Misplaced Mojo

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Suzanne

 This post is part of the Breastfeeding Blog Hop hosted by The Slacker Mom and co-hosted by Happiness Redefined and The Gnome’s Mom.

Today’s topic for the Breastfeeding Blog Hop: Sex and Breastfeeding*

*family & friends should probably just stop reading now!!!  ;)

Six weeks after my son was born my doctor gave me the “all clear” to return to my normal sex life.  What she forgot to tell me was that since I was breastfeeding I might not really feel up to it.  With my hormones still going crazy & taking care of a newborn I was not up for IT that soon!  I was touched-out, plain and simple.

I seriously doubt very many women breastfeeding or not would be up to it that soon.  You just had a BABY!!!!  You are all too aware of exactly how this bundle of joy, poo, spit-up, screaming, crying, up all night baby got here!

Breastfeeding and new babies bring many intimacy issues which kellymom.com has some advice on.

My advice to new moms:

  • if you feel “touched out” give yourself a break
  • relax and see what happens
  • try again in a few weeks if 6 weeks is just too soon
  • take advantage of a sleeping baby and forget the dishes

 

I have no other good advise for you at 7 months we are STILL working out all the kinks.  I have misplaced my mojo and if you find it please tell it to come back!

 

What was your experience after you got the “Go ahead” from your doctor?  When were you able to regain your intimacy after baby? 

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Categories: breastfeeding, Breastfeeding Blog Hop | 2 Comments

Kindermusik

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Suzanne

First music lessons today.

I’ve been hesitant at signing us up for “lessons” and activities because I really do feel like kids are over-scheduled these days.  There are rigid schedules for napping, sleeping, feeding, playing, and if you aren’t following one SOMEONE will recommend a book or expert that says you should.  I used to be a BIG schedule person, if it wasn’t on a schedule it didn’t get done because I was so busy.

Now that I’m not working I just want to kick back and enjoy my kid!

As a first time mom I don’t know what to do with my little ball of energy that has turned 7 month!  I really haven’t known what to do with him since day one, but at least in the beginning it was basically change a diaper, feed and sleep.  The older he gets the more interested in other babies he’s become and I realize that “scheduled” socializing time is probably really good for him.  So I put aside my fears that I would SCHEDULE my child to death and signed up for Kindermusik!

We had a blast!  BOTH of us!!!   He laughed, clapped, wiggled, and crawled all over the place with toys and songs that were just for him.  I had fun watching him!  I also got a pretty good upper body workout playing and grooving with him to the beat of the music.  I also learned some new tricks about babies from the instructor and by watching the other moms.

Now I’m ready to schedule us a few more thing!   Of course I will continue to prefer to call it a ROUTINE!  ;)

What activities did you “sign up” for?  Who enjoyed it more you or baby?

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Categories: games, parenting | Leave a comment

Weekend Photo Review

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Suzanne

Just a simple look back on our weekend through the lens of my iPhone.  :)

Friday night LATE one of our 70 foot oaks came crashing down in our backyard.  It missed our house and deck completely and missed our neighbors fence with 3 feet to spare.  This tree gave me a really good scare – it was incredibly loud and shook the house!

View from house

Top of tree

 

Saturday was spent cleaning up some of the damage.  The baby and I “supervised” from the deck!

Supervising Dad

Plenty of excitement– which will now be followed by lots of hard work as Don gets that thing chopped up to fuel our woodstove next winter.   I’m secretly hoping that this gives us a GARDEN spot in our yard!

And…..that was our entire weekend, according to my camera!

Anything exciting happen to you over the weekend?

 

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Categories: house-yard, life | Leave a comment

Support the Mammas

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Suzanne

This post is part of the Breastfeeding Blog Hop hosted by The Slacker Mom and co-hosted by Happiness Redefined and The Gnome’s Mom.

Today’s topic for the Breastfeeding Blog Hop: Support with Integrity

Support with Integrity

I took the pledge to Support With Integrity!

Support is so very VERY important when it comes to breastfeeding!!!!!!

