Best excuse to eat Cookies.. Lactation Cookies

When I first had little Eleanor, I had some problems nursing. I googled everything I could imagine. I turned to every mama I knew that nursed. I talked to my Doctor. I talked to my Lactation Consultant. They gave me so much advise, I had no idea what to do with it all. "Take Fenugreek. Take Brewers Yeast. Eat Oatmeal. Drink a beer. Eat your Placenta." Okay, that last one was an exaggeration. But not really. Some people actually do that.
In one of my darkest days, I turned to social media. Turns out, there are a TON of groups on Facebook and Instagram that their sole purpose is to help fellow nursing mama's out with their breastfeeding problems/needs. One of the most common topics on these groups, is how to get a good milk supply going. Most people suggested the usual, Fenugreek, Brewers Yeast, Oatmeal and more. One thing that caught my attention was something called a lactation cookie. Seeing as how the word "cookie" was in the name, it instantly got my attention. Duh.. I started looking into it. Where did I look first? Pinterest, of course.

I found this pretty cool recipe that I tweaked a little bit to my own liking.
You can find the original recipe here, but I put it below, with my revisions added.

3 cups of steel cut/ old fashioned oatmeal (Ive used both, but prefer old fashioned) 

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 and 1/2 cups of brown sugar

2 eggs (could substitute with coconut oil. Think I will next time, actually.)

1 cup of  chocolate chips ( could substitute with raisins) 

1 cup of butter Salted or unsalted. Your preference 

4 table spoons of water

2-4 tablespoons of Brewers Yeast (be generous)

2-4 tablespoons of Fenugreek powder (I opened up the pills and emptied them into a container. Stored the extra for future use).

2 tablespoons of Flaxseed Meal

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of baking soda

Preparation time is around 15-20  minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
1) Mix together 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and water, set aside for 3-5 minutes.
2) Cream (beat well) butter and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mix well.
3) Stir flaxseed mixture and add with vanilla to the butter mix. Beat until blended.
4) Sift together dry ingredients, except oats and chips.
5) Add to butter mixture. Stir in oats then chips.
6) Scoop or drop onto baking sheet. The dough is a little crumbly, it might be easier if you use a scoop- I just use a spoon- no need to get too  fancy.

Bake for 8-12 minutes, depending on size of cookies. Makes approximately 3-4 dozen cookies.

*Again, I can only vouch for myself, but this definitely increased my milk supply and it was a delicious treat that was easy to make. 

My finished product. By this time, I only had 4 left. Out of 16. They were just so good!

**Where to Get Brewers Yeast
You can get brewers yeast from health food stores, or in the health food isles of supermarkets. It’s a bit cheaper to buy brewers yeast from supermarkets than from health food stores. 

Brewers yeast comes in two forms. Pill and powder. I got the pill and I crush up the pills into powder when I want some. I keep some crushed in a small container and add it to things like oatmeal, cereal, smoothies and other foods to boost my supply. 

This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies at one time. I don't really have the "fat girl mentality" to eat three dozen cookies within the cookie eating window (which is about 5 days in case you were wondering. If they sit out more than that, they start to get stale. And who wants to eat stale cookies?). After I scooped out my dozen or so cookies onto my stone, I got some wax paper out and scooped the rest of the dough into balls and put them in the freezer. Make sure they sit on the wax paper, separated, until they are frozen. That way it won't be a pain when you get them out of the freezer, to bake.

 My frozen cookie balls. All frosty in their little ziplock bag!

I couldn't post a blog without sharing a picture of my Little Lady. And she has something to do with the post.... She is the baby that I am eating these lactation cookies for. =) Here she is in one of my favorite cloth diapers! Isn't that little bum so cute?!

Again, this has got to be the best excuse to eat cookies I have ever heard. To help feed baby! I can honestly say that I don't feel the slightest bit of guilt when I eat one. Or three.
Happy Nursing!

