Hello Again!

I have not blogged in quite a while. Its been busy around here not just with Isaac but with life in general. Its summer time so we've been going out of town more often. Getting a routine has been somewhat of a challenge but I think I am finally starting to get one going (crossing fingers)

Isaac is now three months old and I can't believe it. I am already missing that newborn stage and its giving me baby fever! I just want him to stop growing now. I dont mind holding, snuggling and nurturing him forever :-P He is such an awesome baby. He never woke me up more than once at night. He is now sleeping through the night, he has been since about a month ago. He is always laughing and cooing (if he is not gassy) It is such a joy being his mommy.

Now whats going on with us?

Breastfeeding

I am exclusively breastfeeding and its going great. He eats a lot, if I were to let him eat all the day long he probably would.  I will be honest in admitting that throughout my whole pregnancy what I feared the most was not the delivery but breastfeeding. I was so determined I would breastfeed but I was so nervous to not be able to do so, for whatever reason. I guess I had just heard too many stories of how bad it was for some and how they HAD to stop. I was scared, What if I can't do it?, What if no milk comes out?, What if it hurts too much? I read and read and was determined I WOULD BREASTFEED no matter what and so I did. After he came that was the first thing I did. There was after birth pains every time I fed him initially. Woah did they hurt but after a couple days they went away. I did feel some pain at every letdown for about the first month. None of it was enough to stop me. I didn't have any formula to fall back on either so in a way that helped and kept me motivated. There is also something almost magical about that time you get to bond with your baby while breastfeeding. At the age he is at now he will randomly stop, look at me and just smile…it melts my heart.

Now I do have a pump and I try to pump once every morning. I have a Medela Pump in Style and I like it very much. I introduced a bottle to him at two weeks and he gulped it down then again I gave him a bottle at six weeks. I am glad that he has not had any issues taking a bottle since we have been traveling so much. My hubby bought me a receptacle I can plug my pump to on the road so I dont get engorged. I love it! It definitely helps on long trips.

Cloth Diapering


I am part-time cloth diapering, if that makes any sense haha. We have not been able to in one bulk get our cloth diapers. There has been many new expenses on our budget with Isaac in the picture.  They are rather expensive but a great investment in the long run. There are cheaper alternatives to cloth but for now I am sticking with pockets (which you stuff) and all in ones (AIO) which are ready to go.

Brands I have tried so far is Bumgenius and Rumparooz. I plan on writing reviews based on my experience with them. I just ordered Bumgenius Flips with organic inserts, one Oh Katy pocket diaper and a few more Rumparooz which I am contemplating returning for more Bumgenius AIOs. Can you tell which kind I'm liking more already?

I did win a Envibum diaper so I can't wait to try that too.

I love cloth diapering! I am doing it about every other day and hopefully soon Ill be able to full time cloth diaper my baby.  It is not as hard as many imagine. You take it off and toss it in your wash bag. Now if its poop since I'm breast-feeding its water soluble so no worries. There are also liners you can use for when poop becomes solid so you just remove the liner and throw that away and toss it in your laundry bag. Not any messier than regular diapers in my opinion. Plus there are so many cute prints out there. It is quite addicting!

Plus I think Isaacs hinny is much happier, no rashes.

Diet and Exercise

Since I am exclusively breastfeeding it is not recommended you subject yourself to any diet or rigorous exercise routine it can release toxins into your bloodstream and milk. So I haven't exercised much, I started walking and well that didn't go so well. My left leg has given out on me for some unknown reason. Im still trying to figure it out.

As far as diet goes, making the right choices is about as much as I can do while breastfeeding. Its quite hard though with my pregnancy cravings seem to be lingering haha. NOT GOOD! I am constantly hungry it seems. I can't eat certain things that upset Isaacs belly.

We are back to eating white meat, still sticking away from dairy, but we mostly eat vegetarian diet at home. getting back on track is harder than I expected.

I have 15lbs lingering in my body from pregnancy and they seem to be happy and content to be where they are. :( My Isaac is worth every pound though.

Here is a few pictures of my growing baby:

At 1 month old with his Bumgenius print AIO

with Daddy at two months old

at 3 months such a cutie

My love and I just celebrated our third wedding anniversary and I couldn't be more in love!

I thank my Lord for the many blessings he has given me. 

I have new yummy recipes to post soon I hope :) I will try to keep up with my blogging. See you later loves.

