not what was causing the unrest in my soul.

I just think there's something in me that believes if I was really a good mom I wouldn't struggle with this stuff. I'd have the inborn ability to just forget about my appearance, my image at work, my "success" and sacrifice it all with no thought because of those two sweet faces looking at me every day. I wouldn't care what the meeting girl thought of me. If I was a truly good mom, I wouldn't miss my "freedom" and my "me time." But I do. Sometimes I really do. I am not saying it's right.

And that's where the failure comes in: I want to feel all self-sacrificing every single day, but some days I feel like I am just not good enough to do it. Some day I still wish I could just wake up and take care of myself. Maybe I'm just in a hard place with a three year-old and a high-needs 8 month-old. I don't watch TV, I am on a special diet because of Eli's food intolerances (no ice cream, chocolate, dairy of any kind, baked goods, etc!) and I barely get to sleep. I am not that good at putting my kids first- the kind of good that would forget about all that stuff. I know they're worth it all, and this stage of life is temporary. I know I CAN sacrifice. I just hate that I don't always WANT to. Is this making sense? I want to WANT to. I have the feeling that if I don't WANT to, I am a failure as a mother. Or that I am too selfish for this job. Let me either be the self-centered, "has it all together", professional girl, or the "I love my sweat pants and I can't remember the last time I slept because my baby's up all night but I love it" girl. It's hard to be in-between.

Do you struggle with this? Not just the sacrifices, but the guilt of not being "giving" enough to forget about them? Does anyone really forget, or do we find enough ways to indulge ourselves just enough to survive until one day our kids are grown? I think this struggle goes on and on- even as we learn to be loving, giving, sacrificing and serving. Post your thoughts below- I'd love to hear them!

Eat, awake, sleep

Eat, awake, sleep refers to the pattern I have followed since Katie was a couple weeks old when referring to her daytime routine. It has helped make her day predictable and helped me fit in time to focus on my other kids and have some "me" time. I did NOT come up with this at all. Two books that I used as reference for this pattern are "On Becoming Babywise" by Gary Ezzo and "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" by Tracy Hogg. I will be happy to share my thoughts on this subject but you can refer to the above books for much more detail and explanation.

Basically it is recommended that you implement this pattern when your baby is one week old. Before then, feed on demand focusing on keeping your baby awake during feedings. This is VERY important. At one week of age, begin by making sure your baby has a full feeding, also very important. If you have trouble keeping your baby awake during the feeding, I found that it helped to change Katie's diaper mid feed. The next step after eating is wake time. This can encompass any number of activities such as: bath time, floor time, tummy time, bouncy seat, swing, really anything. When Katie was young, her wake time was only 45 minutes. This time gradually increased as she got older and is now 2 1/2 hours at 11 months.

The last step in the pattern is sleep. Like Erika mentioned in her post about swaddling, setting a routine to let your baby know that it is time to sleep is very helpful. When Katie was 5 months old and younger our routine consisted of swaddling, picking her up and rocking her side to side to sing a song, and then I would lay her down, say goodnight and leave the room. Now I follow the same pattern minus the swaddling. The next part was hard to begin with and is not really an issue now. Jake and I chose to let Katie cry it out(CIO). In the beginning it was very difficult, but I knew it was best for our family that I teach Katie to sooth herself to sleep. I would cry right along with her most times in the beginning. I questioned our decision many many times. I'm glad I did not give up though. For the most part, Katie wouldn't cry longer than 15 minutes before falling asleep. For a while though, she would wake a few times during her nap and CIO all over again. The key was that I knew when I fed her and when to begin the pattern all over again.

Until 5 months of age, Katie's pattern would restart itself every 3 hours. If she ate at 7, I knew to get her up from her nap at 10. Even if she was sound asleep, I would wake her up to feed her. Then she would have her wake time and then I would lay her down at the appropriate time to finish out the pattern. Soon, she came to expect this pattern and even looked happy when I laid her down for her nap. Being swaddled and in her bed was a happy safe place for her. There are still times that she cries when I lay her down, but I know that if her belly is full and her diaper is clean when I lay her down that I am doing what she needs by letting her blow off some steam before she sleeps. I mentioned above that Katie was in a 3 hour pattern until she was 5 months old. At that time, I transitioned her to a 4 hour pattern and she still follows it now at 11 months.

Final thought. If you are not comfortable with CIO, the baby whisperer book has some great techniques to teach your baby to sooth itself to sleep without using CIO.

