Placenta Art

I knew before I gave birth that I wanted to keep my placenta and make a piece of art with it so I was sure to include in my birthing plan to not throw it away. Needless to say with a newborn (now an infant) and 2 other kids in school and sports the last thing on my mind was making something. This is gross but it has just been sitting in my fridge since after I gave birth. I didn't have room for it in the freezer with my enormous milk stash so that's where I left it. Finally today I got it out and came up with an idea so I could use it and throw it out. I got out a gift box spray painted it gold. While that was drying I got out the placenta, praying it wasn't molded and was still usable, luckily it was and used an old towel to absorb the blood. I used brown paint to cover the placenta and done a trial round first then put it on the gold. After that I put my sons hand and footprint on it in light blue. This may be gross to some people but I wish I would have done this with my first two and I think it is an awesome and beautiful keepsake.

After I made that I decided I would attempt to make an umbilical keepsake. I got on google and searched umbillical keepsake and I found instructions on how to dehydrate it. I cut it at the bottom, squeezed out all the blood/clots. Again, mine looks different as it has been sitting for quite a while but I laid it in a heart shape and popped into the oven, put oven on the lowest temp setting and cooked for 6 hours.

Afterwards I took it out and came up with a cute picture idea and got a beautiful shot with baby and cord.

Nursing in public

Nursing in public is a fear of so many women. They fear what othesr think or maybe you're modest and fear showing too much. I have known women who would formula feed and go without pumping because they didn't want to pump anywhere outside their house or feed around anyone except people they were comfortable around. Even with a cover some people still choose not to nurse in public. 

Then their are women who use a blanket or a cover. Atleast that way the baby is getting fed breastmilk and the breasts are covered. That makes women feel a little better about nursing in public and it usually reduces the stares, or does it?

I have 3 boys my oldest was formula fed, my middle son was mostly exclusively breastfed but over the course of 12 months we probably supplemented with about 3-4 cans of formula so I like to think I done good, and for this child he is exclusively breastfed. I have had my fair share of experiences with nursing in public.

Of course with a bottle no one cares and no one stares so with my first there was no problem. Then with Broox I had no problem nursing in public anywhere and every where but I did so with a blanket. I didn't have a cover so I just used a blanket instead. Yes, it was a little hard at first but once I got the hang of it I was fine and did so comfortably. I never had anyone make comments but while getting him latched on and everything fooling with a blanket definitely drew attention our way but I didn't care my main concern was getting him fed who cares what others think.

With my newest son Berran we no longer worry about a cover. I nurse in public without one and have found it is much easier and I feel as if I was doing it all wrong with Broox. I always wear a tank under my shirt and when he is ready to eat Pull down my tank and bra, get him in position and raise up my shirt and he latches right on.

No one has ever noticed me doing this and so many times I've had to tell people they cant hold or see him because he is eating. I even had a doctor examine him while he was nursing and she didn't even realize he was eating until I said something so yes it is discreet.

Us as mothers must know that our boobs are not sexual the world has just sexualized them and yes it is fine for you to few them as a sex symbol during certain intimate times but really they were made to nurture and feed our babies. It is not wrong to feed your baby in public, it is not gross, you are not trying to get attention or any of the above. You are trying to feed your child which is 100% natural and beautiful. A woman's body is remarkable we are able to make and carry a child and then continue to provide him with nutrients as long as we desire. That is just amazing to me and for some one to feel ashamed of nursing in general or in public, that saddens me.

So, for all you women who are scared or feel embarrassd nursing in public find a way that is comfortable to you. Practice in the mirror and in your house. Start nursing in small places out in public. Before you know it you will no longer feel that way and more than likely will graduate to no cover. Let's all come together and naturalize breastfeeding!

Kid lunch idea

Broox is the child who is not a fan of bread but loves his meat and cheese so for his lunch instead of sandwiches he likes meat and cheese roll ups. For this I use 1 piece of turkey, 1 piece of ham, and slices of cheddar cheese. I open up the meat place cheese on it and roll it up very simple. For this lunch we used...