Jeni

A Home Birth Story: A Bradley Birth

I had a beautiful pregnancy lasting a total of 41 weeks. From before the time I knew I would ever be pregnant both Chris and I had decided we wanted to have a home birth. I was excited to learn on September 6, 2010 we were expecting. We got prenatal care from a wonderful midwife. She recommended we take a Bradley Class. I have to admit a first we really thought it over and even thought about not taking it. After all, most everyone says “You never remember anything from class/books anyway.” 

After a whole lot of thinking we decided to take the class to better prepare us for our home birth. I will say that I attribute much of the success of my birth to taking this class. Not only did we both feel educated, confident and prepared but most importantly I trusted my body to do what it was designed to do. I had no doubt in my mind...I COULD DO THIS. 

Towards the end of my pregnancy I kept positive. I read many of the books I had read earlier in my pregnancy to better prepare me mentally. I read blogs and articles that empowered natural childbirth. I went into labor with a positive state of mind. 

I maintained active and ate healthy throughout my pregnancy. It was an amazing pregnancy, I enjoyed every moment of it. Our baby was a total surprise. I had no ultrasounds by choice and I not once got checked for dilatation. 

Birth Story 

Thursday, May 5th I started my “show” all throughout that day until hours before the birth I kept losing bits and pieces. On Thursday throughout the day I exercised on the birthing ball. Towards the end of the night I began to feel light contractions. 

Friday, May 6th I woke up from contractions at around 2:30 a.m. but was able to go back to sleep. At 4:22 a.m. I started timing contractions after waking up from them they were about 7-8 minutes apart. I called my doula and midwife at around 6:30 a.m. to let them know what was going on. By then my contractions were down to 6 minutes apart lasting from 45 seconds to 1 minute. Chris decided to stay home from work in case this really was the “real deal” I continued to have contractions throughout the day. We ate a good breakfast to keep me fueled through the day. 

By 10 a.m. I took a warm shower in effort to better relax my body. I walked around my house and used the birthing ball on and off pausing for contractions. Chris and I spent most the morning chatting away in between contractions. Chris helped me by massaging me and talking me through each contraction. We took a break to eat lunch and I continued to pause between contractions as I ate. Chris made sure all throughout the day I kept hydrated making sure my cup of water was never empty. 

My doula arrived in between our lunch which was around 3 p.m. My family arrived shortly after at around 4 p.m. Contractions were down to 3-5 minutes apart varying in between lasting an average of a minute long. Our doula recommended Chris and I go out for a walk around my neighborhood so we did. 

As we were walking around the neighborhood contractions REALLY picked up towards the end of our walk we were having to stop every 30 seconds. We came back home and I continued using the birthing ball to rock and do hands and knees exercises. It was around 8 p.m. by then and we decided to call the midwife to come over. I took another hot shower and this time contractions were a lot stronger. I took another break to eat dinner.   

My doula and Chris helped me relax by massaging, providing water, and reminding me to breath correctly all throughout the day. Contractions started to last a minute to a minute and a half and some even coming back to back. 

One of the midwives came at around 9:30 p.m. Baby’s heart rate and position was checked, he was a lot lower than midwife had anticipated. She decided it was time to start filling the bathtub for me to get in. Around 10:00 p.m. was when contractions started getting stronger and longer. The other midwife arrived then. It was around 11:30 p.m. when I felt and actually saw my water break under the water. Everyone laughed when I said “Ohh, something came out!” in horror haha. It was clear and it all looked good. Then contractions really started picking up. I suddenly started feeling the urge to push.To be completely honest I thought I was about to poop on myself. There was no doubt in my mind I was going to poop in front of all my spectators   

Isaac’s head came out at 11:57 p.m. and his body came out at 11:59 p.m. it took 5 pushes all together to get him out.   All I remember towards the end was thinking I had no energy left to do this. I kept praying “God give me the strength, because I dont have it” . I ended up laying on my side when birthing. I practiced positions for months and I did not expect to labor in that position. In all reality I wanted to get up on my knees and do it but I had no energy to even try. 

When Isaac came out the first thing I did when they handed him to me was reach underneath his butt to see what sex the baby was haha. I wanted to make sure I was the first to know what my “surprise” baby was. I quickly told Chris it was a BOY. He wanted to know how I knew so fast, no one had said anything. (I explained to him what I had done later. He couldnt believe I had “groped” his child. Hahaha!) I held him and we waited until the cord stopped throbbing so Daddy could clamp it. Then we waited until I gave birth to the placenta. Good grief I felt so much relief after that like I had given birth all over again. 

