2013 resolutions

Hello, 2013. I knew the world was not going to end, but ya know.. some people believe anything. Anyway, now that you're gracing us with your presence, I just wanted to let you know what is going to happen this year. Ready?

First and foremost, taking time for me. GASP! How dare I say that! But really. I spend so much of my time doing things for everyone else, that I sometimes (a lot of times) forget that I need to do things for me, too. So this year I have decided that once a month I have to do something for me. Even if that something is just taking a nice, long bath and reading a book. It doesn't have to cost money, it just needs to be me time.

Bring us to date night. I can count on one hand the number of times Chris and I have been on an actual date. Having kids is beyond anything we could ever want, but without close-knit parents, kids won't be as happy. Again, I declare that once a month we HAVE to have a date night. Unless the Army decides he has to be gone for a month. Then we work it around that. I have prepared and prepaid for most of these dates. They are in envelopes to be randomly drawn on said date night. Whatever we draw from the pile is what we'll do.

And on that note, we have the kids. My biggest vice right now is the internet. Being that we have all forms of technology in this house, I'm always connected somehow. So this year, I want to change that. No more television for background noise. Conner can watch a few shows a day. I only have two shows I watch anyway. Chris can watch football. Aside from that, TV off. Once Chris gets home, weekends are family time. Of course there will be times that we have people over or go to someone else's house but we really need to focus on being a family. Doing fun things that doing involve staring at a screen of some sort.

Financially, I have HUGE plans. Although some of those are a surprise, and I don't want to chance my husband seeing this post and discovering them, so I'll leave those secret. My biggest hope for this category is that we will stick to the budget, which I've worked very hard on!

GET MY SH*T TOGETHER! This is a big category with a bunch of random things thrown in it. One being that "lose weight". I don't want to look at it like that, though. The number on the scale shouldn't define me. I'm looking at it as getting healthy. Making a lifestyle change to better myself, and in the long run, bettering my children. I want to continue working on organization in the house. I also need to stop finding the negative and focus more on the positive. Every day is good. I just have to find the good in them.

Finally, memories. I'm about to become that lady who scrapbooks. In a modern way. I plan to document this year so that we can look back and see all the fun things we did, the obstacles we overcame and the hopes we have for the future. I wish I would have done this from the beginning.

That's about it for now, 2013. As you can see, I'm dreaming big this year. I'm ready to take you on full force. But most of all, I'm ready for it to be July so I can have my husband back home! 

2012: the year in review

January: In January we got official orders to Fort Stewart. Due to the PCS and the deployment that would come with it, we decided to stop trying for baby #2. However, we were pleasantly surprised that we were already expecting! We also lost a Chris's uncle unexpectedly and were unable to go home, but found ways to celebrate his life from afar. Chris ran his first half marathon in his memory. He also made points for SGT!

February: We had our first baby appointment and got to hear our little bean's heartbeat for the first time. My in-laws came to visit us!

March: Chris was finally pinned SGT. Unfortunately, they decided to do it at zero dark thirty, so Conner and I were unable to be present for it. On St. Patrick's Day I started having issues with feeling very faint and passed out in the middle of Wal*Mart, prompting a hospital trip and countless tests.

April: Continuing my crappy luck, I landed myself in the hospital again with what I had thought was an appendix about to burst. Turned out that I was having contractions. They called it a threatened miscarriage and had to stop the contractions. Bean was just fine.

May: We found out that TRICARE would not let me have the 20 week anatomy scan a week early since we'd be travelling when I hit 20 weeks, so we paid for an elective to find out the gender. Boy! However, the picture she gave us did not show boy parts! We had to pay for a second elective. Definitely got the shots we needed to prove it at that one. I had an El Paso baby shower, a final farewell with all of my friends. Cleared housing and stayed at a hotel for a week. Chris's aunt Kari flew down on Mother's Day to drive back up with us since I was on no driving orders due to the fainting episodes. We stopped in Oklahoma City for the night. Had a family baby shower in Illinois. Decided to go ahead and drive to Georgia. Stopped in Nashville overnight. By far the most exciting thing (aside from finding out the gender) was closing on our house and becoming first time homeowners!

June: Father's Day came around and I surprised Chris with his (and Conner's!) first trip to the ocean! We went to Tybee Island. We also started having bar-b-que’s for his squad to get to know some people before the big D.

July: In July, we welcomed our furry baby, Sirius, into our home. He was way too thin, had mange and was covered in fleas. We gave him lots of TLC and he was loving on us in no time.

August: In August, I met my doula, Angela! Chris and I spent a lot of time discussing exactly how we wanted this birthing experience to go. Chris's company had a competition on Tybee Island. We also had a cocktail party for the battalion.

September: Conner got an awesome paint party a month early so that daddy could be there. We spent the first few weeks finishing up preparations for Lucas. We also spent a ton of time preparing for deployment. I started having lots of contractions, but they just messed with me until the night before my due date. We welcomed Lucas, completely natural except the hospital setting, 13 minutes into his due date on September 20. I by far preferred this labor and delivery experience over the one I had with Conner! Then it was lots of family time before D day.

October: Conner turned 3 and that same day we said "see you later" to Chris. We decided it would be best to just drop and go. I did really good holding it together until my sister called to wish Conner a happy birthday. We hadn't told anyone when he was leaving for safety purposes, so she had no idea why I was so upset. I kept super busy with appointments. This is also the month I begged the pediatrician to get Lucas into an ENT because I thought he had a tongue tie and breastfeeding was TERRRIBLE in the way that I was in pain all the time. We we trick or treating with a bunch of the other Bravo Co wives and their kiddos. Conner was Spiderman and Lucas was a football.

November: Officially had to stop breastfeeding to let myself heal. Hands down the worst I have ever felt about myself in my life. Turned 24. Election day. That was.. interesting. I was happy with the outcome. Others, not so much. Angela introduced me to HM4HB and between her and I, we got a ton of breastmilk donations for Lucas. Unfortunately, even nursing through pain, pumping, taking placenta pills and other herbs.. my hormones and body were so out of wack that I stopped producing milk. I decided I would still comfort nurse. We still do occasionally. I took Lucas on his first road trip. We visited Susie and Bill in Fort Campbell for Thanksgiving. The way there was great. The way back really sucked the last 3 hours. the boys were so tired of their carseats. We also found out that Lucas has a milk and soy protein allergy due to him having terrible reactions to both regular and soy formula. He was switched to Alimentum and is doing wonderful on it.

December: They finally got Lucas in to see an ENT, who confirmed that I had been correct. He did have a tongue tie and that was definitely what caused our latch issues. Breastfeeding was a lost cause, but I don't have to worry about future problems like speech issues. I ran, well.. walked and jogged, my first 5k. I finished, and that it what counts! It was a color vibe. So much fun and I got to meet some awesome ladies. Conner and I did all the Christmas decorations. Christmas was great, although we were missing a huge part of us. Daddy Doll was a stand in. Conner and Lucas both made out like bandits and I got some neat stuff, too! I have a lot of big plans for 2013. Bring. It. On!

thank you - my milky story.

This post is sort of inspired by the Facebook takeover of the '30 Days of Thanks'. I don't think it should be limited to 30 days, you should be thankful every day of the year, but I do have some people and things I am incredibly thankful for that I would like to share.

