Fed by Bottles

Additional thoughts

2010-09-22T18:34:00.000-07:00

Matt & I just want to say "thank you" to everyone who have shared their thoughts and prayers for us through blog comments, facebook comments, wall posts, retweets, direct messages, emails, facebook messages, phone calls, and intentional seek-outs at our respective places of business. Your support, your words, your kindness and your genuine care for us has been overwhelming.

We are humbled, we are thinking, we are talking, we are praying.

We did some math today and figured out that relocating to Greenfield, which is about 30 minutes between both Carmel and Shelbyville, we will reduce our "car time" by approximately 14 hours a week between the four of us. The kids and I would lose about 2 hours each and Matt would gain a whooping 8 hours of his life back weekly that he's currently spending in the car.

Now, before you get all "he's only worked there a week" on me, let me give you just a squench more background information:
1) Matt has been working on the North Side since August 2009.
2) We've been driving an hour (or more) to church at least once a weekend (most times twice) since about April 2010.
3) Matt tried to move us to Shelbyville last fall. I don't know why, but this seems relevant.
4) Matt actually came into a good bit of job security--he was told in his initial interview that NVCLC prefers to hire on a long-term basis and that they're well aware that it could take a year or two to "get his feet underneath him"
5) Contrary to popular belief, Matt's job is a FULL TIME job. While he makes a good deal less than he did at Liberty Mutual there at the end, his salary is still ever-so-slightly HIGHER than his base at his first two post-college professional jobs.
6) We're still thinking historical as far as homes go--we just can't see ourselves in Vinyl Village.

Again, we thank you for all of your kind words and prayers. We will do our best to keep you both updated and entertained as we continue down the path that God has set before us. Blessings to you all.

Some thoughts

2010-09-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

I basically gave up on this blog over the summer in favor of starting a twitter (follow me, carriedilley) and a tumblr. While I really like both of those, and facebook, my fear is that this post maybe a bit too long winded/whiny for either venue. So here we are.

Matt got fired. It wasn't as bad or as good as I had hoped--he was pretty miserable at his job but they waited until I was back in school to do it. Cut to me spending the entire summer alone, then the first month or so of school really alone. Not the greatest season of our lives.

But God is good. God is so good. Matt was recently asked to fill the position of program director and worship leader for the middle school and high school at North View Christian Life Church. As I'm sure you guessed by the fancy title, NVCLC is a mega-church. Or at least it is in Indiana. He's happy, he's thrilled, we're moving.

Okay, I don't know that we're moving. I don't even think I want to move. I love this house. I love a million things about this house, from the arches to the wood floors that we finished ourselves to our finished basement to the new AC/Furnance that we put in last month. The office, the play room, the living room without a TV in it....sigh. And it's more than the house. I love that we live close to a school so we can't have a sexual predator living anywhere near us. I like living near my parents. I love that we can walk to all of the following: the post office, Village Pantry, Marsh, Penn Station, McDonald's, White Castle, Burger King, CVS, The Willard, Imagination Station, Benjamin's, Kira's Cottage, the Art Craft, all of downtown Franklin and like 17 different parks. I love my hand-picked rocks that surround the place where the bushes used to be, the fire pit I dug myself for Matt for father's day last year, all the flowers I've planted, and our huge black driveway that the kids play on in the summer and which snow melts off easily in the winter. I love the cabinets that I painted, all the colors on all the walls, and the security system we had installed. I. Love. This. House.

See, that's the problem. I love this house. I've always wanted to live in a cool old house and I never thought that it would actually be possible. The thought it leaving it to go some place else is pretty terrifying. In fact, the reason we didn't buy a big, plastic box to begin with is that we wanted to skip that step all together and go right into our "forever home." And while I kind of know that we could, in theory, find another old house to pour ourselves into, I'm not very fond of the idea. When we bought this house we were young and stupid--an older, wiser Matt & Carrie might not be so quick to take on so many challenges.

To back up a bit, Matt's dream job is about an hour north of Franklin. Since leaving our original church, Franklin Christian Fellowship, on Mother's Day we've been hearing God's calling to the North Side of Indianapolis. Literally. Calling. Like on the phone. Back in like February, Micha from White River CC called Matt and asked him to back him up when he needed to be out of town. One thing lead to another and churches started calling. Eventually, Matt was hired by North View, but the process wasn't pretty. Our family has been making the trek to various north side churches leading worship, which has been really great for it's part. Luckily, our kids are young and still fairly portable. We've met the good, the bad and the ugly of nurseries along the way (you know who you are) and met some really great people.

As of right now, we are stretched between 3 communities: Shelbyville (where I work) Carmel (where Matt works) and Franklin (where we live). For most people, this wouldn't be a huge deal, but when you're a teacher and a church employee, there's a certain amount of "being involved with the community" that you can't achieve when you're trying to be in 3 places during one life. Which brings us back to moving. Which seems, at this point, inevitable.

I mean, I've been in church my whole life, and I always knew that God could, at any time, call me out of my "comfort zone." I just always figured it'd be to Guatemala, not Carmel, Indiana.

Not that I have anything against Carmel. When you're a "south-sider" (a term, I'm convinced, was coined by someone from the North Side--I never knew I was from the south side until someone from the North Side told me), the Carmel area is considered to be the wealthy part of the Indianapolis area. I just never would have guessed in a MILLION YEARS that Matt and I would have ever, ever considered moving any where near there.

So tonight, maybe because I had one of the worst migraines of my life, maybe because I'm sick of being in the car all the time, or maybe because I lost my mind for just a fraction of a second, I told Matt to try to find a town between Carmel and Shelbyville. Because I'm not convinced I'm ready to leave my school, and I'm not convinced this is the only house in the world that I could love, and I love my husband very, very much. Even though he snores.

We stepped out in faith and left the only church we've ever really known. We stepped out in faith and took a major pay-cut so that Matt could leave the corporate world (which he hated). I guess I just thought, we've come this far, we might as well go all the way.

And really, I'm not sure that Franklin is worth living in without Beth, anyway.

So....one post a month is good enough, right??

2010-04-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

Where have we been? Well.....

1) Amber (Matt's sister) got married

2) We had 6 snow days
3) Bailey had a birthday

3) We got a puppy

4) We were busy every weekend from the end of January to the beginning of April. Seriously, coffee houses, baby showers, weddings, fake-store parties, birthdays, (yes, all of those are plural), you name it, we've done it in the last 2 months. Well, except sleep.
So there wasn't a lot of this going on. Also, Matt got a hair cut.

And this doesn't really explain the lack of posting so much as it's an excuse for the lack of posting. Also, Bailey doesn't really take a bottle in the same way anymore, and I'm not sure what that means for this site. I still like the idea of "Tips on Tuesday" and I'm still happy to talk about bottles at any time, but my ba-ba days are coming to a close :(

Anyway, I'm still here--I haven't really figured out how to type a blog, be a full time working mom, and do all the other things I want to do (garden, make jewelry, date my husband, cook, etc), but if you stay with me, I'll get there :)

Points of interest from the last few months:
Our stove broke. We're considering not replacing it.
We found a local farm that sells organic beef, pork, chicken, fruits & veggies.
Matt took over paying the electric & gas bills.
Matt now turns off lights when he leaves a room and wants to sleep downstairs when it's hot.
Bailey is not talking.
Jackson has fallen in love with baseball.
We gave up on cage-training our puppy.
Matt is experimenting with leading worship at churches that are not our home church.
LOST is back!
Bailey's hair is long enough for real pigtails.
We're starting to slightly question where we live.
I've decided to work 8 days this summer. It's going to be rough :)
My school year got pushed back into June.
We still haven't found a pre-school for Jack.
I'm not totally sold on the idea of pre-school for 3 year-olds.
Sue came to visit us as a surprise. It was awesome.
I re-connected with an old friend. Also awesome.
We're planting a garden.
By we, I mean me.
Matt built me a box for our garden.
Bailey is the grossest kid ever.
Bailey will eat anything, including leaf spinach & raw zucchini.
I hid all the Easter candy so that I would stop eating it.
As a result, no one is eating Easter candy.
Jack will eat nothing but hot dogs.
Jack dances the hot dog dance more often than he eats hot dogs.
I may or may not have had a Dove truffle egg for breakfast.

I'm off today because my sitter has a sick kid. So far, we've been to the "special" park, had lunch together, and now the kids are down for a nap. I try NOT to take joy in other people's hardships, but this is shaping up to be one fantastic day. Feel better, Jonah!

Tips on Tuesdays--Diaper Rash

2010-02-23T06:30:00.000-08:00

Our beloved Boo girl has been experiencing what can only be described as "wicked bad diaper rash." Seriously. I've had to tell the people in the nursery at church to come get me if she needs changed for fear that if they saw it, they'd report me to CPS. And this has been going on for MONTHS.

I've managed to cope with it using the usual methods--switching brands of diapers & wipes, using several different types of creams, and, when it finally "got away from me," a prescription from my doctor. No I didn't try cloth, and no, I didn't try seventh generation (or similar) because they don't sell those at a store near my house. And I'm not driving all over the world for diapers, people. In case you didn't notice, I work full time, have 2 kids and a husband, a house to maintain, and this blog doesn't write itself :) Anyway, we tried a lot of stuff and we managed to keep the diaper rash at bay, but it was never really gone.

So, after many, many conversations with many, many people, we finally have a system that seems to be working. I no longer feel like we're moments away from a "wicked bad" breakout at any time. When looking for a "cure" I wanted a couple of things:
1) Simple--I didn't want something that was going to be complicated for me, my sitter, or a Nana to do every time we changed a diaper
2) Portable--I take my kids with me pretty much every where I go, I wanted something that would be easy to take with me
3) Inexpensive--I'm not made of money, people
4) Green for my baby--I hate, hate putting chemicals on my baby. Every time I put that steroid on her I thought, "Honey I hope mommy isn't making you sterile doing this, but I don't know what else to do"
5) Green for the environment--I am a closet-environmentalist, you know. Something disposable (other than the diapers and wipes) would go against my nature...sort of.

Anyway, here's what I've come up with:
1) Drying--after each clean-up, I dry Bailey's bottom.
2) Norwex--I dry Bailey's bottom with a cloth from the Norwex company. My sister-in-law, Jen, sells Norwex products & I love them. They are self-cleaning, reusable cloths. I have 3 for Boo, and I switch them out every Saturday. They never smell, even with what they're put through each week.
3) Bourdeaux Butt Paste--I hate the name of this product, but I like what it does for my daughter. After she's good & dry, I apply this cream to her bottom. It is a yucky color of brownish-tan, which tells me that no chemicals have been put in it to make it that sterile "white" color. It smells a little like cinnamon & works pretty well.
4) Yogurt--I started feeding Bailey yogurt for it's probiotics. I feed her a little bit of Stoneyfield Farm's Plain Organic yogurt every day. This also seems to be helping.
5) White Diapers--She breaks out as bad with Huggies Organics as she does with the Parent's Choice brand from Wal-Mart. In fact, the Parent's Choice is what we've switched to officially because it doesn't have any dye in the, for lack of a better term, crotch area. I think all those cute baby Mickeys & Minnies were making it worse. The plain white seem to work a little better.

