My Nursing Journey

Warning: If you do not feel like reading any details you may feel are TMI, stop reading here. This is a post to help other moms know they are not alone. I am not going to hold too much back when it comes to my journeys with breastfeeding my little ones.
After reading another blogging Momma's breastfeeding story, I was pulled to write this post even more. I already wanted to write a post about all things nursing, but wasn't sure. Now, here I am. You can see more about the original prompting post over at Mom Spotted.
So may posts, articles, forum chats, etc. either focus on the perfect breastfeeding story or the terrifying stories. One makes you think it is going to be the easiest thing in the world, "It's completely natural". There are so many of these out there, you may not even see the others that focus on the terrifying stories that make you think you should go with formula from the moment they are born. I will admit I don't see many of those around, ever.

I have had two very different journeys in nursing.
LJ was a delivery we were not expecting and he was in an oxygen tent for hours after birth. He didn't get the idea of latching and as the incredibly not helpful LC at the hospital pointed out, I was flat. Truly it came in the form of the question, "have you always been this flat?" I did not know I had flat nipples, but according to her, I did. There are things that can help with women who are flat, but she did not want to offer those as they were reserved for women who had too much trouble nursing and I hadn't given it enough time yet, I guess.
Nights were terrible for us in the hospital. They would bring LJ in crying terribly. We would try everything, including glucose dripped on my nipple to try to get him to latch. Finally, the second night nurse saw how much trouble we were having and how much I needed help. She took it upon herself to get me a nipple shield and help me learn to use it.
LJ was able to nurse the best he could when I used the shield. The biggest thing for me was that it was not very comfortable. The suction he would create would hurt. The second LC that I saw in the hospital helped me learn to use some of the pump accessories (as I had the main pump parts at my house from my sister) so that I could pump and still be able to feed my new son. She was very helpful, but never saw me nurse, so I never got the help I could truly use. We left the hospital supplementing with formula. That supplementing gradually became more and more and by about three weeks I was only pumping my milk and LJ would get bottles with mommy milk and formula. By four months, I stopped pumping, and my supply lasted until about five months. From then on my little LJ was purely on formula. I was just happy I could offer him some milk in the beginning of his life.
Better some than none, right?

BG was a different story all together.
Within the first hour after birth she was with me and nursing. She latched on right away and was a pro at nursing. I wanted to be sure that things were not just a fluke. The LC came in when BG was nursing and said everything was perfect.
When I learned that I was expecting I began researching how to nurse even if flat nipples are involved. I found that I could start using nipple shells to prepare my body for nursing. The biggest issue with the shells is that I had to go up a size in my bras and make sure they were padded so the shields were not too noticeable when I was wearing them.
If you have troubles with your latch due to your body, I HIGHLY recommend getting a pair of nipple shells. They can also be used after birth to sooth sore nipples. 
Back to after BG's birth. She was a pro from the start. After we left the hospital not too much changed, but man did a I get sore! My body was not used to a baby nursing and it hurt. After she got into her rhythm, things would settle down and not hurt anymore, but the first few minutes could get pretty sore.
It did not help anything that my milk came in while still in the hospital. Talk about engorged! The only thing that made things better was pumping or hand expressing milk.
After a few weeks both BG and I were pros at this nursing thing. Now she is going on 14 months old and still nursing at night. I am not sure when weaning will happen. She likes her time with mommy, and I love that time bonding with her.
Breastfeeding does not always come easy, no matter how natural it may be. If you are having trouble, talk to someone. Anyone. I suffered in silence with LJ and didn't get the outcome I originally wanted. If you are set on nursing, get some help, even if only from friends who have experience with nursing and nursing problems. It could change everything.

Until next time... Happy Breastfeeding!

New Product Testing

(Note: Please pardon the not totally awesome photography contained in this post. These were taken quickly with my cell after whipping up the sample.)
I am always thinking of new possibilities for Lynifer to make and sell and all that fun stuff. One thing that I have had on my mind a lot in the past, but then let slide, was reusable produce bags.
Reusable everything is big. For some families reusing/recycling is the name of the game. Reusable diapers, Reusable grocery bags, recycling, gardening, composting, etc. You name, they find a way to rethink, reuse, and recycle. I like to try to reuse and upcycle as much as possible. I am trying to instill that mentality in LJ and BG too.
Okay, now I guess I should get back to the point of this post.
I use cloth grocery bags as much as I can. I keep them in my car to try to remember them when I make those quick trips to the store. One thing that has grown to drive me nuts are the plastic bags for the produce. If I can do without, I do. Well, now for those times when really I need a bag for my fresh food, I can whip out a produce bag.