Those of you who know me personally know that I have been having quite the struggle with breastfeeding. It was something I was very much wanting to do. When I got pregnant with Lucas, I decided right then that he would be breastfed. Not because I have a problem with formula, but because I really wanted the bonding experience and to give him what came natural and free. Unfortunately, we had issues from the get go. I nursed through 4 weeks of intense, nonstop pain. One day my body shut down and went into shock. That story is in a previous blog. Long story short, I had to stop nursing to get myself well in order to properly take care of my children. It was the hardest decision I've ever made. Now to the thankful part. :)

First of all, to my husband. Even though he is thousands of miles away in an entirely different part of the world, he still supports any decision I make. He knew how badly I was beating myself up over it and offered words of encouragement to get me through those first few days. Together we came to the decision that I would try anything possible to get my milk supply back to continue my breastfeeding relationship with Lucas. In the meantime, he would have to be supplemented with formula. It was also decided that we wanted to find donors to continue giving him breastmilk along with the formula. Best decision ever, because his tummy does not take kindly to formula. Which brings me to person number two.

My birth doula, now a good friend. Angela had called to see how we were doing and I let her know what happened and that I had to stop nursing. Right away she offered to come nurse Lucas and help find donor milk. With her support, I have been able to keep pushing through all the obstacles. Even if I haven't seen much progress in myself, she sees it and lets me know. Some people might think letting someone else nurse your child is wrong. I do not. I think it was the most selfless thing she could have ever offered. I was physically unable to nurse and she fed my baby. That's something amazing. She was able to give him the nourishment he needed. Between her and I (mostly her), we have been able to acquire over 300oz of liquid gold for Lucas. This has helped his tummy tremendously, considering our cold turkey switch in the beginning of my health issues from breastmilk to formula really affected him in the digestion department. And that takes us to number three..

My donors. Aside from Angela nursing Lucas, I have had 4 very generous donors. Because of these ladies and their selflessness, I have been able to ease my little one's tummy issues with the formula. He usually has a 50/50 ingestion of breastmilk and formula a day. I try to do every other bottle, sometimes every 2 bottles, to spread out the current freezer stash. It made my heart so happy to see how quickly these women were willing to give up their own freezer stash to help my baby. Especially since I don't even know some of them personally (my doula does). I wish that I could give back like they have given to me.

I'd also like to thank my friend Holly. Because of her spending tons of time at my house to help me out, I've been able to let myself heal and not have to be stressed about the fact that I couldn't properly take care of my children. She has taken care of me, both of my boys, my house and her own daughter at the same time. She's fantastic. I don't think she realizes how much I appreciate her help!

And then there is Kim. Yes, you Kim Brady. I hope you are reading this. I know we've had some ridiculously stupid obstacles to overcome in the beginning of our friendship, but you probably made the biggest impact on me continuing to breastfeed. Remember when you first came home with Alyssa and we came to visit? I do. You were trying to feed Alyssa and I was in the room keeping you company. She wouldn't latch and you were so upset because she was upset. I kept telling you it was okay and you'd both learn as time went along. I had no idea what I was talking about and was just shooting things out of my mouth to try to make you feel better. I don't know if I made you feel better or not, but I'd like to think I did, lol. After I told you about me being sick, you told me that you were proud I went so long through the pain and that I shouldn't think down on myself because I was trying my hardest. You also said that you (and I quote directly.. really, I went back on Facebook and looked at the conversation, haha) "I PROMISE you it gets better. I'm the biggest baby in the world and I wouldn't have stuck with it if it didn't get better!" Then I thought about that day, sitting in your room and how you were having a rough time and how you stuck with it and now you are 7+ months in with it! I told myself that you were right, it HAS to get better. I'm at rock bottom. The only way to go is up! So thank you. I mean, I hate that you did have a hard time the first few days, but you overcoming it really helped give me the push I needed to make the decision to relactate and keep trying. 

Two groups, my due date group and Milky Mommas. Without them letting me come in and vent and offering words of encouragement, I definitely wouldn't be sitting here typing this out right now!

Finally, I am so thankful for our IBCLC, Monica, and the peer counselor who I've been working with, Laura. Since all this mess began, they have both called to check on me, made visits to my home to help me be more comfortable, and met with me in the clinic. They've taught me the vitals like hand expressing, how to use the pump correctly, how to improve his latch and haven't at all shown one sign of being upset when I don't get it the first time. 

I'm sure there are a million other things I can write here, but this is the main gist of it. For anyone and everyone who has been with me through this whole ordeal, be it by helping me take care of my kids, offering words of encouragement and praise, or donating the liquid gold.. you have forever touched a spot in my heart and I hope to one day be able to have such a positive impact on someone the way that you all have on me. Thank you, a million times over again.

As previously mentioned in another blog post, I plan to continue to try to relactate by using a SNS. I am determined to nurse my little, even if he is only eating donor milk through a tube. <3

it's been a while. update

Well, an awful lot has happened since I updated last. We officially made it through a whole month of deployment. Yay! I've also been working very hard to attempt to relactate to continue my breastfeeding relationship with Lucas. Unfortunately, I haven't had a whole lot of a progress. I let my nipples heal up and only nursed once a day. My supply is basically gone. It was gone within a few days. I had been drinking Mother's Milk Tea, Fenugreek Seed Tea, taking prenatals, eating oatmeal every morning, and even tried lactation cookies. Nothing. I've been working with the IBCLC on it. I've tried working with two different pumps. With those, I produce a whopping .25 ounces a day. Not per session, for the entire day. I know that baby can extract the milk way better than a pump, but that is still pretty depressing. My last hope is the SNS.  SNS stands for supplemental nursing system. The general idea is that he will still be on the donor milk (which I have been incredibly blessed with nearly 350 oz) and eating it through a tube that is taped to my breast. So he is stimulating my nipples and getting whatever milk I am producing, along with the donor milk. If that doesn't work, then I know I have done absolutely everything I could. At that point, I will accept it and just hope on everything that I can continue to find generous ladies to provide donor milk so he doesn't have to be on formula all the time.

Speaking of formula, it tears him apart. I am 99.9% sure he has reflux like I do. He spits up constantly, even on breastmilk. But ever since he has been on formula, his poor stomach is so upset. It gets rock hard and he has trouble pooping and burping. It breaks my heart. I have nothing against formula, but it just hurts him. I have been trying to get him in to see a doctor to get on a different formula (WIC requires a prescription to switch it to a soy formula), but that is a different part of the story. He has his 2 month appointment on November 15. 

Appointments. Someone, somewhere in the TRICARE office messed up his paperwork. We filled it out to keep him on Prime. According to the appointment line, he was switched to Standard and had to be seen off post. So I have to go into TRICARE and figure out what happened. We got that all fixed. But now the appointment line is giving me issues with making him an appointment for the reflux. They say they don't make appointments for that ahead of time and I had to call every day to see if there was a same day appointment. I know this is crap and that if there isn't an available appointment they can refer me to an urgent care, but they won't.

Conner has been having a hard time lately. I do not understand why, but it's been rough. He has been intentionally going to the bathroom in his pants. He's been potty trained for a year. Anytime he sees a guy in uniform and we are in the car, he tries to rip off the carseat buckle to get to that person. He's super mouthy, refusing to eat his food, fights me on EVERYTHING. I'm at my wits end. I honestly do not know how to handle it and I hate that feeling. 

