Product Review: The Yummy Mitt!

Happy Thursday!! 

So today's post is a product review of the Yummy Mitt, a teething mitten by Darlyng & Co. We ordered ours on a Wednesday and went out of town for the weekend. When we returned Sunday it was on our porch so the shipping process was pretty fast. It is for ages 3 months + and is bpa, pvc, latex and lead free. The "chewy" part is 100% silicon and the glove is 100% cotton.

Yummy Mitt by Darlyng & Co.

The Packaging was really cute and the mitt came with a pouch you could wash it in or use as a travel bag. I really really liked this product from the customer service experience to my son's reaction to it. This little mitten had my child going crazy. I mean it literally replaced all his teething toys for weeks (which has to be a record when it comes to infant attention span). If he saw it he would go nuts. I truly wish I had gotten a video of it.

Jackson and his Mitt lol

He was 4 months old when we purchased this for him and it fit nicely on his little hand. He's now 9 months old and it still fits and he still loves it from time to time. At $20 it was comparable to the cost of other teething items such that Sophie the giraffe thing and we liked it better because you don't have to worry about it falling on the floor. Overall I would say we've gotten our money's worth and it's always nice to support small businesses too!

Note: In honor of the Sabbath the site is closed on Saturday's for the majority of the day but reopens at Sundown.

Has anyone else tried the Yummy Mitt or any other uncommon teething products? Please share in the comments!

Brittini Rae

Baby Food Month 4, Week 2: Broccoli and Apple

Bananas and avocados went over very well week one so we moved on to broccoli and apple. I know it's kind of a weird combo but I've seen the contents of some of the store bought baby foods and to me it was no stranger than those lol. Side Note: Up until this point I had been pairing a fruit with a vegetable but I was later told by a few experts including Agatha Achindu CEO of Yummy Spoonfuls that you don't need to add something sweet and that your child's pallet is developing in these early months. So I learned from experience for the next time around.

Now this was another super easy puree. I steamed the broccoli and apples for a few minutes to cook and soften them, added a bit of the water they were steamed in and blended them in my Cuisine Art food processor. The one you see here was getting a little busted and I've since upgraded thanks to my in-laws and their awesome Christmas gift. Check out our new one here its great for typical daily use as well as baby food blending. I opted out of the smaller baby versions, the blade spins the same on all of them.

My husband gave it the side eye and said it looked gross but I tasted it and thought it was pretty good! I couldn't get anyone else to try it though. Nonetheless my test subject loved it and couldn't get enough and thats all that mattered to me! So this broccoli apple combo was a HIT! *pats self on back*

My Happy Baby :-)

Traveling with Breast Milk and Baby Food

Traveling with a kid changes the game! But even when your without your baby but your  breastfeeding or pumping it can be stressful if you don't plan. In this post I'm going to highlight two of my traveling experiences, one with my son and one without. Hopefully you find these helpful!

My best friend Cassandra got married last August in Mexico when Jackson was just 3 months old. We won't even talk about the anxiety I had from the thought of leaving him at home for 3 days. Jackson's pediatrician had already let us know it would be best to leave him home and to also dump any milk I produced after being in Mexico for a few days. Dump my milk?  I was horrified! To top it off I had no idea how to fly internationally or domestically with breastmilk but the thought of dumping my whole first day of milk while traveling was just crazy. That wasn't happening. So, I devised a plan! 

First,  I planned out Jackson's milk for the 3 days we would be gone. Fortunately this wasn't too difficult. Over the week before we left i stockpiled in the refrigerator mostly as opposed to the freezer to make it easier on my mom. I put the milk in a cooler with ice packs in pre rationed bottles to take it to my moms and then put everything in her fridge.

Next, I called the resort we were staying at to make sure they had a refrigerator in the room and then read up on TSA's policies and procedures on traveling with breast milk, baby food, infants etc - print these out and throw them in your purse just in case you run into someone who tries to play you. I knew I wasn't going to have much milk to bring back but I wasn't wasting any more than I had too.  I got my supplies together for the flight which included my lifesaving Madela handheld pump, ice packs, milk storage bags, extra ziplock gallon bags (for fresh ice if the ice packs thaw) and a nice sized cooler that fit in my carry-on/purse. Now, it has been my experience that people at airports are extremely accommodating and sympathetic to moms lol. It's like they hit you with the Hunger Games tribute salute and let you navigate your way through checkpoints without difficulty (for the most part).