Mommy Pride

I am not talking about the good kind of pride we have in our kids. I am talking about the pride that tells us we are somehow better than other parents. You know we all have it. I saw it in so many people before I recognized it in myself. I heard friends, long before I even had kids, verbally bashing other peoples' kids. They would judge all kinds of behaviors: acting out in public, throwing fits, not sleeping good, and, the worst of all parenting "sins"- they'd say a kid was spoiled. I didn't know any better, and I, too, vowed my kids would never be like those kids. And for the most part, with Seth I got very lucky. He was naturally very well-behaved. Quiet, obedient, thoughtful, and just all-around good. We took him everywhere. He even took naps in the pew during church. He was good in restaurants, at friends' houses, in child care situations, everywhere. He still can sit and play with one toy for a very, very long time.But as he grew, sometimes his little personality would start to show up. He started having small meltdowns around 20 or so months. I could usually sternly tell him to get it together, and he would. "What's the matter with these people and the kids I see falling apart at Wal-Mart?" I would think to myself. Come on! All you have to do is keep your kid in check! Easy!

Well, don't worry- I got mine. He was almost two, and we were at Once Upon a Child, shopping for some clothes for him. Apparently at some point he became afraid of the vacuum cleaner, because when they turned it on, he started shrieking and climbing up me.I picked him up and tried to calm him down, but he just lost it. I set him back down and he threw an all-out fit on the floor- kicking, screaming, uncontrollable crying, the works. I tried all my tactics to get him calmed, but it wasn't working. I saw two young, pregnant, "i've got it all together" women staring at me. It took me about 15 minutes to decide to give up and leave. I was horrified. HORRIFIED.I really went into this whole "I'm a terrible mom" depression for the evening. Where did I go wrong? Seth wasn't spoiled, we didn't allow this kind of behavior, and I had read all the right books to figure out how to avoid this. He had many, many, MANY fits after this one. We've figured it out together and generally now he keeps it together (at 3 1/2!), although we still have our moments.

My point? Not just that all kids will have fits (they will). Not just that you shouldn't blame yourself when it happens (you shouldn't). It's this: don't get on your high horse when your kid is able to act a certain way and other kids are different. I do believe we can help our kids learn to control their emotions and that we shouldn't accept these kinds of fits when they happen. But I have adopted a new way of looking at others: I try to look at that poor mom whose kid is melting down and think, "She's doing the best she can." It may not be true- maybe this mom is really lax and just lets her kids get away with murder, and there is certainly no excuse for anything like abusing a child or neglect. But in the most general cases like the public melt-downs I'm talking about, I've decided to just leave it at that. "She's doing the best she can." There is no reason for me to pat myself on the back just because at that moment my kid is behaving better.

I actually just had another example where I really lost my temper with Seth at the gas station. I was on the way to take Eli to Children's Mercy for another GI appointment: Eli was screaming in his car seat and Seth was asking me a million questions. I got out to get gas, and as Seth asks for the millionth time if he can get out of the car, I scream, "No! I told you! And if you ask me again, you're getting a spanking!" It sounded horrible. I was exhausted, stressed to the max with a screaming baby in the car, and just not able to calmly explain anything to him at that moment. Not a good moment, and I think I got a few looks from others around me. But at that moment, I was doing the best I could.

I have more to say on this subject, but I just wanted to pass this on. I hope we can start looking at each other more and saying, "She's doing the best she can."

Weaning from Breastfeeding

Katie turned 11 months old this past weekend, so I am beginning to wean her so that she will finish up with breastfeeding right around her first birthday. I'm not intending to recommend this age to wean, this is just what I did with Brayden and what I am also choosing to do with Katie. In addition to the age, she is also showing signs of disinterest in breastfeeding. This happens especially in public.

This is my process. I chose to drop the feeding after Katie's afternoon nap first. I chose this for two reasons. First, it is a pretty busy time of day around here. Stephanie will just be getting home from school so there will be plenty of activity to distract her. Second, I still cluster her feedings a bit in the evening so her next feeding will be 3 hours from now instead of 4. I always feed her shortly after waking. I usually take her straight from her crib to the loveseat to nurse her. However, just so I know she isn't completely reliant on this occurring I usually choose a random feeding each day to delay the nursing for a bit after waking.

In place of her afternoon nursing session, I gave her a cup with a straw with 4 ounces of whole milk. I sat with her while she drank what she wanted and then put the cup away. I'm leaning towards a cup with a straw in place of a sippy cup for all liquids. I am also teaching her to drink from a regular cup with assistance. I hope this saves me the trouble of breaking her from a sippy cup in the future. I do give her some juice in a sippy cup, but I don't want her to become reliant on it.