•simple truth ham

•simple truth turkey

•sliced cheddar cheese

•ritz crackers

•sugar free gummies

•fresh watermelon pieces

•all natural squeezable buddy fruits

•Capri sun

Hello to 3 months!

 

Three months has came and gone so fast. The newborn stage is now over. It saddens me at how fast babies grow. I would love for him to stay small forever. I haven't been able to weigh him but I'm positive he is at least 14 pounds. He smiles all the time, loves to listen and watch me, daddy and his big brothers. He responds to us all with big grins and coos. He loves to watch the 'baby tv' shows on netflix he will sit and watch it for a good hour or until he falls asleep, which is nice for me mainly when I have to clean or cook. He still sleeps all the time, he loves to sleep all morning long until noon. He is also sleeping great through the night sometimes he sleeps all night 10pm-6am other nights he wakes up once between 3-5am. It has been a great 3 months!

3 months does not only mean he is 3 months old, to me it is much more special. 3 months means we have made it 3 months of exclusively breastfeeding which is my first breastfeeding goal. We have an awesome nursing relationship and I am thrilled that after we overcame the problems in the beginning it has been nothing but greatness. He nurses on demand, has a great latch, I produce plenty of milk, and have a stash built. I am beyond thankful to be able to provide his food and nutrients while being able to bond with him. Now for the next goal, 6 months!

Quick and easy Breastfeeding breakfast/snack

I am not a big oatmeal eater and until now I don't think I had ate oatmeal since I was a child. I had read how oatmeal is great for breastfeeding moms and healthy too! Oatmeal has many health benefits ; it helps lower cholestoral, contains complex carbs, high in fiber and aside from that it helps with energy and can help your milk supply. I thought I'd give it a try again. Now, I've seen a lot of people posting about chia seeds so while in Kroger I stumbled upon Simple Truth Organic instant cinnamon and cranberry chia oatmeal. Incase you are not familiar with chia seeds here is a picture from www.authoritynutrition.com with some information.

To me this seemed like something I could eat every morning to help me with breastfeeding, have energy, feel fuller longer and to be healthy. I bought some and decided to add my own touch. I added some fresh strawberries, blueberries, apple pieces and cooked it all together. Once it was ready I topped it off with some Simple Truth organic vanilla yogurt. This was a yummy treat that would be good any time of the day!

What you'll need:

 

•1 packet simple truth organic cranberry & cinnamon chia oatmeal.

•2 strawberries

•8-10 blueberries

•10 apple pieces

•water

•milk 

•organic low fat vanilla yogurt

1- pour oatmeal in bowl, cut up your fruit and add it in. 

2- add water just enough to soak the oats/fruit but not drown them.

3- I cook my oatmeal for 2 minutes but depending on your microwave it may be less. I cook them until all the water is absorbed and they are fluffy.

4- I add a little milk to cool it off and to make it a little more soupy as the water is usually completely soaked up after the microwave. Do as you please for the consistency you desire.

5- stir it up and top it with some vanilla yogurt. It kind of reminds me of a hot pie/cobbler with vanilla Icecream.

 

Hope you enjoy!

Their first WIN!

The Rams 6u won their first game of the season Saturday (9-13-14)  Braxton and Broox both play on the team. This is their first year and although this is only their second game it has been so exciting and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. They played the Bengals who have some good sized boys compared to our team but we managed to win. It was a good game leaving the final score Rams 19 and Bengals 18. Braxton didn't do his best this game. He done awesome at practice all week then it was as if he got out on the field and forgot what to do. I think he's just nervous and still learning the game. Broox really wowed us with his blocking skills. He is pretty much an extra on the team as he is the youngest and did not want to participate much in the beginning but he has really came around. He had to block the biggest guy on the Bengals who was much bigger than him and he held out. I was very proud of him, I was proud of both of them. All that matters to me is that they are out there having fun. They are only kids it's about having fun, learning the game and not about being the best or winning every time. 

