New Hairs and a Tooth!

So I decided I needed a change and went to get my hair cut shorter than it’s ever been before. I colored it too but I’ve done this color the last couple times I’ve gotten my hair done. I LOVE the color. It’s a dark purple-ish red. I wasn’t able to get very good pictures but here are some before and after shots for you.

This was right after my previous hair appointment

And a horrible bathroom picture the day after this appointment

I love my new hair cut and color! Well, new cut, same color.

And Quorra's tooth has finally broken through the gum! You can't quite see it but you can definitely feel that it finally is out. She will be 11 months old in 3 days so she took a while to get a tooth out into the world but I'm okay with it. No nibbling the boobies while nursing and she still has the baby toothless grin. I'm excited that she is on her way to have something to show the doctor when we go for her one year check-up though. 

Any new hair for you all? If you are scared to try something new just remember that it's only hair. It will grow back. 

For the mommas - when did your kids get their teeth? Is Quorra the oldest toothless kid you know of?

Back From My Hiatus

First I want to apologize for not writing in such a long time. Really, I don’t have much time to do anything other than chase Quorra around the house. Soon after my last post she became mobile. She crawls with a quickness. She now, at almost 11 months, pulls herself up on anything and can stand by herself for just a couple seconds. She has only stood up without pulling up on something/someone a couple times. At the rate she is going I know it won’t be soon before she’ll be walking and, honestly, that scares me. She is growing up way to fast!

Most pictures I get of her are blurry since she is always on the move!

Quorra is doing great with solid food. She has gone from smooth purees, to thicker purees, to soft pieces, to feeding herself soft foods, and she now is feeding herself bigger and harder foods. She is doing amazing with it considering she STILL has no teeth. Seriously… not one. She will be 11 months old in just about a week and she just now has a small white bud on the bottom front. Even that is not soft yet and it has been there for a couple weeks now. Someday it will break out of the gum. Someday…

Chicken, carrots, broccoli, and puffs. mmmm 

She eats pretty much anything that we eat, as long as she can chew it. She loves pasta, tomato sauce, pizza, cheese, and Mexican food. And she is all about some well cooked carrots, green beans, and broccoli. Bananas are her favorite though. Well, bananas and puffs. We get the HappyBaby organic puffs. They have a lot less sugar than the other brands and I have to admit that we do feed her primarily organic food when we buy it just for her.

Delicious puffs!

I still am so glad that I had the Baby Bullet. I used it A TON. Quorra had a sensitive gag reflex and had to have purees for a while so the Bullet was needed, for sure. I still use the containers from it for packing her food. I do have to admit that I don’t always make her food. We buy the organic baby food pouches for when we don’t have the time to make something before work or if we are eating something she can’t (like salad or something super spicy). The fruit pouches are our go-to snacks. They are easy to throw into her diaper bag, don’t need to be refrigerated, and all they are made of is fruit.

Oh yeah… and she LOVES chocolate cake and ice cream. Aaaand just chocolate in general. Don’t judge. She loves it and so do I. I was going to wait to give her stuff like that but then decided that if I love it why would I deny her the pleasure of a delicious cupcake? Or some chocolate swirl ice cream? A lot of the time we only have nonfat frozen yogurt and that counts as a healthy dairy treat, right? We do try to make sure that most of what she eats is healthy but not to be too restrictive. That would backfire. Plus, there is nothing wrong with having a treat every so often.  Really, the main goal is to not be those parents who get their kid mozzarella sticks for a meal. Or give their 6 month old French fries. We make sure she gets plenty of fruits and veggies and whole grains, while steering away from overly sugary or fatty foods. We use frozen fruits and vegetables a lot. They are cheap, easy, and we don’t have to worry about them going bad. I just check the label to make sure that they don’t have anything added.

Breastfeeding is still going well. No formula for this kid! We are working on weaning and are down to 3 nursings (expressed milk when I’m working) a day. Quorra nurses early in the morning, around 7am; once in the middle of the day, before her 3pm nap; and once in the evening, around 9pm. We don’t nurse before bed anymore. Our sessions are only about 5-10 minutes now and when I pump I get between 3 and 4 ounces. My goal is to cut out the afternoon session/bottle by the end of the month. Then it would be great to only nurse once a day by the time she turns one. I’m not sure how long it will take us to cut out that final session. I am looking forward to not pumping anymore so much I can taste it. I hate pumping. It’s a complete pain in the ass. I know it’s worth it so I do it but I will cheer the day that I don’t have to do it anymore.

Quorra also is working more on adding to her vocabulary. She babbles all the time and says “mom,” “dad,” “hi,” “nom” (when she is eating or wants more, I am to blame for that one), and “yeah.” Hopefully we will get more words out of her soon. We are going to work on baby sign language too and see if that helps her communicate and get the meaning of words sooner.

She still is all about her “puppy.” The dog is very tolerant of her banging on him and yelling in his face. He loves that she shares her food with him, although I’m not as thrilled about it.

This happens every day...

Quorra is still a little bean. She still fits into some of her 6 month clothing and most of her 9 month clothing. We only have some 12 month items to fit her length.

Sleep could be better. She tends to not go to bed until about 11pm (sometimes later) but she does usually sleep until 8am. She takes 2-3 naps a day, for about a half an hour at a time. The biggest problem is that when Quorra is with me she prefers to be sleeping with me. I don’t have the heart to let her cry in her crib so when she wakes up there and cries I go get her and bring her to bed, where she falls back asleep. Sometimes she wakes up as soon as I go to put her in the crib so we don’t even get that far. She always falls asleep on me or in my arms but that’s what works to get her to sleep so that’s what we do. Do you all have any suggestions on how I can work on Quorra’s sleep habits? How can I get her to fall asleep on her own?

