Bellybuttons & Opinions #2

Pinterest is an amazing tool and fun outlet for people to post and pin and like and comment on a multitude of things.
Literally, everything you can think of is out there waiting to be pinned.
I have found that there are quite a lot of people who like to pin inspirational quotes, fun facts, etc.
I enjoy reading them, but I myself do not have a board strictly for that purpose.
I recently saw the following pinned item:

source

Well...I made the mistake on commenting on the topic.
Granted at the time I didn't think I was making a mistake.
I simply said, "Truer word were never spoken! I believe this is one of the biggest secrets of successful marriages!"
Well apparently I offended some people.
Although I think some people took this out of context entirely.
I read responses for and against...ranging as follows:
"Unless he's actually hurting you."

"I think that it's important as women to have a confidant of some kind that can offer us advice and loving perspective when we are upset or hurting. But I do think that off the cuff talking about each other can be very detrimental and isn't frowned upon like it should be... "

"When I was a teenager my mom used to say "I will love all the boys you bring home until they hurt you then I will hate them forever." what this meant was I always thought twice before telling her about the petty stuff. I married my highschool sweetheart and now I am pretty sure she likes him more than me."

"Be yourself, your husband is probably glad you have someone to talk to, we know how much they can tune us out."

"I agree with lots of you that Pinterest seems to have an overabundance of sexist pins for some reason."

Anyways I could go on and on and on showing everyone else's opinion.
Maybe you agree with some of their opinions and that is fine...we are all entitled to think freely!
I just want to state my opinion on this topic.

First- I think this comment goes both ways:

Don't talk bad about your SPOUSE.

To anyone.

Ever.

hopefully that clears the air for anyone who thinks the pin was sexist.

Second- I don't believe this pin is referring to anything in the realm of domestic abuse (verbal or physical).  I believe it is strictly talking about trash talking your spouse because they irritated you for one reason or another.

Third- I DO believe that to have a healthy relationship with your spouse it is vital that you communicate everything with each other.  If your spouse does something that bothers you and you tell your friend and not your spouse how will they ever know that it bothers you?  I agree with the concept that your family and friends will always remember all the negative comments you say about your spouse and may not be as quick to remember the praises you give your spouse.  That is why I believe it is wise to limit those negative comments.

Fourth- This goes both ways.  If you don't want your spouse to talk badly about you, the best thing you can do is treat them as you want to be treated.  Just as Thumper said in Bambi, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all".

I have only been married for 7-1/2 years, this is true and it's a relatively short time compared to most.

I have only been with my husband for nearly 10 years and again this is a short time compared to many.

However, I know many relationships that have crumbled in much shorter periods of time and honestly, more often than not....it was because of a lack of communication.

My husband is my best friend...and yes I have female friends I've known much longer, but my husband knows more about me than anyone else ever could or ever will.

I know it sounds cliche, but a healthy relationship is based off of communication.

And yes, that is only my opinion....everyone has one.

I hope that you feel free to show your bellybutton here, there, and everywhere.

I hope you all had a Blessed Monday!

Baby Diaries #35

Guess who is already ONE month old today?!

That's right, she's 4 weeks!

Today Bitsy had her first doctor's appointment.

We met her pediatrician and he was SO nice!

I mean seriously he was kind and caring and I couldn't be happier.

Let's compare Bitsy's stats from when she was born to today's stats.

Weight 9/27/11 = 8lbs 4oz

Weight 10/27/11 = 11lbs 3oz

This puts her in the 100th percentile!

Height 9/27/11 = 20"

Height 10/27/11 = 22"

And this puts her in the 94th percentile!

Head Circumference 9/27/11 = 14.75"

Head Circumference 10/27/11 = 17.3"

Let's just say I couldn't be more proud of my baby girl!

It's no wonder that she has slept so much the past month.

All that growing takes quite a bit of energy.

In the past week Bitsy has developed some new skills.

She has gained more control of her neck.

If I put her on my shoulder to burp she tends to bob her head back and forth!

We had our first stint of 3.5 hrs of straight sleep the other night.

Believe it or not 3.5 hrs straight feels like an eternity.

She has started to "communicate" with us.

She makes noises just to get our attention....well that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Monday I had to go to the doctor to get checked out.

Especially, after all the troubles I had had.

The doctor was convinced that I did suffer from Mastitis and she wrote me a Rx for an antibiotic.

