Sunday, February 27, 2011

I'm jealous

Okay so yesterday I was in the grocery store and I randomly looked at a women's cart and I felt a stab of jealousy. Her cart was full of processed foods. I was jealous because next to her was her son. She was a mom and her cart was full of Mac and cheese, oreos, and bunches of other crap.

Yes i was jealous. Not of the "foods" she had but of the carefree nature of the cart. That mom did not think she just dumped. Her concern, can i afford is? Will we eat this? Not will this hurt my child. I don't mean to sound hateful but yes for a minute I was green with jealousy.

I never pictured my life with food allergies. When DH's food allergy test came back with wheat and yeast (among other things), I was upset. It meant a change in our diet. We tried to go totally wheat free but 8 years ago the wheat free food was hard to find and it was mostly horrible. So DH just dealt with the pain. As a grown man he can choose to eat what he wants so our diet didn't change as much as it should of. Basically we would go wheat free when his allergies were just too much.

So it was part of our lives but not the focus. I totally never thought my children would have to deal with allergies. I mean DH was 25 before his allergies were 'discovered.'. So when Audrey was screaming in pain nightly at 3 weeks old, I discovered a new phase in my life, the wheatless phase.

As long as I am breastfeeding I am wheat-free. That might be two years maybe four tops depending on when Audrey totally weans but I'll be a concerned label reading mama for the rest of my life. I'll always have to ask what is in that before Audrey eats it. I won't have that carefree grocery cart, I don't think i'll ever have that carefree cart. So yes I was jealous. I love Audrey and DH and that means I'll always have a semi-wheat-free life. But if my choices are bread and Oreos or Audrey and DH then I'll never eat and oreo again.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Dryer Balls!!!







Saturday, February 19, 2011

Giveways to know about:

Just a couple of giveways to share:

Party of 5 and Counting is giving away a Baby Bond nursing cover.  Here is the link:
http://partyof5andcounting.blogspot.com/2011/02/baby-bond-review-and-giveaway.html
It closes on Feb 25th so hurry over and enter to win.

Mommy is Green is giving away a GroVia Diaper!  Here is the link:
http://www.mommyisgreen.net/2011/02/glass-baby-bottle-grovia-cloth-diaper.html
It closes on March 2nd so get over there!  I love Gro Vias!  This is a prefect giveaway if you want to start a cloth diaper stash!  You can also go to the sponsor: The Glass Baby Bottle if you just want to buy one to try out. 

Mommy is Green is giving away Tropical Traditions Organic Coconut Flour!  Here is the link:
http://www.mommyisgreen.net/2011/02/tropical-traditions-organic-coconut.html
That one will be open until March 6th.

Naturalmente Mama is giving away Tropical Tradition Organic Coconut oil!  Here is the link:
http://www.naturalmentemama.com/2011/02/tropical-traditions-gold-label-virgin.html
That one will be open until March 5th.

While I am not a big fan of dried coconut, I don't like the texture, I love love love Coconut oil for baby's skin and to treat/prevent thrush.  Both ladies just posted the giveways so get in there and get your name in the bag.

There is also another give away on Naturalmente Mama!  She's got Plant Wise snack bags!  That one will close on March 2nd.  Here is the link: http://www.naturalmentemama.com/2011/02/planet-wise-bag-your-snack-stuff-resena.html

Parting ways with my pump

I have decided to stop pumping.  I"m a bit sad about this decision.  It means Audrey is growing up and that she has day weaned.  She won't take milk from a bottle.  She won't take it in a sippy cup.  Bascially I was either freezing mlik or dumping it down the drain.  Since I haven't found any local mommas in need there is no point to pumping.  I've asked other moms and they seem to indicate that my supply should be fine.  Audrey is still nursing at night and in the morning and sometimes at lunch but not always. 

I am happy to be putting away the pump.  No longer having to pump and eat or pump and work.  The pump will be going into storage until the next baby.  But I am also sad.  My pump allowed me to keep breastfeeding my baby once I returned to work.  It allowed me time to think since I had to stop and go pump.  It also means that Audre is growing up.  She wants water not milk.  I know that she still loves momma milk since that is the first thing she'll ask for after her hug once I am in the door.  I still get to snuggle and kiss while she is on the breast but she's growing up.  My baby is a toddler and before I know it a little girl then you know the rest. 

So good-bye pump.  Thank you for helping me feed my baby.  Thank you for helping me toward my breastfeeding goal.  Thank you for time to focus on Audrey.

Monday, February 14, 2011

How to win stuff

So I know alot of you have heard about moms that use to keep their families going by entering sweepstakes contest well you too can join in on the fun!
I myself have won boots from BearPaw shoes, flip-flops from FeelzGood shoes, green cleaning products from Green Irene and most recently Rockin' Green laundry soap from a momma blogger.  So how do you do this?  It's easy!  You just got the contests and enter.  Usually you have to go to a website and then come back and comment.  Then you get extra chances by "liking" pages on Facebook, following certain people on Twitter, following blogs via Google friend connect and each blogger will add other ways to win.
It's easy and fun.  I only enter contest for things I want but there are so many contests going on at once you could spend all day entering.  It is hard to keep up!
So I'll give you a lead.  A mommy-blogger who's blog I love even without giveways has a contest going on right now at Naturalmente Mama.  It ends on Feb 17th but she has lots of ways to win and the first entry is super easy, just tell her how you plan to eat more whole-grains!  I'll warn you she blogs in Spanish but she always lists her contests in both languages so don't get discouraged and head her way! 
As I find more cool contests I'll try to blog them up.  The best way to hear about contests is really Twitter.  Just start following some momma bloggers and they'll post their contests as well as other bloggers contests up.  Join in the winning!
Here is Maybelline's link again: http://www.naturalmentemama.com/2011/02/cereales-big-g-de-general-mills-sorteo.html

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Where have all the friends gone?

