Rachel Stoops

Baby

Five months of baby

March 4, 2021February 9, 2021by Rachel Stoops1 Comment

As the months pass by, I am realizing we have less and less to report. It sure is a bummer that baby girl was born into this global pandemic. We don’t get out of the house much, and I am longing for some play dates, or fun outings, but alas, we will wait until the safer days ahead.

In the meantime, our days continue to be filled with playtime amongst our different playmats, exploring new toys, and investigating the different rooms of the house. Somehow I still manage to take plenty of cute pictures of our sweet little girl.

This month, we whipped out a hand-me-down from my brother and sister-in-law, which she is loving being in more of a standing position for short bits!

I also ordered some ball pit balls, but she wasn’t so sure about those. 😂

This month she has become a little bit more consistent with rolling from her tummy to her back, though she still will only do it when she wants to, and not often for a video. She also seems to forget that she knows how and will still fuss once she is over playing on her tummy.

Giggles are becoming a little bit more frequent as well, and oh so cute! Again, these are so hard to capture! But she is loving finding this little (or big) voice of hers! From squeals to screeches, and everything in between, she always has something to say… just like her daddy.

Speaking of Daddy, she still loves playtime with him, from high to low, and especially flying around the house like an airplane, chasing the doggies.

She is still her snuggly little self, and loves coming into bed in the morning while mommy finishes waking up.

Since we keep her in footy pajamas most of the time, lounging around the house, we’ve been trying to let her hangout in her diaper a little bit more to feel different textures on her body, and so she can find her cute little toes.

She absolutely loves bath time (thank goodness) and smiles and kicks her feet about in the water. She loves to play with the wash cloths, and hold the water cup now.

She also loves chewing on fingers, at least that’s one surefire way to cheer her up and we are never without them!

As she grows, she is getting wigglier and wigglier. Diaper changes are becoming increasingly more difficult as she rolls side to side, lifts her bum, and kicks her feet about. I can only imagine what is ahead once she is more mobile.

Our sweet, sassy girl is full of personality, and I can’t wait to continue watching her grow.

She also loves her little teether toys and isn’t often caught with out one, awake or asleep.

I guess we did get to go on one adventure this month… a nice scenic drive! We were hoping to go on a little walk, but it ended up being quite windy. At least we got a few photos to show for it. And some fresh mountain air!

Sleep is still questionable and this mama is tired! Some nights are decent, while others are such a struggle. She is also still very much into short naps, so breaks are few and far between for me and I rush to get my teeth brushed or hair tamed before she is back awake. I know how important daytime sleep is, so after one or two naps a day, I will rock her back to sleep and snuggle her. After all, these days won’t last forever, and I am trying to soak in all of these lovely snuggles.

While we are longing for more fun adventures, I try to remind myself that she knows no different than the safety and comfort of our home, and is a happy little babe spending time with her mommy and daddy. We love you so much, Vivian!

Laugh Often – Rachel

Baby

Favorite Toys for 3/4 Month Olds

February 23, 2021February 3, 2021by Rachel StoopsLeave a Comment

Somewhere between three and four months was when Vivian really started appreciating the world around her and became so much more interested in toys and objects. She had been ‘playing’ with pretty much the same toys/activities since she was little, but had now began to interact with them. Below are some of our favorites so far.

Teething Toys

Between months three and four was when we really needed to up our game on teething toys. Vivian had finally found her hands, and was really getting good at finding her mouth, which meant everything she grabbed went straight in there. We had a few toys on hand, but I set out to find some that were both easy for her to hold, and also good for chewing.

Winkel – first off, I am dying at the name, I guess I hadn’t noticed when I ordered it – so random! This one is fun because it has so many different ways she can hold it. I will often just lay it on her chest and she is able to easily grab it without having to turn it in one specific direction. She can also bring it to her mouth and chew on the edges. She also loves to shake it around because the middle has a rattle, and she often ends up throwing it – a fun game. 😂 It’s very light weight, which I think is perfect!

Fruit Teethers – this little fruit set has been great! The thin ‘stems’ are perfect for holding, and both ends are great for chewing! Surprisingly, she often leans toward enjoying the leaf end versus the fruit end. The leaf end is textured, so she seems to really enjoy it, but is happy with either side and loves carrying these around! It looks like you can also put these in the freezer, so once we hit the actual teething stage, we will probably give that a try!

Mushroom Teether – this was probably the first toy that we found that she really enjoyed. You can flip the mushroom part up so she can get a good grasp on the handle and then flip the mushroom back down. The two ears are great for chewing and gave her two different targets when she was still learning to bring things to her mouth. It was really fun to watch her explore and figure out how to maneuver this. I have heard that some people have found their babies with this suctioned to their face when the mushroom gets flipped up, so we cut a few extra little holes in the mushroom part so that it can’t suction. We love this so much that we actually ordered a second one for backup! The only downside is the smooth silicone material attracts dog hair, so I am constantly having to make sure its clean if she’s playing with it on the floor.

