baby milk

All I can say is hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!

I forgot that I had left a bottle of breast milk on the coffee table (I was pumping while watching Grey's Anatomy while the kids napped and set it down there when I finished -- Jake woke up before the episode was over so there it stayed)

When Jake got up I went into the bedroom to take some pictures of Jordan sleeping so cutely (is that a word?) and when I came back out Jake was holding the bottle in his hand. Of course, lots of it has spilled out -- sigh. You should have seen the look on his face as he proclaimed "YUCK!!!! Yuck Mommy!!!"

Well kid, you used to like it! Guess now I know I can't break into the freezer stash for Jake if we run out of milk.

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Cookies

On Saturday Jacob got to make cookies with Papa. He had a great time.

The night before last (Monday night), he got to have a cookie after dinner. It was an eat-dinner-and-plop-the-kids-in-bed kind of a night so it was also right before bed. I put Jake to bed in our usual way -- story, prayers, and goodnight kisses. As I was walking out of his room he said:

"Wake up, eat more cookie!!"

He cracks me up!

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teething

No, really, it does. Not just for the baby, but also for the mama whose nursing that baby! Ouch!!

I've been in denial that Jordan is teething. After all, I thought Jacob was teething for forever before he ever got a tooth. I don't think Jordan is going to pop a tooth up any time soon but he's definitely starting the long and trying process of teething. I wonder if he'll be like Jacob and get his top teeth first or if he'll be like a normal baby and get the bottoms first. In any case, he's started biting again while nursing, and that sucks!! It makes for some long nursing sessions when he has to constantly be put in "time out"

On a lighter note... Jacob is so used to be the one getting in trouble that every time I yell "NO BITE" to Jordan, he comes over, gives me a hug, and says "Sorry Mommy!" Cute.

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7 Breastfeeding Facts You Should Know

Here is a good article I read from peaceful parenting blog

7 Breastfeeding Facts You Should Know

By Danelle Frisbie © 2010

Breastfeeding, while natural and normal to all mammals, can occasionally be a bit of a mystery to those who haven't looked into human lactation and the science behind it. Counselors from the Australian Breastfeeding Associationrecently put together their top seven facts mothers should know to make breastfeeding easier. They stress the following facts for nursing moms:

1) For babies, breastfeeding is an instinct. Provided birth (during and after) is not interrupted or messed with (induction, drugs, surgery, pain) babies are born with the instinct to breastfeed, and they nurse easily when given the opportunity to follow their primal instincts.

2) For mothers, breastfeeding is a learned skill. It is normal to need plenty of help and for it to take a few weeks to feel confident breastfeeding. This is especially true if a mother has not grown up in a culture that values and empowers nursing mothers - one where she grew up witnessing a wide variety of nursing babies and their mothers. This nipple latch technique has helped many moms who need some extra skills to help baby latch properly (so that nursing is comfortable). Visiting with a skilled lactation consultant in person is also extremely valuable in perfecting latch early on in one's breastfeeding career.

3) Skin-to-skin contact helps babies learn to breastfeed more easily and supports the nursing relationship (and milk supply) hormonally. When a baby of any age is held skin-to-skin against his mother's chest he is more able to follow his instincts and attach well to the breast. This skin-to-skin contact influences mother's milk to let down, and for her supply to become hearty.

4) The cues that a baby is hungry include:

Sucking on her fingers
Sucking on his fist
Turning her head from side to side
Wiggling/squirming
Opening and closing her mouth (fishy lips)
Smacking his lips
Poking out her tongue

Crying is the last sign of late (advanced) hunger and babies attach to the breast more easily before they reach this desperate, hungry, crying stage. Imagine you are hungry but cannot do anything to get yourself the food you need... first, you ask for it by the means of communication you have. If your repeated requests are ignored, and you become famished, you eventually cry out in anguish, begging someone to pay attention to your need to be fed. Babies' stomachs are very tiny (especially in the first months of life) and while they fill up quickly, they also empty very quickly and baby will be genuinely hungry again soon. Learning your baby's cues and attending to them right away will increase breastfeeding success (and a happy, content baby).

