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June 8, 2020 / Baby/ Motherhood

Baby Firsts: Trying Solid Foods with Yumi

Aiden has always been a really strong eater from the very beginning. He always finishes his bottles and sometimes even cries for more even when he has definitely had more than enough milk! I was really looking forward to his 4 month check up with the pediatrician mid- May because I wanted to start talking about introducing solid foods and was interested to see if our pediatrician thought he was ready. Sure enough, he recommended that we give it a try!

I did a ton of research the following week to see what different options were out there and what would be best for our family and Aiden. I read a lot about baby led weaning, different ways of introducing solid foods, and researched various brands and types of baby food. I knew I wanted to do some type of hybrid between much of what I read, but decided to start with introducing some simple organic baby foods, just to see if he was even interested in solid foods in general at this stage.

I was roaming the baby aisle at the grocery store and looked at the various options for baby food, and was honestly surprised that there were not as many options as I thought there would be as far as flavor varieties in the organic section. I saw a lot of carrot, sweet potato and banana, but not a lot of variety, particularly in the stage 1 section that I am most interested in right now. Of course, i’m not trying to go crazy and introduce Aiden to foods that will be too intense for him just starting out, but I figured there has to be more options out there than 5 mushy vegetable containers. One thing that I really want to focus on is introducing Aiden to a variety of tastes and textures early. Both Ryan and I are extremely picky eaters, and I want Aiden to be more open to trying new foods as he gets older. After seeing the sad display at the grocery store, I was beginning to consider making his baby food myself, and was mentally gearing up for the huge time commitment and stress that would entail. I picked up a couple small containers of organic sweet potato and pumpkin baby food (our pediatrician said to consider starting with orange colored vegis) that we would try in the meantime until I found a better option.

The following day I tried giving Aiden a few bites of sweet potato and he loved it! Literally swallowed the first bite like it was nothing! At that point I knew he was ready for solid foods and I needed to decide on a baby food brand/ option soon.

I did more research online and found that there are some baby food delivery companies that mail baby food to your door. This was actually very appealing to me because the more I read about it, the more I realized how much time and effort it would save me.

I decided to go with Yumi organic baby food for Aiden’s first solid food experience. Yumi baby food is organic, the healthiest baby food, and literally has everything already thought out for your baby from age 5 months to 5 years with food delivered to your door weekly. I like Yumi because you build a plan for your baby that fits your needs. Their program is divided into stages; stage 1 smooth textured single food purees, stage 2 smooth multi-ingredient purees, stage 3 multi ingredient purees with seeds or grains, stage 4 chunky mixtures of multiple ingredients, and finger food bites and puffs. The stages are broken out into recommended age groups, and there are a ton of flavors to choose from each week. Also, you can choose how many meals your child needs daily to determine your meal service plan. I think this is amazing because its already thought out for you, is totally customizable, and gives your baby a much more diverse eating experience from the start.

For me, I just want to start by trying out a small selection of flavors that fits Aiden’s age and stage. We selected a one meal a day plan (since Aiden really only had a few bites a day to start), and decided to go with the single food smooth textured purees. The first week’s shipment included a selection of small plastic bottles in a container shipped with ice to keep cool. The company actually texted me when the order shipped and when it was delivered, which was super convenient! The flavors included spinach, cauliflower, blueberry, strawberry, apricot, white bean and zucchini. I didn’t see most of these flavors at the grocery store level 1 options, so was thrilled at the variety. Also, each week’s menu is different, so I am happy knowing Aiden will continue to try new foods each week.

The first Yumi food we tried was the apricot. To be honest, I tried a little on my finger before feeding it to Aiden and it was SO GOOD. Aiden went crazy for it, too. Plus, it makes me feel much more comfortable feeding Aiden food that I would eat myself, knowing it is organic, natural and overall healthy for my baby. Being a new mom, it gives me comfort knowing I am doing something good for my baby, and giving him healthy options right from the start!

May 20, 2020 / Baby/ Motherhood

Aiden’s 3 Month Recap

Whoa, where did the last three months go? Time is flying by so fast and Aiden is changing and getting bigger every day! I wanted to take a minute to reflect on the last three/ four months to share all about Aiden’s sleep and nap schedules, feeding amount and schedules, and breastfeeding and pumping. Since Aiden is my first baby, I really didn’t have much to go off of for comparison or reference other than google, so I wanted to share in case this might be helpful to any other moms out there for reference or what to expect. However, note that every baby is different and so my experience might be different than yours! This is just what has worked for us so far!