Elephant Teether – this is another great shape, with arms that are easy for Vivian to grasp. She loves chewing on the ears or nose – really whatever she gets into her mouth first. This was the only picture I could find of her with it and it happens to be the silliest picture. 😂 Daddy tucked her binky into her hat as her ‘unicorn horn.’

Activity Mats

These she had been ‘playing’ on for months now. When she was smaller she would occasionally kick, but wasn’t really interested in grabbing the toys hanging above her. Now, she loves to grab for the toys and still tries to pull them into her mouth, and can’t figure out why they stay put. 😂 I have the two activity mats listed below; one upstairs and one downstairs. I love having the one downstairs that way she can play while we are eating dinner, or just for a change of scenery. We have the second up in her room which is great for pre or post naptime for a few quick minutes of playtime.

Baby Einstein 4-in-1 Kickin’ Tunes – this one is very bright with cute animals on the playmat, and has a piano at the bottom, perfect for kicking. This one also have an ‘X’ that goes over the top where toys can hang from for her to grab and play with. This piano plays songs without words, more of your traditional classical type tunes. She loves to look all around at the hanging toys, and will even kick or grab the top structure to see how it makes all of the toys move. She spends much of her time on her back here, but it’s also great for tummy time as long as the hanging toys aren’t in her way! This was where she first rolled tummy to back.

Fisher-Price Deluxe Kick ‘n Play Piano Gym – this one is also very bright and colorful with cute animals! I guess that is a common theme for kids toys. This one has one bar that goes over the top, but can be moved in different positions so you can have it towards the front of the toy, above the piano, or toward the middle hanging above her. It’s really nice to be able to move around, so that it can be out of the way during tummy time. This one has the cutest little songs that are so catchy, but they are always stuck in my head.

Both of these have different modes, so as she gets older, instead of just having music they can be in more of a learning mode, and the piano parts also tilt, so when she sits up more unassisted, she can play the piano part with her hands as well. We really, really love these and have gotten so much use out of them already, and I know this will continue as she grows!

Tummy Time Water Mat – this one we finally pulled out to inflate and fill with water and was such a fun toy! It was nice to have a different space for her to practice tummy time! I will admit, it was much larger than I had anticipated, but it’s really cool! I wish we were able to have play dates, because I think it would be so funny to put a couple of baby friends around the edge and see how they interact. 😂 She was so funny when we first laid her on her back on top of this and was pretty unsure of it. When we flipped her onto her tummy, she had a blast! She was really interested in the floating animals in the water, and was actually pressing it to get them to move – it was so fun to see!

Floor Seat

Fisher-Price Sit Me Up – this is a newer toy for us, and was a Hanukkah present from my brother and his girlfriend! I haven’t used it quite as often as the mats because I wasn’t sure if she was quite big enough for it just yet, and wanted to make sure she was comfortable. She does seem to get bored being in one position all the time, and likes being more upright than laying down now. This has been a fun one because she’s in a new position and can explore on her own! She loves the little toys that are attached to the front, and I just feel like she is such a big girl in this one!

I could probably go on forever, but these are our top favorites that I can think of so far, so I will stop there. As she grows, I’m sure I will be back with more!

Laugh Often – Rachel

Baby

Four Months of Baby

February 20, 2021February 1, 2021by Rachel StoopsLeave a Comment

And just like that we were into Vivian’s fourth month of life! This has been the most fun month yet, but I’m guessing that I will start to say this as each month passes. She just grows and learns so much, I cannot get over it!

This month she really took an interest in toys. She absolutely loves holding onto her little teething toys, and we found some great ones that were easy for her to grasp. Hence the teething toys, she loves to put absolutely everything into her mouth. I have another post planned with some of her favorites that I will share soon!

Vivian celebrated her first Hanukkah with the family via Zoom and we found some cute pajamas at Old Navy that I love! I have gotten as much use out of these as I could even past the holiday just because they are so dang adorable!

She also loves her sit me up from Uncle Scotty and Auntie Sima, and feels like such a big girl!

Otherwise, our days look the same as always, lots of playing, napping, and eating.

She has rolled from her tummy to back during tummy time, though I think that was an accident as she isn’t too consistent yet, and likes to turn onto her side when she’s on her back, but hasn’t rolled fully over from her back just yet.

She also really loves her daddy. 😍 She’s a pretty good video game buddy!

