Our Beautiful Blessings

Health & Fitness Binder {Free Printables}

2015-02-06T20:53:00.000-05:00

Now that I am 6 weeks postpartum, I have decided that it's time to start seriously focusing on my health. I know that I need to be organized. I decided to create a binder, but of course I wanted it to look cute, so I designed it and made exactly what I was wanting. And now I can share them with you!

There is a front cover, goals page, and a page for weight & body measurements.

I also made pages to write down recipes.

Click here to download the Free Health & Fitness Binder Printables.
The above printables are for personal use only.

All of the background digital papers were designed by Just Peachy Designs.

Graham - 1 Month Old

2015-01-26T19:32:00.000-05:00

I can't believe our little Graham is 1 month old! This month has gone by so fast! I'm sure I'll be saying the same thing every month because time really does just seem to go by so fast.

Graham weighs 8lbs 3oz & is 20.5in long.
He loves to nurse & sleep. He likes watching Dominic be silly. He enjoys tummy time.

Graham was not happy about getting his picture taken today.

Supplies for Freebirth/UC

2015-01-24T17:57:00.001-05:00

These are the things that we found most useful during our labor & birth. We purchased our supplies that we didn't already have from In His Hands.

Supply List for Labor & Birth:

Depends - helpful after your water breaks
Chux Pads - quite a few of these
Towels - lots of towels
Waterproof Mattress protector (bought at Wal-Mart)
A few plastic sheets for floor - you never know where you'll give birth (bought these at Dollar Tree)
Old Sheets

Placenta/Cord Care:

Sterilized Scissors
Something to tie off the cord (dental floss, shoe lace, cord clamp)
Bowl for Placenta

For Hemorrhaging (just suggestions, do your own research):

Shepherd's Purse Tincture or Wombstringe - for use after placenta has delivered if there is excessive bleeding
Angelica Root Tincture - for expelling the placenta if it takes too long
A slice of placenta held in cheek or under tongue can also help stop excessive bleeding

Postpartum Care

Herbal Sitz Bath
Peri Bottle
Depends & Pads
Witch Hazel

For Baby

Tape Measure
Infant Scale (purchased on Amazon)
Diapers

There aren't really many special things needed for birth. These are simply my suggestions for things that are nice to have on hand.

You can read Graham's freebirth story here.
You can read about our journey to choosing UC here.
You can read about how we prepared for our freebirth here.

Preparing for Freebirth/UC

2015-01-24T17:57:00.000-05:00

When I was 20 weeks pregnant we decided that we would be doing a UC. We knew that birth was not a medical emergency & therefore there was no reason to have a medical provider present during birth. However, most people don't know that & would disagree with us. Because of this we decided to keep our plans a secret. We didn't want any negativity. (We did end up telling my mom because we knew that she would be receptive. We asked her to come up and be with us during labor & birth to help with entertaining Dominic.)

During nap time I would read & study about childbirth. The most important thing was for us to learn what normal, natural childbirth looks like. If you know what it should look like, then you can quickly identify when something is wrong. We studied the most common (though still extremely uncommon) complications & what to do during each of them. We decided what would necessitate transferring to the hospital. We applied the same principles to newborn behavior.

These were some of my favorite & most utilized resources in preparing for our UC:

Facebook support groups - There are many different UC support groups. My favorite is a Christian group. Talking to other women who have had UCs was very encouraging. I got lots of good advice from them & learned lots as well. There were always good educational articles being shared.
Unassisted Childbirth website
Heart & Hands: A Midwife's Guide to Pregnancy & Birth - book
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth - book
Spinning Babies - Excellent resource for learning how to identify baby's position & how to get them optimally positioned during birth. Also has helpful tips for during labor.
Shoulder Dystocia - article
Nuchal Cords - article about the cord around baby's neck
9 Surprising Facts about the Cord Around a Baby's Neck - article
Delayed Cord Clamping - article
The Birth Pause
13 Labor tips from 2 five-time Moms
Top 5 Resources for Planning an Unassisted Birth
I also loved reading random UC stories as I would come across them.

You can read Graham's freebirth story here.
You can read about our journey to choosing UC here.
You can read our supply list for our UC here.

Our Journey to Choosing Freebirth/UC

2015-01-24T17:56:00.000-05:00

Our journey to deciding to freebirth was an interesting one. It definitely all started with Dominic's birth. Nothing went the way that we wanted it to. It was long, painful, and exhausting. And then the hospital staff just exhausted us more after Dominic was born. They told me I couldn't sleep with him, I had to put him in a little plastic box across the room from me. They came and woke us all up at least every 3 hours. & the one thing they should have done was identify, diagnose & treat Dominic's tongue tie - they didn't do that though.

After that experience we knew we wanted something different for our next birth. We definitely didn't wan to go to the hospital or a birth center. Neither had worked out well for us last time & we did not want to repeat the experience.

So when we found out we were pregnant, we talked about hiring a midwife for a home birth. We interviewed 1 & I met with another. Neither of them really seemed like a good fit for us, nor could we afford them. So then we thought that we would just have to end up birthing at a hospital. I went to 1 appointment & had blood work done. I knew I really didn't want a hospital birth, but thought I didn't have much of a choice.

One month later, I got ready & drove over to the hospital for my next doctor's appointment. I had Dominic with me. I left 30 minutes earlier than I needed to in order to make sure I got there on time. I park in the garage & go inside. I walk around, but can't find the office I'm supposed to go to. I ask a lady at a desk for directions. She tells me where to go. I go there & find that the office has moved & is in a different building. I try calling the office to let them know I'm running late & no one answers. At this point I'm 30 minutes late & angry. I just left. I got in the car & drove home. I was incredibly frustrated. Me and Dominic came inside & while he took a nap, I began researching unassisted childbirth, something Stephen had jokingly suggested a couple months before.

I loved everything I read about it. All the UC stories were wonderful. When Stephen got home I talked to him about it & he was totally on board. I spent time praying about it. We knew that this was the right kind of birth for us & that God had fully equipped us to be able to do this.

You can read Graham's freebirth story here.
You can read about how we prepared for our freebirth here.
You can read about the supplies we had on hand for our UC here.

