Give Away At Rhythm of The Home

One of my favorite website 'Rhythm of The Home' announced the release of their summer addition on their online magazine and to celebrate they have put together a great giveaway, check it out!

Weleda Give Away

My wholesome home is doing a Weleda wild rose facial care giveaway. I am so excited I love weleda and would love to try the wild rose set!

check out the give away: Weleda give away!!!

Take Pictures!

My advice to all moms is to take pictures. If you put your baby in an outfit that makes you think "I need a picture of her in that" take that picture right then, don't wait until next time, they grow so fast there may not be a next time. Buy a digital camera so that you never hesitate to snap pictures, film tends to make you hold back because it is so expensive to develop. If your computer doesn't have enough memory for your baby pics then buy more memory, most computer towers can be easily upgraded. If you would prefer to store pictures on photo cards then look for deals and buy in bulk. Don't let there be any reason why you can't just click away, babies don't always cooperate so the more pics you take the more likely your are to get those priceless shots. They are priceless too I guarantee that, that's all the more reason to route as much money as possible towards investing in your photography. Believe me, you will be happy that you took so many pics, of course you will be please to remember days and activities, but even just a picture of your baby lying there is worth taking; you'll be happy to be reminded of when your baby was that size and could that or fit there, or would make that face or do that. Take picture! take them every day if you can, you'll be glad you did. But don't forget to spend more time enjoying your baby at all those stages, hug her hold her, tell her you love her and don't forget you did.   

At 3 months old

My baby as accomplished so much in the last three months, although she also had a good start. It seemed like she was pretty good at holding her head up even from the beginning, of course she has continued to get better at it. It was also very early on that she started flexing her legs to hold her weight, probably about 3 weeks. At 6 weeks she could follow us with her eyes and we saw her noticing our dogs. Around 8 weeks she started playing with her hands, looking her fingers and realizing she can grab stuff. By ten weeks she was able to hold on to her rattle and shake it for fun. At 11 weeks she started sitting up (flexing her muscles) when you pull on her hands and she started trying to roll over, sometimes almost rolling off the bed. She hates being on her belly, but the last time I had her on it she tried getting on her knees- unsuccessful, but a good try. 

Breast pumping

I highly recommend that all new moms own or rent a breast pump or learn to hand express breast milk. Breast pumps are primarily marketed toward working moms, but as a full time mom I have found many health reasons why pumping milk is useful. My baby had a very difficult birth and on our first day home from the hospital she went into para traumatic shock, her vital signs were weak,  syringe feeding breast milk partly contributed to us being able to bring her back and prevent her from needing to be admitted to the hospital. When my baby was about four weeks old I got Mastitis, with this type of infection where it is important that you continue to feed baby from the infected breast or express the milk in order to get the infection out of your system. I found that it was far too painful to breast feed from that breast so I would pump the breast instead because the pump could be turned down to a lower pressure, while baby's sucking can not. Another way my breast pump has been useful is in making sure my baby gets enough to eat. As a result of her difficult labor she had tubes put in her throat immediately after birth, this caused her to have trouble with her eating habits. There have been many days were she refuses to eat (despite continual chiropractics) on those days we syringe feed her to be sure she gets enough milk. 

I also know many moms get sick of breast feeding, it is very taxing and clearly shows mother that she is no longer an individual. I encourage those mothers not to transfer there babies on to formula, how about pumping milk and freezing it instead. You can use the frozen milk to give yourself all the breaks you need and Dad and participate in feeding baby. If your leaky breast is a factor in your desire to stop breast feeding try to remember that eventually that goes away.

Sleeping with your baby

Some doctors tell you not to do it and some people pretend they don't, but sleeping with baby is the only way I could imagine surviving infancy. I would never get any sleep if my baby were not in my bed when it was time to nurse her during the night. Plus the quality bonding time you get by having your baby in bed is priceless.

However, sleeping with your baby can be scary; what if she gets smothered by covers or rolled on. I have found the best way to deal with these concerns is to sleep with baby on the outside and mommy in the middle. This is not how most people commonly think it should be because your initial thought is that the baby needs to be in the middle to keep her from falling out of bed. Falling from bed is actually a lot less dangerous for baby than having her in the middle of two adults that are sharing blankets. 

Falling out of bed is also a worry that can be easily addressed. We have a co-sleeper which, although she doesn't sleep in it, can catch my girl if she were to roll. Another, much cheaper solution would be to push your bed into the corner so that baby sleeps next to the wall. The only problem with this is that mom loses her nightstand, which can be a big deal if she is breast feeding because she won't have a place for her water. The solution to this dilemma would be to get a universal bed rail, they are relatively cheap and can be positioned in a way that lets mom keep her nightstand.

Baby Carriers

I have tried 3 different carriers at an attempt to satisfy both my needs and my baby. I started with Hotsling which was a shower gift that I had register for. I was really excited about that one, they look super cute and I thought it seemed like a simply solution for a young baby that would most likely want to be in a cradle hold most of the time. It turned out I had a big baby; the first time I used my sling she was two weeks old, by then 10 lbs and 23 inches long. She was very uncomfortable in the sling. She was not able to comfortably lay back and was instead crammed into a ball.

I then borrowed a Bjorn Baby Carrier from my sister. When my daughter was in a good mood she seemed to be comfortable and happy in the Bjorn, although if her mood were to switch I found myself struggling to get her out quickly. The worst part about the Bjorn is how uncomfortable it made me. There is no lumbar support so my baby is pulling down on my shoulders which limits how long you can wear the Bjorn and can cause your shoulders to be in a lot of pain. Also the straps go over your breast which makes breast feeding impossible and can be painful if your breast are engorged. 

Finally I tried the Ergo Baby Carrier. This carrier solved all my problems; it is comfortable for me to wear and for my baby to ride in. I can breast feed with it on and with the infant insert my daughter can be cradled and still have room for her legs to stretch out. Plus this carrier is rated for children up to 90 lbs so you get much more use for your money. 

Any one who does a fair amount of internet research knows that the Ergo Carrier is the best, I just really don't understand why so many people love their Bjorn. The Bjorn is painful to wear, awkward when getting baby in and out and not at all versatile. The two are comparably priced so my advice is to go for the Ergo.

Update: My Baby is now 8 weeks old and seems to be warming up to the hotsling.