On a side note, I know that it is not recommended to give your child milk until they are one. I began two weeks ago giving Katie small drinks of my milk at meals to ensure that she would have no digestive issues. I also know she can tolerate cheese, yogurt and ice cream. I believe it is safe to begin offering milk.

I will continue to replace her afternoon nursing session with milk for the next week. At that point I will choose another session to drop. I haven't thought far enough ahead to know which it will be. Currently she nurses roughly at: 7 Am, 11 Am, 3 PM, 6 PM, and 8 PM. She also usually wakes one or two times overnight.

I should also mention that I have changed her meal times in order to get her ready for a complete wean. Until 2 weeks ago, she had her meal directly following when she nursed. She would then sit with us for supper only. She would play independently during our other meals. A couple weeks ago I began delaying her breakfast and lunch until we were all sitting down to eat these meals. So, Katie would nurse at her regular time but then wait approximately an hour until her meal. Since she is eating what we eat anyway, it made my life much easier.

Last thought for the post. I thought I would mention Katie's nap time for those with younger children. At 11 months, Katie takes two naps. They are each around 1 1/2 hours. Her first nap is from 9:30 to 11 AM. Her second nap is from 1:30 to 3 PM.

What we do when our kids are sick

***Warning, as much as I tried not to, I ended up sounding a little preachy in this post***

A couple days ago I had the kids out running errands and stopped for lunch at an establishment with a play area for children. As we were eating I noticed a kid on the other side of the restaurant that was obviously sick. Green runny nose, hacking cough, the works. When my children had finished eating we went to the play room. They had about 5 minutes of play time when I looked up to see that sick kid and his mom walking through the door. I quickly scooped up the kids and headed out to avoid the germs.

Since our play time was cut short, after we had finished up our other errands I took the kids to the mall to play in the play area there. It was almost the same scenario again with a really sick kid, me scooping, the kids leaving. So then I spent a ridiculous amount of change for the kids to ride one of those motorized machines and we headed out. Maybe I watch for this stuff more because my son is more susceptible to germs after a serious illness as an infant. I didn't notice anyone else scooping their kids up to leave. I would do it again in a heartbeat though.

As an adult, I know that when I am sick I would rather be home than any other place. To get specific, I would like to be home on the couch with a blanket, hot tea, and a chick flick, but that hasn't happened since I had kids. I can't imagine why people think their kids are any different. They need a comfortable environment and they need their mommy.

When one of my kids is sick, everything changes. I don't adhere to most any structural rule that I usually have in place. My oldest daughter told me the other day that the only time she doesn't have to do things for herself is when she is sick. She sounded almost wishful! My goal is to make my kids as comfortable as possible and give them the best environment possible in which to get better quickly. It may mean that I miss a shift at work or I miss church for a Sunday, but if its what is best for my kid it happens. At the very least as a courtesy to others, I will not take my kids to public play dates or play areas so as to keep the germ spreading to a minimum. I just hope most people do the same.

