Sewing Room Complete!

My new office/ sewing/ craft room!

I finally finished my project of converting what used to be our dining room (we never use that room anyway) into my sewing room!

The Dining Room (On Christmas - the only time we use it) before it became my sewing room.

 Now I have a permanent home for my sewing machine as well as storage for all of my craft/ scrapbook/ embroidery stuff.  It's like my own little girly office, and I love it!

There is storage/ baskets on both sides of this table

Of course, no blog post would be complete without a few pictures of my little munchkin.  Here is Jack the last few days...

My Little Cowboy on Go Texan day.  I love to kiss that face!

My Little Cowboy trying to escape our photo session on the couch.

Happy at meal time!

This has become his new signature facial expression.  It's a happy face.

A boy and his dog!

Did I mention I love to kiss this face?  I would guess at least 100 kisses a day.

Chubby cheeks and drool, is there anything sweeter in life?

I love a good deal!

Every mom knows, babies grow FAST and the window of time when they are able to wear any given size of clothing is small.  The logical thing for us parents to do would be to only buy a few items in each size so that the baby gets plenty of opportunities to wear each garment and you know you "got your money's worth."  But who says parenting involves logic?!  Baby clothes are so darn cute.  It is nearly impossible to resist all the adorable little outfits and accessories available.  When I was a little girl, I loved to dress up my baby dolls, nothing has changed.  I LOVE to dress my baby.  Major difference, my baby dolls never outgrew their clothes.  My baby does!  If it looks cute on the hanger it looks even cuter on Jack...I wish I could say that about my own clothes!  So the end result is a lot of money spent on a closet full of cute clothes, many of which he will only get to wear once or twice (or never at all - I have already packed away a few 0-3 month outfits that he never wore.)  However, today I discovered one way to make this whole issue a little easier to deal with...the resale shop.  My mom and I stopped in to Once Upon a Child (FM 529 & Barker Cypress - right next to LCHS - go Lobos!) and I got some great deals!  The clothes are nice and cute and obviously (big surprise) hardly worn!  And the prices are great!

Baby's First St. Patty's Day outfit = $3.50

3 Ralph Lauren Polos and matching Ralph Lauren shorts, gotta love that preppy baby look!

Cute for spring!

Super soft romper!

Grand total for all items purchased (5 shirts, 3 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of pants and 1 romper) = $46.27

I love a good deal!! 

5 Months Old is fun!

Month 5 is proving to be exceptionally fun for Jack and I.  He is really starting to show his personality, and I gotta say I love it!  I remember when Jack was just a newborn, my OB, who is a mom to two little ones herself, told me she thought 5 months was her favorite baby age.  I must say there is some truth to that, 5 months old is fun!  Little Jack sleeps all night (mostly) and parties ALL day, isn't that the way it's supposed to be?  It seems like every day he discovers something new (I think he finally noticed our dogs - and he thinks they are pretty funny!)

Always a smile

Everything is exciting in his world, and that is very exciting for Mommy and Daddy too.  When I put him in the jumperoo he bounces so hard I'm afraid the springs are gonna pop right off.

When I lay him on the floor to play he squeaks and squeals and loves the sound of his own voice.  When we are out running errands he smiles at everyone that looks at him and I know that brightens their day!

I don't know who has more fun with meal time, me or Jack.  I love making his food and LOVES to eat it.

"Feed Me Mama!"

Yummy prunes!

Once a week we go to music class, and he loves to watch the other babies and listen to the music, and of course play with the instruments!

Learning the drums with Nanny

Tummy time in music class

Playing with Mommy

Such a little man!

These babies know how to rock!

Probably the most fun for me and Ed are his reactions to us.  He always has a big smile for Mommy and Daddy!  There is truly nothing better in life than seeing your son's eyes light up when you walk in the room and hearing his sweet laughter.  We are so blessed!

Ed and I are having so much fun with our little munchkin, and time really does fly by when you are having fun.  All of a sudden I have an almost 6 month old.  Where is the time going?  I think I will put a brick on his bald little head so he will stop growing and stay 5 months old forever!

Photographing Babies 101

Our good friends, Rocky and Elizabeth Owens, welcomed their baby boy, Little Rocky last week.  Of course I am thrilled that Jack will have a life long playmate so close in age, and it will be so fun to watch our little boys grow up together!  We took Jack to meet his new BFF on Sunday, and lets just say...getting a good picture of two babies at the same time was tricky!  I don't think we got any perfectly posed photos, but we got a lot of funny out takes!

Nice pose Little Rock, not your best expression Jack...

At least we can see both faces, however Jack is now sporting a mid drift...

Hands over face/ hands in mouth

Showing some leg/ showing some belly!

One little red baby and one big white baby

Jack attempts to eat baby Rocky

Little Rocky is getting comfy, Jack is not so sure...

Uh-oh, he fell asleep on your arm, now you're stuck!

Congrats Owens family and welcome to the world Baby Rocky, we are so glad you are here! 

Skinny Baby Update: Mama's back in business!

One month since I was "diagnosed" with low milk supply, I am happy to report I am no longer operating in the red.  After spending the last few weeks nursing and pumping around the clock, my body seems to have gotten the message.  Jack is getting plenty to eat and is gaining weight nicely (he is up to 14lbs 8oz) and I even have a surplus of milk again (which I am of course stock piling in my freezer!)  Thanks to my original freezer supply of breast milk I never had to give him any formula either.  Best of all, he has started sleeping through the night again, thank God!!

