The Awful Truth

I am not good with this blog.  I abandoned it and my readers (do I even have those still?) I apologize.  Again.

After 22 months of Madison's life, our routine has finally settled.  That is no joke.  I believe that I can do a better job of running this blog now.  If not, you can always check out Brittany's blog.  She is my cousin and the one who inspired me to create a blog.  I'm proud of her and how far she has come with her blogging.

Update on our life:
madison is 22 months. WOW
we moved to be closer to family
my parents built a new house and are closer to us
david got accepted to UH's MBA program

Of course there is more that has happened in our life since over a year ago, but these are the big ones for us.  

Hopefully my next post happens before 2015.

Breastfeeding Favorites

I'm still around.  I feel bad for not blogging much.  I haven't had the time to actually sit down and do what I want.  We are busy bees with the selling of our current home and purchasing of our soon to be new home, packing, and trying to sleep train a seven month old.

I do want to share with you a few of my favorite products when it comes to breastfeeding.  So many mothers have such a difficult time in the beginning and no one to talk to about it.  Everyone says "Breast is Best" but no one is really there to help you through it.  So here are a few things that have helped me.

Best website: kellymom.com I have come back to this website numerous of times and it has helped me with all my questions and issues.  You can find just about anything regarding breastfeeding here.

This cream saved my nips.  Apply after showering, before and after nursing and anytime you feel the need.  Doesn't interfere with the baby nursing either.  Have this before baby comes, so you aren't crying to your significant other to go get it for you ASAP. :)  This helps with cracking and bleeding too.  You can also rub your own breast milk onto your nipples to help heal them.  It didn't work for me.

Nursing pads are super important to have those first couple of weeks/months and any time that you will be away from your baby for long periods of time.  It takes a while for your body to get used to when a let down should happen.  These will make sure that no one around you knows when your body decides to do that, like when grocery shopping.

A breastfeeding pillow is a must!  Your arms will get tired of holding and supporting your sweet pea. There are numerous pillows to choose from.  I enjoyed the Boppy Bare Naked (pictured above) with a custom cover that I purchased on etsy. 

Nursing in public can be uncomfortable, especially the first time you do it.  I'll share my experiences in a later post.  I prefer to cover myself when nursing.  I love udder covers (pictured above).  They are light weight and breathable for baby.  It can get a bit warm under there.  Especially in the warmer climates.  They also double as a great blanket for the car if you happen to not have one.  My daughter loves to chew on it in the car.  

Last but not least, invest in a good pump.  Even if you don't think you will need it.  One benefit with Obamacare is that all insurance companies are required to give you a pump.  SCORE!  We got ours at no cost to us.  I don't use mine a whole lot, but it's a life saver when I do.  Where do you store all the milk you pump?

You store them in these nifty bags!  You can place them in the fridge or freezer.  They have double zippers so no spilling into your fridge or freezer.  You can look at the webiste I mentioned earlier to find out the proper ways to store your liquid gold.

Notice I didn't have much input on bottles for a breastfed baby.  That would be because, my little one does not care for the bottle.  As my husband says, "She wants the Filet Mignon".  When she did take a bottle she would use Dr. Browns.  Babe won't even take a paci. Although now, she likes to use them as a teether.

Those are my favorite things when it comes to breastfeeding.  Hope some of this helps you out!

Birthday Recap

I seriously have an excuse as to why I have been so absent... CLEANING.  We have made the decision to sell our house and make the move out to the burbs to be closer to family and be in a  more family friendly environment.  It's hard work cleaning an entire house with a 6 month old! More on moving later.

My birthday was amazing!  The night before, Dave came up to me and handed me a wad of cash. I gave him a puzzled look and he walked off.  Ummmm, what was I supposed to do with this wad of cash? He walked back over to me and handed me a map with directions to Sensa Studio.  I was so surprised!  He booked me for an entire day at the spa! I got a massage, facial, and mani-pedi.  SPOILED!!

On the day of my birthday, my mom came down to watch Mad while I enjoyed my day.  The service was great and I was completely relaxed.  Loved every minute of it.  After my Spa treatment I came home and got ready for dinner.

I told Dave I wanted Sushi. I absolutely love that stuff and missed it while I was pregnant.  He chose Kata Robata for us.  It was so yummy!  I don't recall the names of the rolls we ate but they were delish!

That was the longest amount of time I have been away from my sweet baby girl. I enjoyed my day so much but was happy to be back with her.

We celebrated my birthday again on Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday we went to Kemah and had dinner and waited for the storms to clear before heading out on Pineknot, my parents boat.  I am a big fan of hibachi grills so we ate at RED.  They can really put on a show!  So can Madison.  She was not a fan of it.

Sunday we went to Dave's parents and had steaks.  I'm so blessed to have in-laws that I love so much.  Blessed that they love me just as much too!

I look forward to what this year brings!

25

Wednesday, I will be another year older. I'd say I have done a lot in my few years of life and have experienced so much. 

I find myself thinking back to my 20 year old self. That was a rough year for my family. It was also when I met my hubby, who was 26 at the time. It felt good yet wrong to be hanging out with him. Mostly because he was my brothers friend and because I was still 20. Just a 20 yr old gal dating a very handsome, caring, and goofy 26 year old. Being a minor and dating a guy who can legally drink= no fun. 

On my 21st bday he took me to a club at midnight and got me a drink. The next day he took me to dinner and we met up with friends to celebrate. 

He gave me a single pearl necklace with small diamonds on top of it with earrings to match. I had mentioned to him that I wanted something like that when we were in Mexico. 

To be honest, I don't really recall the birthdays after that. I know we always had dinner, celebrated with just the two of us, with his family, and with mine.  Usually went out for drinks after with friends. 