Since then I've been feeling much better and Bitsy actually nursed successfully 2 times!

All in all life is increasingly changing and we are all doing well!

I hope you are all doing well and growing in a way that you feel accomplished and happy about!

Have a Blessed Thursday!

Bob Your Head #4

This may not come as a surprise to y'all, but Bitsy loves the sound of her Daddy singing to her.
Most of the time his singing can calm her if she's irritated, it can put her to sleep, or sometimes she'll just stare ate him in awe.
We are convinced she is going to be a little singer as well.
She coos and hums and practices runs (maybe I'm exaggerating a little) in her sleep!
One song that Bud started singing to her after she arrived was a Jack Johnson song called My Little Girl.



I love this song!
I can picture years of Bud singing this song to Bitsy!
I hope you all find a reason and song that you can bob your head to today!

Have a Blessed Wednesday!

Baked Potato Soup & Pretzel Hugs

So thanks to late night feedings/pumpings I've had some time to explore stalk Pinterest!
Seriously, it's become my worst addiction!
The good thing is that I've found so many wonderful ideas out there...
things to make...
things to wear...
things to read...
and of course one of my favorites, things to eat!
It struck me though that I've been pinning away and I haven't done any of the things on any of the boards.
So resolution!
From now on my goal is to make at least ONE recipe that I've found on Pinterest each week.
Some weeks I may get a wild hair, like this week, and make TWO recipes ;)

This week was the first week since Bitsy was born that I finally felt I was ready to start cooking dinner again!
That meant a REAL grocery shopping trip.
For the past 4 weeks we've been making small trips to get bare essentials.
We've been surviving on food people brought us, eating out with family in town, and food I pre-cooked.
But NO LONGER can we live this way.
Bud watched Bitsy for a while so I could slip to the store and replenish our kitchen.
In order to accomplish my goal I had to pick what pinned recipe I was going to tackle this week.
I decided on a rather simple recipe...

Slow Cook Potato Soup

source

And since I was feeling ambitious OR maybe because I had a sweet tooth I decided I should also make these:

Pretzel Hugs

source

So how did these recipes turn out you might ask?

Well Bitsy had me up bright and early at 5am and after she was taken care of, Bud was up getting ready for work, and then I was just too awake to go back to sleep...so I started on dinner.

Yes at 6:30am I started dinner.

Here is how it turned out....

All in all everything we scrumptious!
It felt good to have a fresh home cooked meal.
It felt good to have it ready by the time Bud got home from work.
I challenge all of you who are addicted to Pinterest to set a goal as well.
Maybe it's the same as mine, make one of the recipes you pin each week.
Or maybe it's as simple as make one craft a month that you found and pinned!
Whatever it may be, just do it!
Otherwise, what is the point of pinning and saving all these ideas if we never plan to actual tackle them.

I hope you all had a Blessed Tuesday!

Book #24: Life Application Study Bible Devotional

The Life Application Study Bible Devotional is just that, a devotional.  This highly acclaimed study Bible devotional provides 6 lessons each week.  Each week you will delve into a different area of Jesus's life and ministry.  One lesson each day, Monday thru Friday and a sixth lesson for the weekend.  Each day there is a section of scripture to read, an explanation and context setting of the scripture , a suggested prayer, and a couple questions to make you contemplate what you just read.  This format allows you to learn more about the Gospels in jut a few minutes a day.

I, personally, am enjoying the format of this devotional as it is short, sweet, and to the point each day.  It allows me to pull verses apart and study what they are referring to and how I can apply them to my daily life.  Often, devotionals such as these, can be hard to read or digest.  However, Life Application Study Bible Devotional is written in such a way that not only can I learn from it, but it teaches me how to better explain it to others.  I strongly suggest this devotional for anyone who is anxious to start some type of deepening process.  

I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Boney Baby

Okay so Bitsy isn't really boney...in fact she's quite the opposite!
She's putting on her weight quite well.
But I purchased this little outfit for the month of October and I had fun trying to get a good picture of her wearing it.

Take 1: Cross-eyed baby

Take 2: The fish was THIS big!

Take 3: No more pictures Mom.

Take 4: This is boring...*yawn*

Take 5: Cross-eyed baby AGAIN! 

Take 6: As close to perfect as we can get!

Bitsy didn't love being propped against the pillow for these pictures, but she humored her Mama all the same!

Oh and to top it off...the little bones glow in the dark!