Overall, I am LOVING being a mom. She is so much fun and each stage she goes through just seems even better than the one before. It definitely is work and takes energy and patience but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’m sad that she has grown up so quickly but watching her learn and grow is amazing. I’m excited to see her go through all the milestones to come, I just want to relish in every moment and make them last as long as I can. Does it always seem to go this fast? 

The pink blur is her beloved Taggies blanket

Life is Precious, Hug Your Babies

I will warn you ahead of time, this post is slightly a downer. So if you decide not to read the whole thing I won't be offended.

This has been a very tough week. Please forgive me for being vague. I want to honor the privacy of those who are dealing with the hardest point in their lives.

For a few weeks now some friends have been watching their son's health go downhill. Their son was born with spina bifida and recently got pneumonia. Generally, those with spina bifida can live relatively long lives.... as long as they don't get pneumonia. His doctors have tried very hard to get this little boy better. I hate to say that he was unable to recover. His parents lost a sweet little boy. I can't imagine what his parents and the rest of his family are going through.

Also, my coworker and his wife suddenly lost their precious 3 month old daughter this week. This really hit home for me and breaks my heart. I don't want to give too much information, again, in respect to the family's privacy. But I can share that she was a perfectly healthy little girl and her passing was extremely sudden and unexpected. They believe the cause was SIDS.

Both of these losses have been really hard on my group of friends. One friend was very close to the family of the little boy and her and her husband both worked closely with our coworker. My sister and I have our family's babies and Noah is very close to the age of the little girl.

It's so hard to even fathom what these families are going through. I would do anything to protect my child. Knowing that you can do absolutely nothing to save them.... No one should have to bury their child. No one.

I don't even know how to console them. What do you say to someone that just lost their child?? How can I say anything that would help?

Sorry, I know most of this doesn't make sense. I'm just so brought aback by both of these events. I can't imagine losing my child. Or a family member losing a child. I love my child with every thread of my being. The only way I can think of it feeling is it being like your heart was ripped out.

I savor in every moment I have with Quorra and the rest of the babies. You never know what the next moment holds so hug your loved ones tight and tell them you love them.

I love cleaning her poop and throw-up. I love putting her to my breast to feed her. I love how she drools all over my face when she grabs me and gives me "kisses." I love when she screams just to be heard. I love her cries and her whines. I love her giggles and smiles. I love her smacks, pinches, and headbutts. I love when she smells fresh bath sweet and when she smells like cheesy-feet. I love everything about her. I will let her know everyday, multiple times a day.

Over the past few days I have found myself stopping just to revel in her. Just to hold her. (I've done the same thing with Noah too...) I feel so lucky to have Quorra, Noah, Broderick, George, and Benjamin and for them all to be happy and healthy babies. I will pray that they stay happy and healthy and enjoy every moment with them.

Okay, so I'm going to wrap this up because I'm sure I'm being a total bummer but I just want you to please tell your loved ones how much they really mean to you. Hold them. Kiss them. Life is precious and we never know what the next day may hold.


I also want to encourage everyone to please take CPR, especially if you have a little one.

Relay Recap

Last Friday was our local Relay for Life. My friends and I participated and I'm so glad we were able to be a part of this amazing event. Of course, our team name was the Real Housewives of Harrisonburg. We already called ourselves that so it was the obvious choice.

We sold delicious goodies while we were there and made over $200 in that night alone. Over all, we made $1950! I'm so glad that we passed our goal and were able to help fund research for better cancer treatments, help patients and families as they fight, and help to make more birthdays.

There were soooo many people there! They said this was the biggest turnout they have had so far, which is great. Other groups sold yummy food too and we were more then happy to help them raise funds. My favorite was the fresh doughnuts. Mmmm....

We walked and hung out with the ladies and the babies.

The luminary ceremony was incredibly touching. Friends and families lite candles in honor and memory of those affected by cancer. Then bagpipes played "Amazing Grace" which reminded me of my grandparents and uncle. I looked over to my dad who was in tears. That was the kicker for me.

We stayed until about 3:30am but I wish we had stayed all night. I would love to do the Relay for Life again next year and now that we have some experience we'll be better prepared. And since the babies will be older next year it should definitely be easier. 

I know that you are totally stoked to help the cause. You can put together your own Relay team at the Relay for Life website or you can donate to our team next year. Together we can kick cancer's ass.

Why I Relay

You may have already heard from my sister, Jessica over at Heart on Homestead, we are participating in this year's Relay for Life.

The Relay for Life is held by the American Cancer Society and raises money to help find cures, better treatment, and help those currently affected by cancer in many different ways. Cancer has touched our family and friends and is a horrible thing to face. The Relay was mentioned in one of our many get-togethers with the RHH and we decided to go for it.

We all have our own reason why we Relay. This is mine:

I Relay because my grandfather was a great man. He was the keystone of our family and I wish so much that he was here to meet my daughter. He had throat cancer, which he fought and beat. Then he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He fought that and had surgery to remove part of his lung. When he was re-diagnosed years later he didn't want to fight anymore. He decided he just wanted to be home with his family and enjoy the time he had left with them. I saw him soon before he passed away and he was in pain, couldn't eat more than a couple bites of food at a time, and was just a portion of the man I remembered. It hurt so much to see him like that. I knew when he passed that he was in a place where he could no longer suffer but he shouldn't have had to suffer like that. I feel like cancer stole him from our family.

