8 Months with Molly Pop

In just four short months, you are going to be a year and I can not believe it. You are quickly becoming a little kid and less like a baby every day. You have even begun saying some 'words' like Dadi, Mama and Baba. We love how you will sit and whisper, Dadi, Dadi, Dadi. It is super cute.
You are crawling like mad and are so fast! You keep trying to stand up from the crawling position but if you don't have anything to hold on it, it is a bit of a disaster. You keep trying though. Pop Pop says that you have my determination. It will serve you well because sometimes determination is the only thing that will get you through.
 
Your love affair with solid food continues and I've recently introduced cheese and yogurt to you. True love! You have also graduated to more finger-type foods. You still eat purees but you think steamed broccoli, chopped turkey and shredded soft cheeses are great! You really like feeding yourself but allow me to spoon feed you when you are starving. We are moving from two meals up to three meals this month. It's more work for me but more joy for you.
We've continued your Monday/Wednesday swim lessons. You get so excited when we pull up to the pool and start bouncing around. You have been hard at work at learning how to pull yourself out of the pool, crawling in the water, splashing and floating. You are not so hip on floating on your back but I'll let you in on a secret, Mama never conquered that skill and Mama LOVES to swim. I'm so glad that I signed you up for the entire summer. I was worried that it was too much but now I think it is just perfect. We'll skip lessons this winter but will still make time to visit the pool for swimming.
Blowing raspberries is your new obsession. You love blowing them so much that often a tickle of spit will start to slowly drip onto your chest. You think that is funny as it just provides more spit for raspberries! Pop Pop and I find it gross because we get covered in your spit if we sit too close. You also love waving goodbye to everyone including the cats. You've been sleeping in your own nursery since your 7th month birthday and it was a good move. You've been sleeping better. We've been sleeping better and everyone is happy. Of course this isn't to say that every night is perfect but over all it's been a good move. You still come to our room in the morning for snuggles and we do like that a lot! We moved you to the convertible carseat a few weeks ago and the transition has gone well. You love the mirror I put up to watch you as you can watch Mirror Baby. She's the best baby ever!
You had your first visit to the Zoo and you thought the Grizzly Bears were AWESOME! You stood at the window and growled at them. We didn't see the entire zoo on this visit as you fell asleep but we'll be back and next time you can check out the penguins.
It's been such a fun journey watching you grow and gain new skills. Every day is a new adventure in MollyLand and I'm so happy to be on this ride with you. This next month is going to be full of fun too! We have TWO trips planned. I surely hope you enjoy traveling in the car because you are going to be in it for long periods of time. We love you so very much, Molly Pop!   

An Obsession - Cloth Diapering

Long before I got pregnant, I decided that I would cloth diaper. I'm one of those people that once they decided to do something, they do it, come hell or high water.

So it was a no-brainer when I got pregnant that I would cloth diaper but I wasn't sure HOW I would cloth diaper. I quizzed all my friends, took tours of their cloth diapering stations, read blogs and checked out all the stores and sites for information about cloth diapering.

There was one site that really helped me decided how I wanted to cloth diaper and it was, StyleBerryBlog . Her posts on Fuzzi Bunz Diapers and how to wash them sealed the deal for me. I was hooked!

I bought a whole set of Fuzzi Bunz diapers and felt ready to go. Then I started reading more. I realized that the Fuzzi Bunz One Size were going to be great once the baby was 10+ lbs. I was hoping that I wouldn't have a 10+ lb baby so I knew I would need something to fit the gap. I thought about disposables and I did buy a bag of them. I knew that Scott would appreciate having the disposables until he was comfortable with the cloth diapers.

After a bit of thought and research, I decided to go with prefolds for the starter diapers. They were fantastic! I loved how you could fold them in different ways for different purposes and they also make wonderful burp rags. Once Molly got over 14 lbs and started to wiggle, I gave them up. They were too hard for me to get on such a wiggly child. By then we were firmly in the Fuzzi Bunz diapering way.

I use the Fuzzi Bunz during the day but switch to Bum Genius diapers for the overnight diapers. I double stuff them so they can absorb a lot of moisture. They are wonderful at wicking the wet away from Molly's bum.

For wipes, I use a combination of Kirkland brand disposable wipes and fleece cloth wipes. I like the cloth wipes for drying her butt which helps reduce diaper rash.