Raffertys Potato Soup

I have always loved my granny's potato soup for as long as I can remember. It was one of my favorite dishes. One day she made a new recipe and it was to die for. She told me it was the homemade version of Raffertys potato soup which includes bacon and cheese! Now, I have never had their potato soup so I'm unsure how it compares but I must say this is one of my favorite fall/winter dishes and it is approved by Broox my youngest child. This is my own recipe as the original does not call for anything lite or fat free. I tried to make it a little healthier.

What you'll need:

• 2 packages of fat free cream cheese

• 16 oz finely shredded cheddar cheese 

• 1 can fat free cream of mushroom

• 1 can fat free cream of celary

• 1 package of low sodium bacon bits 

• about 6 good size potatoes

• 1 onion

• stick of butter

• 1 cup of milk

• salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic salt

1- peel your potatoes, cut them up in cubes, place in strainer and rinse.

2- put the burner on medium heat, fill a soup pan about half full with water. Once boiling add in potatoes.

3- boil until they are soft. You don't want them too soft as they may mash up in the soup.

4- once done place them in strainer.

5- slice up the onion 

6- in a soup pan add in half a stick of butter and 2 packages of cream cheese and the sliced onion. Stir them until melted.

7- once melted add in cream of mushroom and cream of celery. 

8- once everything is creamy and mixed up good add in the potatoes and the milk. Add more milk to get the consistency you like.

9- add salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion powder to flavor for your liking. 

10- add in the package of bacon bits and half a cup of cheese stir together. 

11- you may top it off with more cheese and more bacon if you'd like.

We enjoy corn bread as a side to this dish. Hope you enjoy!

Kid lunch idea

We tried out a new lunch idea today! Broox loved it and said he got full.

•turkey pepperonis 

•lite mozzarella string cheese

•sugar free gummies 

•strawberries

•blueberries

•small serving of cheezits 

•danimals yogurt

•Capri sun

I used cupcake liners to separate the fruit and cheezits.

Happy 7th Birthday Braxton!

Yesterday 09-09-2014 my oldest son Braxton turned 7. It's amazing how fast time goes by. I've learned you really have to treasure each day and every moment because time flies and before you know it your once small baby is no longer a baby. Braxton is such a smart little boy. He reminds me so much of myself. He is a picky eater, worries about what he wears, how he looks and what people think, his shoes have to be tied the same tightness, the line in his socks have to be in a certain spot on his foot and all of these little things that annoy me are the same exact things that I done as a child when I was his age. We knock heads and argue because we are exactly alike but I couldn't be any happier with him. He is the precious gift that turned my life around and although we weren't able to throw him a huge party like we normally do he was more than happy with our small celebration at home and he was stoked when he realized he was receiving money along with his gift.

 

Happy Birthday Braxton!

What's been going on

I have had a very hectic last week and a half. For myself I have been struggling with a sickness for 2 weeks now. Tried to get over it without the doctors help which ended up being a horrible idea. I was running a temperature, body aches, chills then my throat started hurting. Finally was able to get some medicine and now I am trying to get over an awful cough and congestion. I am NOT a sick person so this is awful for me, but I guess it's that time of year and I'm thankful the kids haven't caught it. I was seriously considering drinking my breast milk to see if that would help me get well.

Aside from that we've had some exciting things happen. Berran had his 2 month shots. He done great. He cried a little but as soon as I picked him up he immediatly stopped. I'm guessing it didn't hurt him too bad.

I had a meeting with Brooxs teacher and speech teacher. He has corrected everything he had been working on since last year and is now moving on to new sounds. He is doing great in school and has made me proud by getting higher than just 'good' (green) everyday. He just started homework this week and he has been very excited to begin reading even if it is just him memorizing the book, that's how we all start out anyways. 