Adventures in Tandem Nursing (Part 1)

2015-01-24T13:52:00.003-05:00

Dominic nursed all the way through my pregnancy. It was painful & I had major nursing aversion at times. Both of those things are normal, but they are definitely tough to get through! I just couldn't take this away from Dominic. My goal had always been to try to make it at least 2 years nursing him because it is super beneficial & it's such a great bonding time for us. I did night wean Dominic when he was around 15 months old I think. It was definitely needed. So before Graham was born Dominic was nursing 2-5 times a day. Always at nap time & bed time, & usually first thing in the morning.

I wasn't sure how Dominic would do with sharing his nursies. One time we pretended that one of his bears were nursing & he got upset. Then he came, grabbed the bear, and threw it in the floor. I was hoping he wouldn't have that reaction to Graham nursing. & he hasn't! He's been great with Graham nursing & never seems to get jealous. Newborns definitely nurse a lot, which has made Dominic ask to nurse more frequently as well. He just sees Graham doing it & then decides that he wants to as well. I've been distracting him from it sometimes, but he still nurses about 3 times a day.

I was a little nervous about breastfeeding because of my previous experience with Dominic those first few weeks causing me to have low supply. I share a bit about that in these posts: Dominic's First 10 Days, Breastfeeding Struggles, Breastfeeding Struggles - Part 2. Graham did have a tongue tie, but we knew what to look for & took care of that quickly. Because of his high palate that the tongue tie caused we can only get a really good deep latch in the football hold. It works well & actually is the perfect position for nursing both boys at the same time. Graham is exclusively breastfed! He's doing really well & gaining weight perfectly! It is such a relief. & I'm actually able to nurse both of them! So awesome!

Dominic will sometimes even hold Graham's hand while both of them nurse! It's so sweet. I really am so glad that I stuck it out through pregnancy & now have this experience of tandem nursing them.

I'm interested to see how long Dominic keeps nursing. I don't see him giving it up on his own any time soon, and I have no plans to wean him.

Graham's Birth Story

2015-01-23T22:06:00.000-05:00

I started noticing more frequent contractions that were stronger than Braxton hicks on Monday the 22^nd. They weren’t regular & were barely stronger, so I didn’t think much of them, I kept having them off and on over the next few days. I also noticed that I was getting really emotional about everything, which is totally not like me. I suspected that Graham would probably be born within the next 2 weeks, thinking that around New Year was most likely.

bump picture from Dec 24

I was awoken at 4am on Christmas Day by my water breaking. At first I thought that I was peeing, but it just kept coming. I was shocked. I went to the bathroom & got cleaned up, put a towel on the bed and just went back to sleep. Dominic slept through it all, so I didn’t want to change the sheets & disturb him. We got up around 8:30 & I told Stephen what had happened. I wasn’t having real, regular contractions yet, so we just went about the day just like we had planned to. I did call my mom that morning to let her know & asked her to go ahead and drive up soon. The plan was for her to be here to help with Dominic during labor & birth. Then we opened presents & had breakfast. It was a lot of fun. And later we all took an afternoon nap.

After the nap we ate a late lunch & worked on getting things picked up around the apartment. At 6:15pm I decided it was time to try something to get labor going. So I went in our bedroom & got in the hands & knees position for about 10 minutes & listened to some music. Then I just sat on the bed and looked at the Spinning Babies website for more ideas to encourage labor to begin (though I never did anything else). After that the contractions started coming regularly about 15 minutes apart, though they still didn’t feel very strong to me. My mom & sister arrived at 7pm. We all just hung out for a while, talking & laughing.

Things started picking up & getting intense around 9:30pm. My mom & sister went up to the hotel. My mom came back around 10 to help with Dominic. I sat on the edge of the couch so that my knees & hips were even & labored there for probably 1.5 hours. We only had the Christmas lights on & I just rocked back and forth during contractions. I had my husband start diffusing Valor & rub some on my back as well. It was the perfect scent for me during labor. I felt the contractions mostly in my back. I just took them one at a time & really retreated within. During the time that I was on the couch, Stephen was getting the birth supplies laid out & ready.

Stephen brought me a spoon full of honey to eat. Then I requested that he fill the bath tub up for me. I labored in there by myself for about an hour. (Stephen was trying to help my mom get Dominic to sleep. Dominic really just wanted me though.) I missed Stephen and wished he had been with me. While in there I would dose between contractions. It was peaceful & the room was only lit with a couple small candles. The water started to cool off & I felt the need to be in a different position than reclining in the tub. So I got out planning to go back in the living room. However my mom and Dominic were laying on the couch watching a movie, so instead I went into our bedroom.

Standing during contractions felt like torture. I could not handle them that way, so I quickly had Stephen bring in the birth ball. I sat & rocked on it for a while. Things really started getting intense. I started vocalizing through contractions, but made sure to keep it to a low moan. I kept thinking – this better be transition because I can’t do this much longer. I moved onto the floor on my knees & leaned onto the ball. I had Stephen to do counter pressure & hip squeezes through one contraction. I found though that it totally threw me off & made the pain worse, so I had him stop. I did about 6 contractions on the floor & then moved back up onto the ball. With each contraction I felt Graham moving down and started feeling lots of pressure. I felt the need to get on the bed & lay on my side. I did that through 4 contractions & then my body started pushing. I could not control it at all & pushed on my side through 2 contractions. Then I had Stephen help me move onto my hands and knees, 4 contractions later Graham was born! Stephen didn’t even know that he was born until Graham cried. The room was so dark, only lit by a couple candles, and it all happened so fast & was so intense that I couldn’t warn him that Graham was coming. I picked Graham up off the bed, put him skin to skin & Stephen helped me turn around and lay back in the bed. I was so happy & amazed at how easy it really had been. The placenta came about 40 minutes later & we cut the cord soon after. My mom was such a great help getting things cleaned up. Stephen tried to help clean up & almost passed out – he has a hard time with blood.

It was a wonderful freebirth experience. Graham weighed 7lbs 6oz & was born at 37 weeks at 1:40am on December 26, 2014.

You can also read my first son Dominic's birth story here.

You can read about our journey to choosing UC here.
You can read about how we prepared for our freebirth here.
You can read our supply list for our UC here.

Planning to Start Again

2015-01-23T21:33:00.000-05:00

So once again I planned on picking this blog back up & writing again & it totally didn't happen. However, now that I'm having to do lots of sitting & nursing my little newborn, I think I'll be able to find the time to start blogging again!