So, there you have it--a lot of little things that add up to..........some what better results for Bailey. Maybe I'll try 7th Generation after all. God is good all the time and I got a week or so's worth from my church recently for free.

How long on bottles?

2010-02-21T13:50:00.000-08:00

How long should my baby stay on formula/bottles?
Well, first and foremost, you should ask your doctor. Generally speaking, though, by one year of age, most babies will be ready to give up formula. My doctor, being the kind man that he is, lets me keep my babies on the bottle--not the formula--for an additional two months. This lets me get them used to drinking whole milk instead of formula before taking away what has been their comfort & food source their entire lives.

This, in my most humble of opinions, is a major benefit to bottle feeding: You can ease your child off first his type of food, and then his method of getting food gradually over time instead the all-or-nothing approach. No matter how thin you slice it, you can't give your child whole milk through breastfeeding--but I can put whole milk in my baby's bottle.

Sorry if this irks you. Occasionally, I have to take a small victory when I can. Two babies and almost 4,500 bottles later, it can STILL be a tough world out there for a bottle feeder.

Making your own baby food--Green Beans

2010-01-27T06:30:00.000-08:00

I'm a cheater. I readily admit it. Okay, so I don't really cheat, but I will make some adjustments to my usual baby-food-making-methods in order to make things as efficient as possible.

So......you know those "steam-in-the-bag" veggies that you can buy at the store?? I buy them, I cook them, I puree them, I freeze them, I re-heat them, and I serve them to Boo.
And you know, she's never once said to me, "No thanks, Mama, those aren't home grown 100% organic green beans." Although she does occasionally say, "Here, Mama, let ME do the spoon."

I haven't tried it, but I bet this would work with peas & other veggies that come in those bags, too! Best of luck!

Good bye, Grandma Trusty

2010-01-25T06:30:00.000-08:00

Matt's great-grandmother passed away last week. Her funeral is today and I thought I would take a moment to pause and reflect on this 90 year life. During that time, her most significant accomplishments were those of a wife and mother. One of her children had special needs and a large portion of her life was dedicated to caring for this child. I rejoice in her passing, for she is a child of God. May her life be a reminder to all of us of the bittersweet transition from life to death--though the sorrow may last for a night, His joy comes with the morning. Welcome home, Grandma.

2 hands, separated by 5 generations

Making your own baby food--Step Three

2010-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

We've mastered bananas & pears, and you've probably figured out by now that the fruits are easy. Basically, you peal, dice & puree. That'll get you pears, apricots, peaches.........pretty much you name it, you can puree it. Except for apples. Here's how you make baby apples:

Seriously. Save the money. Buy a jar of applesauce. If you're concerned about diluting it, throw in a little baby oatmeal and some water.

Tips on Tuesday--Toy Cycle

2010-01-19T06:30:00.000-08:00

My friend, Molly's house always looks amazing. The last time I was there (which was waaaaay too long ago, Molly) I looked around and thought "Why can't my house look like this?"

I'll tell you why: Molly's house isn't full of a bunch of crap.

Nice work, Molly.

My house, however, is, at times, full of a bunch of crap. Way too many toys, way too much laundry, way too much paper.....I'm getting away from myself, we're here to talk about toys.

Jack & Bailey have very generous parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents, adopted grandparents, second-cousins-once-removed, friends....you get the idea. They also have more toys than 10 kids could play with in during the average baby/childhood.Now, some people would say, just get rid of extra toys that you don't want/need. But honestly, how could I do that? How could I choose between the doll Matt & I got Bailey for Christmas and the one her grandmother got her?? How could I make Jack choose between the sorting set he bought with his very own allowance money when he was all of 9 months old and the wooden one his Popsy bought him special for his first birthday?? I can't--maybe you can. Good for you!

So I invented the "toy cycle" or, rather, my mother invented it 20-some-odd years ago. Anyway, I gave each toy a partner--a toy of a similar use, purpose and approximate size--and put half of the "partners" away.

So, what I have gained is:
1) Space in my cabinets
2) "Brand new" toys that I can get out (trade out) on a rainy or snowy day
3) The ability to hang on to--and use--some of these generous gifts

There's something precious about a child's toys--and if you don't believe me, then YOU watch Toy Story (1, 2 or 3) and try not to cry!

P.S. For the record, I have been eying the "baby" toys and making a mental list of ones we're officially ready to pass on to another family. See, I'm not all sentimental!!

Making your own baby food--Step Two

2010-01-13T06:30:00.000-08:00

So you made bananas?? Good for you. I hope that your baby liked them! Now it's time for step two--pears.

Pears are easy. Peal the pear--I use a vegetable pealer. I'm pretty sure my mother told me NOT to do this, but no harm has ever come to me, the kiddos, or the pears, as far as I can tell :)

Anyway, peal the pear and slice it into small pieces--maybe about an inch. I love my glass cutting board for this step. Isn't it pretty? Throw the pieces into the blender with very little water and puree.

Pears are naturally full of water, so they REALLY don't need for you to add much. You will need to add a little to get things moving, but, trust me, it's very little. You can always add more water if you need to and you'll get better at knowing how much to add.

What if you accidentally add too much water?? No problem. Do you have a couple of graham crackers laying around?? Toss those in there--it will thicken right up. What if they're cinnamon flavored? So much the better :)

Also, now's a good time to talk about spices. It's never too early to introduce your child to the wonderful world of spices. Toss a little cinnamon in with your pears, throw a little nutmeg in with the bananas. Be creative. Now's the time to build up you baby's palate to crave good, healthy things like spices. Jack loved squash with cinnamon. Does it automatically mean that your baby will grow into an adventurous eating toddler? Unfortunately, no. But it can't hurt, right??

Tips on Tuesday--Dressing a Girl

2010-01-12T06:30:00.000-08:00

When I was (early) pregnant with Jackson I was sure he was a girl--my brother said he was a boy, and I'll never live that down, I'm sure. I was wrong and Jackson isn't just a boy, he's all boy, and has been since day one.

Turns out, this was a good thing for me. I was good at dressing him--he always looked adorable. I quickly learned to dress him in all blue-all the time-and, for the most part, he wore onesies for the first 5 months of his life (it was a warm fall).

I quickly learned that dressing a boy isn't easy. There is about a 1:5 ratio of boy-to-girl clothes in most stores. Weed through the stuff my husband would kill me if I put on him, take out baby gansta clothes and the pickins were slim. Diligence paid off, though, and was soon dressing my little Jack like a pro. The following photos are some examples of how good I was at dressing my son:

Isn't he adorable??

I got my girl the second time around and I was all set for ribbons and bows and pink, pink, pink. As it turns out, I was much better at having (or at least dressing) my boy. Her first "dress up" occassion (the symphony with Mommy & Nana) I brought the dress and the panties, but no shoes and no bow. I managed to forget the camera, too. Whoops. I don't think my mother's entirely forgiven me. I've also been known to bring her to church with her teeny panty hose slithering down her weensie legs. How do you make those things stay on???

Needless to say, my Tip for Tuesday, obviously, is one I got from someone else. Michelle Wallace, to be exact. Thanks, Michelle, for all the adorable clothes you've given Bailey and for helping this hopeless mama learn to dress her baby girl.

First, put on the diaper--please, don't forget the diaper!

Second, the pantyhose. Or tights. Whatever they're called.

Third, and this is the important part--the onesie.
It'll add to the modesty and/or warmth factor, too.

Fourth, the little panties. These just slay me every time--too cute!

Feel free to garnish with bows & accessories.

Making your own baby food--Getting Started

2009-11-06T07:44:00.000-08:00

Simplicity. Isn't that a wonderful word??

I would have never imagined that the word "simplicity" would come into my life in such a major way AFTER I had kids. Kids DO make things more complicated, but simplifying your life is imperative after having children. So, don't do what I do. I've been making my own baby food for almost 2 years--but I didn't start all at once, I started small. I started with bananas.

Just like the "Fly" Lady says, let's get this done fast so we can get back to loving on our babies!

Get out your blender.
Peal 3-4 bananas. Add a little water.
Puree until creamy.
Pour into containers. Screw on lids.
Stick in the freezer.
Wash the blender.

That's it. You're done. You just made your own baby food. How long did that take? My guess is 10 minutes, tops. How much did it cost? I'm betting less than $2.00. How much did you get? Probably about 7 days worth. Quick. Easy. Cost-effective. Environmentally friendly. Simple.

To serve, just stick in the microwave for a minute or so (You know your microwave, I know mine. Let's make smart choices here, ladies), stir it up good--remember those "hot spots" and serve to baby.
If all you ever make is bananas for your baby, I still think it's worth the time for the money saved. BUT there's much more, and it's really not that hard, I promise.

Making your own baby food--Equipment

2009-11-05T08:19:00.000-08:00

Making your own baby food really isn't all that hard or time consuming. A big part of it is having the right equipment. Here's what I use:

Rubbermaid "Takealongs Twist & Seal" are perfect for baby food. They have little lines that I fill the baby food up to (great for consistency!), and the lids, logically, twist on and off. I use the small size for baby food. They freeze well, are microwave safe, and I've never had one leak. They also don't stain & come 4 in a pack. These little guys aren't expensive, and there are often coupons for them. Their only down fall that I've discovered is if you drop a frozen one from a high shelf in your freezer, they often shatter. Other than that, I love them and use them for everything. I bought them a few at a time and have about 20 now, maybe more!!

The next thing you'll need is a decent blender. After the one I registered for ended up being a dud, Matt & I purchased a Hamilton-Beach Stay or Go blender during what we like to call our "Smoothie" phase. It's great and we really like it. I can puree anything with this blender. Back when I purchased it, I would have never imagined using it to make baby food, but that just shows you that God is good all the time.
If all you want to make is pears, apples, and bananas, that's all you'll need. To make most vegetables, you'll need a steamer (like the one above) and simple baking dishes. I purchased a simple steamer at Wal-Mart after we discovered the deliciousness of fresh steamed-broccoli a few years ago. I think it was about $10.

Beyond that, you'll need a paring knife, a good vegetable peeler, a large cutting board. We'll talk more about recipes here and getting started here.

I make all my own baby food

2009-10-08T06:05:00.000-07:00

I make all my own baby food. Wait, did you read that right? Surely not--there's no way she could work full time, have 2 kids, and make all her own baby food. Who is this girl--superwoman??

Actually...........NO. I'm just that cheap, folks.

Making you own baby food is really not that hard, time consuming, or messy. And the savings, both in your wallet, and on the environment are significant. That's right, folks, I'm a closet environmentalist. Yeah, I use disposable diapers, but I try to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as I possibly can. More on that later, maybe.

I actually have no idea about the nutritional aspect of making your own baby food--I mean, I know what's in the fruits & veggies I'm feeding my babies, obviously, but I've never taken the time to figure out how it compares to the stuff in jars. I will say this, though, I was given a jar and I noticed that it doesn't expire until November...of 2011. What could possibly be in there that would keep it from expiring until my daughter was 2 1/2 years old???? I really recommend Jessica Seinfeld's (yup, THAT Seinfeld) book "Deceptively Delicious." It has tons of great recipes, and breaks down all the nutritional information for fruits and vegetables into kid-friendly portions.