I Relay because my Uncle George, Nicole at Pampers and Pumps' father, fought childhood cancer. He was able to beat it but the treatments were not what they are today and they gave him another list of problems. He was diagnosed with skin cancer and prostate cancer as an adult. Not only was he fighting these cancers he was dealing with fluid surrounding his heart and lungs. He had numerous procedures to help remove/lessen the fluid but it continued to return. There was a point where he needed a lung transplant to survive. Unfortunately, he could not receive the transplant at the time due to his prostate cancer diagnosis being so recent. I saw him work just to breathe. He lost a lot of weight and looked sick and tired. I hated seeing him like that. I am so glad that I  was able to visit him in the hospital the month before he passed. My uncle never got to meet my daughter, which really upsets me, but he knew that she was born and that we were doing well. Quorra attended his funeral at only a couple weeks old. My cousin's sons will never know their grandfather. Cancer and side effects from the treatments are why all the babies will never get to meet my amazing Uncle George.

I Relay because my friends have lost family members to cancer. Because my friends have parents who have spent years fighting cancer. Because my husband has lost family members to cancer. I Relay for those who won't get to watch their kids grow up. For those who have lost spouses, parents, siblings, and best friends. For those who have taken care of a family member or friend that is fighting. I Relay because cancer sucks. I Relay to make more birthdays.

Ever dollar helps find cures and better treatments. Please consider donating to our team. Even just $5. Remember that donations are tax deductible, so you can get the money back.

Help us make more birthdays.

Visit my personal Relay for Life page to make a donation. You can donate there or you can click on my team's page and donate toward the team's goal.

How has cancer affected you? Why do you Relay?

Diaper Rash Woes

I'm so sad that my little one has had diaper rash for the past week or so. She never got diaper rash before she starting eating solids and now she gets it every couple weeks. This current go around is a bit harder for me to kick. Her other rashes went away after a few days. This one is sticking around much too long.

I am always pretty neurotic about changing Quorra's diapers often. Once I notice that she has pooped or peed she gets changed. Then I dry her bottom with a cloth diaper before putting her disposable diaper on. I give her no-diaper time after her bath too. This process was great for preventing diaper rash for the first six months of her life. Once Quorra started eating solids, though, I couldn't keep them away. I watch what foods she eats to see if a certain one or type of food causes it and I haven't found any correlation.

I thought maybe it's the wipes... Maybe it's the diapers... Maybe it's the person who took care of her that day... I can't figure it out.

Quorra's poor little bottom is all red, raw, and now peeling a tiny bit. I feel so bad for her. I can tell it's painful since she fusses when I wipe her (which I don't do unless I have to). Petroleum jelly hasn't helped. Desatin hasn't  helped. Burt's Bees Diaper Ointment hasn't helped. I have now turned to A&D Ointment.

Wish me luck. If you all have any suggestions I would love to hear them. If the ointment doesn't help my next step is to put breastmilk on her bottom. Sounds weird, I know, but I have heard that breastmilk does wonders.

Have you moms have had a diaper rash that just wouldn't go away? What helped?

Babies, Babies Everywhere!

Sorry I have been absent lately. I am learning that it was actually easier to take care of Quorra when she was a newborn. She is now 7 months old (cue tears) and requires constant attention. She is either eating, playing, or cuddling. I get no down time. She went from sleeping practically all the time that she wasn't nursing to taking one 45 minute (if I'm lucky) nap in the evening. On the weekends when I get to spend the whole day with her she still only takes a few naps throughout the entire day and they are all shorter than an hour. She needs to be entertained all the time. Like, now. She is yelling at me from her bouncer because she is now bored with it.

I love playing with her though. She laughs and giggles and squeals. She is amazing and is learning all the time. I wish that I could look at things with the same amazement that she does. As Quorra is getting older she is much more persistent with her need for mommy-cuddles. She is definitely a mommy-baby. It's fine with me because I love to have her with me and, even though it makes it tough to do anything else, I'll stop what I'm doing anytime to hold her. My family has noticed that she wants to always be with mommy and has made comments about her  learning to be okay with separation. Really, when I am gone she is fine. She wants me when she knows I am there. While it might get on some people's nerves I am truly okay with it. Okay.... I'll be honest. I love it. I love knowing that all Quorra wants is me.

On another note, I have another nephew as of today!! My brother Chris has a new son! His fiancee, Kendalle, gave birth to a 7 lb 13.8 oz little boy today at 6:45pm. His name is Benjamin Nunes (Nunes is a family name) and he is adorable.

Both parents and Benjamin are doing great but are very tired. I got to see them for a few minutes today but was sure not to stay long. I know that after giving birth all you want to do is sleep for a couple minutes and spend time getting to know your baby. I'll see them again tomorrow, I'm sure. 

If you couldn't tell yet, our family is pretty good at making the babies. Benjamin is the fifth in the past 12 months. And my second cousin is expecting her first baby in September. The family reunion this year is going to be chock full of babies. I can't wait to get them all together! 

I am so excited that I got to meet the new member of the family. I am nervous for the young parents but they have the best support system in the world. 

Nom Nom

My loverly sister’s mother-in-law got me a Baby Bullet for my baby shower gift. She got the word from Jessica that I was planning to make my own baby food and wanted the magical Baby Bullet. Good job, Lela! I love it!

We planned to wait until Quorra was six months old to start her on solids. I did my research on starting babies on solids and the best thing for their little baby guts is to wait until they are six months or 15 pounds. Since Quorra is a little bean and not yet 15 pounds we went with the six month milestone. About a week before her half birthday we started her on “real food.”

