Update on the Boys

Allen is 21 months almost 22 months. Wait he's going to be almost two?! That can't be possible. He's all boy.
Some of his favorite things to do include: chasing Emma (Doodle) around the house and screaming ahhhhh while doing this, dipping anything and everything in ranch dressing, taking selfies on mommy and daddy's phone, and catching/chasing lightening bugs (bug bugs) in the yard.
His vocabulary has expanded so much. Trying to list everything he is saying at this point would be a huge list. Some words that come out more often than not are: purple, no, doodle, uh oh, mama, dada, nana, papa, please, and trac-tor.
He is a riot to be around and always keeps a smile on my face...except when he wakes up in a bad mood. Who would've thought a toddler's mood could set the tone/mood for the whole day. In that case his little butt gets sent back to bed for an early nap in hopes that he wakes up in a better mood. Not like this is currently what's going on today or anything. *insert sarcasm here_____*

Abram is 5 months almost 6 months. He's growing like a weed and it seems like he's trying to catch up to his big brother. He loves Allen. It's so cute to see the two of them interact with each other.
Abram loves any kind of toy that he is able to put into his mouth. He loves being tickled and is becoming more and more sociable. He wants to be a part of the group. Abram loves to copy and know officially how to blow raspberries. Pretty cute to hear in the backseat while you're driving. He's discovered his feet and is very close to putting those in his mouth as well. He rolls from belly to back and back to belly. He scoots backwards and has enough strength to plank and then his arms give out and he belly flops. This is quite hilarious! A giant ugh comes out when he belly flops.
Abram has started on rice cereal and he's not a fan. The face he makes while feeding him almost looks like we're feeding him poison. I need to get my butt and gear and starting making some baby food for him since that is going to be here any day now. What should his first official food be? Peas? Carrots?

Abram has a 6 month checkup here in a couple weeks and I will have official weight stats. Allen does have a checkup until he is 2. The family as a whole is doing great. More updates to come soon.

Allergies and Sensitive Skin

A little back story is I haven't had a general doctor or general doctor appointment since before Allen was born. So going on almost two years. Now that everything has settled now that we're back in our hometown I decided it was time to just make a general appointment, find a doctor I was comfortable with and get some questions answered. It is confirmed that I have Celiac, no real big surprise there. There is about a 25% chance that the boys will inherit that lovely autoimmune disease from me. For right now we are steering clear from gluten in the boys diet until they are old enough and have enough words to tell us if they don't feel good. I absolutely love my doctor and one of my major questions what about my allergies. I took an allergy pill every day and have for quite a long time, but I didn't really know what allergens effected me. I was referred to an allergist.
Made my appointment and 5 days prior to my appointment I was to stop taking my usual allergy pill. Oh this ought to be fun. Day one wasn't too bad, but as the days progressed I became more and more miserable. I was allowed to take one Benadryl prior to my appointment and Saturday is the day I decided to take it and I wish I would've waited because the day before my appointment was THE worst! I wanted to scratch every single part of my skin. I itched everywhere! I was sneezing, had a scratchy throat, and a runny nose. Ya, it wasn't very fun to say the least. When my appointment finally arrived I was more than grateful to see what was triggering all these symptoms and to see if I could get a handle on them.
I met with the doctor and I really liked her. She was upbeat and kept the mood light which was nice. I was first given the scratch test on my back. I was then told to wait 15 minutes. While watching the timer in the quiet of the room very quickly my back I could feel was starting to get irritated and it took all I had to not scratch my back! I knew that I had to be patient and I didn't want to skew any of the results. The doctor came in and checked my results and I most definitely reacted to some of the proteins, but she wanted to go further and test a few more interdermally. Basically I was going to get little shots into my skin of a higher dose of the proteins to see if I reacted to specific allergens. This test had me a little freaked out. I was given 5 and the ones specifically tested on my arm were Grass, Mold, Trees, Dust F, and Cats. Almost instantly my arm started welting up. So the results were in...I'm highly allergic to dust/dust mites, cat hair, ragweed and tree pollen. I'm also slightly allergic to dog hair.
How in the world am I supposed to get away from dust!!!! The doctor said that the itching and irritated skin is most likely from the dust since the other allergens that I'm effected by are mostly seasonal and we don't have cats. Oh perfect. The suggestions I was given were allergen protectors for my bed and pillows, wash our sheets weekly in hot water and keep dogs out of the bed. I was also prescribed an allergy pill and nasal spray. Also to help with my sensitive skin it was suggested I use Vanicream, which is basically magic in a bottle. I also switched body washes to Dove Sensitive.
I am finally on the mend and the itching/scratching has gone down immensely. Still need to build up with taking my allergy pill. The doctor also suggested that I may want to look into getting allergy shots. This is something I am going to take into consideration, but we will see.
After all of this I don't think I will ever question where my boys get their sensitive skin from. Yep, they can thank their mama for that one. I am grateful to know what my triggers are and how I can help make myself feel better. I go back in two weeks for a recheck to see how all is going, and I do have one question that I need to ask. What is the likelihood of the boys developing allergies, since there's always that possibility.
I will be doing an update on the boys here in the next day or two. Or if I'm really ambitious and the boys more Abram than anything will work with me I may do two posts in one day. But I'm sorta thinking that most likely will not happen.