I tend not to use a lot of creams but as you can see from the photo above, we have a lot of creams in this house. All but the Butt Paste are great to use on cloth diapers. When we have a nasty diaper rash, I do use the butt paste with disposable diaper liners which is also what we use with every diaper now that Molly is eating solid food and ummm well pooping solid poops.

I use a dry diaper pail system and most importantly it has a lock on it against inquisitive little girls. As for washing my diapers, I follow the guidelines listed in this post. We have the exact same washing machine and so far, I've had great success with my cloth diapers. I'm so happy that I decided to cloth diaper. And most importantly, Scott likes that we cloth diaper because he has never had to run to the grocery store at midnight to buy more diapers. 

Breast Feeding after a Breast Reduction

I’ve been doing this for more than 7 months. I've been obsessively worrying and quite awesomely breastfeeding my baby. In fact, I'm doing it better than I ever thought I would.

Let me give you a bit of background before I dive into the breastfeeding part of this story. In 1999, I went to the doctor for a routine annual exam. While there she asked if I would be interested in a breast reduction as my breasts were WHOA big, not big, WHOA big. I enthusiastically said yes and she referred me to the surgeon. After months of prep, I had my breast reduction and it was one of the best things I've ever done. I had almost 5 lbs of flesh removed from my chest and I was left with 38DDs. After the weight was lifted from my chest (pun intended), I ran several half-marathons, one marathon and gained so much self confidence. The only downside to my reduction I was told was that I may not be able to breastfeed when I had babies. So when I became pregnant with Molly, I was worried but I kept thinking, "At least there is formula so my baby won't starve."

I, however, did not know that breastfeeding would become my parenting hill to die on. Once Molly was born, I was determined to breastfeed her as much as I could and I knew in order to do that I would have to be very determined and kind to myself. 

Molly now gets about 70% breast milk and 30% formula. All women are different. I’ve heard that almost all women get some milk after a reduction, it is just reduced.

Scott has been super supportive through this whole process. He never told me I was crazy. He has admitted that he often thinks that I am crazy when we talk about it but he also said that he was proud of me for being so passionate. I remember nights in the beginning when we were using the SNS system when he would hold the tube and pour the formula in while Molly breastfed. There would often be spillage and formula would get everywhere. Luckily it made us laugh, if not a bit sticky but it really helped me to have such a supportive partner through this journey. 

Here is what I did to ensure my breastfeeding success (all the while knowing that I might not be successful).

I met with a Lactation Consultant while pregnant. I had flat nipples and she gave me this product called, Supple Cups to draw the nipples out. They were great! I couldn’t use them before 38 weeks though as they can stimulate labor. I also met with the LC twice after Molly’s birth and attended a breastfeeding support group. The support group messed with my head though. It was frustrating to hear women saying they had supply issues and they were giving their children 5 ounces while I was only getting about 2 ounces in Molly at that time. The LC also taught me how to do breast compressions which helped me get more milk out.

I read everything on bfar.org (a breastfeeding after reduction online forum) and joined the forums.

I read “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding” which can be a bit too preachy but I found educational. I also read “Making More Milk” by Diane West who also had a breast reduction. I found it very interesting! I would recommend reading these before birth though and making notes to remind yourself for those early days.

I got a hospital pump and started pumping immediately. I pumped 8-10x a day after breastfeeding in the beginning. Then after a few weeks, I moved it down to 5-8x and am now at 3x a day, always after breastfeeding. I really hate pumping but I’ve made a committment to myself to do this for 9 months.  I now use a Medela Pump in Style but I used the hospital pump for about two months. They have better motors and extract more. The baby is best at extraction but the pump is good too.

I used a SNS system to feed Molly. I would personally buy one from Medela instead of using the stupid syringe next time. I think it would prevent the 3 a.m. formula spills all over the bed. Scott helped me with this a lot. He’d hold the syringe and pour the formula in. We did this for about 3 weeks and then Molly refused to latch with the tube on. She’d latch without it so I moved to breastfeeding and following with a bottle. Molly has a great latch though and will eat off anything. She doesn’t care, just give her the foods (she is like this about most solid food too)! I also put her to the breast as soon as I could after birth. I had a c-section so it was about 45 minutes after she was born but she latched and we’ve been going ever since.

I take a product called Lactate Support from Gaia Herbs to help increase my supply. I also took Goat’s Rue which is supposed to regrow ducts along with Go-Lacta from Sugarpod Naturals. I take twice the recommended amount of Lactate Support as I’ve heard you need alot of Fenugreek. I smell like maple. I make people want pancakes.

