Category Archives: Breastfeeding

Snappy Snacks Lactation Cookies

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snappy snacks

One of the biggest fears for breastfeeding moms is supply issues. There is always the worry that you will not make enough milk to feed your little one. But did you know that there are a few foods that help with milk supply?

ingredients

cookiesAnd these ingredients just so happen to make super yummy cookies, and boost your milk supply. I was super excited to try Snappy Snacks lactation cookies, because I love cookies and I love finding out about awesome products by moms, for moms. It also helps that Snappy Snacks are Canadian made in Belleville, Ontario by owner and founder Bridget Burke-Purdy.

I do not have supply issues, but since I have started running I have noticed a bit of a decrease in my supply so I thought it was a great time to try out these cookies. Oh my goodness, not only were the cookies easy to make they were also soft and yummy. Like the perfect oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. I started eating 2-3 cookies a day (because I run now so I totally can do that), and I could not believe how much my milk supply went up. I had finally gotten to the point that my supply was regular and I was not leaking and BAM there was milk everywhere. I was highly impressed with these cookies and their magical milk powers.

cookiesI think these will be one of my go to gifts for baby showers. I mean who doesn’t want to receive cookies?? And since all of the dry ingredients are all mixed up it is really easy for a new mom to throw the mix in a bowl with the butter, egg, and vanilla and quickly make up a batch of cookies. Or you can make them up for the new mom and take them over with a magazine for her to read while nursing and munching.

Snappy Snacks comes in three flavours – Chocolate chip, Raisin Spice, and Double Chocolate Brownie. You can buy online at their etsy shop, but they are currently getting into local baby boutiques which will allow customers to buy local and not have to worry about shipping costs. They also have an incentive program – anyone who recommends Snappy Snacks to their local baby boutique gets a free mix in the store’s first order. So go and tell your local stores about these cookies and you can get yourself a free bag.

Second Born

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Payson

I feel like Payson doesn’t get enough blog time. So this will be all about her.

Payson will be ONE in THREE WEEKS. I cannot believe it. She is so funny, and gives such amazing hugs and snuggles. She still doesn’t nap very often, but when her sister is sleeping she has so much fun playing with all the toys by herself.

She cried for the first 6 months of her life. NON STOP. And one day I put her down around 6 months of age and she started to crawl, I have no idea how she learned. She has not stopped moving since that time. She started walking around furniture at 7 months, and started walking by herself at 10 months.

climberShe is really tiny so it is adorable watching her walk around. She weighs around 16-17lbs and is just a skinny mini. She loves to climb onto anything she can haul herself up onto. She still nurses very often, and I love our time together. She usually ends up in bed with us around 6 in the morning so we get to have lots of time snuggled close. She also loves me wearing her in one of our carriers, it means she gets to be extra close to mommy, which is perfect for her.

She loves saying Dada, Mama and I am pretty sure she says KITTY. She also really likes going “aawwww” whenever she does something she wants us to see or notice.

She really loves playing peek-a-boo, and laughs so much when you tickle her. One of her favourite things is to snuggle a doll or stuffed animal, and she loves to put anything she can find over her head.

She has 1 tooth that she got when she was almost 11 months old and there is a second tooth coming…soon I hope. She has found that she can eat even MORE food with that one tooth and loves to eat anything and everything. We did BLW (Baby Led Weaning) with her and she has always been a great eater.

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She is finally starting to like the bath, or at least tolerate it. BUT she will only stay in and not cry if it is Stefan giving her the bath. Otherwise she wants me to hold her. But it is nice that she is getting clean more often and not screaming the whole time.

Speaking of Stefan; Payson is finally starting to really love on her daddy. She was very attached to me for the first part of her life and didn’t really care for anyone but me. But now she hugs and snuggles with Stefan and he could not be more thrilled to have another little lady in love with him.

So in three weeks you will get to read another little post all about my baby turning ONE!!!!

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Kangaroo Care Necklace

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One day as I was going through my Instagram feed I noticed the most wonderful looking necklace worn by Jessica from The Leaky B@@B. I loved it and asked her where it was from and she kindly directed me to Kangaroo Care on Etsy. I was first in love with this beautiful line of necklaces made for moms because of the gorgeous colors and designs, but as I kept reading the more I fell in love. The owner and maker of these wonderful necklaces is Varja, and she lives in Estonia; I have a special place in my heart for this small country because my Great-Great Grandfather Peter was from Estonia (until he jumped ship in Canada).