She had her four month check up, filled with more vaccines. 😫 I hate seeing her cry out in pain, though nursing her immediately following seems to help. I will say that she had the best sleep of her life the night after the vaccines, so that was the only bonus. She wasn’t running a fever, but seemed to be in pain so we attempted to give her some baby tylenol and that didn’t go so well. It was grape flavored (gross, I understand) and she spit it back out and then vomited all over me. 😂 I guess we will only use that in pure desperation from now on; note taken.

Otherwise, she is growing well – she has gained about 9 pounds total and grown 6.5 inches! She’s finally starting to take after her tall mom and dad. The pediatrician also began discussing when we can start introducing solids – how exciting! Though I am in no rush…

She has also gotten quite the flat spot on her head because she is very stubborn about her sleeping position, and will only sleep with her head to one side. We’ve tried stretches and changing her sleeping position, but have had no luck. It sounds like we will have to get her one of those baby helmets to help shape her head, so I will report back as we go through that process.

She is a healthy, happy, big girl and we love her so much!

She also has the sweetest little relationship with Olive. Okay, this doesn’t happen often, but is this not the most heart warming photo you have ever seen?!

Monthly milestone picture!

I wish I could slow down time and enjoy the baby cuddles forever, but am also so excited for all of the fun milestones ahead!

Laugh Often – Rachel

Baby, postpartum

Going dairy free for my baby

February 17, 2021February 1, 2021by Rachel Stoops1 Comment

As if my breastfeeding journey wasn’t already hard enough, I decided to see if giving up dairy would have any benefits for baby Viv. Starting between 2-3 weeks old, her tummy seemed to be constantly grumbly. She seemed to be in pain for a great deal of each day, grunting, and straining to pass gas, or poop. She would be okay in the morning, but as the day went on, she was more and more uncomfortable. It was so hard to see my sweet baby in pain, and I just wanted her to feel better.

She cried often, especially in the evening – sometimes for hours. I was so exhausted and just wanted her to sleep, but also couldn’t help but to feel guilty because I knew it wasn’t her fault that she was uncomfortable. So, I set out to be dairy free by first eliminating the obvious dairy – milk, cheese, ice cream, etc. I have been somewhat lactose intolerant for a number of years now, so I would always take Lactaid pills if I wanted to eat dairy and would be just fine. What I didn’t realize was that butter was dairy too! This was something that I had never noticed to bother me before, but I was on a mission to be completely dairy free for Vivian. This meant reading every label on anything before eating, and it was then that I realized dairy is in almost everything!

Luckily, being a major allergen, it needs to be clearly labeled on any packaging, but it seemed to be in just about everything, unfortunately. We had so many delicious snacks in our pantry that I could no longer enjoy. Cheese is basically Mike’s favorite food, so it was hard to find things to make for dinner that we could both enjoy.

Cutting dairy wasn’t an immediate fix for Baby Viv. It can take up to three weeks for the dairy to leave mom’s system, but then takes an additional three to four weeks to get out of baby’s system, so this was an almost two month process to tell if things were getting better. That in itself was pretty disheartening, but I knew just how important it was for me to take this seriously and give things a fair shot. On the bright side, we were not seeing any blood in Vivian’s stool – a sign of an allergy, versus an intolerance, and she also wasn’t having any rashes or any other allergic reactions. I also tried to remind myself that things could always be worse. Many moms have to cut both dairy and soy, or even more allergens, which seems nearly impossible!

Finally after almost two months, Vivian seemed to be starting to feel better. I wasn’t noticing as much grunting, and she was becoming a much happier baby. She didn’t cry nearly as often, and was able to use the restroom without issues. This was such a relief that all of my hard efforts, and missed treats had been worth it. It sure is hard to watch your husband eat an ooey, gooey, cheese pizza in front of you. It’s safe to say I will have quite the list of dairy filled goodness that I need to eat once we are finished breastfeeding.

The dairy sensitivity in babies seems to be fairly common. I found a great group on Facebook that I follow that has lots of great advice, and dairy free options that people love. I always do a quick search on there if I am wondering if a product is dairy free, or if we are wanting to grab a quick dinner out. I will admit that dining out is a bit scary now because it is incredibly hard to trust that staff will take the dairy free requests seriously. I always check allergen menus online, but it’s hard to know how closely safety precautions are followed. I guess it’s a good thing that I am more inclined to eat at home now, though the convenience of eating out, especially on a day where I just don’t feel like cooking, can’t be beat.

With food allergies seeming more common these days, as well as specialty diets, there is a much wider offering of dairy free products now available. While I will admit that many of these alternatives are not so great, it is very refreshing to see that so many companies are trying to cater to those with allergies. Some of the dairy free products that I’ve tried are an absolute hit!

