I Think I've Become a Lactivist

Lactivism (portmanteau of "lactation" and "activism") is a term used to describe the advocacy of breastfeeding.^[1] Supporters, referred to as "lactivists", seek to promote the health benefits of breastfeeding over formula-feeding and to ensure that nursing mothers are not discriminated against.

Yup, that's me. When I first got pregnant, there wasn't any question in my mind that I would breastfeed my baby. When I actually started and realized that it is a look hard than it looks, me initial goal was to make it 6 weeks. Although I fully intended on breastfeeding the Ty man longer than that, I knew I needed to make a short term goal in order to feel like I could do it. So after much trouble with my supply from loosing weight, introducing a bottle a little too early and the craziness of moving, Tyler and I got into a groove and officially surpassed our 6 week goal. And then I decided my next benchmark would be 12 weeks/3 months and what do ya know, we're here! Yay! And although I fully intend on breastfeeding Tyler for a long while, my next goal is 6 months. I think we can do it ;-)

The more I read and learn about the benefits of breastfeeding, the more excited I get about my decision. Did you know breastfed babies are at a decreased risk of childhood cancers, SIDS, ear infections and respiratory disease? And by breastfeeding Tyler I am decreasing my risk of pre-menopausal breast and ovarian cancers, UTIs and osteoporosis. Plus, I can eat as much as Michael Phelps and still loose weight. Win. Even formula companies know the breast is best. I was taking out a can of formula we had gotten at the hospital with other samples after baby was born to put with the canned foods we're giving to the food shelter, and I noticed the can said "Experts agree breastfeeding is best." Boom.

So now, not only am I a crazy vegetarian and natural birth advocate, I'm a lactivist.

And while we're on my favorite subject of breastfeeding, let me tell you how much I LOVE my new pump! Thanks to everyone who voted for me and helped me win it! It has a rechargeable battery which is uber convenient. Last Saturday Jordon and I went to a wedding and I was away from Ty man for 5 hours (don't get me started on that!) and needed to pump. Well I just hooked myself up in the car and pumped under my dress... pretty funny actually. There was a police car two cars behind us, and I told Jordon it would be hilarious if he pulled us over only to find me pumping away in the front seat. He didn't pull us over though. Hilarious/awkward moment avoided.

Anyways, I love my new pump and have been getting tons of use out of it, however Tyler just hates the bottle. He used to take it like a champ, but I unknowingly sabotaged his bottle-taking abilities by exclusively breastfeeding him for a week and ever since he hasn't wanted anything to do with the bottle! So right now I have over 100 oz. of frozen breast milk in my freezer and a stubborn child. Sigh. Hopefully we can persuade him one of these days...

Other news on the Tyler front: today is his 3 month birthday! yay! And this morning he decided to celebrate by rolling over! I just about screamed when it happened, like I had won the lottery or something. We tried to get him to do it again and he tried and was so close, but I think he was tired out and wouldn't do it again. We'll try tomorrow.

On Wednesday I went to the doctor because I had been feeling super tired and thought maybe my thyroid was slowing down (because I already have hypothyroidism) but apparently it was super-duper overactive! My goodness does pregnancy take a toll on the body! It isn't uncommon for a women to have hyPERthyroidism in the first 3 months after pregnancy then go into a state of hyPOthyroidism after that, so I have an appointment with an endocrinologist in December to see if mine will flip again. And my back has been killing me every since I was pregnant, specifically my upper back (what pregnant woman has UPPER back pain?!) so I went and saw a chiropractor. She said my joints had been irritated during my pregnancy which caused the muscles in my back to spasm. So now I'm seeing her 3x a week for therapy and adjustments, which has helped a ton. I have never been to a chiropractor, so it was a very new experience for me. When she adjusts my neck and back, you would not believe how much they crack! And now Jordon is going to because #1 he is obsessed with cracking his back/neck/my fingers/anything else that can crack, and #2 he gets treated for free because he a coach at the college and our doctor is contracted by the college. Jordon told me my new hobby is going to see doctors because I'm so bored staying at home haha. I just think pregnancy has left me a little worst for the wear ;-)

Right now Jordon and I are eagerly awaiting baby's first Halloween! we're going to search for a costume for him tomorrow, so wish us luck!

Baby colds are no fun.

It's crazy how much Tyler has grown over these past 12 weeks... and it's also hard to believe it's been 12 weeks since I had him, and that before that he wasn't in Jordon and I's lives! We thank God every day for our little blessing.