When I got to the airport I didn't have any milk because I waited to pump until the flight (don't ask why I know its a semi public space but I figured I didn't have anything else to do so I could have a good session without interruption. I had absolutely no problem getting into Mexico; they didn't even look in my bag. I pumped again when we got to the the resort in Mexico and to my surprise with all the hustle and bustle they were both really good pumps about 16 each so now I had about 32 ounces I had to keep fresh until we went home in less than 2 days. Everything else I had to dump (insert horrified face again here). I pumped 4 times a day while there and tried not to look at how much milk I was pouring down the bathroom sink. Nonetheless we had a great trip and I took advantage and drank lots of drinks lol.

The hubs and I at the airport

3 months postpartum!

The bride on her wedding day :-)

Bestie Crew DaVonna, Cassandra and Shinora (L to R)

Returning home proved to be a bit less "seamless" but still relatively simple. Before we left the resort I stopped at the concierge desk and picked up my ice packs from their freezer. Then at the airport I ran into a TSA officer after coming back in to the United States who began to open the gallon ziplock bag i had the milk storage bags in. I quickly whipped out the TSA guidelines I printed out and asked him if he could not. He fell in line. Not sure if it was my mom stare down or if he just felt bad for me but he left the milk alone and sent me on my way. All the trip home took was one stop at Starbucks for fresh ice and we made it back with cold milk!

Picture mail from my mom :)

The next trip was more of the same but with Jackson this time and some homemade baby food. We took a direct flight to Atlanta for our cousins baby shower. I have a new respect for babies on planes lol. From my experience I've decided to remember a few things for future trips. One, I'll try and plan my flights during a nap time or with some things to keep him occupied. This is for you more than people on the plane. If your kid is fussy no other mom on the plane will blink an eye. It happens. They're going to feel worse for you than they will be irritated. People without kids don't matter. As soon as they have kids they'll be praying for you too (see the meme from the story above). You on the other hand may get anxious or overwhelmed. All I can offer here is that you try and remain calm and remember that it happens to the best of us but you're no good to your baby worked up :-)

Also, remember to take advantage of those special lanes. When airport workers see you with your stroller they will direct you to all the shortcuts- take them up on everything. It's like when you were pregnant and everyone was super nice and accommodating and then you gave birth and they don't even look your way anymore. Get it while the gettin's good!

We stayed with family so everything milk wise was pretty simple. His food was pre portioned and frozen in Infantino Fresh Squeezed pouches. Check out my weekly posts of homemade baby food each Monday!

I opted to leave my electric pump at home again and stuck with my handy dandy handheld! We only stayed a 2 nights but we had a great time with the family! There were 4 babies born between Arpil and November from 1st cousins so our holidays and family get togethers have officially changed forever :-)

Jackson and Peyton with my mother in love and cousin Jenn

Jackson hangin with his cousin P!

NOTE: If your breast milk or food is in a frozen state they won't examine it at TSA but the milk must be used within 24 hours once its completely thawed. Small amounts of dry ice will keep milk completely frozen while ice packs might actually speed up the thawing of frozen milk.

Breastfeeding and Pumping Products; 5 must-haves and 5 wastes of money

Hi mommas! Today's post focuses on 5 products I loved when it came to breastfeeding/pumping and 5 products I'd never waste money on again. So let's have at it!

5 Must Have’s

1) Target brand milk storage bags - These are the best by a long shot! They are durable and inexpensive. I haven’t experienced one leak with these.

2) Latch Bottles by Munchkin - I bought mine from target but they are available at Babies "R" Us, Amazon and pretty much any baby store. We never even tried any other bottles but I own a daycare and my experiences with other bottles in comparison were lacking. For example Dr. Brown's bottles I found to leak often so those were off my list from the very beginning.

3) Madela pumps - Both the Harmony manual and the Pump in Style double electronic pump.

4) Washable Breast Pads - Any brand will do really and you can also make your own. My best friend Cassandra made mine and they were so cute!

5) Nipple Cream - I really don't think the brand matters as long as you use something. When I didn't I felt it! I got the honest company version at my baby shower and I stuck with that. The small jar lasted the entire 7 months.