Illnesses- RSV

As I mentioned in my introduction, Eli had RSV when he was 6 weeks old.  I wanted to tell this story because it's really about mother's intuition, even more so than about his illness. But I did want to touch on RSV because it is pretty serious. I had never had a newborn before, but when my older son, Seth, developed a bad cold, I knew it was a good idea to watch Eli for signs of catching it too. Our pediatrician had mentioned that RSV was going around and it could be dangerous for a baby.  Now, at this time, Eli was in the full swing of dealing with his reflux, too, so I had to carry around a terribly fussy baby and care for a sick 3 year-old all at once. No way to keep them completely separate.  I remember that on that Saturday, Eli started coughing. No big deal. By Sunday morning, he seemed really congested, and I just knew something was wrong. So off to Urgent Care we went. The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner we saw treated me just like an overprotective, over-worried, hypochondriac new mother. Of course, while we were there, Eli did his "I'm so charming" act and didn't cough once. She did say he sounded congested, but was about to send us home when I mentioned RSV, so they did a test.  We were actually ready to walk out the door when she peaked her head back in and said, "His RSV test was positive, but he seems ok.  Just go home, give him some chamomile tea (for a 6 week old!), and watch him. If he gets worse, go to the ER." She then sent in another nurse to go over some instructions, and I related my concerns to her- she also sorta blew me off. So we went home. I felt like, "Ok, I need to buck up and just deal with this."  I watched my 6 week-old baby get worse and worse- we put him in the steamy bathroom while the shower ran, we suctioned his nose with a bulb syringe, etc, and I wondered what "if he gets worse" actually meant. So Monday morning, I called our pediatrician. Her nurse didn't blow me off, but I think she failed to realize a key point: for older children (like Seth) and adults, RSV is nothing more than a bad cold. For babies, it can be very serious and lead to pneumonia and other respiratory problems, or, in severe cases, they can stop breathing.  So she told me to "watch him" and call again if he got worse.  Well, he got worse. But again, there is this fear of being just an "overprotective mother", so I kept trying to care for him at home. Monday night he slept very soundly most of the night- I kept checking his breathing and worrying. On Tuesday morning, I laid him down on the changing table to change his diaper, and saw him pulling his chest up really hard to try and breathe. He sounded like his lungs were full of cotton and could barely take a breath. I called the pediatrician again, and they said to bring him right in. We went in, and the nurse, upon seeing him in his carrier, said, "Oh my gosh! He can't breathe! Get him out of there!" They put an oxygen monitor thing on him, and he was under 90% (again, not so terrible for an adult, though concerning- but for an infant, terrible). The doctor rushed in and said he needed a breathing treatment ASAP and if his oxygen didn't come up, she'd have to put him in an ambulance! The word "ambulance" just shook me to the core. How did we go from "he looks ok, give him some tea" to "ambulance" in under 48 hours? We got his oxygen up to 93% and the doctor instructed me to drive straight to the hospital and she was calling to have him admitted. We were in the hospital for 6 days. 6 DAYS!!! I was furious that I didn't push the Urgent Care doctor more to do something- we learned she could have prescribed a nebulizer that would've helped clear his lungs. My pediatrician said she would always admit a 6 week-old with RSV even if he "seemed ok", for observation because they can get bad so fast. In the hospital, Eli had to endure breathing treatments and deep suctioning (they stuck a tube up his nose and down his throat to remove mucus) every 2 hours. This was because infants do not have the ability to expel mucus like older kids and adults. It just sits in there and makes them sicker and sicker. He had two chest x-rays to check for pneumonia. He didn't even turn a corner till day 4. So it was scary and hard and expensive and a very good lesson for me. From then on, I listened to my instincts and tried to not let anyone make me feel like just an overprotective new mom. And who cares if you are, anyway? Just be that, and if you're wrong, you're wrong. But if you're right- at least you know you've taken care of your baby. I shudder when I think of that Monday night when he slept so soundly- I worry he could've stopped breathing at any time. So I vowed to never do that again!

Stuff We Like

I am planning to frequently post info about baby/kids items that we like.  I know it's hard to navigate the world of "junk" that babies and kids can accumulate.  Obviously, everyone is different, but sometimes it helps to hear opinions on some of the options.  Shannon already mentioned Medela pumps and bottles and I agree. But today I wanted to feature swaddlers.  Eli has at times loved/hated being swaddled, but it has always helped him sleep.  He went from "both arms in" to "one arm in" to now, "no arms in", with the swaddler just being used for warmth on his lower body.  I've used two kinds of swaddlers.  One was "The First Years" swaddlers, seen here. Now we are using the Extra Large Kiddopotamus swaddler, like this one. Basically, when it's time to sleep, I take Eli in, get the room ready (turn off lights, turn on his fan, etc), put him in his "swaddles" (as we call it), give him his paci, and then start putting him down. The swaddler is a great signal that it's time to sleep.  He feels safe and snuggled, and warm.  There are a lot of good swaddlers out there. I know a lot of kids fight them, and that's ok.  I still think swaddling's the way to go until they just get out of it all the time.  That's my opinion, of course.