Feeding Amount and Schedule

I wanted to start with feeding because basically everything else revolves around his feeding schedule. I talk more about my breastfeeding/ pumping/ supplementing experience below, so in this section ill just stick to feeding times and total amounts per feed.

For the first two weeks, feeding was a blur and we did not try to follow any schedule except that our pediatrician said to make sure he eats about every 2.5 hours, even if we have to wake him up. Looking back, I think this caused a lot of undue stress and loss of sleep. While it’s difficult to put a newborn on a schedule, I don’t think we needed to wake him up as much as we did to eat unless he wasn’t getting enough food for the day in total. If I were to do it all over again, I think I would let the baby lead a little more with his own feeding needs. However, once we started to get a little more in the swing of things, we started to try to shift toward getting him on a loose schedule and tracking his total daily intake (especially since we started to bottle feed which I discuss more below). Starting around week 2/3, Aiden was eating about 2.25 ounces 8/9 times a day.

As a side note, our pediatrician had recommended that a baby should eat about 2.5 oz per pound that they weigh per day, and to stay a bit ahead of it. We always kept this in mind, however if Aiden was hungry, he was hungry, and I fed him. It was great to know a baseline for how much the average baby should be eating based on their weight, but I didn’t try to stick to it too closely if he was fussy and needed another bottle. I just kept the “daily goal” in the back of my mind to make sure we were feeding him at least that amount daily based on his weight.

Our pediatrician also had recommended that as we were feeding Aiden 100% breastmilk, we would need to add liquid vitamin D to his bottles once a day or once every other day to make sure he was getting enough, as it is common for infants that are breastmilk fed to have a vitamin D deficiency.

Ryan and I kept a notepad in the nursery where we recorded every feed, the amount, and the time. It really helped us to track where Aiden was at. We also used this log to track his diapers (to make sure he was ‘going’ appropriately). I highly recommend keeping a log at least for the first few months and taking it with you to the pediatrician appointments. Here’s a snip of the log we created:

Anyway, looking back at our logs Aiden stayed at 2.25 oz 8/9 times per day week 2 to week 4 where we increased it to 2.5 ounces per feed and at this point, he naturally transitioned to feeding 8 times per day on his own, with the occasional extra feeding as needed. His feedings usually occurred at 7am, 9:30, 12, 3, 5:30, 8, 11, and 3. He stayed at 8 feedings per day for the first 3 months (the times just changed gradually to reduce the number of night feedings but increase the frequency of day feedings). We typically increased the number of ounces per bottle a little each week until we were at 5 ounces per bottle at the end of April (when he was 3.5 months old).

On May 1^st, we decided to switch things up and make a big jump up in the amount per bottle in hopes to decrease the number of feedings. It worked immediately, literally the first day we went from 8 feedings to 7. Looing back, I would have tried this sooner. Since he adjusted so fast, I think he could have taken more ounces per bottle earlier and it would have kept him full for longer. Also, Aiden spits up a lot (like a lot) so we wanted to ease him into bigger bottles for a while to help with that. If we have another baby that doesn’t spit up as much, we will probably try out the larger bottles a little sooner. Taking one feeding away doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it has made a huge difference in our day and it naturally gave us a much better nap schedule (see below). When he transitioned to 7 feedings, our new schedule was 7am, 9:30, 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, 8:45, and 4.

Sleep and Nap Scheduled

During the first month, Aiden slept most of every day with only waking to eat or to cuddle/ play for short durations (usually 30 minutes or less). He was eating every 2.5-3 hours around the clock (see feeding section above). Basically, we would feed and change him (which would take about 30 minutes) and then play with him for 20-30 minutes, and they he would sleep until his next feed (about 1.5 hours). During the night hours which Ryan and I would be trying to sleep, we would cut out the play time and just put him back down to sleep after each feed and change.