Before we get started on the recipes and HOW I actually do this, you need to start with all the right equipment. I was fortunate in that I already had everything I needed to start making my own baby food except for the little "jars" I use. This post is getting kind of long, so I've decided to break it up into several posts. Sooooooooooo........... coming over the next couple of weeks you'll find the following posts:

In my next post, you'll find out all about the equipment I use to make my own baby food.

We'll get started with bananas and some "recipes" I use in the post after that.

How do I do it all? You'll find out!

Stretching Formula

2009-10-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

I talked about the type of formula we use here. My doctor recommends the Enfamil Lipil, and we get the generic kind. In today's economy, many people are trying to make their money go further than ever, and are pinching pennies until they scream. Here's what we do to help take that already-a-whole-lot-cheaper-formula go even further.

As many pregnant women know, baby samples are fairly easy to come by. You get them by registering (I know we got a ton when we registered at Babies 'R Us), you can get them from your doctor, and you can get them by checking out sites like www.freebies4mom.com and www.moneysavingmom.com. A good friend told me that as long as you don't mix soy formula with milk-based formula, you can mix in a little bit of a sample with your baby's formula. She suggested a 1 part sample to 2 parts of your baby's regular formula.

I usually use her formula down about 1/3 of the way, dump in the sample (make sure you take out the measuring spoon first!), and shake. This does a decent job of mixing the formula and my babies have never had any problems with it. It doesn't help a lot, but it helps a little, and I've found that doing lots of little things can help a lot.

Tip on Tuesday

2009-10-06T09:00:00.001-07:00

No one likes trimming a baby's fingernails and toenails. They're teeny, they're tiny, they're wiggly, and oh-my-gosh-if-I-cut-his-perfect-little-skin-I'll-just-die. It happens. We've all been there. Here's how to avoid it:

Those are regular "nail scissors" and no, girls, you can't buy them in the baby department. They don't come with duckies on them and they won't match your baby's little brush and comb set. I don't actually know what they're used for in the big-girl world, come to think of it.

I try to wait until my baby's sleeping to trim her nails. I take her tiny fingers and trim the little nails of using the scissors. I cut cleanly from the one side of the finger to the other. The little nails are so thin and paper-like that they cut easily. You can see that, by using this technique, it would be next to impossible to cut your baby's skin. Don't even think about trying it with regular scissors--the rounded edge is what keeps your baby's fingers safe.

Happy trimming!

Have a mommy tip to share?? There are 2 ways to share:
1) Post a comment on this blog.
2) Write a "Tip for Tuesday" on your blog and post a link here.

Back in the Saddle

2009-10-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's been a few months. Almost 2, to be exact. What happened? Well...

I started back to school. Going back to work after being off for 5 months was quite and adjustment for our family. In addition to my little 5 month sabbatical, we're now a family of four. Right after Bailey was born, we were still pretty much a family of three--we were "baby owners" as we like to say. But at 6 months of age, Bailey is now a full-blown member of our family, and a force to be reckoned with.

We like to say, "Jack made us parents, Bailey made us a family."

Bailey has turned into a sweet, smiley, pre-toddler (she's way to big to be a "baby," just ask her). We're crazy about this little girl, although we'd love to feed her "stay little juice" every once in a while. She was rolling all over the place by 3 months, crawling at 4, and now, at just past 6, she's starting to pull up on things. Our lives are officially over :)

Jack has kind of plateaued as far as milestones go--he can sing almost any little song, has all his teeth, can count to 10, knows his shapes, has no interest in his colors, sing the ABC's, and carry his plate to the dishwasher all by his little self. He continues to be a joy and a challenge each day.

Jack & Bailey continue to be BFF, getting more adorable by the minute. They are starting to really "play" together, each thinking that the other is pretty fantastic. My living room is lost cause--we can't pick up toys as fast as they can get them out. And Bailey has developed a taste for magazines.

Now that I'm teaching full time in addition to being a wife, mother, and house keeper, this blog is going on the backburner for a while--at least it's getting back on the stove, though, right?? My current goal is to write at least two posts each week--one "Tips on Tuesday" and one bottle/feeding related post. We'll see how this goes, but I'll need you to keep me accountable :)

So, welcome back to Bottle Feeding, I took a little break, but I'm back & I'm better than ever :)

Tips on Tuesdays

2009-08-11T01:00:00.000-07:00

This week's Tips on Tuesday is pretty simple. If you want something done a particular way, be specific in your instructions.

These wonderful people care for Jack & Bailey while Matt & and I work. Every year before I start school, I write out a veeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyy long list of instructions on how we want our children cared for during the day. It's specific. It's long. It's not because I don't trust Mark, Julia, or Lori Anne. I just want them to have as much information as possible.

The instructions are long--really long, so they won't appear in this post. You can read Jack's here and Bailey's here. Enjoy!

Taking Care of Bailey

2009-08-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

Please, please remember that Bailey has been home with me for 5 months and that she is a big-time Mama's girl. She may have a rougher transition than Jack. Bailey is a sweet, sweet smiley baby who will win your hearts quick.

Eating

Bailey eats every 3 hours. Since I'll be arriving and feeding her at 6:45, you can expect her to eat at 9:45, 12:45 and 3:45--approximately. She eats 4 ounces of water with 2 tablespoons of formula at a feeding. Right now, she is eating oatmeal in the evenings, but will eventually be eating it in the mornings. More on that later.

Naps

Bailey hasn't had a good nap schedule because we've been so laid back this summer. I'm sure that as she gets on more of a regimented schedule she will develop a nap routine. I usually put her bunny in with her to nap. If she happens to be wearing a head band or bow, please take that off before putting her down for a nap--I assume the reason is obvious.

Sleepy cues: rubbing her eyes (sooo cute), and not being contented when she has a full tummy, a clean diaper, and is being held. I put her in her crib and if she cries for more than 5 minutes, she's not going to go down. Unfortunately, she usually has to fuss herself to sleep a little bit.

Matt says that the hardest part about having Bailey when I'm not around is when she wakes up from a nap and I'm not there. She may fuss or cry, but just hold her close and try to comfort her as best you can. She will get into the rhythm of things soon enough.

Play Time

Bailey likes to play on the floor with little toys. She also likes her jumperoo. She's rolling all over the place, and will probably start to crawl at any time. If you see her get ready to crawl, knock her down :) Matt and I would like to be there when she crawls for the first time. It's okay to lie to us, too, "No, she didn't start crawling today." :)

Diapers

Bailey, unlike Jack, does not like to be in a dirty diaper--and she'll let you know! Unless she's poopy or really fussy, I try to change her after each feeding. You can usually tell if she's ready by the "squish factor."

She usually has her one big, stinky, smelly, gross poopy diaper about 1/2 hour after her first feeding of the day. I know this goes without saying, but she's a girl, and please remember to wipe front to back. She sometimes gets a little red and irritated, so I'll include some cream in the diaper bag.

Above all else

Just please, please, please don't let my kids kill Eli. Just kidding. We love you guys and trust you infallibly.

Taking Care of Jack 2.0

2009-08-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

Jack's a great, big two year old now, and there are a few changes from last year. We've been talking about going back to Mark & Ju-Ju's and that Mommy and Daddy have to work so they can make money for our family. We're trying not to say "We miss you," because we feel this puts too much pressure on him. Jack is really looking forward to coming back to your house this year.

Eating

Jack doesn't really like to eat when he first wakes up--in fact, he's been known to skip breakfast when he gets up later. Terrible, I know. I can usually get him to eat a few "krispies" (Rice Krispies), yogurt, or, in a pinch, gold fish crackers. I would like for him to eat breakfast every day, but knowing how he is......just do the best you can :)

For lunch, Jack likes hot dogs and nuggets. Or nuggets and hot dogs. Sometimes he'll eat a hot dog, sometimes he'll eat a nugget. And then there are the times when he eats hot dogs and nuggets. Seriously. For lunch, I try to get a little protein down him, usually in the form of hot dogs or nuggets, and some fruit. His favorite fruits are apples and bananas. He will occasionally eat blue berries and baby carrots, but only if they are really tiny.

Believe it or not, Jack doesn't really "snack" like he used to. If he is going to snack, I'd prefer for it to be a small snack in the afternoon after his nap--a few crackers or a cookie is fine. I try to be careful with the sodium that he eats, so please keep the crackers to a minimum--the kid could eat a whole sleeve of Ritz if he was given the opportunity.

Regarding milk: We give Jack milk when he first wakes up and at his nap time. He may ask for it at other times, but please encourage him to drink water. Because he drinks whole milk, it really fills him up and then he won't want to eat his food at lunch or dinner time. We'll send the milk in a small bottle for him to drink at nap time. And, just like last year, milk cups have sippy lids, and water goes in straw cups. He doesn't drink juice and should never have soda. If you take him to McDonald's, get him milk, never Sprite.

Naps

Jack takes one nap in the afternoon. Setting a routine with him will make nap time a breeze. I've had great success with putting him down as soon as lunch is over. He should sleep between 1 1/2 to 2 hours daily, but may sleep longer if he's played hard in the morning.

When I put him down for a nap, I give him a milk cup, blanklie, donkey, and his pillow. He might not fall asleep right away, but he still needs to take a nap. He'll sing and play for a while, but will eventually fall asleep.

Play time

I've been working with Jack on playing with toys. He often wants to play with things that are not toys--brooms, soup cans, toilet paper, screw drivers, wedding favors, shoes, dirty dishes from the dishwasher, etc. I say, "Go play with toys" when he's playing with something that he shouldn't be.

Jack loves to play outside, but I encourage you to be extremely careful when allowing him to play outside. He is fast, he is two, and he is tiny. If he is outside, we of course want Mark or Julia to be out there, too, and right with him. It's fine for the girls to play with him, but we're not okay with them being outside alone with him, even if you're just in the back yard and he's in the front yard. Jack responds best to the authority of an adult and could put himself in danger if left alone with a child.

Television

I try not to let Jack watch too much TV, but it is a great babysitter, and I read somewhere that if 30 minutes of Mickey Mouse or Sesame Street buy you a cleaned out dishwasher or a folded basket of laundry, it's worth it. I try to limit him to two shows a day. One in the morning and one after his nap (usually while he has a snack). His favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Disney Channel) and Sesame Street (PBS). Both are available on OnDemand TV through Comcast Cable.

Diapers

Jack's still in diapers for the time being, but he's getting ready to be potty trained. He wasn't ready until recently, and I wanted to wait until he was fully transitioned into your care. He will now tell you when he needs to be changed and sometimes asks to sit on the potty. Putting him on backwards is a good trick for now, and we'll deal with getting a potty for your house later. We'll keep you updated as we potty train. This is one area of Jack's care that we do not want the girls involved with at all.

Time-outs

Time out is still your best method of discipline. He responds really well to this and usually corrects his behavior immediately after. This is how we do it:
Warning--Jack, you will get a time out if you touch the camera bag again.
(continues touching camera bag)
Time out--Jack, you're going to time out because you disobeyed Mommy by touching the camera bag when I told you not to
2 minutes time out
Apology--Jack, come say sorry to Mommy for disobeying. Hug & kiss.