I really want to have a good record of this season of life & this blog will be just that! My plan is to write about everyday life, things we're learning, and all the fun of having a toddler and a new baby. I'm looking forward to documenting their interactions as they get older as well. Dominic already loves his little brother, and I know they'll have lots of fun together once Graham is a bit bigger.

I'm excited about getting back to writing & sharing what's going on in our lives! & now I will finish with some adorable baby pictures.

My Year Long Hiatus

2014-09-09T19:13:00.000-04:00

I'm back! Yes, it's been a little over a year since I posted on here. God's been doing lots of work on our family & there's lots of news to share. I'm ready to start writing again & chronicling all of our new adventures!

In January we moved to Kentucky for Stephen to attend Southern Seminary. We've got about 3 years left until he finishes his M.Div. It's been a big adjustment for us living so far away from family & not having as much support as we had back home. But it's been good though & we know that this is where God wants us to be right now.

Dominic has grown up so much! He's so fun. He loves climbing & playing on his slide. He also enjoys playing with blocks & coloring.

In April we found out that we are expecting baby #2!

We've decided to name him Graham. The boys will be 21 months apart! I'm so excited that they'll be so close in age, though I know it's going to be quite challenging at times.

Here's a few pictures from Dominic's birthday party. We have the second picture hanging on the wall, and Dominic likes to point at it and say "mmmm". He loved the cake & remembers it obviously!

I'm really looking forward to getting back into writing & keeping this blog updated!

How's the baby sleeping?

2013-08-23T14:39:00.000-04:00

When I was pregnant I knew that I would want Dominic sleeping near me. I found the Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper and thought it would be the perfect solution. So we bought one and got it all setup.

Then Dominic got here and he just wanted to be held and nurse to sleep. So that's what I did. Then when he was a couple weeks old I figured out how to nurse him in the side lying position. And we've both gotten much more sleep ever since.

Our nights typically look like this:
8:30 - bath time
9:00 - in bed, bottle, nurse
9:30 - asleep

Yes, I let my baby nurse to sleep and stay in bed with me all night.
No, this does not mean he will still be sleeping in our bed when he's 10.
Nor does it mean he'll never learn to go to sleep on his own.
It's also not dangerous if you take precautions and are smart about it.

I know that this is what Dominic needs right now. And I'm ok with that. In fact I love cosleeping! It's wonderful to get to cuddle my baby boy all night. I can't even go to sleep without him anymore.

This also makes night feeds so much easier! I don't have to get up to feed him. He'll wake up, I latch him on, then I go back to sleep while he eats and he falls asleep. It works out great & Stephen and I aren't totally sleep deprived this way.

The pictures of Dominic & Stephen were all taken in the morning after I got up.

Encouragement for Parents of Infants

2013-08-21T10:51:00.002-04:00

This is for all of those who, like me, have little babies. These first few months come with unique challenges. It feels less like parenting & more like being a caretaker. We are constantly feeding, changing diapers, & getting them down for naps and bed time. There's also a bit of play time in there as well. But our little babies don't fully understand us. We can talk to them, but they don't talk back. They'll never remember all this time that we put in caring for them.

Cherish these moments. Enjoy the time you put into taking care of your baby. They won't be babies forever. They will grow up & they won't need us in the same way that they need us now. So when you're changing a diaper, take the time to play and be silly while the baby is laying on the changing table. Look into your baby's eyes & cuddle them close while you feed them. Then have fun introducing them to solids when they're old enough. When your baby just needs you to comfort them, remember that this time is important and fleeting; the dishes can wait. While your baby won't remember these times, you always will. Make sure that you make memories with your baby worth remembering.

Take this time to prepare yourself for parenting challenges down the road. Pray for your baby. This article, 7 Things to Pray for Your Children, gives great advice about what you should pray for. Praying these 7 things is the most important, best thing you can do for your baby. Surrender your control over their life & give it to God. We want the best for our children, and the best for them is that God's will be done in their life.

While we may not be able to teach them about God yet, we can definitely pray for them. This is the best time to learn how and what to pray for your child. I want to encourage all of you to get in the habit of earnestly praying for your baby. Pray that God will use them for His glory.

Equip yourself so that you will be able to faithfully teach your children about God. Read the Bible. Listen to sermons. Read books on theology. Be prepared when the time comes to really start teaching your baby about God.

Our most important role as parents is to introduce our children to our loving Savior & instruct them in His ways. We must prepare ourselves for this through study and prayer.

7 Ways to Strengthen Your Marriage

2013-08-20T13:46:00.001-04:00

Marriage is a beautiful thing created by God. Being married has been the best thing I've ever done. I find that I love Stephen more and more every day, and I always wonder how I could love him more than I already do, and still our love for each other grows. However, marriage is by no means easy. It takes work. It requires each of us to realize just how sinful we are. I'm constantly finding hidden areas of sin in my life. I'm constantly having to pray for God to remove that sin from me so that I can love Him better & I can love Stephen better.

In this post, I hope to share some things I've learned. I know I've been married a short time (1 year & 10 months), but I've learned alot & I'd like to share it. In thinking about marriage though, we must always remember this:

"Marriage is worth having because you get God in your lifelong commitment to one another. Marriage is about knowing God, worshiping God, depending on God, displaying God, being made like God. God made man and woman in his image and joined them together, giving them unique responsibilities to care for one another in their broken, but beautiful union." - When the Not-Yet Married Meet: Dating to Display Jesus by Marshall Segal

1. Read the Bible Together

Dig deep into the truths of scripture with your spouse. Take this time to worship God together & learn to rely on Him for strength in your marriage.

2. Pray Together

Spend time praying out loud together. Pray through scripture together. Pray for each other. Lift up your church & family together. Pray that God's will would be done in your marriage. Pray that your marriage brings glory to God.

3. Fulfill Your Roles

God gave man & woman specific roles to fulfill in marriage. The husband is to love his wife like Christ loved the church and the wife is to submit to her husband. (Ephesians 5)

4. Encourage Each Other

Use words of encouragement. But even more specifically, use words of encouragement from Scripture. Be encouraging to your spouse in their walk with the Lord.

