Farrar Family Reunion 2010

As a kind of 50th Wedding Anniversary present to my parents (Can you believe they are old enough to have been married 50 years?), we had the first reunion for their children. It was clear back at the beginning of August but we have had so much going on that I have not yet been able to post.

We tried going up Thursday night with Grayson. On Monday of that week, Grayson woke up with an AWFUL cold. By Thursday I thought he was feeling good enough to try out camping. Well, by the time we got up to Payette Lake, the altitude or something was bothering him and he SCREAMED. Everything was just going wrong when we got up there too. SO- we headed back down the mountain. We did go up on Saturday for the day. Again, Grayson was VERY CRANKY so I am sure the altitude was a lot of that problem.

Here is a picture of the CUTEST camper in the world!

Christmas is coming!

So, Summer is just about over...which means Christmas is coming. Ok, sure, it is a ways away, but not for anybody who hopes to MAKE and CREATE some AWE INSPIRING gifts this year! I happen to be one of them.
We are trying to be extremely thrifty this year and make most of our gifts. SO, I suppose I better get started.
In my family, we rotate through the siblings. This year I have my younger sister Amanda. She is single and in her mid-20s. She LOVES music, crafts, baking, and interior design. She, like all my sisters and I, loves travel and photography.
If you have any crafty ideas- please share! I want to make her something special and WAY CUTE!

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Grayson is!!!!!

Go BRONCOS!!!!!!

Three Months Old

This handsome young man is 3 months old today! Time has really flown by!
Here are some stats:
Weight is now 11 lbs 4.5 oz as of tonight. (Yep, he is a slow grower, even with being supplemented with formula)
Height is approximately 23.75"
Finally starting to wear size 0-3 clothes (except pants are still newborn as 0-3 are too wide and he has short legs), and a lot of onesies he now wears 3-6 months as they are too short in 0-3.

He loves to chew on things. The soothie (pacifier) is more for chewing, fingers are fair game, and burp clothes are all his.

He is so-so with tummy time. It is a 50% chance he will love it. If he doesn't love it that time, he hates it. He has been able to roll over 2-3 times a day but then after a few times he just doesn't have the strength, or maybe he can't remember how, to do it again.

He has learned that when he is on his back, if he can get a good grip on the floor, or something else, with his feet and push- then he scoots. He is loving this one. Mike said "YAY! Grayson is becoming mobile." I said, "Uh-oh, Grayson is becoming mobile."

Grayson loves to talk. But usually only when he has something in his mouth.

He now prefers to be carried with either his head over your shoulder or facing outwards so he can see. Also, he hardly ever looks at the person holding him. Instead, he enjoys looking at his surroundings.

He likes to hold his bottle during bottle feedings. He is good at yanking it out too. He does ok at putting it back in but you have to help him get the right angle to actually start eating. (He does start to let it droop pretty quickly so we do help him hold it.)

As far as nursing- I went 4 days without supplementing. Then Grayson had a growth spurt. He nursed all day, had 5 oz of breastmilk I had stored and still had 8 oz of formula that day. My body has not yet caught up to his latest growth spurt but is getting there. I am very blessed that Grayson has not had any problems with nipple confusion or bottle preference.

Motherhood- Is wonderful! We were very blessed to have Mike's niece here last week and it was a lot of fun to see what may be in our future with 2 kids some day. We went to the zoo, the Discovery Center (as they are having FREE Fridays), and several days at the park. It was a lot of fun and I will post more on her visit when I have time. Grayson continues to amaze me everyday! I love watching him grow but at the same time wish it would slow down. I am already missing those first few weeks and just being able to hold and snuggle with him. Now he is already wanting some freedom and time to play by himself under his little gym. (Insert sad face here.)

Mike is enjoying daddyhood! He has been great with Grayson. He has been working hard to provide for the family. I am grateful for all that he does. I am so grateful to have him as my eternal companion and the father of our child(ren).

Great Grandma Hayward

Grayson met his Great Grandma Hayward (Mike's Grandma who raised him) on Sunday August 8th but we went back up on Saturday August 14th and we got a picture of the two of them together.

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

Rub-a-dub-dub, Grayson in a tub!

You can't tell by the serious look on his face (he studies the camera every time it comes out) but Grayson LOVES bath time!

The part he doesn't like is getting out! LOL!

We use the Bed Time Bath and he LOVES it. Not sure if it really helps him sleep at night but it can't hurt.

Mike was not too sure about me taking bath time pictures but I assured him he was as modest as a naked baby can be.

I Need A Makeover

I need a makeover. Well, not me (although that is probably not a bad idea...) but my blog! So, I am stalking blogs of friends of friends to find the style I like. I hope to also mix up my posting style too. I need to get inspired! So, bare with me if I happen to mix things up here and there and if my blog sometimes looks a little funky. You may end up seeing it in the middle of some changes so if the writing and the background are making it hard to read my posts....it is probably an update in progress! After all, it will most likely end up that I will get one part done and then I will be on nursing duty, or diaper duty or something of the sort.

If you have a blog that you just LOVE their style of posting or their background, etc leave me a comment so I can take a look. I need some INSPIRATION!