This year he has something planned. I'm not too sure of what it is but it has required me to pump some milk!   I look forward to finding out what he has planned for me and sharing with you. 

I do know that this year won't involve a lot of wine, cocktails, and staying out late. I wouldn't change it for anything either. 

Sausage Cheese Muffins

During the first few weeks of Madi's life, my mom stayed with us and helped prepare meals, laundry, and watch Madi. 

Today I am going to share with you an easy Sausage-Cheese Muffins. This recipe makes 15 muffins but I like to overfill my tins and make 12. 

Ingredients:

1lb package ground pork sausage (we use hot for more flavor)

3 cups all purpose baking mix

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 (10 3/4oz) can condensed cheese soup

3/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Cook sausage in large skillet, stirring until it crumbled and is no longer pink. Drain and cool. 

2. Combine sausage, baking mix, and shredded cheese in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. 

3. Stir together soup and 3/4 cup water; add to sausage mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon into lightly greased muffin pans, filling to top of cups. 

4. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. 

ENJOY!!

Blueberry Muffins

I love to bake. It's one of my favorite things to do.  I don't do it very often though because 1. I have a 4 month old and 2. I can't be eating all those sweets!! 

These cupcakes take about 45 min to make and bake. Super quick and easy!

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 stuck unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

2 cups fresh blueberries

makes 12 muffins or 8 jumbo

Preheat oven to 450. spray or line muffin tin.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a large bowl with the mixer on high speed, beat the butter and sugar until creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat on medium speed between additions until smooth.  Add the flour mix in 2 batches, alternating with the milk, beating on low speed between additions until just combined.  Fold in the blueberries.

Spoon the batter into tins filling all the way to the top.  Bake for 5 min. Reduce temp to 375 and bake for about 20 min longer, until the muffins spring back when lightly touched with a finger.  Set the pan on a rack and let cool for 15 min.  Carefully remove the muffins from the pan.

ENJOY!

International Homebirth Day

January 30, 2013

Today is International Homebirth Day.  If you ever have the chance to attend one, DO IT.  If you ever have the chance to have one, DO IT!

Okay, okay, homebirth isn't for everyone and I do not judge anyone who chooses not to.  Every birth is unique and every woman should be proud of her birth.  Even the births that don't go as planned or God forbid when he calls His sweet child home.

Today I will share my birth story with you.  If you have any questions about my homebirth or anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I'll respond!

It was a Tuesday evening and the day before our due date when I began to have “pre- labor” contractions.  David, my husband, was at a work related dinner in downtown Houston so he let his coworkers know not to expect him at work the next day and cut out a few minutes early to come check on me. My contractions were still about 20 minutes apart when he arrived home so we decided to just go to sleep and rest up for the big event.

I had only been asleep for about an hour or two when I was woken by a strong contraction around midnight, January 30^th.  I decided to let David continue to sleep until the contractions began to get closer together and more painful. I woke David at about 4:30 A.M. in tears from the pain and he attempted to comfort me. My contractions were still about 10 minutes apart, but we decided to go ahead and call Alice, our midwife, to let her know I was going into labor.  She told us to continue timing the contractions and she’d begin getting ready to head our way.  David began cleaning the house with his nervous energy as I continued to labor.  He also began calling all our family members who were planning on attending the birth.

Alice arrived around 7 A.M. and I immediately felt better and more confident.  Alice checked me and I was 5 cm dilated, but at this point my contractions were about 5 or 6 minutes apart.   The next five hours are a blur of painful contractions and different family members arriving and saying their hellos.  Among the arrivals was my sister in law, Emily, who delivered her last little girl with Alice about two years ago.  I had decided I wanted Emily to be in the birthing room along with David, and Alice for support and also to take pictures.  Emily’s presence also gave me more confidence and added a sense of calm.

Over the next couple of hours I moved from the bed to the bathtub, from the bathtub back to the bed, and then back to the tub again.  Although the tub was relaxing and comfortable, my contractions slowed and became milder so we moved back to the bed again.  As my contractions intensified and grew closer together we knew it wouldn’t be much longer.  Then I felt my water break and exclaimed to everyone, “my water just broke!”  This was exciting as Alice had mentioned the best case scenario is for the water to break just prior to birth. 

After my water broke I started to get the urge to push.  Alice checked me again to make sure it was ok that I started pushing.  I was 9 cm.  She told me that we could but she would help my cervix open more.  We then began pushing and after a few minutes realized that it would be better if I were in a squatting position.  In between the strong contractions I managed to move myself out of bed to the floor in front of the bed and immediately got into squatting position.

 I then started pushing with every contraction.  My arms were getting tired and my legs were starting to give after being in the squatting position even with David helping support me.  After several intense contractions and pushes, Alice said that she could see the baby’s head and showed David and Emily who then started to encourage me to push really good and that she was almost here.  Alice even placed a mirror so that I could see the baby’s head myself.  It eventually became difficult for me to continue squatting and Alice suggested that I lie down and continue pushing.

When I laid down and started pushing more she started to make her appearance.  She was crooked so,  Alice had to rotate her head and then I continued pushing and within a few more pushes she was out!  David handed her to me and she reached her sweet little arms out to me and I immediately began to cry and placed her on my chest.  I couldn’t believe that I did it.  Our sweet Madison had arrived!

David got to cut the cord and showed her off to the family while I got cleaned up a bit and got into bed where I nursed her for the first time.  She latched on effortlessly.  Alice weighed and measured Madison and after we got to take a nice relaxing bubble bath together.  After that we got her dressed and headed downstairs to meet the rest of the family.