Games & Learning

Jack likes to play simple games like Memory. We play it with 12 cards and match the ones that are the same. He can also count to 10, say the alphabet, and we are working on shapes and colors.

Jack & Bailey

Jack is a great big brother to Bailey. He plays with her, brings me things I need (burp clothes, etc.), and likes to hold her. He does an okay job of sharing with her and we are encouraging that. Sometimes he plays a little rough (falling on her, jumping around), but she seems to love it, so as long as she's not crying, we go with it.

Travel

I put Jack's seat in the middle so that I can turn around and unlatch him. He then climbs up into the front seat and waits for me to let him out. Meanwhile, I get out of the car, close my door, and get out Bailey (who sits directly behind the driver). Then I get Jack, who holds my hand into the store/doctor's office/church.
OR
I get Jack out and carry him around to Bailey's door. I put him in the corner of the triangle that the open car door makes with the side of the car. I tell him, "Do NOT move." I get out Bailey's seat, then take Jack's hand and we walk in.
ALSO
Sometimes Ieave Bailey in her seat, but I usually take her out and put her in the front pack or just hold her. She's just going to fuss in the seat, anyway--unless she's REALLY out.

Introducing Solid Foods

2009-08-05T01:00:00.000-07:00

I talked about moving on to solid foods here, but wanted to offer some quick tips to make this transition (once your child is ready for it) as smooth as possible.

First of all, it's important to make sure that your child isn't hungry--especially at that first feeding. Remember that formula needs to remain your child's main source of nutrition for the first year--and, of course, never to feed your child cereal with a bottle.

The next thing to remember is, of course, routine. If you've been here very long, you had to know that was coming :) Try to feed your baby the same amount of cereal at the same time each day. I like to mix mine with a little formula (about 1/2 a scoop) so that the flavor is familiar. I don't know if this helps or not, but Boo seems to like it.

These last two I stole from my friend Christy:
1) A few weeks before you introduce solids, give your baby some supervised play-time with a spoon. I found out recently, that this is actually a good indicator that your baby is ready to start solid foods: if she can reach out, grab an object and stick it in her mouth, she's probably ready to eat!

2) Starting cereal is a milestone for your baby and a messy adventure for the mommy. The baby will instinctively stick out their tongue with every bite, pushing the cereal back out onto their chin and so the mess begins. To help my kiddos learn to swallow the cereal and get the motion down quickly I've come up with a little trick. I give a bite and then very quickly stick in a pacifier for them to suck on. The cereal goes down much easier with less mess. My son started cereal 5 days ago and we've used this trick with him. He is doing great and we'll likely stop using the pacie in a few days as he's already trained himself to keep his tongue in and swallow the food down. I will likely have to pull this out of the trick bag again when introducing fruits and veggies as the texture is different. But that's okay! I'm all about less mess...

You ask...what if my child doesn't take a pacie? No worries! Neither did my second daughter. In fact, she's a thumb sucker (even still at 3 1/2 years old) and had the instinct to put her thumb in her mouth while eating...even messier than usual! The pacifier trick still worked. Babies are used to sucking on something when eating. The pacifier is acting as a bottle or breast would.

There you have it...try it out and see if your meal times are cleaner than before!

Tips on Tuesdays

2009-08-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

This tip might not work for everyone and it might not work forever, but, for us, it works really well right now.

A few months back, I had to move Jack's seat to the middle seat in my car. After a couple of days, I noticed that both my kids were happier. As you can read here, my kids are not great car riders.

Here are the reasons I like having them next to each other:
1) They can look at each other and for some crazy reason, my kids like each other.
2) Jack can tell me if the baby is sleeping.
3) If Bailey drops her toy, Jack can hand it to her.
4) "Taking care" of the baby gives Jack something to do in the car and makes him feel like big stuff :)
5) I can easily reach back from my seat and unbuckle Jack. Then, I get out of the car and close my door. Jack will then climb into my seat to get out when I'm ready for him (a lot of times I put Bailey in the front pack when I have them on my own), which saves me having to go around the car and get him--it's just a better, safer plan all around.

FYI--that picture is not posed--on a 4th of July road trip I looked back there and they were holding hands all on their own. Matt was driving, of course, so I took this precious picture to show him.

Bottles and the Older Baby

2009-08-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

As I type this, Miss Boo is laying on the ground near the computer trying to pull down the curtains! I can hardly believe that my baby girl is already big enough to 1) grab the curtains 2) move from where I laid her to the curtains 3) crack herself up about the whole situation. Who knew curtains were funny??

As anyone with children knows, babies grow up waaaaaaaay to fast! At 4 1/2 months old, she smiles when she sees me, leaps out of my arms for her daddy and is "playing" with Bubby on the floor. She's practically in college! Boo is already rolling all over the place and eating cereal--and it won't be long before she's moving on to fruits & veggies (more on that later).

It's important to remember as our babies pass these milestones that they are still babies and formula (or breastmilk) needs to be their main source of nutrition for the first year. Try to think of those solid foods as a snack or a side dish to the "real" food--the ba-ba.

This oatmeal is a yummy snack, but my ba-ba is still where it's at!

Welcome, Noah

2009-08-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

Noah Matthew Dougherty was born at 11:14 pm on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009. He is the first blessing of Justin & Susan Dougherty (unless you count Fuzz!) and from the pictures I've seen, he is absolutely precious.

I'd like to take this time to welcome Sue into the world of Mommyhood. Enjoy those blearly-eyed newborn days--they go by so fast! I offer you only one piece of advice, Suse: This is YOUR baby with whom you can do whatever you want--hold him, kiss him, and love on him until you are both blue in the face! Don't share him unless you want to and please, don't hesitate to ask for help! Remember this:

Cleaning and scrubing can wait for tomorrow,
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So quite down cobwebs and dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep!

Moving on to Solid Foods

2009-07-29T01:00:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe, but my little Boo is already on solid foods! You've heard me say before that every baby is different, and in our family, that couldn't be more true than when it comes to solid foods. My doctor recommends starting solid food at around 4 months of age. He recommends we start with cereal and move on to purees later (more on that later). Jack turned 4 months old in October of 2007, so I bought some cereal, washed the spoons and bowls I'd gotten as shower gifts, and tried to feed him. Below is a photo of the result:

HE WASN'T READY.

Not, by any means, that my doctor was wrong. Jack wasn't ready for solid foods at 4 months. And he wasn't ready at 5 months. He was a full 6 months old before he could keep down solid foods of any kind. Before that, any time I tried to feed him cereal--or even those little "puff" things--he projectile vomited. His little system wasn't ready and I wasn't going to make myself and him sick by forcing something on him that he wasn't ready for--so we waited.

Bailey has been a different girl all together. She took to solid foods like a duck to water right at 4 months. From her very first feeding, she followed the spoon with her mouth and had no trouble swallowing like Jack did. I always knew she was brilliant.

I started Boo out on baby oatmeal from the Gerber Company. Jack never really cared for the rice cereal even after he was able to swallow it. My friend Christy recommended the oatmeal and both my kids have loved it. I like to use cereals from the Gerber Company because it has the iron and DHA/ARA supplements that my doctor recommends. Most formula feed babies never need an iron supplement, but cereal is a good place to add an iron supplement to your baby's diet if you need to. There are also iron drops out there, but that's another story for another blog.

Tips on Tuesday

2009-07-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

In honor of my friend's Sue's due date being this week, here's a photo-related tip for mamas with new babies.

Every month on the day he was born, we took a picture of Jack in the same spot next to the same toy. It was so fun to watch him grow and change throughout the year. In July, CVS has a free photo book deal, so we had these pictures turned into a photo book for us to keep. I love to look at it and watch my boy grow--Jack likes to look at it too! We've done this for Bailey as well--maybe you'll get to see her pictures in March!

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months6 months7 months8 months

9 months10 months
11 months1 year!

Never Do This!

2009-07-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure "Tips on Tuesday" should simply say this week:

Never do this!

But my kids sure had fun :)

What dangerous things do your kids do--or maybe something YOU did as a kid? Leave some comments & let us know!!

Top 10 things I love about bottle feeding

2009-07-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

10) Efficiency. I have my system down. Read about that here and here
9) Ability to share feeding duties. Not that I always share :) Read about that here
8) Sharing on this blog with all of you.
7) Dr. Brown's Bottles. Read about them here
6) The "for recreational purposes only" state of my body ;)
5) My ability to easily feed my baby in public. Read about travel here.
4) The support I've received from my husband, mother and doctor. And getting into a good "battle of words" with a closed minded person.
3) Holding Boo's hand while she eats.

2) Knowing exactly how much my baby eats each day/meal.
1) Knowing that my babies are fed the best that I can possibly feed them and that they are healthy and loved.

Thomas Paine

2009-07-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this article from Medline Plus.

This article really made me think. It suggested that because there aren't a lot resources out there for bottle feeding moms (true) so women turn to friends and family for advice (awesome) and sometimes get bad/wrong advice that can be harmful to babies (yikes).

I try to be careful about being too bossy here. I try to encourage readers to talk to their doctors and use their best judgment. But more than anything, I think readers should use common sense.

So here's a little common sense:

1) Measure your baby's formula right. Really read that can the first time you use it and make sure that you're mixing correctly. Not doing so can result in your compromising your baby's nutrition.

2) Don't prop your baby's bottle. Hold your baby when you feed her. Just because you can prop the bottle up on a pillow doesn't mean you ever should.

3) Don't put cereal in your baby's bottle. There are dozens of reasons why not to, but the two biggest are that it's a choking hazard and that it teaches the baby to eat more at a time than she needs.

4) Never put your baby's bottle in the microwave. EVER.

5) All formula is regulated by the same FDA. Generic brands will save you a bundle and your baby won't know the difference.

"I Love You" Massage

2009-07-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

We've been talking a lot lately about constipation--a lovely topic, I know! I promised to share with you what I call "The Jean Bryant I Love You" massage. This massage is another great, natural way to get things "moving." It can be especially helpful if you're out and about and don't have any other supplies with you.

Start by laying the baby down on a soft surface in front of you. On the bottom-right side of her tummy, lightly massage your way up to her ribs, kind of like making an upper case "I."

Then, starting back down at the bottom-right side of her tummy, massage up to her ribs, then across the top of her tummy, kind of like making a side-ways "L."

Next, start back down at the bottom right side of her tummy, make the "L" again, but this time, continue to lightly massage down to the bottom-left side of her tummy, kind of like making an up-side-down "U."

Get it? "I" "L" "U"
I Love You.
I thought it was clever. It makes it easy to remember.

Jean is our wonderful friend who also happens to work as an RN in the maternity ward at our hospital. She suggested this massage when Jack was "backed up" way back on "day 4" of his life. This, along with taking his little legs and making them "run" (just be easy, though) is a great, natural way to help babies who are too young for apple juice. A little water never hurts to try, either :)

Tips on Tuesday

2009-07-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

It's Tips on Tuesday again! What's your tip for this week??