This week we were faced with one of the terrors of parenthood: the baby cold. You have never heard a more pitiful sound than the sound of a baby's cough. He first started coughing a bit on Sunday, and even threw up too, so I thought it may be some reflux. But then Sunday night he was stuffed up and cough more, so I knew it had to be a cold! I thought we'd avoid this part of parenthood for awhile because I'm exclusively breastfeeding and he's getting all of those good antibodies, but I guess not. I even felt a little responsible for him getting sick... like my milk wasn't good enough to keep him well! (Oh, a parent's mind). But he got over it really quick! By Tuesday he was only coughing a tiny bit and by Wednesday he was like new. Phew. Crisis avoided. By the way, I was one of those parents who immediately called the pediatrician and asked what I could do, what to look out for, was it okay that his cough sounded wet, etc. I expect they will be on speed dial by the end of this year ;-)

So needless to say, Ty man and momma were pretty lazy while being cooped up inside this week. He hates not being able to take his daily stroller rides! It was pretty funny though because on Monday, Jordon got home from work (early! yay for fall season being over!) so he watched baby while I went for a run. When I got back from my run Jordon was pushing Tyler around in his jogging stroller... about 20 foot laps through the living room and kitchen! It was hilarious, and Tyler was loving it! Yay for Daddy's improvisation.

Tyler has been sleeping pretty well these days. He was on a great track of sleeping 6-7 hours straight a night back in September, but then we went away one weekend and he got off track. Boo. But this week he'd been doing much better again, and slept 7 and a half hours the other night. It was awesome! I'm hoping he can keep this up! A well slept mommy is a happy mommy!

I've been getting a little stir crazy recently. I can see why 12 weeks would be enough maternity leave for working mommas. I've been thinking a lot about getting back to work, or what I want to do from here out. Jordon and I talked about it, and we're thinking I MAY go back to school (emphasis on the the "may," no plans as of yet!). After having such an incredible birth experience, I am OBSESSED with babies/pregnancy/labor. In fact, right now my DVR has Birthday, I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant, A Baby Story, Secretly Pregnant, and some other assorted baby/pregnancy specials on Discovery Fit & Health set to record. So Jordon and I think it might be rewarding for me to get my RN and become a labor and delivery nurse, and possibly continue my education and become a midwife! The community college in Martinsville has an accelerated nursing program and if some of my credits from JMU would transfer over, I could probably complete the program fairly quickly. Also, Shenandoah University has a CNM program, so that could be a possibility later in the future. But again, we're just brainstorming right now... we'll see if this is the path God wants me on!

As for now, Tyler and I are just enjoying being best buddies during the day, and hanging out with Daddy in the evenings. I love my little family!

10 Weeks

I've been staying at home with the Ty man for 10 weeks now and it still hasn't gotten old. I just love hanging out with him!

He has gotten SO big! We took him to the pediatrician for his 2 month appointment last Monday, and he weighed 10 lb 13 oz, and was 24 inches long. That put him in the 25th percentile for weight (which is low, but he growing at a steady rate from his weight at 2 weeks... he was in the same percentile then) and between the 75-90th percentile for height. The doctor said if he kept up at this rate, he'd be tall and skinny haha. Since neither Jordon and I have many tall people in our families, we're assuming his vertical growth will begin to slow down.

Tyler had hit all his 2 month developmental milestones (such as holding his head up, smiling in response, making cooing noises) and also some of the 4 month ones as well (like bearing weight on his legs). He is gifted. And he had to get three shots, which he was NOT happy about... and neither was I! The nurse poked him with the first needle and he got quiet, his eyes got big, and then he just wailed. It broke my heart!! And after he got the last shot I couldn't help but swoop him right up and hold him. He was pretty fussy afterward and the rest of the day, but the next day he was fine.

I've been taking Tyler for rides in his big boy BOB running stroller (just walks right now though... can't run with him until he gets a little older!) which is awesome. Best stroller ever! And I love taking him down the the tennis courts every afternoon to visit Jordon and his players during practice. The players seem to have taken quite a liking to him, and always call him "junior" instead of Tyler haha.

As for my Medela contest that I have been begging abut for the last month... I lost :-( The other girl was TOTALLY cheating though! In the last week, whenever I'd get up more than 10 votes, she'd come back and get ahead 20 some votes in 15 minutes. Then, the last night, I got up 4 and ten minutes later was down 30 votes. Something was fishy. Jordon wrote an anonymous email to Medela cluing them into the situation and I found out a few days later my mom had too! haha. I'm still hoping she gets disqualified! But no matter what, I thought it was awesome that I ended up with 767 votes!!! So many awesome people supporting me! Plus, Tyler is the best and sweetest kid in the world, so even if Traci B. from Ohio wins the breastpump, I got the best prize of all :-)

I did, however, re-enter the contest with another photo. They do a random draw for another grand prize, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to throw my name into the pot for October. If you want to vote though, be my guest!! I don't think I will be as aggressive about getting votes this month, unless it looks like there isn't much competition... then maybe I'll reinstate my campaign haha. Here's the link:

http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/keep-the-connection-photo-detail/1716

then you enter your email address, and they will send you an email with a link to click to verify your vote!