10 Random Facts About ME

Of course, as a new mom, most of my focus is on my ADORABLE son! So, I thought I needed to focus on me for a moment. Here are 10 Random Facts About Me:

1. I DO NOT like spicy food as I have an ulcer. It has gotten better in the last few months so maybe I will start adding some hotter foods in
2. I hope to one day travel to Europe
3. I have only played the violin a couple of times since high school....how sad!
4. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Disney movies! OK, maybe that one is obvious...but I really wish they would make more old style Disney movies. Which is why I like the Princess and the Frog so much.
5. I plan WAY AHEAD. This has come into good use lately as I need to so that I can be ready on time.
6. I LOVE camping and hope to do a lot more of it next year when our family is a little older.
7. I am trying to lose weight again! It is hard with my stomach muscles still not being healed but I am riding the exercise bike and following what I call "The Word of Wisdom" diet. Mostly fruits and veggies, then whole grains and lastly meat.
8. I could walk for MILES if it was on decently flat ground (read- not the hills in Omaha). My family is made for walking!
9. I have gotten a more "sarcastic" sense of humor since being married to Mike and I am not sure that is a good thing.
10. I am really looking forward to November and our trip to Texas. I miss the Bolanders TONS!

Mama's Song For G

I listened to this song a lot during my third trimester. Now I sing it to Grayson every morning during his first diaper change and then just every now and then. This is his reaction. (Pardon the bad singing)

World Breast Feeding Week

I have been working on this post all week while trying to prepare for our family reunion so sorry if it is scatter brained.

I am a real supporter of breastfeeding. From the get go I planned on nursing Grayson for as long as I could. I took the breastfeeding class offered by the hospital, read, and was ready. I did not buy ANY formula for the house (although I had 2 cans that were sent to me as samples by the formula companies...go figure). As soon as Grayson and I were in the recovery room (after my emergency c-section) he was on the breast and nursed for an hour straight. It all went very well while in the hospital.

However, the day we went to go home we were told that Grayson had lost too much weight and we ended up supplementing. My milk came in on day 6 and we backed off the supplementation. By 2 weeks Grayson was 2 pounds over his birth weight. (I learned later that c/s babies weights are inflated so they will lose more than those vaginally delivered and you do NOT need to supplement right off.)

2 weeks later, I went to the lactation consultant because I noticed Grayson was very frustrated with his feedings, I never felt like I had milk for him and he didn't seem to be gaining weight. And I was right. In fact, he had lost weight. Grayson had some problems eating but I also had a low supply of milk. I was heart broken that I was not giving my baby as much milk as he needs to grow. So we started supplementing again while I did everything I could to up my supply. I pumped after every feeding and sometimes inbetween. I took herbs (fenugreek, blessed thistle, goats rue, etc). I put him on the breast as often as possible. All the while feeling like my body had failed me.

I had a point where I thought I should just give up. I am so grateful for Mike. He was really there for me as I spent many nursing sessions crying as Grayson would get so frustrated while trying to get out more milk that was not there. I also had great support from an online group of gals that I have gotten to know through my pregnancy. Had it not been for all these people, I probably would not still be nursing today,.

I decided I was going to make this work. Any breastmilk is better than none and if I had to supplement, so be it, but I was not going down without a fight.

I took our roadtrip as the time to up my supply. I pumped A LOT on that trip. I continued taking herbs too. When I got home we had gone down from 8 oz of supplementation a day to about 4-5 oz.

I am still working on upping my supply and am down to 2-4 oz of formula a day. I have had a few days with no supplementation. I have an infant scale so I can weigh Grayson to see how much he is eating and to make sure he does not start losing weight again.

Through this struggle I have learned a lot about breastfeeding. Here are some of the things I have learned.

• We need better education for moms-to-be. I was never taught ways to up my supply. I was never taught that nursing is going to be a constant, all day thing. I was just taught it may be hard to get baby to latch for a while, how to hold the baby, what the hunger cues were, and that baby will nurse every 2-3 hours. That is it. No, your baby may nurse every hour at first, or a nursing session may take a full hour or as little as 5 minutes. I was told you had to nurse for at least 10-15 minutes on a side. Now there are times that Grayson can drink 3 oz is 5 minutes. He doesn't need to nurse 15 minutes on each side.
• There are things that you can do WHILE pregnant to help your supply if you know you have hormone problems. I really wish I had known what I know now. I really feel like I will breastfeed my next baby with much more success because I know what I can do to help that.
• We need more support. Breastfeeding is natural and beautiful. I can not tell you how much it bothers me when I hear someone say they are not going to breastfeed because it is "perverted" or "wrong." That is what our breasts are there for. This is how God intended it. Also, people need to be more understanding of babies that breast feed. Yes, they feed more often, they don't sleep through the night right away and they are quite attached to mom....but they are getting the best nurishment that can be provided for them.
• We need to get rid of "fake support" This is the one I really am bothered by. All the pumps and pamphlets put out by the formula companies. When I got the sample formulas in the mail, right with it was a pamphlet on how to breast feed. They act like they want you to succeed but yet, they give you formula for when it fails?
• We should not view a certain age as the "weaning age." Granted, I will admit, I am not the nurse forever supporter (age 9 is a little too long as I read in one article), but so many people want women to stop nursing as soon as the baby starts teething, eats solids, or turns one year old. Why? The WHO (World Health Organization) reccomends babies be EXCLUSIVELY breast fed for 6 months to a year and continue breastfeeding to age 2 or beyond. Why? Because it is HEALTHY!

I have a lot more I would like to say, but I will keep it short.

I know that this is a topic that usually takes people to one extreme or the other. "Breast is best- do not supplement" or "Formula all the way" However, I am the middle ground person. I understand that there are some of us who are not able to strictly breast feed. I have my own beliefs as to why I think this number is on the rise. (More hormones given to our food sources=more hormone issues in women=more breastfeeding issues.) However, I do believe that breastfeeding is important, any breastmilk is better than none, and that everyone should be more supportive and that breastfeeding should not be looked down upon. Don't glare at the mom nursing her baby in public...smile. It makes a huge difference when people are accepting of nursing mothers.