Diaper Cakes: Creative Process

Here I am going to post a few photos of Diaper Cakes. One I have already made earlier this year and the other two I am making this month! Here is the first one: I made this for a friend who was having her second child, her first baby boy. I chose a "Baby's Bath" Theme with a blue polka-dot ribbon and bath toys and washcloths as accents. I even included a little bib on the back, I think it turned out well, especially for my first one! :)

Potty Boot Camp : Phase 1

So, Josh and I have decided to potty train Evan! I am feeling really confident about it! We are doing the potty boot camp (www.thepottybootcamp.com) as suggested by my good friend and a successful potty training mom! So we have started the prep phase: I rented "Elmo's Potty Time" and "Once Upon a Potty for Him" the DVD and a couple of other potty books from the library. He is really interested in it, so that's encouraging! I'll update here on how things go because it would seem weird to constantly update my facebook page with potty training info, so I decided to blog about it instead! :)

9 Months! Only 3 til my goal! :)

I have been nursing Oliver for 9 months!! I can't believe it, I definitely did not think that this was possible 9 months ago! It is so normal now, just part of the routine. I think it is going to be weird when he weans and I think I will miss it. Our special time together, the way that he falls asleep for his nap and bedtime while nursing. I feel like I don't ever want to stop, I think that's because I never want him to grow up, lol! I wish that he would stay a baby forever, he is growing too fast! He crawls super fast now and can stand unassisted for about 6 seconds. My baby boy. There really is a strong connection that you have to the baby that you breastfeed.

Today I made a jello cake for Evan's birthday party tomorrow, he is now 2 years old! The cake is entirely free of his allergies and it tastes really good so I hope that people like it! We're doing a Thomas the Train theme, Choo Choo!! It should be really nice. :)

I wonder if I will nurse any more than one year... I think it would be hard. I guess I will just let Oliver wean when he is ready. I tried some formula in his cereal the past couple of days and he has had horrid diaper rash from the poop! Breastfed poop must be easier on the bum I suppose, but at least so far he doesnt' seem to have an allergy to it!! I am very happy about that!

Well, goodnight internet, I am so exhausted and tomorrow is a big day! Happy 2nd Birthday to my Evan, my cuddle bug. :)

Christmas Photo Cards from Shutterfly!

We are going to get 50 free photo cards from Shutterfly!
This is the link: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards
I think these will be great as Christmas cards and I am going to send them to all my friends and family! I can't wait! Also, they have some really cool designs this year! Here's the link for Holiday Cards: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

I just finished creating a photo book for my MIL for Christmas of our recent trip to the beach this past summer. We had a blast and we have so many great picture memories! I had a problem creating a couple of the pages of the book and I contacted Shutterfly's customer service and they responded so quickly and even fixed my problem for me with the photo book! That was so cool of them! Oh cool, you can also get Birthday Invitations: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/birthday-invitations

For the christmas cards, I am going to use some pictures from when I took the kids to get their picture taken in October. I got some really cute Christmas shots of Oliver especially and then I have one of the two of them together. Or, I might use another family photo, I'm not sure yet. I might even wait until we go see Santa Claus and use that picture, but I guess that depends on when the free photo code expires. I am thinking maybe a red and white candy cane like design. I definitely want a picture with both boys in it for some of the cards. I have a feeling with 50 cards that I may end up with extra, but that's better than not having enough!

2 Months!

Worried about Supply

First of all, I made it to six weeks! :D There were a few times that I was thinking, this is definitely not going to happen, but it did! Yay!

I'm afraid that Oliver is not getting as much milk as he needs or wants. He is so fussy in the evenings and all he wants to do is nurse and then I run out of milk and he cries and cries until we supplement with milk that I pumped earlier in the day if I have some. I'm afraid that I am stressed out and so my milk supply is going down, and I'm on drugs to make more milk!! It is the most frustrating thing in the world not to have an ample supply of milk for your baby. If someone else comes up to me and complains about having an oversupply of milk, I may punch them in the face. I think we are doing alright though, most of the day Oliver is happy when soothed or held. And he has a bunch of pees and poops. He is so fussy though, Josh and I both think that he is fussier than Evan was. I'm so worried that when I go off of this drug that I won't have a lot of milk anymore. I am really going to take it easy as much as I can this weekend and try to destress. I wouldn't even worry about it if he wasn't so fussy, he is so fussy and just never ever happy unless you are soothing him. He is hardly ever just comfortable when he is awake, but maybe I am forgetting how newborns are. Half of the time I am glad to be nursing and the other half I can't wait to stop, but I really want to make it to a year. I will be able to enjoy my son more when I don't have to nurse him all the time. Are all breastfed babies fussy all the time? I don't know how much more of this I can take, it is very stressful to have to listen to crying all the time. :(

Beginning to Love Nursing

Nursing seems to be getting better and better! Occasionally we will have some latch trouble, but overall I think Oliver is very happy and satisfied. Sometimes he will sleep through his morning feeding and I will pump and then he wants to cluster feed in the evenings, so I'll give him what he skipped in the morning. I am not getting any extra to freeze or anything, just like 3 extra ounces in the fridge for when we really need it. Today was the first day that I haven't given him any supplement of breastmilk in a bottle at all. I am also taking this Domperidone medicine to increase my milk supply and I guess it's working because Oliver seems quite happy today.

I love being able to just nurse at the breast all day long... I really enjoy it! Not having to worry about bottles or formula is heaven. I just pick up Oliver, put on the nursing pillow, set up a tv show for Evan and then breastfeed. I had been pumping and letting Josh give Oliver a bottle at night, but I don't like my pump as much as I liked the hospital one, so I don't pump very much anymore. I can't wait to get him weighed again on Monday just for some reassurance that everything I am doing is right. I've finally gotten to the point where I really love nursing, I never thought I'd get there... I thought it would always be a chore like pumping all the time was.