Best of Blogs eBook from Babble

Way back when, seems like forever ago, I had a newborn baby that didn't want to breastfeed. The struggle of those first few months and the desire to breastfeed an unwilling child made for a tough time. A time that I felt like nobody talked about. So I decided to write a blog post about it. A post to hopefully help others that are in my same situation. Unless you have been there you just can't relate.

Flash forward to now and Babble, one of my favorite Mom resources, picked up my post on breastfeeding to publish in their new eBook, Parenting, Uncensored: Straight Talk from Real Moms and Dads on Breastfeeding. The eBook is a collection of posts on the subject of breastfeeding from several wonderful bloggers who have gone through one thing or another with breastfeeding.

"In twelve frank and funny essays, Parenting Uncensored gives a range of perspectives on an often controversial topic: breastfeeding. From Stefanie Wilder’s plea for everyone to stop judging one another to Ilana Wiles’s account of pumping in public (“You don’t know breast pump awkwardness until two 20 year-old guys are coordinating your pumping session over walkie talkies, then appearing to escort you to the back of the hair and make-up trailer and standing outside the front door … “), you’ll hopefully find a kindred spirit and even be inspired to join the conversation. Several of the essays in the book were chosen by the Babble community as the most compelling and helpful examination of the topic."

I am honored to be featured in this eBook and excited that more women will get a chance to read and relate to my personal story on breastfeeding. Its a topic that is heavily debated and one that no matter what your story women continually feel judged. Hopefully more and more mothers will be empowered by this eBook.

Check out the Babble page to learn more and purchase your eBook today!

MonkeyMat Review and Giveaway!

As a Mom I am always eager to find new products that are catered exactly to my Mom needs. There are certain scenarios and problems that us Moms face that need special attention. When I came across the MonkeyMat via Twitter I was intrigued though I will admit a little skeptical. What did this mat do that any other blanket that I already had couldn't? So when the awesome people at MonkeyMat gave me the chance to review their product I was pumped. I was ready to try it out and put it to the test.

From MonkeyMat.com:
 DEFINITION OF THE MONKEY MAT™. – NOUN \’MAŊ-KĒ MAT\
1. A lightweight Travel Mat | lightweight Exercise Mat | lightweight Yoga Mat | lightweight Picnic Mat | lightweight Outdoor Concert Mat | lightweight Baby Mat | lightweight Outdoor Ground Mat | lightweight Baby Changing Pad | lightweight Play Mat | lightweight Beach Mat | lighweight Camping Mat 2. The perfect baby shower gift

As you can see the mat's uses are endless. The mat is large, water repellent, has loops for toys and packs up easily into a small storage pouch.

The first thing I noticed was the small compact size. My diaper bag is already overflowing but this little bag I could easily find room for (and I was able to take out the small blanket I had in there already). So far so good.



The first time we used the MonkeyMat we spread it out in the front yard for some outdoor playtime. I immediately liked how easy it was to lay out because of the weighted corners. But once we put our crawling, exploring 9 month old down it began to bunch up. Luckily the genius Mom behind this product had already thought of this. The mat has little loops so you can stake it down. Once we did that it was snugly in place and Molly could crawl all over the place.



We have continued to use the MonkeyMat for park trips, baby pool time in the front yard, a trip to the Dallas Arboretum -- all the usual suspects. But we have discovered maybe the best us of all, a mat underneath her high chair! We just got new carpet in our dining room and when we have family meals her high chair is at the dining room table. With the amount of food flinging and cup flailing that goes on we needed a solution to avoid staining our new carpet. MonkeyMat to the rescue!



It worked perfectly. It caught all of her "droppings" and after dinner we let the dog have at it and then we rinsed it off. Easy. It will definitely be our go-to for dinners in the dining room.

I definitely recommend this product. Its so versatile and I also LOVE that is a local product from right here in Texas. Plus, it was made by a Mom so she knows what mommas need.