A Mama's Work is Never Done...

To say I have a lot going on right not is a complete understatement! A lot of the stuff going on is personal and I haven't quite decided how much I'm going to share.
We had a very relaxing weekend and it was exactly what the family needed. On the flip side not much housework got done...thus I have a lot of work to do and this is going to be a busy week.
I really think I'm going to create a consistent cleaning schedule because I really feel like my work is never done. I would like to feel some accomplishment with my cleaning. I think it will be really helpful. Do you have any cleaning schedules that you like to stick to?

At a loss for words

Well we've officially hit a speed bump when it comes to the house. Without getting into too many details we're just hoping and praying that the bank with work with us. After a long trip to and from Gurnee just to find out that we can be doing the work it left Adam and I completely frustrated and at a loss for words. To say the least.  I drove home so Adam could make some calls and the car ride was pretty silent for quite awhile. I was such a mix of emotions. I prayed a lot on the drive home and that left me somewhat even more angry. Weird. I don't know if I was looking for some aha moment but I didn't get one.
Well today I decided that it was a new day. I would get caught up on my bible study and have some quiet time with God. In my study I was met right where I'm at. Funny how that happens. I was smacked right in the face about quiet time, prayer, what I'm leaving out and trusting and know that I am human and He is God. Thank you for that one God. Didn't see that one coming but I appreciate it.
This led me to thinking am I spending enough quiet time with my Savior? Or am I just brushing it off thinking I can get to that later? I think right now i fall somewhere right in the middle. I think as a person, as a mother, as a wife it's very important to keep my relationship with God close and all of the others will fall right into place.
So in conclusion I'm left completely humbled, renewed, and thankful. I know God's upper story something great is coming from the stress and trouble going on down here in my lower story.

Feeling just...

On Friday it came up again on She Reads Truth to She Shares Truth. I've been thinking about what I should say. Where my words were led. Last week to put it lightly was a very rough week. I was stuck somewhere in the midst of feeling just.
That I was just making it by
That I was just a mom
That I just wasn't cut out for this

Have you ever been stuck in a just rut?

Through my rough week I continued to pray and kept asking God for help. I finally got out of the rut with some help from Adam and some answered help from God.

Adam took the boys and I out on a date to just get out of the house and have a little renewed Jamerson time. It was most needed and I apologized for the week being crazy and some of my attitude wearing off into him. He sometimes turns into my punching bag when I'm in a crazy mood. Not fair by any means but it's just what happens.  God also met me right where I was. Funny how he does that. He chose me. He called me. I am one of His. I am saved through his love and grace. I wasn't just making it by. I made it! The boys were happy, healthy, and cared for. He chose me to be there mama, and that is so humbling in itself. Even when it feels like I'm failing I'm their mama and He chose it that way. This also goes hand in hand with the fact that with help from Him I am cut out for anything I do.
I have to take the time to remember that I am not defined by my circumstances no matter how rough they may be. He is always there. It's easy to place a label on myself. One at God does not call me by but yet I call myself. I need to remember what He calls me and to call myself that as well.