As for myself, aside from the breastfeeding issues, I've had more health issues come up. I haven't been open about them because I don't want my husband to freak out. It scares me, but I know I have to deal with it as it comes and just hope it gets better. Trying my hardest to stay positive. For the moment, I have nothing more to update. 

life with two tiny people and a missing husband

I am a slacker. I need to keep this updated more often. So here is the update from the past 2 weeks.

Chris deployed a week ago to Afghanistan. We spent our last week together just hanging out at home for the most part. We did make one last trip to Savannah to go to the mall. Other than that, we were here doing the last few odds and ends that needed to be done before he left us. 

The day he left was horrible. We tried so hard to pretend everything would be all rainbows and kittens. My POA came up missing, so we had to go to legal and get a new one that morning. We also had to enroll Lucas into TRICARE and DEERS. It was Conner's birthday, so we took him to the PX to pick out a gift and get lunch. Then we drove to the company and said our goodbyes in the parking lot. There was no way I could stay for the "family time". They had last minute things to do in that time period anyway, and I knew staying would make it harder to leave. I took some advice from our friends dad.. don't look back. When I pulled out of the parking lot, I never did. I can only image the extra heartache I would have felt watching him walk away. A few of us wives (and kids) went to Chili's for dinner so we didn't have to think about it all. It helped, until I got home. That first night was awful. Conner cried for him at bedtime and Lucas was up every hour. The bed felt so empty, even though I had a little person in it with me. I kept my laptop and phone by my side, even though I knew I wouldn't be able to talk to him for a few days.

A few days passed and I finally got to talk to him. Let me tell you, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw him pop up in Facebook chat. Never have I been so happy to see someone message me. He told me about their stops and how the weather and stuff was where he was at. Then he said it would be a few more days until we got to talk again. Danielle is going home to have her baby and be around family while the guys are gone, so Kimra threw out the idea of a babyshower. I'm always down for celebrating babies. Plus, she's having a girl. After two boys, I get overly excited to buy thing for baby girls. Haha. So we had a little get together for her. It's nice to have that bond with them, since we are all going through the same thing.

Yesterday I finally got to hear his voice for the first time since our goodbyes. I almost didn't answer my phone because I didn't recognize the number. I thought to myself, "Who would be calling me at 6:30 in the morning?!" Thankfully, I answered. Conner happened to have come in my room about 10 minutes prior and I was up feeding Lucas anyway. We all got to talk to him. Conner was SO excited. He kept saying 'Daddy is in the phone!' Even Lucas got all happy. His eyes got super wide and he just kept staring in the direction of the phone. 

Today we had an appointment for Lucas. It was supposed to be his 2 week check up, but he will actually be 3 weeks tomorrow. I was worried that he might have a tongue tie since we've been having some issues with breastfeeding. He has a great latch, but it takes us a few tries before he stays on. After a few minutes, he starts unlatching and we have to start that process all over. He spits up after almost every feeding and my poor boobs hurt! The doctor said he has a little bit of one, but she didn't think it was bad enough to be clipped. She suggested I see the LC and if the LC determines that the tongue tie is the cause of our issue, we will be referred to an ENT to have it clipped. He has a bit of acid reflux, but I can control it enough for him to not be on medication. He has to sleep slightly inverted and I have to keep him upright after feedings. Even with all the spitting up, he's getting everything he needs. He's gained almost a pound since birth and grown 2 3/4". He is now 8lb 8oz and 21 3/4" long. Other than the reflux and slight tongue tie, he's a perfectly healthy little guy. I had to move him up to 0-3 sleepers because his legs are so long.

Conner is growing like a weed, too. He can no longer fit his 2T pants. They are too short. So it looks like I need to take him clothes shopping for 3T stuff. I'm going to have to look up to both of my boys by the time they are 10. Short people problems, lol. He did decide what he wanted to be for Halloween. Hopefully this year he actually wears the costume and I don't have to get creative at the last minute. He got a spiderman one this year. He had originally said he wanted to be hulk and then a pirate. We found the pirate in his size but he saw spiderman and the game was over. 

Well, Lucas is napping and Conner is content so I should probably go start Chris's first care package while I have free moment. For my husband's sake, I swear to update this blog at least twice a week. Until next time!

lucas reed - our birth story

Well, I was fully expecting to be sitting here writing a 40 week pregnancy update. Instead, my punctual little man came into the world 13 minutes into his due date and I get to share our beautiful birth story! Without further delay, here goes.

Back up to week 39. I updated that I had my membranes stripped at my appointment. I lost the plug on Saturday morning and started having bloody show, along with some contractions. They were not very painful or frequent. During the day, they were about 8-10 minutes apart, but would disappear at night. Sunday through Tuesday I still had the bloody mucous and contractions were 6-8 minutes apart during the day, but would still go away at night. On Wednesday, nothing. A random contraction here or there, but a whole lot of nothing. I literally spent all day on the phone, texting, or chatting with people about how I feel like I was going to go all the way until 42 weeks and have to be induced and how I was getting discouraged. I was thankful that I hadn't gone into labor Monday or Tuesday, as we spent those nights in the ER with Conner running an insanely high fever. Had I gone into labor on one of those nights, Chris would have had to stay home to take care of him. 

Wednesday afternoon I met up with someone to buy some Flip covers and inserts. On the way home, Chris asked that I pick up Taco Bell. Ate that greasy mess for lunch and then decided to have a frozen pizza for dinner. I had just finished picking up the kitchen and Chris was finishing up some counseling statements for work, since he had to sign back in from pre-deployment leave the next day. Sirius was being the weird dog he is and doing the doggy head tilt whenever I would talk to him. It had my laughing so hard. That's when I laughed a little too hard and felt and heard a pop in my pelvic area. Then I yelled at him for making me laugh so hard that I peed myself. Literally minutes after the pop, I had a pretty intense contraction. This was different from the ones I had been having the previous week,  because it went into my back and sent waves of pain down my legs. This was around 7:30 pm. A few minutes later, same thing. I told Chris that I just had 4 contractions 3-4 minutes apart and that they hurt. Now keep in mind, I had been in early labor and dealing with contractions since Saturday. So he knew I was serious when I said it hurt. 

At 8pm I sent my doula, Angela, a text saying "I don't want to get too excited, but I just had a few contractions 4 minutes apart and they were pretty intense. I'll keep you updated." A few minutes later, I called her and was like "So, I know I just sent that text, but they are almost back to back now and hurt pretty bad. I think this is real." She said she was on her way to my house, since I had planned to labor at home for as long as possible. We started getting a bag ready for Conner to take to the Maranto's, who so kindly offered to watch him even with him being slightly sick still. I got the remainder of our stuff together and was having a hard time breathing through some of the contractions. I went back into the living room and told Chris that I was kind of afraid at how quickly these contractions came on and about the popping feeling earlier and I thought we needed to skip laboring at home and head in. I had tested GBS+ and knew I needed 2 doses of antibiotics during labor to help prevent passing it to Lucas during delivery. I text Angela back and asked her to just meet us up at the hospital.