SO cute!

I hope you all had a Blessed Sunday!

Boobie Update...

I apologize if this topic makes any of the male readers uncomfortable.
I apologize if this topic makes any of my regular readers bored.
Honestly, I wanted to write an update so that if I experience this again, be it with Bitsy or baby #2 or #3 someday...I want to know how I dealt with it!
Also, if I can help anyone else fight through this difficulties of breastfeeding then I want to!

I'm doing MUCH better today, which is a HUGE blessing.
Last night I finally took a nice, loooong HOT shower and massaged the blocked duct until I thought it would be bruised.
After my shower it already felt remarkably better.
Minus the soreness from the massage.
The only downside is that I was still dealing with sore nipples.
Boo!
I started a new home remedy after each of my pumping sessions.
I combined a few different suggestions from a few different web sites!
First I took a mason jar and filled it full of 8oz of water, heated it in the microwave for about 30 seconds, and then added 1/2 a teaspoon of salt.
I then leaned over the opening of the jar, placed my nipple in the opening and then I was able to lean back and soak for 2 minutes.
I did this on both sides.
Following that I hand expressed a few drops of milk and rubbed that on the nipple.
I recently read that breast milk has many anti-bacterial and healing powers.
Lastly, I wore this night time nursing bra with my Medela Soft Shells inserts.
I practiced this routine for 24 hours and let me say that as of now, we are feeling SO SO SO much better!
I no longer need to wear the Medela Soft Shells!
I am, however, going to continue the saline solution and expressed milk combo for a bit longer to ensure we are fully recovered!

I'm still waiting on my nipple shield to arrive in the mail so that I can try to wean Bitsy off the bottle and back to the breast.
I hate that we had to go to bottles so early, but I still have hope that we can get her back to breastfeeding with a little work.
I've been exclusively pumping for 2 weeks and it's a lot of work!
I did read a comment that made me smile:
A lady who exclusively pumped was asked if she breast fed, she said that explaining her pumping situation over and over again got old quick so she started to just answer "Yes" to anyone who asked.  Her justification, is my favorite part, "I figure my baby is taking it to go instead of drinking straight from the tap".
If we aren't able to get Bitsy back to a typical breastfeeding practice, I'll continue to pump and provide that way and then I'll be sure to join an online support group of others who exclusively pump.
I think that's the biggest thing, finding support no matter what method you choose.
Having so many comments from everyone the other day made me feel so blessed!
Thank you so much for your prayers and comments!
They helped me get through a tough few days.

I hope you all had a Blessed Saturday!

Blocked Duct/Mastitis

Bitsy and I haven't been able to breastfeed quite the way I had hoped since we got home from the hospital.

From the beginning her jaundice made her too tired to latch for long.

Since her jaundice had already almost kept her in the hospital we had been forced to pump and feed her via a bottle.

But as long as it was/is breast milk I'm still happy.

About day 3 I suffered engorgement, which is VERY common as the milk comes in.

We trucked through that with cabbage leaves and ice packs and lots of pumping.

But Monday afternoon we planned to go to the park with Bitsy and I decided to take a quick shower first.

While I was in the shower I got the chills and no matter how hot I made the water I was still cold.

I came out of the bathroom and told Bud I wasn't feeling well and we decided to cancel our walk.

A little while later I took my temperature.

101.7!

I was in shock.

I took some Tylenol and laid down and within an hour my fever was gone.

I decided that I would sleep on the couch just in case I was sick (I didn't want Bud to get sick) and Bitsy slept next to me in her bouncer that night.

Around 3 a.m. I had the chills again so I took another dose of Tylenol and drifted back to sleep.

Bud went to work and I spent the morning doing my research on what was wrong with me.

Mid-morning the fever returned, 101.3, another dose of Tylenol and within 45 minutes the fever was gone.

Mastitis, according to BabyCenter, is what they call it when tissue of the breast becomes painfully inflamed.  Some, but not all cases may be an infection.  It can be caused by engorgement and/or blocked ducts.  Blocked ducts occur when your body produces milk faster than it is getting taken out and it get's backed up.

I started home treatment based on the above prognosis and pumped every hour or two.

I also started massaging the spot where it felt blocked.

I slept on the couch again Tuesday night despite not having a fever for 12 hours.

Wednesday morning I awoke feeling MUCH better!

In fact I actually felt like doing some things around the house which was a miracle. 