Once he was around 4 weeks, he was eating 8 times per day at 7am, 9:30, 12, 3, 5:30, 8, 11, and 3 (noted above). This is when I started doing nap times and wake times, where from 7-9:30 he would be awake and play, then go down for a nap from 9:30 to 12, then awake from 12 to 3, nap from 3-5:30 and then awake until his bedtime at 8. During his wake times, he would still snooze in the swing, etc. if he wanted to, so he was also getting a few extra mini naps mixed in.

Ryan is a night owl and I am a morning person, so he would take the 11pm feeding and I would do the early morning 3am. This brings me to another one of the “first time parents” mistakes. We were putting Aiden to bed at 8 and then Ryan was waking him up at 11 for a dream feed because we thought he wouldn’t be able to make it for a longer night sleep without it. One night we didn’t wake him up at 11, and he still slept until 4. So, we were basically making it more difficult on ourselves haha. He dropped the 11pm feeding easily and we have never looked back.

Once he reached 3/ 3.5 months old, he was on a new feeding schedule (noted above) of 7am, 9:30, 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, 8:45, and 4. Therefore, his naps were from 9:30 – 12:30 and from 3:30-6:30, and he really didn’t take any small naps throughout the wake times anymore.

Breastfeeding and Pumping

Let me just start off by saying what I had envisioned about my breastfeeding experience when I was pregnant did not work out in reality. After talking to a bunch of moms, this seems to occur more often than you would think. Breastfeeding is hard and sometimes it just doesn’t work out no matter how much you want it to.

When I was pregnant, I had planned to exclusively breastfeed for at least 6 months. When Aiden was born, he latched really well the first day or so. I had two lactation specialists visit us while we were in the hospital to confirm everything was good, and we were thrilled it was working out so well right off the bat. However, over the next few days breastfeeding started to be extremely painful and I was even bleeding. I was very confused because he was latching exactly how the lactation specialist had indicated and it seemed to be right, however I started to dislike the experience from all the pain and Aiden started to get extremely fussy because he wasn’t getting milk fast enough. Now knowing Aiden, he is a VERY intense eater, so this might have had an impact on why we struggled. He literally attacks bottles haha. Anyway, I tried my best to stick with breastfeeding but started to pump for some of the feedings to give my skin a break and then feed him the breastmilk through a bottle. I ended up liking pumping way more than breastfeeding, which was very emotional for me and I felt extremely guilty for quite some time about it. I loved the bonding experience of Aiden breastfeeding, but just couldn’t take the pain and the struggle every time. It was adding so much stress and I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Thankfully, my milk came in super-fast (especially when I started to pump) so I was able to exclusively feed Aiden breastmilk, even though most of the feedings were pumped and bottle fed. I eventually started to exclusively pump when he was about two weeks old.

Exclusively pumping worked well for me, but it is very time consuming (because you have to pump the milk then feed him, so double the time). But it didn’t bother me and I got into a nice routine with pumping 6-8 times a day. I even started freezing excess milk, which was great!

I used the Spectra S3 pump and loved it. The only thing I would like to try differently next time would be to also have a cordless pumping option so I wouldn’t be so tied down for so much of the day. As a side note, many pumps are covered by insurance! I got mine for free and it was mailed to my front door within a week. Talk to your doctor to get a prescription for a pump and it is a super easy process online that can save you money.

Once Aiden was 2.5 months old, I couldn’t keep up with how much he was eating and my milk supply was declining, so we started to supplement a little with each bottle (.5 to 1 oz here and there). We found that he was actually happier and stayed fuller longer wen we started to supplement, therefore we started to gradually increase the amount of formula per and I started to back off the pump gradually over a 5/6-week period of time. We also started to use some of the frozen milk that we had stashed from before which helped to lengthen the amount of time he was on breastmilk while I was cutting down on pumping. By the time he was 3.5 months old, Aiden was fully on formula. He is gaining weight and is happier than ever.

Obviously, what we ended up doing was very different than I had planned with my breastfeeding experience, however you have to find what works best for you. It really depends on so many factors and whatever works best to make sure your baby is happy and healthy is the way to go. Throughout the experience I struggled with putting a lot of stress and pressure on myself (first when I started pumping, then when we started supplementing with formula), but what was consistent was that I just wanted the best for my baby and good balance for myself. If we have another baby, I would like to try breastfeeding again as every baby is different!