5. Keep Developing Your Friendship

Talk to each other, about everything. Don't let things go unsaid, your spouse is your best friend. your husband or wife should know more about you and know you better than anyone else. Do fun things together to continue to cultivate your friendship. Make memories together.

6. Forgive Each Other

Forgive, forgive & forgive again. We are sinners. We sin, so forgiveness is a requirement for a strong, happy marriage.

7. Be Intimate

Intimacy is an important part of marriage. Physical, emotional, and spiritual intimacy are all necessary in marriage. These all come together in sex. Sex was created by God to be enjoyed in marriage.

Good Articles & Sermons on Marriage:
Staying Married Is Not About Staying in Love, Part 1 by John Piper
Staying Married Is Not About Staying in Love, Part 2 by John Piper
Husbands Who Love Like Christ and the Wives Who Submit to Them by John Piper
Marriage: God's Showcase of Covenant-Keeping Grace by John Piper
Marriage: Forgiving & Forbearing by John Piper
Marriage: Pursuing Conformity to Christ in the Covenant by John Piper
The Surpassing Goal: Marriage Lived for the Glory of God by John Piper
Mature & Endure by Paul Smidt
Marriage: The Happy, Holy, Beautiful Mess by Matt Johnson
4 Lessons from Luther on Married Life by Justin Taylor
Cultivating a Gospel-Centered Marriage by Dave Bruskas

Dominic - 4 Months Old

2013-08-15T19:00:00.000-04:00

Wow! 4 months old! Time is just flying by. Dominic has grown so much this month & his personality is really starting to show.

Experiences over the past month:

Breastfeeding: We still supplement, but I'm totally fine with that now. Our breastfeeding relationship has actually gotten better over the past couple weeks. I just love nursing him! It's such a great bonding time & I love seeing his personality shine through while he nurses. When he starts getting full, he'll stop & pull off then just look up and me and give me a big smile! It's adorable. I'm so glad that I never gave up during all of our struggles. Breastfeeding is totally worth fighting for.

Sleeping: Well I don't even try to have him sleep in the co-sleeper anymore. Not because he won't, but because I can't go to sleep if I'm not cuddling him! I love our sleeping arrangement though. He still wakes up about 3 times a night to eat, but that's fine with me.

Cloth Diapers: Still love! We took a break from them for about a week though to use up the disposables that had been given to us that he was about to outgrow. We had lots more poopy diaper blow-outs using the sposies. We have however started using a disposable at night because we were getting lots of leaks going so long. When this pack of disposables runs out, we'll try cloth at night again.

In the picture above, Dominic is in his new Summer Infant 3-Stage Superseat. I was originally planning on getting a Bumbo because that's all that I hear people talk about as far as seats for assisted sitting for infants. When I was looking on Amazon, I found this one & thought it was so much better! The tray that wraps around spins so he can play with different things or use the tray for eating here in a couple months. The seat part is also bigger than the Bumbo, so he'll be able to use it for much longer. We bought this for him because he had begun to want to constantly be sitting, so we thought he would enjoy it.

Growth: Dominic weighs 14lbs 6oz. He's grown a ton this month! I'm not sure how long he is. I'll know on Wednesday when we take him for his 4 month check-up.

Developmental Milestones: The changes this month have been very dramatic! Right after he turned 3 months he started wanted to sit all the time. He loves sitting! He's still wobbly & needs support, but I don't think it'll be too long until he can sit unassisted. Also, if I'm sitting cross-legged on the floor & I have him sitting on my legs facing away from me, he'll stand up just holding onto my hands to help him balance. Dominic has started reaching for things when he wants them & has gotten very good at grabbing & holding onto things. Like I wrote last time, he rolled from tummy to back for the first time right at 3 months, but then didn't do it again until this week & he's been doing it every day. He also likes to scoot across the floor on his tummy.

He just gets cuter & cuter everyday. We love him so much!

Why We Chose Not to Circumcise

2013-07-23T10:00:00.000-04:00

As soon as we found out that I was pregnant with a boy, we knew that we would have to decide whether or not to circumcise him. I started doing some research and showing Stephen everything I was finding out.

Biblically we already knew that Christians did not need to be circumcised. Christians are to rely on the new covenant of grace with God and not the old covenant which commanded circumcision. For more about this, you can read this article about Christianity and Circumcision.

But for years, circumcision has been a medical recommendation. I wanted to find out why and if it was really necessary. From all of my research, I learned that not only is circumcision not medically necessary, it even causes harm.

Every year over 100 newborns die from routine infant circumcision in the US. I definitely was not willing to risk Dominic's life for an unnecessary cosmetic procedure.

Besides this major reason, there are many other reasons why you shouldn't circumcise. Below is a list of resources for those who want to learn more.

Myths About Circumcision Series:
1. Surgery Myths
2. STD/Hygiene Myths
3. Social and Sexual Myths
4. The Ethics and Economics of Circumcision
5. Greatest Danger for Uncircumcised Boys
6. Harming Boys through Ignorance of Male Anatomy

Drmomma.org

The Circumcision Decision

If you still are wondering whether or not circumcision is that bad, you should go watch a video of it being done on YouTube. After watching one, there's no way you could say that it doesn't cause the baby harm.

Breastfeeding Struggles - Part 2

2013-07-22T10:10:00.000-04:00

Click to read Breastfeeding Struggles - Part 1.

So as you know, breastfeeding has definitely not been easy for us. It's been incredibly difficult. I had hoped that it would get easier as Dominic got older, but so far that hasn't happened. I was really upset about this for a long time. I wanted to be able to exclusively breastfeed Dominic so badly, but I just can't. Because of his tongue tie, it's just not something that I've been able to do.

We've gotten Dominic's tongue clipped 3 times. The first time fixed the anterior tie that he had, but the doctor did not cut enough to fix the posterior tie. I think that he likely still has a posterior tongue tie, but we're done trying to fix that. The laser surgery might work, but we'd have to drive to North Carolina and pay out of pocket for it, so it's not even something we can consider. Even if we could afford to have it done, I'm not sure that we would. I just don't really believe that it would fix it. I know many people have success getting laser tongue tie revisions, but not everyone does.

Our lactation consultant had suggested that we have craniosacral therapy done, and I did some research that said babies with tongue tie typically benefit from have CST. We went twice, but I see absolutely no improvement from it. In fact - Dominic's latch has gotten worse since we had it done, though that may be unrelated.

