I'm feeling a bit smug this afternoon. Bennett slept great last night. Usually I feed him, take him up to my mom, let her sit up with him until he falls back to sleep (this takes anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour and a half) and then she brings him down to his co-sleeper where he sleeps until it's time to feed again (what will we do when Grandma leaves at the end of the week?!). Last night he hung out with Grandma before his 11:00 feed, but after that he went down in his co-sleeper AWAKE and laid there without fussing until he fell back asleep.
This morning school was in session for Bennett and me. We are going to have to leave the house some day so we worked on feeding with our cover and using our Sakura Bloom sling.
But first - I squeezed my twelve day postpartum self into a pair of non-maternity jeans! I can't button them, which is where the belly band comes in handy, but it feels so nice to have more than two pairs of pants to choose from when I get dressed. I sent my mom out for gripe water and a new battery for the scale this morning (seriously, what will we do when she is gone?) because Bennett is the gassiest baby to grace this planet (my theory: the antibiotics he was on in the NICU did a number on his tummy) and I've been wanting to weigh myself for a while.
I've lost 20 lbs. since delivery, which means I only have 10 to go to hit my pre-pregnancy weight. Another 3 and I'll be at my weight before I conceived Charlotte. I know weight loss is low on the priority list right now, but it feels good to be down 20 lbs. already. And did I mention how good it feels to be back in my trusty, lovely, beautiful Gap jeans?
Anyway, the sling: figuring it out required a bit of YouTube video watching, but Grandma and I eventually mastered it. Grandma wore Bennett around the house while she unloaded the dishwasher and vacuumed and proclaimed it very useful. I snuggled him in it for a little while before blow drying my hair (that's why it looks so interesting in the photos) and loved having him tucked in so close.
What do you think babywearing aficionados? We look pretty good, right?
Hanging with Grandma
Since that wasn't enough learning for one morning I decided to try feeding Bennett without using the Boppy pillow. I figured that would be a good start to learning how to breast feed him in public. There is no way I am going to pull out my breast and feed him without a cover, I'm simply too modest for that, so I figured we would try without the Boppy and then figure out the cover. But things went so well without the Boppy I tossed the cover over us and fed him like I've been doing it for years.
I am so proud of us for getting off the bottles. No more pumping, no schedules, no logging feed times (though we do log diapers) we're just letting Bennett boy do his thing and it's working well for everyone.
Like I said, feeling a bit smug this afternoon. Here's two adorable pictures of Bennett to cap things off. He was tuckered out from nursing:
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14 comments:
I have never commented before, but I have been reading your blog for months. I finally have to speak up to let you know that you look AMAZING! It is wonderful to see! I am so happy for you!
It's wonderful to see you so joyful!!! I bet you are happy that you took the time to work through your breastfeeding issues!
Bennett is looking mighty pleased with life at home too!
Excellent!! I'm so glad you ended up getting a ring sling, and Sakura Blooms are fabulous. Oddly enough, I almost bought that exact same sling (color and everything) during their sample sale a few months ago.
Excellent placement, especially for the first try. You have Bennett upright in a C curve, close enough to kiss the top of his head. It's good that you have the fabric spread over your shoulder, but if you bring it up higher on your arm you'll have a better range of motion. You'll also want to snug that bottom rail (a rail is the edge on the length of the fabric, so there's a bottom rail and top rail) so that it's hugging your arm. The ultimate goal is for the fabric to cup your shoulder. In fact, you'll want to snug up the whole thing. The fabric placement is pretty good but you want it to be nice and tight.
You'll also want to tighten up the top rail, behind Bennett's head. Not so tight that it chokes him, but enough that when you move or lean over his head won't flop around. Looking at the fabric in the rings, if you pull it out straight, like you're pulling it back over how it's behind him, it will give it a more exact directional pull. Does that make sense??
The rings should end up just a little higher, like where you would pin a corsage on your shirt. If you start with them more up on your shoulder, then they'll end up in the right spot. And if the rings seem to be bothering him or you're worried about him bopping his head on them or something, you can wrap the tail around them to cushion them.
I know that's a lot of words but it's hard to explain baby carriers without showing. :) You and your mom really did a good job. Next you get to try the Sleepywrap! ;)
Love that nursing with the cover and without the boppy was so easy. I have a Bebe Au Lait nursing cover too and I love it, the fabric is so soft and drapes so well. I tried one of the cheapy ones before that and it was so stiff and puckered and stuck to my clothes, I hated it. This will quickly become one of your most used baby products.
This post makes me so happy for you. I'm happy to hear that breastfeeding is going well and you look amazing with your little guy all snuggled in the sling. Congrats on getting into your pre pregnancy jeans! While I can't speak to that this time around quite yet, I know how awesome it feels! :)
One more thing, in case the directions didn't explain it - when you tighten up the sling, if you tighten it by small sections rather than pulling the whole tail at the same time, then it will mold really well around his body and you'll get a great fit.
You don't sound overly-smug :) It feels good to feel like you're doing a good job! Keep it up, I love seeing all the pics of you so happy and Bennett so content.
I dont know how it is even possible.. but he is getting CUTER AND CUTER with every second!!!
LOVE!!
What a sweetheart he is! Sounds like a great day! <3
Angela, he's beautiful, and you are doing so great, it's wonderful to see. One top tip if you do ever need your bobby out and about, just use your diaper bag instead, give it a good squish first, rolled up coats work too...but looks like you wont be needing either. The sling looks great!
Oh Angela! I'm months behind on my blog reading and am just now realizing Bennett is here and alive and so beautiful! And you are glowing mama. Congratulations. You made it. You did it. I can only imagine how many hard moments there were through the pregnancy and birth. Sending all four of you so much love!!!
P.S. If you haven't already, try cutting dairy out of your diet to see if that helps with the gas. It's a pretty common cause.
You're both looking adorable! And Bennett looks so snug. I finally cracked the baby wearing this time around (a Moby type wrap sling) and we're both freaken loving it!
xo
good job mama! you guys look cute and stylish in your wrap. I know how you feel about the nip in public. I always cover us with a shawl or blankie. I'm not too too modest but I don't want people staring at my nipples either!
That's a good look for you. Especially with that big happy Mama smile.
Good for you guys! Love that sling, he looks so comfy & you're right they are SO useful! Ugh, our baby is SO gassy too, we've also used the gripe water and some gas drops, they do tend to help some. Keep up with that feeding and you'll be down to your pre pregnancy weight in no time! Pumping has allowed me to lose all my weight quickly and eat more sweets than I ever did before, it rocks!!!
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