I opted to sleep on the couch again last night just for the ease of it.

It's a relief knowing we are on the road to recovery!

I still feel like there might be a blocked duct, but I'll keep up treating it with massage, moist/warm compressions, and constant expressions.

Now I just have to work hard not to let this happen again.

No one ever tells you how much work breastfeeding can be.

Despite hitting every roadblock on the way, I'm just glad that pumping is providing Bitsy with the milk she needs!

I still have hope that we can get away from the bottle, I just ordered a few nipple shields which have been linked to help with nipple confusion.  

I figure that since she is used to the texture of the bottle now this will help transition her off of it and onto me.  

I've heard the pros and cons of using a nipple shields and I guess I'll just take my chances.

One of the cons people say is that baby can get addicted to the shield and never latch to the breast, but since she isn't really latching now it just seems that her being addicted to a small piece of latex attached to me is better than her being addicted to a piece of latex attached to a bottle.

If anyone has any advice about shields, mastitis, blocked ducts, and or exclusive pumping I'm all ears!

I hope you all had a Blessed Thursday!

Bath Time

Guess who got their first fully submerged bath last night?

Baby Girl!

Bud was nearby snapping this pictures!

So excuse my disheveled appearance.

I was still recovering from my bout of Mastitis.

Now that her umbilical stump is gone it is safe to get her belly wet with more than just a quick sponge bath!

This was quite an event.

There were moments when she didn't like the bath and others when she seemed totally relaxed.

After her bath we lotioned her up and got her in her jammies.

Since Bitsy is cleared for baths now she'll get them about 2-3 times a week.

Too many baths can dry out baby's skin.

In order to get some order in our life we will start Bitsy's bedtime routine each night after we walk the boys.  

Some nights will start with a bath, but all nights will include her lotion and jammies around 7:30-8pm.

That doesn't mean we expect her to go to sleep for the night or at that point of the night even, but it'll be something that is always the same!

Our baby is growing up so fast!!!

I hope you all had a Blessed Wednesday!

Baby Diaries #34

Bitsy is 3 weeks old today!

She's growing so quickly and I wish I could push the pause button.

It's hard to capture each moment, but I try so hard.

She is weighing in at 10lbs and 2oz according to the home scale.

Her umbilical cord finally fell off and now she has a cute belly button that we can kiss and give raspberries too.

She laughs in her sleep which always makes ME giggle.

Also, I think she may have had her first nightmare...

She was sleeping in her bouncer when all of a sudden she started to whimper, gave a quick short squeal, started breathing heavily and then burst out in tears before quickly waking!

I picked her up and comforted her quickly.

It make me wonder...what do babies dream about?

They have limited visual perspective...only 8-15" from their faces...so what do they dream?

I guess we will never know, but I can always try to be there to comfort her fears when those dreams are less than friendly!

I hope you all had a Blessed Tuesday!

Biz's Birthday

I turned 27 today!
This has been the best birthday thus far!
Bud had asked me after Bitsy was born what I wanted for my birthday and I told him that I already got what I wanted!
A beautiful healthy baby girl!

Bud still thought I needed a birthday gift to commemorate the special day!
For quite some time I've been eyeing a few tortoise shell watches.
Bud is good at remember things like that so for my birthday this is what I opened up...

...isn't it beautiful?!

I love it!

And I love Bud!

Bud also checked out the apartment complex's movie theater and we had some friends and their kids over to watch a movie.

There were chicken nuggets & mini corn dogs for the kids, pizza for the adults, and ice cream cake for everyone!

It was a nice laid back event!

Later that night Bud & I & Bitsy (of course) walked back to the theater, since we had it for the day and we watched Enchanted, popped some popcorn and enjoyed a glass of wine.

Bitsy slept the entire movie.

All in all it was a wonderful Birthday.

27 promises to be one of the best years yet!

I hope you all had a Blessed Sunday!

Becky of Farmgirl Paints...

is an amazing artist!
Not only does she make jewelry, I'm wearing a piece here and here that says surrender, she also paints.
She has her own Etsy page and if you haven't been there yet, now is the time!
Becky does custom house paintings that are amazing.
I had known for quite some time that I wanted a piece of Becky's artwork on my wall.
It was once I knew we were having a baby girl that I contacted her and asked her to do a custom piece for the nursery.
We ran a few ideas past each other and this is what she came up with.