I also ate a lot of lactation cookies to also help my supply. I'm not sure if they work but they are delicious!
http://pumpstationblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/milk-and-cook...;

I have oatmeal almost everyday for breakfast, again for supply. Have you noticed a trend, if it helps with supply, I do it!

Through this process I've learned that breastfeeding is not an all or nothing process. You can exclusively breastfeed, you can supplement with formula, you can feed your baby exclusively with formula. Whatever you decide is the best for your family. You just need to remember the most important rule of all - Feed the Baby!

I've also learned that almost everyone has troubles breastfeeding and that there is no need to judge people if they breastfeed or not. You do not know what they have gone through to arrive at their decision. I have two friends who did not have reductions who exclusively formula feed their babies. One hated breastfeeding and the other had severe supply issues. They are following the golden rule, "Feed the Baby". They are great Moms and we are able to trade tips about formula selection and bottles. 

In the end, I'm so happy that I've been able to breast feed Molly as long as I have. I'm also still happy that I had that breast reduction. It helped me so much. 

7 Months with Molly Pop

SEVEN MONTHS! Where does the time go? I swear it was just a few days ago that you were born and now you are almost crawling, sprouting teeth and pulling yourself up onto everything. This month, you have started rolling and scooting everywhere. You are so, so, so close to crawling. In fact, you have crawled once or twice but since you are not consistent with it, I can't really say that you are crawling. You love rolling around and every night insist on lots of wiggle time before bed. You've become quite enamored with your toys and love your stacking cups. I've also acquired a standing table that plays lots of music for you. You love music. I play a lot of children's music throughout the day and we dance along to it. "You got to shake those wiggles out!" Unfortunately this month has been terrible for sleep. You are refusing the sleep the night through in your pack 'n play and end up in our bed way more than we'd like. One does not make the best sleep decisions at 4 a.m. when faced with a screaming little lady. Tomorrow night we are moving you to your crib in your own bedroom. I really hope this goes well for everyone's sake. I have a feeling that Pop Pop and I are disrupting your sleep. This move might either be genius or the worst idea ever! You continue to be super social and love to flirt with strangers. We've been taking you out to eat a lot and you flirt a ton with the waitresses. You are great when we eat out. You sit in the restaurant high chairs and really like it when we give you food so you can eat along with us. Speaking of solid food, you LOVE it! Other than peas, we haven't found a food that you do not LOVE. I really hope that you continue to be a non-picky eater. I won't be holding my breath but one can certainly hope! You are still attending swim lessons and working to be a fantastic water baby. The swim instructor and you have a great time splashing each other. I think by the end of the summer, you are going to be the very best water baby around. You've also begun pulling yourself up onto objects. I was shocked when you started doing this because well it's too early for that kind of behavior but you think it is funny, funny and try to do it everywhere. Your little baby biceps strain with the exertion which makes me giggle. And the biggest deal of all is that you have TWO teeth! You are working on the top two teeth too which explains our latest sleep troubles. It's so hard to hear you crying when your mouth hurts. We've been giving you all the soothers and tylenol that you want. You also love chewing on frozen fruit in your feeder as it helps your mouth. We love you Molly Pop!

Feeding Molly

At Molly's 4 month appointment, her doctor gave me a pamphlet on introducing solid food to Molly. I was a bit unprepared for that discussion and stuttered that we would be waiting until 6 months to introduce food as recommended by WHO. I also said something about not giving her rice cereal. My doctor stammered back, but the cereal is fortified!

I went home and began stocking up on ALL the books about feeding babies. I also started reading all the parenting blogs and pretty much just became obsessed with babies and food. And I began polling every parent I knew on how they introduced solid food to their kids.



Shaping Molly's appetite for good, healthy, fresh food is so very important to me. I want her to crave carrots and fresh fruit over processed, fast food. What this means is that while I tend to cook lots of good, fresh food at home, I have had to curb my unhealthy food desires. It is not fair for me to tell Molly that she shouldn't have McDonald's as I'm driving through and ordering fries. Of course, moderation is a-ok and I know that she will have some of these foods at times, but I'd like those times to be few and far between.

After doing all sorts of research and driving my husband crazy with my findings, I decided to offer Molly some solid food. I did start with rice cereal, mainly because it is boring and tends not to be allergenic. This was one of my many hypocritical moments as a parent. Sometimes I say that I'm going to do something as a parent and then I'm faced with reality where I change my mind. I'm still on the fence about rice cereal as a first food.