Braxton, now he has been something else! I definitely had a proud mom moment with him this week. Last week he received a note how he was the first student to clip off the charts which means he was the first to get the best colors green, purple, blue causing him to clip off the charts and start all over. This week I received a note how he was receiving the extra effort award this month during their monthly awards ceremony. As some of you may know I am without a car right now and I could not miss him receiving his award so Bear and I walked to the school so we would not miss his big moment. He makes me so proud!

The last highlight of the week would be their first football game they played Saturday. Their first game was actually supposed to be 2 weeks ago but due to heat it was cancelled. Now our team the Rams is a very small group of only 12 kids, leaving only 1 extra (Broox). Broox has not been very excited about football but he has been doing so much better and Improving each practice. He is the youngest on the team. We probably could have waited a year for him but I think he will benefit from it. Braxton has been doing great so I really had no concerns with his first game. Sadly, they lost but it looked like they had a great time and it was a pretty good game. Braxton done an awesome job, played a hard game and played the entire time. Broox was put in for about 5 plays and he really surprised me. I was glad to see him blocking and not turning away, as that is something he has been working hard on. My poor baby Broox hurt his hand and was a little upset about that but he eventually shook it off. The main thing is that they had fun and to me that's all that matters.

I'm looking forward to their next game!

Cloth diaper storage

It's usually easy when it comes to storing disposables but with cloth diapers you want something so they can stay organized and in rotation that way one is not getting worn more than the other. Can you do this cheaply? Yes! I was on Pinterest and came across a basket idea but the baskets they were using were expensive and that is not what I had in mind.

One day while I was at the Dollar Tree where EVERYTHING is $1 I came across an isle of baskets. Now they weren't as good or as sturdy as the ones I had seen but they looked like they would do so I purchased 6 of them at $1 a piece. 

These baskets were just plain colored nothing special. I planned on doing my nursery in silver, gold, and black. I had a can of silver spray paint ($3) but no gold so I went out and bought a can which was around $3. I sprayed 3 baskets gold and 3 silver. Let them dry.

Once they were dry I used a drill with a screw bit and screwed one single screw in the top center of the basket to keep it hanging on the wall. 

It took no time to make this and my final cost was only $12! So far they've held up nicely. I even purchased an extra basket and sprayed it, it's used for my cloth wipes.

Cinnamon Banana Almond Butter Pancakes

I posted a recipe before that was pancakes made with bananas and eggs. I personally was not a big fan of this but I did enjoy the banana taste in them so I decided to come up with my own concoction even though I'm sure it's online or in a recipe book somewhere.

What you'll need:

•whole wheat pancake mix 

•almond butter

•1 ripe banana

•cinnamon

•vanilla extract

•mixer

•cooking spray 

•lite or sugar free syrup 

1- mix up the batter as instructed on the back of the box for how many pancakes you'd like. this recipe is for about 10 pancakes.

2- slice banana and drop into batter.

3- sprinkle cinnamon on the top to your liking. 

4- using a teaspoon that you'd eat with fill it with vanilla extract and dump into batter.

5- with the same teaspoon scoop out 4 good size scoops of almond butter and add to the batter.

6- with mixer blend everything until no banana chunks are left.

7- use cooking spray on your pan, pour batter to the size of pancake you'd like

8- flip pancakes until a golden brown, repeat last 2 steps until batter is gone

 

These were absolutely wonderful and had my house smelling so good! Assuming you use a very ripe banana it will have an awesome flavor to it. This was a big hit in my household and we all enjoyed. We topped it with some lite syrup and ate them up. If you have some left overs put them in baggies and freeze for a quick breakfast some other day!

Sunning your diapers

• It will save you money on your electric because you will not have to use your dryer, it bleaches the stains right out, gives them a fresh smell, and the uv kills bacteria. 

There are a few things I've read but not had to deal with (okay 1) on the down side to sunning.

