One Year Ago Today... And Where We Are Now

One year ago today, I was 42 weeks pregnant, and had a beachball attached to the front of me, with a squishy little baby coated in vernix floating around and waiting to make an appearance.

At midnight of October 1st 2012 I went into labor. My contractions were pretty easy to deal with, and two hours later my water finally broke and I laughed in joy that it was finally happening. Another two hours later we packed up to go to my inlaw's where I would be birthing, and my deep, wide, and comfy birth pool was waiting for me.

After 16 hours of hard labor, at 4:11 in the afternoon, I became a mom when our little Bree was born and I reached down to pull her out of the water.

I was up at midnight today, slept, and now at ten something in the morning I realize that 16 hours is a long time. Honestly, while my contractions felt never ending, that night flew by and didn't seem that long! Bree is happily sleeping in her crib while I catch up on the Ellen show and sip coffee.

Soooo much has happened and changed in this past year. And while it can be slightly annoying how many people tell you variations of "it flies by so fast cherish your time," its annoying because it's painfully true and hits us in the face constantly. We are very aware how fast time goes by. It's been a whole year! Where did it go?!

Seriously. It flew by. I blinked, and I didn't mean to. Those long hard sleepless nights I wanted to be over.... it seems like forever ago. Wanting her to get to 6/7 months so we could play with solids so I wouldn't have to freak about pumping enough if we wanted to go out... came far too quickly. Wanted her to sit up, to play.... it all very quickly came about. Now Bree is standing and walking along things and working on walking with letting go (just a few steps at a time currently).

A big plus for us, and I am so proud to say, we made it to a year of breastfeeding! Yayyyy! And still going strong. Bree will be done with boobie milk when she is ready to be done.

The birthday party was a huge hit and a ton of fun, and very exhausting. Bree seemed to have fun, and was so stinking cute!

She is now well stocked as far as clothes, toys, and books. Yay for provision! We are so thankful for all the friends and family who came to celebrate and support us, as you have all along!

I am so proud. Seriously. The pride and love for Bree makes my heart swell so much I have chest pain from it. Look at her! She grew inside me! Talk about the miracle of life. For ten months God perfected her as she grew in my womb. He helped me birth her into this world, and is helping us raise her.

Gahhh crying over here. So much emotion. I am so proud of Bree and excited to see her grow, to see her personality shine through... but it's so hard. This year passed so quickly. Soon she'll be two... then five... then 12... then 18.... This love is so strong. Being a mom is truly the most amazing thing ever. I hope I can be the best mother I can be for her. To guide and teach and have the perfect level of discipline and grace and understanding.

Bree is already such a great person. I know she is growing into a fantastic girl who will be a kind, thoughtful, and wonderful young woman. She tries to share her paci and her pouches of fruit and her cheerios... we haven't even taught her what sharing is. She gives hugs, frowns and kisses you if she knows she hurt you (1 year olds are surprisingly strong bitters/hitters!) and all of this is her. This isn't taught, it's the kindness of her spirit. I hope I am able to teach her further and grow that kindness in her. It's a weighty responsibility, raising a human who will be a functioning part of society!

In this past year Bree has grown and learned so much, I'm excited to see where this next year takes us!

Happy 1st birthday to my little girl! I love you Bree.

The Very First Birthday!

So sorry the blog hasn't been up and busy lately, it's been a crazy month for our little family over here!

In new news, it's our little girl's very first birthday this coming Tuesday! Her party is this weekend (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme, woo!) and it's all very exciting and busy. With the usual mixed emotions a mom will have. Excitement for her milestones, sadness because she's growing up. All that good stuff. Just yesterday she took her fruit pouch out of my hand and fed herself! What is this?!

She is also slowly working on standing and taking steps without support. Granted, it leads to a lot of falling down, but that's how her pulling up on furniture started and she got the hang of that really quick!

Over the summer I started my seemingly endless search for a smash cake recipe that met my high standards for her diet. Not to sound cocky when I say that, but I figure she has the rest of her life to eat GMOs and crappy food, so I just want to keep her system as pure and clean for as long as I can. I honestly didn't want a smash cake, she is mostly breastfed with a few small meals through the day, and hasn't really had any breads or cake-like substances. But my husband and his family really wanted a smashcake, and in the long run it isn't that big of a deal, but it just couldn't be all sugar and white flour.

Pinterest and Google weren't yielding much for my search. I swear, there really needs to be a crunchy mom search engine, so when you search it automatically cuts through all the crap websites I want no part in and only shows things from natural/alternative living sites. That would be such a blessing!