A few of our favorite dinners:

Maple-Pecan Salmon – this is an amazing recipe from Kate at Naptime Kitchen. It is so incredibly easy to make, with very little prep work, and is absolutely delicious! I also love to follow her on instagram – she is a hoot! I love to make this with rice pilaf and asparagus, but is very versatile and would go with just about any side dishes that you could think of!

Teriyaki Salmon – this has been another go-to recipe lately, once Mike decided he needed a break from the maple pecan salmon. This also requires little prep work, and is easy to throw into the oven. We’ve been loving this with rice and steamed veggies, but I also recently found a stir fry kit at the grocery store with noodles and veggies that is so delicious! Can you tell I am a huge salmon fan?

Brisket – this recipe is for brisket sandwiches, which Mike usually goes for. I prefer just eating the brisket on its own, and will usually make mashed potatoes with it, and have some sort of salad. It is so juicy and tender, and turns out sweet yet sassy. I learned the hard way not to put it in the crock pot on high. Definitely get it in there early so you can cook it on low all day. I actually cut a large brisket into smaller pieces and froze so we could just pull out a helping perfect for the two of us when we wanted it. If you can thaw it in the fridge overnight, six hours on low made it perfect. The day I tried it on high because I was worried about time, the sugar in the rub ended up burning onto the crock and it took days of soaking and scrubbing to get it off. 😂 That batch also didn’t taste so good.

Sheet Pan Pork Chops – this was a newer find that turned out to be delicious! I made a few tweaks to make it dairy free – omitted the parmesan cheese and substituted nutritional yeast, and also made sure to pick a ranch seasoning packet that was dairy free. Luckily, the Kroger brand does not contain dairy! I love that this was another recipe with minimal prep, and even better: minimal dishes! I love when you can just throw everything onto a pan and stick it in the oven. I always use tin foil on the sheet pan first to make clean up even easier. We don’t often eat pork, but this was nice to switch things up.

A few favorite treats: (because I deserve goodies too!!)

Non-Dairy Magnum Ice Cream Bars – I’ve tried the classic ones, as well as the almond ones and they are both AMAZING. Every time I eat them, I second guess if I am really eating a dairy free ice cream bar because they are so creamy and delicious.

Ben & Jerry’s Non-Dairy Netflix and Chilled – okay Ben & Jerry’s has tons of delicious non-dairy flavors, but this is a new favorite! The description makes it sound very weird – peanut butter ice cream with sweet and salty pretzel swirls, and fudge brownies. I personally had never heard of peanut butter ice cream before and thought it sounded super odd. At first bite, I still felt like it was super odd. But once you are a few bites in, you just can’t stop eating it! I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for sweet and salty,

Oreos – no explanation needed. 😂 Who knew Oreos were Vegan?!

Poptarts – surprisingly, many flavors of poptarts are also dairy free! I am very aware that these probably have little to no nutritional value, but they are a great quick snack that bring me back to my childhood, so if I have them every now and then… no harm, right?

Duncan Hines Brownies – who doesn’t love a good brownie? I know that this is one of my very favorite desserts. When I found out that the Duncan Hines brand of boxed brownie mix was dairy free, I was so excited! This has been one of my go to desserts, because they are so easy to make at home, and something that both Mike and I can enjoy together.

Heavenly Hunks – the name says it all. These are the most delicious little cookie treats. I found them at Costco and bought two bags, but kind of wish I bought 17. After opening it says to keep them in the refrigerator, and it’s basically like eating oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough. So. Freaking. Delicious. Because they are oatmeal, I am telling myself they are helping my breastmilk supply. 😉

Annie’s Cinnamon Rolls – We had recently found a nearby bakery that makes the most delicious cinnamon rolls and sticky buns. They of course have no dairy free items in the bakery and understandably so. All of the buttery goodness involves dairy! To say I was missing cinnamon rolls was an understatement. These had become a staple to our special weekend breakfasts that we made from time to time. I luckily found that the Annie’s brand of cinnamon rolls are both organic and dairy free! And they are actually so delicious! I would never be able to tell these were dairy free – icing and all!

Vegan Chocolates – My mom sent me a box of chocolates for my birthday. When Mike checked the mail and told me that someone had sent a box of chocolates, I was certain that I wouldn’t be able to eat them. To my surprise, my mom had searched high and low for the perfect chocolatey gift! She found Rose City Chocolates, and these did not disappoint! They are the most delicious variety of assorted fancy chocolates. I have a feeling I will be ordering these time and time again. Good thing Valentine’s Day is coming up! I was already getting bummed that I wasn’t going to be able to find any heart boxes of chocolates that were dairy free, but I am already planning to order myself a box of these delicious chocolates!