• Leaving them in the direct sun or heat too long can ruin your PUL/TPU, the weather may change without you knowing and they may get rained or snowed on (this one has happened to me!) and of course bugs.

Now all of these are easily avoidable. Don't leave them out too long or remove them from direct sun once bleached out, check the weather, and check diapers for bugs. I would not recommend drying diapers and covers (inserts are fine) because drying can shorten the life of your diaper so sun and hang dry as often as possible. I have a few pics to show how well sun bleaching works.

Wah la! Stains be gone! The sun works wonders on stains.

*for more tips on cloth diapering please comment and I can email you a copy of my cloth diaper 101 booklets. This includes diaper prep, wash routine, dry routine, cd safe rash creams, ways to strip your diaper, ways to rid yeast from diapers, DIY no sew wipe fabric, and wipe solution.*

Hello September

September is a great month, well if you love fall. This is the month when every one begins to set out their beautiful fall decorations, football on Friday nights, hot apple cider with the family, fall festivals begin and most importantly my oldest sons birthday!

It has been a hot past 2 weeks so I am definitely looking forward to some cooler weather. Fall is one of my favorite seasons (next to spring). I personally feel as if it is the season that brings us closer together as a family. We enjoy the festivals together, pumpkin patches, Halloween, and one of my favorites Thanksgiving. Yes, I know Halloween is in October and Thanksgiving in November but with September here that means they are nearing soon.

In September id really like to attend 2 new fall festivals. We just moved about a year ago therefore this is our first September here and I'm sure there are a few festivals we can find rather than going to the same hometown ones we grew up attending. I'd also like for us to attempt hiking as a family again (we did back in July) but this time actually make it to the correct destination. I'll definitely keep you posted on how those things work out for us!

Hope you are ready to enjoy the beautiful month of September as well.

How I overcame mastitis

I've talked about the clogged ducts which were awful but not anywhere near mastitis. My mastitis came up shortly after the clogged duct which was the same time I was dealing with over supply. I had an oversupply with my second son but still not near as much as with Berran. On a Friday my left breast began feeling like a bruise. It wasn't red yet just really tender, couldn't move on that side at all without it hurting. Luckily my step mom had taken the two older boys that weekend and I was still on maternity leave so I was able to get plenty of rest. By that night I had body chills, aches and a fever. I was taking ibuprofen every 6 hours. I contacted my breastfeeding peer counselor Saturday morning as I was still in pain and running a temperature. She told me to continue the ibuprofren, nursing from that side, drinking water, resting  and go to the doctor as soon as I could. It was a weekend so I was going to have to wait until Monday. All day Saturday Bear and I spent the entire day in the bed. I was nursing him from my left side every 3 hours and pumping the right side. At this point my breast was red and feeling hot so I began doing hot compress before feeding and cold compress after. I definitely was not feeling any better. I began nursing him in every position I could think of, anything to clear the lump out. I continued doing those things throughout the rest of the day and night. Sunday I was feeling a little better. I was able to get out of bed and complete some light house work but soon enough I was down again. I could not wait until Monday morning to get some antibiotics but until then I continued doing what I had been doing. He woke up for his 3am feeding and I felt wonderful but I thought it was probably just the ibuprofen making me feel better. Woke up Monday still feeling good. Skipped out on the doctor and felt so accomplished because I had overcame it without antibiotics! I was very lucky that it did not turn into full blown mastitis. 

If you begin feeling mastitis symptoms you should:

•nurse from the effected side first and every feeding.

•stay in the bed you need plenty of rest.

•keep plenty of drinking water near by you must stay hydrated.

•hot compress before a feeding and cold compress after.

•massage your boob.

•nurse baby with his/her nose in the direction of the lump.

•if that doesn't work try switching nursing positions.

*I am not a doctor and this is just information I was given to help relieve the pain and symptoms of mastitis. If you think you have an infection or the pain persists after trying every home remedy you can then seek help from a doctor,*