So long story short, I'm loving everyday in parenthood. My kid is just awesome. I knew I would love Tyler, but never knew how much I could love him. It is incredible and a one-of-a-kind type of love.

8 Weeks

My little boy is 8 weeks old! And we've had lots of fun! I just love being able to stay at home with Tyler during the day, and although I have moments where I'm ancy to get out of the house or do something else other than feed the baby all day, it is so fulfilling to raise my baby! We are just the best of friends... I never thought a baby could be my best friend, but seriously, he is giving Jordon and run for his money :-) And I can't believe what a nerd I've turned into. I think my voice may permanently change to a few octaves higher because of all the baby talk I do all day and I seriously think I may consider a job as a music editor on Sesame Street because recently I've come up with new hits such as "Bath Time for Baby" and the classic "The Poo-poo King."

And sometimes I miss the easy-ness of life before baby, like being able to eat dessert leisurely after dinner, but I don't think I could love Tyler anymore, and life would not be the same without him! The other night Jordon handed him over to me to feed, and at that moment I realized I had been missing him for the 5 hours we had been sleeping and was so excited to have him in my arms again!!

Speaking of sleeping, Tyler has actually been doing really well!! On the night before my birthday he slept SEVEN hours straights!! I actually had to wake up in the middle of the night to pump, and was sure he'd wake up right as I got in bed wanting to eat, but I was surprised when I woke up with the sun just starting to rise and he was just starting to stir. And the night of my birthday he slept 6 hours! Since then he is averaging about 5 hours, then he eats, then sleeps another 2-3 hours before it's time to wake up, so we are very happy parents! He's still not doing great on napping during the day (he only seems to want to nap for about 30 minutes max) but I'd rather him sleep well at night than during the day if I had to choose!

And he's also been behaving well enough for me to get back into an exercise routine (Thank goodness!!!). After I have lunch I feed him, we play for about ten minutes, then I put him in his swing in the basement and he watches me do about 10 minutes of my workout then falls asleep, usually long enough for me to finish the workout and shower. Good boy! He knows momma would go crazy if she didn't get to work out :-) I've been doing the Insanity workout, which I did last summer, and I already feel MUCH more in shape than ever. I even have my abs back! I'd like to be running more, especially because Jordon and Tyler got me new Sacony Kinvara 2s for my bday, but it is hard to find time since Jordon works 9am-6:30pm right now, and I can't take Tyler in the jogging stroller just yet, but I'm hoping soon Jordon will have more time to watch him and I'll be able to take Tyler in the stroller sometime. My parents got me a BOB running stroller, probably the best stroller you can get, so I am SO excited to use it!!

So life is going great! I love mommyhood.

And as I mentioned last time, Jordon and I are still in the midst of the Medela photo contest!! If you haven't voted, click the link and vote! And if you HAVE voted, please pass the link along to your friends/family/co-workers/etc!! I'm 14 votes behind first place so I need some votes!!!

http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/keep-the-connection-photo-detail/1585

6 Weeks!

It's been two weeks since my last update and boy has a lot happened! First of all, I've given up ice cream.... and milk, and cheese, and dairy completely. We knew Tyler was sensitive to dairy awhile back because he was so fussy after feedings, and giving up dairy seemed to do the trick, but I still ate some cheese and products with small amounts of dairy in them (like pancakes, some cereals and granola bars, etc). Well after one weekend where I had pizza 3 times, and a few too many "just a sip"s of a milkshake Jordon got, Tyler started to be very fussy and had (TMI) green poop. Well, after completely cutting all dairy out, it seems that Tyler is much happier, and his poop is now a normal color haha. But it leaves me with very few food choices! You wouldn't believe how many foods have dairy in them!! I'm pretty much living off peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and pasta these days.

Also, Tyler has hit some major milestones!! He's now smiling in response to us and he is "coo"ing! It is the most precious thing! Sometimes I'll ask him to tell me a story, and he'll give a "coo" and a "ga" and it makes my heart melt. And lastly, he is still growing like a weed. He's starting to fit into some of his 0-3 month clothing! As sad as it is for me to start packing away some of his newborn onsies, I'm excited to have a larger wardrobe to choose from when dressing him.