The past 2 weeks Dominic's latch has gotten worse and worse. I'm in more and more pain when he nurses, and it seems that nothing I try is fixing it. It's really discouraging that it's getting worse. We've been to see a lactation consultant so many times already that I'm just not willing to keep spending the money going when it hasn't really helped. I do think lactation consultants typically are very helpful and are a great resource to have for breastfeeding mothers, but in our case I'm afraid that nothing is going to help.

I know that part of Dominic's latch problem is because he gets a bottle so often, but he has to. We can't just stop supplementing.

Breast milk is far better for Dominic than formula, so my goal is to continue to provide breast milk for him. However, I'm not sure that I'll keep breastfeeding him. I'm going to try a few days of exclusive pumping to see how it goes this week. I'll probably let him nurse occasionally still though because that's his favorite way to go to sleep. I just need a break from being in so much pain.

Friday Weight Check 7/19

2013-07-20T09:51:00.000-04:00

Another late post! We weighed Dominic yesterday & he's doing great!

Last week he weighed 11lbs 14oz.
Yesterday he weighed 12lbs 7oz!

He's gaining weight really well. It seems like he's changed a lot in the past couple weeks. He's even trying to sit up now! I love my boy so very much!

As far as the supplement goes - we're still doing about 1oz with each feeding during the day and 1 1/2 right before bed at night. When we were doing 1oz at bedtime, he would always wake up 30 minutes later and want more, so we just started giving him more. It works better this way.

3 Months Old

2013-07-17T15:42:00.000-04:00

Another late post! I just can't manage to do things on time anymore.

Anyway...I can't believe that Dominic is already 3 months old! It seems like just a couple days ago I was having him. This month also makes a whole year since he was conceived. I can't believe it's already been a year!

Experiences this past month:

Breastfeeding: It's still going about the same as last month, but I'm more at peace with it now than I was then. When Dominic was just a few weeks old I set a goal of breastfeeding for at least the first 3 months (before he was born my goal had been at least for a year). I've officially met that goal, so I've set a new one for breastfeeding until he's at least 6 months old. These first 3 months have been hard, but I don't think that it will get any harder, so I'm pretty sure I can handle it for 3 more months. I think I might be able to reach my 1 year goal if I set shorter goals along the way.

Growth: Dominic is growing really well! When I weighed him a few days ago he was 11lbs 14oz & he's about 24 inches long. He gained 2lbs this month!

Sleeping: We've had some really rough nights the past couple weeks. There were some nights where every time he woke up (3+ times) he wanted a bottle and then he would nurse and go back to sleep. Now we're back to not supplementing at night - he'll just wake up, nurse and then go back to sleep. It's much easier this way.

Cloth Diapers: Still love them! I bought a couple more covers because we really needed them & another pail liner, which makes it much easier when doing laundry. Dominic got a rash last week & I put him in disposables so that I could put some cream on him. Still don't like sposies & when I left him in one all night - it leaked! Our cloth diapers very rarely leak - like maybe once every few weeks. He pooped in a sposie & it was a total blow out. It's like they hardly contain any poo. Our cloth diapers do a much better job. I'm very happy that we decided to use them.

Developmental Changes: I've seen the most changes this month. He smiles all the time & laughs quite a bit now. He also rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time yesterday! He's started making some different noises too. I can still hardly get any pictures of him being super cute & smiling. He's very suspicious of the camera. Dominic has also gotten more interested in his toys and really likes to play with them now. His favorite toy is a blue elephant that has crinkly paper in this stomach so it makes noises.

Stephen and I just love Dominic so much! He's such a sweet, happy little baby. We have so much fun playing with him & enjoy all of our cuddle time with him. It's so exciting to see him growing and learning so much all the time!

Friday Weigh-In 7/12

2013-07-13T15:37:00.002-04:00

Yes, I know, this is a day late. With a baby, it seems like everything often happens later than you plan for it to. I'm going to try to be better about actually posting this on Friday though.

So to recap - Last week Dominic weighed 11lbs 8oz.

Today he weighed 11lbs 14oz. He gained 6oz, which is perfect!

Chewing on my finger.

Friday Weigh-In 7/5

2013-07-05T19:33:00.001-04:00

Since Dominic had issues gaining weight for a while we decided to buy our own infant scale to keep track and make sure that he is gaining weight appropriately. I weigh him every Friday to see how much he's gained in a week. From 0-4 months breastfed babies ought to gain 4-8 ounces per week.

Last Friday Dominic weighed 11lbs 1/2oz. Today he weighed 11lbs 8oz. So he gained 7 1/2oz in a week, which is good.

Another reason we weigh him every week is to see if we need to adjust the supplement. He currently gets 1oz with each feeding. If he ever gains more than 8oz in a week then we will cut back the supplement some. Everything seems to be going great though. Dominic is growing well & learning new things everyday.

2 Months Old

2013-06-19T22:48:00.000-04:00

Yes, this post is a few days late, but o well. It's hard to do things on time with a little baby!

I can't believe he's already 2 months old! The time has gone by so fast! (Ok I seriously just wrote this and then went and looked at the 1 Month Old post, and realized that I wrote the same thing at the beginning of that!) Dominic's personality shows more and more everyday! He's just so cute & I love taking care of him and playing with him.

Experiences this month:

Breastfeeding: Obviously you know if you read this breastfeeding post that it's not going so well. I'm going to just be honest and share my feelings about this here. It really sucks that I'm not able to exclusively breastfeed Dominic. This was one thing that I wanted to do so badly and thought I would have no problems with. I would really love to make enough milk and not have to supplement. I often feel like it's not fair that I can't do that. While I was pregnant (and even before) I did tons of research about what would be best for baby. Breastfeeding is best. It really is better than formula. I just feel like I'm totally failing by not being able to do this. And I really don't think that people understand why I feel this way. But, I'm trying everything I possibly can to get my body to produce more milk. I really hope that something starts to work.

Growth: From weeks 4 to 6, Dominic only gained around 4oz, making him 8lbs 10oz, which was half of what he should have gained. So we began supplementing and from weeks 6 to 8 he gained 1lb 3.5oz. At 8 weeks, Dominic weighed 9lbs 13.5oz. So he's gaining and growing well now.