Here's my tip for this week. It's really several tips all rolled into one. Enjoy :)
This used to be my "Children's Museum" bag, but lately, I've been using this "pared down diaper bag" a lot. Here's why:
Before my son was born, I purchased this 2007 Vera Bradley baby bag. I don't recommend this particular bag, but, as you can see here, they've made a lot of improvements to the bag since the time that I bought it. That always happens to me. Ask me sometime about my Nikon Coolpix. The new Vera is really nice, though and if you're looking to spend a bundle on a diaper bag, this is a good one to get.

Tip # 1: REALLY check out a diaper bag before you buy.

After Bubby was born, we purchased this bag. I actually bought it to be Matt's "daddy" bag, but we ended up carrying it with us everywhere because the Vera was so big and bulky. If I had known how much we would use this bag, I would have gotten something cuter.

Tip # 2: Having a big bag and a little bag is really nice. I kept them both stocked with their own supplies when Jack was little and we were able to grab and go quickly and easily.
The grey bag would never do for my new baby daughter, so Matt's aunt bought us this pink version of it. Having 2 bags works really well, because Bubby and Boo don't always go to the same place.

Tip # 3: 2 kids = 2 bags I don't have 3 kids, so I couldn't tell you if you'd need a third with 3 little ones. My kids don't even go to the same class at church, so having 2 bags works really well.
I have to mention this bag, too. My sister-in-law bought us this bag when Boo was born. It's great because it's everything that my first Vera wasn't. Fits 4 bottles on the sides, plenty of room for 2 sets of diapers, plenty of pockets etc. for all my stuff. It's great for day trips or any time that I know I'm going to be out of the house for more than about 3 hours.

Whew, it took me a while to get to my actual tip. Again, here it is, the "pared down diaper bag." In it you'll find 1-2 diapers for Boo, 1-2 diapers for Bubby, a sample container of wipes that I refill, a baby wash cloth, a disposable paper mat, and a disposable paper bib. I can throw this, a bottle, and a formula dispenser into my purse and we're off! I copied this off my friend Melissa when she visited a few years ago. I throw it all in a bag that a set of onesies came in--it's great because 1) it's free 2) it's reusing and 3) it has a snap.

Tip #4: This bag works for going to the grocery store, the Children's Museum, the outlet mall, on walks, or anywhere that I don't want to have to deal with a big, bulky bag. If I know we're going to be gone all day, sometimes I'll take Jen's bag and this one and refill it as needed.

This works for me partly because I know my kids. They seldom spit up or go through their diapers, so I pretty much know that I don't need to take a chage of clothes. Also, we tend stay in town for as many of our needs as we can, so if things get really messy, we'd probably go home to clean up anyway. Anyway, this works for me!

Tip #5: It's okay to have a bunch of different diaper bags. If you think this is crazy, you should see my purse collection :)

1,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-17T05:03:00.001-07:00

Sometime yesterday, my blog passed it's first little milestone. My "ticker" ticked off it's 1,000th visitor at some point yesterday afternoon. I'm thrilled! I would have never thought that we'd cross 1,000 visits so quickly.

So, congratulations to us. Whether or not you agree with everything on this blog, people are definitely taking notice. Here's to the first thousand and many more to come :)

Guest Post--Christy's Story

2009-07-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Bottle or Breast…YOUR choice is the best.

My name is Christy and I am a busy mother of four children. I have two girls and two boys (in that order) and they range from ages 5 ½ years old to 3 months. If you’re doing some math…that means I’ve been pregnant, nursing, or sporting a bottle for over 6 years. My story is not one in support of breastfeeding or bottle feeding but more one to urge you to do what is best for you and your family.

My first child, Jaci, was slow to take to nursing. She and I were new at everything and didn’t quite make the hook-up initially. I had some help from a lactation consultant after about a week and things improved. I had PLENTY of food for her and she quickly beefed up after dropping some weight. I refused to bottle feed her during that first week because I felt pressured to stick out the nursing. I was engorged, she was starving, and we were both in panic mode. Once we got things on the right track we didn’t run into anymore problems. That is, until I had to go back to work at 6 weeks. I decided I didn’t have the extra money to buy or rent a breast pump and truthfully I was embarrassed to nurse around other people and in public. I made the quick to formula bottles in a week (too fast to wean but that’s another lesson learned the hard way) and we never regretted it. We switched from formula to whole milk and vitamins at 10 months because she was too beefy.

My second daughter, Carli, was born 2 years later and was nursed until she was roughly 10 months old. While she would take a bottle she would have nothing to do with formula so I broke down and bought a pump. I pump to and from work in the car (yes, on the interstate) and during my lunch break. It was a miserable 9 months (I went back to work at 6 weeks again) but as a mother, I did what I needed to in order to have my baby healthy. We switched her to whole milk and vitamins at 10 months also. Mind you, with both girls they were off bottles when we went to whole milk.

Then came Troy 2 years later and he was quite a handful from the start. While I had quick recoveries with both girls I had an emergency c-section with Troy and struggled after returning home. We did not do well with nursing and I quickly developed mastitis. I was treated with four different antibiotics in the first three weeks and really struggled to keep things together. I wanted to nurse my new baby to build that bond I had with my girls but couldn’t even hold him to my shoulder to burp him because of the pain of my breast infection. So, we quit. Already in terrible pain I quit cold turkey (again, not something I recommend) and we went straight to formula bottles. He thrived, I healed, and the world was right again. I have no regrets. I went back to work at 8 weeks.

Now we have Luke, just 18 months after Troy, and he is a bubbly boy that loves his mommy and the bottle, too. I nursed him exclusively for the first 3 weeks and then began one formula bottle during the day. We are now at 2 formula bottles and nursing 4 times a day. This meets the demands of my work schedule which will resume in 5 weeks. I started Luke on formula bottles long before it was necessary but now can go on shopping trips, visits with friends, and lunches without having to worry about nursing in public. This has always been an issue for me!

I know there have been studies done that show breastfed babies are “healthier” than formula fed babies. I have no proof of that. In fact, my children have chronic ear infections and with the exception of Luke, have all had ear tubes at least once. Jaci had her first set at 11 months, Carli at 13 months, and Troy at 20 months has already had 2 sets. So…regardless of breast or formula if your child is going to get sick, it is in my opinion that they will.

Also, I know there are many people out there that argue that a mother is providing the best brain developing nutrients if she breastfeeds instead of formula feeds. My oldest daughter Jaci has been reading and doing basic math since she was 4 and my daughter Carli is already spelling basic words at 3. Does this mean bottles were better or breast was the influence? No. Parenting and proper stimulation is the influence. Paying attention to your children and giving them the chance to discover and be independent is the influence.

Lastly, I have found that it doesn’t matter if you bottle feed or breastfeed, a baby will sleep through the night on their own schedule. I was told a breastfed baby will take longer to do so but have not found that to be true. All my children have slept through the night by 4 months of age regardless of our feeding choice.

So, there you have it, my 2 cents. Feed your baby however you can. Feed them on a schedule, feed them an appropriate amount, and love them to pieces. You can’t hold them too much. Believe me…I have tried.

What kind of formula?

2009-07-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

The three most common words to appear on this blog are....

anyone?? I need hands here, people.

Oh, wait. School doesn't start for another month and you guys are NOT my students :)

The three most common words to appear on this blog are....ASK YOUR DOCTOR!

Seriously, you need to ask your doctor about what kind of formula he or she thinks is best for your baby. My doctor recommends Enfamil Lipil. The stuff's expensive, but there are ways to get it on the cheap.

The first is to register with the company. The easiest way to do this is to register at Babies R Us, Motherhood Maternity--anywhere like that. They'll contact the company for you, and voila, free samples and coupons.

One way to score the coupons that's probably slightly less than honest is to pair up with breastfeeding mama and steal her samples. My lovely sister-in-law gets the samples and the coupons and she's generously shared them with me & Boo.

The best way to save money on formula, though is to join Sam's Club. You can purchase "a can and a half" of Member's Mark generic Enfamil formula for around $15. This is cheaper than even the Parent's Choice Brand at Wal-Mart. The great thing about gernics when it comes to formula is that they are all regulated by the FDA, so they are totally safe. Translation: Your baby gets the exact same formula (check the label, they're identical) for about half the price--sometimes less.

How do you save money on formula? Let us know!

Tips on Tuesday

2009-07-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

It's Tips on Tuesdays again and I'm hoping for a little more "audience particpation" this time!! You are ALL great moms and I know that you are doing great things with your little ones--SHARE! If you don't think you have a tip to share, complete this sentence and send it in:

I'm an awesome mom because....

It doesn't have to really be "your" tip, either. I stole this one from a magazine last summer. Here's my tip, it's another Bubby-related one, but it will work for just about any age child:

If you have a crab, put it in water.

When the kids are fussy, get out the baby pool, bathtub, or, in this photo's case, the watertable. Heck, if push comes to shove, get out the garden hose. On a really bad day, we'll drive to my mom's and get in her pool. Let him make a play and mess--it's just water!! For us, water play = happy kids. The added bonus? Water also tends to make kids verrrrrrrrrrry sleepy!

What's your tip this week??

Poor Miss Boo

2009-07-13T06:46:00.001-07:00

I hope that this post comes off as being less "advice-y" and more as "this is what we're going through" because those are my intentions--again, I'm not a doctor, and you should always talk to yours.

My little Boo girl (as we call her) is just not......pooping. There's just no nice way to say it. We've talked about how formula tends to bind babies up here, but I after those "day four woes," little Bubby never really had any problems. It's my understanding that bottle fed babies should, like most adults, should be pooping about once per day. Now, having said that, every one has their own "schedule," so please don't blast me if you only go once every three days or only on Wednesdays or something like that.

I was concerned about not being on a "pooping schedule" and about the fact that she wasn't going every day, but more than that, my baby seemed uncomfortable. She was fussier than usual. She wasn't enjoying tummy time as much. She just wasn't herself--and the longer she went without pooping, the worse it got.

Unhappy baby, unhappy mama :(

I could tell something was just not "right" with my baby. So I did what I advise you to do in just almost every post--I called my doctor........after I talked to some friends and I called my mom. And looked it up on the internet. Some friends had experienced similar problems and had success switching to a "gentle" formula. I had a sample of such formula thanks to the Money Saving Mom, and was all set to give it a try. But when I asked my doctor, his answer surprised me. He really wanted me to stick with my regular formula--telling me to switch to the gentle formula if I thought it was absolutely necessary, and even at that, only to use it for a month. His preferred method of "unbinding" my daughter was to use a little apple juice (about 1 ounce in 3-4 ounces of water) because he didn't want her to lose the benefit of the Lipil that's found in the formula--and pregnancy and breastfeeding supplements--that he recommends.

I've ALWAYS believed that if you bother to ask a person's advice, bother to take it. We've added an apple-juice bottle (again, one ounce of apple juice in 3-4 ounces of water) and that seems to be doing the trick. She's definitely more "scheduled" and my sweet, happy girl seems to be back.

More than anything, I think YOU will know if something's not right with your baby. If she skips a day every now and then--especially if you've just started cereal or introduced a new food, if she's teething, etc--that's probably fine. Sometimes it takes a baby a few days to adjust to a new experience. Best of luck!