I started messaging with Varja about doing a review for one of her necklaces because Payson is a HUGE pincher and I was just not feeling my old nursing necklaces anymore. I was so happy when she agreed to send me one.

IMG_3323Her necklaces are so much more my style than my old nursing necklaces, and these ones are safe for babies to chew on as well which is so perfect. They are easy to wash with some warm water and baby soap and you just let them air dry. One thing I think is really cool about the wooden beads is that the two types of wood she uses, Juniper and Apple are both from Estonia.

I was so happy with the necklace that she sent because I am loving mustard yellow right now and it goes with a lot of my clothes. It has also REALLY helped with Payson’s pinching while nursing. She was all about grabbing huge handfuls of flesh and I looked like a bad banana. Capri also really loves playing with my necklace by moving the beads along the string which is great when I need a distraction for her.

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Another great feature of her necklaces is that they are vegan friendly (which does not apply to me because I am far from vegan), but I know it matters to a lot of people. She also has really great prices, you can get a necklace for $12.32 and up. For the work she puts into these necklaces they are totally worth the price. I already have a list of different styles and colors that I want on my wish pinboard.

IMG_3586I have been loving looking for products from smaller companies and this is definitely a great company to support and look awesome doing it. I have really loved working with Varja and I cannot wait to buy another necklace. So go check her out and put one of her gorgeous necklaces on your Christmas list.

Oh My Payson

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3388_10151145329023796_303284211_nMy Payson is growing up. She just had her 4 month shots (a little late as she will be 5 months in 11 days), and she weighs almost 14lbs. She loves to laugh…and cry. She can roll over, but only when she wants to and doesn’t do it often. She prefers to be in my arms than anywhere else (which makes her daddy sad). She will only sleep curled up next to me in our bed, which I don’t mind because she sleeps most of the night that way and I am more well rested. She has decided that her goal in life is to try and eat our food, but she has to wait until November when we will start Baby Led Weaning with her. But she has licked an apple and her sister has shoved various foods in her mouth.

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She loves to be worn in our Boba wrap and carrier, mainly because it means being extra close to mommy. She loves to lick and chew on her left foot, or my finger. She loves to chat with us and really wants to sit up. I know she wants to play with her sister but is still a little scared of her (for good reason, Capri loves her just a little too much).

She is currently taking some medication to help with her acid reflux which was making her a very sad girl. She is a bit happier on it, but still IMG_2249not the most content baby. She likes sitting in her chair and playing on her mat in small amounts of time.

We love her so very much and are excited to watch her grow. We pray for her each day and ask God to bless her and enrich her life.

She gets a lot of nicknames around here like Paycy Macy and Pay Pay, and her sister refers to her as baby.

 

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Hot Mama Gown Review

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IMG_1574When I was in the hospital to deliver Capri I wore the standard hospital gown during labor and also during my stay in the hospital. I HATED these gowns. I felt like every time I stood up or wanted to go anywhere I was giving everyone a little peep show. And when I was trying to breastfeed Capri wearing one I had to haul the whole thing up and reveal EVERYTHING, or try and pull the should down which I found hard. So over the last few months I have been following Hot Mama Gowns (HMG) on twitter and on facebook. I love the mom that owns and runs HMG because she is beyond generous and LOVES promoting other mom companies, Deidrea is beyond amazing. So I was so happy that I was given the chance to review a Hot Mama Gown.

I love that the gown is pretty and functional. I was sent the Genevieve print and thought it was perfect. I chose to wear my gown for my hospital stay instead of during labor because I knew I would get more use out of it (especially since my labor only lasted 4 hours). But if you do wear it during labor the back has snaps so you don’t show off you bum to the world, but the snaps allow for quick access if you decide to have an epidural.

IMG_1580What I loved most about the gown was the breastfeeding access. The gown has two ribbon drawstrings so you can pull the sides away to allow for easy nursing without super exposure. You can watch a video here about how they work. The gown also has snaps along the shoulders so you can un-snap those and bring one side of the gown down to nurse, which I found worked best for us. I love that it has those different options.

I wish I had more and better pictures of us using it, but Stefan was at home with Capri so I only have a few photos. But you can see some other mama’s photos and thoughts on their gowns by checking out the testimonial page on the HMG website.

I want to thank Deidrea so much for helping make my hospital stay a comfortable and stylish one. Check her out on facebook and on Twitter.