I took out my handy-dandy Baby Bullet and got to work. The cook book that comes with the Baby Bullet was very helpful. Not necessarily because of the recipes, but because it gives you information on what to give babies when and how often. I’ll go through the best way to transition to solids a little later. First I’ll tell you how I made my baby food.

I took ½ cup of brown rice and milled it to a powder. Then I mixed the rice powder with 4 cups of water and brought it to a boil. Once it boiled I turned it to low, cover, and cooked it for 20 minutes. Once it was done I let it cool and put it into my little baby food containers and freezer tray. The recipe actually made more then would fit into the containers and tray so some of it went into a Pyrex container in the freezer.

Cooking the rice cereal

On to the bananas! I took a banana, peeled it, put it in the blender cup with some water, and blended it. TA-DA! Banana baby food. The second time I made it I didn’t add the water. The blended bananas alone are liquid-y enough.

Banana puree in the freezer tray

Quorra did pretty good with the food, considering all she had tasted to that point was boob milk. Honestly, after a couple rounds of making baby food I don’t know why people buy the stuff. It’s super easy and sooo much cheaper. A half cup of brown rice makes 16 or so servings. One banana makes about 4 servings, depending on the size (that’s what she said). And by “serving” I mean a full container of food. Quorra is only eating ¼ - ½ of a container per meal right now. So I made her a lot of food for PENNIES. Seriously, go buy a Baby Bullet and make your own baby food. Right now.

Happy little containers of delicious homemade baby food

My next step is to buy an electric steamer. This way when I start giving her food that I need to steam first I can do it in the electric steamer and just let it do its own thing instead of watching it on the stove.

Okay, so now I will tell you the process to moving from boob to food. Of course, all babies and mommies are different so don’t take this as me saying this is the “right” way. This is just the way I’m doing it as a result of suggestions from my pediatrician, my research results, and how it works for me and Quorra. I waited until my little bean was six months old and then started given her one meal of food a day. We give it to her between 7am and noon and she gets ¼ - ½ of a container of food and then some boob.

Nom

We started her on rice cereal and bananas since they were both more bland tastes. We are giving her about a week before we try new foods. This helps her tummy and taste buds get used to the food before we move her on to a new food. It also is a way to look for allergies. Our pediatrician recommended one food per week but we did two. (She knows, it’s cool.) After a couple weeks of her having one meal a day we are going to move to two meals a day. Our next food will probably be either apples or pears.

Then we are going to gradually (over months) add more meals of baby food. She will still get plenty of breast milk and will end baby food meals with more boob. As she gets older she’ll also get to try thicker consistencies of food and more mixtures. My plan is to supplement with breast milk until she is a year old. This is my goal for now. We are going to play it by ear as we go through moving to food. I can’t see myself breast feeding until she is two but who knows. Never say never. And if she decides before she is a year old that she is good with only food then we will stop nursing. She seems to love nursing as much as I do so I have a feeling that that won’t happen. As she gets teeth we will move to finger foods.

I want to make her as much of her food as I can. I’m sure there will be a time when I get lazy and buy food but I know it is healthier for her to have homemade food. This way I know what is in her food. Plus, it won’t have any weird chemical or preservatives in it. Her bananas were brown within a couple hours. What do they do to the jarred bananas to keep them from browning? My ingredients for banana baby food: bananas. Rice cereal ingredients: brown rice and water.

I will give you all updates as we go along with the move to solids. Who knows what Quorra or I will decide works best but at least I have a plan laid out. I’m a planner, remember? I need one. I am comfortable knowing that we might vary from the plan. That’s just how it goes with a baby. 

Wuz Appaningggg

If you didn’t know, the title of this post is a reference to Born in East LA. If you haven’t seen Born in East LA you should watch it. It’s funny.

So an update to what has been “appening” is that I finally got to meet George! Also, some new tattoos have made their debut!

Last weekend my cousin Kristin came down from Pennsylvania to hang out with us for a bit before her maternity leave was over. She was getting a little stir crazy in the house so she came down to Virginia with little George. I’m super duper glad she came down! I really was looking forward to meeting George and he is adorable. He’s just a little string bean and oh so handsome. He looks so much like his late grandfather (his namesake) that it is pretty unbelievable.

Hi George!

Kristin rode down with my aunts on Friday and we went to my in-laws restaurant, Mamma Mias, for dinner. That is becoming our regular routine when the cousins come to visit us. Then Kristin, Jessica, and I spent Saturday hanging around with the three adorable babies. Sunday I took Miss Quorra to church and then we spent the day with the family. That night us girls went out to dinner with the fabulous RHH.

Be jealous. We hoard cuteness.

Also, Romeo and I got new tattoos!! When I was pregnant I told Romeo that I would like to get a tattoo of our new baby girl’s birth date. After I knew for sure what I wanted to get and felt back to normal, post birth, I asked Romeo if he would be interested in getting a tattoo as well. It would be his first so I was surprised how excited he was at the idea.

So we went to the tattoo parlor and made our appointments. My tattoo was done a few days before Romeo’s and he got even more excited after he saw mine. I ended up getting Quorra’s name along with her birth date. I feel like to matter what happens in life, she will always be my daughter. Through thick and thin, arguments and cuddles, I am her mommy and she is my baby. I LOVE the way my tattoo ended up! I told the artist that I wanted it to be simple, feminine, and for it to fit my body well. I think he did exactly that. It is hard for me to photograph myself because of where it is. I bends when I move so it tends to look curved. I promise it is straight in person.