For a couple lucky readers -- you will get to experience this great product as well. The lovely team at MonkeyMat sent me two mats to give away to my readers!


Giveaway Details:

To win, simply comment on my post (be sure to include your email) with the words "MonkeyMat Me" and tell us what creative way you could see yourself using the MonkeyMat.

Giveaway closes Friday August 24th at 12pm CST.

Good luck!

To learn more about the product you can visit the website and follow them on Twitter @MonkeyMatMama

New Mom Resources: Books

As a first time Mom I had the overwhelming feeling from the first time I looked at the + sign on the pregnancy test that I had no idea what I was doing. We weren't exactly "trying" to have a baby so there had been little to zero research done on having a baby and being a Mom.

As soon as the dust settled from the OH MY GOSH WE ARE HAVING A BABY! I began to do the research necessary to feel good about growing a human and being responsible for raising a human being. I found lots of great resources along the way so I thought I would share them, hopefully they will help calm some other HOLY CRAP! WHAT AM I DOING? new Mom.



Instead of writing a big huge post I am doing to divy it up into several posts. The first one is dedicated to the books I used during pregnancy and after having Molly.

Books:
1. Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Baby - this is a great book. We chose to skip the ever popular What to Expect When You're Expecting and go with this more medically minded option. We read it every day during pregnancy and it also has things for baby after birth.

2. The Happiest Baby on the Block - We bought this when I was pregnant after a Mom at BuyBuy baby said it was a must for survival. We tried several of these methods with Molly, most didn't work. But its a great book and I think the information would be helpful to most.

3. the eco-nomical baby guide - great book if you are trying to spend less and create less waste etc. It goes into detail on what you really need vs. not and talks a lot of green products, cloth diapering etc. It even gives budget breakdowns based on things you need for baby.

4. Belly Laughs:The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth - Hilarious read. Something lighthearted and fun to enjoy reading while you are pregnant. Lots of funny and very real stories to prepare you for whats coming.

5. Operating Instructions:A Journal of My Son's First Year - Great book about a raising a child alone on a super tight budget. It will really prepare you for the emotional journey and challenges that come with a baby. And her little boy has colic.

6. From Conception to Birth: The Drama of Life's Beginnings (circa 1971) - My mom used this book when she was pregnant with me as her resource to her pregnancy. It was so fun to read through all of the old (and sometimes out dated) information. Some really spectacular pictures as well.

7. baby facts: The Truth about Your Child's Health from Newborn through Preschool - Written by a pediatrician it addresses common questions in the form of myths vs facts. It has some good information but it very medically minded and often discounts a more naturopathic approach, something we don't always agree with.

8. The Fussy Baby Book- This was recommended to me by Jen and is a wonderful book for parents who have a more "high needs" baby. It helped us realize that there isn't anything "wrong" with Molly, her personality is just different and special in its own way.

9. How to Teach Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night - Another book my mom used with my brother and I. Teaches a modified CIO method. We ended up using this book to sleep train Molly and it worked really well. I think there is an updated version.


All of these books I would recommend and each helped in their own way. At some point my Mom instincts took over but I leaned on the information I read in these books to get there.

I hope one of these can help you and if you have any questions about a book or its information please leave a comment or you can email me at chasinghallie@gmail.com

The Sleep Situation: Take Two

Our sleep situation (which I documented here) has been quite a journey. We started off awesome (a newborn sleeping through the night!), hit some rough patches that we worked through then BAM! 4 month sleep regression hit and boy did it screw things up.

Since that 4 month regression we have been working and working and working to get our full night of sleep back. And, with the risk of the blog jinx, our baby girl is now sleeping through the night!





We have hit over a week of going to bed at 8ish and not waking up until 8:30 or later the next day. I am here to tell you, its as wonderful as they say it is. I love me some sleep and having a full night back has been amazing. Let me tell you how we got here...