So, I changed my wording in the Pinterest world and began looking for gluten free or dairy free cakes, thinking surely any recipes I found in that search would be far more satisfactory than the ones I found previously. Luckily, I found a few I really liked (pinned to my "Kiddos" board on my pinterest! Link at the top of the page) and over the course of this past month settled on the one I will be making for Bree....

And the winner is.........Our Haven Hill's Baby's 1st Birthday Cake recipe. It's made with bananas and applesauce, pretty safe sounding.

And THEN the search for suitable frosting started. Oyyyyy freaking vey. It was a quest of blood sweat and tears. It appeared impossible to find a frosting recipe that wasn't full of sugar, dairy, or dye. And I may sound crazy, but that's just not acceptable for the baby who has only ever had breastmilk and fruits and veggies. (I'm sure I sound cray, but reallyy..... McDonald's, junk, all of that.... she has the rest of her life to try stuff like that. Happy clean belly now.)

A similarly "crunchy" mom suggested looking up whipped coconut milk recipes, and voila! I found a great "frosting" recipe! Oh She Glows offers this fantastic alternative to dairy/sugar overload. Click the links and read them! They make this Crunchy Mama so happy inside!

So, the decorations have been bought, the recipes found and printed and ready to start, all we have to do is make the food and set up. Yay for the very first birthday party!!!!

And a special thanks to Pinterest for just making life easier. You will suffice until the crunchy parenting search engine is available someday.

Teething Problems

My daughter has been teething since around three months. It was not fun when it started, not at all. Bree was cranky, sad, and screaming. There was one day where my husband had to come home from school early because she was inconsolable and I was in hysteria (she wouldn't even nurse, it was a hard day for both of us). Luckily, his presence calmed her down and she was able to fall asleep.

I didn't know what to do to help her. I didn't want to give acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen, 1) because I didn't want to give her drugs and 2) because something just told me not to. (Gotta love mama instincts!)

Luckily, a mama friend offered me an amber teething necklace. Life changed that day, and I swear I'm not being dramatic.

The day after we got the necklace, Bree was a different baby. She was calm, smiley, happy, and actually napped again! I was the happiest mom in the world. All was right in the world. That, gripe water, and Hyland's homeopathic teething gel made the ride much easier. (You can read more about Baltic Amber teething necklaces HERE. There are many brands out there, and a lot of places sell them now, just be sure that it is authentic Baltic amber! Inspired By Finn is a good brand, and there are a lot of good Etsy stores too, just shop around. Again I say, authentic Baltic amber.)

The past three weeks or so however, Bree has been Grumpy McGrumpypants again. She has four top teeth, and four bottom teeth, and is working on her two bottom cuspids. It's not been pleasant. She was no longer sleeping through the night, fussy and screaming, biting, warm, holding her head.... all the negative side effects.

Going to my Facebook tribe of crunchy mamas across the country, I was desperate. I asked about Ibuprofen and Tylenol, and this is what I was shown:

Don't Suppress That Fever (And Why I Don't I Like Tylenol)
FDA: Benzocaine and Babies - Not A Good Mix
How To Help Ease The Pain Of Teething And What Products To Avoid

Reading those things and my want to not give Bree drugs until she's older made me look at other options. Luckily, when I went to visit my drugstore, a few rows above the infant Ibuprofen (and for two dollars less than the dye free ibuprofen and acetaminophen) I found a homeopathic teething remedy! My day was made. It's called Kids Relief (I think it is a generic version of Little Remedies, both of which I recommend) and uses chamomile, arnica, and St John's Wart to relieve pain and inflammation from teething. There is always a natural alternative, which I am so thankful for. I'd like to maintain a pure body for Bree as long as possible, there's plenty of time for Tylenol and non organic food when she's older, am I right?!

If your little one is teething, my heart goes out to you. It isn't easy for our little ones, and it isn't easy for us to see them go through the pain. Look into the teething necklace, and another good option also is a nursing necklace for you that is safe for chewing; they can hold onto it and gnaw on it when you hold them/wear them, and since it's attached to you, if they drop it, it's safe! Get some gripe water, Hyland's, and other homeopathic remedies, and just be patient with your sweetie. I know it can be frustrating having a needy, fussy baby, believe me! But what I am trying to remind myself on the hard days, is that she won't want me like this forever, she will grow up in plenty of time.

All my love to you and yours,
Alyssa