MY BIG BIG BOY!!!

My baby boy just became a big boy a couple hours ago and took his first steps!!! I am so proud of him! (Yet also dreading what is to come a little lol) I will post a video if I can get him to do it for me on camera! His daddy got a tiny shuffle step on video right after he took his first. He was standing by himself between my legs in the kitchen and took 3 steps AWAY FROM ME! His daddy and I were the only ones that saw even though his Mimi and Uncle were in the room. They had their back to him but he was nice enough to do it again for them!
On another subject... My little genius also tried to hurt my best friend... My breast pump. Lol. He went behind the recliners and unzipped the bag and proceeded to remove all of my pump pieces. All the while plotting who knows what. You should see the looks he gives it if I pump in front of him! It's like he could tear it apart with his bare baby hands! Those are his boobies and he doesn't want to share so he was going to take care of the problem!
He is getting so big so fast! Wear has this past year gone?? It seems like just yesterday I was eight months pregnant and miserable...

BOOBIE, MOMMY, BOOBIE!!!

I think its time I did a blog about breast feeding! I am very pro-breast feeding! It has been the most rewarding experience of my life. My 10 1/2 month old has never had a drop of formula and never will! If you have to use formula because of unavoidable reasons I think that's fine and I also believe a bottle given with love is better than a boobie given resentfully but let's call it what it is, artificial baby milk. Babies were not meant to be given this stuff, they were meant to be given their mother's milk!
Ok, now stepping off my soap box to tell you about my breast feeding experience! An hour after my emergency c-section I was handed my little bundle of love in recovery. I held him for a little bit, he was given his first bath by my bedside and I was asked if I wanted to nurse or give him a bottle.
Before I even knew I was pregnant I knew I wanted to breast feed my babies. It is just so much better for them! I had heard horror stories about latching on and the nipple pain(not to mention cracking and bleeding), but I read all I could and when Cooper was born I was educated enough in the subject I thought I could tough it out for the sake of my baby.
I told the nurse I wanted to breast feed and she helped me unsnap my hospital gown and attempt to get him latched on for the first time. For about 5 seconds his mouth stayed clamped shut and all those horror stories flashed before my eyes. About then he opened his mouth wide and started nursing! I was so excited! When I asked my husband to take a picture he looked at me with a look of horror on his face and said "you want me to do what??!". The nurse convinced him you wouldn't be able to see anything and he took the picture for me.
I am pleased to say my nipples never hurt. They did get a little sore but my doctor prescribed Newman's Nipple Cream that worked wonders! I believe if you always make sure the baby is latched on correctly you won't hurt. Breast feeding should NEVER hurt!
The first couple weeks Cooper, Boppy, and I stayed in a recliner/rocker in the living room. Because of my c-section I couldn't lay flat in bed so we slept there too. I never tried to put him on a feeding schedule. I don't eat on a schedule so I didn't see why he should. Because of this I have never had a problem with milk supply. Breast feeding is a supply and demand thing. If I don't let him demand it when he wants it the supply won't be there. Schedules with artificial baby milk are fine and dandy but not with breast feeding.
I borrowed a Medela breast pump from a close friend. It worked ok for me. I got between a half ounce to 2 ounces when I pumped. When we got our income tax money back I decided I wanted to invest in a pump of my own. I did a lot of research and decided on the Avent Isis Duo. It is an electric double pump that remembers your pumping rhythm. You do two pumps manually and then push a button. It continues the suction and interval you did with the first two pumps. It has the comfort of a hand pump without all the work! It also has massaging petals so the pump uses not only suction but compression like a baby nurses. It feels just like Cooper nursing! With this pump I get 8 to 10 ounces almost everytime I pump! I ordered mine from www.breastpumps.com. It was $80 cheaper than anywhere else. It is not a cheap pump. I got it for $270 but it is usually $350. If you look at what you would spend on formula,however, it is well worth it!
I can't tell you how much this has bonded me and my little booger. He is definitely a Mama's boy! My original goal while I was pregnant was to nurse for 6 months. Then after I had nursed him I couldn't bear the thought of giving him artificial baby milk so now our goal is 1 year! After a year old I will leave weaning, for the most part, up to him. I will not breast feed until he is 3, but within some reasonable limits I will wait until he is ready. I dread weaning! Breast feeding is such an important part of my life now! It has become part of who I am; I am a nursing mother! Not only that, but whenever anything is wrong with my little man I know I have something to make it all better! I don't know what I'll do when we don't have this anymore! I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there!
If anyone has any questions about breast feeding, I would be happy to answer them! There is so much more to it that I didn't have time to cover in this post! If you would rather not post it publicly, my email address is kmriden1@msn.com. Feel free to ask!

*DISCLAIMER: I realize this post is very opinionated. I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings or make anyone mad. They are just my personal opinions! (Although most backed up by lactation consults and doctors) please don't take it personally :)

Happy Cooper's First Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!
from Cooper

My Little Rat

We have a rat in the house and his name is COOPER!

Munchgear by Citizenpip

Everyone needs to check out Supermom's review of Munchgear at www.supermomreviews.com! Munchgear looks awesome! I can't wait to order Cooper one(even though he's not even one and won't be taking a lunch for several years. haha)

GIVEAWAY!!!

Supermom is giving away a free poster! You just have to comment at www.theadventuresofsupermom.com about which Christmas picture you would want a poster size of and blog, tweet, or facebook about the giveaway!

Christmas!!!!

Its bad when you can hide your baby's christmas presents in his crib and know he won't see them! Cooper has never spent the first night in his crib. He actually has never even napped in it. He spent about an hour in his pack and play the first night he was home, woke up to nurse and we've had a family bed ever since. I swore up and down before he was born he would never sleep with me. Co-sleeping was not a conscious choice me or Jerry made. Cooper made it for us. And now looking back at how close it made us and all of the bonding time we wouldn't have had otherwise I don't think I would change it. Although I would definately have inforced him napping by himself instead of always being held for naps. Most nights we love our family bed!

Cooper's First Halloween!!!

Cooper was a pumpkin for his first halloween. And I may be a little biased but he was the cutest pumpkin I've ever seen! We started at 1 pm because we had so many places to go. Everyone wanted to see him of course! He trick-or-treated in 3 different towns and went to a fall festival. He had his first sucker too! He was so sleepy when we got done. He crashed on the way home. For one day my little pumpkin really was a little pumpkin!