One-Handed Master and A Case of the Paci Monster

Before I even start this post I love my boys to death and I'm not complaining one bit about staying home with them. It's the greatest job I could ever have and I would not change it for the world. Now that that's covered...moving on.

I have become a one-handed master. Now get your head out of the gutter, I'm a mommy of two let's be real. 90-95% of the time Abram is content being worn in my amazing K'tan or is happy in his bouncy/vibrating chair. Otherwise he is having a World War III meltdown. So I get to put a baby on my hip and go about my normal routine while still caring for Allen. Why do I feel like this is part of a county song, well anyways. The time that I am the best one-handed master is while I'm trying to get Abram down for a nap and I'm gently patting him to sleep and Allen wants me to read a story. Yep, I've got this routine down pat. Abram's current napping area is a blanket laid out on the loveseat.

Don't go juding ya'll. He's still super tiny. When he sleeps he is out, and I'm never too far away to keep an eye on him. We do have a pack and play that I could put him in, but it doesn't have the adjustable levels so it's just not practical right now. That is his set sleeping spot for the time being and it works for us. The other times I'm a pro at doing things one-handed: vaccuuming, cooking, laundry, and of course loving on both the boys at which point I have no hands. If you don't have children and you're reading this imagine with me for a mintue that your dominant hand is tied behind your back aka this would be the baby holding hand and now you get to do everything with your opposite hand. It isn't easy, is it?

Now about this dang paci monster. Abram has been so funny with his pacifiers lately. A short time after he was born we introduced the soothie paci to him. We tried these with Allen and they were the ony pacifiers he took so why not try it out with number two. WRONG!!! I even went and spent which seemed like $15 on a dang wubbanub which was all fine and dandy until Abram starting sucking more on the frog instead of the paci itself. I'm not one to push a paci into a baby by any means, but I could tell that Abram wanted something to help with his sucking motion and the soothie wasn't going to cut it. In comes the Nuk. He takes to it fine and Abram likes that the little ring attached makes it easy for him to pull out on his own. He's discovering how his hand work and it's really cute. So now we have a paci that he likes and so instead of having just one I got and buy four. Great this little is set. Nope. I am now down to three because apparently at night there is a paci monster that likes to hide pacifiers and leaves them somewhere that is impossible to find. Has anyone else had this problem or am I just going a little crazy from sleep deprivation? Well anyways I will be on the hunt for this long lost past, thankfully I have three more that will sufice.

I can't leave this post without some cuteness of the boys.

What I Learned :Titus Study

As I went through the book I Titus I got these themes from the book which goes directly with the writings on She Reads Truth.
The Gospel and Godliness
Grace, Mercy & Peace
Above Reproach
Spiritual Mothers
A Peculiar People
Trained by Grace
The Wash of Regeneration
Wasted Words
Love Letter

I can't belive how much I learned from such a short book with only 3 chapters. One thing that stood out to me so much was Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of works done by us in his rightesnousness, but according to his own mercy. I think in this day and age that can so easily get confused. That if we do good things/deeds that makes us a good Christian. We are saved by God's unfailing grace and the undeserving gift that Jesus Christ paid for us. We are to do good works not to save ourselves, but just to be good people. I also took so much from Titus 2: 1-5 talking about spiritual mothers. My previous post discussed this more. I am branching out and trying to connect with more and more people in my church. I also might have something up my sleeve. I'm still praying about that option though. More details to come later. Lastly, Titus 2: 11-15 which discusses yet again God's amazing grace that he gives to us. In the hustle and bustle of today it can so easily be looked over how truly great His grace is.

Today starts the study of Ruth. I'm very excited to see what I will learn next.