Its Burlap Season

I sure do love burlap y'all. recently I got about 2 yards of burlap from Joann's in hopes of making a fall wreath. Here's a few things I didn't know about Burlap before I purchased it.

It sheds worse than a husky in the Florida Summer.
Its itchy.
It can make your allergies flare up. It sure made mine!
If you sew with it, make sure your machine can handle it. Its heavy duty stuff.

Anywho, I made a super cute wreath with my two yards of burlap. I already had the "P", so that wasn't a cost. When it was finished, I thought it still needed a little "something". I searched my house, high and low for something Fall-ish. Then I came upon this little pumpkin that my mom gave Charlie, my puppy, some treats in last year. Perfect! I love how it turned out. Just a little whimsical, but not over the top =)

I had just enough burlap leftover to make a super cute fall banner. I used all this fun stuff to make my banner. I was pretty much flying by the seat of my pants when I did this, but oh well. Turned out alright. So here is what I used.

I cut my triangles out, but I made a template first. That's the triangle, thing.
Then I used my handy dandy rotary cutter to cut my triangles out, and I used a sharpie to just write on the burlap. I said "give thanks" on mine but you can write whatever you want on yours! Last, I used my hot glue gun and jute to hot glue them to make it into a banner. Super cute! Here is my final product.

My little Pilgrim People have made their appearance! See them right next to the Photo album that doesn't have any outside cover pictures? I'm so classy. And lazy. But I do love my Pilgrim People. They are a blast from my past. You can only get them from Publix, which is a grocery store in the south. Ah, I miss it there.

And lastly, My favorite part of Fall. My sweet little lady, all dressed up in a candy corn outfit, made it love by Nana! =)

HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!

5 lessons I've learned about Postpartum

Before I had Eleanor, I did a TON of research about having a baby and postpartum. I confess, I watched a few birth videos too. I felt that I was ready for when I had E. I knew what to do in labor, I knew what to expect directly postpartum, like in the hospital. However, there were a few things that I did not expect about postpartum that took me by surprise.

1. You cry a lot. Like a lot, a lot. 

Before I got pregnant, I'd like to say that I did not have feelings at all. People used to call me the ice queen, no joke. During my pregnancy, my hormones weren't too bad. I didn't have any crazy cravings, I didn't cry at the drop of a hat, and I stayed very active. My hormones were a little off, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. But after I had E, they went straight to the crapper. About two weeks after I had E, Hubby was on duty and was gone all night long. I was watching TV and a diaper commercial came on. It was one of those commercials that shows mommy and baby happy that the baby didn't pee through its diaper. There was some sweet music on and suddenly, I began to cry. When it was over, I thought to myself, OMG. Why did I just cry over this commercial? Then I began to think. I have been very emotional lately. I cry every time I see someone with a baby. I tear up when I see a cute puppy picture on Pinterest. 

I suppose that since my pregnancy hormones were pretty controllable, that postpartum would be controllable too. Guess not! 

2. Your body still isn't quite your own.
I suppose if you are formula feeding, then you get your body back faster, but if you breastfeed or pump, then your body still is not quite your own. You still have to carefully monitor everything that you eat. If you eat something that the baby doesn't agree with, the baby will get gas. If you indulge in some Taco Bell (which I have been too chicken to try post baby, because I am worried it will hurt her tummy), you have to weigh the good and bad. Will it be worth it to eat Taco Bell now, and possibly have a fussy, gassy baby tonight?
And you still have to drink, like half of your body weight every day. I drink anywhere between 120-150 oz of water a day. I really don't mind drinking water, since its all I drink, but its not as easy for others.
Some say that with breastfeeding and/or pumping, that mom will loose the baby weight faster. That might be the case for some women, but not all. I've read that in many cases that women stay the same, even gain some weight from breastfeeding. But Dieting while BFing is hard too. You have to take in enough water and calories to produce enough milk for baby to grow. If you don't take in enough, your baby won't have enough food for baby, and if you take it too much, you don't loose weight, you gain it. Catch 22, isn't it? Ugh, the struggle.