Sleeping: Dominic is sleeping great. He typically sleeps for 4-5 hours, wakes to eat, and then wakes about every 2-3 hours after that. Because we're not supplementing at night, I can just nurse him laying down in bed and we don't have to worry about getting up during the night. He's also napping well during the day. If I want him to take a nice long nap so I can get some things done, I either wear him in the Ergo or swaddle him and put him in the swing. He sleeps really well both ways.

Cloth Diapers: I still love our cloth diapers! We've started using the Bumgenious 4.0s & our Blueberry Pocket as well. I love the BG, they fit so well and hold in everything! I really wish we had more of them, maybe some day we'll save up and buy a few more. I don't know why people use disposables, they're expensive & they stink! Whenever we use the sposies that were gifted to us, I definitely notice a smell every time he pees in them.

Developmental Changes: Dominic is interacting with us lots more! He started smiling socially at 4 weeks (he always smiled in his sleep). I love seeing his little toothless grins! They're just so adorable. He's still not very fond of smiling for the camera though. Every time I get it out he just looks at it suspiciously. Also, he started laughing some at about 7 weeks. He started cooing and making cute little baby noises around that time as well. I just love it when he interacts with us!

Breastfeeding Struggles

2013-06-11T17:15:00.004-04:00

I cannot believe how difficult breastfeeding has been! As soon as I think it's getting better, it seems like something else happens. So, as you all know, Dominic had a tongue tie & had to get that clipped twice. After he got it clipped the second time, his latch was much better and he started gaining weight at a good rate, though it was still the lower end of good. At his 4 week well baby visit, he had gained 7oz in 2 weeks. 1/2oz a day, so I thought that we were doing good and on track.

Over the next two weeks I stopped having pain while breastfeeding, which was a relief. Since he had gained well, but still a little slow, I decided to try implementing some things to help him get a little more milk when he ate. I started doing breast compressions at the end of every feed. When we went back for the 6 week well baby visit I was sure that Dominic would have gained at least 7oz like last time, but I was really hoping for more than that. Put him on the scale, and he had only gained 3.5oz, half of what he should have gained! So, we began supplementing again & bought our own infant scale.

I was so upset when I found out that he hadn't gained enough again. I felt like such a failure. But I know that God has a reason for putting us through this and that it's all for our sanctification in Him.

For 5 days we were supplementing 2oz after every feed. Now that we have the infant scale I can see how much he gets from breastfeeding by weighing him, feeding him, then weighing him again. He typically gets about 1.5oz. We went back to the lactation consultant on Monday & she said that our positioning and latch look great so it must be a supply issue. So now I'm taking Gaia Herbs Lactation Support and a prescription of domperidone 3x per day. I'm also pumping after every time I feed him & eating lots of oatmeal. So hopefully my supply will go up and we'll be able to stop supplementing in the next couple of weeks.

After all the trouble that we've had, I've seriously considered giving up breastfeeding a couple times. It's just been so hard, and with all the work we've been doing, he still wasn't gaining weight quickly enough. We've actually cut the supplement back to 1 to 1 1/2 ounces after each feeding (and half the time the supplement is breast milk), and now he's gaining the right amount. He weighs 10lbs now! It's definitely been hard, but I'm determined to make it work. I'm really looking forward to being able to stop supplementing...hopefully we'll get there in not too long.

Newborn Cloth Diaper Review

2013-06-07T18:51:00.001-04:00

We didn't get tons of different kinds of diapers to try on Dominic as a newborn. We stuck with a simple stash because we're poor and we couldn't drop a bunch of money on super nice cloth diapers. But honestly, I really like the cloth diapers we have and they've worked well for us. With a newborn, you want to have at least 24 diapers because they'll typically use about 12 per day. I'd say 30+ is a good number to have. So, now I'll get into the details of the different kinds we've used.

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By far our favorite newborn diapers were the Swaddlebees Newborn Simplex AIOs that were gifted to us by my aunt. We liked them so much that we even bought one more.

Pros:

100% cotton interior
Fits babies from 6-16 pounds
Super cute prints & solid colors available
Good resale value
Trim fitting
Umbilical cord snap down

Cons:

Might be a little big on tiny babies
Expensive - $17-19 new

You can typically find these used for $14-15 on DiaperSwappers. And Kissed by the Moon cloth diaper store typically has used ones for $12-15 as well. The good thing about buying from Kissed by the Moon is that you also earn rewards points with your purchases that can go toward more diapers.

I would say these are a must have for a newborn stash, especially if you think you'll have a 6.5lb+ baby. You'll be able to gets lots of use out of these, whereas most babies outgrow other newborn diapers within the first 6 weeks. These diapers are so nice and easy for when we go out places. They really aren't any more difficult than using disposables. We only have 3 of these diapers, but 5 or 6 would be ideal if they are just going to make up a small part of your newborn stash.

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The rest of our newborn stash was made up of 2 dozen OsoCozy Better Fit Unbleached Prefolds. Prefolds really are a great newborn diaper because you can get such a custom fit with them, and they're a really economical option too.

Pros:

100% cotton
Easy to fold
Inexpensive
Custom fit
Fit tiny newborns

Cons:

Takes a little practice to get a good snug fit
3 steps involved when using prefolds

Prefold diapers cannot be used alone. They have to have some sort of cover over them and pins, a Snappi or Boingos to hold them in place. There are many different PUL cover options to choose from that close with either snaps or aplix (velcro). You can also use wool or fleece covers over prefolds.

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We decided to buy Thirsties Duo Wraps for our diaper covers. The Duo Wraps come in 2 sizes and each size has a snap down rise to fit a range of weights. The size one Thirsties Duo Wraps fit babies from 6-18 pounds.

Pros:

Fits small babies well
Can be used past newborn stage since it fits up to 18lbs
Inexpensive cover at $12-13
Double gussets at the legs contain runny baby poop well
Comes in snaps or aplix
Cute prints & colors

Cons:

The kind of elastic used can sometimes leave red marks
Not as many cute prints as other brands

These covers have worked really well for us, containing huge amounts of poop with no leaks. If prefolds, fitteds, or flats are going to be a substantial part of your stash, then I would suggest you get at least 6 diaper covers.

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All of the products discussed above and many more can be found at Kissed by the Moon.