Isn't it perfection?!
I love the little details...
The bible verse...

The color of the little girls hair to match Eric & I's...

The boats in the distance...

The seagulls just beyond the view of the kites...

It's amazingly perfect!
And to top it off....a Farmgirl Paints Custom Cuff!!!
It says it best:

I think what I like most about it is that it says Bless this Nest.
We may not have a permanent "Nest" because home is where the Air Force sends us, but with this constant reminder on my wrist...I know that Home/Our Nest is where ever WE are and God will Bless us!
So a BIG THANK YOU to Becky for her awesome work and kind heart.
And if you haven't checked out her blog yet, now is the time.
And if you haven't checked out her Etsy page yet, what are you waiting for?!

I hope you all had a Blessed Thursday!

Bitsy meets Gramma M & Grampa D

My mother and her husband arrived in town late October 9th.
They proceeded to spend Monday-Wednesday with us.
Monday we showed them a few parts of Fayetteville, had coffee at Rude Awakenings, browsed a few shops, and ate dinner out to celebrate my birthday.

Tuesday & Wednesday were spent at the apartment resting and watching television.
My mother was very excited to see her grand-daughter.
I think in a way my mother now sees me as a 27 year old married woman.
I know she'll always see me as her little girl, but now that I have my own little girl I think it changes her perspective.
Now she has to see that I can take care of myself and that my husband is my direct support system (and the best there ever was).
It's amazing the way family dynamics shift when a little one is added to the mix.
Gramma M & Grampa D left Thursday mid-morning to head to Asheville en route home.
They went to see the Biltmore Estates!
Bud & I are hoping to get out there between Thanksgiving and Christmas to see the Estates ourselves!
It was nice having them here.
I know they loved meeting Bitsy...

I hope you all had a Blessed Wednesday!

Baby Diaries #33

I can't believe that Bitsy is already 2 weeks old!

She's weighing in at 9lbs and 2oz.

She sleeps about 22 hours a day and when she is awake it's only to get her diaper changed and start feeding.  She normally finishes each meal while she dozes in and out.

I hope you all had a Blessed Tuesday!

B is for Uncle

Uncle B that is.
Bitsy is quite popular around these here parts.
Her Oma was here to meet her as she made her appearance into this work and now her Uncle B has made the journey to see her as well.
Bud's brother BH drove the 12 hour trip to meet his niece last week.
He arrived on October 4th just in time to go to her newborn photo shoot and then headed out again on the 6th.
He was so caring and gentle towards to Bitsy and it was quite apparent that you could see the love he has for her.

 Uncle B has always been a fan of our dogs too, so it was nice having him here to give them a little extra love as well.

Needless to say, I think they have been feeling a little neglected since Bitsy arrived.

 But, just as quickly as he arrived it was time for Uncle B to head back home.

He said his goodbyes and we are making plans to visit him and Aunt B around Christmas!

Bitsy will be nearly 3 months old by then and I can't imagine how much she will have changed.

 See you soon Uncle B!

Thanks for coming to visit!

I hope you all had a Blessed Monday!

Bitsy's Newborn Photos Part 3

**Warning:  In case you didn't catch the title this post will be part 3 of a 3 part photo heavy post!

And baby makes three.
So...excluding the 1st photo's headband which was provided by the photographer, let me tell you a funny little story about Bitsy's headbands.
The day before the photo shoot we had gone out with Bitsy to run a few errands.
I mentioned to Bud, "I'd like to go by Babies R Us"...
to which he replied, "ME TOO"!
Perplexed by his eagerness to go to Babies R Us I asked him, "Why do YOU want to go".
He made me tell my reason first, which was as simple as going to look for another terry cloth cover for the diaper pad.
His reasoning.....
he wanted to go get a few headbands for his baby girl.
That's right folks my hubby wanted to accessorize his Bitsy.
Now while I laughed at his excitement towards headbands, the next day during the photo shoot I could not deny their adorable-ness and had to give him credit!
He's going to be a good Daddy to our baby girl.

Made in America.

Apparently, Bitsy was a bit fussy while they were working on getting her in the pea-pod.

However, once inside she nuzzled in and produced this award winning smile!

The above photo is my FAVORITE family portrait!

I can't wait to get this one framed.

Wrapped around Daddy's arm.

Now hopefully we can keep Daddy from being wrapped around her finger!

The End!

I hope you all had a Blessed Sunday!