Oh! Quick sidebar: How do I buy apple juice for my baby without it going bad before she can drink it all? Well, since Bubby doesn't drink apple juice (more on his eating habits later), I bought little teeny juice boxes. I can get about 2 days out of it before it goes bad and I can get 8 juice boxes for about $2. That's a better bargain for me because it will last for about 16 days--way longer than a huge bottle would.

A Surprising Statistic

2009-07-11T11:28:00.001-07:00

According to Pediatrics, a medical journal,in their October 2008 issue, at 3 months of age, 61% of babies are formula feed exclusively. Of the remaining 39% of babies that are breastfed, approximately 34% are supplemented with formula.

A little math later, we have approximately 74 babies out of 100 receiving formula through a bottle for some or all of their nutrition after 3 months of age.

I guess this statistic shouldn't be so surprising. Off the top of my head I can name about 7 different bottle companies and at least 4 big formula companies, not to mention generics (we'll get to that later). Surely there wouldn't be that much stuff out there--not to mention all the advertising dollars spent for all that stuff--if there wasn't a market for it.

More than anything, I want to offer this statistic to any bottle-feeding mom who feels like a failure or feels like she gave up. I want to let you know that you're not alone out there. I know there were times after my son was born when I felt like (or was made to feel like) less of a mother because I didn't--couldn't--breastfeed. Breastfeeding works out really well for some families, and for others, it doesn't...and that's okay.

My husband found himself in a "battle of words" with a former friend this week. The woman said that she'd been to my blog and "disagreed with basically EVERYTHING in it." Clearly, she hadn't really read my blog that closely because I'm fairly sure that I never said that bottle feeding was better than breastfeeding or that anyone should give up breastfeeding to bottle feed--just that it was the only option for my family and that I wanted to offer support and information to other bottle feeding families becauseI felt like there wasn't much out there. This woman made us feel like if we couldn't breastfeed, we should just let our babies die of starvation. I'm sorry, but that's discrimination. It frustrates me that there are people out there who feel like if you don't breastfeed you're not as good as them--I guess it just seems like these are the only people doing the talking.

So, there you go--I bottle feed, my kids are happy, healthy, and loved. I'm not better or worse than anyone else. And I truly, truly hope that if I had been able to breastfeed, I would have never had that "I'm better than you" attitude that SOME (not all) people do.

Cow Appreciation Day 2009

2009-07-09T20:40:00.001-07:00

Today's post won't be about bottles--but it will be about another thing I love.......free food!
Last year, Bubby and I participated in Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. You can check out our photos here. Basically, if you dress up like a cow, you can get a free meal--yes, sandwich, fries and drink--for absolutely free. Little did I know on Cow Appreciation Day last year that I was about to find out I was pregnant with my second little calf!!
This year, Melanie, our friend who's visiting from Germany, Matt, & Boo girl joined Bubby and I for fun, free food and festivities. We had a great time, scored some free food and got some really funny looks as we were driving.
The food was great and the service, as always, was impeccable. I have to say, we were quite the hit--especially Miss Boo in her "Next Year" cow onesie and cow ears with bow. Mel and I also sported cow wrist corsages. I am especially proud of my husband for getting into the spirit of things and dressing like a cow--complete with black nose! To quote Matt, "I look ridiculous. Free food, though. Free food." He also did a great job of protecting Jack from the man-sized cow wandering around Chick-Fil-A :)Ah, another great Cow Appreciation Day. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a girl who REALLY needs a bottle.

Tips on Tuesdays

2009-07-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

"Tips on Tuesdays" is a new idea for my blog. On Tuesdays you can post a comment or a link to your own blog with a mommy tip--it doesn't have to be related to bottles or bottle feeding, it can be anything that will make our lives as moms easier.

My first mommy tip is this:
Two year olds are tough. They're demanding, irrational, and can be really fussy and grumpy. Some days I'm a great, patient, sweet mommy. Other days.....I do the best I can. On those days when I'm feeling impatient or Bubby is extremely fussy and grumpy I put him in these overalls. It's really hard to be irritated with him when he looks so cute! My cousin said she does the same thing on "those days" with her daughter, only she uses piggies.

I love the idea of "Tips on Tuesdays" because regardless of how long you've been a mom--2 days or 22 years, you can share a tip with us!

Guest Post--Bottle Feeding Breast Milk

2009-07-04T15:50:00.000-07:00

This post comes to us from my dear friend Carrie--yes, I have a friend named Carrie. When she first started attending our church I asked someone, "Have you seen Carrie?" The lady I asked looked at me like, "Oh, she's lost it." :) Anyway, this is Carrie and her precious girl's story. Enjoy.

During my pregnancy, I had every intention to breastfeed. It's natural, healthy, always available, and my biggest selling point – FREE. My daughter was breastfed. At least in the sense she did drink breastmilk, but she almost 100% received it in a bottle.

Carrie feeding her girl in the NICU

My daughter was born three weeks early via c-section due to low amniotic fluids and the fact she was breech. She ended up staying in the NICU for eight days in order to regulate her blood sugar the nurses and doctors wanted to record her intake every three hours. When a child feeds at the breast it makes it harder to record the nutrition in ounces.

I began pumping the evening she was born. I pumped every 2-3 hours for the next several days only to receive a few cc’s of milk. I would draw it up in small medicine-like syringes and have her drink it. I supplemented with formula for those first few days. At five days old, my milk came in. I continued to pump every 2-3 hours even at night and my daughter began taking breastmilk in bottles.

Breastmilk from a bottle.

I did try to breastfeed. The nurses did finally allow me to try in the NICU, but my girl wouldn’t latch on. I had very little success in the hospital, but I told myself it would easier at home. I would be more comfortable and I could relax a little more.

I went home continuing to pump about every three hours. By the time she was three weeks old I already had an abundance of “extra” milk in the freezer. At my peak I had 144 bags with 6 ounces of milk in each bag in the freezer. That equals to 864 ounces of breast milk.

I know the idea of pumping 6, 7, or 8 times a day can seem daunting, but in reality it wasn’t. My daughter was a breast fed baby who was fed like a bottle-fed baby. My pumping and feeding schedule for the early months 0-4 was as followed:

6 am pump and feed (pumped around 10 – 15 ounces of milk)
9 am pump and feed (pumped at least 5 ounces of milk)
12 noon pump and feed (pumped at least 5 ounces of milk)
3 pm pump and feed (pumped at least 5 ounces of milk)
6 pm pump and feed (pumped at least 5 ounces of milk)
9 pm pump and feed (pumped at least 5 ounces of milk)
12 pm feed
3 am feed

Pumping took between 10-20 min. I pumped between 35 – 40 ounces a day. My daughter never took more than 25 ounces of breastmilk in a day. That satisfied her. I know some will say that is not very much, but I could never get her to take anymore than 25 ounces. Bottle feeding only took 20 – 25 minutes. Many breastfed babies easily take 40 minutes to breastfeed at the breast. As you can see from my daily schedule I only pumped during the day. My body adjusted and produced more than enough breastmilk during the day to feed her for a whole 24 hours. Eventually the 12 and 3 am feedings became only one feeding and by around three months old the night time feeding disappeared.

I loved my breast pump. I would say it was the one manmade possession I couldn’t live without. I have the original Medela Pump and Style. It pumps both breasts at the same time.

I feel there are benefits to breastfeeding in a bottle. I like numbers and I like knowing exactly how much my daughter would eat. My daughter slept through the night long before the traditional breastfed baby. Dads can easily participate in the feeding process compared to traditional breastfeeding where mom is the feeding source 24 hours a day every 2-3 hours. I received a lot more sleep than the traditional breastfeeding mom. I also think sleep = good. I never had to try to discreetly breastfeed in public. I had a lot of soreness and pain after attempting to feed at the breast. I’m sure I was doing it incorrectly, but I had very little support at traditional breastfeeding. I did see a lactation consultant once at a support group. She didn’t approve of my “breastfeeding in a bottle" method. My mother (who gave up breastfeeding me at two weeks old and didn’t even try with my younger brother) thought I had the best of both worlds (breastfeeding and bottle feeding). Pumping wasn’t much of an option in 1982 (when I was born). Manual breast pumps were the only options and they weren’t very effective.

I continued breastfeeding in a bottle for 9 ½ months. She took formula in her bottles for approximately 10 weeks. I don’t know if “Breast is Best.” I have never done the research. I bet if we had a room full of grown women we wouldn’t be able to pick out the ones that were breastfed and those that were bottle fed.

Carrie & her daughter, Mother's Day 2009

Formula Woes

2009-07-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

It's not all sunshine and roses with formula. If you'll check your can, regardless of the brand you use (more on that here), you'll notice that your baby is getting about 1.8 mg of iron per 100 calories of formula. I think you'd have to have a masters degree in mathematics to figure out how much that is in ounces, and how it compares to the 18 mg of iron found in a traditional women's multi-vitamin, but all I know is, it's a lot.

Your baby needs a lot of iron, but unfortunately, when your baby is getting that iron from formula, it's not always easy on the tummy. I've never claimed to be a doctor or a nurse, so please keep that in mind as you read on.

Since my babies were both formula fed from birth, I did notice a trend between them. When they're about 4 or 5 days old--and have been formula fed that whole time--they get a little, um, bound up. Both of my kiddos did right about day 4. All I can say is that it's sad and it sucks and they cry and they bring up those tiny legs and you can tell their tummies (and later bottoms) hurt.

With both my babies it lasted about a day. With weensies, it's hard because there just aren't a lot of options. For us, both times, pushing through that "day 4" drama and sticking with our same formula worked really well. I gave my babies a little water through a bottle and did the Nurse Jean "I love you" massage (more on that here).

Bubby never had any other problems with the formula binding him up again, but Boo ran into some trouble at about 3 months. At that point, a little apple juice (1 ounce in 3 ounces of water) did the trick nicely. My sister-in-law has also had good luck with cayro syrup. As always, talk to your doctor.

Yeah, I might be talking to you.

2009-07-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

This post won't be dealing with bottles, but if you have a baby, know someone who has a baby, are getting ready to have a baby or are thinking about having a baby any time in the future, you may want to take a look.

My kids HATE their car seats.

Well, now that he's turned around, Bubby tolerates his car seat--as long as "Joy Joy" is playing (I've got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart--WHERE?). But the Boo girl, whooo boy! She does not like her car seat. Bubby didn't either until we turned him around. There are so many babies out there who love their car seats--who fall asleep as soon as that engine is running instead of screaming as though they were being chopped up into tiny little pieces......I've always envied these parents. Parents who don't dread car trips of any length, parents who can have a normal conversation in the car, parents who don't have to worry that if they were pulled over by the police the policeman would think that the child had been brutally kidnapped.

But then I started to notice something--a lot (and I mean A LOT) of babies are not being stapped into their car seats appropiately. Maybe that's why my babies scream and others don't--they aren't being securly buckled in.

Before we go any farther, I'm sure you're saying to yourself, "Maybe she's strapping those babies in too tight." Go here and look around. There should be no more than one finger width between your baby's collar bone and the strap.