I also decided to offer Molly food before her six-month birthday because it was getting hard to keep her from it. She was constantly stealing food off my plate and putting it in her mouth. Her first food was brie cheese from my salad. It wasn't necessarily my choice as a first food but it was a strong indication to me that Molly was ready for it. On the day of solid food introduction, we were excited! We put Molly in her high chair, strapped on the bib and put the very liquid-y rice cereal on a spoon. I aimed the spoon toward Molly's mouth and she opened it, ready for the food! I was not expecting that at all. Molly has shown a fine appreciation for food. She practically sings with joy when I feed her while trying to stuff all the food in her mouth.



We've quickly moved on from rice cereal to avocados, squash, applesauce and more. In fact, avocado is served at all of Molly's meals. It is unacceptable to her for avocado not to be served to her. It is her most favorite of all favorite foods. I've been doing a mixture of Baby Led Weaning and purees. Molly likes food so much that I'm nervous offering her food that is potentially a choking hazard so I like to give her foods that are easily mashable.



I have also been making a majority of Molly's food. It's so simple and fast that I'm happy to do so. It also aligns with my goal of introducing healthy, fresh food to Molly. I usually steam or bake a vegetable or fruit for Molly while making dinner for Scott and I. I then let the food cool while we eat dinner. After cleaning up from supper, I whirl the food through the food processor and place it into ice cube trays for freezing. I can quickly whip up about 10-12 serving sizes by making Molly's food this way. I've built up a good little food
stash for Molly along the way. It makes my daily prep of food so much easier and faster. I usually pull out Molly's food from the freezer the night before to allow it to defrost in the fridge. If I don't do that, I put it in the microwave for about 35 seconds and then provide plenty of time for the food to cool.



I've been giving Molly solid food for about six weeks now and while I only introduce one new food at a time, I've been a little more loose about waiting 3-5 days between introducing new items. There are no known food allergies in our family and she hasn't shown any reactions to any of the foods I've introduced so I feel ok with plan. Molly gets between one and two solid food meals a day in addition to her milk. It is important at this stage that their milk intake does not dip and I've been careful to ensure that Molly is still nursing as much as possible and getting formula as needed.

Molly does take in a lot of solid food at her meals but she loves it so much and is still drinking the right amount of milk so I'm not worried. I also offer milk before her solid meals. Molly's average solid meal consists of 4-6 T of oatmeal with 1 T applesauce/blueberries, 4 T of avocado and 4 T of another type of vegetable (i.e. squash, peas, carrots). I've been following this chart as a guideline as how much food to give Molly. I let her take the lead with the food. I spoon feed her a few bites of a new food and then she usually grabs the spoon and goes from there.



Molly's Applesauce

4-5 large apples
1 teaspoon of Cinnamon

1. Peel and core apples
2. Steam apples until easily pieced with a fork and slightly mushy.
3. Place in a food processor with cinnamon and process until smooth.
4. Place puree in ice cube trays and freeze overnight. This will provide you with 1-ounce servings which are the perfect serving size for a baby 6-12 months old.

Six Months with Molly Pop

Wow! It's been half a year since you joined our lives and it has been the best thing that has ever happened to us. This month has been so full of development and excitement that I'm not sure where to begin.



Well first of all, you started on solid food. You kept trying to get some of my food in your mouth so I decided to start you early even though I was firm that you were not going to have solid food before six months. This is just the start of so many times where you will prove me wrong. You have shown your true love for avocado and your intense dislike for peas. Other foods fall in between that spectrum. So far you have tried avocado, peas, sweet potatoes, pears, carrots, peaches, plums, oatmeal, rice cereal and bananas.



You also started swimming 'lessons' at the local outdoor pool. You love them and I love how they wear you out! You have the best naps afterwards. We have lessons throughout the summer so I look forward to watching you through this adventure. Last week we went down the big slide together. I had so much fun and yelled WHEEEEEE! the entire way. You thought it was ok. Silly girl! It was the MOST FUN EVER!



Shortly after your six month half birthday, we went to Orcas Island for the weekend (and honestly this is why this month's letter is a bit late, I was having too much fun!) to celebrate Pop Pop's birthday. We took you to a fancy restaurant for dinner and you did so well. You used your charming smile to lure all the other diners into loving you. The waitress complemented us on your 'perfect' attitude. Hooray! I hope you keep this up so I can continue eating good food.