When she started waking up at 2/3am around 4 Months we decided it was a growth spurt and she needed the extra feeding. She wasn't up for long, just enough time to drink her bottle and go back to bed. In total I was up for about 30 minutes. Not bad. So we continued on.

At 5 months she started waking up twice. Once at 2/3am and again at 6am. Not cool. So we fed her twice. Same story, awake just long enough to eat.

Then she dropped the 2/3am and started just waking up at 5:30/6am. She would eat and then go back to sleep til around 8:30 or 9. I could live with this. I was up for 30 minutes and then I could go back to bed for a bit and have time to get up and get ready before she woke up for the day. She continued on this way for about a month.



After a month of a solid schedule, out of nowhere, she started waking up at random times. Sometimes it was midnight (wha? -- had never been that early before), sometimes it was 4am and sometimes it was 2am AND 5am. What in the H?! Something had to change.

Our doctor told us that she was waking up multiple times now because WE had trained her to need a bottle to go back to sleep. Thus every time she woke she couldn't soothe herself back to a slumber. So it was our fault. Great. A plan was set forth.

The Plan:
1. Start by weaning the amount in each bottle (we were giving her 5oz)
2. Be quick! No talking. Feed and back to bed.
3. Quit rocking her to sleep at her bedtime.
4. Let her cry it out the second time she wakes after weaning for a week and each time she wakes after reducing the bottle amount to 2oz

So we set the plan in motion. And we had setbacks and excuses and we got the bottle down to 2oz and then didn't take the next step>>no more bottle. We were afraid and tired. We knew if we gave her the 2oz she would go back to sleep.

I had noticed something though. After the 2oz she wasn't falling asleep in my arms anymore. And she didn't seem all that interested in the bottle. She was down to only one wake again and I knew it was time. So one night, we cried it out. All of us, together (because I was in tears too, and Im sure the dog was crying on the inside from being annoyed). It took 30 minutes. Then the next morning she woke up and just moaned and mumbled to herself for 15 minutes, we didn't even go in. She went on with the moaning/mumbling for a few days and then nothing. Silence. Not a peep! I was worried something had happened to her. But no...our baby had slept through the night! We put a sticker on her memory calendar (this is a big deal folks!).

So here we are. Almost 9 months old and a solid week into sleeping through the night. She goes to bed with no fuss. Goes down at nap time without problems. It only took 9 long months to get here. But oh so worth the reward.



Goodnight sweetheart.

Getting Organized

For those of you who know me in "real life" you know I am a bit OCD when it comes to having everything organized and in its place.

I can't go to bed at night if there are dishes in the sink, clothes that need to be put away or toys out on the floor. I even got out of bed late one evening (before baby) to put clothes up in the closet because I couldn't settle down to fall asleep. I know, I am crazy! I mean, I write "make new to-do list" on my current to-do list and put things down after I completed them to get the satisfaction of crossing them out. My behavior drives my husband nuts!

When Molly was born I went through some serious anxiety about the state of my house. I know that it was completely irrational to think my home would stay clutter free and organized with a new baby around but it seriously got to me. Instead of sleeping when the baby sleeps I cleaned and picked up. I needed it, its almost like therapy.

But while the house was clean it was far from organized. With all the new baby stuff taking over we started cramming things everywhere. A couple areas I couldn't even look at because of how stressed out it made me. So a summer goal was to whip this place into shape!

I took advantage of having my Mom in town for over a week and we got to work. I had a long list of areas that needed to be taken care of and we almost crossed them all off! I have been sleeping much better these days.

I identified 14 areas of need in the house and we crossed 12 of those areas off the list! The biggest two were our guest bathroom closet (a complete disaster) and our hall "junk" closet.

Sorry for the crappy iPhone pics, we were in the organizing zone!

The "before" mess...




The "after" all organized...




So clean a baby can fit in there!

My goal is to keep these newly organized places as such (gotta keep the husband in line) and tackle the remaining few areas in the next couple weeks.

Feels so good to have the house back in shape after the new baby chaos!