5 Wastes of Money

1) Expensive Pumping Bra - make one yourself with an inexpensive sports bra and a pair of scissors. Pumping is so much easier hands free leaving you to multitask and get some paperwork done or nod off for a couple minutes lol.
2) Lanisol milk storage bags - Trust me you will waste so much liquid gold they leak like crazy. I've got a freezer full of them and my thawing technique has become so much more tedious trying to prevent wasting any milk. Next baby, I'll stick with the Target ones mentioned above.
3) Designer nursing covers - This was one of those things I got as a gift and never used. I know, I'm terrible. But when it came time to pump when I was out and about or over someone's house i grabbed one of my sons blankets and threw it over me. You carry around so much stuff daily as a mom you start to look for ways to minimize your baggage and for me a nursing cover just never made the cut.

4) Single electric breast pump - I personally didn't think it worked very well especially in comparison to Madela's manual handheld also mentioned above. For me the manual took some getting used to but it worked a lot faster in expressing milk and was a bit stronger too. I actually began to prefer it to my double electric pump after about month 5.

5) Bottle warmer - This may not be a popular one but I just don't think its worth it. If u can pop a mug half filled with water in the microwave for 1 minuts and put a bottle or frozen storage bag of milk in that mug for an additional two minute it will serve the same purpose. My suggestion; if you get one as a gift return it for store credit and use the money to buy diapers later *shrugs*

Well that concludes my list! And remember, what works for some of us may not work for others! Don't be afraid to follow your intuition!

Until next time friends,

Brittini Rae

First Foods! Bananas and Avocados

Jackson's pediatrician gave us the go ahead to start some solids when he turned 4 months and I was so excited to take a stab at making his baby food at home! She gave me a few tips and let me go from there. First she suggested we introduce one new food each week so we could notice any food allergies.  Next, she suggested a few foods to start with and a few to shy away from including meats, cheeses, nuts etc. She gave me a soft guideline and I kinda did my thing from there (checking in with her at appointments along the way). Today I'm sharing Jackson's banana and avocado puree from week one. Each week I hope to highlight and share in an entry some baby food successes and failures we've had at 4210!

Okay, so I chose bananas and avocado's first because I'm slectively lazy and they were the easiest not requiring any steaming, cooking or boiling.

I'm talking super easy here. I blended ripe avocado's and bananas (1:1) with some breast milk in a food processor until smooth.

When it was creamy I pulled out my Infantino Fresh Squeezed Station (which I love) and filled the squeeze packets with the puree'. I think I made about 6 pouches with 2 bananas, 2 avocados and a few ounces of breast milk. I quickly learned to make larger batches of food with each prep. What I love about the pouches is that they store air tight and are disposable. Your avocados stay nice and bright green until your ready to use them. They freeze and refrigerate very nicely.

Side Note: Keep the orange tops. It took me a while to realize that the tops are reusable and can be washed... Wasted a little money there.

I've been using this station for 4 months now and I still love it. I use them more for applesauce and smoothies now but at 9 months my kid holds them and eats from them himself without help. Small mom victories!

Avacado and Banana Puree

Happy Monday folks!

Brittini Rae

Pumping and Milk Production Tips

As I talked about briefly in my post Why I Chose to Exclusively Pump, there were a few things that did and didn't work for me when it came to increasing my milk production. I want to share some of them and also some things that worked for a few of my mommy friends! Please share in the comment section what worked for you and what you feel might have hindered or hurt your supply!

Five Things That May Boost Production
1. Beer - Not saying you should get drunk or anything, but half a beer went a long way for me. I would drink one every once in a while before bed and by my 3/4 am pump session I would have a ton of milk. I read somewhere it's the hops. I have no clue but it definitely worked for me.
2. Brewers Yeast - this really worked for my friend Cassandra when she had her son. I didn't get around to trying it personally but everyone i know who tried it noticed a significant increase in production.
3. H2O and Sleep- Staying hydrated is key in my opinion and also one of the easiest things to do. I don't know if it will increase your production but i do believe it will maximize your typical production if that makes sense. Now sleep may sound like a joke but rest really is key. If you can have a friend or family member visit while you take a nap do it!
4. Check for "tongue tie" - this isn't a production tip necessarily but some babies are born with a tongue tie which can prevent or make it difficult for them to latch. I had never heard of this until I spoke with my cousins and friends and found out how common it was. What they all had in common however was that they had't heard of it either until trying to breastfeed for some time with much difficulty. Once they took their children to the pediatrician again they found out what was going on. It's very simple to fix and typically the pediatrician will clip it right then! In the event that your child has a "tongue tie" and is being bottle fed until you both are prepared to latch again, stay patient as they adjust back and if you can pump so your production doesn't begin to diminish (my suggestion only, you may have things that work really well for you that don't mesh with what worked for me or my friends!)
5. Mothers Milk - This is another one I didn't try myself but I'm sharing because of my friends' successes with it. It has all the typical milk production ingredients including organic fenugreek and coriander fruit.