My amazing husband Chris was by my side every step of the way I honestly could not have done it without him, his support made a huge difference. Having a doula definitely helped as well. They were such an important part of my strength to keep going. Towards the end I did not think I had the energy to push or hold myself up anymore their words of encouragement really made the difference. 

I not once doubted my body in its ability to guide me through the greatest task of my life. Surprisingly I never thought of any type of pain relief. I felt completely relaxed throughout the whole process and I felt in control. I had the birth I wanted, I entered the birth without fear in my mind and left fearless and empowered. 

I dazzled everyone! Chris said I made it look so easy. I did not feel as in control as everyone else thought I was. One of the midwives even said it looked like this was my fifth time around, about how great I did   

I did end up with a second degree tear even with months of prepping my perineum with exercises and such. He had a big noggin   

Isaac Daniel was born Friday, May 6, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. He was 8 lbs 1 oz. and 21 1/4 inches long. 

Birth Plan

I think I am just about done with my Birth Plan. I have yet to review it with my midwife and doula so a few changes may be in the works. I aimed more towards in case of transport to a hospital as my midwife and doula know I wish for a natural birth. We have gone over the things I wished for my birth when we first started seeing each other.

I started with a cover letter and then made easy to read list divided into sections. Cover letter is not necessary but I liked the idea of it. I think it may be a little long, you dont want it to be long. You also want your birth plan to be easy to read and understand. Be flexible in your birth plan and realize it may not go exactly as planned so plan to be flexible. It is mainly a list of wishes and preferences for your birth. Make sure you go over your birth plan with your midwife or doctor as well as you coach or whoever will be assisting you with your birth, in my case my husband. You want to make sure they agree with the choices you've made and that they wont go against them.

I hope this helps you if you were in search of one. This is MY birth preferences, and I am in no way implying you do the same. I am providing this as an aid for others who may be in total confusion as to what a birth plan is. Ive had many friends have no clue what I was talking about when I first mentioned it.

Here it is:

50 days until we meet you…maybe.

It is amazing to look back and think of how fast you have grown little baby. Today marks 50 more days until our baby is due. I have enjoyed every minute of it. Chris has been the most amazing Daddy to be. We are getting more and more excited as the days pass by. We are so anxious to know whether its a baby girl or baby boy.

We finally finished painting the baby's room. We put up the crib, the bedding, and accessories. Now we are still putting a few finishing touches and are on the look out for furniture.

Heres the room so far:

My Baby shower invite!

Elegant Script Pink Baby Shower Invitation

Turn your cute baby pictures into cute baby shower invitations.

View the entire collection of cards.

Love is in the air!

Goodness its been soo long since I last posted. I am 28 weeks and 5 days I cannot believe time is flying on by. Into my last trimester and as weird as it sounds I feel refreshed and energized. Baby has been moving like crazy and I am loving it! Its truly such a miracle and I am amazed God has allowed me to take part in the miracle of life. I feel so blessed.

Valentines day is so close already, can you believe it? I want to bake something special for my love. He has been great and I am blessed to be a part of his life. As many of you know we are having a natural home birth (Lord willing) and we decided to take a Bradley Class. If any of you out there are planning a natural birth even if its not your first birth and want to try a natural birth I highly recommend taking this class. I am so glad we decided to take it. It has helped me to better prepare and to be more aware of the many choices I have when I give birth. Not only has it helped me but it has helped my husband understand the process of pregnancy better. It has brought us closer together.

I Will Be A Wonderful Mother

Sorry Ive been busy with the holidays and all. Thought I would share this poem I found and brought tears to my eyes. I am so blessed and in many ways I believe we all are.


I Will Be A Wonderful Mother 

There are women who become mothers without effort, 
without thought, 
without patience or loss, 
and though they are good mothers and love their children, 
I know that I will be better. 

I will be better not because of genetics or money or because I have read more books, 
but because I have struggled and toiled for this child. 
I have longed and waited. 
I have cried and prayed. 
I have endured and planned over and over again. 

Like most things in life,
the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams. 
I will notice everything about my child. 
I will take time to watch my child sleep, explore, and discover. 
I will marvel at this miracle every day for the rest of my life. 
I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold, and feed him and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream. 
My dream will be crying for me.