Undercover Mama... what a concept!

Being a breastfeeding mom comes along with its fair share of challenges. It's true that some moms coast through nursing without any issues, but if you've been reading this blog for long, you know that I am not one of those moms. I have been lucky in that Reid is a great nurser. Even with our rough start, we have become a great team in that regard. Still, there have been some challenges to overcome. Like right now, I have a painful clogged duct I'm dealing with. It's not the first time, so I know how to deal with it, but it still hurts like crap. So annoying.

I've also had to deal with being a working mom, which for me has meant a ton of pumping, worrying about my output, and washing bottles and pump parts constantly.

One of the biggest challenges, however, has been the issue of nursing in public. I'm never been one to show a lot of skin in public. I don't wear bikinis at the beach. I try to choose underclothes that smooth and shape, rather than push up and flaunt, you know? So nursing in public, for me, can be awkward and uncomfortable. When Reid was tiny, I could just throw a blanket over him and nurse anywhere. Sure, I had to keep peeking to make sure he was latched correctly, but overall it wasn't a big deal. As he got bigger, though, and squirmier, he started hating nursing covers and blankets over his head. I found myself avoiding situations where I'd have to nurse in public. I'd either stay home, nurse in the car, or pump and bring a bottle.

Enter the Undercover Mama nursing shirt.

What a smart, innovative idea! This shirt attaches to your favorite nursing bra, and makes it so much easier to nurse in public without showing too much skin. It saves me from having to decide whether I'm going to lift up my shirt and expose my stomach, or pull down and show my whole boob. With the Undercover Mama nursing shirt, I can stay covered and comfortable, and Reid can eat happily.

This product is definitely going on my must-have list for any future babies we may have, and I will certainly be mentioning it to my fellow nursing moms and moms-to-be. Get yours at www.undercovermama.com!

So my kids are 2 8/12 and 9 months...

I was having lunch with my darling friend Erin (you know her from The View From 510) and she asked how old Reid was. She couldn't believe it when I told her he was already 9 months. Really, I can hardly believe it myself. Where the heck has the time gone? How have we already gone from this...

...to this?

This boy of ours truly is an angel baby. He's so easygoing, and kind of just goes with the flow. At 9 months, he hasn't crawled yet, although he has mastered rolling and sits up pretty well on his own. He is still breastfeeding like a champ, loves his mommy, daddy, and big brother, and is constantly saying "da da." (We're still working on mama). He has two teeth and very little hair. :) He is also smaller than his brother was at this age. At his 9 month checkup, he weighed in at 20 lbs and measured 28.5 inches tall. He's in the 70th percentile for height, but only in the 45th for weight. Tall and slim. He's still not sleeping very well, but I'm sure that has a lot to do with the fact that he is perpetually teething and/or sick from daycare germs.

And Colin... oh, Colin. He's a sweet, silly, crazy, strong willed two year old. All boy. He knows what he wants and does not like to be told no. He has the kind of personality traits that can drive a mom insane sometimes, but I firmly believe that he's going to be an amazing man because of those same traits. I can already see that he's going to be a leader, an extrovert, and incredibly intelligent.

I really cannot believe that in a few short months, we'll have a three year old and a one year old. Someone make it stop! Just like we did with Colin, we will probably have a small first birthday party for Reid. I want to do something fun for Colin's third birthday though, since he kind of got jipped out of a second birthday party due to the fact that his baby brother had just come home from the hospital a couple weeks before. I doubt we'll do anything huge, but we definitely need to invite some daycare friends. I'm thinking maybe a restaurant playplace party so we don't have to clean up after. Ha.

More to come!

Yummalicious Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

Do you ever walk into a really dirty room and have no idea where to even start, so you just stand there staring at it? That's been me with this blog lately. I love to write, I love the blogosphere, and I have so much to tell you all about, but I don't have a lot of time, and I'm not even sure where to start.

So instead, today I'm going to share a yummy cookie recipe. Sound good?

My hubs convinced me to make these the other day. His reasoning? "They'll give your supply a boost." He's right, by the way. Oatmeal does wonders for breastmilk production. You're welcome, nursing mommies.

So, the recipe.

Gather your ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 cups Quaker quick cooking oats

Get to mixing.

I use a hand mixer for this part. Throw the butter and sugar in first and mix well. Then add the eggs and vanilla and mix again.

Let me let you in on a busy mom secret. I don't sift my flour, and I don't mix my dry ingredients separately. There, I said it. Go ahead, dump in all of your dry ingredients now. Right on top of that buttery, sugary goodness. Try not to clutch your pearls too tightly, ladies. Now mix it alllll up with a fork. See, that wasn't too bad, was it?

Now drop those puppies onto your cookie sheet (or baking stone, which I lurve) and bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. The key is to take them out when they're a little underdone. Let them sit for a few minutes, and then transfer them onto a cooling rack.

Then, eat them the heck up. They're delicious, and they taste like fall. You're welcome!

Sorry, I don't have any pictures because the cookies didn't last long. Next time. :)

 

Wordless Wednesday: Our Family

Getting By on Prayer and Coffee

You might notice I haven't been blogging as often as I used to. It's not because I don't have anything to say. Can I be completely honest with you for a minute? I haven't written as much lately because I'm one of those "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" kinds of people, and I'm afraid that I might sound like a Debbie downer.

Let me start by saying that I am incredibly thankful for the blessings in my life. I am fully aware that I am blessed to have a job, a husband who loves me, and two beautiful children. I thank God for His goodness all the time.

But... since this is my blog and I feel like being candid right now... some days I don't feel as blessed as I know I am. Like... today, I changed a nasty, poopy pull-up in the parking lot outside the church we've been visiting. I shared my shower with a two year old. I held a fussy, teething, drooly baby while he fussed. I had my nipple bitten - hard - by the same teething baby while nursing him and howled in pain. I ate oatmeal for dinner after everyone else had already been fed, and most of it got cold while I was tending to the busy toddler and the teething baby. I sat on the edge of a "big boy bed" for far too long because someone did not want to go to sleep even though it was past his bedtime.

I wish I could say today was just a bad day, but let's face it. When you have a two year old and an almost nine month old, this is kind of just the norm. Our house is never clean anymore. The laundry is never really done. The dishes pile up amazingly fast, since we haven't cooked in a while. Date nights are few and far between. Between my job and my family, there are days when I don't really get to relax until after 9 pm, and by then I'm too tired to really enjoy it.

And still... having said all that, when I see these two little faces, I can't help but overflow with love for them. This motherhood thing is a wild ride. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is this. If you're a parent, and you feel like you're on the verge of pulling your hair out on a regular basis, know that you're not alone. It doesn't mean that you're doing something wrong. On the contrary, I think it means you're doing something right. If you're totally spent by the end of each day, that means you've given your time, energy and love to your kids. That's a good thing, even though it doesn't always feel that way.

Being a mom is sometimes a thankless job. It's easy to feel like your kids want more from you than you can even give. But somehow, each day you do it all over again. I'm honestly not sure where I get the energy to press on some days. Prayer and coffee, I guess. But every day, there it is. I hope that my kids don't see the frustration and fatigue on my face. I hope that they can see past it and that they feel the overwhelming love I have for them. Because it's not always right there on the surface, but it is there, and it always will be.