BONUS
If your breastfeeding try pumping after you feed anytime you have the extra time to spare and do both sides. I believe it pushes your body to produce more milk and gets out any extra milk that may be left. This is much easier when your child is first born because they don't drink as much, but gets more difficult as their diets increase. This is exceptionally helpful for working mommas who plan to return to work but want their babies to have breast milk while they are away! In my experience it was so much easier to build up a stockpile when my son was only consuming 2 ounces per feeding than when he increased to 7 or 8! Every breastfeeding mom who left their child in my care after returning to work expressed that they wish they had pumped more while they were on maternity leave! They were very adamant in suggesting I do so with Jackson and I'm so grateful for it!


Five Things That May Slow Production (or minimize or milk supply)
1. Stress - I know when my milk production was low the primary cause was likely stress. As new moms there are so many things we worry about most of which we have absolutely no control over. Trust me when I say if for any reason your child needs to supplement with formula or switch to formula all together, they will be just fine. Try not to let your production or lack there of stress you out!
2. Too much caffeine - I couldn't wait to up my coffee intake after I delivered Jackson but I realized quickly that caffeine really can dehydrate you and effect your production (and baby too). I learned ease up a bit and cut back.
3. Check your pump - Sometimes the clear tubes aren't pushed in all the way or the membranes tear when your cleaning them. The membranes are relatively inexpensive to replace so I would try to make sure I had a pack of extras on standby (they aren't the most durable things and can get holes easily). The same with the Madela handheld pump, give it a couple once overs to make sure all the pieces are fit snugly so the suction is working properly.

Madela Membranes

4. Birth control Pills - If you have leftover birth control pills I would stay away from those if your planning to breastfeed or pump. When you have your 6 week checkup your doctor will prescribe you a "mini pill" (or progesterone-only) if you wanted to continue birth control in the pill form. My doctor told me it was the estrogen that we should stay away from until we are done producing milk. A plus my doctor told me, not how true it is but I trust her, is that the mini pill kicks in within 48 hours of starting it.
5. Some Medications - I would say check with your doctor before taking any typical over the counter meds like allergy meds, etc just to get the go ahead. My cousin had issues with antihistamines and decongestants and her doctor gave her a few do's and don't's that helped!

I really hope some of these things work for you mommas and please share in the comments or on Facebook or Pinterest your experiences so we can continue to learn from each other!

As always thanks for reading!

Brittini Rae

Why I Chose to Exclusively Pump

I spoke briefly on my Facebook Page about my experience exclusively pumping and how happy I was I chose to do it. I decide pretty early on in my pregnancy I wanted to exclusively pump and it was one of like 2 things that went right from my birth plan lol. In later posts I will talk about what did and didn't work for me but today, I just want to share a little bit of my experience EP'ing and why I chose to do it.

Now, while it was a significant commitment, it was also extremely rewarding. In summary I pumped for 6 months (from April to October) and was able to stockpile a significant amount of milk. It's currently January, 3 months after I stopped pumping, and I believe we're on track to make it to Jackson's first birthday with our storage! Below is a video of my stockpile from October (the quality sucks sorry).

While I recognize that a lactation consultant may disagree with some of these, here are some things that worked for me that I believe led to some pumping success. Side note: I don't know if I'm right or wrong but I believe one of the biggest mistakes we can make as moms is taking someone else's experiences, suggestions and stories as gold. Do what you feel in your heart is right for you and your baby. There is no woman or man who knows you or your child like you. Follow your intuition.

Okay, back to pumping lol. I began pumping in the hospital the day my son was born. Once we were moved to the smaller room and after Jackson latched on, I requested a breast pump be brought to the room as soon as someone could bring it. I started pumping every 3 to 4 hours for about 10/15 minutes at a time and continued my entire stay at the hospital. I got absolutely nothing the first few times i pumped except for a foggy valve lol. But by Saturday morning (my son was born Friday at 2am) I was getting about an ounce of colostrum from each side. By the time I left the hospital it increased a bit and I took home about 8 ounces in a small bag with an ice pack. Below is a picture of when I first noticed some colostrum lol. Also pictured is the hospital pump they brought for me to use while I was there (I don't remember the brand but it served its purpose until I got home to my Madela.

