Gluten What

I am slowly attempting to go gluten free. This all started because of the Elimination Diet I tried for breastfeeding. I noticed I felt better, less bloated and seemed to have more energy. The energy thing didn’t make much sense because I was sleeping less, so I attributed it to not having any wheat. The Elimination Diet for Breastfeeding is extreme, pears and sweet potatoes and brown rice oh my. Gluten free is going to be harder because flour is in many things and companies add gluten to almost everything as a thickening agent. It is also going to be expensive, $4.39 for 1 lb 6 oz of all purpose gluten free flour.

I made a gluten free pizza crust for dinner tonight. It was edible but not super tasty. I think I should have split the dough into 2 crusts instead of just 1, I don’t think it cooked quite long enough. I am on my second attempt at gluten free brownies. The first were super dry. The second batch just came out of the oven so we will see but I think I put too much oil in them (over compensating for the dryness of the first batch).

I have really gotten into making homemade things. I just need to channel this into cooking and I think I will be ok. Most of the time when I’m eating at home I prefer fresh veggies, fruit and cheese anyway so I just need to stick with that to avoid this nasty, man made side effect of wheat known as gluten.

well they look yummy

Diaper Destroyer Extraordinaire

Normally I get Angel Baby up at 11pm, do a quick diaper change, then feed her as we lay in bed together. We then drift off to a peaceful sleep. Well tonight her butt had other plans. She destroyed 4 diaper covers before I could even get them on her. She managed to pee on the outside of 3 and poo on the outside of a 4^th. I lost count of how many actual diapers we went through at around 5. She is on her 3^rd set of pajamas. I now have her diapered up so thick that I just dare her to try to destroy this one. Here it is 1230, we are both wide awake, there are diapers in the wash and covers hanging to dry. Luckily we are both night owls.

World Breastfeeding Week

Yay it is World Breastfeeding Week! Wait…just a week? Why don’t we get a whole month? Breastfeeding has been around since people have walked the earth. It is the universal way for mothers to feed their babies, no matter your culture, economic class, or location if you are a mom you have the potential to breastfeed. Yet we only get a week. And who decided this week should be in August? August is the hottest most miserable month, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Trust me I have done both, or don’t trust me and ask any mom who has been through either during August. It is hot enough without having a swollen preggo belly or swollen milk filled breasts and a warm little baby snuggled up to them.

There is a Big Latch on Event going on, see the link if you want some info. http://www.biglatchon.org/everything-you-want-to-know.html I won’t be attending but thought I would share the info. The site also has more info on World Breastfeeding Week. I found out about this from the La Leche League meeting I attended this week. I enjoy going to the meetings for the comradary and socialization. The topic this week was How Breastfeeding Saves the World. A bit extreme perhaps. I’m all for breastfeeding and think it is the best option, but I also think to each his own. Women have their own reasons for choosing how to feed their own child and have the right to do that. I think it is a shame if women choose formula b/c they are misinformed or embarrassed by breastfeeding. That is why I attend the La Leche League meetings, I am in support of making breastfeeding acceptable and common but not to force it on others or demonize formula. I feel like the meetings should end with us chanting “Breast is best! Breast is best!”.

I have not had a problem feeling shy or embarrassed about breastfeeding in public, or felt that it was unacceptable. The first time I was out and about and had to breastfeed was when we were running errands, my husband went to get his haircut and I sat in the car to feed angel baby. I went to the car b/c it was the best place considering the shopping plaza we were at didn’t have a coffee shop or anything like that. The next time we were out and I mentioned that we could stop in a diner so I could breastfeed and my husband responded with “why don’t you do it in the car?”, I gave him a look that said you better rethink what you just said to me before it causes a divorce. I refused to let him be embarrassed about me feeding our baby in public, he has not had an issue since. I am in support of helping other women have this type of confidence.

I love breastfeeding my baby girl and am glad we get at least a week of acknowledgement.

I'm Better Than You.

Lately I have been feeling high and mighty. I recently celebrated my 7^th anniversary with my husband, we have been together 10 years now. Most people my age still can’t manage a relationship let alone one since they were 18. Nahnanana I’m better than you.
I love being a mom. Everything about it has come easy for me. My pregnancy was fantastic, I did not have any morning sickness, heartburn or sleep problems. I only gained 23 pounds. Nahnanana I’m better than you. My baby girl is amazing. She is perfect. She is the light of my life. She sleeps great, during naps and through the night. She breastfeeds like a champ and also had no problem taking a bottle of breast milk. Nahnanana She is better than you. I have had basically no issues at all with breastfeeding. I’ve been to meetings and read blogs about how difficult it is and how moms need support and help to be able to breast feed. Well, my baby latched on right after she was born like she had been doing it all her life. We were a match made in heaven. My nipples were sensitive for about a week, a bit of lanolin and some soothies took care of that. Now they are primed and ready for action. Nahnanana I’m better than you. It is a shame that some moms have such issues with breastfeeding or think it is not natural and that a support group is the only way they can get through it. It has come natural to me and I love it as does my angel baby. Being a mother has come natural to me in general. I have been doing what my instincts tell me to and what I feel is right for my family. I followed a link today to the Dr. Sears site about how to be a natural parent. I felt like I should have written the page on natural parenting because the advice on there has been what I decided on my own to do. It is a shame that some parents out there have no clue on how to follow their natural instincts and need a “method” to follow, whether it be natural parenting or ferberizing or take your new baby into the woods and not let anyone else near him as you live in a bubble. I do not feel the need to tell anyone else how to be a mom or judge them for their choices. I do however feel the need to say that I am better than you nahnanana.

*Disclaimer: if you don’t like this post, please see my last post as an explanation. Also, this post will probably come back to bite me in the ass as my life falls apart due to karma for bragging. Also, I could probably write a post 10x this long about everything that is wrong in my life.

Hormones

The joys of being a woman just keep on coming. Everyone knows that pregnant women are surging with hormones, lesser known is how the hormone levels stay out of control while breastfeeding. I think I was relatively calm during pregnancy, even the hubby will agree with this. Lately though, almost 4 months post birth, I feel like my hormones are more out of control then ever! I can’t keep one emotion in check without completely losing another. Mostly as soon as I’m content with one thing everything else seems awful to me. I get involved with things in Conway to try to settle in, then I can’t stop thinking how much I hate it here and want to move. I was thrilled with starting graduate school, now all I can think about is being a stay at home mom.

I want to make baby clothes, knit and crochet blankets and hats, make baby food, take pictures, and cloth diaper. I love the free time I have to be with my baby and create things for her. I love being up to date on the latest baby trends and researching cloth diapers. I have been entering the Thirsties giveaways each week. Thirsties is one of the cloth diaper brands I use. They are great because I was able to use them early on even when my girl was so tiny that most other brands were too big for her. They are still the best trim fit for her. This week Thirsties is giving away 2 Duo Wraps, 2 Hemp Prefolds, and 2 Duo Stay Dry Inserts. Follow the link below to enter.

My mommy hormones are in overdrive. I love being with my baby girl and taking care of her is the best part of my day. I am going to continue with my plan of starting graduate school for now though. I don’t think altering my decisions now would be the best idea. There are so many moms out there who lose themselves when they become moms. I want to devote myself to being the best mom I can be and I think that means also being the best person I can be for myself. I am going to start school at the end of the month, if after the first semester I decide it is not the right decision for me and my baby I can always rethink it once my hormones have calmed down.
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