Our Family

I thought I would do an introduction to our family like Shannon did.  I have two children- Seth, age 3 1/2, and Elijah (Eli), age 7 months.  We adopted Seth when he was 9 months old, and he was the easiest baby in the world to care for.  He was ultra-content, slept like an angel, ate good and was just so easy to take places. In general, he is a typical three-year old now, but still super easy and has a great attention span.  This has been a blessing since the birth of Eli, who has been a very difficult baby to care for.  Eli was diagnosed with reflux when he wasn't even 3 weeks old.  He barely ever slept (most newborns are supposed to sleep 18-20 hours a day- we were lucky to get 12 in several 30-45 min chunks), and when he did sleep, it was restless and full of struggling.  He was never content, and just cried or squirmed and moaned when he was awake.  I don't think I put him down during the day longer than to change a diaper, because being flat on his back made it worse.  So we've been through medications, home-remedies, tests, visits to specialists, etc.  Add in a 6-day hospital stay at 6-weeks for RSV, and we're pretty exhausted.  But he is a lot happier now.  I'll go more into the reflux in a different post, but overall, he is doing well now but still has lots of difficulty with sleep.  So if you are an exhausted new mom, I can relate! We love both our boys and are looking forward to the day when Eli grows out of his tummy issues and they are both able to play happily together and we can do fun stuff as a family.  I work part-time (very part-time right now).  So I am trying to figure out the balance of life in general with two kids, and am just starting to grasp that idea! Hope you enjoy our blog and feel like you're not alone out there dealing with little ones!

This is an older post from another blog. I have copied it word for word and pasted it. It was written in late January of 2010. I can't say that everything I typed then still applies now, but I'm being lazy and just pasting it:

Here are some tips and tricks I have learned to make pumping and bottle feeding easier for me.

I began pumping when Katie was 4 or 5 weeks old. By that time she was on a solid 3 hour routine for feedings. She was also beginning to extend her nights. I had read somewhere, and absolutely found it to be true that your body produces more milk in the morning than in the evening. Therefore, in the morning I would feed Katie as normal. Then approximately 1 and 1/2 hours after she began eating, I would pump. I would have enough milk to store at least 4 ounces in the freezer, many times more. It would also not be a problem to feed Katie at the 3 hour mark, there was plenty of time to build my supply back up.

Here are some products related to pumping that I prefer and why:

-Medela Pump in Style pump-even though it is an expensive investment, I have found that it is a very reliable pump. When I had Brayden, I tried pumping with a cheaper electric pump and could never get more than a couple ounces. It is very easy to use and well worth the money in my opinion.

-Medela bottles- a small supply comes with the pump and I borrowed and purchased more to supplement my supply. Katie never had any issues accepting this bottle. It is very convenient because at times I just put the bottles that I have pumped into the fridge for later use. That way I don't have to transfer the milk and risk spilling any.

-Medela quick clean steam bags- I never looked to see if another brand carried these bags. They are fairly inexpensive. When I first began using my pump and bottles for Katie, I would wash and then sanitize the products on the stove for 10 minutes. Not only was it time consuming, but my water tended to leave a film on the products after I sanitized them. I have found that using the microsteam bags is much quicker and I do not have the problem with the film. With a high wattage microwave like mine, it only takes 1 and 1/2 minutes per load to steam.
***side note-Medela bottles are bpa free. Therefore they will take on a slightly cloudy appearance after they have been used and washed a couple times.

Last thought for the post-I have developed a washing/sanitizing system that works well in our home. I wash the bottles and pump parts. After I rinse them, I put them directly into the microsteam bag and steam them. When I remove them from the bag, I then put them on the drying rack on our counter. I usually put them away the following morning after all condensation has evaporated. When I am at work, my husband always knows that anything in the cabinet or on the drying rack is sanitized and ready to use.

Introduction to the Bush family

Since I am going to be a contributor, I thought a short introduction to our family would be in order. I am the mom of 3 kids, all with rapidly approaching birthdays. Stephanie is almost 11 and will be entering the 5th grade. Brayden is almost 4 and Katie is 10 months old. She will be one in late September.

With my first two children, I followed no schedule or routine. My parenting style at that time most closely resembled attachment parenting. By the time Katie joined us, I'd had the opportunity to watch some of my friends use the Babywise routine with much success. I decided to give it a try. In my own way I have used babywise with Katie since she was a couple weeks old. There were hard times, but mostly some really great times where I ended up with an extremely happy baby with a predictable routine. I will be the first to admit I have tweaked the concept to help it better fit my family.

I look forward to sharing our ups and downs and getting support from all my friends!

Welcome

Welcome to this blog! We are a group of people who are seeking to raise our kids well, support each other, and encourage others as we all navigate the craziness of raising kids. Please feel free to search by topics, and look at the labels for different topics to find what you're looking for.  You can comment, but remember, this isn't a place to debate.  We are here to share ideas, but not to start arguments.  We feel that there is enough negativity between moms- let's just all try and build each other up! All comments are reviewed before publishing, so it might take a day or so before your comment shows. Thanks, and we can't wait to hear from you!