Breast Milk and Deer Meat....

 


  I chose to breastfeed my children for all the typical reasons.  The biggest reasons are the health and financial reasons.  I feel lucky that breast feeding has been fairly easy for me.  With my oldest, my milk came in very fast at 2 days.  I became so engorged that I needed to pump to relieve the pain and because my son couldn't get a good latch.  Because of that, I pumped and breast fed from very early on.  I didn't do it on purpose but I am glad it worked out that way because I was able to share feeding duty with my husband and who ever wanted to feed him.  I pumped and breast fed my son until he was 9 months old. My goal was 12 months so I continued to pump and bottle feed exclusively but got lazy with the pumping and quickly dried up.  Pumping can feel like a full time job!!  He had breast milk until he was about 10 months old and then we used formula until 12 months.
    Since pumping and breast feeding worked well with my first, with this little one I chose to do the same.  I had some trouble getting little girl to latch but with a couple visits from the lactation consultant, we were good to go.  **I HIGHLY recommend taking advantage of the hospitals lactation consultant.  Breastfeeding came easy with my first so when I was having pain and difficulties with my second I got frustrated and scared I wouldn't be able to.  The consultant was SO helpful and it took only a few short visits before I was feeling confident having success! She even called me a couple weeks after I left the hospital to check in.  Anyways,  knowing that I was going to be going back to work earlier with this baby, I worked hard from the beginning to build up a good supply.  What worked for me was to pump after every breast feeding to tell my body I needed more! If someone else fed her a bottle, I still pumped in place of that feeding. Even if she slept for five or six hours at night, I still woke up every three hours to pump.  Week one and two, I was freezing sometimes n five or six 5oz bags on top of what she was eating each day!!  I made a conscience effort that the first four to six weeks of my maternity leave were going to be about relaxing....and saving as much milk as I could.  I am a party animal I know.  :)  Once I started leaving the house more, and sleep seemed more necessary, the amount of milk I was able to freeze became less.  My daughter is seven weeks old this week and I am able to freeze maybe one a day.  I don't think I have been drinking as much water as I was those first couple weeks.  It is harder for me to remember and know how much water I am drinking when I am not at home.  It is definitely something I am working on.  Those first four weeks of hard work pumping and breast feeding paid off though.  I currently have over 85 5oz bags of breast milk saved up!! For an anniversary present last December, my parents bought me and my husband a deep freezer.  We are currently renting and our freezer is quite small.  My husband is hunter and so after hunting season we have about two deer worth of meat.  So although a deep freezer seems like an odd anniversary gift, to me and my hubby, it is just what we needed!! So currently in my deep freezer, there is a ton of deer meat and a ton of breast milk.  *** Don't worry,  the meats and milk are separated and sealed and can no way contaminate each other.....***

Here are some of my breast feeding tips and preferences. ( Note:  I am in no way an expert, I am still learning and this is just what worked/ is working for me!)

1. Your breast milk is supply and demand, especially those first couple weeks, so nurse or pump as much as possible.
2. Familiarize yourself with the rules on breast milk storage and usage.  That stuff is liquid gold so you don't want to waste any because it was stored wrong.
3. I love my Medela automatic, double breast pump! Link here: Medela Automatic Double Breast Pump
4. Most insurance companies now will cover a breast pump! Call your insurance company and ask!! It is worth a try! Also, I used the same pump with both kiddos but needed the accessories.  I found out that my hospital's lactation consultant actually supplied them for me!  They gave me the tubes, breast shields, and a few bottles. Hey! I'll take free stuff!
5. Something I found helpful was to have two sets of breast shields. That way if I was cleaning one or something, I always had more available. 
6. Using bottles that are compatible with your breast pump makes it easy to store.  Of course Medela has their own bottles.  That is actually what we use.  Most standard size bottles of any brand will fit the Medela pump.  I pump right into the bottles and then put some in the fridge and then poor what I need into bags.
7. Drink lots of water!! This seems to be harder than it should for me!  Do what ever you need to do, buy a cute water bottle to carry everywhere with you.  One thing I try and do is drink a glass of water every time I am nursing or pumping.  You are sitting there anyways, multi-task! You can do it!
8. That leads me to this tip: Listen to your body!  I am way hungrier while breast feeding than when I am pregnant.  Your body is working hard to produce that milk and burns more calories.  Make sure you are eating enough healthy calories so that you are producing the quantity and quality of milk your baby needs.  I eat lots of oatmeal and drink lots of milk and almond milk which I feel helps me.  I also make these cookies called "lactation cookies" or "booby bites" that help with milk supply.  I will post the recipe in a future post.
9. Be okay with a little extra tummy fat for awhile.  Your body is hanging on to some extra fat that it needs to make sure it can burn calories making milk!  Your body is working hard! No fat shaming! 
10. Enjoy the time breast feeding.  I have a toddler and a newborn so if my husband is home and can keep buddy occupied or if he is napping, I can really have some bonding time with baby girl while I breast feed.  Not to get all sappy about it, but whether you are breast feeding or bottle feeding, that is precious time to look into your baby's eyes, talk to them, sing to them, pray for them.  I love that time! Sometimes I use that time to check my instagram or emails, but I really try to focus on baby.