5) Gently massaging the breast towards the nipple while the baby is feeding can increase how much milk the baby gets and help a sleepy baby get more milk. Running a finger or thumb lightly across the baby's chin or cheek will encourage the baby to take another gulp and consume more without falling asleep.

6) Every mother's breastmilk storage capacity is different and this can affect how often a baby breastfeeds or whether a baby will solely nurse on one side at a time, or take both breasts at each nursing session. A mother with a smaller storage capacity may find her baby breastfeeds more often and this is normal for her and her baby - it is not a sign that she doesn't make enough milk. Another mother may find that she has a large storage capacity and her baby nurses less often and takes in more at one time - this is normal for her and her baby. All mothers can increase milk supply by fully emptying the breasts more often. Adjustments in milk supply are easily made in the first 30 days. After that time, it becomes much more difficult, so during the first month post-birth it is essential to nurse on cue and pump extra if you wish to stock up a frozen supply for down the road (or plan to return to work)

7) Emptying the breast is what sends the message to a mother's body to make more milk, so the more often a baby feeds (or the more often the mother pumps) the more milk will be made. It is a matter of basic supply and demand. The body makes more when it is told that it needs more (through frequent use and being emptied). If supplements are used (formula or other solid foods) then nursing/pumping decreases, telling the body that not as much milk is needed - and supply drops. This is the reason supplementing (when a mother doesn't think she has enough milk) is counterproductive and actually leads to a drop in milk supply - the very thing she may have been worried about to begin with. If a mother is pumping, she should strive to fully empty the breasts (in the early months of breastfeeding or anytime she wishes to increase supply). This means to pump for 3 minutes after the very last drop of milk comes out, or for 25 minutes - whichever comes first.


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Four Cheese Pasta Florentine

This was a very yummy and easy to make recipe that I got from kraftrecipes.com

Ingredients:

3 cups mostaccioli, uncooked (I just used 1 standard size box which was 16 oz)

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach

4 oz cream cheese, cubed

1 cup 2% milkfat low fat cottage cheese (I used 1% milkfat)

2 eggs

1 package (8 oz) shredded low-moisture part skim mozarella cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (I am pretty sure I used more than this, just sprinkled it on top to my liking)

Directions:

Cook pasta as directed (omitting salt) While cooking, cook spinach as directed on package and drain well and place in a large bowl. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Stir in cottage cheese and eggs until blended well.

Drain pasta and add to bowl along with mozarella cheese. Stir together. Spoon into a 8 or 9 inch square baking pan and add parmesan cheese on top.

Bake for 25 minutes at 375

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Five Question Friday & Stuff

1. Do you know what your REAL hair color is?
Yes. What you see is what you get. I don't color my hair. I have more important things to waste my money on.... like diapers!!!

2. Do you plan ahead for summer, or fly by the seat of your pants?
We fly by the seat of our pants. Last year we had hoped to take a trip to Chicago and go to the zoo and Shedd's Aquarium. So maybe we'll plan a weekend to do that this year instead.

3. What is your favorite meal to cook?
None :-) On that note, last night I made the most amazing spinach pasta recipe. It was soooo yummy!! I'll have to post it later.

4. Do you get offended by not receiving thank yous?
Nope. But they are nice. And I always make sure to send them myself otherwise I just feel guilty and rude!

5. How did you meet your best friend?
She gave birth to me

Other Stuff

We've had several sample boxes of cereal in our pantry for awhile so this morning I tried two of them. Here are my thoughts.

Quaker Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar: I was very excited to try these! They were decent but didn't taste like oatmeal like I expected. Even so, I'd probably buy them again.