3. You go bald (or at least you feel like it)
I had no idea that I would lose so much hair, post baby. I never really noticed a big change in the thickness of my hair during pregnancy. I only noticed that it grew faster. But about a week after I had E, I started noticing that I was loosing quite a bit of hair in the shower. But nothing was different. I was still using the same shampoo, I was still fixing my hair the same way, but I felt like I was going bald! But no worries. I still have TONS of hair, it just seemed more dramatic because I have three feet of hair, rather than the normal amount the average mom has. Apparently its completely normal to lose hair postpartum, thanks to my hormones. Those crazy hormones just keep popping up, don't they!

4. You smell 
Okay, this one is a little gross. It also goes back to those lovely hormones, once again. Since your body is still adjusting to not having a bun in the oven anymore, your chemistry gets a little screwed up. For me, it meant that things like deodorant did not work as well. Neither did those cutesy smelling perfumes. I ended up having to switch to a different deodorant that was a bit stronger. However, I now carry a travel size stick of deodorant, just in case I have any more stinky incidents.

5. You can function without sleep
Its amazing the things you can accomplish with such little amounts of sleep. The first two or three weeks were really hard for me to get up with Eleanor in the middle of the night to feed her. Then the day time was even worse. I couldn't do anything productive other than feed myself, Eleanor and change diapers. However, after the two or three week mark, things got a ton better. I went from taking naps every day when E napped, to only taking naps when I only REALLY need them. I have learned to manage my time so much more efficiently than before. When she sleeps now, I clean the kitchen, clean the living room, do laundry and sometimes even do something for myself, like sew. I still get up with E about twice a night (at about 3 and 6 AM) but I don't feel like such a zombie anymore. It gets better, I promise!

Not all things about Postpartum are bad. I do love seeing my smiling girls face everyday. I love the look she gives me while shes eating, and looks up at me with love and admiration. I love when she plays on her play mat and laughs when she sees herself in the mirror. I love how truly peaceful she looks when she is asleep. I love her more than I could ever possibly express in words.

Thankful for the Weekend

This past week, my husband has been out of town for some training for work. This was my first time alone with Eleanor for the whole week. I had been staying alone with E on John's Duty nights since she was two weeks old, but a whole week home with her was a completely different story. On Sunday, Johns mom, Cindy came over to stay the night. She helped me a little Sunday and Monday with E, but she went home Monday afternoon. I really do appreciate all she did to help. But I'm sure she just looked at it as snuggle time with E.
Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty good days with the baby. Thursday everything fell to the crapper. I suddenly felt like I pulled a muscle in my back, which made it hard to do ANYTHING for Eleanor. It hurt to put her down, pick her up, change her diaper, and even hold her in some positions. I could have really used Hubby Thursday evening. When bedtime finally came, I was so relieved that she would be finally going to bed. Apparently not. Little girl decided to party until 11. Then woke up at 2 to eat. This might seem normal to yall, but she usually is passed out by 10 and does not wake up until at least 3 to eat. Thursday night, I literally felt like I was trapped in the song that never ends.
Well the morning finally came. It was Friday. The day that John was coming home. I think Eleanor knew today was the day that he was coming home too. She was so fussy, I didn't know what to do with her. On more than one occasion, I considered having a nervous breakdown, but apparently I am the one who thinks about a nervous breakdown before I have one. I figured it wouldn't do me any good to scream and cry while she screamed and cried, so I decided against it.
But I did learn something new about Eleanor. She likes to sleep on her tummy. Laying her on her tummy, on her play mat, was the only way I could get her to nap today. I know, I know, its not good to lay a baby on their tummy, but I needed a break and I watched her the whole time. Don't judge me.

John Finally made it home about 4:30 on Friday. Thank the lord almighty. I was so glad for my family to be back together. We had a nice dinner out with the Hubby and Little Lady at a place called Firebrew. It was so nice, being out in public, having an adult conversation. It was also nice having a reason to get dressed and decent, other than a doctors appt.