ONE FINGER WIDTH.

I saw a baby the other day that I could get my whole wrist between it and it's car seat strap.

When Miss Boo was born I got cocky. This was, after all, my second baby. I knew how to use a car seat--I knew how tight to buckle her in. So, before we left the hospital, when the nurse asked me if I wanted to try to put her in myself, I was just sure I'd get it right. I'm a teacher, after all. I was going for the gold star. I buckled in my little princess good and tight for her first car ride and stood by proudly as the nurse checked my work. She smiled and said, "Good job. Better than most, in fact. But it's still not tight enough." I was flabbergasted. How could I have gotten in wrong?? I'd JUST read an article about car seat safety days before she was born. But it wasn't tight enough--and a too loose car seat is a risk I'm not willing to take with my babies. Their lives are too precious.

So what's the big deal?? According to CarSafety4Kids.com, one of three things could happen if a child is not properly stapped in:
1) The child may be ejected from the seat.
2) The child's body may contact something inside the vehicle causing severe injuries.
3) The child's body may slam into the harness straps causing internal injuries. If there is slack in the straps, the child will be thrown into the straps at the speed at which the crash occurred.

I guess my children's safety is worth a few tears!

**IMPORTANT**The information on this site is intended for educational and discussion purposes only. Please see a certified child passenger safety technican to ensure that your child is safely buckled into your car. Seriously. I might be talking about YOU.

The Stigma

2009-06-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

I met a guy the other day--no, not like that.

But I did meet a guy at a workshop for Science & Math teachers and after a few minutes of conversation we realized that we had babies about the same age--his was actually a little older. He asked the classic question, "Is you baby sleeping through the night?" I said yes and he seemed a little frustrated. Before I poured on him my infinite wealth of knowledge (ha ha) I asked how is baby was fed.

He hemhawed around a little (did I mention my mom was from southern Indiana?) and I thought to myself, "Oh, okay, the baby is breastfed and he's trying to figure out a way to say that without actually using the word "breast." I can understand that, I wouldn't want to say it to some girl I just met if I was him either." But he didn't. He almost seemed ashamed as he admitted that his baby was bottle fed.

Why the shame?? Why the guilt?? Why can't we just admit that it didn't work out for us?? In all honesty, this man was one of the most confident teachers I've ever met. He had a beautiful wife and adorable kids--why would such a great family be so embarrassed to admit that they bottle feed?? I'm just so tried of formula feeding being looked at as second best. Or worse-as failure.

Sidebar--did you know that after about 6 months of breastfeeding, most babies need an iron supplement?? Hmmm....

To quote the shopgirl from "You've Got Mail," I don't really want an answer. I'm just sending this cosmic question out into the void. So goodnight, dear void.

Let me know what you're thinking.

Night Time Feedings Part Two

2009-06-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

Now that my baby is 3 months old, one of the first question people ask me (after "How old is she?" and "Isn't she just the cutest baby ever??") is "Is she sleeping through the night?"

Yes. She is.

It's one of the big perks about formula--I mentioned in my last post that formula-fed babies typically sleep through the night at an earlier age than breastfed babies. Case and point--my 5 month old breastfed nephew isn't sleeping through the night, my 3 month old daughter is.

Some people will tell you, breastfed or bottle fed, that a great way to get your baby to sleep through the night is to fed her cereal. This is a great idea--once your baby is about 4 months old, and then ONLY with a bowl and spoon. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend feeding a baby of any age cereal through a bottle. This presents a potential choking hazard AND this way of feeding can increase the amount of food your baby is getting which an lead to excessive weight gain. Until your baby is ready to eat from a spoon, stick to formula or breast milk.

Once your baby is physically able to eat from a spoon, feeding her cereal around the time you eat dinner or a little later will help him or her feel fuller and, thus, sleep longer--maybe even through the night :)

Night Time Feedings Part One

2009-06-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest shocks to my system when my first child was born was the fact that he had to be fed every 3 hours--all the time--even at night! Didn't he know I needed 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep in order to function and meet all of HIS needs during the day?? He was a very inconsiderate baby :)

Peaceful night time feedings are all about--you guessed it--organization. As you know if you've been reading my blog for a while, I think that all feeding responsibilities need to fall to mom--even at night. It may be tempting to say, "Hey, Dad, I've dealt with this baby all day--you take the night shift," but I truly believe that for at least the first four weeks, all food needs to come from mom (even if it comes out of a bottle).

Night time feedings are a big perk for us bottle feeders--we should only have to do them for about 7 to 10 weeks. As was explained to me by an incredibly rude lactation consultant, one of the biggest downfalls of formula is that it stays in the baby's digestive system--specifically the intestines--longer, making the baby feel fuller longer, and allowing him to sleep longer. Why this is considered a "bad" thing still alludes me--sleep = good.

Try to think of night time feedings like going away for a short trip--you need to pack. Our babies sleep in our room. My dad thinks we're nuts, but I love having them close to me. More on co-sleeping later. Because my baby's already in the room where I sleep, I don't ever want to have to go into another room to get supplies in the middle of the night. I have all of my feeding supplies in my room and ready to go so that when the baby wakes up, I can stumble around, prepare the bottle, and feed the baby with minimal effort.

Traveling with Bottles

2009-06-15T19:23:00.000-07:00

At first glance, traveling with bottles seems like a no brainer--bring the baby, the bottles and the formula, mix & serve. Unfortunately, it's not quite that easy, but with a little bit of organization, I found that traveling with bottles, whether it be to church on Sunday or away for the weekend is very simple. It's all about having the right equipment.

The first thing you need is this, the formula dispenser.

I got this one and another one just like it at Babies R Us when Bubby was a baby. I now use it for Miss Boo's bottles, and despite my mother's protests that I need a new one (in pink, of course), it still works fine. I like this one because in all the hundreds of times I've used it, it has never once opened in my diaper bag unexpectedly and ruined my day.

Speaking of not having your day ruined, this little baby is another secret to my success.

The disk goes between the bottle and the nipple, under the collar. It's job is to keep the water in the bottle, and it does a fantastic job. Occasionally, I forget to take the disk off when I mix the formula and poor Boo gets no nourishment for a few seconds, but she usually lives :) I also like to replace the disk after the ba-ba's gone so that the little formula dregs don't get all over the inside of the diaper bag. Seriously, this is a very important little piece of equipment. Fortunately, the Dr. Brown's company sells all of the bottle "parts" individually, so if you lose a piece, it's fairly easy and inexpensive to replace.

Feeding my babies room temperature bottles makes traveling easy because I never have to worry about warming bottles on the go. I've seen other mamas warming bottles using hot water in a restaurant or running the bottle under warm water in the restroom. Or if your mom's anything like my mom, just have her hold it in her hands for a few minutes and it will warm right up.

Having two formula dispensers enables me to have six doses of formula with me in a simple, compact way--you know me, I love efficiency :) Six doses usually lasts me for those long days, like Christmas or all day visits to great-grandparents. I also send six doses of formula to the caregiver's each day when I'm working. They've never used more than 3, but I like knowing that if something happened, they have a little extra. Just in case.

Another thing I always send to the caregiver's is this "food bag."

I send 6 bottles and the 2 formula dispensers, and any other food I want the kids to eat that day later (more on moving on to people food later). This is a little more to carry, but I've found that keeping all the food together makes it easy to pack, easy to clean up and easy to keep organized.

So, bottle feeding mamas out there, what are the secrets to your success when it comes to bottle feeding on the go? Leave some comments and let us know :)

What's the right temperature?

2009-06-12T05:20:00.000-07:00

You've probably heard by now that you should never put your baby's bottles in the microwave, but here's a little secret you may not know:

You don't have to heat your baby's bottles at all.

Both of my babies have taken room-temperature bottles. You can read all about my storage methods here, and when it's time to eat, I just add the formula (more on that later), shake it up, and go.

Ba-bas and Colt's games--it doesn't get any better for father & son!!

If you're already heating your baby's bottles, you may be stuck because he may just flat-out refuse to take anything less than a toasty warm bottle. However, for all you mamas-to-be out there, I strongly recommend the room-temperature bottle. You're never at risk of burning your baby's mouth, the bottle is always at the right temperature, and let's face it, it's easier, faster and there's no second-guessing about the temperature of the bottle.

Side bar--I have a bottle warmer that I got as a shower gift a few years ago if anybody wants it :)

2 Beautiful Babies

2009-06-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

One bottle fed, one breast fed.

Both happy.

Both healthy.

Both can be a little fussy at times :)

Can you tell the difference??

Okay, those of you who know me know that's Boo & Bones and Boo is obviously mine--but seriously--can you tell?

Preparation & storage

2009-06-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

I'm a beacon of efficiency. I often tell people that if I hadn't become a teacher, I would have loved to have been an efficiency expert--you know, one of those people who goes into factories and other businesses and tells people how to do things in the most efficient way possible?? Doesn't that sound like fun? I'm all my girlfriend's favorite person to call when it's time to assemble wedding favors because I can figure out a way to get twice as much work done in half the time using the least amount of manpower.

So when it comes to bottle preparation and storage, my main goal, of course, was to be efficient. It all starts with the dishwasher.
It's the quickest way to get a large amount of dishes (and bottles) washed and I truly feel that it does a better job than I would do--especially on the vents and other tiny parts that come with my favorite bottles. I use the cages for all the parts, the vents go in with the silverware, and the bottles go along the left-hand side first, then wherever they will fit. I wasn't kidding about the efficiency thing, people--my husband says I could get a school bus in our dishwasher if I had to :)

Next comes storage--but really, before that, we have preparation.
That's me preparing bottles. I prepare all my bottles before I put them away--yes, even when all 18 bottles are in the dishwasher. It's far more efficient that way. I line them up on the counter like this. You'll notice that they're all facing the same way so that I can fill them up with my pitcher with ease. I don't expect many other people to take bottle preparation to this level, but this is what works for me.
You'll have to just ignore that bottle of pinot in the background--not EVERYTHING in my life revolves around my babies ;)
I fill up my bottles using the Britta pitcher that sits on my counter. Yes, I feed my beautiful, precious babies...............tap water. Filtered tap water, but I had a student a few years ago who did his Science Fair project on water purity and he says that the Britta filter doesn't change the water's purity level. I'll do a whole post on water later, but for now, suffice to say that we do use tap water to fill the baby's bottles.

Finally, it's time to put the bottles away.
I store them in the cabinet with the water in them and the vents already in place. The nipples and collars are already assembled and in a bowl next to the bottles. This way, I can quickly pull the vent out, put the formula in, screw the nipple on and we're ready to rock and roll.

Here's a close-up image and I turned the little bucket over so that you could see how I store my disks. The two little bottles in the back have already got their disk on and cap so that I can grab and them and throw them in the diaper bag when we are ready to go. More on travel later.

One last picture--this is my "big kid" side of the cabinet--I don't keep Bubby's big-boy cups in with Boo's bottles and I had to get rid of over half of the glasses that Matt and I use. Luckily, we wash dishes every other day, so we never run out of cups.

Again, I don't expect everyone to take it to this level. This is just what works for me and I thought I'd share it with you :)

How many bottles??

