My Truths About Mommyhood

When you’re pregnant, everyone coos and awws and tells you how fun babies are. I’m certainly not going to contradict that because I love my daughter and I think she’s the most wonderful thing in the world. But…there are things that nobody tells you until you are going through it: The Truth About Mommyhood!

Here are my truths:

1. Breastfeeding: not all rainbows and sunshine in the beginning! It will hurt and you will be sore for a few weeks.

2. Dog toys: not just for dogs! Best toys for teething too (see photo above). Baby “S” loves to chew on dog toys no matter how many times we tell her “NO”

3. You’ll never again be able to pee alone. My daughter crawls after me, opens the door and pulls herself up on my legs. Never again will I take peeing alone for granted!

4. Sleep is overrated. If you’re lucky, your baby will sleep through the night by around 6 months. If you’re like me, you’ll live on hope and hot chocolate that someday this will happen for you.

5. Nap times: not for working! First time moms always want to get tons of stuff done while the baby is sleeping (guilty!). Lesson learned: nap times are for sleeping! (This includes you, Mommy)

6. The perfect Saturday night will no longer mean drinks and dinner with the girls. It will mean playing “peek-a-boo” for the zillionth time just because it makes baby giggle.

7. You will no longer clean your house according to what your mother will see when she walks in the door (unless her visits are few and far between). You will clean your house according to what your baby will see when she crawls into the room instead.

And last, but certainly not least:

8. Love: I don’t care if you love your husband, dog, mom, uncle, cat, etc. You don’t know what love truly is until you have a baby. There is something intrinsically different about the love a mother has for her child, and you can’t know it or understand it until you are a mother yourself. This love makes all the other truths seem completely obsolete (yes, even the lack of sleep).

Great Breastfeeding Resource

If you haven't heard of The Leaky B@@b, you need to go check them out! They have a blog, which is fun to read and full of great resources. They also have a facebook page and private chat boards. Its not just information here. The Leaky B@@b is committed to providing support and answering questions for all followers/participants. I've used their resources several times now, and I've also been able to give advice in many cases as well. As far as support goes, their site is a must!

Best For Babies (BfB) is another wonderful resource that you need to check out. They have support and tips whether you are expecting your first or your fifth as well as tips and help for moms who have already given birth to their baby. I especially like the Checklist for Expecting Moms and The Forms for moms that have recently given birth. Also, the article: The Booby Traps is a must read! It is going to be helpful whether you are planning your journey, just starting your journey, or (like me) are well into your journey. The article helps you understand society and some of the pitfalls of breastfeeding as well as ways that you can avoid these "booby traps" and succeed at breastfeeding your baby.

Life With A Reflux Baby

After almost 9 months, its about time to put my experiences out there. Baby "S" has Acid Reflux. Here is our story.

At three months old, she started crying inconsolably. We couldn't lay her down flat for play, diaper changes, sleep or anything. She couldn't sleep at all...she'd wake up screaming within minutes. She started to get so tired you could see she wasn't getting enough sleep. Eventually, she started sleeping with us because it was the only way to keep her comfortable and for all of us to get any sleep at all. So, like any of you, I took her right to the pediatrician. He told me she was probably teething but she also had a lot of wax in her ear. After 5 days of giving her tylenol and oragel to no avail, I called back. The pediatrician gave me a prescription for ear drops to get the wax out, which I used diligently for the 4 required days. Nothing. So I called back. The nurse told me that it was just colic and not to come in. I told her she's crazy because I know my daughter and there was no way it was colic. Long story short, 3 weeks after the inconsolable crying started, I took her back to the pediatrician. Bless his heart, he told me that moms know best so he'd work with me to find the cause. He was guessing it was either reflux or lactose intolerance so we came up with a plan of action. He was guessing reflux because she spit up more than normal for any baby from day one. He thought lactose intolerance because I am. One week after starting Step 1 of The Plan (Zantac 2x/day), she was my little baby again! Now of course, we still keep her bed elevated on one end and she's still on Zantac, but at least she's no longer in pain!