Attempts and Failures

As a perfectionist, one of the hardest things for me to learn and cope with is that not everything is going to turn out as planned. Especially in regards to being a new parent. I have really struggled with some of the things that didn't work out like we had hoped (breastfeeding) and been able to embrace some of the other things that didn't take hold (a schedule).

I thought I would share some notes on some of the attempts and failures modified successes.


Breastfeeding
My initial goal was to breastfeed until M is 1 year old but we had to give it up at around 6 weeks. This was the hardest attempt and failure for me to swallow. {You can read about my full experience here.} And I still have moments of guilt and sadness about it to this day.  But I have also learned to understand that Molly is a healthy, thriving baby who is meeting all of her milestones and is happy. That is the ultimate goal.




Cloth Diapering
I had big grandiose ideas about all the money we were going to save using cloth diapers and how great it was going to be. ha! We have had issues since day 1. First Molly was super tiny (and still is) and they just didn't fit great and looked ridiculous. So we stuck with disposables and told ourselves once she grew out of newborn diapers we would switch to cloth. Well we are in size 2 and still using disposables. I just haven't been able to find my stride with this one. I use the cloth from time to time but can't get the hang of it. And they still look ridiculous on her tiny frame. 


I am not completely abandoning this one, she will be in diapers for another year at least so we will revisit this. And hopefully turn this current failure into a modified success.



Glass Bottles
We wanted to use glass bottles from Lifefactory to reduce cleaning, waste and a whole slew of bottle accessories. During the breastfeeding struggle we were told to use specific bottles that were as close to the breast as possible so we had to purchase those. They were also specific to colic since Molly was very colicky. They are Playtex Drop-Ins and we are still using them because Molly likes them the best. I hate that we have to buy drop-ins and it creates a lot of waste (we do recycle them) but we have to go with what our daughter likes at this point.

I did use one of the glass bottles while we were out and about the other day and she liked it well enough. But I think we will be transitioning out of bottles and to sippy cups for all feedings soon so these will be a waste. For the next one!

Exercising
I am an athlete. I have always been into physical activity in its various forms (running, gym, cycling, tennis, Pilates, frisbee etc. etc.) and I thought after Molly was born I would be able to resume these activities no problem. Ha!

I have yet to make it to the gym. I have not been on my road bike or mountain bike since she was born. I can count the times I have gone running on one hand. And my tennis racket is collecting dust in the garage.

Right now, between work and spending time with Molly and my husband when he gets home I just haven't found the right balance. But I am not giving up on this one.






A Schedule
While reading all of my baby books prior to M's birth I knew that we would be getting on some sort of schedule fairly early on. I am a schedule person. I need my routine and I need it to be consistent. Some of my Mom friends had successfully got their babies on a very regimented schedule and life was peachy.

Well Molly is a different baby. She had colic, she is "high needs" and she moves to her own beat. All things that add up to no schedule, complete chaos!

Recently, we have found our stride and a schedule is beginning to form. Thank god! But dealing with the lack of one has been hard for me.

I had to tell myself that Molly knows what she needs and for these few months I have to go with that.



Sleeping through the Night
This one is rough! M was a great night sleeper from the first night we brought her home. She knew her days from nights right away. She would sleep, by definition, through the night with no problem. She even started hitting the coveted 12 hours straight. And then BAM -- out of nowhere it stopped. And we had been spoiled so adjusting to her new night wakings has been tough. And frustrating. And a failure!

Now that she is 7.5 months old, and our pediatrician has let us know she needs to get rid of her night feeding(s), we are about to embark on some serious sleep training. Hoping that turns into a modified success and we start getting some good uninterrupted sleep again.





As you can see, things have not always gone as planned. We have made many many adjustments. But that is part of being a parent. You have to learn to go with the flow, even if its against every natural instinct you have. Being a parent for the first time is HARD. And learning that every baby and situation is different takes time.

But the most important thing is a happy healthy baby. And we are so lucky and blessed to have just that.