teething stinks

Teething stinks.  Oliver is cutting his second couple of teeth right now and it's rough. He's been fussy, clingy, and hasn't been sleeping like he normally does. A few days ago when I was playing with him, Oliver gave me a huge smile and I noticed them- two teeth just barely pushing through on either side of his bottom middle teeth. It was like a lightbulb went off above my head and the fussy, clingy stage suddenly made sense.

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Here are a few things that have helped us immensely as Oliver is teething:

1. Oliver is so clingy when he's teething. He often insists on being held- he's not happy even sitting in our laps.  The Ergo is helpful to have when he's like that because we can still make dinner or get things done around the house.

2. I got this teething bracelet as a shower present.  Although it feels too bulky to really wear as jewelry, Oliver loves to chew and gnaw on the beads.

3. Diaper is a tell-tale sign that teething is under way for us.  We use this as often as we can (cloth diapering does make diaper rash cream difficult), and it helps clear things right up.

4. My mom got Oliver a few of these books for his first Christmas, and they are perfect! They really are indestructible- they can't be torn or chewed apart. These books make story time easier with a drooling, biting, fiend of a baby.

5. All the hype about Sophie is right.  She's great not only for teething, but all the time. Right now, Oliver loves chewing on her legs and lights up whenever she squeaks. From the time Oliver was three(ish) months old, he's played with Sophie about every day.

6. I picked this pack up bibs up from Ikea before Oliver was born. They have striped cotton on one side and the flip side is soft fleece. They are so light weight and aren't stiff like other bibs, these are our go-to's when teething gets drooly.

Teething is definitely something that varies from baby to baby.  I've heard of giving a baby a wet washcloth to chew on or some cold fruit.  We tried that last time, and Oliver wasn't too big into those, even though our parent-friends swear by it.  I've seen breastmilk popsicles, which I might give a whirl here soon.  What teething remedies worked for you and what can you not live without during the process?

essentials for an exclusively pumping mom

Right now I'm transitioning to pumping only 3 times a day.  Having that much non-pumping time is absolutely liberating and I have no clue what to do with all the free time on my hands. (Ha!)  Even though I'm almost done with pumping, here's some essentials I couldn't have made it this far without.

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1. This bottle brush is great. We'd always get some fatty discharge stuff in the bottles from the milk, and this brush caught everything. and the nipple bristle is a life-saver too!

2. Keep those nips moisturized. Put it on prior to pumping instead of lanolin, which made my pump parts all sticky.

3. Get extra membranes. You don't want to run out during your middle of the night pump. And replace them often (I do every month or so), the suction with a new one is amazing.

4. This is the pump I used when I only had a single manual pump. Even though it wasn't an ideal situation using this instead of a double electric as an exclusive pumper, I love this little guy. I still carry it in the diaper bag if I know we're going to be away from home for a long time. Also, bonus! If I have a really stubborn clog, I'll use this after finishing with my electric pump. For some reason, this single pump pops the clog right out for me.

5. I've got a love/hate relationship with this. I call it my second baby. I love this Medela pump because it has definitely saved Ollie's and my breastfeeding journey, but get tired of logging so many hours with this thing.

6. This works so well with all the intricate pump parts and bottles. We have a little corner set apart on our counter next to the sink for all the baby stuff, and it helps so all the bottle parts are in one spot and ready to go when we're putting stuff together. It also helps that this drying lawn is adorable. 

My goal for breastfeeding was initially 6 months. Since I've made it past that, I'm taking it month by month now (although sometimes day by day). I had mastitis a few weeks ago, and that made me nervous to wean, but very, very ready to be done breastfeeding. 

And here's a picture of our family and the little pumpling, Oliver, for those who just come for baby pictures. ;)

26 things for 26 years

26 things about me on my 26th birthday:

1. I keep thinking about trying the Whole30 diet, but I keep chickening out. 

2. I loved Oliver's birth.  I wouldn't change a thing about it.  Seriously, if you're pregnant, see if there is a baby friendly hospital near you- it was the best experience ever.

3. My favorite memory from our wedding day was driving to the ceremony with Trevor... we were both in our wedding clothes, but just talking and goofing around.

4. My Nana taught me to knit when I was around 7 years old and I still love doing it.

5. Trevor was my first kiss and I laughed through it.

6. I love chocolate. Chocolate ice cream to be exact. Chocolate Moosetracks ice cream...

7...But I'm trying not to eat ice cream- Trev and I are trying to avoid processed sugar as much as we can this month... oh my word, it's so hard. 

