Feeling Guilty

This is a post about breastfeeding, so be forewarned.

Charlotte and I went to our favorite local baby store the other weekend.  This store is what I like to call "crunchy", meaning they promote environmentally friendly items, and their main items are cloth diapers.  While I like to think I know a lot about cloth diapers, every time I step foot in that store I feel like a complete newbie and totally overwhelmed.  But this is not about cloth diapers... I will save that for another post. 

C and I went to the store for a "Baby Wearing" class.  I had tried to time our day so that C would be well rested and fed before we left.  Silly mommy!  C was happy and content as we walked around the store perusing the fluff before the class started, but about 5 minutes before the class started C decided she was done and wanted everyone in the store to know it.  You should have seen the pregnant ladies' faces.  You know the face... "oh dear God, I hope my child won't act like that in public" mixed with "just shut the kid up already."  Another new mother sitting on a couch in the back said innocently, "do you want to sit back here and nurse her?"  I hope she didn't see the daggers that shot out of my eyes!

Let me stop here and fill you in...  Charlotte and I have had a rocky breastfeeding relationship.  Let's just say I have 1 innie and 1 outie, add to that a low supply from the beginning, and that's pretty much what we were up against.  On C's 1 day visit to the pediatrician we were told to start supplementing because she had dropped in weight, and we've been supplementing ever since.  Once I went back to work, my low supply dropped even lower.  I tried everything, nursing more, pumping more, supplements, oatmeal.  Now, at 4 months, Charlotte is pretty much on 100% formula and it breaks my heart.

I knew from the beginning of my pregnancy that I wanted to breastfeed, and I wanted to try and do it until Charlotte was at least 1 year old.  I had done all the research, I knew it was going to be tough being her sole source for nutrition, but I was not prepared for the "speed bumps" and total derailments that came my way. 

I talk to new moms about all things baby, and when the subject of breastfeeding comes along, I hang my head and say we are "part time" nursing.  I want to be the mom that says "Oh it's wonderful, yes, it was hard at the beginning, but it's so worth it now."  I get a lot of "have you tried (fill in the blank)" and "well at least you tried."  And if the pediatrician tells me one more time "that's completely normal" I might lose it!  I mean really, if everything is normal, how do I know when something isn't normal?

I keep thinking to myself, next time I will know what to expect and hopefully things will be different.  My heart aches thinking that I am not doing all I can for Charlotte in these most important few months.  But looking at this little chunker, I know in my heart of hearts, that she is healthy and well loved.

Oh, and a word to the wise, if you are going to breastfeed in public for the first time, practice covering yourself and the baby first.  Even if you are just pretending...

I call Do-over!

Ok, I think the last three posts all start the same way...  Sorry I've been gone for a bit, etc...  Maybe this time I will mean it!  Only time will tell!

So, some changes have happened since the last post.  Charlotte is growing... FAST!  She's smiling, laughing, "talking", rolling over and eating.  What is she not doing?  Sleeping and pooping... or at least not as much as she should.

What else is new you ask?  Well, we've moved.  While we were very sad to leave our beloved Greenbriar, we are super happy in our new home.  We've gone from a 4 bedroom house with a yard (and a roommate or 2) to a 2 bedroom, 3rd floor apartment!  The dogs are still adjusting to not having their yard, but Bubba, Charlotte and I are loving our own space.  This is the first time that Bubba and I have lived together... ALONE!  Meaning, no roommate!

That's all for now folks... off to try mu hand at some baking, thanks to Pinterest.  Seriously, it's additive!  I'll let you know how it turns out...


oh ps.  Gooo Skins

RoadTrippin

I swear I have big plans for this blog... but we got a little sidetracked this week.  With going back to work looming closer and closer, Charlotte and I decided to go visit Grandma and Grandpa.



She did a little of this...



A little of this...



And lots of this!

She really loved being with Grandma and Grandpa.  She even got to take her first trip to the beach!



and she slept the whole time... 

It was really windy (hence my beautiful hairdo!) so we didn't stay long.

Overall, we had a great time, and we can't wait to go back!