Saturday, E woke up earlier than usual. John was such a sweetie and got up with her. They apparently went downstairs to play. An hour later, I woke up to the sounds of my hubby opening the bedroom door. My love made waffles and eggs and brought me breakfast in bed. He even brought it on a tray! Granted it was the tray to the Baby Bumbo, which was the funniest thing ever, but it was so sweet. My little heart just melted. =)
After breakfast, we went shopping! Washer/dryer shopping to be exact. We picked out our washer and dryer at a local appliance store and got a pretty good deal, I think. We saved $178 on our appliances that were already on sale! And to top things off, we had them delivered the next day.

Here they are! Aren't they beautiful!?

And look at my grumpy girl. Shes just precious! She was NOT happy about taking her weekly Sunday picture.

Happy Columbus Day!
AND, Happy Birthday to the U.S. Navy. Celebrating 239 years today! Boy, they are old. Hooyah!

DIY Nursery Project

Today was a very busy day. We started off our day at the Doctors office with Eleanor's 2 month, well baby check-up. She is a very health baby girl!

She measured 9 lbs 9 oz. She is in the 20th percentile for girls her age. 

She measured 22 inches long. She grew two whole inches in 2 months! She sure is growing like a weed. That puts her in the 66th percentile for height in girls her age. She is one tall, slender girl!

Her head circumference was 14.76 inches, which puts her in the 18th percentile. Good thing she doesn't have a huge head. But she DOES have beautiful blue eyes. =)

The sad part came at the end of the visit when she got two shots. Other moms have told me before that it made them cry. I thought I would be prepared for this. Clearly, I wasn't. I cried right along with her. It was heartbreaking, seeing my little girl so sad and upset. But good thing it didn't last long. After she was all done, I scooped her right up and snuggled her until she calmed down. Good thing it did not take a long time to do so. 

After her appointment, I decided that we both needed some retail therapy. We decided to go to the new Hobby Lobby in Virginia Beach. It was a group decision, don't worry. =) She was happy because I put her in our new Ergo Baby Carrier so she was happy to snuggle with Mama while we shopped. 

While checking out the greatest craft store on earth, AKA Hobby Lobby, I picked up some goodies for some new DIY projects I have been meaning to do. Today's project is all about Eleanor. 

I got this super cute board from HL back in May at the Pensacola, Fl. location. It was on Super Sale. Originally $14, I got mine for about $3. SCORE! But its been sitting all plain on Eleanor's Nursery since we got it hung, back in July. Its purpose was supposed to hold E's birth details when she arrived. And it only took 2 months, but I finally got around to putting them on the board, and I couldn't be happier! 

I started with all of these supplies:

Cricut

Sticky Board for the Cricut

Cartridge of your choice that has the alphabet

Vinyl of your choice (the sticky stuff that makes stickers) 

sample paper (so you can see how big you want your letters. Its best to test with paper and use the Vinyl once. It can get pricey)

 Next, you cut all your letters/numbers out and BOOM! There you go!
This took me only about 30 minutes to cut and place on my board. I am pretty happy wit the way it turned out. It's not perfect, by far, but I like it.

 I put it back up in its rightful home, right above her changing table. Not the best picture, but you get the gist.

One final picture. This is my little girl in her two month photo! Isn't she a doll? =)

5 Things that helped me survive having a newborn

Having a newborn in the house is no joke. Being a mommy is no joke either. But here are some things that I have saved my bacon on more than one occasion.

1. The Bible. And its App.
Having a newborn is mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting. Being able to read the Word is what I need to hear the most, on some days. The scriptures are uplifting and always seem to give me the boost I need. I look forward to reading The Bible every night before bed. However, having a hungry baby that needs to nurse can sometimes hinder that, especially on the nights that hubby has duty and I am all alone. Having the Bible app is such a life saver. If we are having a bad night, we can set the app up, press play and the nice man with a British accent, reads us the Bible. His name is Max, by the way.
This app is especially helpful because back in January, both John and I decided to read the whole bible in a year. This app has plans that breaks down the Bible into little bits, that make it really easy to read the Bible in a year. It keeps track of the percentage of how much of the Bible you have read so far and helps you get back on track if you miss a day.
I have my app downloaded to both my iPhone, and iPad. It's pretty much the best.