Titus 2:1-5 Spiritual Mothers

A friend of mine directed me to She Reads Truth. I highly recommend the site and to start a plan along with them. On June 2, I started the current plan that is going and we are studying in the book of Titus. After reading today's passage and the email/commentary that is included in the email that I receive daily I really got to thinking.
My spiritual journey has been short yes. In 2012 I wrote about our testimony (Adam and myself) which can be found here. I'm a new Christian, but I don't think that means that I can't be as spiritual and looking to be fed just the same as someone who would be considered an 'old' Christian.
So currently, I am reading my bible and studying Titus, Praying For Boys, Religion Saves, and Jesus Calling. I'm busy to say the least and try and squeeze in as much reading as I can with two littles keeping me extra busy.
So, back to where this all started: Spiritual Mothers. The greatest thing I read from this article and learned is we cannot and should not live and grow in the gospel alone.
When Adam and I attended CCC we had a small group and had others to help keep us accountable. I truly think that my Spiritual Mother at that time was Heather. She was the welcoming face to the church when Adam and I felt like all hope was lost. Again refer back to our testimony. If I needed advice I seeked out Heather. She was a more mature Christian than I was and I felt like I had a lot that I could learn from her. Now having moved out of Zion I'm trying to figure out who my Spiritual Mother is. Heather and I still talk, but it's different now that we don't live so close.
Adam and I now attend First Free Rockford and we have a small group. We have connections with other families that have small children like us, thanks to the amazing childcare that First Free offers. I attend Women's Bible Study on Wednesday nights, so I'm connected to and with women of the church. But, who is my Spiritual Mother? I think in time I will find out. We are new to the church and we are building more and more relationships.
I do truly feel like I have grown in my walk and I can't wait to see what is yet to come. God was truly the person that brought us back to Rockford and I have a stronger connection to this city more than I ever have before. I'm proud to say I live here. My family is here, my church is here and that makes me very happy. In a very short amount of time I have found true and good friends that along with myself have accepted Christ. Some of these people I have met in the most unexpected places...Instagram being one of them. I'm grateful for how these people have been brought into my life and I can't wait to see how these relationships build.

Our Life Currently

Allen is now 19 months old and showing off 10 almost 11 teeth. From the child who didn't cut a tooth until he was 13 months old to now having 10, it boggles my mind. He is the typical toddler with testing the boundaries, babbling his current favorite word...no, and is full of energy.
Abram is 3 months old. Wait...WHAT!!! Where has the time gone.
Even though Abram looks so similar to his brother in pictures they are on complete ends of the spectrum as babies. I think this has to do with a number of things. When Allen was a baby I was working full time. This time around I have the luxury of being a stay-at-home-mommy. I also believe that both the boys have completely different personalities. Allen is a funny guy just like his Daddy. Abram is a bit more serious. Allen didn't really have stranger danger much at all and Abram most definitely takes a long time to warm up to people. He is a ladies man as I like to call it and is more fond of women than men. Allen loved his paci and for the most part being swaddled. Abram is indifferent about his paci and more or less hates being swaddled. Allen was a side sleeper and Abram is a tummy sleeper. Now before you go trying to give me advice about how these are wrong sleeping positions for the boys I don't really want to hear it. I always go with my mommy instincts and whatever is comfortable for my children I am comfortable with as well. Are you starting to see the differences between the boys? I most definitely am. I have heard from some people that Abram is more fussy, I don't think this is true I just think he likes a little more lovin' and one on one time than Allen did. I do not feel that Abram is a colicky baby he just spends a lot of time with me and so that is his comfort. Okay I'm done rambling about the differences.
I recently read a post on a blog that I like to follow A Mommy In The City where Lauren the writer was seeing differences in her children and was finding that her recent son Macks was fighting with bottles. I think I'm starting to see the same things. My mind is somewhat programmed from what Allen liked and I'm slowly realizing that those same things might not and most of the time do not work for Abram. Abram is breastfed and 95-100% of the time gets fed directly from the tap. On occasion I like to have a break and allow others the pleasure of feeding him as well. We have Tommee Tippee bottles and Avent bottles. As I'm coming to realize he is not doing well with either of these. I think it may be a combination of he doesn't get a bottle often so he doesn't really know what to do with them and/or he's just not a fan of these two bottles. After reading the post mentioned above I think I may try out the Playtex Nipple Variety Pack and see if we can have any success. I'm interested to see what happens.
I recently did a post on how things have changed in our lives going from one child to two. Some other changes going on in my life is I have decided that I need to find the best me...weight wise and health wise. Thanks to mother nature and the warmer weather coming in I have been taking the boys on daily walks. I have for the most part been taking the same route every day as to see how the trek becomes easier and easier with time. I've been using an amazing app on my phone called MapMyRide and it's the coolest thing. It uses the GPS on my phone and tracks my route, counts calories burned, tells me how far I've gone and how long I exercised for. Since May 6 I have walked a total of 30.35 miles. Adam and I enjoy bikes rides together and we have rode a total of 17.54 miles. I've found that I have to rejoice in the little accomplishments that I make because some exercise is so much better than no exercise. I haven't been brave enough to start tracking my weight because for the time being I'm am going with how much better I feel and how my clothes fit. It's been a hard balance thus far because I don't want to overdo it since I'm breastfeeding and lose my milk supply, but I do want to see some changes. I'm hoping with time I will find a good balance. I would also say that I'm making healthy choices food wise. I know I need to up my water intake, I could always add more in. I've found that I haven't found excuses. The weather was moody as I like to call it yesterday so I didn't have a chance to take the boys on a walk. I decided that after the boys went to bed that I was going to walk/jog on the treadmill. I got 3.17 miles in. I'm not trying to brag by any means I'm just making do with what I have and trying my best to not find excuses to not do it. Here's to hoping I keep up the good work and will start to see some changes.