2009-06-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

How many bottles do I need?

Well, how often do you want to run your dishwasher? :)

We started out with just a few bottles for Bubby, and they were all different shapes, sizes and types. Once we (I) had decided to only use the Dr. Brown's, we started collecting them and ended up with 18--14 large and 4 small. This is a number that works for us.

Bubbyabout a year ago. They grow so fast!

Once my babies are sleeping through the night, they take about 7 bottles a day--the 14 large bottles cover this nicely so that I can get away with running my dishwasher every other day instead of daily. I keep the other 4 small bottles ready and waiting for the diaper bag for when we are out of the house.

I'm not a real "germ-a-phobe," so I just throw all my bottles in the dishwasher--truthfully it gets the little thing that attaches the vent to the bottles cleaner than hand washing. My friend Carrie, God bless her, hand washed every bottle her daughter ever took--more on Carrie and her beautiful girl here--and that's great for her, but it didn't work for me. I could say that it was a time issue, but the truth is that I make a huge mess when I handwash anything and I think I was driving my husband crazy.

So, the number that works for us is 18--again, 14 large and 4 small. I like to use the large even when the babies are weensie because they are easier to hold--especially in the middle of the night when you are bleary-eyed and half asleep. We were blessed to receive many as gifts, because I know that bottles are expensive--but then again, so is dishwashing detergent :)

What kind of bottles?

2009-06-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

My heart belongs to these bottles.

Okay, my heart belongs to God, Matt, Bubby & Boo (in that order), but these bottles are some of my favorite earthly possessions. So what are they?

Dr. Brown's bottles. I love them. I tried a couple of different brands with my son because I had heard that some babies will only take a certain kind of bottle. To combat that with my daughter, I brought Dr. Brown's bottles to the hospital. She's never taken anything else, and the only complaints I've ever gotten from her are that I don't make the ba-ba fast enough!!

Dr. Brown's bottles are manufactured by the Handi-Craft Corporation. You can read all about how they work here http://www.handi-craft.com/

I've read all about them and basically, that vent inside the bottle works to help keep the air out of the baby's tummy. Less air=less gas=less fussy baby. These bottles have 6 parts:

the bottle itself,

the vent, the thing the vent attaches to,

the nipple, the collar,

and the disk.

I'll talk more about cleaning and storing these bottles here.

FYI--I get no money from the Dr. Brown's company for endorsing these bottles. They're just amazing. Also, these bottles were purchased in 2007, before all this BPA Free nonsense, so you can't purchase these EXACT bottles anymore, but Dr. Brown's has a wide range of BPA Free and glass bottles to choose from. They are available at most drug stores, supercenters, and, of course, baby stores.

How much? How often?

2009-06-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

Every baby is different.

Every mom is different.

Every doctor is different.

It's important that you, as the mom, work to combine your baby's needs and your doctor's recommendations into a consistent schedule for your baby. One of the best things about bottle feeding is that we know exactly how much our babies are eating each day. Your doctor will, no doubt, have an idea of about how much your baby should be eating--and that's the first place I'd ask.

My doctor is very conservative when it comes to feeding. He thinks that fat babies grow up into fat kids and that fat kids grow up into fat adults. I have to say that I tend to agree, and so NOT overfeeding my children has always been a priority for me.

But how do you avoid overfeeding?

Good question. If your babies are anything like my babies, not overfeeding is hard because every time you stick a bottle in the baby's mouth, it stops crying, eats, and goes to sleep for a little while. This basically means that your choices are a fussy, unhappy baby, or a sweet, sleeping baby. All I can tell you is that it's hard. I can't tell you how many times I heard "He needs a bottle" or "She's hungry" from someone who had no idea when the last time my child ate was or when he/she was due to eat again.

My best advice: Get your baby on a schedule. I feed mine every 3 hours and I try really hard not to feed in between feedings. Babies cry for reasons other than hunger--dirty diapers, itchy tags, being too hot, being too cold, wanting to be held, wanting to be put down...

One last thing--your baby should probably never consume more than 32 oz of formula a day. If your 3 month old is taking six 8 oz bottles day, that's probably too much. I wait to up my baby's formula intake until he/she has seemed hungrier than usual for a few days in a row--and only go up one ounce at a time. Again, talk to your doctor.

My Biggest Bottle Mistake

2009-06-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

As you now know, I exclusively bottle fed my son and I am currently in the process of exclusively bottle feeding my daughter. I'd like to talk about the biggest mistake I made when my son was born, how I fixed this when my daughter was born, and the difference it has made.

That's a picture of my sister-in-law feeding my son...he's about 2 weeks old here.

Now you're probably saying to yourself, "No big deal." But it IS a big deal--it's a huge deal, and it was the biggest mistake I made with my son.

Don't get me wrong--I love my sister-in-law. She's a fantastic mother, sister-in-law, and wife to my brother. She's crazy about my kids and I'm nuts over my nephew. She always encouraged me to do what was best for myself and my children when it came to feeding...and she buys my kids the CUTEST clothes :)

My sister-in-law was not the problem--I was. I didn't know how incredibly important feeding was between a new mom and a new baby, and as a result, ANYONE who came into my house fed my son. People wanted to feed him, and not knowing how to say no, I miserably let them. I dreaded having people in my home because I felt like they were going to "take my baby away from me." I said that to myself countless times and I never knew why I was so insecure with my son.

It was because I was missing out on the bonding that comes from being the exclusive food source for my baby.

Bubby bonded with me...sort of. We joke now that I'm number one on Boo's list, but that Bubby never really had a list. It's funny, but it's true. Anyone who came, held him and fed him he was pretty okay with--I rarely remember him being handed back to me because he "wanted" me (this happens all the time now with my daughter). It's true that he and Boo are different kids, but I can't help but wonder how things would have been different if had not let so many different people feed him. I really feel like we missed out on some of the most important mother/child bonding and we're still making up for it.

With Boo I have been a big, fat jerk. Until she was well over a month old, no one fed her but me. Breastfeeding mothers will talk about the incredible bond they feel with their babies because they are the only one who can supply food for their babies--but here's the beauty of it--babies don't know this. As a bottle feeding mother, you can still be the only one who feeds your child. I now occasionally let other people feed her, but it's rare and she doesn't always let them.

Breastfeeding is such a private moment, and I encourage new moms to go off by yourself when you are in a crowd and feed your baby in a private, quiet room--just like a breastfeeding mom would. I also truly, truly believe that the mother should be the only one to feed the baby for at least four weeks. This is probably going to make people mad and upset your mother--but they will get over it. Just because it's POSSIBLE for other people to feed doesn't mean they SHOULD. Your baby won't know that anyone with two hands can stick a bottle in her mouth--and when she's hungry, she'll cry for her only food source: Mom.

Why I'm Lucky

2009-05-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

I am extremely blessed. I have a wonderful husband, two gorgeous, healthy children, an adorable house, a sweet pug and a job I love. I am saved by grace and a child of God.

But that's not why I say I'm lucky. I'm lucky because I didn't have to choose to bottle feed. Most of the women reading this blog will have chosen to bottle feed through one path or another. I didn't breastfeed because I couldn't breastfeed. And when I get those looks--you know the ones I am talking about--I can say, "I had a breast surgery and I cannot breastfeed," and happily go on feeding my baby her bottle. Both my doctor and my mother support my bottle feeding--in fact, they both thought I was crazy even to try to breastfeed my son. Not every girl here has is so lucky.

I by no means want to bash breastfeeding or women who breastfeed--but there are times that I think if I hear "breast milk is best" one more time I will scream. I read one article in a parenting magazine that suggested putting a warning label on formula--like they have on cigarettes and alcohol.

I don't want to widen the gap between the breastfeeders and the bottle feeders, but I do want to give bottle feeders a chance to have their voices unashamedly heard. It's a tough world out there for a bottle feeder. I've gotten nasty looks as I prepared my baby's formula in public. I've had conversions with tons of women who I know pity me and my inability to breastfeed. I've had to endure countless magazine article, latation consultants, well-meaning friends, and nosy strangers telling me about the wonders of breastfeeding. And I've heard "breast milk is best, but...." more times than I care to count. I don't know if breast milk is best or not because I haven't done the research--and I have $10 that says most of the people saying it to you haven't done it either.

What I want to do here is remove the "but" and the guilt. I bottle feed. Period. Not "I wanted to breastfeed but I had surgery." Not "I wanted to breastfeed but I adopted." Not "I wanted to breastfeed but I had a premie." Not "I wanted to breastffeed but I got an infection." No buts, no guilt.

I bottle feed. Period.

This is where we will vent. When someone says something to you that hurts your feelings, makes you feel guilty or just really cheeses you off, tell us about it. Please don't use any profanity or actual names--I'll take those comments off. Just refer to all women as "Betty."

There are countless books, websites and support groups for breastfeeders--it's time we had some support, too!

Welcome to Bottle Feeding!

2009-05-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to start this blog! Bottle feeding is something that I feel very passionately about and I want to offer new moms ( & seasoned moms!) as much help and advice as I can--and if nothing else, provide you with a place to vent!!

I'll start with a little bit of my story to explain why bottles & bottle feeding became such a huge part of my life. My journey to bottles actually started when I was in the fourth grade and I "blossomed" into a young lady overnight. By eighth grade I had a bigger chest than all my teachers and by senior year I had to buy a two-piece prom dress to accommodate my enormous chest and tiny hips (where did those go, by the way??).

As I entered college I realized that something had to be done. Not only did I look huge, I felt huge. My chest had begun to limit my ability to do activities such as run or jog--and going down stairs was not pretty. I was extremely embarrassed by my appearance and finding modest clothes was next to impossible. I had back aches and shoulder issues and to this day I have permanent dips in my shoulders from wearing a bra almost 24/7. It was time to do something.

My wonderful, wonderful parents agreed to let me meet with Dr. Linderman, a plastic surgeon. After discussing with him my medical and emotional issues associated with my breasts, we decided that a breast reduction surgery would be the best answer to my problems & prayers. On September 20, 2002 I went into surgery and came out 5 full pounds lighter. Dr. Linderman removed approximately 2.5 pounds of tissue from each breast. My bra size went from an F to a D (yes, I still have plenty left!!).

September 20, 2002 changed my life. It was easier to dress in modest clothing. Running down stairs didn't hurt anymore. Bathing suits fit. Shopping for a wedding dress didn't bring me to tears. But that day took something from me that I could never get back--my ability to breast feed. And I don't regret it--not one, single bit.

When I was pregnant with my son I researched breast feeding after breast reduction--and there's a really great website http://www.bfar.org that offers a lot of help and advice. From the best that I could tell, if you really focused and did nothing else but try to breastfeed, after about 4 months, it might work. Maybe. The women I read about had babies who weren't growing and who cried out in hunger all of the time. I couldn't do that to myself, and I certainly couldn't do it to my beautiful baby boy.

I tried breastfeeding for 2 weeks and never got any milk. It was incredibly painful because my milk came in, but due to the removal and replacement of my nipples, it could not come out. It was a very stressful time for both me and my son. Bottles and formula became a permanent fixture in our home. I made a lot of mistakes the first time around, but more on that next time.