1 Month Old!

2013-05-16T14:37:00.000-04:00

I can't believe my baby is a month old! This month has gone by so fast. It seems like just yesterday that I was in labor. Having a baby & being a mom is definitely not easy, but I love it. I love my baby boy. He's so sweet & he really is quite a good baby.

Here are our experiences so far:

Breastfeeding: The first 10 days of Dominic's life were really hard. We were really struggling with a lot of issues with breastfeeding. Even after getting his tongue clipped we were still having some issues even though he was at least able to get milk. I was having some serious pain when he latched & my nipples were cracked & one had a blood blister (not fun!). We kept meeting with the lactation consultants and they really thought that his tongue needed clipped more. So, on May 2nd we had his tongue clipped for the second time & since then it has been so much better!

Growth: Because of all the issues with Dominic's tongue, he couldn't latch correctly, so he couldn't get hardly any food. This caused him to lose 1lb 10oz. He is now gaining about 1/2oz per day, which is great! He now weights 8lbs 7oz, which still isn't up to his birth weight, but his pediatrician said he's gaining a good amount per day now so it's fine. He's just having to fight a big battle that most babies don't have to. When he was born he was 20 1/4 inches long. At the 2 week appointment he was 21 1/2 inches long. & today he was 22 3/4 inches long.

Sleeping: At first sleeping was really rough. He would wake up to nurse about every 2 hours and he was so little that I had to sit up and hold him to nurse, so I was really not getting very much sleep at all! But when he was about 2 weeks old we figured out the side laying position for breastfeeding & it's gotten so much better! He does typically wake up every 2-3 hours at night but since he is right beside me in bed all I have to do is latch him on. & last night he even slept for almost 6 hours straight! I couldn't believe it. I don't really expect that to become a typical thing though. So this does mean that we are bed sharing. I'm working on getting him to sleep for the first stretch of the night in his co-sleeper and then bringing him into bed once he wakes up. But currently he'll only sleep about 30 minutes in there before he wakes up and wants me to get him.

Cloth Diapers: We started really using the cloth diapers when Dominic was 2 weeks old because we had gotten so many newborn diapers at baby showers and from the hospital. I love using cloth diapers! I love that we're not having to go out and buy expensive disposables all the time. We also have some pretty cute diapers! And they never leak! Even when a poop would be a blowout in a disposable, it's perfectly contained in the cloth diaper. Currently we are using 24 OsoCozy Better Fit Infant Unbleached Prefolds, 4 Thirsties Duo Wraps, 3 mommy made covers, and 3 Swaddlebees Newborn Simplex All In Ones. I've become a pro at folding prefolds and fastening the snappis. I really love our AIOs, and wish that we had more, but we just couldn't afford it. Once Dominic is a little bigger, like around 10lbs, we'll be able to start using our bumGenius 4.0s & Blueberry Pocket Diapers. I'm so glad that we decided to cloth diaper!

Adjustments: Having a baby and taking care of him has been a huge adjustment for me and Stephen. Taking care of Dominic isn't really difficult, but adjusting to it has been because it has changed the dynamic of mine and Stephen's relationship. I don't mean in a bad way; it's just different and we're having to get used to that. I'm so grateful for Stephen and how helpful he has been. Anytime I ask him to do anything he does. He's also been great about making sure that I'm eating.

Silly Baby....trying to eat his blanket.

We're really excited to see him grow & change over the coming years! I'm really looking forward to when he's interacting a bit more.

Dominic's First 10 Days

2013-04-25T19:36:00.001-04:00

These have definitely been the hardest 10 days of my life. Everything has gone much differently than how we had planned or expected.

Monday, 4/15 - Dominic's Birthday
Dominic being born in the hospital was not at all what we had planned. Having to stay there for 24 hours after he was born was really hard in alot of ways. It would have been so nice to be at home during this time. I'm just glad that overall the experience at the hospital was a good one.

Tuesday, 4/16
Before we left the hospital, they weighed Dominic and he had lost 4oz, which is totally normal for a breastfed baby. We got to go home & we were so glad to be back in our own cozy bed. I was still in a lot of pain from giving birth & tearing so it was kind of hard having to move around alot when he would wake up to eat. But I was feeding him about every 2-3 hours. Usually he would ask for it, but sometimes I would have to wake him to feed him.

Wednesday, 4/17
A nurse from the birth center came and did a home visit. When she weighed Dominic, he weighed 7lbs 14oz. So he had lost 12% of his birth weight. They really don't want to see them lose more than 10%, so we set up an appt with a lactation consultant at the birth center for the next day.

Thursday, 4/18
We went to the appt with the lactation consultant, and as soon as Dominic opened his mouth, she saw that he had a severe tongue tie. So, she referred us to an ear, nose, and throat doctor to get it fixed. We set up that appt for Tuesday afternoon because that was the earliest they could do. She weighed him, and it was the same as the day before so we thought that it was leveling out.

Friday, 4/19
I was beginning to get worried because of how much weight Dominic had lost and my milk still hadn't come in. But it came in this evening, so I thought that surely Dominic would at least be able to maintain his weight. He definitely seemed to be getting more satisfied when he ate.

Saturday & Sunday, 4/20-21
We spent a lovely weekend bonding and hanging out with family and friends. Dominic seemed to be doing alright.

Monday, 4/22
We had his first appt with the pediatrician. They weighed him at 7lbs 5oz. He had lost 10oz more. A total of 1lb 10oz, or about 20% of his birth weight. My heart just dropped when I saw that was how much he weighed. I couldn't believe that I had let that happen. I just felt so bad for him. So we made a game plan with the pediatrician and the lactation consultant at the birth center to supplement each feeding with 1oz of pumped breast milk through a finger feeder. This meant that I had to pump after each time I fed him, then put the milk in a syringe with a tube attached to it. I would tape the tube to my finger and feed him that way. The pediatrician had said that most babies would be able to suck on the finger and get the milk out themselves, but if he couldn't then to slowly push it through to him. He couldn't suck it out at all, so I had to slowly feed him through the syringe each time. All of this basically meant that Stephen and I didn't get any sleep, and we were super stressed out trying to make sure that he was getting some food.