So back when I was Martha and not Audrey's mom, I had a tight circle of friends and one of the shows we loved to watch was Sex and the City.  I loved the idea of moving to the city and going to cool places that were on the show and then I went to New York and realized that I'm such a small town girl it is not even funny.  You couldn't even find the sun! 
But anyways, I remember the episode after Miranda had her baby and her struggle to be a new mom and the isolation she felt since she was in a different place from her friends.  I think it's been pretty clear thru my blogging that isolation is a pretty constant feeling in my life.  It has seemed that since Audrey's birth, I stopped being Martha.  I don't think I'll ever forget how alone I felt after Audrey's birth.  People who promised to visit never came by and I know people were afraid to call since they were afraid to wake the baby.  I was so overwhelmed with being a new mom that I didn't pick the phone up either. 
But it did get better.  I started back to work and go to see my "work friends" and then after a while I found the Triad Tot Totters.  I finally felt like I had friends, people that understood me.  The TTT's were truly a God-send.  They are mommas who kinda had the same baby raising philosophy as me and they were people that I could meet up with.  While I had found a very supportive on-line network of moms there is no substitute for meeting up with people in real-life.  Leaving my new group of friends was the worst part of moving to Texas.  It was the part that scared me the most.  Could I ever find mommas like me in Deep East Texas?
I'm so happy that I have been able to find a group to hang with here.  They are women that I've met thru La Leche League and again they are a God-send.  After almost 8 months in Texas, I'm beginning to feel like I have friends.  People that I can get together with and hang out.  People that have babies for Audrey to play with. 
But one problem I am still struggling with is balance and finding time for old friends.  I get just a few minutes to play with my iPhone to tweet and facebook and keep up with friends but really they deserve better than that.  The few friends that I have left deserve more attention than a few second tweet.  It is so hard to find the time.  When I blog it is usually a four day process via my iPhone app so it's not like there is really much time that I have just to email but I think the really problem is the phone.  I hate talking on the phone!  I hate calling people because it feels like I'm interrupting something important and if I make a plan to call someone then that will be the time that Audrey gets super needy.  I feel like I'm in a new win situation.   Thankfully since they are in fact friends, they understand and they deal with my negligent of them; they know I care but that I'm mostly an ass and a mom.  They are the best and one day I'll have time and money to visit them all again.  I miss living near my bestests friends but it is good to know that they have not left me, they have like always just learned to deal with me.  Those "friends" that have fallen off have gone on to better friends, people who have time for them and their life, those true friends that are still around have taught me that patience and understanding are the building blocks of life-long friendship.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Cloth diapering on the cheap

I hear it all the time how can anyone afford to cloth diaper! Now that we've been cloth diapering for 8 months or so, I don't know how people afford not to! Of course, if you have to go to the laundramat cloth diapering might be too hard and expensive, once I got my own washer and dryer I started CDing.

Okay so yes CD can be expensive and starting the stash is the hard part. My stash is probably valued at around $500 or so but I have never bought a new diaper! That is the secret; buy used. Part of the power of CD is belief in the power of soap. I believe soap can clean poop therefore I can buy used and just wash the previous baby out!

Also start small. My stash started the three used CDs on which I spent $24 including shipping. No you won't be able to drop the disposibles right away but the point is to make the transition. I was able to make a good deal on three more CDs and then a friend gave me three more and that was the start is my CDs during the day and disposables at night. With such a small stash I has to wash everyday. But at that point I had spent $50 and I was CDing almost full-time. From there it was a matter of buying/lucking into a good deal on 6 more CDs and I kissed disposables good bye.

Yes it will take time and money but it can be done. I also used Tide Free and Clear to wash. I did finally break down and buy some Rocking Green detergent and I love it but again not necessary. You are going to buy detergent anyways just buy the Free and Clear stuff and dry in the sun.

Wet bags are another nice thing but I don't have one. I toss my dirty CDs in a box. Yep, just a plain cardboard box. I am cheap. Don't need the fancy bag. I also don't have a diaper sprayer. I just shake the diaper over the toilet and wash. If it is really bad I just scrape with some toilet paper. It's not glamourous; I'm cheap.

As to washing, with my current stash I can wash about twice a week. As your stash grows you can wash less. As your baby grows you use less. I still wash about every two days because my mom (who watches Audrey) prefers my GroBabies, which are the newest members of the stash and I only have four shells and six inserts. But I can handle it.

So in conclusion, I am cheap and even lazy and I cloth diaper. It won't happen overnight but you can do it. Diaperswapper.com and thebabywearer.com are excellent sites for find good used diapers on the cheap. Play with it, you will find that some diapers will work better than others. I have 7 different brands in my stash and use about two. Ask your friends that CD if you can borrow to see what fits your baby best. You are not alone and you can do this. It's just poop and you'll have to wipe it either way.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Living the wheat-free life

So far living wheat-free is not as horrible as it was when DH tried to go wheat-free back in 2004. The number one thing was the discovery of Udi's bread. I love sandwiches and the finding of a decent wheat-free bread has been a God-send! I'm still working on finding pizza.

I don't want Audrey to grow-up feeling like she is missing out. Being wheat-free shouldn't be some sort of horrible sentence. I'm finding that gluten-free items are getting better and easier to find. I've also found that finding people who are also wheat-free is so helpful. It's amazing how much easier it seems when you can ask someone for advice.

It has been great for my waistline! I've lost about 30 lbs post baby. I thinkn some of it was breastfeeding but the other part has been the diet change. One thing I haven't done is see a dietitian for advice but I figure as long as Audrey is growing then we are okay. Breastmilk is prefect food even when we don't eat perfectly.