On a semi-related note, I've entered a photo contest on the Medela webpage to win a VERY nice double pump (which would come in handy when I eventually go back to work!) and some other breastfeeding accessories. I'd really appreciate it if you all could vote for my photo! You just need to click this link: http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/keep-the-connection-photo-detail/1585 , then enter your email address, and they will send you a confirmation email with a link to click to confirm your vote. You can vote once per email address, so have your friends/family/significant others/etc vote with their emails please!! Thank you in advance!!

1 month!

Our precious bundle of joy is officially one month old! And boy has time absolutely flown by! We moved down to our new house in Ferrum on the 14th and have been adjusting to life here ever since. We've had a lot of unpacking to do, and still do have a ton to do, but I made it my first priority to put the nursery all together! Since I wasn't able to do this during the final weeks of my pregnancy, I was more than anxious to unleash my nesting instincts now. Of course, it is much, much harder to spend time nesting when you have a little one to take care of.

It has really surprised me just how difficult and time-consuming it is to take care of a baby! Don't get me wrong, because I've absolutely loved every minute of it, but it is definitely hard work! Jordon heads to work at 9 in the morning, and the next thing I know he's coming home at 3 and I feel like I haven't done anything except feed the baby all day. At least I never get bored while I'm home!

Tyler has been growing and growing like a weed! We weighed him the other day (well, we weighed Jordon on the scale, then weighed Jordon holding Tyler, and then subtracted... very precise, I know) and he was 9 lb 6 oz. My little boy is just growing! He still won't fit into any clothes other than newborns, which I both enjoy (because I don't want him to grow up too fast!), but is frustrating because we have SO many cute little outfits for him that are 0-3 month sized. Right now it's just onsies and pajamas for him! He's also developing so quickly. He's been able to hold his head up and turn it from side to side when he's on his tummy for a couple weeks now, and I swear any day now he's going to roll over! He tries SO hard to flip over when we lay him down, I would be surprised if he isn't rolling around by next month. And he focuses a lot more on our faces when we play with him... he even gives a couple babbles every now and then, but I can't wait till he starts revving up that baby talk... I just love it!

I finally got back into running this week! I had to start out really easy since I have gone for a run longer than 3 miles in 10 months haha... and I hadn't run at all for at least the last 3 months so I have much getting back into shape to do! I've been doing 15-20 minute runs with some walking at the end and they've been going well. My lungs were definitely burning, but I'm not sure if it was from me being out of shape, or from the 3 bras I had to wear in order to contain my new mommy-sized chest haha. Despite that, it felt good to break a sweat from working out rather than from waddling around with 7 lbs of baby in me.

So overall we're enjoying our new life with out little baby in it. We've been very blessed to have a beautiful new home to live in, and a lot of new, generous friends bringing us meals almost every night. We've enjoyed taking Tyler for walks around the campus in the evenings, and I thinkw e are really going to like our new life here!

2 Weeks!

My sweet little boy turned 2 weeks old on Thursday! Time is just flying by and he is just growing and growing like a weed. I have definitely come to the realization that parenthood is HARD, but I am still loving every day of it.

Breastfeeding has got to be the hardest part of this crazy adventure. Since I am the only one who can feed Tyler, I have to be awake on demand for his feedings. Sometimes I think Jordon uses this to his advantage, especially when Tyler is wailing at 3am and Jordon brings him over to my side of the bed saying "... I think he's hungry." Haha, just kidding. But I do have to feed that little guy every 2-3 hours, so it gets VERY exhausting. Thankfully, he's getting a little better at sleeping at night, so he will normally go 4 hours between feedings and sleep pretty well. And I know I'm helping him grow big and strong so it's totally worth it!

We took Tyler to the pediatrician for his 2 week check up on Thursday. Much to our and the doctor's surprise, he weighed 7 lb 10 oz... he gained 1 lb 3 oz in 9 days! I must have magic breastmilk or something. Everything else was looking perfect as well... the doctor was very impressed with how much Tyler moved! He was just squirming about on the table, not crying, just content as can be. And the doctor kept saying how cute Tyler was... but obviously that didn't surprise me :-)

As for me, I am feeling pretty much recovered from my pregnancy. At 10 days postpartum I had gotten down to my pre-pregnancy weight, and today I was actually 2 lb less than that! Thank you breastfeeding. The only thing physically bugging me these days (other than being tired of course) is my back hurting... I think I was so used to having all the extra weight in the front, my body doesn't know what to do now that it's gone. Hopefully that will adjust itself here soon!

This whole pregnancy, birth, and parenthood journey has been quite the adventure, but definitely something I'm excited to do again. People ask me all the time if, after having gone through all of this, I still want to have 4 kids and I tell them, absolutely, maybe more :-) As hard as everything was, it has been the most rewarding experience and I am all for round two!.. in a year or so of course ;-)