Up All Night

my friends sara & ned from home birth class passed along the preview to a new nbc tv show to air wednesdays at 8/7 c. we can all relate too much. with AG smiling tons there's a lot of "holy shit!"'s in the house.

50% Off at Bambino Land (ends today)

Use code:BEST4BABY to get 50% off your entire order!

(get FREE shipping on $50+ HURRY! code expires on tonight at midnight

May 20, 2011  

Check out their organic swaddle blankets. Extra-large, breathable, and super soft. We've used them a good bit in this house.

BoobDesign of Sweden

now that i'm six-weeks postpartum and out&about much more, i'm realizing i and my newly zaftig figure have no real appropriate nursing wear, besides my hooter-hider which i feel pretty damn dorky wearing. despite it's tent-y proportions, i usually still end up flashing bits. ):

 to the rescue? boob design!

BOOB is a swedish label of practical and not-so-frumpy-mummy nursing wear. LOVE the dress above, but the organic cotton hoodie  below would see a lot more rotation now that summer (i.e. winter) soon approaches here in san francisco.

Find BOOB online or at either of the Mom's the Word locations here in the bay area.

Mom's the Word3385 Sacramento Street, San FransiscoTel +1 4154418261

Mom's the Word1628 N. Main Street, Walnut CreekTel +1 9259376818

Blocked Milk Duct

Yesterday my folks headed off to North Beach for cannoli's and tiramisu, and I stayed home alternating hot-packs and cabbage leaves on my right breast. My parents are only in town for a short visit, so I was pretty bummed to be spending one of those days at home feeling pretty shitty.

What happened? My little bub slept his first 5 hour stretch, leaving an 8 hour time span without stimulation to my right breast. A sudden shift in a baby's sleeping pattern is a common cause of blocked milk ducts. Other things to be weary of are ill-fitting bras, a diet high in saturated fat, the use of a nipple shield, an ineffective latch.

The following videos and web links were really helpful and by early eve last night there was sweet relief. Some of the advice I put to use:

Nursing more frequently

Nursing on the affected side first

Nursing around "the nipple clock"/i.e. changing positions often

Warm showers and saline soaks before

Cold packs after nursing

one poor poor mama's tale of a blocked milk duct turning into mastitis, not something you want to have happen!

 

Web Resources for Blocked Ducts:
DR SEARS 
DOCTOR JACK NEWMAN
KELLY MOM
BABY CENTER 
BREASTFEEDING-PROBLEMS
LACTATION SERVICES

happy mother's day

[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/a/alela_diane/oh_my_mama.html ]
Oh my Mama
She took my little hand and held on tight
Oh the Mamas
Give the waters of their wells
Oh the Mamas
Give the babies this very dirt we're walking on
Oh my Mama
She gave me these feathered breaths
And your Mama
She gave you those feathered breaths too

And when the sky drops all those feathers
And when the birds sing in the morning
I'll be a mama
I'll have a daughter
I'll be a mama
I'll have a daughter

And I'll give her melodies
I'll give her melodies

And she'll be
My little bird
And then she'll fly
She'll fly

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/a/alela_diane/#share

i hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! my own mama arrived here in san francisco last night; a touching gift to spend my very first mother's day with her. with intuition and love she raised me to move to my own melodies, to fly. and so now here i go...
           hoping to do the same; to give my son my all and let go.

Friday Fun

that's jen on the left. photo c/o the uber-talented jen siska

MORNING
spent it lazing on the couch talking music, travel, art, boys (it's nice to have some non-mama friends. actually, no, i would say VITAL!) with my musician, stylist, writer friend jen d. besides being an all-around creative renaissance woman, jen is a big heart and the first to visit me & the new bub at the hospital. the beautiful lilies she gave us filled our home with their sweet scent for days.

AFTERNOON
spent it at natural resources in the mission, a money-dropping vortex for five-star hippy moms like myself. first a quick photo session with emily payne--a lovely bay area photographer and a complete natural with babies, even cranky ones who missed their naps. afterwards, a quick nursing session in one of their gliders. wow! how did i not know how wonderfully comfortable those things are...think i may have to hit craigslist. during pregnancy, i kept the baby list as minimal as possible. now that the baby is here, my how it grows! that scares me.

while i was nursing, a couple ladies brought me snacks and water. one said, "you know what? this is what we need postpartum, spa services! forget hospitals. that's actually something they do in holland." holland, may i please claim maternal asylum!?

Vintage Forcast

a vintage onesie thrifted in north carolina

in november of 2008 when i first started dating my husband i didn't know if i wanted kids. heck, i didn't even know if i wanted marriage. but a love with a beautiful resonance grew between us. and soon thereafter i started to see a little boy with dark hair, large eyes, a round face, and a sly smile.

a dream, a wish, a knowing? i have no idea.

his presence so luminous, i immediately started collecting baby vintage. this red & white one, purchased over two years ago, was of the first.

Boob-olution

 

On our first night back home from the hospital, I grab my engorged heavy girls, red-faced, ridiculously teary-eyed, a complete mess and sob to my husband "What the fuck is the point of having boobs like this if I can't even feed my baby?!" And on went the wailing. (Again, my poor poor hubby). Oh, the drama. I can almost laugh it now.

I had read so so much about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting, but skipped up any major research on breast-feeding. "Just put the babe to the boob, right." Wrong. So very very wrong. There were latch issues, engorgement, his little hands getting in the way, blood blisters, mixed messages from hospital staff, and PAIN! 

If your birthing in a hospital, my advice is do not rely on the nurses or staff LC to be completely helpful. Do your own research. Have an LC or two on-call. Be hopeful and open to it all going completely easy, but also be open to the flip side of the coin. 

::This little video above pretty much sums it up; there is a "hump." I think I'm getting over it::