Monday, August 20, 2012

only because...

He's just so darn cute. One day he'll see this photo and say, "Mom, you're embarrassing me." But until then...


filling my friend cup

Some weeks, my friend cup is empty. While I've lived in this "new" town now for nearly 2 years, my friend cup can go empty. The one saving grace where I live is the luxury of having my brother, sister-in-law and niece within 20 minutes of us. It's been awesome! And while I love hanging out with my sister-in-law and niece, I'm sure I can't suck up all her time. Even though I'd love to, only because I love hanging out with them.

So while my husband was away on his man trip, I took Baby Awesome, and we headed up north to the Big D. Yes, I braved the 4 hour drive alone with a 7 month old. Ah, home. It's like the minute I see the skyline, my heart skips a beat. And while I sometime forget how much I hate driving on I-35, it's worth it when I get to see so many of friends and family.

Friday I was able to leave Baby Awesome with my mom and and head out with my friends to see the musical, Chicago. While I was excited about seeing the show, I was more excited about hanging out with my friends. I think I wanted to talk more than anything! Going to dinner and being able to enjoy a margarita along with some much needed Mexican food was just what I needed! Maybe not what my diet needed, but that's another story.

And Saturday was spent hanging out with two of my other friends, enjoying a burger at one of our local hangouts: Village Burger Bar. Back when I lived in Big D, my friend D and I would enjoy a blue burger and their sweet potato fries while watching the Bachelor/Bachelorette and watching guys and gals "accept this rose?". So being able to go back to my 'hood was exciting and yet still pinches my heart. Pretty much my entire "adult" life has been spent at the Shops at Legacy. It was the second place I moved out of college, and it's where I stayed until I got married. Roughly six years of my life spent within a 3 mile radius, it seems. And being back just made me miss it all that much more.

Saturday evening mom and I got to sit back and just be after Baby Awesome went down for the night. It seems that sometimes not doing anything after he goes to bed is just what I need! And that we did. Oh, along with our bowl of Braum's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream.

We headed out Sunday after grabbing a bite to eat and stopping at Carters to partake in the tax free weekend. Thank you, Nana for all the new sleepers that Baby Awesome will soon be wearing. What weekend would not be complete without shopping with Nana? It's another weekend activity that I truly miss being 4 hours apart.

How was your weekend? Hopefully as fulfilling as mine!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

surf's up! closet dividers

Back when I was pregnant, and we found out that we were having a boy, we decided on a surf board theme for our little man's room. My husband loves to surf, given he lived in LA for about 8 years back in his college days. And we both love to spend time at the beach.

Wanting to recreate closet dividers for his closet that I saw on Pinterest, my sister-in-law helped me with these.


We ended up using wooden cut-outs that were on clearance at Michael's. We found scrapbook paper with the surf theme and got to tracing out the cut-out followed by cutting the paper down to size. Mod Podge was our best friend after we had painted the dividers first. Lastly, using the Silhouette machine, we were able to cut out the sizes and Mod Podge those on as well. We then sealed it all with our favorite Mod Podge and let dry.

it's those little smiles


This little man has me smiling every single day throughout the day. I mean, how could you not look at this little face and not smile?!

He makes my day!

breast is best

For those that know me, I'm a proud breastfeeding Mom. While I believe breast is best, I'm not closed off to the thought of others using formula. While I'd rather not use, I know that with breastfeeding can come complications and difficulties where the mom resorts to formula. Heck, I even give my kid some every few days in his evening bottle. For a few months, he did receive 1 bottle of formula for his evening feed while my husband would put him to sleep.

Just recently, the AAP came out with new breastfeeding guidelines: Breast-Only is Best for 6 Months. Meaning exclusive. You can read about some of the findings on the Parenting website. Following this new release, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has launched a new campaign, Latch on NYC. Here's the general overview:

  • Enforce the New York State hospital regulation to not supplement breastfeeding infants with formula unless medically indicated and documented on the infant’s medical chart
  • Limit access to infant formula by hospital staff
  • Discontinue the distribution of promotional or free infant formula
  • Prohibit the display and distribution of infant formula advertising or promotional materials in any hospital location
I think these are all great initiatives to help suppose moms with their decision to breastfeed. 

The hospital where I delivered Baby Awesome is pro-breast and have a great lactation center  with readily available lactation consultants. I know two came by while I was there. And while I know other moms have mentioned that their hospitals sent them home with formula and even tried to feed their baby formula, the word "formula" was never mentioned to me except on the form I filled out to let them know whether I'd be breastfeeding or bottle feeding.

I definitely think that the body knows what to do when breastfeeding. For a while, I felt like I lacked supply and would take herbs and drinks gallons of water to up my supply. I was hardly getting any sleep at night, up every 1-2 hours. It was a real struggle there. I had some people who tried to relieve the pressure that I placed on myself for wanting to breastfeed but suggesting that I just wean him and give him formula. I think I would have felt worse by doing so. But in the end, I noticed a huge jump in supply when I started getting more sleep! (Note to self on allowing my husband to help with night feeds so I can get more adequate with the next one!) I could have easily given up at 6 weeks. But I pushed through it, and now 7 months later, I'm still able to breastfeed like I was originally hoping.

While breastfeeding isn't for everyone, it's definitely something that I'm proud to be able to do for my son and hopefully for other future children we might have.