I also recently joined Thrive market, an online grocery store. They seem to have many great allergen friendly options and even allow you to narrow your search to specific dietary restrictions. I just received my first box of some goodies that I wanted to try. Once I become a little bit more familiar with everything and have some favorites, I’ll do another post.

Dietary changes to ensure a healthy, happy baby are so worth it! If it’s just a few months, or a year out of my life, to be able to offer my baby breastmilk, I am more than willing to do it. 😊

Laugh Often – Rachel

Baby

The Swaddle Transition

February 14, 2021February 1, 2021by Rachel StoopsLeave a Comment

Dropping the swaddle was a transition that I knew was coming, and was absolutely dreading. Vivian was finally starting to sleep better all snuggled up in her love to dream swaddle up that I mentioned in the favorite newborn products post. The recommendation of transitioning out of the swaddle is eight weeks, or at signs of rolling over; whichever comes first. I did bring this up at one of our pediatrician appointments, and the pediatrician was more on the side of when she starts rolling as that allowed more time in the swaddle and she mentioned that it would probably be closer to six months. After all, eight weeks seems very early to unswaddle! The startle reflex was still very much present at this stage.

I tried to wait as long as humanly possible, because I appreciated the sleep that I was getting, and also had a happy baby that was finally getting some good sleep! Though, it was always on the back of my mind that she could roll at any moment, and I would hate for the first time to be while I was asleep and possibly not notice. As a new mom, thoughts of doubt are constantly swirling around your mind.

Occasionally for some naps, we would leave Viv’s arms out, in a simple sleep sack if her swaddle was in the wash. She seemed to do okay, but that was for a much shorter time than over night.

I knew we needed to bite the bullet sooner than later and just go for it, because the longer we waited, it was only going to get harder. I had ordered the transitional swaddle up where the arms zipped off and assumed that I would first try one arm at a time. For whatever reason we didn’t end up going that route, but simply went cold turkey. It was actually one night when Mike was on baby duty, and I was trying to get some rest in the guest room that he just put her down for the night with the arms zipped off. Since we had done it one night, we figured we would keep going as to not confuse her.

I believe this was the week prior to Christmas and she was around three and a half months old. Since Mike had a couple of extra days off work, we thought that might be a good time to give this a try so that he could be more helpful during the night shift.

It was a rough transition to say the least. Vivian would flinch awake, and once she realized her arms were free, she would start flailing all over the place and could not calm herself back down. We would try to gently hold her arms down for a few moments while patting her chest in hopes to calm her back down. This seemed to work, but not long after she would awaken again and the cycle would continue. It was a long week, and it seemed like there was no light at the end of the tunnel. The reflex had to go away at some point… right?!

It seemed like the swaddle up with arms off wasn’t thick enough. We also had a fleece sleep sack by Halo that we tried. Perhaps she was cold, or maybe just didn’t feel cozy any longer. I had heard great things from friends about the Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit, and toyed with the idea of getting this, but wasn’t keen on having another product to transition out of down the road.

Then, I remembered that we also had a transitional sleep sack that had long sleeves. It wasn’t restrictive, so was safe for rolling, but offered more warmth. She seemed to like this a little bit better and had a few decent nights of sleep here and there.

Fast forward a week or two and sleep was still so inconsistent. We had hit the four month sleep regression and felt like we were awake constantly. It almost felt like the newborn stage and I was desperate for some sleep. I went on Facebook marketplace to see if anyone was selling the magic merlin sleep suit, and luckily, a local mom was for a great deal! I was able to go pick it up that same day and get it washed all before bedtime. We did however choose to test it out for a nap the next day first, versus trying it overnight for the very first time.

While the Magic Merlin sleep suit didn’t prove to be completely magic for us, it did seem to help get a little bit better sleep. Some friends have said their baby started sleeping twelve hours once they had the suit, and that was certainly not the case for us, but less wakings was still a win in my book. So between the Magic Merlin suit, which I like to call her super suit, or our little marshmallow baby, and the Halo transitional sleep sack, I think we have a couple of great options that are helping us on this lovely sleep journey.

The Merlin Sleep Suit is safe to wear until they can roll over in the suit. I’m hoping by the time she gets this down, her startle reflex will be gone so that it won’t be much of a transition out. We also make sure to use this intermittently with the Halo transitional sack that way she hopefully won’t be too used to just this outfit whenever we do need to make the switch. Hopefully she will happily sleep in a regular sleep sack one day, but for now we are grateful for these wonderful products!

Hopefully one day this will all be a vague memory of the past, but currently our life revolves around trying to get Little Miss Vivian to have a good night sleep.