Love it!

Romeo got a version of a sacred heart with Quorra’s name in a banner. It looks amazing! I’m so glad that he decided to go for it and get the tattoo. He loves it too and I am looking forward to our portrait session with Quorra so we can get pictures of her with our two tattoos.

Love his too!

 I already have another tattoo in the works. No details for you now, but it will be a bonding tattoo for the Fierce Foursome of us cousins. I can’t wait to go get it.

 

Our First Days as Parents

I gave birth to Quorra on a Tuesday and they sent us home by Thursday afternoon. Things went pretty well in the hospital. We had a couple moments that worried me, as a new mom, but nothing too concerning.

Quorra has always been a tiny little bean. I gave birth at exactly 39 weeks pregnant so she was no preemie but she was little. She was only 6 pounds and 9 ounces at birth. Since we did so well nursing she only lost 2 ounces in the hospital and was back up to her birth weight by her 1 week check up. She has some minor issues due to her size though.

At one point they told us that they were taking Quorra to the nursery so that the pediatrician could do their check up and get her her first vaccinations. They told me this would take about an hour. I took a nap and woke up an hour later and they hadn’t brought Quorra back yet. I waited a bit longer and after another half an hour the pediatrician came in and told me that she had recently finished her check up and that Quorra was jaundice. I knew what this was, due to my extensive research in all things baby. They told me that she would need some sunlight and would need to eat every couple hours. I would need to wake her up if she was sleeping to make sure that she ate regularly.

Jaundice is from having too much bilirubin in the blood. When babies are in the womb the red blood cells that are breaking down naturally are not filtered out all the way since their livers are still immature. This causes the baby’s skin to look yellow and generally will start at the face and go down their body. The further it goes down their body the more bilirubin is in the blood. Sunlight helps break down the bilirubin so that the baby’s liver can process it easier. The more the baby eats, the more will go through their liver, and this helps move out the bilirubin.

The fact that Quorra had a health issue definitely worried me but the doctor assured me that her levels weren’t extremely high and that jaundice was very common and generally goes away on its own.

So I expected that they would bring Quorra in soon. After another hour I got anxious. Where is my baby?!? I paged the nurse and asked why they hadn’t brought her back yet. She went and checked and when she came back she told me that Quorra’s temperature was low so they had put her under a heater. They said since she was little she had a harder time regulating her body temperature. Another hour passed and they finally brought Quorra back into our room. I kept her warm by stripping her down to her diaper and putting her skin-to-skin on my chest. The next time the nurses checked her temperature they told me I was a great incubator. Yay me!

We were a little worried that Kahu would not be happy about playing second fiddle to the new member of the family. When we got home he was pretty interested in the little person we brought with us but he learned quickly that he had to be gentle. Now he is amazing with Quorra. He has been her protector since he met her. Quorra is his little sister and he always checks out people that come in to visit to make sure they aren’t hurting her. If she cries and we can’t get to her right away he’ll go check on her. I couldn’t have asked for a better big brother for Quorra.

On Friday we had a follow up with the doctor for Quorra’s jaundice. He said that she was still yellow and he wanted to have her bilirubin levels checked. So we went to the hospital and they took a little blood from her heel and checked her levels. They told us that her bilirubin levels were getting better so just keep up the sunshine and regular feedings. The pediatrician told us to come back if she got any more yellow. She gradually lost her yellow tinge and at her one week check-up we were told that her jaundice was much better. We haven’t had any problems since and she has been jaundice free.

Quorra gained weight well. She went from being in the 10^th percentile (being smaller than 90% of babies her age) to now being in the 50^th percentile (being smaller than 50% of babies her age). We kept her warm by keeping the house around 73 degrees at all times and putting her in long sleeves, pants, and socks. She slept in fleece pajamas most of the time and just now is wearing cotton to bed, since the temperature is getting higher. As she has gotten bigger she has gotten better at regulating her temperature.

We have been really lucky and Quorra usually has a pretty good attitude. Of course, there are times that she is grumpy or cries for no known reason. More often than not, though, she is happy and calm.

Romeo has been a great daddy. He gives baths, reads books, changes diapers, helps with house work, takes care of Kahu, and much much more. There are many times that I wonder if I could do all this without him. Honestly… probably not. I would focus on Quorra and the house and I would be a horrid mess. He keeps me operational in life. Romeo loves Quorra and she loves her daddy. I’m so thankful that he is such a great daddy.

I loved my time on maternity leave. I got to hang out all day with Quorra. I wish with all my heart that I could afford to be a stay at home mom. We just don’t have the ability to do that now. Maybe later in life I’ll be able to stay home with her but right now we need the income so hi-ho hi-ho it’s off to work I go.

I ugly cried the night before I went back to work. No lie, it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. We are lucky enough to have family members to babysit while I am working but it was still soooo tough. I am glad that I did go back part time for my first week back. It made the transition a little easier for everyone. I got more used to being back at work but I still miss my little munchkin every moment that I am away from her. My friends have mentioned going on vacations without her and I can’t imagine it. Maybe when she gets older I can do it but right now it hurts just thinking about it.

I cherish every day we are together. She has already grown so much and it is unbelievable. People tell you how quickly the baby stage flies by and I can’t stress how much that is true. But I look forward to seeing her learn, grow, and become a little lady.

Quorra – mommy loves you more then you could ever imagine. 

Mooo. I Make The Milk.