We got Conner dropped off and made our way to Winn. The contractions were terrible in the car and I had felt a few small gushes. At this point, I was unsure if it was my peeing on myself or my water. I have terrible bladder control during pregnancy. No shame lol. Once we met Angela, we headed up to 4th floor L&D. I told them I was pretty sure I was in labor, but not so sure if my water had broken or not. They got me hooked up to the monitors in the triage area and sure enough my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. The doctor checked my cervix and said I was almost completely effaced and at a 3, almost 4 dilation. It was my water that I felt, and my body made sure to tell me so right before he checked my cervix. Poor guy got a gush on him haha. Around 9:30pm I was admitted to L&D and moved to the delivery room. Unfortunately, I got a nurse right away who we had once already had the displeasure of dealing with. She instantly put up a fight with Angela and sent her out of the room. Mind you, this is all while I am having back to back contractions and she's trying to get an IV in my arm. She blew 3 of my veins. I was crying so hard because she kept being rude to Angela when she was only doing what she was there for, making sure I got the birth experience I wanted. She told me that if Angela kept challenging her, they would send her home. The thing was that she wasn't challenging her, she was just pointing out that my birth plan said this and that nurse was completely ignoring a majority of what was in it. I think she got fed up, because she didn't come back in my room again.

New nurse was MUCH nicer. She got the IV in and started my first round of antibiotics.I was in so much pain being on my back, so Chris and Angela got me onto my hands and knees and tried counter pressure. It helped a little, but it was still bad in my back. Lucas was sunny side up and we were trying to get him to flip over. We tried with me in a side-lying position, but that hurt just as bad as being on my back. The new nurse, Katie, asked if I'd like to use the birthing ball or the shower. Chris, Angela and I all were kind of shocked, because mean nurse told us they had none of it available for me (even though when I brought my birth plan in 3 weeks prior, I was told it was available in all rooms). She was just a bitch, pardon my french. She also said I did not have to be continuously monitored since he was showing no signs of distress. I could go off the monitors for 40 minutes, back on for 20. Awesome! She left the block in, but released me from the IV, blood pressure cuff and monitors. So birthing ball it was. It helped a lot! Angela showed Chris how to do counter pressure and sacral massage. Such a relief, but I was hardly getting a break in between contractions. I started getting upset that I might cave from my birth plan. Around 11:30ish, it was so intense that I said I was going to get the epidural. Angela and Chris both reminded me that I didn't want it, but I was in such pain I asked again. Angela had Chris take me to the bathroom to empty my bladder. The catheter was one of the reasons I wanted to avoid the epidural. While trying to pee, I had back to back super intense contractions. I looked at Chris and said I was so upset with myself for asking, but I didn't think I could do it. My active labor with Conner was 17 hours long. I had only been there for 2 hours and contracting for 4 hours. How was I going to get through another possible 13 hours of back labor?! When we came out, I told the nurse that I wanted it. She asked if I was sure and I just started crying and said yes. She had to check me before she ordered it though. At 11:50ish I was at 5cm dilation. 

The nurse was hooking me back up to the monitors and before we could even get them back on I felt super intense pain in my pelvic area. I asked out loud, to no one in particular, "Why does it hurt so much now?!" She asked if I wanted to be checked again, even though she had just checked me 20 minutes ago, since they would have to check once more before the epidural could be put in. I said yes. She got ready to check, barely inserted her finger and said "He's right there. It's time to have your baby." WHAT?! Twenty minutes ago I was at a 5! Chris said "Amber, you did it! You don't need the epidural, you did it all on your own!" One of the other nurses went to see if the doctor could come in, but he was delivering another patient. He was the only doctor on the floor, so she came back in and told nurse Katie that she might have to do it. She asked me if I wanted to try to hold out for the doctor, but I didn't get time to answer. He was already on his way out and they could see him. She got on gloves, I pushed twice in 3 minutes and he was here at 12:13 am, delivered by my awesome nurse. All of us were kind of shocked. My labor started at 7:30 pm and ended at 12:13 am. Not even a full 5 hours. From 5 to complete in 20 minutes. My little guy was born sunny side up. That back labor was the most excruciating thing I have ever experienced. It was the most awful, yet the most wonderful pain I have ever felt in my life. I didn't feel a 'ring of fire' when he came out. To be honest, the worst part for me was the transition. Now that I know how fast it went, I know that I must have started the transition while I was on the toilet and had those bad contractions. 

Anyway, back to the birth. He came out and they instantly put him up on me, skin to skin. We did delayed cord clamping and waited until it stopped pulsating before it was clamped and cut. During that period, we got him to latch and breastfeed for a little while. He was allowed to stay skin to skin for an hour before they had to take him off to do vitals. I delivered the placenta and it was instantly handed over to Angela. She is not only super doula, but also super encapsulator and photographer. She captured so much of my birth experience. As soon as they took him off me, I asked to go to the bathroom. I got up and walked into the bathroom and peed. I was super shocked at how little pain I was in. I just had a super fast, intense and unexpected birth and yet I was up walking around in zero pain. The only pain I had was where I had to get a few stitches. He came out so quickly that I tore a little. No swelling at all. When all was said and done, I'm so glad things went the way they did. I really did NOT want that epidural and I fully believe that my little guy played a huge part in his timing. Think about it, the one day Conner starts to not have a fever, I go into labor. As soon as I ask for something outside of my birth plan, he makes his entrance. He knew mommy wanted to have a very natural labor with no interventions, but only after I was allowed to get his big brother back up to par so Chris could be at the birth and Conner could come see us after. 

We got moved over to recovery around 1:30 am. Because I had not gotten my second dose of antibiotics for the GBS+, Lucas had to have his blood drawn and a mandatory stay in recovery for 48 hours to be sure it wasn't passed to him during delivery. We fully boarded in with him in our room and requested that they only come in for mandatory checks and not every hour. I was unable to sleep, being that I was on a baby high. Chris went to get Conner a few hours later to come meet his baby brother. That night, they went home and it was just me and Lucas. This is my first time breastfeeding, so we had some ups and downs that first day and night. He's a super feeder once he is latched, though! I've already discovered some of the more.. un-fun.. things about breastfeeding, like cracked nipples and blisters, but I love the bond. Night number two was a bit rough, too. Chris and Conner stayed the second night. Lucas would latch but then get frustrated and unlatch. He did this for over 6 hours. My boobs were so sore and I was in tears, but we had to give him a few mL of formula to raise his sugar level back up. The next feeding we went back to the breast and he latched very well. The hospital also gave my a hand pump so that if this happened at home, I could pump and give it to him in a bottle, since I refused the formula. The nurse I had overnights was very compassionate and could see how much it hurt me to have to give in and let him have even a few mL. Not because I am super against formula, just because I felt like a failure. I'm so happy we haven't had any issues since. Well, my boobs DO still hurt lol. 

We are home now and I couldn't be more happy. Our family is so complete. I might be outnumbered by males, but everything just feels so right. Let me just say, I don't think I would have had the birthing experience I did without the help of Angela and Chris. They were so awesome. From making me laugh, to countering the contractions with massage, to just letting me be when they knew I needed to be. I could not have had better support people bringing positive vibes in that room with me. And nurse Katie. She's a rock star for delivering him. Here's one of my favorite pictures of the night, courtesy of Angela Roper, super doula/encapsulator/photographer!

