Stone Mountain for My Bday

Thanks, Momma!
 

 
Lizzie and I spent the night with my mom the night before.
We went to Target beforehand to get some snacks and stuff where I bought this cheapo carrier that sucked...or maybe I'm just bad at babywearing...
It was hard to find a spot I felt comfortable nursing. :C
I was going to feed her in the 4D theater, BUT it scared her and she was inconsolable.
My niece and nephews did the rock climb, but I had to let Caleb borrow my shoes. So my mom basically bought me an upgraded pass so I could watch the laser show. :/
I seriously felt really bad about that, but she said it was okay as long as I had a good birthday gift.
Which I did.
 
 
 
Still had a good time. And I finally got a good nursing session in right before the fireworks, which she just slept right through!
 
Fun times!

A year has gone by....

At midnight tonight (actually I think I was born at like 9 in the morning or something lol) I will be 25 years old! Quarter of a century old. Yuck...

Last year we had just started trying to have a baby, my husband gave me the best birthday party ever.

This year we have a three month old and we're going to a one year old's b-day party tomorrow. :)

Last year we were hanging out with friends every weekend and partying and drinking.

This year I drink TONS of water so I can feed my baby.

Last year I had no bed time and I would stay up late.

This year my LO goes to bed around 8:30 and if we stay up late it's because we have a grumpy, crying baby on our hands.

Life has changed so much in a year. It's so crazy to think that I had a BABY! That still blows my mind. I wonder when it won't feel so surreal anymore...

Lizzie turned 15 weeks old on Thursday.

Photobucket

I weighed her on the Wii and she weighs 11.8 pounds. She's my little munchkin. She's able to do everything she's suppose to so she's thriving and I couldn't be more thrilled. :)

Happy birthday to me tomorrow! Goodnight!

Newborn Favorites - Birth to Three Months






As a first time mama but a previous infant care provider, I thought I knew what I needed for a new baby. Here are some of our favorite things. I'm hoping to make this a series so let me know what you think. :)

Lansinoh Nipple Cream
Now I haven't tried any other nipple creams but would I? It's the only kind I received as a baby shower gift from my only dear friend who breastfed PLUS it's the brand they gave me at the hospital! Hello! Hospital recommended! We go through a ton but the price is worth it. Love. This. Stuff.

Bright Stars Activity Mat




Lansinoh Disposable Breast Pads
I have tried Evenflo Disposable Breast Pads, Nuk Disposable Breast Pads, and neither product can compare. Lansinoh has sticky tabs some they don't move around in your bra, they are soft and not scratchy like some other brands can be which is a MUST during those first tender weeks, and they are individually wrapped which is great for throwing them in the diaper bag.

Bumbo seat with tray



Boppy Nursing Pillow
I love my boppy so much it comes everywhere with me (except my mother-in-law's because she has the same one at her house :]). I know I have talked about the drama about women being asked to leave or cover up when nursing. I say feed your baby wherever you are comfy. I only feel comfy with my boppy so I don't mind going to my car. It's a personal choice but no one should tell a women where or how she can feed her baby.




Medela Nursing Stool
LOVE my Medela nursing stool! Of course it's Medela. :) My dear friend (;]) gave me her old one. And I loved it when I was pregnant and had issues with some chairs and I love it even more now that I am nursing so I can have help holding her at the perfect nursing level.

Nuk Pacifiers
I was terribly against pacifiers. I thought they were just gross. But I was becoming a human pacifier and I was exhausted. If you are against them, that is your choice, just remember each child is different and it's always easy to judge something you have no idea about. Nuk silicone BPA free pacifiers seem to be Sweet Pea's favorite.



Pampers Swaddlers
So soft! Another favorite that the hospital gave us. Sweet Pea can only wear Huggies or Pampers because every other brand (or off brand) seems to break her out and although it seems Huggies can be cheaper after the coupons they give out, I love the softness of Swaddlers also Pampers indicator seems to work better. Yes they have a cool indicator that tells you when the baby is wet which is awesome when they are newborns who pee a little but frequently.

Koala Baby Blanket



Huggies Wipes
Maybe not as soft as Pampers but they get the job done better in my opinion because they are thicker. Which is better for those sticky meconium poops. They also do better in a wipe warmer, IMO.

Fisher Price Exersaucer
Why I love it? Two reasons: It can easily fold up and be stores out of the way and you can buy other replacement toy pieces and exchange them out if you need to sanitize or if you just want to change them up.



Munchkin Wipe Warmer
I thought wipe Warner's were a dumb buy that new parents register for but they don't really need. Sweet Pea was born in the winter. It snowed on Christmas and, remember Snowpocalpse? The world is scary to a newborn who has been in the warmth of their mother's womb and the shock of the cold wipe is what I think makes them cry so much during diaper changes. Sweet Pea always did better with a warm wipe.

Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Infant Swing
This was a hand-me-down from my boss (the Bouncie seat I also mention is part of the set). They make ones now with plugs that don't require to just have batteries which would have been nice but I still love this swing and most importantly so does Sweet Pea. She loves to watch the fish spin (we are missing two LOL), she loves the music, and she likes it to go side-to-side in the swaying motion. Sweet Pea is the last baby to use it and it won't last o our next but we love it.



Bassinet
This was an awesome yard sale find my mother-in-law found. It comes with a mobile that plays all different types or music and noise. Sweet Pea loves the 'womb' sounds. I love the bassinet because she is in arms reach. It also vibrates which is kind of cool and it has a storage basket on the bottom, oh and it also rocks but you can make it where it won't if you don't want it to.

Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Bouncie Seat



Aveeno Baby Wash
Why we like it? Because it's gentle on baby's skin and moisturizing. Sweet Pea had a little bit of baby acne when she was first born and this seemed to help.

So what were some of your newborn to three month old baby's favorites? Did I miss anything?

Click To Vote For Us @ the Top Baby Blogs Directory! The most popular baby blogs

Ears Pierced

Since I have a little girl this has been a hot topic of discussion lately in my personal life and online.

I have decided we will wait until she tells us she wants it done. My mom did with me and in my opinion that's what's best. She is my daughter and that is how I see it.

See here's the thing I cried when she got her shots and those were things she needed. I couldn't imagine putting pointless holes into my daughter that will leave scars on her just because 'they look cute'. If she decides she wants her ears pierced than we will get them done for her. I want to be able to explain to her what is going on. People like to say the issue is pain. I got mine done at five and I can't remember the pain. I got my second holes done at 13 and I can't remember the pain. Just because a doctor's office will do it doesn't mean it is necessarily a good thing. Plus, when she is older I can teach her how to take care of them herself and I don't have to worry about one more thing as a new mom.

My husband and I agree on this issue. We have before she was born.

Another issue people point out is comparing it to circumcision. Yes, if we had/have a little boy we would get him circumcised. The reason we would do this is because his father is and we wouldn't want him to feel awkward. To me there is no comparison. They are two totally different things. And we are not saying we would NEVER get her ears pierced. We just don't want to until she's old enough to accept the responsibility herself since it is not a necessary thing. But we will only get them done if SHE CHOOSES to. It's her body, her ears, her decision.

Now I do not judge others who do it. I actually do think it looks cute. I just don't feel like it's my decision to make.

So Momma's with little girls (or soon-to-bes) what are you going to do? What's your view on the issue?

Evenflo Comfort Select Performance Dual Auto-Cycling Breast Pump Review



I feel that in order to do this review, I must give you a little back story first.
My daughter had undiagnosed lip tie. I did not know such a thing existed but now realized this is why she had so much trouble latching in the beginning.

Anyways, we worked through and I decided to start pumping (so her daddy could feed her) when she was about 6 weeks old. My sister-in-law gave me this breast pump. So at least there was no out of pocket for this. But I believe it could be the problem with why my sister-in-law's milk was never able to come in (her daughter was born 6 weeks premature).


About The Evenflo Comfort Select Performance Dual Auto-Cycling Breast Pump

- Supposed increased number of cycles per minute with a gradual vacuum curve for gentler, more effective pumping - compared to previous pump
- Tighter range adjustment to increase production on lower settings
- Dual motors in the dual pump for maximum production on both breasts
- Adjusted AC/DC adapter to deliver consistent power
- Does not contain bishenol-A (BPA)

What I Liked

- The bag that the pump comes in is nice and compact. There is one “cooler” compartment to keep the milk cold and freezer packs to go with it and another compartment for other parts.
- The pump was comfortable to use.
- The price - This pump retails for around $40 which is awesome as far as breast pumps go.
- BPA Free
- You can use the pump on batteries or electrical power, which makes it very portable.


What I Didn’t Like

- The pump was very loud. Until I did some research, I thought all pumps were this loud. If I had to pump at work,I could never do it discreetly. Anytime I tried to pump it would wake Sweet Pea up and she would cry if she was awake. PLUS I couldn’t hear the TV above the sound of the pump and who wants to do NOTHING while pumping.

- You can adjust the suction, but you can’t adjust the speed. Doing some research, I found that with high-end double electric pumps, moms can adjust the speed on a dial. With manual pumps, you can adjust the speed manually. But with this pump, there was no opportunity to adjust the speed at all. And I feel this is the reason I could never create a let down. It only worked if I had just stopped nursing.

- The motor for the pump is attached to the bottles/horns and is very heavy. This creates a few problems:
There are little placements for you to place the bottles in and if you do that, the bottles won’t tip over when placed on the counter. However, if you forget to put them in the placements, your pump is going to topple over and possibly spill the milk out all over the place. And I don't know about you but I have cried over spilled {breast} milk.

- The weight of the pump makes hands free pumping impossible. To me, the real value of a double electric pump is the ability to pump hands-free while doing something else (eating lunch, working at my computer) and that is not possible with this one since you need to hold the horns while pumping or perch yourself at exactly the right position (chair and table at exact right height) to have the horns sit in the little feet while you pump and then not move an inch. Again, who wants to do nothing while pumping. Also, the fact that you need to hold the horns while pumping makes it impossible to do breast compressions while pumping unless you are only pumping one side at a time. And I had to do breast compressions.

- There are a lot of small pieces that have to be put together. This is often the case, but with most pumps they stay together once you put them together. With this one, the valve keeps falling out unless you have the whole contraption put together. For me, that meant the valve hit the floor 4 times in the process of putting the pump together. Not ideal if you are trying to keep things sterile.

Recommendation

I do not recommend this pump. Although the price is right (especially for me since I was given it), I think that moms that are only pumping occaisionally would be better off with a quality manual pump. Moms that are working and pumping should get a quality double electric pump that can be used for hands-free pumping.

What else I recommend?
Trying to go through your insurance company to get a quality pump. Because this one is not it.


Click To Vote For Us @ the Top Baby Blogs Directory! The most popular baby blogs