Kashi Heart to Heart Warm Cinnamon Oat Cereal: I expected these to be similar to cheerios. My first thought was how cute it was that some of the cereal was shaped like cheerios and some of it was shaped like hearts. Then I tasted it. It was way too cinnamony for me! Jacob really liked it though. Like cheerios, it hurt my mouth to eat it. I'm weird like that.

Last night Jacob counted 1-10! I was so proud of him! He wanted some apricots and there were four left so I asked him if he could count to four. Well he did and just kept going! Usually he goes from three right up to eight so I was surprised to find out he actually DOES know how to count. Of course, today he won't do it again. Stinker!

Today I'm trying Jacob in undies for the first time. The goal is to put him in undies first thing every morning and once he's wet he has to wear a diaper for the rest of the day. He's been in them for 45 minutes now and so far so good. We'll see how long it lasts today! He's wearing his super cool sports undies :-) What a big boy!

Not much new to report with the little stinker other than he's been sleeping through the night now in his crib. Except for this morning he woke up at 3 and then again at 5 and he was up for the day then. Sigh.

Jake wants to read now so I'm out. Bye!

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Jacob Michael: 27 Months

Jacob turned 27 months old on March 5th. He weighs between 34-35 lbs now, depending on the day (he loves to weigh himself) and is 35.8 inches tall (2 ft 9 inches). There's not much that's different since his last update as honestly not much changes from month to month with him anymore.

He can say his alphabet to letter I, although he often skips E. He can name every letter in uppercase. He can name a few in lowercase.

He counts as 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 most of the time.

His favorite toys to play with this month have been his mega bloks. He loves to build big towers with them.

His favorite shirt is his train shirt. Every day we ask him what he wants to wear, he says that shirt.

His favorite foods are ham, cheese, grapes, pickles, peas, and crackers.

His favorite color seems to be orange or green. He asks for things those colors often (bowls, diapers, etc)

At the end of the month we had to switch him to paper diapers because he continues to get sores on his bottom. I am hoping he will potty train himself soon to avoid these. Some days he's all about going potty on the big boy potty and other days he'll flat out tell you that he has to go and he's going to go in his diaper. Stinker.

He's started reading books. He can sit still to listen to a longer story now (he loves The Three Little Pigs and Mickey and the Beanstalk) and he also "reads" stories back to us sometimes. So cute!!

Here are some pictures of him from this month:

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Jordan Matthew: Five Months

If February had 30 days, Jordan would have turned 5 months on the 30th. However, we considered him 5 months old on February 28th instead. His measurements (taken at home) were 16 lbs 9 oz -- I find this one hard to believe -- 26 inches long, and a head circumference of 43 cm. His hair is still reddish in color and he still barely has any. He still has blue eyes so I am thinking he's going to end up being another blue eyed boy. We pulled out his 6 month and 6-9 month clothes recently. He can still fit into his 3-6 month clothes but some of his 3 month outfits are getting too small - especially with a big cloth diaper bum underneath!

Jordan is still 100% breast-fed. He's been getting up several times a night to nurse now. He eats every 4-6 hours still. He has started taking an interest in watching people eat and he seems to be figuring it all out. I think he'll be well prepared when we eventually start feeding him solids and should have no problem figuring out what to do. I don't intend to do this for awhile yet. He's starting to get interested but still doesn't seem quite ready.

Jordan continues to sleep in our bedroom. This month we finally got him to sleep unswaddled! The transition really wasn't too difficult on him. However, now he struggles to sleep in his bassinet all night. He usually starts out in his bassinet and after the first time he wakes to eat (usually sometime around 11 or midnight) he spends the rest of the night in our bed. Occasionally I will put him back into his bassinet but quite honestly, it's much easier to just keep him in bed with us and we both sleep much better snuggled up in each other's warmth.

This month Jordan started reaching for objects and picking things up. He even picked up his pacifier and put it into his own mouth once while we were driving. (It was attached to his clothes with one of those pacifier clips). He can shake a rattle and, of course, puts everything he finds into his mouth. He's a HUGE drooler now. He also has started to blow raspberries.