This month you've mastered sitting and rolling over. You've also started really grasping things and moving them between your hands. You do these little hand gestures that crack us up. It's like you are amazed that these hands are yours. You are also grabbing everything which means noses, eyeballs, glasses, mustaches and the like are all up for grabs! I totally understand why Moms cut off their hair; between the postpartum hair loss and the grabbing, it is all too much.

Thank you for making this the best six months of my life. We really enjoy having you as our baby and feel like we got the best one out there. You are so much fun and such a beautiful little girl. I look forward to watching more of your personality emerge. It's already quite charming!



Six Month Stats
Weight: 16 lbs 7 oz
Length: 27.5 inches
Head Circumference: 17.64 inches

Five Months with Molly Pop

Dear Molly,

Seriously? You are now five months? When and how did this happen? Where did my little squishy baby go and who is this big girl in her place?

This past month has been HUGE on development. You are now sitting up on your own (well if we put you down in a sitting position, you no longer topple over but stay sitting), you roll from front to back and to front again (though not very often because you just can't be bothered), you grab things and shove them into your mouth (everything goes into your mouth). 

You had your first road trip this month. We headed down to Portland (PDX) to introduce you to your Uncle Chuck, Aunt Mary and cousins, Hailey and Tyler. Along the way you also got to meet your Great Aunt LeeAnn and Cousin Ann. You were a CHAMP on the trip even though the night before you came down with a great cold of doom. It was such a cold of doom that your Pop Pop and I were a bit worried about you. In fact, I took you to the doctor when we returned from our trip and she confirmed that you had a cold, a cold of doom. 

We've also been sleep training this month and naps are going quite well. Nighttime sleep is a HUGE struggle and you fight it with every bit of your soul. We have gotten you to sleep by 9 p.m. almost every night so that is a win. But the wailing and gnashing of teeth is so not a win.

You also had your first taste of solid food this month. Not by our choice though. It was all determined by you. You wanted that piece of Brie cheese on my plate and so you took it and shoved it into you little mouth. The look of delight on your face was wonderful. You LOVED that cheese. We will however be waiting until you are six months old to properly introduce you to food but I'm not going to stop you from grabbing food you deem interesting off my plate. 

We are also working on your separation anxiety. You get really upset at night when I leave so I'm hiding in my craft room for 30 minutes each night so you can get used to being with your Pop Pop in the evening. The funny thing is you have a great time with him when I leave during the day, you just don't like it when I leave at night. 

I look forward to many many more days and nights with you my Molly Pop. It's been so much fun. I feel lucky to have so much time with you. You are a wonderful little girl who is starting to really show us her personality. We might be in trouble here; sweet, fun trouble!

Four Months with Molly Pop

Dear Molly,

Four Months. I can't believe that we've had you for four months, four wonderful months. You are growing big and strong and so very opinionated.

This month, you've discovered so many things. You've discovered that we have two cats and that you have two hands. You currently shove your hands into your mouth whenever you can. Luckily for now, the cats have not had to suffer the same fate. You've also started teething and that sucks for all of us. Your mouth is sore and your nose is snotty, oh so snotty.


We're still going strong with the breastfeeding and I've stopped being as obsessive about it. You get what you get from me and the rest from formula. You have a mixed diet. You have variety! Not all babies get to have variety in how and what they eat.



You tend to sleep pretty well but we do have days where you resist the sweet allure of sleep. I'm currently tracking your sleep schedule so we can develop a nap routine. Once we figure that out, I plan to respect the nap with all the respect I can. I figure your morning nap will always be done at home while your afternoon nap might need to be taken in the car or stroller while I run errands, go on walks or escape from the house. I hope (and maybe stupidly) that this will help you to nap/sleep anywhere.

This past month, we also started attending PEPS. It is AWESOME! I love our group and you love watching the babies. I sense that we'll be friends with these people for ages. You seem to really enjoy it too and have become quite vocal during our meetings. I had to shush you last week because you were chatting way too much when other people were talking.



Your little personality is really showing through. You've started fussing when you want down to play and fussing when you are done. You have really started to enjoy activity time and are working hard on rolling from your back to your front. You get stuck on your side a lot which causes tears for you and lots of laughter from me (because I'm mean and find it very funny to see you confused by your actions).

You also had your first cold this month. It was mild but produced so much snot. You have unfortunately developed a NoseFrida aversion from my overuse of it.  I love that thing!

I can't believe that 4 months ago, I was in labor with you. Seriously I think you've always been with us. I really enjoy our little family. It feels so right to have you around. We love you, Molly Pop!