Personally, I have had lots of support from family and friends.  I can say that most of it falls under the category of “Support with Integrity.”  We have had our fill of challenges and I often questioned if I could make it one more day, week, or month.  The biggest support I got was from those who simply CHEERED me on when things weren’t going the “right” way.  You can read about our pump & dump experience here.

I still remember a few supportive comments that made me feel WONDERFUL.   I also remember the ones that made me feel terrible.

I don’t care if your goal is 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years I will CHEER you on and keep my own ego in check!

 

This is the pledge I have taken.  If you agree go SIGN THE PLEDGE!

• I PLEDGE to use my energy to help defuse dogmatic battles about what technique, position, frequency, equipment, duration or organization a woman chooses for breastfeeding. I affirm that my time is best spent directing my positive, encouraging support toward helping mamas successfully breastfeed.

• I PLEDGE to keep my ego in check, while treating other breastfeeding boosters, lactation facilitators, breastfeeding organizations, and mothers respectfully, knowing that we’re all working toward the common goal of providing breast milk for babies. I also welcome respectful disagreement with my own opinions and accept that disruptive disagreement is counter to the goal of helping mamas feed their babies.

• I PLEDGE to agree that there are many right ways to breastfeed a baby. A breastfeeding mother should not feel pressure or judgment to perform a specific way. There isn’t a “wrong way” as long as the breast milk is flowin’ and the baby is growin’.

By displaying the Support with Integrity badge and signing the pledge, I agree to hold hands and help mamas get what they need to make breastfeeding work for them, no matter how they choose to do it. If a mama and baby are making it work, I’ll stand and cheer them on from the sidelines.

Caveat: This is not a place to judge those who choose not to or cannot breastfeed. This is a pledge to be supportive of all those who choose to support breastfeeding.

 

To make our nursing relationship work my son and I had to find our OWN WAY!  We are 7 months and still going strong!

Do you support with integrity?  Do you have any memorable supportive comments?

Interested in the Breastfeeding Blog Hop?  Add your link and join in!

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Categories: breastfeeding, Breastfeeding Blog Hop, support | 3 Comments

Scary Walk

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Suzanne

OMG!!!!  I just want to cry, vent, and scream all at the same time!

I was chased and scared to death my two dogs today while walking with my son around the neighborhood.  I’m NOT a happy mom!!!!    I don’t think I’ve ever been so upset…..

I had just left my house and turned onto another road to make the block with my son in the ergo carrier.  These two dogs jump a wooden fence around the side of a house then start barking, snarling, and running toward me.  I stopped and YELLED at them to “GO HOME!”  I know if you run from dogs it makes them chase you.  One dog was a lab and it went back to the yard.  The other an american bulldog kept snarling, growling, barking….getting CLOSER!   I started backing away as fast as I could without taking my eyes off him.  Thankfully, a neighbor pulled out and put her car between us and I was able to scurry around the corner without the dog following.

I was so upset and angry I called my poor husband at work.  He came home and spoke with the owner of one of the dogs.  The guy says the lab is his, but the other dog is not.  The american bulldog comes from somewhere else, jumps his fence, and gets his lab to follow him out of the yard.  Ummmm….. does that sound fishy to anyone else?!   It does to ME!

I’m not sure what to do…..  We don’t live in the city limits so there are no “leash laws.”  I don’t want to have to carry pepper spray, a huge stick, or any other sort of nonsense to walk around the block!  This neighborhood is full of families and kids we should not have to deal with this.

Today was probably the best winter day (65 degrees) and I wasn’t able to enjoy a nice walk!  I did play with my son on our deck, but that’s not the same.

My next trips out will probably be with friends or my hubby just until I get my nerves back again.

Why don’t people have respect for others?  If this guy knows his dog gets out of the fence why not FIX THE PROBLEM? 

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Dairy Free Test Update

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Suzanne

Cheese here I come!

After 108 days of being dairy free I had my first graham cracker.   Normally after eating anything with dairy my little one would have cried for hours, but this time no effect!  I allowed 48 hours for the test, just in case.

