8 months

This month we had a special visitor: Tee! Fresh off her mission to London, we so enjoied her bit o' accent! We went to the Mesa Temple to snap a few pictures with her.  Little Max and Tee, well this was their first meeting...I do believe it was love at first sight.

Daddy is teaching Max to be reverent.

Not a picky eater, he wants to do it himself...no spoon feeding going on here.

Blessings of Breastfeeding Part 5

It was difficult to narrow this down to 5 posts. Breastfeeding has truly blessed my life in many ways. It's not a matter of preference, it's a way of life. I haven't even scratched the surface of topics like health, parenting or setting a positive example.

For this last post I really wanted to express my feelings of being blessed with a stronger marriage because of breastfeeding. My husband is amazing and supportive in many aspects, but when I think of how he's supported my desire to nurse our babies, I get emotional.

When I went through the pain of engorgement when I weaned Spanky, he held me while I cried. When I leaked through my shirt at the grocery store, he laughed with me. When I put our newborn son to my breast and he latched on right away, he marveled with me at the miracle and wonder of what we created together.

My Digger has helped to create an environment of love and respect, where breastfeeding our babies is a normal part of life. And that's something you can't get out of a can...

Blessings of Breastfeeding Part 4

I wont be buying a Prius. I can't afford solar panels for my home. Our attempt at composting went horribly, horribly wrong. But I am a Green Mama in my own right! I take cloth bags to the store, most of the time. I like shopping yard sales and thrift stores. And my baby's carbon footprint is drastically reduced because he is breastfed. Go us!

Seems like a lot of things we want to do that are better for the planet are expensive, time consuming, or hard to find. I feel blessed that I am able to do my part, by doing what comes naturally.

Blessings of Breastfeeding Part 3

(Our awesome Doula Nikki and her little VBA3C cutie!)

I am blessed with friendships and support from wonderful and amazing breastfeeding mamas who form a community dedicated to making the whole world better.

It's true. One positive decision, like breastfeeding can effect your entire life. Making you want to be better in many areas, providing opportunities to make friends that are like-minded. Here are links to some of the women and groups I am blessed to hang with:

Nuturing Hearts Birth Services
My local La Leche League meeting.
The Center for True Harmony
AZ Birth Network

(Super Doula Rose with us at our first birth circle after Max' birth---he's only 17 days old! I got to share our birth story and hear those of other moms. I love birth circle!)

Blessings of Breastfeeding Part 2

I am blessed to be able to feed my baby for free, anywhere we go.  Outfitted with little more then a nursing tank top from Target and some homemade breast pads, I can comfortably and discreetly feed my son no matter where we are. Peace of mind is knowing a fresh, ready supply of milk is always available. (And no bottles to wash doesn't hurt my feelings either.)

Let's break it down as if I formula fed my baby for the last 7.5 months:
Max has dairy sensitivity, so we'd probably need to go with soy and I'd prefer organic, so we're looking at about $30 for one 25.75 oz can or 190 oz of prepared formula. For the first four months baby might average 24 oz of formula a day (or 2880 oz. total) and from 4 months to today, he'd probably average more like 32 oz (or 3360 oz. total), for a lifetime total of 6240 oz, SO FAR. That's a little over 32 cans and $960. Doesn't seem possible, does it? So lets say I go the cheap route and get the Walmart off brand of soy formula-corn syrup solids are corn syrup solids, those same 32 cans will cost me about $438. My $350 breast pump has paid for itself either way, and that's not even a must have if you aren't going back to work. And I'm not even talking about the bottles, water, mylicon, co-pays for extra visits to the doc, prescriptions....

WHO says: Breastfeeding is the normal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. Virtually all mothers can breastfeed, provided they have accurate information, and the support of their family, the health care system and society at large.

When you are informed, I think you'll find the real cost of formula feeding goes much deeper then your wallet.

Part 3 tomorrow...

Blessings of Breastfeeding Part 1

As a friend and I were walking our kids to school the other morning, she asked me what made me want to breastfeed in the first place. I didn't have a good answer. During my first pregnancy I immersed myself in What to Expect When You're Expecting and TLC's A Baby Story. Neither of which are on the La Leche League's must read/watch list, believe me. There is one specific memory of my Auntie nursing my baby cousin in the car, I was four years old and I love my Auntie and want to be like her in many ways, so I'd like to credit her with planting that seed. But I always knew, from the moment I first found out I was pregnant, my baby would be breastfed.

With Spanky I had a goal of one year. We made it to 7 months and I reluctantly took my OB's advise and stopped nursing in an effort to shake a serious case of PPD. Mistake. Wow, I've learned a lot since then. I don't have a goal for Max's nursing, he can nurse until he's ready to wean. Nursing is not just about nutrition to me, it's a part of parenting, bonding and teaching from day one. 

Breastfeeding isn't without challenges and there are many books and support groups available to help women through any issues they encounter. I've been feeling very blessed by my body's ability to nourish my babies and will share a few of those blessings this week.

I feel blessed that in a world of isles full of brightly colored bottles and packages, screaming out to consumers the benefits of formula, that I am educated in the truth and able to feed and parent my sons based on common sense, evidence based information and guidance from Heavenly Father. How many times do we have to hear it? Knowledge is power. The formula companies bombard new parents (often at their request) with information on how to feed their baby. Common sense says that's not the source you should probably get your education from. I am thankful that I can trust my body, which was made to grow and nourish babies, and in moments that might be a little trying I can ask for Heavenly Fathers help to be patient with myself and my son.

When Max was only a couple of hours old, his blood sugar was low. The nurse suggested 'we' supplement with formula--her 'we' meant her and me. I didn't have to say a word, my look stopped her in her tracks. I was educated and informed, and I trusted in my body's ability. I told her that 'we' (my nursling and I) just needed to nurse. So we did. And when they checked his sugars next...all was well. What a boost to my confidence as a mom and a woman!

Check back tomorrow for Part 2...

My Kind of Funny

I had to peel myself away from a blog I just discovered. I mean I was laughing out loud, tears rolling down my cheeks and my baby was freaked out by the crazy lady that looked like his mama. Need a laugh, check it out:

For Love or Funny

I think my favorite post was this one:

How to Find True Love