8. Jillian Michaels Yoga is one of my favorite things ever.

9. I love my job.  I work as an assistant at my church and do many of their videos (yay for using that college degree!)

10. I am in love with babywearing... we have 3 baby carriers- a Solly baby wrap, a Happy baby wrap, and an Ergo. I keep looking at ring slings now... Trevor thinks I'm crazy.

11. I totally wear leggings as pants.

12. I used to Irish dance. I took classed for years and use to teach little kids dance too. 

13. I love bright colors. We painted almost every room on the main level of our house, and none of its white. 

14. I had a kidney stone four years ago. It was horrible. Since then, I try to be really good about drinking a lot of water every day (my doctor recommended a gallon a day). I try, but I'm not very good at drinking all that in a day.

15. Running scares me. I would love to run a race one day (even a small 5k), but I'm nervous I don't have the endurance for it. Maybe I should try a couch to 5k program- those things slowly amp up the intensity, right? 

16. "Pretty Little Liars" is my guilty Netflix pleasure. 

17. I went to Morocco through my college's cross cultural program... as a result, I love super sweet mint tea. And I rode a camel through the Sahara desert.

18. When we moved into our house, I was so organized. Every single box was labeled and color-coded to show what room it went to. I also had a spread sheet that showed the contents of each box. Easiest move ever. 

19. When Trevor and myself were coming back to Michigan after the semester in L.A., we drove straight through. It was not fun. We left at 9pm L.A. time and got to the mitten a day and a half later. Neither one of us slept well while the other drove and the father north we got, the icier the roads got. The experience is right up there with kidney stones and mastitis as the worst time ever.
20. Sometimes I'm still frustrated that nursing didn't work out for Ollie and I.
21. I feel weird if I don't have my nails painted... like I'm walking around half naked or something.
22. I have an etsy shop, Joo Bee Petals, that I started with my sister. I realized that after I while, you can only make so many scarves and hats to give to friends and family, so I might as well knit them up for something.
23. My favorite movie is Amelie.
24. I could eat burritos every.single.day.
25. My favorite pair of shoes is a pair of leopard print ballet flats from Target. I've bought 3 or 4 new pairs over the years as they've worn out.
26. There are so many things I do with Oliver that I promised I'd never do as a parent. Like using television as a distraction... PBS is our friend and I have no clue how I would keep Ollie occupied half the time I'm pumping without it. 

Have a lovely weekend- we're trying to soak up as much family time as we can right now. 

being an exclusively pumping mom: part two- mistakes i made

A few days ago, Oliver turned seven months old (where did the time go?). This also marks seven months of breastfeeding for us and six and a half months of exclusively pumping for this sweet baby.  Exclusively pumping has been hard and frustrating, but it's also been so rewarding (click here to read our story on how we got here).

In this post, I'll be talking about about mistakes I made when first beginning to pump and a few things I've learned along the way.

When I registered for Ollie's baby shower, I put down a single, manual pump.  I figured nursing would work for us and I'd only have a minimal amount of pumping to do, if ever.  So when I began pumping exclusively, a single manual pump was all I had.  It was horrible.  The pump worked great (I still use it from time to time in fact), it was just a nightmare spending 20 minutes per side, every 2-3 hours with a screaming baby next to you.  I remember stepping into the shower every night for a few weeks and just breaking down crying from stress and exhaustion.  I called my insurance company as soon as I could to figure out a pump they would cover.  I was positively skipping when I got my double electric pump.

After I began pumping, there were so many things I didn't know.  For instance, I didn't know you were suppose to pump every 2-3 hours around the clock for the first month or two.  My first week of pumping, I pumped every 4 or 5 hours.  My supply was still up from frequent nursing, so when I would pump I would get enough everyday to feed Oliver.  Because of that, I didn't think of pumping more frequently.  A week after beginning, my supply tanked.  Breastfeeding is based on "supply-demand", and the spread out pumpings weren't giving my body enough "demand". We supplemented with formula and I began pumping every two hours while I was awake and every three hours through the night.  It stunk.  My supply slowly crept back up.  I tried a few things rumored to help milk supply, but water and oatmeal were the only things that really helped.  When I went back to work, I dropped to pumping every 3 hours and didn't have too much of a problem. 

Things I've learned:

1. Drink water like it is your job.  Nothing else helped nudge my daily numbers upward except oatmeal.

2. Keep track of the ounces your produce per day and figure out your weekly averages.  Chances are, you're doing better than you think you are.

3. Buy/make/jimmy-rig a hands-free pumping bra and multitask like a boss. Seriously saved my sanity.

4. Hand express after pumping- I've gotten an addition ounce sometimes when I hand express following a pump.