Now I’m excited at the prospect of getting to eat real food again!  :)

We are going to take this nice and slow.  For the next few weeks I’m going to eat foods with diary at the very end of the ingredients list .  Then if there is no crying, crazy diapers, or extreme gas we will move on to baked goodies.  YUMMY!  The end of the line will be obvious dairy, think – cheese pizza, milkshake, etc.

I see a visit to the MSU Cheese Store at my alma mater for a little muscadine ripple or sweet potato ice cream in my future!

That’s my plan!  I’ll keep you all posted on our progress.

 

Was your baby intolerant of any foods?  How did you handle it?  When did they outgrow it?

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Dairy Test #1

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Suzanne

I finally decided to test the diary intolerance issue again.

With breakfast I ate a graham cracker that does contain dairy (whey specifically). I’m SUPER nervous! If he starts crying I will know it’s my fault.  Talk about “mommy guilt” it’s going to crush me if he cries and is upset over this.

I just want to be NORMAL again!  To eat normal food and be able to go out to eat with my friends or husband.  It would be great to be able to order a pizza when we’ve had a bad night instead of having to cook something every single night.

If this “test” works and he doesn’t object in any way.  I’m still a long way from getting that cheese pizza or milkshake, but it’s a start.  Hopefully it means I won’t have to analyze the ingredients list of everything we buy at the store.  Read about our dairy free journey.

CROSS YOUR FINGERS!!!!

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Categories: breastfeeding | 4 Comments

Pump Paraphernalia – WTH?

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Suzanne

This one is for you working mommas out there!

This was just TOO funny to keep to myself.  Thank you to my guest writer “B-MansMom”  for taking the time to share.

A little background before the story B-MansMom works full time for a financial firm and after I had been having a really rotten day she decided to share this HILARIOUS event with me.  I laughed for hours!  I hope you do too!!!

 

As a working mom, Friday just can’t come soon enough!  It’s the light at the end of a long week for me.  On my way home, I see those blue lights flashing… “Great! Now WHAT?!”  My mind racing to the baby I knew was home crying and my husband counting down the minutes to my arrival.

The officer pulled me over for a headlight that is out.  His light shining in my car window he asked for the usual (license, registration, etc).  The problem is I moved my wallet into my pumping bag .  I figured it would be a nightmare trying to keep up with a purse, a diaper bag, and my huge electric pump bag.  I just cram everything into the pump bag and leave the diaper bag in the back seat.

So here I was trying to find my wallet, but also trying to hide all my pump parts in the dark! I didn’t want to yank out my tubing, expressed breast milk, and breast pads along with the wallet.  I like to keep some things private. I mean being topless at work and pumping in a loan booth is bad enough.  My male boss doesn’t make eye contact with me for at least an hour after I pump – it’s awkward.   I was just trying to avoid more awkwardness with this male police officer.

Silly me!  Cops are trained to recognize when someone is trying to hide something!!!!!  It was SOOO obvious that I had something in that bag I was trying to hide.   With a flashlight directly in my eyes he notes that my eyes are super red, puffy, with circles under them.  The minute he said “step out of the car”  I knew he thought I was under the influence. That is kinda how you look when you are working full time and up all night with a colicky 8 week old!!!!

“Just leave that bag on the seat and we will talk about that bong in a minute.”   I was so shocked it was all I could do to stammer “It’s just my breast-pump officer!”  His turn to be embarrassed!  I opened it up just hoping I was going to make it home before my son had a total meltdown.   He had seen the weird parts and the tubing and thought I was hiding my bong. He was very embarrassed when I pulled out my expressed milk to prove that I was not hiding anything, but breast milk. Now we are back to the awkward thing from earlier.

  • Note to self….. breast pumps look like bongs!!!

FYI: no ticket either guess he was just too embarrassed!

 

Do you have a funny story to share with other moms?  Post it below or add a link to your own story. 

With humor we really can move through the stressful times a bit faster!

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Categories: breastfeeding, humor | 5 Comments

Welcome to the Nurse-athon

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Suzanne

This post is part of the Breastfeeding Blog Hop hosted by The Slacker Mom and co-hosted by Happiness Redefined and The Gnome’s Mom.

