3/26/17

Fave Five

I haven't done one of these in so long! But lately there's been a few items I've been using constantly so I had to give some shout outs. Aaaaand pretty much everything on this list is food or clothes - ha. This is brought to you by the excitement of finally NOT having a huge belly and the Constant. Hunger. that is nursing. Yay! (They say you're burning up to like 400 calories a day breastfeeding so hopefully it makes up for eating every 20 minutes? ;) )

1. ASOS Striped PJs Set  (here) 
How fun are these?? I ordered these for myself a few months ago anticipating many stay-at-home days with the kids. It's great for my postpartum body type since the pants are fitted and the shirt is slightly cropped and looser (because currently anything tight up top exudes a really fabulous hooker look). And they're cute enough that when people visit I don't have to go run and change! 

2. Cashew Clusters
Leave it to Costco (and Trader Joe's) to make the most addicting packaged snacks. These Cashew Clusters are bomb, and make me feel slightly better than grabbing Cadbury eggs all day. Though I really doubt they're too much healthier - they taste too good ;). But hey, nuts! 

3. COZYS blankets  (here)
I've been eyeing these amazingly comfy blankets for a while, and then in the last few weeks we've received three as baby gifts! Two for Cannon and a gorgeous floral one for Lydia. They truly are the softest! And they are suuuuper stretchy, making them the perfect baby swaddles - Cannon can't budge when he's in these! I'm so in love.

4. Outdoor Voices Cool Down Kit  (here)
All my sisters, my mom, and even my husband have been obsessed with Outdoor Voices clothing for about a year now. Seriously every time they're at home they are wearing these pants and/or this sweatshirt. I put off buying any because of pregnancy, and then last week my mom surprised me with the set! So now I feel like a part of the family :). And they really do live up to the hype - the stretchiest, softest material and flattering on everyone! Can you tell I'm all about comfort these days? Haha.

5. The Tonight Dough 
Again, I'm about two years behind, but some blessed neighbor brought this over for us and I'm dead. Literally the perfect ice cream combo.

Bonus Favorite: Madewell Button-Ups  (here) 
Thank you Madewell for creating the dream postpartum wardrobe essential. Loose yet stylish shirts! I feel like for years button-ups were synonymous with fitted checkered blouses that we tucked all the way in to show off our belts. I'm so happy about this flowy oversized shirt trend! Again, works well with my current apple body type. And nursing friendly! I have a handful of these in constant rotation these days. 


So there are a few things I've been loving as of late! Besides the not-as-photographic binkies and diaper creams and burp cloths of course ;).

3/23/17

Answers

Sorry for being all Debbie Downer in that last post. I really was at my wit's end and thought I was going to go crazy from the lack of sleep and stress of a baby who wouldn't eat. I broke down in tears at least a few times every day, and felt so alone since I only see Michael for an hour or so every day.

(This is my "trying to smile but really I'm drained" face from three days ago ^^^.)

But things are so much better now!!!! I am so grateful for my awesome doctor who totally helped us solve some issues. So in case anyone is struggling with similar symptoms (see my last two posts), here's what's been working: 

For starters, Cannon has reflux. He was arching his back in pain a few minutes into eating, I could see the milk coming back up and into his mouth and then see him re-swallow it (poor guy!). So we were prescribed Zantac for that. 

Secondly and most interestingly, my milk letdown is apparently massive, ha! So Cannon would be gulping so quickly and so much to try and get it all that he'd end up drowning a bit and unlatching so he could catch his breath. This only magnified the reflux issue, and then he'd only try doing that a few times before he got full enough and tired enough to stop eating. But then he was hungry every 30 minutes. 

So the solution! 

My doctor told me to pump a little out first to get that thin fore-milk out (since that shoots out faster and isn't as nutritionally dense, anyways). Once I've pumped all the fore-milk out and waited till it turns to the thicker hind-milk (about an ounce on each side), I breastfeed.

This is obviously a huge hassle because it involves both pumping AND nursing, aka tons of time and preparation just to get him some milk, but it's totally helping! He's not inhaling so much air so he's not as gassy/refluxy. And I won't have to do this pump + nurse routine forever, just for a bit until my milk regulates more and he gets a little stronger. (Who knows what "just a bit" really means though? Haha. Hopefully a couple weeks max...)

So now that I've been able to get normal newborn stretches of sleep (4ish hours at a time) and feeding doesn't come with this huge bout of anxiety, I've actually enjoyed these last two days with a brand new baby and a loving toddler! I'm able to just soak in their sweet interactions - mostly Lydia just smothering him in kisses - and appreciate these slow moments.

Hallelujah!

Flowers sent from the Dean at Michael's medical school - so thoughtful. ^^^

And thank you all for your messages, snaps, texts and calls. For about a week there I was a stressed out mess, and all your encouraging words meant so so much! 