What’s next?

Aiden is currently a little over 4 months old and we just had his check up at the pediatrician. We are going to start to try to introduce solid foods in the next week or so to see if he likes it. He also just recently dropped the 4am wake/ feed about 3 nights ago which has been so amazing! His schedule now seems to be 6am, 9, 12, 3, 6, 8:45. I will be writing another blog post about our experience of introducing solid foods and other milestones so stay tuned!

February 1, 2020 / Baby/ Motherhood

Aiden’s Birth Story

Aiden is officially 2.5 weeks old and I am finally getting around to writing about his birth story. Its crazy to think more than two weeks have passed since that amazing day, and I feel like all the details are already starting to get fuzzy! Being a first-time mom, there was so much about labor that I was unsure about even after researching online and talking to friends and family. Its just one of those things that you have to experience first-hand in order to really understand.

Leading up to my due date so many people asked me what my birth plan was; was I planning to deliver naturally (without meds), was I delivering in a hospital or with a midwife at home, was I planning to have a vaginal delivery or C-section…the list goes on. All I knew was that I was hoping to deliver vaginally in a hospital and that I wasn’t opposed to getting an epidural if I felt I needed it. So many expectant moms that I talked to throughout my pregnancy had different birth plans, some extremely specific and others more relaxed. Knowing my personality, I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself. I was already terrified of the unknown, and to put set expectations on something that I had no idea about seemed unrealistic for my own personal experience. I didn’t feel like I had anything to prove to anyone else, and it was very freeing to feel confident in my own decisions which my husband supported all the way.

My pregnancy was labeled high risk, due to conceiving through IVF and also some other personal health conditions. Therefore, I was under a lot of monitoring, which increased to 2 doctor appointments a week starting at 32 weeks. I didn’t mind all the additional monitoring, and even got to have a weekly 3D ultrasound, which I loved and looked forward to each time.

My due date was January 17^th, and during the second week in December I went in for an OB appointment where they hooked me up to a monitor to track baby’s heartbeat for 20 minutes. During that session, they recorded 11 contractions in a row at regular intervals. My doctor checked my cervix and noted I was already dilated to a 1 and made a prediction that he was likely to come early.

On Christmas Eve he gave us our first labor scare! We were at Ryan’s parent’s house for dinner with the family and I started to have extremely painful contractions and lower back pain. It lasted about 45 minutes to an hour before it started to calm down. We waited a bit longer before heading to the hospital and by the time we were home and getting ready for bed, the pain had stopped, and we decided not to go in.

Over the next few weeks I had so much activity, and thought he was going to come at any time. I was having contractions, but they weren’t connecting completely for long enough. I was having lower back pain but didn’t feel like it was intense enough to be labor. It was honestly driving me crazy not knowing when he was going to come since all of this started so early in my pregnancy and it was all I could think about. At 37 weeks I was 1.5 cm dilated and I started drinking red raspberry tea and going on walks to try to help things along. At 38 weeks I was 2.5 cm dilated and he had dropped significantly. At that point, my doctor scheduled an induction (which was her medical advice given my health issues) for Sunday, January 13^th at 9pm.

On Sunday, my husband and I spent the day relaxing, so excited and nervous for our trip to the hospital scheduled that evening. We had everything packed and ready to go, and our families all on call. My sister drove up from California to be with us throughout the process as well. However, at 4pm I received a call from the hospital that they were delaying my appointment because the hospital had an excess of deliveries that day and they had to postpone me until the following day. I know that probably doesn’t seem like a big deal, but I was so upset! Think about the rollercoaster of emotions leading up to that evening only to call it off for another day. It was torture!

The next day we went to the hospital at 2pm to check in. We went through the process, checked all my vitals, and finally got our room at 3:15pm.