When I first thought about having a baby, years ago, I knew right away I wanted to breastfeed. Actually, it wasn’t more of a choice then an assumption. That’s how you feed babies, isn’t it? That’s why women have boobs, right? It has always seemed like that is just what you do. When I got to the point that I started planning on getting pregnant I looked into breastfeeding a bit more. We also discussed it during our Centering Pregnancy meetings. I learned that breastfeeding is the best thing that you can do for you and your baby. Breast milk has so many benefits compared to formula. Breast fed babies are generally healthier then formula fed babies. They build more immunity and are less likely to be overweight. You also get a wonderful bond with your baby through breastfeeding. Plus, breastfeeding is completely natural. The milk is specially made for your baby the way they need it, when they need it, as much as they need. It is always the perfect temperature, is always available, and it’s FREE.

While most women are able to breastfeed I knew that there was the chance of complications. I hoped that I would be able to breastfeed without problems. I made a goal for myself, which was to never use formula. I would try as hard as I could to breastfeed and use only breast milk. I have nothing against women who use formula. It’s just not what I wanted for Quorra and me.

I made a plan, based on information I got from my midwife, nurses, Centering Pregnancy group, baby books, baby magazines, and the internet. I also read The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. It is a pretty dry read but I wanted the information, without personal opinions. My plan was to not use any artificial nipples (including pacifiers) in the hospital so we could get used to nursing. I also wanted to wait as long as possible to give Quorra a bottle so we would have plenty of time for both of us to get into a nursing groove. I wanted to try to breastfeed as soon as she was born to help us bond and get a good start to the nursing process.

When Quorra was born we did try breastfeeding right away. She latched on well but didn’t suck. After about 5 or 10 minutes of trying we decided that she was just too tired to nurse just yet. We tried again after a couple hours and she still did not want to suck. I was starting to get discouraged. I wanted so bad to breastfeed and I was making lots of colostrum so I knew there was stuff in there for her. The nurses assured me that she was just tired from the long labor. So I tried after about another hour and, again, she latched well but gave up sucking really quickly. I had learned a few different nursing positions and so I tried the side-lying position. She finally started sucking. This position uses gravity to your benefit and makes it easier for the baby to get the milk out. Apparently Quorra was just so little and exhausted that it was too much work for her to suck the colostrum out. After our first successful nursing she didn’t have to work too hard. The colostrum basically just dripped out and she just lapped it up.

After the pediatrician checked Quorra out they said that they knew she was eating well since she was spitting up colostrum. The lactation consultant told me that I was doing a good job so that made me feel pretty accomplished.

We went home and breastfeeding went really well. Quorra latched and sucked well and my milk came in after one day home. I had very little pain, a little chapping and lanolin helped that. Quorra seemed to prefer one breast over the other and would fight the one a bit. This was a bit painful but I was determined so I made her use both for the same amount of time. It took a couple weeks but she got used to both breasts and all went well.

Milk coma

I started pumping my first week home since my breasts were so full. I pumped about every other day while I was home on maternity leave so I built up a pretty good supply of milk in the freezer. I waited until a couple weeks before I went back to work to give Quorra a bottle, since I loved nursing so much. I craved the bonding time and didn’t want her to start preferring the ease of a bottle. The pediatrician told me that I really had to introduce her to the bottle in case she had problems using it. My husband gave Quorra her first bottle and she had no problems with it. She ate quickly and hungrily. She also went back to the breast with no problem so my fears were calmed.

 My current milk supply. A shelf and a half full. Oh yeah.

I took off eleven weeks from work and went back part time for the twelfth week before going back full time. I pump three times a day during an eight hour work day and usually have enough pumped to feed Quorra the next day and freeze some. I am a milk making machine. My dad said I was like a dairy cow. Moo, y’all. Moo.

I feel very lucky to have had so much ease with breastfeeding. I think breastfeeding has gone so well as a combination of good milk-making genes, luck, and hard work. Quorra will be six months old in a couple weeks and breastfeeding is still going great. She has not had any formula so I’m pretty sure I’ll make my no-formula goal. I have been very determined and have not once given her a bottle myself. Every time she has had one it has been by another person. My husband gave her a couple while I pumped to get her used to them. Since then she has never had a bottle while I have been with her. To keep a good milk supply I always nurse Quorra when I am with her, even when I am out and about. Yes, I am a public breastfeeder. Deal with it. I’m going to feed my child. I keep myself covered and I don’t care if it makes you uncomfortable. Okay, rant over. I never bring a bottle or pumped milk with me when I leave the house so I don’t have the temptation to give her a bottle. I don’t keep any formula in the house, even though I wouldn’t use it even if it was here. That is mostly so that babysitters don’t use it. I have a huge supply of pumped breast milk. It’s not needed.

Formula companies send free formula samples and a lot of them. Between all the samples sent to us we had at least three large tubs of formula and small samples at one point. I sent a couple packages of formula to my cousin, who had some milk supply issues and supplemented with formula. The rest of the free formula was sent to our local food bank. Just because I didn’t need it didn’t mean that there wasn’t someone else that needed it and couldn’t afford it.

Okay! Back on track… Anyway…If I’m with Quorra I will nurse her. No bottle. Ever. If it is a time that she is eating and the person watching her is giving her a bottle of pumped milk I make sure to be pumping more. The way boobs work is simple. They make as much milk as they need to. Take more out and they will make more, take less out and they will make less. So I make sure to always extract milk when Quorra is being given a bottle. I honestly think that this is the biggest reason that nursing has gone so well for us. The pumping can be a pain in the ass but I know breast milk is the best thing for my daughter and I will deal with the pumping to give it to her.