Life with a baby with reflux isn't difficult (after you get them on a medication to ease the pain and heal their little bodies). She still spits up constantly. Some days are worse than others with the spit up, but its manageable. We just have a towel or large burp cloth (or even prefold diapers) in each room to clean up the mess. I've learned kitchen towels are the best for soaking up a big spit-up. We also have come to terms with changing our cloths and hers multiple times each day due to spit up. Even the dog has become used to getting cleaned up after she spits on him. Honestly, it doesn't seem to bother her at all anymore....just something that happens I think. We're told she'll probably be on Zantac until 12-18 months. As long as she is spitting up a lot, she still needs the medication. With the way she's been spitting lately, I'd be surprised if she gets off the medication around 12 months. I'm betting it'll be closer to the 18 month mark.

Life was so difficult before we figured it out. Starting at 3 months old Baby "S" would cry and cry and I could hear she was in pain but I had done all I could do to help her besides simply hold her. She spent many nights with us in bed and many days strapped to me getting carried around. It was such a long and tiring 4 weeks before we figured it out and the Zantac started to work. I'm so thankful each and every day that we figured it out and my happy baby is back. Thank goodness for good pediatricians and great medications!

Upcoming Giveaways!

I have many upcoming events/giveaways in the works!

First, I'm working with Kissing Bunnies Cloth on a review/giveaway. It was originally planned to celebrate reaching my first goal of 50 followers, but my blog has been growing so fast that I have long since surpassed that goal. This may be to celebrate my second goal of 100 followers...we shall see!

Second, I will be participating in the Under Cover Event hosted by Cloth Diaper Addiction. During that event, I will be hosting at least three review/giveaways. Sponsors include: Zookies Diapers, Grandma Gift 11, and WoollyGoose. I'm hoping to add at least one other sponsor to the list as well. This event will run March 6-26 so stay tuned!

Breastfeeding Essentials

This is a list of the items I believe all breastfeeding moms need as well as why I find them so important. The list is based on my own experiences and opinions only. Click the name of the item to be taken to a place where you can buy it!

Lanolin Cream. This is so important from Day 1 because it will help you heal, help you be protected, and keep you from getting toooo sore.

Cloth Breastfeeding Pads. I tried 7 different brands of disposables, but they were all scratchy on my sore breasts. I tried cloth and I'll never go back. Cloth is more absorbent and much softer. When you're more sore than you can ever imagine being, softness counts for a lot! (A friend made mine for me out of extra prefolds I had lying around).

Nursing Tanks. Yes, nursing bras and nursing shirts are helpful, but I swear by my tanks! You can wear them under dress shirts for work, under t-shirts at home, by themselves at night and during the day! Can you say versatile?

Hard Nipple Shield. For those days when you are so sore that even the softest nursing pads are painful, these hard shields are a lifesaver! They make it so that nothing touches your most sensitive parts until they heal enough that you can take the covers off.

Glucose Water. Don't be afraid to ask for this at the hospital when you and baby first start your journey together! There isn't anything in it that will hurt the baby and it will make your life sooo much easier if you have a reluctant latcher. (Baby "S" refused to latch on my right side until my milk came in. The Lactation Consultant finally suggested a tiny drip of this to entice her to eat and it worked like a charm until my milk came in and she was eager to eat off either side).

Optional Items

Boppy Pillow. Many moms swear by this. I didn't find it all that helpful because I have a short torso so Baby "S" ended up nursing from above a little when using the pillow which hurt me too much. However, I don't regret buying it because it is great for use with so many things as baby grows!

Nursing Cover. I LOVE this when I'm out of my own home or when we have visitors over. Many people use a blanket instead, but Baby "S" pulls those off. I like the cover because it hangs around my neck and she can't pull it off, but I can still see her from above because of the shaped neck.