The beginnings of my new freezer stash, I affectionately refer to it as "Liquid Gold"

To any moms who are planning to exclusively breast feed their babies, here is what I learned to help you avoid the low milk supply crisis:

1. Pump often after feedings and freeze the milk, you never know when you might need it
2. Be very careful if you decide to start taking birth control pills while you are nursing.  I started the progesterone only pills (that are supposed to be OK while breast feeding) when Jack was 3 months old and I noticed a considerable drop in milk supply by the time he was 4 months old.  I have also talked to other moms who had similar experiences with the progesterone only BCP. 
3. Try not to miss feedings, and either nurse or pump 6 times a day
4. If you haven't already spent the $300+ on an electric breast pump, don't...Rent a hospital grade pump.  They work SO much better!

Medela Symphony Hospital Grade Breast Pump

If you are a new mama who has already noticed a drop in your milk supply, here is what I did to get mine back (I have gone from pumping 1 oz at a time to pumping 5 oz at a time):

1. Make sure baby gets at least 6 to 8 feedings a day (this means middle of the night feeds) and pump after feedings as often as possible
2. Make sure baby is actually swallowing when he is nursing.  Renee, my lactation consultant, pointed out to me when Jack was swallowing and when he was just sucking.  He can spend a lot of time "nursing" and never swallow any milk!
3. Stop taking BCP
4. Consider hiring a lactation consultant to come to your house and observe you and your baby during your normal nursing routine.  I was surprised how many little things we needed to change.
5. By far the most helpful part of my plan, in my opinion, was the combination of supplements & medications I am taking.  I originally tried Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle, however I have found the most success with More Milk Plus (1 capsule 4X a day) and Domperidone (Motilium - 3 10mg pills 3X a day.)  I originally heard about Domperidone from my lactation consultant and after my own research I realized how common and effective it is in stimulating milk production.  Domperidone is an anti-nausea drug that, as a side effect, increases prolactin production by the pituitary gland. Prolactin is the hormone that stimulates the cells in the mother's breast to produce milk.  Unfortunately, domperidone is not approved by the FDA for this purpose, so any mom who wants it will have to contact a compounding pharmacy in the U.S. or order it from outside the U.S. (Canada etc) via an online pharmacy.  I was fortunate enough to be given some by a friend (Thank you Summer and Amy!), but when my current supply of domperidone runs out I will have to find another way to get it. 

My daily cocktail = Motilium and More Milk Plus

 Of course every mom and baby are different, and this post is based on my own personal experiences with "low milk production."  As with all aspects of parenthood, there are many lessons to be learned, this is just one of them.

5 Months Old

February 4, 2012, Sweet Jack is 5 months old!  Here is what is going on in Jack's world:
Height: 26 3/4"
Weight: 14lbs
What he's doing now: rolling over (back to tummy), eating cereal, picking up everything and putting in his mouth
Favorite toy: Sophie the Giraffe - we have renamed him Jerry
Favorite movie: Baby Genius Underwater Adventure
Favorite Song: "Trot Ol' Joe" - we learned this in music class
What makes him smile: Mommy and Daddy, looking in the mirror, going for rides in the stroller or the car

Road Trip!

This weekend we traveled to Fort Worth to watch my sister Katie's high school cheerleading competition.  We had a fun time watching the girls perform (reminded me of my high school drill team competition days!) and we also got to enjoy some family time at the Fort Worth Stockyards.  Jack did great traveling, but the amount of STUFF (i.e. baby clothes, diapers, wipes, bottles, breast pump and equipment, car seat, stroller, pack n' play, boppy, bouncer chair etc) we had to bring for our less than 48 hour trip was crazy.  I actually managed to pack everything Jack would need, but I forgot to bring shoes for myself (thankfully my sweet husband bought me some cute cowboy boots.)  We were also fortunate enough to meet up with some of my best friends from college for dinner Saturday night.  It is great how we only see each other once or twice a year but we always manage to pick up right where we left off!  Overall the trip was a success and a great change of scenery for a stay-at-home-mom!

Noise Canceling Headphones are a must for babies!

Cy-Ridge Cheerleaders

Kinda blurry but nice toe touch girls!

My beautiful sister Katie!!

Back home and ready for the Superbowl!

   

Rolling Over and Rice Cereal = Big Day for the Little Guy!

Jack had a pretty big day today.  He has successfully completed a handful of back to tummy rollovers (so far he has shown no interest in rolling tummy to back.)  Ed and I were right there by his side to cheer him on and of course document this exciting milestone with the camera!

Excited to showcase his new trick...

Here goes nothin'

The roll is underway

Sometimes he's not sure what to do with his arms...

Almost there

The flip is complete

Victory!

As if rolling over wasn't monumental enough, Jack also decided he was ready to eat cereal today.  A few weeks have passed now since my last (unsuccessful) attempt to feed him cereal so I thought I'd give it another try this morning while he was in a good mood.  Not only did he like it, he couldn't seem to get enough.  In a matter of minutes he seemed to pick up the skill of "open wide" and I couldn't shovel the food in there fast enough.

Happy boy made a happy plate!

   It's amazing to me how excited I get to watch my son grow and change and do simple things like roll over or eat cereal.  It's hard for me to believe that he will be 5 months old this Saturday.  Time is really flying by and watching him grow up is proving to be so fun and rewarding.  Little Jack, you make me smile everyday and I am so proud to be your mommy!