Laugh Often – Rachel

Baby, postpartum

Three Months of Baby

February 11, 2021January 29, 2021by Rachel StoopsLeave a Comment

My parents left on Halloween morning, so for month three of Vivian’s life, we were officially on our own. I was so terrified to no longer have my mom. She was such a huge help, especially in keeping me fed, but also rescuing my sanity throughout the day. I had no idea how I was going to do this alone. Spoiler alert: we got into our own groove and made things work. I now had a new normal and a daily routine that I stuck to day in and day out, and it seemed to work for us. It wasn’t the most exciting, but pretty much consisted of feed Viv, playtime, naptime, repeat.

Month three looked quite similar to the prior two months, but now Vivian was really starting to grow her little personality. She was becoming more alert and interested in things, and really started to enjoy playing. We have two little activity mats that have a piano on the bottom that she loves to kick. She also likes to watch the lights flash while she does her tummy time. This was when she really started making more eye contact and smiling back at me consistently and really seemed engaged. This was so fun to see.

Every morning when she woke up, she would greet you with the biggest smiles, and it truly was the best start to the day. No matter how tired I was, this sweet little girl could always put a smile on my face.

November was another beautiful month weather-wise so I filled it with as many walks as possible for us to get out of the house.

We also bundled up to experience going outside for the first time in the snow! She started crying about 3 seconds after this photo. 😂

Three months was also when she started to prefer to be sitting more upright, or held facing outwards so she could look around, rather than be laying down.

Daddy also figured out that he could baby wear and continue playing his video games; a win for all.

Even though she was getting more interested in the world around, there was still plenty of time for sleepy snuggles, followed by silly faces, and posing for more photos. I just cannot get enough of this sweet girl!

And last but not least, her monthly milestone photo. 😍

I love watching her grow and change in each month of life. The changes seem to happen so quickly, and overnight she learns something new. The sweet innocence of a babe is so precious to watch as she learns the big world around her. Thanks for keeping us on our toes – we love you little one!

Laugh Often – Rachel

postpartum

My breastfeeding journey

February 8, 2021February 3, 2021by Rachel StoopsLeave a Comment

My golly, if there is one thing that no one warns you about, it is the breastfeeding journey. I assumed that it would come naturally and be easy. Boy was I wrong. Breastfeeding has been by far the most challenging part of becoming a new mom, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Vivian seemed to latch okay in the hospital to start, but then I would try again later and she wouldn’t seem interested. Sometimes I could get her on for a bit, and other times, no luck. The nurses brought me a pump for the times that she didn’t seem to want to latch so that I could attempt to get some colostrum out. It looked like such a small amount, but they assured me that it was great! While I was pumping, she started to get fussy, so I tried latching her again and it worked! When the nurses came back, they also rubbed the expressed colostrum in her mouth and on her gums to make sure she was getting as much as possible. As I mentioned in a previous post, keeping her blood sugar up was super important at this early stage since she was so teeny tiny.

Once we got home, I continued to latch as often as possible to keep her happy. Not long after, the nipple pain set in. Having baby attached somewhat constantly was a new thing for my body and there was absolutely an adjustment period. It felt like Mike or my mom would bring Vivian to me, being time to eat again, and it felt like already?! It was so constant and I just couldn’t catch a break.

Was she eating so often because she wasn’t getting enough milk? The questions swirled through my mind, and I couldn’t help but constantly worry and think that I wasn’t enough for her. She also seemed to have the most outrageous tummy troubles, and I was certain that it was my fault and something that I was eating. Many resources that I found online stated that breastmilk is made from your blood rather than your diet, but a dairy allergy was a possibility. I quickly cut dairy from my diet to see if any improvements would be seen, but this was a long journey of its own and I will do another post on this portion.

Both nipples began cracking, and one got quite raw. It was so hard to allow them to heal because there was simply no time to rest. Luckily after a few days, one side seemed to have figured it out and was back to normal. The other side was quite the opposite and was completely raw. I started trying any home remedies that I could find – the organic nipple butters, coconut oil, saline soak, breastmilk, air drying, etc. You name it, I probably tried it. A mama Facebook group that I followed recommended asking the OB for a prescription for ‘All purpose nipple ointment’ (APNO) so I quickly made an appointment and was able to get in the same day. This was supposed to be magical and a quick fix. Again – this unfortunately was not the case for me and I couldn’t find any relief, it kept getting worse and worse.

I tried to rest the one side, feeding off the other side and bottle feeding in between for a couple of days, but pumping around the clock was exhausting, time consuming, and mentally draining, so I gave up after only a couple of days, and pressed on to keep Vivian fed.