 

This is a picture of my bags of breast milk!  I bought a box of two gallon zipblock bags..  I wrote the date range and the numbered the bags so that when I need to use them I know which bags to start with.  From what I have read, in a deep freezer, breast milk will last 6-12 months!

That's all for now!  I am happy to answer any questions or hear any suggestions!

Butt what?

I am a HORRIBLE cook.  I am not creative, I have two or three dishes that are safe, that I don't burn or under cook.  I want to be a good cook, I just don't have that instinctual 'thing' when it comes to cooking.  That being said, I am trying!!  We had dinner at my inlaws house the other day and she made a wonderful pot roast.  It was so yummy!  She told me how easy it was and I had to try it.
   At our local  farmers market I bought a boneless boston butt roast.   It was one of the smaller ones I could find since it is just me and my husband.  I haven't been able to get my 2 year old to branch out beyond chicken nuggets and mac n cheese as of yet. 

Anyways, here are the steps:

• Rub the roast with a little olive oil
• Massage seasoning into the roast.  We chose Grill Mates Montreal Chicken.  One of our favorites
• Make sure you get all sides of your roast
• Place in crock pot on low.
• Leave in for 6-8 hours.  The longer, the more tender the meat gets.  It seriously just fell apart... so tender!
• Pair with your favorite veggies.  We chose carrots and sautéed onions this time
• Enjoy!

This is my kind of meal! Simple Steps, really yummy, easy clean up!  Left overs taste just as great!

Fisher-Price Auto Rock 'n Play Sleeper Review

 Fisher-Price Auto Rock 'n Play Sleeper:


Original Rock 'n Play
 

   With my first child (who is now almost 2 1/2), a friend loaned us the original Rock n' play. I hadn't heard about the rock n play until my friend offered to loan us hers.  My son was having some gas/tummy issues at about six weeks and therefore sleeping was a problem. He was sleeping in a basinet that I didn't really care for and really only slept well if he was on his belly.  Needless to say I was desperate for a good sleep solution for my baby!  As soon as we started using the Rock 'n Play he went from waking up every two hours at night to sleeping 3 1/2 -4 hours that first night. It was a game changer for us! The original Rock 'n Play did not have any special  features such as the vibration or the auto rocking and music.  When pregnant with my second, I saw the Auto version in the store and knew I had to have one!





Auto Rock 'n Play

  The Auto Rock 'n play obviously cost more than the original but in my opinion it is well worth the extra 40-50 dollars!!  The Auto Rock 'n Play has the option to vibrate, rock, and play music.  The vibrating is gentle and operates on two AA batteries. I often pick up the baby and forget to turn it off so I have gone through a few batteries already.  The music, and rocking are run by plugging in the rocker.  The rocking has two speeds and the option of OFF, 6hours, or 30mins.  The music has a volume control but to  be honest, I never use the music.  I purchased mine at Babies R Us.  Their retail price at the time ( January 2015 was $89.  At the time of purchase Babies R Us was accepting competitor's coupons so I brought a Buy Buy Baby 20% coupon with me!  That, in addition to a gift card from my baby 'sprinkle' I got our brand new Rock N Play for about $35.  I am a big proponent of buying used but in this case,  buying new worked out!

  LOVES:

• The auto Rocking!- I love not have to reach over in the middle of the night to rock!
• It is super portable- It folds up in half easily with a push of a button.  It isn't super small but I can fit it in by car standing up or laying down when traveling.
• Does not take up much room-  It sets next to my bed and is much smaller than a traditional bassinet.  At night, when she is ready to eat, I can lean over and grab her to nurse.
• The incline- The incline, in my opinion, helps with any congestion baby might have.  It gives me peace of mind that should she spit up or something, that she is sitting up just a bit. 
• The prints. -  The prints available or nice and safe, in a good way!  The store I purchased ours at was out of pink, so I grabbed a green one but it is neutral enough to use for a boy or a girl.  They have a woodland creature one, but for the most part, they aren't too cutesy.

DISLIKES:

• The Auto-Rocker is a little loud. - The faster speed is pretty loud.  I don't think that I would be able to sleep through listening to it.  the slower speed, although a little annoying, is manageable and after one or two nights I didn't even notice it any more...being completely exhausted  could have helped that a little  :).  If you are a really light sleeper, you may not like the automatic rocker.  It was worth the noise for me for sure!
• The length of the cord. - Or lack there of!!  If I move the rocker too much I end up unplugging the rocker.  Then I have to get out of bed, fumble to find the cord, fumble to find the outlet...ugh!  I wish they would have made the cord longer knowing that mammas would have to move the rocker around.  I know I can use an extension cord, but that's not the point!
• This might just be me, and I am sure there is a reason for it, but I wish the rocker was a little more of a bed then a seat.  I feel like by morning, the baby's legs are all scrunched up underneath her from her little body wiggling down through out the night.  I would choose for the seat to be a little more shaped like the mama roo. Honestly it probably looks more uncomfortable than it really is, I mean babies slept all kinds of crazy in the womb right!?  

Overall, any dislikes I have are greatly out weighed by the LOVES! I would recommend this to any mama in need of a bassinet next to their bed before moving to the crib.  I am also including this on my top 'Newborn Must Haves'!