Tuesday, 4/23
After the first time I fed him, I was no longer able to pump 1oz, so we had to get formula to supplement with. We tried giving it to him from a bottle because bottles are supposed to be super easy for babies to suck out of, but he couldn't get anything out of it. So we kept going with the finger feeder. At 1pm we had out appt with the ear, nose and throat doctor out in Powell. The doctor was great & Dominic only cried when they were holding his mouth open to cut the tongue tie. Once they let go of his mouth he stopped crying. He was so good and started moving his tongue around for the first time. I fed him when we got home, and I could tell an immediate difference in his latch. We kept on supplementing, but decided that we would be less stressed if we used formula to supplement and I didn't worry about pumping. We were still really nervous to see if he had gained or maintained his weight from Monday.

Wednesday, 4/24
I had my first postpartum check-up. Everything with me looked great. I did discover that I weigh 12lbs less than my pre-pregnancy weight. What we were really anxious to know was Dominic's weight. The nurse weighed him at 7lbs 11oz! We were so relieved! That meant he had gained 6oz in 2 days. After that appt we met with the lactation consultant again and decided to try exclusively breastfeeding again for 24 hours. I'm also taking herbal supplements to increase my milk supply because it seems to not quite be where it should be from him not getting much of anything before his tongue tie was released. So when we got home, we started. The lactation consultant explained that he might nurse very frequently and that was ok. And he did nurse very frequently, with 1 1/2 hours being the longest he went between feedings.

Thursday, 4/25
We had been asleep for about an hour when he woke at 3:30am and I started nursing him. He nursed for 2 hours, and was still acting hungry. I was exhausted, so Stephen gave him 1oz of formula and I slept until he was ready to eat again about 3 hours later. I took Dominic for a weight check at the birth center at 1:30, and he weighed 7lbs 15oz! So now he's only 1lb down from his birth weight.

We are going to be exclusively breastfeeding this weekend, and then we have another weight check on Monday. I'm just so happy that he's started to gain some weight back. We're looking for him to gain about 3oz or so this weekend.

I really wish that the hospital regularly checked for tongue ties. If we had found out while we were there, then he could have had it fixed before we even left the hospital and we wouldn't have had all these problems. It just broke my heart to know that he was really starving. I was so stressed out and worried. It's been really hard, but everything is getting better now.

On a happier note, Dominic has also started smiling within the past couple of days. Its super cute! I'll have to get a picture of it soon.

Dominic Rhys's Birth Story

2013-04-18T18:39:00.000-04:00

I began seeing signs of labor on Saturday, April 13. I just felt different, and I was having cramps in my back like I typically would before a period. However, I didn't want to get my hopes up, so I didn't really say much about it. Then Saturday night Stephen was at church practicing with Felipe to lead music on Sunday morning. They came back afterward and the three of us hung out for a while. I had a few mild contractions during this time, but they were very irregular. These continued irregularly until about 3:30am. At this time contractions started coming about every 15 minutes, then every 10 minutes and stayed there for a while. I was very restless and couldn't get back to sleep because I was so excited. At 5:30 Stephen got up to use the bathroom and I told him that I thought I was in labor. From that point the contractions started to pick up some, and were coming every 6-8 minutes and lasting about a minute each.

At around 10 the contractions were consistently coming every 5 minutes. Stephen, my mom and I played about half a game of Phase 10 while this was going on. It was good to take our minds off of what was happening. Contractions continued like this, so at 2 I called the midwife. We decided to meet at the birth center at 3 to get checked and decide what to do next. We got everything packed up and ready and got to the birth center at 3:30. When the midwife checked I was 3-4cm dilated and she said that we could stay if we wanted. Since we live 30 minutes from there we decided to just go ahead and stay. We were the only ones there, which was quite nice. We walked around quite a bit and Stephen massaged me. I was able to cope with the contractions really well and was quite confident that everything was going great.

At 8pm the midwife checked me again. I was 6cm dilated. So next we decided to try laboring in the shower and tub. Stephen got in with me and the two of us spent some wonderful time together that we will always cherish. It was so relaxing and great to be just the two of us. Around 11 the contractions started getting much more intense. I was getting tired and was having a harder time relaxing through them. The midwife checked me again around this time and I was 7cm dilated. I was a little discouraged that I had only progressed one cm in 3 hours. Next we tried using the birth ball and massage. I didn't really find the birth ball to be very comfortable or helpful during contractions though.

I was really tired by this point (12:30) and decided to try to rest between the contractions. So, I got the heating pad and sat down on the couch with my legs up. I was able to doze between contractions some, and was sure that I had to be making progress. Around 3am the midwife checked me again, and there had been no change. She made the suggestion of transferring to the hospital, and I agreed that it would be best. I had been in labor for 24 hours at this point and was just exhausted.

I had to go in an ambulance from the birth center to UT hospital. My mom and Stephen followed us there and we got right into a room. As soon as we got there I had to put on the hospital gown and decide what I wanted to do. There were some options laid out for us: break my water, pitocin, iv pain meds, and an epidural. At this point, I knew that I desperately needed to rest if I had any chance of being able to push. Stephen and I discussed what we should do. We were really not comfortable with getting pitocin, and the doctor was great with our goal of going as natural as possible. We decided the best thing to do would be to get an epidural and break my water. If things progressed on their own from there then we would not use pitocin. After getting blood work done and getting an IV line started, I finally got the epidural at 6:30am. I had definitely not wanted to get the epidural, but I knew exactly how I was going to use it. I needed it to get some sleep and relax enough to dilate the rest of the way on my own. After I got it, the doctor came in and broke my water. Then I slept for about 2 hours. Those 2 hours of sleep were wonderful and just what I needed. I woke feeling great, and when they checked, I was complete! At 9:05am I started pushing. By this time, the epidural had mostly worn off, I could use my legs and feel the contractions. It took 3 hours of pushing until Dominic started crowning. This was definitely the most painful part, but Stephen and my nurse were wonderful coaches and really encouraged me well.

Dominic Rhys was born at 12:14pm, April 15 after about 33 hours of labor. He was 8lbs 15oz and 20.25in long. As soon as he was born, the doctor put him on my belly for skin to skin (his chord was too short to reach my chest). Stephen got to cut the cord when it had stopped pulsating and I completely fell in love with Dominic immediately. I had a 2^nd degree tear that they stitched up. Even though the birth did not go as planned, it was still wonderful. Our experience at UT hospital was great. All of our nurses and doctors were awesome and completely respectful of our wishes.

Just after he was born