To no surprise, my nipple was only getting worse. I tried making another appointment with the OB because I was so terrified that I was going to end up with an infection. At this point, my nipple was completely cracked open and totally raw. It luckily wasn’t bleeding, but was bright red. The OB recommended seeing the lactation consultants instead as they were the breastfeeding experts.

I packed up and brought Vivian in and held back tears as I explained my situation to the lactation consultant. I was so worried that I had let it get to the point of no return and would be told that there was no hope. The lactation consultant was so reassuring and said there was no need to end our breastfeeding journey unless that was what I wanted to do.

Vivian had been gaining weight well, so she was obviously eating just fine. The lactation consultant checked her latch and said that it looked great. Our guess was that there simply wasn’t time to allow the nipple to heal between feedings, which was why it hadn’t been getting any better. She said I could continue to feed on it if pumping was too hard, but to let it rest when I could. She also recommended purchasing some nipple shells from Amazon so the nipple could air dry after feeding. She said this wasn’t something she had seen before and would discuss with some of her colleagues for any additional advice. I left with a bit of relief, but still some concern for how it was going to heal.

The next day, another lactation consultant called me back, and recommended making an appointment with a wound care center since it seemed like an open wound. This was incredibly disheartening because I was so sure that they would be the ones to now encourage ending the breastfeeding journey. All of the hope I had regained was now lost.

I found a local wound care center and called to make an appointment. They had nothing available for a week, so my anxiety rose as I awaited this appointment that I was so nervous for. I was now determined to let this nipple rest until my appointment to see if it would get any better. I pumped the left side exclusively and we bottle fed Vivian during those feedings. The times that Mike was available to help made it a little bit more convenient, but the times he was working would make it feel like a juggling session to pump and get her fed without a fuss.

I decided I would try allowing Viv to feed off the damaged side about 36 hours before my appointment to see how it went. That way I would still have time to cancel the appointment if I needed to. At this time, my nipple seemed to be quite a bit better – it no longer looked completely opened, but was still the slightest bit raw and red after the feeding. I decided to call and push my appointment back one week in hopes of completely solving the issue on my own.

I continued the cycle of feeding on the opposite side and pumping for another tiring week, and to my very happy surprise by this next 36 hour mark, my nipple was back to a new normal and was no longer raw. I was overjoyed and cancelled my appointment. I was so glad that I could carry on breastfeeding in a much more comfortable way.

Throughout this journey of just a few short (or long) months, I have already learned so much. Most importantly, is to give yourself a little grace, because as a new mom, there are so many new experiences and not everything will go as planned. It is so easy to hope to breastfeed your little one, and it is so important to know that not everything will come easily. I have absolutely nothing against formula feeding my baby, but the thought of how expensive that was going to be when I was already out of a job seemed daunting.

There were so many days when I just wanted to throw the towel in from pure exhaustion, but I am so glad that I pushed through. The best thing that I did was set mini goals for my breastfeeding journey so that it didn’t seem like one never-ending adventure. Ideally, I would love to make it a full year of breastfeeding, but when each day was so questionable, this seemed unachievable. I first wanted to make it to six weeks, then two months, three months, etc. Now, here we are at almost five months and still going strong.

I’m sure more challenges will come my way over these next few months, but I feel much more confident in taking these on, and coming out stronger on the other side now. For now, it’s a wonderful bonding experience for the two of us, filled with snuggles, and now her active self loves to play with my face while she eats or snap my bra strap on me. 😖😂

Mamas supporting other mamas through the wild ride of breastfeeding is so important, and I am lucky to have so many great ladies in my life that I could talk to about this. Most importantly, remember that a fed baby is the best, so if breastfeeding doesn’t work out, that is perfectly fine too!

Laugh Often – Rachel

Baby

Favorite Books to Read to Baby

February 5, 2021January 31, 2021by Rachel Stoops1 Comment

Vivian loves a good book, especially before naptime or bedtime! Okay… maybe it’s me who loves to read all of the fun children’s books. 🤔Either way, we have some favorites that I find myself choosing over and over! I assume I will get tired of them eventually, but for now I am loving them, and even find myself quoting some of them after she’s gone to bed.

Dear Girl – this is such a fun one that I have a feeling we will appreciate more and more as she grows. It is all about empowering little girls to be themselves and addresses real life topics but in a very kid-friendly way. I feel that this book would’ve been helpful in getting through elementary school with some positivity and confidence. This was a gift from my sister-in-law as a family favorite from our little niece. I can’t wait for the little girls to read it together!

ABC What Can She Be? – this book is a double bonus! It can help to teach the alphabet, while learning a variety of different jobs, teaching baby girl that she can grow up to be anything her heart desires. I love that it has some out-of-the-box jobs, and strays from gender norms. It also portrays girls of all color, race, ethnicity, ability, hair color, etc.

