Catching On to Latching On

The woman's body is a marvelous creation by God.
All the changes it has to go through to bring a life into this world is a miracle! It conforms, stretches and moves itself around to make a little, cozy home for this growing baby...
I awe as I think of all the complexities of the body and every little thing God thought of to bring us to earth.
I only question one thing...
Why didn't he make our nipples out of rubber?

I can't believe it's been two weeks!
Although it's all been one sleep deprived blur, I certainly remember having a few emotional break downs because it seems like Elsa and I could not get the hang of breast feeding. Everyone I talked to made it seem so easy and as if they never had problems with it!
I obviously was doing something wrong!

Someone told me it takes two weeks... just bare through for two weeks!
After lactation specialists, a hundred books and one and a half weeks I knew she had lied to me... or so I thought.
I was then given a tiny book that solved all our problems! Thank you Heavenly Father! I honestly can't say why we understood this book better than any other but I know it was definitely an answer to my prayers!!
I am super grateful but sometimes I think if only I had this book earlier we wouldn't have had to gone through so much pain.
Oh well!
Elsa and I get the whole "Latching On" thing now
and I get to keep my nipples.
Well.... most of them!

Good luck and happy nipples to all first time breast feeders!
It does get better!

This is the book I found very helpful:
NURSING
The First Two Months
Fifth Revised Edition
An excerpt from The Nursing Mother's Companion
by Kathleen Huggins, R.N., M.S.

Baby Elsa is here!!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

8:00AM- Starting feeling contractions but I had a lot to eat the night before and thought maybe it was just stomach pains since they weren't very regular.

They kept getting worse...
Sat in the bath tub for awhile...
Timings, 6, 4, 2, 6, 2, 4... still irregular

10:00ish - Blake went to copy the sacrament program for me (that's my calling, Sacrament Program Specialist). I kept timing...4, 2, 3, 1, 4, still irregular but closer together.

11:00 - We decide to go to the hospital, pretty much because I didn't know what else to do and I was in pain. As I get out of bed I vomit, Blake put his years in sports to use and catches it with the trash can. Contractions become regular! 5 min apart!

11:30 We make it to the hospital!

The nurse checked me and I was 6 cm dilated and 75% effaced.
Normally they don't admit you until they've noticed progress after the first hour but in our case going from 0 cm to 6 over night was progress enough!

2:00PM - Finally got an IV in after a bazillion tries. Got an epidural! So with tingly legs in all we wait.

My doctor comes and breaks my water.

3:00PM - Nurse comes and checks again, 9 cm.

20 minutes later, 10 cm!
We are ready to push!!
Wait... where's the doctor?
20 minutes later he's here and ready...
PUSH!

3:45 One push from me and a pull from the doctor and out comes Elsa!

7lbs 9oz
18 inches
and a head full of hair!!
The most beautiful little girl ever!!

Thanks Jeanne!!

Blake and I, in Nov, went to visit his family in North Carolina.

As I was there his mother, Jeanne, and I made a bunch of super cute
burp cloths. Now that Elsa's time is near and I realized that the only burp
cloths that I had were the ones that we had made. I could have just
bought some but that would have been too easy!!
And I needed something to occupy my time.

The ones on the top are the ones that Jeanne and I made.
We used terry cloth for the "burping" side for those.

The ones I made (on the bottom of picture)
I used flannel. Hopefully it will be just as absorbent!
I guess we'll find out!!

http://newconceptions.com/patpdf/BabyBurpCloth.pdf
This is the website to get the pattern!
You can get 8 out of one yard, well technically 4 because
it's double sided.
Cute and Easy!!

The Cutest Boppy Ever!!

I figured since I went the used route on my Boppy that I could try to make
a cute, none used cover for it!
Although it took a little longer than it probably should have
and my hands cramped from learning how to embroider...
It really was fun learning new tricks on my sewing machine!!
I think it turned out well!

10 Days Left!!

I can't believe the day is soon to come!!
10 more days till Elsa's ETA!!
Bags are almost packed... that's better than a week ago.
I still feel so very clueless on what I really need here at home..?
She's got a place to sleep...a place and supplies for dad to change her diaper...
food is attached, that wont be hard to for get...
clothes, bathing supplies, bouncer, car seat... umm...
any other suggestions?
I'm totally cool about the whole labor and delivery. Been there, Done that!
After that... What do you do with a baby? LOL

I made BREAD!!!

The smell of fresh baked bread brings me back to my childhood, but the
mouth watering aroma usually means my mother has been hard at work...
Not this time!!
It was me!
Of course never better than my mother's but still pretty darn tasty.
I still can't believe I did it!
My heart was so happy!

Blake squished it before I could take a good picture

Half the loaf was gone in an hour....
24 hours later all remnants only existed in my tummy! Yummy!