Happy Birthday, Lucas Reed.
September 20, 2012
12:13AM

7lbs 11.5oz

19" long

Conner certainly loves his little brother.

pregnancy week 39

Oh my. Has it really already been 39 weeks? Yes, yes it has. Just had our 39 week appointment this afternoon and got some news. Here's our weekly update! Keep in mind, I hold nothing back. There is probably information in here that will gross some people out. I didn't make you read it! Lol

-Lucas is head down and in -3 position.

-I am currently 2cm dilated, 50% effaced.

-Had my membranes stripped again. Insta-bloody show.

-Heartbeat is 148, much lower than it has been, but still good.

-Uterus is measuring at 40 weeks.

The midwife says as long as my body is ready for labor, that the stripping usually helps it along within the next 48 hours. She actually went as far as to give me information for the doctor on call tonight. She has much higher hopes than I do lol. We have another appointment scheduled for next week, the day after my due date. If it gets to that point, we will try one more membrane sweep and set up an induction, just in case. I'm still holding out for my natural birth, but I've come to terms with the fact that it might not happen without a little assistance. 

Chris, Conner and I are so excited that time is coming near. We can't wait to snuggle this little guy and show him how much we love him. Conner has taken such an interest in him the past few days. He has always been interested, but he rarely messes with my belly. The past few days he's been rubbing it and talking to him. He's so good with other babies. I just know he's going to be an awesome big brother. 

pregnancy week 38

We have some progress! I do have a couple little updates, but nothing too significant.

-Heartbeat is still strong and good

-Little man seems to be head down

-1 cm dilated, 50% effaced

-Swelling is occurring big time in my hands and feet

-BH still going on, but nothing consistent or frequent 

Lucas seems pretty comfortable right where he is. I am pleased to hear that a little dilation has occurred. That's right where I was with Conner when I went to be induced at 40 weeks. We are trying to avoid any induction this time and hoping to go into labor naturally on my own. I'm not pushing it too hard, since I don't want to force my body into labor before it's ready. Walking, cleaning the house, bouncing on the birthing ball and a pedicure are about as far as I'm willing to push right now. We still have 2 more weeks before his 'estimated' birthday. I do hope he decides to come by then, just so Chris can get some time with him. 

I don't remember if I mentioned it in the 37 week update, but we found a doula, Angela, who will be attending our big day. I'm so glad that I spotted her post in a cloth diaper group we are both in. I've gotten so much information from her and I don't feel as anxious as when I'm alone with the doctors. I've come to realize that doctors seriously intimidate me. I want to have the most natural birth experience I can in a hospital setting, and with the support of Chris and Angela, I'm certain I can do it without feeling guilted or bullied into anything by the nurses and doctors. I have my birth plan written and revised to exactly how I want it. I haven't shared it because I don't want to feel like a failure if something doesn't turn out how I want it to be. I will share it for sure, in it's entirety, whenever I post my birth story. 

hospital bags, take two.

Being that this is baby #2, I already know that there are some things I packed the first time that were not necessary, and some things that I did not pack that were very much needed. With little man's estimated birthday fast approaching, I keep getting the itch to pack our bags, just in case. He seems pretty comfy in there, so it'll probably be at least a few more weeks before we will need them, but can't hurt to be prepared! 

Again, keep in mind, that everyone has a different labor and delivery. The lists I'm going to be presenting are totally based on what I personally find necessary or useless. I'll give my reasoning, but I'm sure there is someone out there who could counter absolutely everything I say. In the end, it's what is best for you. :)

Mommy's Bag DO's:

-Clothing. Uh, duh. Unless you are in a nudist colony or are doing a home birth, chances are they will make you get dressed before you leave. As much as we all want to snap back to regular size, and some people really do, most of us will still look pregnant when it's time to vacate the premises. Bring comfy clothes. My bag specifically has a few dresses for ease, some sweatpants, nursing bra (without underwire), socks and a few t-shirts.

-Underwear. Again, unless underwear isn't your thing, these are needed. I suggest old ones, as postpartum bleeding can be a big mess. They'll likely get ruined. Or you could opt for some depends. I'm totally serious. You might think it's a ridiculous suggestion, but the local birthing center actually suggests adding these to your birth bag. That way you don't have to bring the next mentioned items:

-Pads. Yep. Unless you go the depends route, you need some gigantic, oversized pads. Overnights work best, from my experience. Most hospitals will give you a few pairs of mesh undies and a handful of pads and that's it. So this one, for me at least, is very important. 

-Hygiene kit. I don't know about you, but my favorite thing after giving birth (aside from snuggling my newborn) was getting that first shower. The hospital will give you some generic little samples to use. I hate those. I went and bought a small, clear travel bag and travel size shampoo, conditioner, body wash, deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash, face wash, hand sanitizer and bath sponge. Then I added in some hair ties, a razor, chapstick, hand mirror, brush and a ziploc bag (to but the wet sponge in) from home. Some people also like to bring their makeup. That really isn't a big deal for me. I rarely wear it, and that'll be the last thing on my mind once I have a newborn in my arms. 

-Snacks. Now listen, doctors and nurses will try to deter you from eating and offer you ice chips. With my first, I listened to them. I was in active labor for 17 hours and hadn't eaten since the night before. By the time it was all said and done, I spent nearly 36 hours without any food. It was terrible and I had zero strength. The point of them not letting you eat is pretty much so you don't throw up. I'm going to be honest here, I can still throw up with just water and ice in me. And it's much more rancid than if I had food in my stomach, since it's mainly acid. This time I am bringing granola bars, crackers, juice and hard candy. I'll still gratefully accept the ice chips, because I love ice.

-Electronics. Cell phone, camera, chargers. Pretty self-explanatory here. I'll need the phone to keep our sitter updated and get updates about Conner. Plus, it's kind of helpful to be able to call family after. Camera to take lots of pictures and document my labor, the delivery and the sweet baby once he enters the world. Chargers for both, because I'll likely show up with them half dead.

-List of numbers. You know, that list of people you need to inform of the grand entrance. Parents, In-laws, grandparents, etc. 

-Birth plan. I already brought mine in for them to make a copy of, but I have two more copies. One that my husband will keep on hand and one for my doula. 

-Boppy. I plan to nurse, and this will help me keep baby up when my arms are about to fall off from trying. 

-Nipple cream. Sometimes hospitals will provide some for your use, but in the case they don't, this will be a lifesaver if you are nursing.

Mommy's Bag DON'Ts:

-Books or journal. Seriously. I brought these to my first with full intentions as using them as a distraction method. I found quickly that having contractions every 45 seconds doesn't really make for a good reading or writing atmosphere. Again, this is just me. Some people might find it comforting.

-Music. Again, just me. I found it oddly annoying and I just wanted the room to be quiet so I could concentrate.

-Breast pads/pump. As much as you want to leak (if you plan to nurse), chances are that won't happen while you are in the hospital, since it takes your milk a few days to come in. For the pump, hospitals provide them for your use if needed. And again, your milk will most likely not come in fully until you have gone home. No point in packing the extra bulk.

Now that we've discussed mommy's bag, let's move on to baby's. As stated several times before, this is specifically based on what I personally feel is or isn't necessary. 