A is For Awesome! 23 Iconic Women Who Changed the World – are we sensing a theme? Okay this is the last one that is geared toward girls specifically, but it is never too early for our sweet babe to learn what a difference she can make! This one also goes through the alphabet, naming women for each letter and some even have a quote along with what they accomplished.

A Moment Like This – this is a cute little story about animal moms and their babies. It is just so soothing to read, probably because it’s a rhyming book, but I just can’t get enough of it! I picture reading it to Viv when she’s a little bit older and it will be fun to interact with. For example, there’s a part about tickling her tummy, and nose, and down to her toes, and I can’t wait for her to giggle with tickles!

Cozy – this one was a gift from my mom who visited a musk ox farm on her trip to Alaska. She was able to pre-order it and have it signed and personalized to Vivian, so this one is extra special to us! It really is a cute story though about all of the arctic animals staying warm in the ox’s fur and setting house rules so they can all get along. The artwork is also beautiful!

Giraffes Can’t Dance – this is just a fun one, and another rhyming book so I had to mention it. I am just such a sucker for rhymes! It’s about animals all coming together to a big dance, but they make fun of the giraffe because he’s tall and awkward, but then he figures out that he really can dance, but just had to find the right music for him. Another heartwarming kids story, with bright, colorful pages.

Some of these are on the longer side, which I have been enjoying now while she is so young, because I’m mostly reading them for her to settle down and fall asleep to. I have a feeling that once she is bigger and more interactive with the books and wants to look at pictures and talk about each page, I will favor the shorter books so it doesn’t take an hour to get through one book. 😂

The Sandra Boynton board books are really great for a quick read, filled with cute illustrations as well and we have quite a few!

Oh and this honorable mention. 😂 My brother sent this to us during a very rough sleeping period. It really is so funny to read when they have no idea what you are saying. Clearly Viv loves it. 😉

Laugh Often – Rachel

Baby

Two Months of Baby

February 2, 2021January 24, 2021by Rachel Stoops1 Comment

Before we knew it, Vivian was in her second month of life! Some days seemed to drag on forever (or nights, should I say 😆), but at the same time, time was flying by. Thankfully, my mom was still here helping out. She kept me well fed, and would also swoop in at the perfect moment to tend to Vivian if I needed some extra rest. Oddly enough, no matter how tired I was, I could never manage to fall asleep for any daytime naps.

We stuck to staying in the house, basically only leaving for pediatrician appointments, and we did take her for a few chiropractic appointments in hopes of helping her tummy. Starting around week three, Vivian seemed to always have an upset tummy and would often cry out in pain and just seemed so uncomfortable. A friend had recommended cranial sacral therapy, so we gave it a shot! We were pretty desperate for any relief for little Miss Viv. Not only was she fussy all the time, but it was so hard to see my baby in pain.

We visited the chiropractor maybe 4-5 times. We didn’t see any immediate results, but I do think it helped her in the long run. The chiropractor was so very gentle on baby Viv and Vivian would often sleep through the whole appointment. I did end up cutting all dairy from my diet, and I think ultimately this was the biggest factor in her tummy troubles easing up!

Otherwise, we just stuck to our walks when the weather was nice and playing in the house. Just before Vivian turned two months, we started getting purposeful smiles! This was so exciting, but they were always hard to capture because they were quick, and she was sneaky about it. She tended to smile more in the mornings than any other time of day.

My step dad also came down toward the end of October to meet Vivian, and she even got to take a couple of field trips to the condo my parents were staying at so I could have some time for myself.

Vivian also started loving tummy time, especially on top of her Daddy! 🥰

Some other highlights from October were Halloween, though we settled on a onesie rather than a costume for this year, and a Seahawks game!

Making it to two months also meant it was time for Vivian’s first round of vaccines; an appointment I was dreading. Luckily, both Mike and I were able to attend. I didn’t know how I was going to handle seeing her cry out all by myself. Overall, she took the shots like a champ. It was hard to hear her scream, and she immediately turned bright red, but it was over in no-time. I nursed her as soon as the shots were done, and then we packed up and headed back home for snuggles. Such a brave girl after her shots!

And of course we cannot forget the two month milestone photo.

Another great month in the books!

Laugh Often – Rachel

Baby, Pregnancy

Belly Montage

January 30, 2021January 9, 2021by Rachel Stoops1 Comment

Each week I looked forward to taking these photos! It was a way to count the passing time, that on days felt like an eternity, though now looking back, my pregnancy zoomed by. Sometimes I miss feeling that tiny life within me. It really was a special time, but I am also very happy to have here her to hangout with me now!