I also fed him from the breast regularly until the day I left the hospital; by that time I was able to bottle feed him what I was pumping. I stopped feeding from the breast completely within a week of his birth. I didn't like it at all. It hurt and my goal was for him to have my milk, I believed we would still create a bond and we did. The second time around I may try harder to breastfeed too but for Jackson this worked just fine! I caught a lot of slack for not breastfeeding but I did what worked for me and my child. Lot's of pumping haters say you won't get as much milk with the pump as you do with your child but I didn't find that to be true. When my milk came in I was pumping about 8 ounces each side on average (sometimes more sometimes less). At my best I was getting 20-25 ounces a session (typically during my 3/4am sessions).

When my plan neared October and it was time to stop the decision was not easy. I had became emotionally attached to feeling needed and increasing my stockpile. It was ridiculous and my friends were starting to give me the side eye lol. But I had done my job and I wanted my freedom back. In my opinion pumping is more difficult than breastfeeding. If your out and about its likely a lot easier to feed your child directly than to bust out your electronic or handheld pump lol. But you live and you learn! Overall, I'm appreciative for the ability to feed and nourish my son, however it were to happen!

Jackson's Birth Story and my Castor Oil Debacle

The day before my 29th birthday I found myself extremely irritated and over the "joys" of pregnancy. I literally felt like I couldn't take it anymore. I was 38 weeks and  3 days pregnant and I was DONE. In hindsight, I'm sure I could have made it another 11 days but I was so over it I decided to take my friend and daycare mama Gabby up on her sure fire way to go into labor- castor oil. I truly didn't think it was going to work but I just had to give it a try. My cousin Sachi, who was also my Doula, wrote me a list of natural ways to induce labor and I decided between Gabby and Sachi I had my resident experts and I was all set. 

So after work Thursday at exactly 5:40pm I downed 2 tablespoons of castor oil and chased it with a glass of fresh squeezed OJ. 

All in all it wasn't that bad. I called my husband Brian and asked him to bring home dinner, obviously omitting what I had just done, and sat down on the couch and waited for it to kick in. Brian arrived about a half hour later and we ate Noodles and Company on our bed- I like to call this my last supper. About 20 minutes after we ate it happened. My stomach was in knots and I ran straight to the bathroom. I wasn't sure what I had done. I was in the bathroom for like 40 minutes. I'll spare you the details but shortly after I started feeling strong cramps. This is when I had to call in for back up. 

I had my husband call Sachi and fill her in and then we called my mom who sat on speaker phone and helped him time my contractions. Mind you I still haven't told anyone but Gabby about the castor oil. They're just like "wow things are progressing quickly aren't they?"

Around 8pm my contractions had progressed to 6 minutes apart. At this point I'm a non functioning mess. I begin throwing up all over our bedroom and my mom is calmly telling Brian to get our bags in the car and to meet her at the hospital. Now I'm straight tripping. I'm yelling and telling him to hurry up and I'm on my way out the door. This is when sh*t gets real. We get in the car which he tries to start and the car alerts us that the keys aren't in the car. Where are they you ask? In the house. So my husband sprints back to the front door only to find that it is in fact locked. Yes, he locked us out of the house.

You can imagine the insults I began to throw at my poor hubby. In a full out panic my typically ultra cool Brian starts running across the street to one of our neighbors houses and gets Reverend Prentice, our good family friend, and explains whats happening. Rev. Prentice moves as fast as she can to pull her car around and I hop out of Brian's car, not without rolling my eyes at him, and into the backseat of hers contractions and all. 

She gets us to the hospital in impressive time, around 9;15pm, where they take me to what I like to call a "holding cell" (that room they take you to before they check you in to make sure you're really going into labor). Mind you I've requested an epidural like 5 times by now throwing my extremely organized birth plan completely out the window. Once I progress to 3 centimeters dilated they tell me I'm staying! I was so grateful. I was having this baby!

Once they checked me into a room they gave me an epidural at 12:15 and all I wanted to do was SLEEP. Then, high off the best drugs West Penn could administer to me, I woke up at 1:50 to a quick exam that had the nurses ushering in my doctor and her team and pulling my legs into sturups. At this point I'm asking everyone to slow down and the doctor is like "uh no I see your son's head, its time." I look at my mom, Brian and Sachi and they look at me encouragingly. My doctor broke my water, turned on a bunch of lights and lowered a strange mirror out of the ceiling.

I was literally terrified but at 2:08 in the morning on my 29th birthday, after 2 "sort of" pushes, and 7 hours of labor I received the best birthday gift ever! A very healthy and happy Jackson Ross Burley :-)