Baby's Bag DO's:

-Clothes. A couple onesies will do for the hospital stay. Mittens so they don't scratch their face. Socks. Socks also work well as mittens. Sometimes better. I also have a special 'coming home' outfit for the day we get to leave. It includes a onesie, pants and a hat. Honestly, the hospital provides a hat, receiving blanket and shirt anyway. Your baby burrito doesn't need too much for the stay.

-Nail clippers. Some people say not to cut baby's nails, but Conner came out with some serious nails and I didn't have any. I resorted to biting them off for him, but I really wished I had brought my baby clippers.

-Burp cloths. Newborns spit up. You'll need at least one to wipe them off in the car on the way home.

-Wipes. The hospital will likely provide you with some of these, but a small travel case is helpful for diaper changes on the way home. Not going to lie, I use these for everything though.

-Baby book. Most hospitals do their footprints on a keepsake certificate. If you bring your book, they usually don't mind putting them in there for you as well. Saves you some time and mess when you get home. It's also a good idea to bring this so you can record the stats of the birth and baby.

-Carseat. This is a no-brainer. You won't be allowed to leave without one properly installed in your car.

Baby's Bag DON'Ts:

-Too many clothes. As previously mentioned, you (as long as baby and you are stable) will only be there for a few days. You don't need to bring their entire wardrobe. 

-Toys. Seriously, they are newborns. The sleep, poop and eat. They have no interest in toys yet. 

-Bottles. If you are breastfeeding, that is self-explanatory. If you are formula feeding, they won't let you use your own bottles anyway. Don't waste time and space for them.

-Diapers. Unless you are cloth diapering from the beginning, don't pack these. They give you a package while you are there. 

Some other things you may/may not find helpful to pack are 'big sibling' items. We want our toddler to be as involved as possible in every aspect of the new baby to attempt to avoid jealousy issues. After all, he has just spent 3 years as an only child with our undivided attention and now he will have to share it. I have a gift that from his baby brother, which is a book. He loves books. He also has a t-shirt that matches the baby's coming home outfit. Your support person will most likely need snacks as well. Unless they plan to make a run during the labor or recovery period. A pillow and blanket for your support person, since the ones at the hospital are usually limited to the bed being used by mommy. I used a backpack to put my items in and the diaper bag to put the baby's in. Now they are sitting with the carseat in the nursery waiting for that moment when we need to throw them in the car. Or for the moment I feel a need to put them in there, just in case. Haha.

conner's paint themed 3rd birthday

Usually when you ask a (soon to be) three year old what they want to do for their birthday party, you get an array of answers. Not Conner. He seemed to be waiting for me to ask the question, and quickly told me he wanted a paint party. Alright, we can do that. 

At first I was just going to let kids paint. And then Pinterest happened. I was also very much enabled by my friend Jess, who would find ideas and pass them on to me. Between the two of us, we planned a pretty awesome party! We decided to have it a month early due to all the chaos that will be happening around his actual birthday. Once that was in place, everything came together nicely. 

Since I don't want to end up on hoarders, I've limited myself to keep one item per birthday to be reminded. This year it was a canvas that we had the kids put their handprints on. We had that set up on our goody bag table, which obviously held the goody bags and then the rainbow candy station. Above that was a nice 4 foot picture collage of Conner from birth until now in the shape of the number 3. A last minute thought was to make a 'photobooth'. I used cardstock to make a polaroid type frame which we hung from the ceiling. Added some colorful streamers behind in and made some mustaches and lips. There was a fruit loop necklace station. Who doesn't like edible necklaces?! Our counter was transformed into a 'food for starving artists' area. Included on the menu were hotdogs, pasta salad, candied bacon, paintbrush rice krispies, rainbow cake, funfetti cupcakes, sugar cookies, multi-colored hugs (juice) and "magic" color-changing ice cubes in sprite (made out of koolaid). The kitchen table turned into a finger painting station, complete with paint splatter framed paper and a colorful ceiling decoration of streamers and balloons. 

Overall a very successful party. A HUGE thank you to:

Jess: For being my Pinterest sidekick and finding some awesome ideas for me to use.

Chris and Tetro: For staying up until midnight to help me decorate.

Maranto's, Gamboa's, Hilt's, Felumero's and Snyder: For helping us celebrate and give Conner a day to remember.

And mostly, to Conner: For being the light of my life and making every day something special. <3

pregnancy week 37

Happy full term, baby Lucas! 

Nothing much to say about this week. We didn't have an appointment, so I don't have any stats to give. My belly seems to have gotten a little lower. I've been asked at least a dozen times when I'm going to pop him out and had my first run in with a stranger wanting to touch my belly. Conner is impatient as ever to meet his baby brother. So are mommy and daddy. We have two packages coming in from friends who kindly made Lucas some stuff for his nursery. I'm so thankful for everyone who has taken time to get us gifts, make us something, or even send well wishes. So very ready to have our new little guy here. Hopefully soon!

Here's a picture of Chris and I from his unit's social gathering last night. I call this the 'pregnant poodle' dress.

adventures in cloth diapering

Ahh, diapers. Something you HAVE to use when a baby comes along. I mean, unless you live in a nudist colony. Then I'm not sure how that works. When Conner was born, I had no idea what a cloth diaper was. Never even heard of them until we had been at Fort Bliss for about a year. I met a bunch of ladies who used them and it really piqued my interest. We were just about to start potty training Conner, though, so I didn't think too much into them. We knew we were just going to go straight to underwear at that point. 

And then I got pregnant again. Thus began the never-ending cycle of wants and needs for this baby. One of those was will we use disposables or convert to cloth. At first, we were all in just for the cost purposes in the long run. Then we went back to 'Well, it would be less work to just do disposables'. We decided I wanted to find a class to get more information before we made an ultimate decision. 

I joined a playdate group called MOPS. While at my first meeting, I noticed that a majority of the women cloth diapered. Through MOPS, I found out about a non-profit program here in the area called Cloth 4 Everybum. I was able to get signed up for that class. I got a ton of useful information, including what I needed to begin with - where to start! They gave us a cloth starter kit with almost every kind of cloth diaper on the market. I was SO thankful, because now I can try out the different kinds and see which works best for us. The program is ran entirely on donations, so unfortunately there were no prefolds in the kit. Those are what I was most interested in. I'll get to that in a moment. Anyway, I plan to donate back whatever we decide to not use, that way others can have the opportunity to take this class and receive the starter kit as well. It's absolutely wonderful that they have something like this. The class was taught by Stacy and Amy from the Low Country Real Diaper Circle, the local chapter of the Real Diaper Association. Fantastic group of ladies!

So here I am now, with my starter kit and a little less overwhelmed by the idea of cloth diapering. Here are some points as to why my husband and I decided we definitely want to convert over to cloth diapering.

-Cost. We were at Wal*Mart and happened to notice that the big box of Pampers (the only kind of diaper our oldest wasn't allergic to) had went up by $10/box since we last bought any. Are you kidding me?! $30ish for a box that will last us a few weeks. Ridiculous. Especially when I can techincally diaper my kiddo from birth to potty training for around $400 with cloth!

-Environment. Did you know that disposables do not decompose? So essentially, they go to the dump and sit there building up over time, forever. Gross.