At 4pm they started the induction process, which involved multiple rounds of inserting medicated gel, laying down for an hour, walking for 45 minutes, and monitoring for 20 minutes. After two rounds and around 10PM, they started me on a mild Pitocin drip and I tried to sleep as much as I could. At 7:20am, I heard a big POP and knew my water had broken. I whispered over at Ryan to wake him up and pushed the call button for the nurse. By 8am I was feeling extremely nauseous and the contractions started to become more painful. I started to get extremely nervous and almost panicked at this point, because it was starting to get real and I was fearful for the unknown that the next hours would bring. I started wondering if my baby was OK, how painful the labor would be, how long it would take, and so many other questions. Ryan was so supportive during the whole process, and I was so thankful to have him there with me the entire time. After breathing through contractions for what seemed line forever, I decided to get an epidural. The baby was sunny-side up (head down but facing up) which caused extreme back pain and I was having a hard time not fighting the contractions as they came. After receiving the epidural, I was able to concentrate more on letting the baby drop and breathing, and it gave me a little bit of confidence back.

I wanted to pause here and note that the nurses that I had during my entire hospital stay were amazing and so supportive. I felt like they had my best interests in mind, truly cared about me and Ryan, and listened to my concerns and wishes. Since the induction process took quite some time, the various nurses were rolling on and off shifts, but each one was truly amazing, and we felt very blessed. I was so happy that the first nurse I had when we checked in (Alicia) was the last nurse I had for my actual delivery. All the nurses that had been there throughout my process came to check back in with me and meet Aiden after he was born. Ryan and I feel extremely grateful for the positive experience we had and the people that surrounded us throughout our stay.

By 11am the pain had broken through the epidural and my nurse decided it was ready for me to start pushing. One thing Ryan and I did not expect was that he would be asked to hold one of my legs! It completely took him off guard, but he quickly pulled it together and stood there by my side as I pushed for 51 minutes. It was the most intense and amazing hour of my life (currently crying as I write this) and I can’t put into words how something so painful can be the best experience of my lifetime. Aiden was born at 11:59am on January 14^th, perfect in every way. The doctor informed me that he had the cord wrapped around his neck twice but that they were able to get him out safely. When they brought him up for me to see him for the first time, he was so alert with these big almond eyes, but he wouldn’t cry for several minutes. It was making me so nervous, but the nurses assured me that he was doing just fine. When I finally heard him cry, it was such a relief.

After Aiden was born, they immediately put him on my chest where we had an hour of skin-to-skin time. It was the most precious moment of my life and he kept just looking up at me with these beautiful eyes. After the skin time, Ryan got to hold him for the first time. I never knew I could love my husband more until seeing him become a father in that moment.

After spending a couple hours with the baby, they transferred us to a recovery room, and we were able to invite our family in to come meet the baby. It was so special to see our parents and siblings hold him for the first time and we will forever cherish those moments.

We stayed in the hospital overnight and decided to go home the following evening. We were ready to be home and to start life outside the hospital. The next few days were extremely tough trying to navigate parenthood for the first time, but Ryan and I tackled everything together. However, one thing that I did not expect was how intense the healing process was going to be for me personally. I felt like my entire body hurt for all sorts of reasons and it was incredibly tough to focus on caring for a newborn and also caring for myself. I am thinking of writing a separate blog post dedicated to this topic, so stay tuned! As the days go by, things are gradually starting to get easier and I feel more and more like myself. I cant imagine life without our little Aiden and motherhood is even more wonderful than I ever imagined. I am so grateful for this blessing, and our little growing family.

January 10, 2020 / Baby/ Motherhood

Push Playlist

Music Playlist for Labor & Delivery

One of the most common pieces of advice I keep hearing from friends and family is how much they loved having a music playlist for their delivery. Its something I had no idea was a thing, but I absolutely love it and want to give it a try. Based on song recommendations and dong some searching myself, I compiled the list of 40 songs below for my own personal Push Playlist, and thought I would hare it with all of you in case you are interested! I decided on calm and uplifting songs, with a few upbeat songs mixed in. Let me know what you think and if there are any songs you think I should add in the comments below!

I embedded my Spotify “Baby” playlist, which you can click on below to listen:

December 22, 2019 / Recipes

My Favorite Holiday Mocktail

Cranberry Blackberry Lemonade Slush

3 cups ice
1 1/4 cups cranberry blackberry juice
1/2 cup club soda
1/4 cup frozen lemonade concentrate

Blend and enjoy! Makes 32 ounces

Baby Firsts: Trying Solid Foods with Yumi

Aiden’s 3 Month Recap

Aiden’s Birth Story

Push Playlist

Music Playlist for Labor & Delivery

My Favorite Holiday Mocktail

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