It's Been a Long Time...

I shouldn't have left you...  (anyone?)

Anyway,  I've been a little busy...  Here's what I've been working on while I was gone!  Warning:  This might be picture overload!

Day before Induction, and one of the only preggo pictures I took.

Charlotte Gail Farmer joined our crazy crew on April 25th, 2011 at 9:25pm.  She weighed 7.6 lbs and was 21 inches long. Now, 6 weeks later we still can't believe our little miracle is here, and we are thanking our lucky stars and sleepless nights that we get the honor of being her parents!
  


Mommy and Daddy are smitten with this face...




The doggies still love mommy best!


Oh yeah, did I mention that we also got a puppy?  About a month (maybe more, my sleep deprived memory no longer works) before Charlotte's grand entrance Bubba decided that we needed a puppy.  Gotta love him, but in all reality, Oynx has been a great companion to Kaya!






  
So all in all, it's been a little busy around here, but I can't wait to share our new adventure with all of my readers out there!

Stay tuned for my next series of posts...  all about CLEANING!  (No Mom, you don't need new glasses)

P.S. I still need a tagline...  Like Paula Dean's "Sending you love and best dishes"  I'm not that creative, so all ideas are welcome!

Inspiration

To quote on of my favorite musicals (Jesus Christ Super Star) "once I was inspired, now I’m tired." I don't know where April went... but it has come and gone, and apparently, so did my desire to blog. I really want to keep up with this, but it seems I just got busy... with what? I don't know.


I found a new TV channel today. It's called Veria, "Your Life... naturally" maybe I'll get some inspiration from this channel. Seems it's already starting to work since I am posting this! I am not entirely sure what all this station has to offer, but so far I have been impressed. I've watched a Pilates class (yes, watched, did not participate... yet), watched a program on holistic pet care, and now I'm watching a program about a woman that cured her horrible psoriasis by changing her diet. Pretty powerful stuff if you ask me... if I could just get over the texture thing, I would totally be down for a more whole, natural, diet.

I PROMISE date night part 2 is coming! I am waiting on Bubba to help me edit the videos I want to post. By the time I post the follow up, I doubt it will be date night part 2... it may just be, "look what Lacy ate!"

I appreciate all the support I have received so far and I promise to be a better blogger!

Bad Blogger!

I am so sorry that I haven't updated part 2 of our date night.  This week has been crazy, and blogging took a back seat!  I promise that part 2 is coming, and it will be well worth the wait!

Date Night ~ Part 1

The plan was to go to Whole Foods alone while Bubba worked, but he ended up having the day off, so I convinced him to come with me. Bubba doesn't usually like to go shopping with me, especially when I don't have a list and I'm just “browsing.” So off we went, no clue what we were looking for, just wanting to try out some new things.

We wandered the store for a little while just looking at all the different options. Since it was a Saturday, they had different samples out and even a live band playing by the seafood section! Jesse was inspired by a sample of red pepper jelly from West Virginia, so we set out to get our Date night menu.

After we had done most of the shopping, we knew that we wanted to check out the wine bar upstairs, so we decided to check out before we got any perishable items. We had a great check out guy! Shout out to Adam! We headed upstairs to a small room and found what I like to think of as an adult’s Chuck-E-Cheese. We put money on our card (much more than we actually needed) and tried out a few wines. We immediately fell in love at first pour. The wine was from Austria and a grape that Bubba and I had never heard of, called Zweigelt. That’s not saying much about me, but Bubba knows his wines. I’ll have to have him post something about this wine soon, it’s amazing!


So after a few different tastings we decided to get the Austrian wine and head back downstairs for round 2 of groceries! We got our perishables and finally left. So, remember the goal of 2 hours and under budget? We definitely missed the mark of 2 hours, but if you don’t include the wine adventure, we definitely came in under budget! Really the prices are not that bad for the quality that you are getting. Sure you can get cheaper stuff at the local grocery, but I want to make every calorie that I put in my body count!

Don't miss part 2 of our Date Night adventure! I'll be showing you what we made and even what I tried for the first time! You won't want to miss the video!