-No chemicals. These days, it's hard to find a true-to-nature product that doesn't have chemicals with all of these nasty side affects to them. 

-Cuteness. Seriously, have you SEEN these modern day cloth diapers?! This is probably the reason why the 'cost' part goes out the window with most cloth families. They can't stop buying cute ones. Haha!

Now, this is not to say that I think disposables are absolutely horrible. As previously mentioned, we used them with Conner and I don't regret it. We just chose to do something different this time. The benefits are just icing on the cake! I stated before that my starter kit didn't have any prefolds. It did, however, have a cover. So I got home and started my interwebs searching. I knew I wanted to have more covers and prefolds. Again, it was what we had very first considered. After week or so of searching around, reading reviews, etc., we decided to go with Thirsties Duo Wrap covers with snaps and some unbleached Indian cotton prefolds. I also wanted to try out some flats after seeing one of the ladies who taught the class change her daughter into one. Same idea as the prefolds, but not as bulky. Here I was, with the knowledge handed to me and Amazon.com beckoning me to make my first fluff purchase.

I took the night to talk it over with my husband. Before I went to bed, I had placed an order for 12 prefolds, 12 flats, 7 covers, a large wet bag, a small wet bag and some snappis to hold the prefolds and flats in place under the covers. All of that is enough to diaper Lucas for 2 days. I would have to do laundry every other day, but I do that anyway. As for the added cost of detergent, electricity and water for the extra load I'll be washing, it'll pretty much be non-existent. We already use All Free and Clear, which is safe for cloth diapers, so no extra cost there. The extra load of laundry will barely touch our water and electric bill. I'll maybe see a few dollars extra throughout the year. Back to cost. For all of the items I mentioned above, my total came to $180.27. The covers and prefolds are the smaller size that should last him until he's about 9 months, depending on his growth. I'll have to buy the size 2 covers and bigger prefolds at that time. So add in an additional $120ish. The bigger size should last me until potty training. All together, $300. There are a few extras I would like to add, but those are just that, extras. They are not essential. But for the sake of argument, I'll add that in, too. I would like to get a diaper sprayer and a drying rack for our laundry room, for the days it's too crappy outside to line dry. That's another $50ish. I'm still under that $400 mark! I would have to spend approximately $3,000 to diaper Lucas with disposables, if he were to potty train around the same time as Conner did. So it's kind of clear there why I chose the cloth route!

Oh, and when they say that fluff mail is incredibly hard to wait for and totally exciting to get, they were not lying! I got my package today, a whole day earlier than it was expected to arrive, and did a happy dance! Not to mention the several hundred times I have tracked the package in the past week. I can not wait for my little guy to get here so that I can put these on him!

pregnancy week 36

It's getting very close! 

-Four weeks until his estimated birthday. 

-My uterus is measuring slightly ahead at 37 weeks. 

-His heart rate was 158 at my appointment. 

-As of right now, he is head down, but not "in position" yet.
-I'm pretty sure I am carrying baby hulk. He's bruised me quite a bit from his kicks and rolls.

I decided I should probably go ahead and get at least his hospital bag ready. I'll make a post about that once it's finished. We're all anxious as to if he'll come on or before his due date, or be stubborn like his brother. 

egg in hole grilled cheese

Um, I think grilled cheese sandwiches just got even better. Just sayin'. I'm posting ingredients for just one sandwich, so x2 for each additional sandwich.

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread

1 egg

1 slice of cheese

butter

salt

pepper

Preheat a skillet over medium heat (or a griddle set around 250F). Butter both sides of the bread. In one slice, use a circle cookie cutter and cut a hole out of the middle. Save the circle of bread. Place all bread in skillet (or griddle) and crack the egg into the hole in the bread. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the egg is white on the bottom. Flip it over (all bread). Add a slice of cheese to the bread with the egg. Cook it until your desired likeness of the egg. If you like the yolk runnier, about 2 minutes. If you like the yolk cooked a little more thorough, about 3-4 minutes. Put the naked piece of bread on top of the egg/cheese bread. NOM NOM NOM! It's really delicious. The picture doesn't do it justice.

pregnancy week 35

The only new news is that this kid is being a pain in the butt and decided to flip into the breech position. He's been head down since 16 weeks. Of course he would flip breech now. A little less than 5 weeks to go, so I hope he flips again!

We went to the beach for some competition for Chris's company. We got a few belly shots. Here is my 35 week shot.

homemade play dough

I'm cheap. I hate buying things at the store like play dough, which will probably get played with twice and then dry out. I can thank the Pinterest Gods again for showing me many homemade play dough recipes. This is the one that worked best for us. I found the tutorial (with step by step pictures) over here. It was easy, I had all the ingredients in my pantry already and it has kept my toddler and the little girl I am babysitting busy for a while. I guess I can also add my BIG child (aka my husband) in on that list. He's currently building play dough cars as I type this!

Ingredients:

1 cup of flour

1 cup of water

1/4 cup of salt

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

2 teaspoons of cream of tartar

food coloring

Throw all of the ingredients into a medium sized sauce pan. Doesn't matter what order, but I put the food coloring in last. I suggest a wooden spoon. It's easier to work with. Mix everything until almost all the clumps are out. Heat it up over medium heat while continually stirring. It will eventually clump up into a ball of dough (as you are stirring!). This took maybe 4-5 minutes. Take your dough blob and sit it on the counter. It's a little hot, so carefully knead it with your hands to make that play dough consistency. Now it's time to break out the rolling pin and cookie cutters and let the kids go at it!

Finished blob 

And here is my little man cutting sharks out of his portion of the dough

This is probably better than the play dough I've bought from the store. Once you are finished playing, store in an airtight container and it's good for about 6 months (says the original link)!

mozzarella stuffed meatballs

I saw these on Pinterest and I knew I had to make them. Who doesn't love meatballs? Add in mozzarella and it's a little piece of Heaven. I served these on top of white rice with brown gravy. Yum! The blog I was directed to didn't have any ingredient list, so I used the one I normally use, but added in the mozzarella. 

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon oregano

2 tablespoons parsley

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon bread crumbs (I used Italian flavored)

1 egg

mozzarella cheese, cubed

EVOO

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl, mix together the first 9 ingredients. Generously coat the bottom of a glass baking dish with EVOO. I used about 2 tablespoons. Separate your meat mixture into 9 equal globs. You can make them smaller if you'd like, but will have to adjust baking time. Smash a glob to a semi-flat status in your hand. I know, my cooking lingo is awesome. Place a cube of mozzarella in the center and then shape the meat into a ball around it. Continue with all 9 globs. Put your stuffed meatballs in the EVOO drenched baking dish and pop that bad boy in the oven for about 35 minutes. Mine came out perfectly cooked. Look at these. DROOL. See the mozzarella oozing out?

teriyaki pork chops

It has been a loooong while since I have posted any new recipes. I know I've mentioned in a few posts some of the reasons why I have not been posting them, but I've decided that enough people have messaged me on Facebook asking for more ideas that I will start back. 

So, you all know I love my crock pot, right? Lol. I've been reading up on freezer meals lately. Seems like a good idea since I will have a newborn and be losing my husband to the sandbox around the same time. I wanted to try some of them out first before I freeze them, just to be sure I'll actually like it. Tonight we did teriyaki pork chops. I will definitely be using this as a freezer meal!