2. Angel Care Monitor
I cant quite take credit for this one. My sister found this monitor years ago with her first baby, and I knew I wanted the same kind when I got around to having little ones.
The Angelcare sound and movement monitor that we have, can be found here. We got the standard sound and movement, but they also have a video option that is a little more expensive and it can be found here.
 This monitor is not quite like any other baby monitor. This monitor detects sounds as well as movement. This means that it makes sure that the baby is breathing when it is laying down in the crib or bassinet. If the baby doesn't make any movements for 15 seconds, the monitor will let off one loud beep. If the baby hasn't started breathing in 5 more seconds, the alarm will constantly sound until there is movement detected again.
The peace of mind that this gives new parents is un-parallel. There have been many nights when I know other moms would lie awake, listening for their babies breaths and I would be soundly sleeping.
And I know this sucker works. My sweet Eleanor has had a few scares with her breathing the last few nights. Take last night for example. Both John and I were snoozing away when we got a wake-up call by the warning beep. We thought it was a fluke so we didn't move. But when the real alarm sounded, I bolted up and woke Eleanor up. Right away, I heard her take a big breath in and start breathing again. This happened twice last night. I am praying that this was only a one night thing, but if its not, It does make me feel better that if she does have breathing problems, that monitor will be there for us, to alert us when our sweet baby has problems breathing.

3. Carters Swaddle Blankets
These suckers are gold. From day one with E, I have swaddled her and she has not minded it at all. I like the big ones, that stretch. The more they stretch, the tighter the baby can be swaddled. Someone gave me most of my blankets so I am not 100% sure where they came from, but they are available on amazon, here.

4. Fisher Price Swing
Since I worked in day care, I know the ins and outs of baby gear. Mom's used to come in all the time and tell me their kid didn't like the swing. I knew better. All kids like the swing, they just don't know it yet. I got my swing from a virtual yard sale site, used. Best way to save money, mind you. I snagged a model almost just like this, for the low price of $75. I heart saving money!
Any-who, for the first two weeks, E would not even touch her co-sleeper. All she would do is sleep in her swing. I don't know how I would have gotten through the first few weeks without this life-saver.

5. Electric Baby Scale
After having Eleanor, we had a rough start to get our breastfeeding routine going. Because my milk didn't come in soon enough, Eleanor started to loose weight. Which is normal, right? Well, yes, but to an extent. Little lady ended up loosing about 12% of her weight, and anything above 10% is cause for concern, apparently. We ended up having to supplement with formula for a few weeks, which broke my heart. I felt like such a failure as a mother that I could not provide the most basic need for my child. After having a few sad conversations with my Mom about the situation, my mom got on her lappy (her laptop) and bought me this amazing baby scale from amazon. She said that it would be much  easier to monitor her weight if I had one. It would also give me peace of mind knowing that she is gaining weight appropriately. This little beaut has an infant tray for when they are small, and when they can stand, you can take the tray off and it becomes a toddler scale. Pretty cool, huh?
Since we have had trouble with her weight, this product has given me peace of mine in another sense. I put E on the scale at least twice a week to make sure she is gaining the weight that she needs. AND, thanks to this handy-dandy infant growth chart calculator, I can monitor what percentile she is in.

Here's my little nugget! She holds her head up so good now =)

So there it is folks, my top 5 things that helped me survive a newborn. My little nugget is almost two months old now and I am happy to report she is gaining weight like a champ. She is still on the low side of the growth chart, but she has made so much progress! She goes back to the doctor next week, so I guess Ill share her progress on her height and head circumference then. Ta-ta for now!