If you are having a baby soon and wonder if you will be able to breastfeed just keep at it and don’t give up too soon. I know some people have complications and are not able to make enough milk to feed their baby. But if you work hard and your body responds, keep it up. Don’t get lazy or try to take shortcuts. Get up in the middle of the night (numerous times) to nurse and breastfeed when you are out of the house. I know every mom has their own preferences but these are just my suggestions for those who want the same outcome as I did.

We are waiting until Quorra is six months old to start solids, which my research has shown to be better for baby. Right now we are still exclusively breastfeeding and loving it. I plan to make my own baby food when we start solids so check back to see how that goes. 

Milk coma again

My Birth Story

As a precaution, this really is a story about birth. The birth of my first daughter. It’s not very censored so if you are easily grossed out maybe don’t read. Also, this was the most significant day of my life so this is a long story. Sorry.

My alarm goes off at 6:30am for work and I get up to turn it off and my water breaks. So here I am standing in my bedroom with stuff dripping down my legs…. Romeo was still sleeping so I woke him up and told him that I thought my water had broken. He said “okay, let me know…” and fell back asleep. We both sleep pretty hard so this is an expected reaction. I went to the bathroom and leaked even more. Now I was about 90% certain my water had broken. Don’t judge me for having doubt… after you are pregnant for that long it seems unreal when it is finally time for birth. I woke Romeo up again and told him that I was pretty sure my water had broken. He said “okay, do you need to call the hospital?” I told him that I was going to take a shower first and then I’d call.

I wasn’t having any contractions so I decided to just relax and take my time getting ready to go to the hospital. My midwife had told me that in cases like mine where your water breaks and you have no contractions that you have a few hours before you have to be at the hospital, so I was in no rush.

While I took a shower I decided 100% that my water had broken. I was like a faucet. A faucet of gross, slimy, baby fluid. It took me a while to get dressed since I thought it pointless to put on pants while I was leaking all over the place. Finally I decided to put on a dress and put a giant maxi pad in my undies to catch the remaining grossness. Romeo was still in bed so I told him that he needed to get ready so we could go to the hospital. This statement put a bit of fire under his ass and he got showered and ready to go.

We got to the hospital around 10am and told them that my water had broken. They got us up to a room and got me set up in the bed and told me that they were going to test me to see if my water did, in fact, break. I told them that I knew it did but they wanted to do the test anyway. This test consists of putting a strip of some special paper on your hoo-ha and if it turns a certain color then your water has broken. The nurse did the test and it didn’t come up positive. I insisted that my water had broken. The nurse said they would do a swab test but that it could have been discharge or urine. I’m not stupid. I wouldn’t have come to the hospital for discharge or pee…. So they stick a giant q-tip up there and take it away for their test. About 15 minutes later my midwife walked in and said that my water was, in fact, broken. I know. I told you all that. You didn’t believe me and had to do tests.

I still didn’t have any contractions so they sent me walking around the hospital. They told me that if I still wasn’t progressing by 1pm that they would give me pitocin. So I walked and walked and walked and walked. I had to convince Romeo to get some lunch. He was very dedicated and didn’t want to eat if I couldn’t (did I mention that you can’t eat anything other than popsicles while in labor? Horrible) but there was no reason he had to be hungry. Plus, I didn’t want any chance of him passing out. The midwife checked me again at 1pm and decided that I needed pitocin. I was told that I was “way too happy to be in labor.” Whoops. My bad. Didn’t know I was supposed to be a bitch.

So the IV was put in and pitocin was started. And I was sent walking again. The problem was that now that I was all hooked up I couldn’t leave the maternity ward. So I walked in circles. Around and around and around and around and around. I have that place memorized. I finally started having regular contractions after a few minutes. As time went on (and as they upped and upped the pitocin) my contractions got stronger and stronger. They wanted me to keep walking for at least an hour. This whole time I was starving. The nurse in my Centering Pregnancy group told me that if I was hungry then I wasn’t in real labor. Let me tell you friends, this is a lie. I was hungry the whole time.

Finally I had to ask them if I could sit down. Not only were my contractions getting intense but I had been walking practically nonstop since 10am. I’m pretty sure I would have been tired at that point even without the contractions and being 9 months pregnant. This was about 4pm. I rocked in the rocking chair and that helped with the contractions and keeping my mind occupied. And I rocked and rocked and rocked and rocked. The pain started getting to me and I had them give me IV pain medication twice. When they first shoot it in there it is amazing. It helped me rest and relax a little. But the first dose only helped for about half an hour and you can only have one dose per hour. The second dose only helped for about 15 minutes. I didn’t get any more after that since it would help for less time with each additional dose.

Around 6pm I asked them if I could get an epidural. I had contraction in my back and legs and the ones in my legs got to me. I couldn't handle lying in bed with them cramping like that. They checked my dilation and I was at 4cm so they let me go ahead and get it. By the time the anesthesiologist got there I was hurting A LOT. They checked me again and I was around 7cm so they proceeded. He put in the epidural and asked me how I felt. I said there was no change. So he pulled it out and put it back in. Yeah. That was fun. I loved when you put the needle in my back. Go ahead and do it again. This time it helped the cramps in one leg and that was it. So they put in a booster and it helped with the other leg. I still had pain, pressure, and cramping in the rest of my body but the anesthesiologist had no other suggestions and I was left to fend for myself. Apparently the epidural just didn’t work on my body the way it was supposed to. Even the midwife told me (numerous times) that I labored like a woman who never got an epidural.