Ingredients:

3-4 pork chops, about 1 inch thick

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

If you are freezing it, put all those ingredients into a freezer bag. Doesn't matter which way you put the ingredients in. Get as much air out as possible. When placing in the freezer, put it flat so you'll have more room. The instructions, which you should probably write on the bag, unless you have an awesome memory, are just as simple. Cook in crock pot on high for 4-5 hours, or low for 6-7 hours. Keep in mind, you should not put the entire bag into your crock pot. Just the contents. So after freezing, just pull the bag out before bed and put it in your refrigerator to thaw and then put it in the slow cooker the next morning. Best part? Once you put this in your freezer, it's good for 3 months. I also suggest writing the "expiration" date on the bag.

deployment craft #2

Since I already did a craft for the kiddos, I thought I'd also do something sweet for Chris. I did some browsing around on Pinterest and found a cute little thing where she wrote letters for specific times and sent them with her husband. I used that as a sort of tutorial to do mine. 

Here's what you need:

blank cards (or cardstock to make them)

envelopes

writing utensil

decorative embellishments

twine (or yard)

You probably have everything listed just laying around your house. I went to A.C. Moore and found tiny cards that had tiny envelopes to go with them. Saved myself some time there. Instead of decorative embellishments, I used my mad drawing and coloring skills to decorate my cards. I then carefully (read: very quickly) jotted down a bunch of reasons why he might need a little pick-me-up. On the front of the envelopes I wrote "Open Me When..." and then the reason beneath. I'll list some examples below once I finish explaining the craft. Then it was on to the cards. On the front of the card, I did some doodling to go along with what "Open Me When" was on front. Inside the card, I wrote whatever I wanted to. Then I sealed the tiny card in it's matching tiny envelope. After 45 minutes or so, I had a tiny stack of tiny cards ready to be tied up. I wrapped twine around the cards and hid them in my dresser. I plan to give him the card stack as he is leaving, briefly explain what it is and let it be. I mean, if you read "Open Me When..", it's kind of self-explanatory, right? Then again, he is a man. So a brief explanation will work along with it. Lol. Swear I'm not sexist. My husband and I just have a good sense of humor. 

My hope is that he can open these cards when he needs them and they brighten his day a little. He can use these in between getting mail and care packages from everyone. Here is a small list from the top of my head of reasons I wrote on the cards. I'm too lazy to go grab the cards and write them all on here, as that would require unwinding the twine and all that.

See how cute it is?!

"Open Me When"

-when you leave: Inside I wrote a little note about how we would be with him every step of the way.

-when you really want a home cooked meal: Inside I wrote about the day we refer to as 'the meatloaf incident' and how MRE's and chow can't be worse than that.

-if you get sick: Inside I put a band-aid (clever, I know) and said 'feel better'.

-when you really miss the kids: Inside I had our 2 year old draw things for him.

-when you can't sleep: Inside I wrote how I sometimes steal all of the blankets and the positive is he doesn't have to fight me for them.

-when you miss me: Inside I wrote a bunch of reasons why I love him.

-when you are on the way home: Inside I wrote how we made it and we can't wait to see him.

Those are just a few examples. I can't wait to give them to him. I know it's the little things like this (no pun intended) that will make his days easier. 

pregnancy week 34

So much for posting every few days, right? I have got to get better at this! At least this time I have a valid excuse. My husband was given a long weekend and we used it to get all of our last minute things finished up. We also cleaned the crap out of the house. Anyway, to the update!

Pregnancy-wise, there isn't much new to say. Had another appointment. He was being a big pain in the rear and was refusing to let them get a heartbeat. Want to know what is super painful? Having a doctor hold a tiny human that is inside of you still. OMG. That was the only way we could keep him in place to get a proper reading. Still 160. My uterus is still measuring right on cue. I have another appointment in 2 weeks. That's when the real fun begins. Checks, yay. Not

Still forever pregnant.

bringing home baby: lessons learned

Don't worry, friends. I have not had my little bundle of joy yet. However, a lot of ladies in my pregnancy group are on the verge of it as the time is drawing nearer. This is my second go-around, but there are MANY things I wish I would have had a heads up on when I had Conner. Particularly, things to make the transition home easier. So I've come up with a list of things that were helpful to keep on hand and that I plan to stock up on before Lucas makes his arrival. We'll call this "Bringing Home Baby: Lessons Learned".

I'd like to also add that my first delivery was vaginal. Every birthing experience will differ slightly, so your items may need to be adjusted. Please, add any suggestions in the comments below! :)

-Pads. I can't stress this one enough. I had no idea I would go through so many pads. The hospital provided me with a few, but I needed a ton. I mean, I bled for 2 weeks straight (and some people bleed for much longer). I suggest the overnight size.

-Tucks pads and a squirt bottle. Seriously, it makes clean up after going potty much easier. The hospital gave me both, but I plan to get a few more this time around. **Addition from Sarah V. - Most hospitals also give you a can of medicated spray with the squirt bottle the slightly numbs the area.**

-GOOD toilet paper. The last thing you want is an infected vagina from leaving behind tp!

-Swaddle blanket. Yea, the nurses showed me how to swaddle. I'm not a nurse though, and somehow Conner always managed to bust out of his. Swaddle blankets with velcro helped so much.

-Snacks. Especially if you are breastfeeding. It makes you hungry (and thirsty!) so having fast, healthy snacks on hand helps a lot. Stock up a little basket of granola bars, apples, bananas, 100 calorie snack packs. It'll be a lifesaver at 2am.

-Water bottle. A nice, big one. I have one of those insulated ones, so the water stays cold for a while. Fill that sucker up and keep it by your bed.

-Stool softeners. If you've never experienced the unpleasantness of the first poo after having baby, just trust me. These will help it not be such a painful experience.

-Extra memory card. I took A LOT of pictures of Conner the first few weeks. So many, that I had to have 2 memory cards because I didn't have enough time to upload and clear them from my camera every day lol.

-Batteries. Check what size batteries you need for your bouncer, swing, etc. Nothing is more terrible than having a fussy baby who will only stop if he's in the swing and then the batteries die and you have no extra.

This is my second child, but will be my first time breastfeeding. Hopefully I can get it to work out for me, as it's something I really want to do. A few other items I will have on hand and ready-to-go for this are:

-Nursing bras. I already have a few, as the underwire in my regular bras are terribly uncomfortable even in pregnancy. Plus, they are nifty and just snap right down for feedings. How cool is that?

-Disposable breast pads. At least for the first week. I hear that until your body adjusts to your baby's feeding schedule, you leak a lot. I have some organic, washable breast pads, but I'll be saving those for when my supply has evened itself out.

-Lanolin. Cracked, sore nipples? No thanks. This stuff is safe to use after every feeding and helps prevent or help heal those sore boobies that are bound to happen regardless of any precautions you may be taking.

Hopefully this post will help some momma-to-be's out a little bit. If you have any 'must have' survival items for the first week home, please comment and let us know! I know some of the prior mentioned things are kind of gross, but hey.. pregnancy, birth and children are both beautiful AND disgusting. At least I'm giving you a heads up. :) Keep a look out for my 'what to bring' post coming in a few weeks. Remember, second go around = lessons learned from the first time!