HELP!

I think its officially time I went on a diet. Anyone have a good one?! I have to figure out how many pounds to lose...I guess I should buy a scale, but I'm thinking about 15. Ugh.

Mothers Milk

I have been trying everything...EVERYTHING to get my milk supply up. I've had water until I'm peeing every 3 minutes, had a beer or two, ate like crazy, and I don't even know what else. You know, now that I think about it, I'm sure the problem is the calorie count. But do you know how hard it is to eat for 2 when the second is no longer in your body eating everything you've got?! Plus, it was SO easy to eat that much after Sam was born when others were at your house, cooking you lunch and dinner. Now, its up to me, and well, I hate to cook. I'll be honest. It BORES me. I find no gratification out of it other than it is food in the stomach. The truth comes out!

So anyway, I'm on to the next thing. I've honestly thought about giving up. I mean, I don't think it would be that hard to wean now; especially since I only pump about an ounce every time. But the thought actually saddens me, so I'm not ready yet. I've come to those terms. Now I'm determined again to make this work. So, Mother's Milk Plus it is. It tastes awful. No, I mean it. AWFUL! I have never had anything taste that bad. AND I have to take it 4 times a day. Ew. But, I gues I'll do anything for my little girl. :) It has the herb, Fenugreek which is supposed to increase milk supply. It also has other herbs and such in it to make these puppies produce milk like crazy. The woman at Cotton Babies said that I should start seeing results in a mere 48 hours. YAY! She also said that I would have to continue to use it (like, for months) to continue to see results. boo.

In other news...Sam rolled over for the first time on Tuesday!! :) I was playing with her and showing her the moves and she just did it on her own! :) Front to back like 4 times in a row! So proud of her :P

ugh

Last night, I was tossing and turning...all.night.long. Not fun. Why you ask? Welp, I have a UTI. So not fun and actually, so VERY painful. I have never had one before, but I can tell you now, I am NOT a big fan. They hurt and they are irritating. Up every 5 minutes to go to the bathroom just to be in pain and not successful at what you got up to to do in the first place. TMI? Oh, well. Deal. Luckily, I called my doc this morning and she prescribed me some druggies. Phew. :)

This weekend we are headed to Columbia, MO to visit our friends Amanda and Justin. Amanda is in her 3rd trimester. :) We are so excited to visit and have a good time. The WHOLE family is going. Finnegan and all! What a lucky pooch. Pictures will be posted when we return.

There really isn't much to update on. Ben is doing well. Sam is agreeing to the formula she is now on. Life is great. :)

Dr. Brown

We went over to Willie and Steph's yesterday for a burger/pie cookoff (so DELICIOUS!) and they have a baby scale. I went ahead and weighed Sam, and she is 12 pds 13 1/2 ounces! :) She is right on track.

On another note, Greg is CONVINCED that we need to start using Dr. Brown bottles. The formula that Sam WAS on gave her major gas. There have been a couple of times with the new formula that she has still had gas. (Although I'm pretty sure its more along the lines of didn't get all her burps out.) I mean, we have some downstairs, I just don't want to add MORE bottles to the bottle bin. So, does anyone out there have any recommendations. Greg also heard that if we switch to that, Samantha will be eating more. Has anyone had that experience? I just don't know what to do. I think she is pretty happy on this new formula (even though it hasn't been a full week yet, and it took the other formula 2 weeks to develop problems), so I don't know if all the changes are worth it. Could it be that I might be a little lazy?? Possibly, but I'm not convinced! :)

No good title...

WHAT?! I'm 3 months already?!

Oh, my! Well, I have survived my first week with Ben. Its been an experience. I have enjoyed it and not enjoyed it at the same time. You hear that you love your children unconditionally. This, my friends, is true. After a week with Ben, I value and appreciate Sam SOOO much more than I already did. And my love for her, WOW!!!Its not that being with Ben has been hard; more like an adjustment. We had some rough spots through the week, but we had a talk, and I think we are on the same page. (yes, I had a conversation with an 8 month old; and yes, I believe that he DID understand me.) He is such an adorable boy though! At 19 pounds he is a lot to carry around. He has, however, helped me to get back in shape. He does squats with me and sit ups. What a good boy! He is such an eater too! H

e is on vegetables, rice cereal and fruits. He prefers those over his botttles every time. I try to get him to drink at least 4 ounces though. I do really enjoy him!

Sam and Ben together are absolutely adorable. They get along splendidly! If they are upset, or even if just one of them is upset, I put them in the pack n play together or on the playmat together and they just stare and talk to each other. So cute! :) I think this is going to be a great experience!

Some of you may be curious of how Finnegan is taking the new baby in the house. He is so into Ben its unreal! Ben is already part of the family. They enjoy hanging out together and Ben laughs everytime Finnegan comes near! :) SOO happy this is the case!

I have also been on the prowl for a good St. Louis Mom's website where I can talk to Moms and possibly have play groups with others in my area. I have found www.StLouisMommies.com. I absolutely LOVE it! They have great forums with great discussions and you can join a forum that has people close to your area. I am still trying to get the hang of it, but I already truly enjoy it!

Shout Out

My old roommate from college, Laurel, is an impecable writer. She is an editor for Redbook and lives in New York. She is currently working on 2 blogs. My favorite is the first one. She writes it with her current roommate and long time friend, Lacey. I wanted to share these amazing blogs, because really, they keep me entertained and I wanted you all to enjoy and be entertained as well!

:)

http://boyfriend-free.tumblr.com/

http://midwesternerinmanhattan.tumblr.com/

Beach, Ben and Bottles

We are back from the beach and oh, what a trip it was! We left on a Friday to split up our 16 (well, 18) hour drive down. Sam did amazingly! We were so impressed and SO lucky! We arrived in Holden Beach, NC around 7 on Saturday evening and ate some burgers and relaxed! The next day, we took Sam to the beach. She loved the waves and really enjoyed the sensation of the sand underneath her feet. She splashed in the waves with her feet for a little while, and then got cranky. The wind was unbelievable and she didn't know how to handle it. After a while, it would get to her! She was rather loved by cousin Sean and enjoyed her playmat, bumbo chair, great grandpa and grandma Bryant, and the rest of the crew. Great Uncle Bob was a wiz at dancing her to sleep. :)

Greg and I got some beach time too! We truly enjoyed our time there and relaxed as much as possible! We went for runs and bike rides and just enjoyed our time together as a family.

The ride home we did in one day. Sam was so GREAT! 16 hours and only fussed the last 1/2 hour of the trip!!! We are so lucky to have such a wonderful baby. :)

I will post pictures eventually. We took over 500 pictures so it will take me a while to go through them. I promise to post this week though!

Today is my first day with Ben. What has happened since he has been here...for an hour?! He has introduced himself to Sam, Finnegan and slobbered on some toys. He is currently passed out in the pack n play, Sam is passed out in the swing and Finnegan is passed out in the dining room! What a morning! :) So far, so good.

Just last week, Sam has figured out how to grasp onto toys and bring them to her mouth to "chew" on. And just last night, she began to hold her own bottle!!! She has been grasping it for the past week, just like her toys, but last night was the first time I didn't have to hold on to the bottle to help her. What a smart girl! We will continue to encourage this so that soon she will be doing it on her own ALL the time! Hopefully this will be in the next few weeks!

She has also begun to sit up on her own, as long as she is propped up. Just this morning she was in her bouncer and held on to the sides and pulled up. Can you say smart girl?! I can just see her in a few months pulling up on things to stand up...oh boy!!! :) I'll enjoy what I have while I have it!