Week 7

Whaat??? Where in the world does time go??? Aggh my baby is growing so fast, it is crazy! Is it selfish of me to want him to stay this little and cuddly forever? Nope I think not!! =p

Well this week was nice just relaxing and cuddling. Same ol same ol and loving it! If cuddling and kissing Giovanni all day long is wrong, then I do not want to be Right!!! (ala Kelly Ripa). We wake up around 930ish...then we eat as we watch Regis and Kelly. Then we are off to play time, while mom finishes breakfast and pumps. Gio gives me about 30 min in his swing, then we are off to sing and play, maybe a little nap. Gio is on a 2 hr eating schedule or how he pleases. He eats again around 11ish/12. Daddy comes home around this time and then maybe a nap with dad, while mom cleans up, finally showers =p and usually lays down for a family nap. We wake up of course to feed then off for some walking, cleaning up the room. Man our little room gets messy quick! Gio is loving his walks in his stroller or when he is being carried in the Moby carrier. After our walk, guess what its either play time and then some feeding. Around 730ish-Gio bathes and then off for his night cap of breast milk that can last for an hour. It's best if Gio feeds to his heart content otherwise there is no sleeping =p. As much as I feel like a Human Pacifier, it doesn't bother me at all. We then burp, swaddle and cuddle. Then Gio is laid down in his crib to sleep around 9/10ish. He gives us about a 3 hour stretch then we are up every 2 hours, usually first one at either 12/1 then 3,5,7,8 till 930ish. I really don't have much time for anything else than being a Mom and once again if that's wrong, then I don't want to be Right!!!

I finished reading the Breastfeeding book and almost done with Attached Parenting by Dr. Sears. Very interesting.... I do not follow AP to the T, but I do practice most of the principles which are: Birth Bonding, Breastfeeding, Baby wearing, Bedding close to baby, Belief in the language value of you baby's cry, beware of baby trainers and balance (I need lots of help in this department =p). There are so many books out there, it's crazy! When you become pregnant that is one extreme and when you are finally a parent, it is another extreme of information overload. The best that I can do right now is enjoy my time with Gio as I see fit. These books are great for resources, but they are not becoming my bible or what I must and cannot do. Everyone will have different parenting ways and we are slowly building one and changing it along the way! Gio is still sometimes having problems latching on, but now I know that is my fault for not guiding him on correctly, once we fix that...easy pesy and no more soreness. I almost went to a La Leche League meeting, which I really do want to attend, but it is held at a hospital and well what is the point of taking a healthy baby into a hospital for a meeting, I need to find one outside of that setting. Yes I cannot incubate my child 24/7 but no point in taking chances. I am not trying to focus on returning to work, but I am slowly getting grandma Lety to do more things like change a diaper, hehehe. Well honestly, Luan and I have tried not to burden them with extra work, or maybe we are baby hogging... (Woops!) (FYI I have free time right now bc Grams Nguyen is holding baby, otherwise no blogging...=0). I have found mommy groups for Attached Parenting, Young Moms, Babywearers of Houston, etc. I want to and eventually will attend these meetings, but I am going to wait for Mr. Gio to get a little older. Although after this week I do realize I need to talk to other ppl. lol.... Lucy and Kristi came over for a girl's night, which Lucy blessed us with a yummy dinner from Fadi's. It was great catching up with the girls all from the comfort of my home, while Gio hung out with us. Kristi asked when our next girl's night out out will be...I said in 10 months when I am not breastfeeding,,,lol! JK. I probably will get more of a hang of things when I go back to work, like pump and be comfortable leaving Baby with a sitter=Grandparents. But until then I will just take it easy. Who knew I would be this attached....ok we all knew, but once again I love it!

As much as I love my Moby Wrap carrier, I stumbled upon BabyWearer Website and started researching other types, I am not for the sling, because all the weight primarily stays on one shoulder, hence I chose the Moby, weight is nicely distributed. But I haven't been able to BF Gio in the Moby yet. I was noticing that it would be easier in a sling and to put on faster. I love my Moby wrap, it just bothers me that it is so long and I would hate for it to get dirty if the ends drag, see germaphobe! Anywhoo I stumbled across an article for plus-size baby wearer options and now I want a sling..lol! So on Saturday on a quest for our cloth diapers and sling we finally went to Nurtured Family which is down the street from Luan's parents home. I tried on the Hava Sling and I am in love, the cost not so much, but I am going to get one. Luan is not sold on it because once again all the weight is on one shoulder, but we will see. I love these special boutique type stores, because the sales people are so informative on babywearing, BF and cloth diapers. The sales lady helped me with positioning for BF in my Moby and in the Hava sling. We also finally bought our cloth diapers!!! WoooHOOO! We bought 2 Flip Day Pack Stay Dry, 4 extra inserts, and a dry diaper bag for our pail. We chose the Flip Cloth Diaper System because, it is very similar to the GroBaby line, it includes an outside over and insert. So you just toss the used insert into your diaper pail, replace the insert with a clean and reuse the cover. The Flip is also great because it is a one-size cover and insert which adjusts to fit most babies from 7-35 lbs, so these diapers will grow with baby.

Today was a very successful Sunday. We met up with my co-worker Wendy for brunch at Ruggles. I fed baby before we left the house, then he slept nice and comfy in the Moby while we ate. Well you know how I can get to talking...Gio woke up and was ready to eat and I used the tips from the day before and positioned Gio for BF in the Moby. I still used the coverup just in case. I think I might have flashed some people..oh well..baby gots to eat. I am more worried with my love handles being exposed than my boobs! Seriously, can't have my wobbly bits out for display, por favor. Anywhoo, he fed and fell back asleep. We then left and went over to Woman's Work boutique and perused. I finally found breast shields in a bigger size for pumping. They have tons of Medela products, a lactation consultant and other resources. Since I will not have time to clean my pump parts between my breaks, I got an extra set of accessories, they have small little sets, so that you don't have to buy the whole caboodle. Love it! I wanted some nursing tops, but this is where I draw the line...I will not pay 50++bucks for tops, so sorry, I will be hiking up my top to feed or just invest in some button-down tops. 50+bucks are they crazy?? Anywhoo, we walked around for a bit, it was so cute seeing our reflection, I still can't believe we are parents. I just couldn't stop staring at us in the windows as we walked by, same ol luan and tanya, but Gio snuggled up in the carrier, wow, love it!!! It was such a beautiful Sunday, the weather was perfect and we didn't overheat. We also purchased Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of U2 CD. Listen, this is the first CD we have purchased in about 9 years and it is so worth it. There is a Bob Marley one and we are definitely going back for that one!!! Totally recommend!!! Luan dropped us off at home, he took off to go bike riding with his brother, while Gio, Louie and I went for a walk in the neighborhood. Gorgeous Sunday!!

We just put Gio in his first set of cloth diapers, I will give you a full review later this week!


Resources:
Boutique for Mom and Baby:
www.nurturedfamily.com/
http://www.awomanswork.com
http://www.bebeverde.com
Music:
http://rockabyebabymusic.com
cloth diapers:
http://www.cottonbabies.com
baby wearing:
http://www.babywearer.com
http://www.houstonbabywearers.org
attachment parenting:
http://www.attachmentparenting.org