This month we have put Jordan in his high chair for the first time and also sat him up in the stroller for the first time instead of putting him in there in his car seat. He looks like such a big boy in both places. We have started putting him in his high chair while we eat instead of in his bouncer or on our lap. Although he does end up on our lap quite often still.

Jordan also attended church for the first time. He did really well during the service and stayed quiet for the most part. He did get overly excited while looking at me and started screaming/squealing but other than that he was mostly quiet -- and I didn't even have to resort to sticking a bottle or a boob in his mouth! Amazing! Jordan was also baptized on February 27th. His Uncle Sean (Buddy) and Aunt Melissa (Minnie) stood up with us and his baptism was attended by Papa, Lolo, Auntie Sarah, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Brandon, and G.G. as well. I think I already mentioned in a previous post but he was talking in the microphone when Pastor Will held him up. So cute!

Here are some pictures from this past month:

Jordan's first Valentine's Day

first time sitting in his high chair

cute GoGoGreen Pocket Diaper

that I won from a giveaway from

Familylicious Reviews

handsome boy after his baptism

this is how the goofy boy sleeps most of the time

he's going to grow up to have a crooked neck!

happy to be 5 months old!

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Shameless Plug

I entered a cloth diaper photo contest. You were supposed to enter a picture of your baby wearing your favorite cloth diaper. Since my favorite cloth diaper changes frequently, I entered the picture of both the boys wearing a FuzziBunz One Size diaper in their matching J t-shirts.

I am wondering if everyone can do me a favor and go vote for my boys! I will win a new cloth diaper if my picture gets the most votes. They are giving out 3 prizes so I am hoping to be in the top 3 :-) Here's how to vote.

1. Friend Mama'sBag O'goodies on facebook

2. Visit the *Favorite Diaper Photo Contest* photo album

3. Find my picture (#7) and both like AND comment on it for your vote to count

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!!!

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REVIEW: Gerber Nuk Seal N Go Breastmilk Storage Bags

I started using Gerber Nuk Seal N Go breastmilk storage bags when I ran out of the caps for my Playtex Drop-ins storage system and also ran out of room in my freezer (or so I thought at that time!) I have mixed feelings about these bags. On the one hand, I really like them. On the other, they don't work quite as well for my system of storing breastmilk as I would have hoped.

Here are my thoughts...

PROS:

- The double zipper ensures they are leak free. I have not seen a double zipper on any other milk storage bags.

- There is a space to write the date and time the milk was pumped ABOVE the zipper to ensure the marker does not leak into the milk

- The bags are thick so even when they are frozen and dropped, they don't burst. This is a problem I had a lot my first time breastfeeding

- If I freeze them on their sides they are nice and thin so they don't take up much space in the freezer for storing

- They are meant to hold 6 oz but I have filled them with 8.5 oz with SOME room still left

- They are affordable. I pay just under $9 for a box of 50 bags

UNSURE:

- I don't feed my baby bottles so I don't know how easily and quickly milk thaws in these

- I also don't know how easily the milk is poured into the bottle from these

CONS:

- It is extremely hard to tell how much milk is in the bag once it's in there. Depending on how you hold the bag, the milk appears at a different measurement (I have started writing the ounces on the top by the date/time because of this)

- If they aren't laying just right, they freeze in awkward positions making storage a bit more challenging

- I have a system of how I store milk in my freezer. I usually move the bottles towards the front as others are used and it goes along the lines. With these bottles, it is too much of a challenge for me to move them as they are used. It literally took me an hour to do the first time so I have stopped moving them. This is the biggest problem I have with these bags as now I have nowhere to put the new milk as I pump it.

Despite the cons I do really like these bags for breastmilk storage. If you are in the market for a milk storage solution, definitely check these out.

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