Then they checked my dilation and I was over 9cm. The midwife said that I should be ready to push within a few contractions and she was right. After just a couple contractions I said I wanted to push. She told me to wait, checked me and I was at 10cm so I was ready to go. I started pushing and pushed and pushed and pushed. We did a few different positions, some helpful, some not so helpful.

After 4 hours of pushing the midwife told me that I was this close to having her out of there and she thought if she did an episiotomy that she would be out within a few pushes. YES. Go for it. I was completely and utterly exhausted at this point. Seriously… I hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before, I had walked for hours, I had pushed for 4 hours, was dealing with being 9 months pregnant, and I was in pain. I was nodding off (in spite of the pain) in between pushes. So when she gave me this option I was more than on board. Before this point I was more than afraid of having my vagina cut and sewed back together. But now it seemed like the best idea ever.

She did give me some local anesthesia so I wouldn’t feel the episiotomy and when they realized that I could more than feel the needles they knew that my epidural had done pretty much nothing. If you aren’t aware, you shouldn’t feel a needle being stuck into your lady-ness if you have had an epidural. Anyway… So she cut me and I pushed and she told me the head was coming out. I pushed again and she said the head was all the way out and to wait a moment before pushing so she could clear the baby’s nose and mouth. She told me to push just a little and I did and felt the biggest relief of pressure you could ever imagine and there was my baby.

I couldn’t believe that she was finally out in the world. The midwife laid her on my chest and I was in love. It’s a wave of emotion that I had never gotten close to feeling before. Romeo and I both kissed her and knew our lives would never be the same. Everything now rotated around this tiny little lady.

Through this entire ordeal Romeo was the best labor partner I could have wished for. He was extremely supportive and did everything and anything he could to help. He rubbed my back, held my hand, let me use his arm as a brace when pushing, and so much more. Not once did he get upset or snap at me no matter how I acted toward him.

After we got to hold our little girl for a moment we knew the name we wanted to go with. Quorra Noelle. Then I worked on breastfeeding. She latched like a pro but was just as tired as I was so she didn’t do any sucking. We worked on it for a few minutes before deciding that she was going to do anything else right then. Romeo was able to take some pictures of her as the nurses took her to go get cleaned up, weighed, measured, and whatnot. Quorra weight 6lb 9oz and was 18½in long. She was perfect and beautiful.

I wasn’t done with the birthing process just yet. I had to push out the placenta. I didn’t really have any more contractions and pushed just a couple times and the midwife pulled it out by the umbilical cord. No, I didn’t look. Gross. Then she sewed me up and cleaned me up. She also took out the catheter, which I hadn’t even known she put in. Yeah… birth is not pretty. It’s a good thing an amazing little person comes out of it all. Otherwise no one would do it. Ever. The nurse helped me up and took me to the bathroom. She showed me how to squirt my goodies with the squirt bottle and what to expect and how to take care of my poor, swollen, stitched-up lady parts. They got my bed cleaned up and laid me back down and Romeo came over with Quorra.

We hung out for a couple minutes to calm down and get acclimated and told the nurses to send in the family members and friends. Everyone was ecstatic to meet the new member of the family. Quorra stole each one of their hearts.

Quorra was a lot of work but she is definitely worth it. I can’t imagine my life without this little girl. She is my heart and soul. She is an amazing gift from God and I adore every moment with her.

 Quorra on her daddy's chest

Super adorable, right??

PS - don't steal pictures of my daughter

Welcome Noah and George!

I have been pretty busy lately. Not only did I have my normal new-mom-busyness, I also had the privilege of meeting the newest member of our family. Noah Porter has finally arrived!

PS - These are personal pictures. Don't touch. Don't Steal.

My sister, Jessica, was 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant when her water finally broke. She was more than ready to meet her little boy. After hours and hours and hours of waiting for her dilation to progress, her doctor decided that it would be in her and little Noah’s best interest to proceed with a c-section. Check out Jessica’s full birth story on her blog.

I have to be honest with you all and let you know that if I had been in Jessica’s situation I would have freaked. One of my biggest fears with childbirth was a c-section. I may have had a long labor (don’t worry! My birth story is coming soon!) but I was able to have my little girl vaginally. If the doctor came up to me and told me that they wanted me to have a c-section I would have broken down. I know that it would be the best thing to do for the little one’s health (and the mommy’s) but I would have been emotionally defeated.

So I have to give Jess all the props in the world. She handled it like a champ and is healing nicely. Not to mention that she has a super handsome little boy out of it all! 

I am the proudest aunt ever and can’t wait to spoil Noah rotten! Welcome to the family little man! You have the best mommy and daddy a boy could ask for. Not to mention your super great aunt.

I love him!

Not only did Noah join our family, but last month we also got to welcome George Edward! (Did I mention this was our family’s Year of Babies??) My cousin, Kristin, gave birth to her first son, George Edward.

She was induced at 37 weeks due to some concerns with her blood pressure. She took a long time to dilate but only pushed for 45 minutes and little George came into the world. He is a tiny guy but so adorable. Kristin named him after her late father, my uncle, who passed away this past fall due to complications from cancer and cancer treatments. George’s middle name is his father’s middle name.

I haven’t gotten to meet George yet but hopefully we will be able to get our Fierce Foursome together soon and I will smother him with kisses!

I love him too!!

I love both these ladies so much and they are going to be great mommies. Wait… they already are great mommies! I am so happy to have them join us in the world of new moms. Now they understand a bit more when we discuss poop, vomit, lack of sleep, and how we wouldn't trade any of it for the world.