Postpartum after #2, Things That Have Changed & What Keeps Me Going

Before I even start this post, I have the feeling that I'm going to ramble a bit.

Now three months into this crazy journey of having two under two I feel like I have some funny things that I can share and how my life especially has changed drastically. Please don't take this out of context, but life does change and I'm not complaining. I love being a mommy.

The first thing that has changed is my blogging posts don't get finished in one day. A lot of times a draft is save and it will take me two or more days to finish. I have also been stumped a lot as to what I should be writing about. I have gotten some feedback, but what are some things you would like me to cover. I'm no expert, but I have experience. That counts...right???

Showers are a luxury. I decided early on that the one thing I would do every day is get dressed and look presentable. I didn't want to lounge around all day just because I was staying at home. Now the question is looking presentable and taking a shower every day. ha. I found out early on showering at night was the easiest option because I was guaranteed to get a shower in and I didn't have to be flustered the next day if I hadn't got the chance to take a quick shower. Now don't go thinking that I'm the smelly kid or anything. I don't go weeks on end without bathing just because I'm so busy, but the transition from one to two and getting a little me time is difficult.
Something that goes along with the showering is my hair loss. I should be bald by now at the rate I'm going. Last time and this time around 3 months or so my hormones level out and hello hair shed! I feel like it's coming out in clumps and clumps. Somehow I have a full head of hair, but at the rate I'm going it's going to be gone in no time. Anyone else experience hair loss postpartum. It's one thing that I kinda forgot about and then bam it's there to remind me that it's all part of having a baby. I gave Adam fair warning this time when I noticed it happening, that the shower drain might be plugged and that there might be more hair on random things.

