Mommy Nuggets

We all know how much is involved when packing for a day out. It's absurd! It takes forever and the amount of stuff you have to take is just ridiculous! If we have to leave early the next morning we must pack the bag the night before. Yes, washing all the bottles before bed is so much fun! We recently went on our first overnight trip. Just one night. I stuffed tons of bibs, formula, diapers, burp rags and outfits in our luggage. For just one night... because you never know how much they will need and you DO NOT wanna run out.  When Brad is working nights & asks what I'm doing... I usually say "Poppin' bottles!" I mentally went through the list over and over on the way to our destination 2 hours away (6 hours in baby time). Amazingly the only thing we forgot was the bottle brush and soap. I was proud. Brad just had to run to the gas station to get dish soap... and I'm glad he did! He came back with Palmolive. We had only used Dawn up until this point....

I am asked this on a regular basis. I always answer, "I love it, but ______." Depending on how it's been going lately determines what fills the blank space. Today it would be, "I'm sleep deprived and borderline insane."  In the last 24 hours I've had about 5 hours of sleep... and that wasn't all together. My baby has yet to turn into a good sleeper. We've had several 7/8 hour nights of sleep without interruption, they were glorious!!! I didn't realize how little sleep I could "function" on. I had a breakdown last night  at 2am  when Emry woke up for the 3rd time since I first put her down  at 11:45 . Bless her heart and bless mine. I know the long sleeping nights are coming but it's hard to see the pot of gold at the end of the sleepless rainbow when it's  2am  the next night and still no sleep for me. She just slept for 2 hours and I slept none. I'm so tired that my mind won't turn off. Exhaustion at its finest!...

Well, it was a huge deal to me.  And I failed.  I was going to breastfeed no matter what. I prepared throughout my pregnancy by attending classes and reading articles on pushing through difficulties. I researched every aspect of breastfeeding. It is something I wanted for Emry's health, the bonding experience and to save money. Due to laboring so long I had a lot of fluid on my body .  I was told the fluid made my nipples more flat than they already were (I know, the word "nipple" is gross). I was determined not to give up.  I even told the doctor and nurses not to give her a bottle or pacifier to prevent nipple confusion.  I had read up on all manner of nipples & how women had overcome with different treatments. I had a great lactation consultant, she told me I had good technique but that my nips needed a little more help.  Even in immense pain I woke up in the hospital every 2 hours to feed   Emry . She would only latch fo...