Today’s topic for the Breastfeeding Blog Hop: Reverse Cycling

 

The first thing I thought of when I saw this topic was “I don’t know anything about reverse cycling.”   After reading the first 3 posts it hit me like a mac truck that I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF REVERSE CYCLING!!!!  I almost bawled my eyes out when I saw my days/nights written out word for word over at theslackermom.  I’ve never met this person in my life and yet she knows what I’m going through.

At first I thought my 6 month old was fussy at night because we had started solids.  Then I decided it was because he was learning to crawl.  I even blamed it on a growth spurt!  I posted Monday about being up every 45 minutes ALL NIGHT LONG called “A New Chapter in the Sleep War.”  I even say he’s not awake or hungry…..of course he couldn’t possibly be hungry every 45 minutes.

I was WRONG he is HUNGRY!  When I nurse him I can hear him swallowing.  He will continue to fuss and cry until he is nursed and put back into bed.  That’s the only way he will go back to sleep.  It’s a nurse-athon around here as soon as the sun goes down!

Yet another thing my breastfeeding books & friends forgot to mention!  How are we handling it?  I’m NOT! 

*deep breathe* “I’m handling it…..this will pass….please make it pass!”

During the day he’s WIDE AWAKE and busy!  Sometimes he will have a fussy moment or two, but nothing I do will make this kid nap.  This kid has got places to go and things to do since he started crawling!  I have tried nursing and then rocking for HOURS (literally 2-3 hours) nonstop, there is no nap.  I’ve even put him in his crib and told myself he will sleep— he plays… totally happy but awake.  I even tried napping with him, but that doesn’t always work either.

The last two days I’ve tried nursing him every hour from 5 pm until bedtime 9 pm.  I offer, but he’s just not interested he would rather play with dad!  We implemented a bedtime routine that I’m clinging to like a swimmer lost at sea.  This all seems to help, but has yet to FIX the problem.  I am still up every hour all night!

There is just too much going on in the world for my active baby!

Since he doesn’t sleep in our bed I do have to get up and get him from his crib.  Thank goodness it’s in our room or I would have slept in the nursery floor by now!  I nurse him with little light, when he’s falling back asleep I turn out the light, and put him back to bed.  I have enlisted my poor husband to assist a few times a night to put the baby back to bed or bring him to me!  Bless Don’s heart he’s been such a trooper through all of our breastfeeding battles!

 

After reading over the blogs linked up below and kellymom.com I have decided to try:

  • nursing him with ZERO distractions
  • to be patient the 5th time he comes off when I know he should be hungry
  • continue to offer during the day as often as possible

I have no answers for you …. just my story to know that you are NOT ALONE.  This is a phase and it will pass.  I’m not 100% sure it’s reverse cycling, but it sure sounds like my very active baby, our 2-3 minute daytime nursing, and million night nursing sessions.

Did your baby go through reverse cycling?  Had you ever heard of reverse cycling?

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Categories: breastfeeding, Breastfeeding Blog Hop, sleep, trouble | 12 Comments

Moms and Babies, Oh My

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Suzanne

I invited people over!

We spent the entire weekend baby proofing the house.  OK….. not the entire house, but the main rooms.

My little one has decided to learn to crawl.  He was “army crawling” and now he is able to get one knee under him so it won’t be much longer and he’s on all fours.  Sure this new mobility inspired more childproofing, but the real reason is…. I invited people over!

To understand why this strikes a little bit of panic in my heart.  I NEVER have people over.  EVER!  Sure we have had family over, but I never just invite friends over.

The winter blues have set in, I can’t get out and walk, and I obviously can’t meet people in the park.  This SAHM thing is OK, but I need ADULT CONVERSATION!!!!  So I bit the bullet and invited all the new moms and babies I know over for coffee and brownies.  Hopefully of the 12 moms & 13 babies invited a few will be able to make it.  I just hope someone comes otherwise I’ll be eating the whole pan of brownies!  :)

What’s better than hot coffee & brownies in the middle of winter?!

 

Do you have any ideas for winter activities for older babies (6-10 mo)?  

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Categories: support | 2 Comments