Time to exercise...does such a thing exist?? I had drastic weight loss after having Allen. I can attribute that to breastfeeding and going back to work 7.5 weeks after having him. I don't know if I ever got to fully see my prebaby weight body after having Allen because when Allen was 9 months, I was pregnant again. I know when I was pregnant with Abram I didn't gain nearly as much weight, probably because my body was holding onto a bit from Allen. Maybe I'm being too harsh on myself this time around, but I feel like I'm not losing as much as I did the first time around. I can definitely tell you that my body is not the same as it was prior to having babies and I'm slowly becoming more and more okay with that. And yes the question you're probably all thinking are you fitting into pre-pregnancy clothes. Yes I am. Not bold enough to try it all on just yet, but probably more than 75% of my pre-pregnancy clothes fit. Yes I am taking that as a victory now just to get slimmer and more toned. When in the day am I supposed to work out? And I'm not trying to come up with excuses by any means, and I'm not running out and joining a gym because I feel like that would be money wasted. On nice days like today I make sure to take the boys on a walk, and pushing them in a double stroller is not easy! Adam and I have also been going on bike rides. Which is another added benefit of warmer weather. My only concern is that I'm not doing enough. I really need to sit down and look at my schedule for the day and see where free time happens. Then what do I do with that free time? What are some easy workouts I can do with little time? Maybe an upcoming post will be about the physical activity that I am able to do and where it fits into the crazy schedule of our day.

Shopping. Oy have things changed. Yesterday I think I had one of the most stressful trips to Target ever! Allen decided screaming would be a good option and Abram protested his infant carrier. Good choice boys. I can say without a doubt that shopping carts AREN'T big enough. I have to put Abram and his carrier in the big part of the cart taking up most of it eliminating most of the room for me to put items and Allen in the cart seat. Yup very little room for any items. Shopping with Adam is a breeze. We put Abram in his travel system and Allen in the cart and we have the whole bottom of the cart empty. This is what we do when we do our weekly shopping at Woodman's. It works out perfectly.

After proofreading this things seem a little crazy. What has been getting me through has been my rock of a husband who has been nothing but supportive and helps whenever needed. My family who has been nothing but helpful and loving towards the boys. The last three things that have helped me greatly is my bible/prayer and this book. These three things together have brought a sense of peace and calm to me in the greatest of storm with my two littles. Asking for patience and wisdom in my prayers has been so helpful. Also learning about what things boys will need the most and how I can pray for that has been amazing. Boys are a different breed that is for sure and the saying 'boys will be boys' I'm starting to understand more and more.

I can't leave you without some cuteness from the two littles who I live for each and every day.

Update on the Boys

On Monday the boys had a joint doctor appointment. It was Allen's 18 month check and Abram's 2 month check.
Allen weighed in at 28 pounds putting him in the 77th percentile and is 33 inches long putting him in the 87th percentile.
Abram weighed in at 13 pounds 1 oz putting him in the 66th percentile. He's almost doubled his birth weight. And is 24 inches long putting him in the 74th percentile.

They both got vaccines which they were troopers with. Our doctor was super impressed with both of them, and Allen had the doctor laughing by saying hi and singing Go Cubs Go. Allen also got the medical assistant laughing by pounding fists with her and saying boom while he did it.

As Adam would say I am going to have big boys. I told him that is just fine as long as when they come out they are small, that's all that matters to me.

Abram is already wearing 3-6 month jam jams which seems insane to me. Allen is wearing 18 month pants and 24 month/2T shirts. Yep I'm going to have big boys. I think I'm going to have to ponder on the fact that my boys will most likely be standing taller than me.

Allen's vocabulary has exploded and is using more and more words. His fallback is signing, which I'm completely fine with because in my mind he is still communicating with us.

Abram is a rock star and growing like a weed. He coos, smiles, and loves to hold his own head. He was hours old and was attempting that little maneuver already.

This post wouldn't be complete without some adorable pictures of my little monsters. =]

National Day of Prayer

Today is national day of prayer. After seeing this image on K-Loves Facebook page it got me really thinking. What do you pray for? Is there going to be a huge movement today. Will more people pray today more than usual. And it also made me think of the line I have heard a time or two before "What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you thanked God for today?"
That saying is HUGE. That would drastically change the way we pray. How would you describe prayer?
Something that I know I need to pray more for is thanking God for the beautiful life he has given me and asking for forgiveness for not thanking him enough!
I also need to remember that when I have been give more than I can handle I should kneel. Many times I feel like I've been given too much and cried out to God. I like to think of my prayers as a conversation with God. I also know that I would like to improve on my prayer and have them be more rich. I think to have whole-hearted, rich prayer takes practice. I can only get better if I continue to pray.
I also want to pray about letting God having full control of my life and to use me to bring others to Christ.
I hope that today people who have been straying will be turned back to God. I hope that people that have strayed away from prayer will turn back and re-open their hearts.