Okay I've gotta run! Both my babies are miraculously sleeping (Lydia has been refusing naps lately) so I have like 5734 things to do!!! Dishes? Laundry? Shower? Oooh the exciting options. 

And ya I haven't worn makeup or done my hair for a solid 4 days. Oops. 

3/21/17

Running On 3 Hours of Sleep and No Caffeine














It's a good thing this guy is adorable because he's slowly killing me.

Every single time he eats, he pulls away after a few minutes in pain. So he ends up snacking round the clock. This is especially difficult in the middle of the night when he's screaming and hates sleeping on his back and won't take a binky and nursing doesn't make him feel any better so I literally just have to hold him till he falls asleep.

Reflux? Breastmilk aversion? Dairy allergy? Just loads of gas? Who knows.

Cutting out foods from my diet hasn't made much of a difference. Pumping and then feeding him from the bottle helps a little I think? Ah I'm just so confused and stressed. 

And tired.

3/20/17

Thorns and Roses - Newborn Edition







Cannon James Christensen
March 2, 2017
5:30pm
7 lbs 12 oz
20.5 inches

I don't even know where to begin - I HAVE TWO KIDS! Crazy. The past two weeks have been full of so many emotions. Elated by the safe arrival of Cannon. Shocked at how well Lydia is handling all of it. Grateful for all the kind words and treats and gifts. Overwhelmed by how long it takes me to do anything these days (double the diaper changes, double the bag packing, etc). Frustrated by the chaos of major house problems - see below! Grr. But mostly I'm just feeling so in love with these two sweet spirits and my adorable husband. We are officially a gang of four!

Nursing probs.

He is OBSESSED with baths! He instantly calms right down and snuggles up in the water!


Day 2 home from the hospital! 


The day after we got home - our first walk altogther! (Very short lived - it was freezing.)

Nana and her grandbabies :) 


Thorns: 

- Sleep, obviously. Cannon slept 5 hours straight the first night home so I thought I was in for a treat. Nope! He's up every 2 hours. He's not getting full feedings at night so then he wakes up hungry again. And then Lydia wakes up around 6am! Ahhhhhhhhh.

- On a related note, feeding. The first week Cannon nursed like a champ! It was so easy and felt totally natural and I was stoked. But the last 4-5 days he's been super fussy every time he eats! Which gives me total anxiety because he pulls away in pain after 5 minutes and then he's hungry again an hour later. I've tried cutting out caffeine, chocolate, broccoli, etc. but it doesn't seem to be making a difference. I just barely started pumping and he seems to be doing better with the bottle? So we'll see. Hopefully this gets resolved asap because I cannot just sit and nurse all day! Any tips from moms out there who dealt with this?

- HOUSE FLOOD x2!! Old houses may have charm, but they also have a slew of plumbing issues. Our basement flooded three days ago, and after hiring all these different companies to clean/sanitize/fix it, the basement literally flooded AGAIN two days later. I am dying you guys. I have a newborn and a toddler and my entire basement is out of commission.


Roses: 

- Lydia is in love with Cannon. I was worried she'd be jealous or want to hurt him or she'd be mad at me. But honestly she's been a champ! She's adjusted surprisingly well to not being able to constantly have my attention and help. She wakes up in the morning and runs over to Baby Cannon's bed and starts giggling. And she loves listening to him burp, ha. Granted there are more random tantrums, but those are manageable. I can't wait to see their little friendship develop other the months and years. 

- My sweet husband. Even though he's swamped with school, every night he makes it a point to sincerely ask how I'm doing and listen to all my ramblings about poop and sleep and milk and talk through things with me. Thanks babe. 

- Cannon passed his hearing test! In the hospital his right ear didn't pass, so we were a bit worried even though they said it's normal not to pass the first time. I took him back to the audiologist last week and she said his hearing is perfect! Hallelujah. 

- My mom. She spent 10 straight days serving us. She deep cleaned our bathrooms, cooked us wonderful meals, packed Michael lunches (he never gets those normally from me, so he was pretty stoked! ;) ), she cuddled Cannon when I needed a nap, and most of all she played with Lydia! What would we do without our mothers. 

- My sister Olivia took the cutest newborn pictures! With Lydia we hired a professional, but we wanted to save money this time and Olivia is super talented so it worked out perfectly. Also, shout out to my mom for jumping up and down in the background so Lydia actually smiled (she had been FREAKING out - haha). I will post all these soon! 

- All in all just too many blessings to count. We seriously have the nicest neighbors and friends! We feel so loved. Thank you all for the texts, meals, messages and gifts. Even though we are sleep deprived and a little stressed about his eating, we are so grateful for this incredible new spirit in our home. 
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