Now, this is my first one, and it is going to be in a bit of testing. There are many things that I make that really never end up making into the Lynifer line-up.
Now, like many of you may know by now, I like to reuse what I have around the house/sewing room already instead of getting specialty fabrics at the store all of the time. This bag is no different. The inpiration for this bag came from a great little tutorial I found through Pinterest. The blog is, Delia Creates. While I have a million and one t-shirts hanging around my sewing room, I wanted to try something that would not add that much weight to the final product. That is one thing that many people are worried about with reusable produce bags for store shopping. As you may be able to see from the picture, this is a fairly sheer material (you can still vaguely see the ruler lines through two layers of fabric). Do you know what I used?
Sheer curtains! I had a curtain laying around from when I still lived with my parents. In its previous life it helped make a separate space for me, under my loft bed. I don't have use for a curtain this size in my house (let alone just one curtain like this). That is how it came to stay in my sewing stash. I knew for some time now that it might work nicely for a produce bag, but I wasn't sure how to really do it.
The above link to the tutorial I found really helped me over that hump. How simple is it to stitch up the side and bottom of the bag and then do this to it?

After sewing the bag, I used my scissors to cut slits in it. This helps it to expand when the produce is in it. I did the same thing for the handle as well, except for the handle I took a lighter to it to seal the raw edges of the material.

Have you ever considered using a reusable produce bag at the store? If you haven't, would you once knowing it was an option and could get them at a good price?

I am not sure where this bag and design will go from here, but I wanted to share it all with you. What are you thoughts on it?

Lynifer had new products!

I should probably qualify that. One product has been made for quite some time, I just never took pictures or listed it in LyniferDesigns' Etsy shop. Well, last night, I actually found a few moments to list two different items. I don't know how I found that time seeing as Hubby is out of town until tomorrow afternoon.

The first item is one that I have had for quite some time. I made prefolds and the like when still pregnant with BG. I finally got a picture or two of my tie prefold so that I could list the item for sale. Of course, I am listing it as custom since I won't sell the ones I used on Etsy. I hope there will be some interest for the cloth diapers.
The second item I listed is a brand new product. Market Style Tote Bags! After so many tote bag ideas passing through the never ending whirlwind of ideas in my head, I decided it was finally time to make one. I love totes because they can be so versatile. What do you think?

Note: Hopefully you can see an "Etsy mini" within this post that should be featuring the two newest Lynifer products.


Until next time... Happy Shopping!

Weaning - It's not all roses

My Baby Girl is not a baby anymore. She has turned a year old (and then some), has begun her version of talking, and walking, and drinking regular whole milk. We love our nursing relationship, but I am realizing she is demanding the breast when she doesn't need it. Many nights I have woken up multiple times with her just to have her nurse for 5 minutes or so before passing back out. I am not sure why she is waking so many times these nights. I know she can sleep through the night or wake just once, eat a little and then go back to sleep for the rest of the night. She has done this as well, but it is rarer than waking 2-5 times a night.
We have already gotten ourselves down to nursing just at night, but I am not so sure that this is best at this point. I have loved nursing, and all the benefits for both of us, but I also look forward to nights spend fully in my bed without trips to LJ and BG's room to rock and nurse she back to sleep. I know she needs to learn to sooth herself, and I am having the hardest time with that as well.
This mommy is so torn about what to do and how best to do it.
How did you wean your baby from nursing for the sake of the feel of it? How old were your little ones when you weaned or they decided to wean?
And on the other note: How did you get your nursing child to learn how to sooth themselves to sleep at night?
It seemed so much easier with LJ because he was already on a bottle, so that never changed for him. He also got used to not being in my arms every time to fall asleep. I need your help!


Until next time.... Happy mommy-ing.

Disney World... here we come!

Okay, well it is going to be a few months before we actually head down to Florida to Disney World, but the planning and excitement have already begun. Since LJ was born, we have known that Hubby's parents want to take LJ to Disney. When we found out Baby Girl was on her way, we knew we were going to wait a bit. Now we are at a point where we need to go this coming fall/winter or LJ will be in school. Yes, I said it... school.

Courtesy: @cdharrison on flickr

We head to Florida in the fall and winter months. Heat and I do not mix. November and January are the two months that we are considering to take our trip. That means that I have 9-11 months to plan and prepare for our trip (with of course the help of my in-laws and Hubby).
What this had meant for me right now is that my head is spinning with what to pack and have on had to occupy an almost 2 year old and a 4.5 year old for a long car or plane ride. This is where pinterest in coming in handy. I have already created a few boards to help me in my quest to find things that will keep the kiddos occupied and content for whichever form of transportation we take.