I was listening to this while writing and I think it's a perfect song to go along with this post. Third Day- Cry Out to Jesus

The Must-Haves for Outings With Two Under Two

For every mommy I'm sure there are things that you would never leave the house without, so some of the things that I list or don't list may be relatable to you. I'm just going with what have been the MUST-HAVE items that have worked for us.

1. The most important thing that makes outings possible is our double stroller. The one we use is Chicco brand because our orignial travel system that we got is Chicco brand and the infant carrier just snaps right in. This stroller is a beast! I'm not going to lie. At first I thought it was more of a pain in the butt than helpful, but after taking the boys out in it a couple of times it's a LIFESAVER!
2. Extra clothes. Now when your child has a blowout your go to may be a whole new outfit. I'm busy and quick and easy is my way to go. My extra change of clothes for the boys is always jammies. I figure if they have to get changed why not be comfy the rest of the time. Heck if I could run around in footie jammies I would.
3. Diapers and wipes. This is a no brainer! I feel like I'm packing half our diaper stash but we all know how newborns can be and how easily they can blowout or how often they need those cute little booties changed.
4. The cow print bag would be a wet bag. This is where all the soiled items go, wheter it be poopy clothes, wet bibs, or drooly burp cloths. The mess stays contained and doesn't get all over the inside of my diaper bag.
5. Sophie. Oh Sophie. I honestly don't know what I would do without you. Yes this crazy little giraffe can be expensive, but she has been great for Allen when he is cutting teeth. She is always nearby.
6. Nursing cover. I'm currently breastfeeding Abram and if I have to nurse in public this is a great cover. It's huge and covers the ta-tas without a sneak peek showing.
7. Burp cloths. I have found that the best burp cloths by far are actually prefolds meant to be cloth diapers. So absorbant and work really well for cleaning up any sort of mess.
8. Nuby sippy cups. These fit perfectly into any one of my diaper bags and Allen loves them. No need to change something that he likes.

These have currently been the must haves in our household when making an outing. These are also the essentials that I always take with me when I wander out on my own with the boys. I'm sure our go to items is bound to change but this is what makes outings a little less stressful for us.

First Outing With the Boys by Myself

Abram has super sensitive skin. A lot more sensitive than Allen. Well on Thursday I noticed a rash forming and it looked more than just baby acne. Allen didn't have rashes when he was little. So my mind starts running through the options of what it could be. I immediately texted my sister-in-law who is a pharmacist and started asking questions. She stopped by that evening and gave me a couple options of what it might be. I was more calm after talking to her and just kept an eye on it. On Monday the rash seemed to be going away, and then it seemed to come back with a vengeance. I called and made a doctor's appointment for the following morning. Then I started to slightly freak out. One Abram has a rash and I don't know where it's coming from and two the appointment was in the early morning which meant I would be taking both boys out by myself! I got up early and started to prepare for D-day. I was able to make it out of the house with both boys and make it to the office early! I then went into mommy mode and played it cool. I pulled out the double stroller which is an absolute life saver!! Got the boys strapped in and away we went. I told the nurse what had been going on and we then proceeded to get Abram all checked in. Well the little stinker decided it would be a great time to have a blowout. No worries I was prepared. I usually always have one extra outfit for each of the boys on hand. Changed and unhappy Abram was weighed and he comes in at 9 lbs 10oz. Way to go buddy. Shortly after the doctor comes in and tells me that it's a heat rash and just dry, irritated skin. Way to go Aubrey for thinking that your child has something awful. I honestly felt pretty silly, but on the other hand I now know what it looks like and I can be less freaked out. Made it home and our normal routine continued. I have to admit that getting the boys out by myself took some extra work, but nothing out of the ordinary. It takes a lot of work in general to look after my two under two. I'm pretty proud at how smoothly the day had gone.
Abram seems un-phased by his heat rash that comes and goes. I'm extremely happy with his weight gain. He's such a good eater and overall a good baby. Allen is falling so well into the big brother role and is amazing with Abram. God has truly blessed our family.

Breastfeeding Ain't For the Faint of Heart

I got 6 wonderful months of breastfeeding with Allen. Due to working full time and an inconsistent schedule allowed to breastfeed him my supply ran dry. He was on formula for 6 months and turned out just fine. This time around I am a stay at home mommy and started thinking about what would be different this time around. I would like to accomplish my goal and breastfeed for a full year. Things thus far look like this could happen, but could things change I'm sure they might. I guess I thought that the second time around in my breastfeeding journey that things would go super smooth. I've done this once, things should be fine. Ha when they say that every pregnancy is different, they mean it and every baby is different too.
With Allen I had to use a shield, and before you put your judgement in I had to use one due to having somewhat flat nipples. This helped with his latch greatly and he self weaned himself from the shield within a couple months. Was the shield a pain in the butt, you better believe it. I feel like there are a lot of people out there that are anti-shield and I can't really understand why. What's the negative to using one?? Well I found some negatives when using one with Abram.
Again when we were in the hospital I really struggled getting Abram to latch. I was the first one to jump at having a lactation consultant come and help. Of course the second she walked in he would latch and she would say we were doing great. Thanks Abram. I did go on to tell her that I was having problems with him latching. She suggested that I could borrow a hand pump to help pull the nipple out for him to get a better latch, or she said that since I had used a shield before that I could get one to see if it might help. That night after Abram had really worked himself up I requested a shield and he latched.
Now what negatives did I find? Well I didn't find them until we went home and within a few days of being home it seemed as if Abram would choke every time he would nurse. That will put a mommy on high alert when the best thing for your child is to nurse and now all of the sudden he's choking and in my gut I feel like things are going well. The next day I wrote off the shield. I had figured in out that the excess breastmilk was sitting in the shield and when Abram wasn't sucking the milk was still running down his throat causing him to choke. Since about day 2 or 3 we haven't used the shield and it takes a bit for him to latch, but we get a good solid latch and away he goes.
I got a little confirmation that breastfeeding is going well at Abram's 2 week checkup where he weighed in at 7 lbs 7oz. The doctor was impressed. He has surprassed his birthweight and I was told to keep up the good work.
Abram is a different eater than Allen and that took me for a loop. I'm pretty good about catching onto his hunger signs way before he's waking himself up, but once I get him in a good position to nurse he gets overexcited searching for the breast that I have to slow him down. He also seems like the baby that wants to do it on his own, which seems insane since yes he is only 12 days old. When I'm trying to calm him down he sometimes stiffens and restrains his neck and makes it difficult for me to help him. Lastly, he's a lazy eater. When he gets a somewhat full belly the boy is knocked out! And when I mean knocked out I mean it. The only thing that Adam and I have found that works to wake this boy up is cold. So we have on mulitple occassions put him down on our cold bedsheets as a method to wake him up so he can get a full feed in so he can get some good sleep. He's an awesome sleeper which I'm not complaining about one bit. Which means I have been pumping as well and that is going way better than what I thought it would. My turnout from pumping has been way more than what I thought I would get and slowly but surely I will have a full freezer and Daddy will be able to help feed.
Adam has been the greatest support system along with the mama's that I have been questioning constantly. I couldn't ask for better friends and a better husband to help me along this journey because it definitely isn't easy, but it's something I want to do for Abram. A really good friend of mine suggested the book The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding which is a book I had never heard of. It is by the La Leche League which I have heard some things about them. I will be looking more into this. They also have a facebook page which could be very helpful. I'm going to be looking more into this and see if I can grab any helpful tips from it. I'm sure things are going to come up that I haven't experienced and things will get easier. I have had frustration, crying moments, and fed through exhaustion, but in the end I'm still breastfeeding and I'm happy that I'm continuing.