Accomplishments

Several people have asked me recently how nursing is going and I realized I hadn't updated here about this. After Esther was born I shared some of my struggles - tongue tie, sore cracked bleeding nipples, extremely painful nursing sessions, mastitis, using a nipple shield, and wanting to give up. Continuing on with nursing during those first weeks was sooo hard. After sharing here that Esther had her tongue tie clipped and was using the shield, I didn't have much to update.

Using the nipple shield was frustrating because I didn't know how else to try and help her and I hated that we still weren't nursing right. Having her tongue tie clipped had made our sessions less painful and the shield was helping me start to heal. Esther struggled to nurse without the shield though and wasn't used to the milk flowing right into her mouth (the shield slowed the milk flow for her). Even with the shield she would make a clicking noise and loose the suction constantly, not using her tongue properly. I tried some tongue exercises with her, letting her suck on my finger for a minute and then pressing down on her tongue and slowly pulling my finger from her mouth. We tried without the shield from time to time, but it just didn't work.

I'm not really sure what happened other than tincture of time. Esther's little mouth grew bigger and she was able to latch on better. Eventually I decided we were ready and just committed myself to not using the shield for a whole day. She was struggling and not relaxing while she nursed, but we kept trying and made it all night and the next day without the shield. At one point she was fussy and I decided to put the shield back on, but she didn't like it. I didn't quite know what to do then! I had a baby who didn't want to nurse with the shield or without it. She ended up nursing without the shield.

An interesting note is that just before she finally weaned from the shield, we took her to a chiropractor/ kinesiologist. He adjusted her back and neck, to the point that she could visibly turn her head much better than before. Within a couple of days after her adjustment she also stopped projectile vomiting. She had been spitting up - a HUGE spit up at least once or twice a day allll over the place. I would have to change my clothes, her clothes, and wipe up the floor, the couch, and anything else in sight every time. She completely stopped. I think that the adjustment also may have helped our progress toward getting rid of the shield.

Just before she turned three months old, we were finally shield free. Its been a couple of weeks now and Esther nurses perfectly - well, except that she likes to turn her head to see what her sisters are doing while still trying to nurse. She also likes to smile at me while nursing and plays games with me, latching on for a second and then smiling. I love it. I love that we stuck it out. I told Ross that I needed a prize, this is such a huge hard difficult thing that I accomplished. I am definitely proud of myself and my prize is sleeping on the couch beside me while I type this. She is a sweet little baby, very content and easy going. She smiles easily and is great at snuggling. I love you baby Esther.

A Fun First

We had a fun "first" at our house the other day. I've never painted Lucy and Julia's fingernails before, but we did just that on Sunday! We had the chance to review Piggy Paint non-toxic nail polish and remover. Lucy and Julia were more than happy to be my product testers.

Piggy Paint is formulated from natural ingredients and contains no toxic chemicals. No formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, Bisphenol A, ethyl acetate, or acetone. (Yes, those are real ingredients in other nail polishes, along with lots of other yucky things.) Here is a picture comparing Piggy Paint to other nail polishes -

Yikes! I won't even get into the awfulness of nail polish remover. When I was younger we used it to kill bugs for our collections. Just soak a cotton ball in nail polish remover and put a bug in a closed jar with the cotton ball. I do not want my children breathing that in - or myself for that matter. I used to wear toe nail polish all summer, but haven't for a couple of years now because I decided it wasn't safe.

I was so excited to try Piggy Paint! I was curious to see if this polish would be difficult to put on or chip easily or something. Lucy was great at sitting still while I put it on her. I did two coats and used a blow dryer like they recommend. I also did my nails and Julia's too. The polish went on nicely and dried well. It had a slight smell to it, but nothing at all like other nail polishes. I had to stick my nose right up to it to even smell anything.

Both girls thought they were hot stuff and had fun showing off their pretty nails. By the end of the next day, mine was pretty chipped, especially on my right hand but other nail polishes always did the same thing. (Thats why I stick to painting my toes.) The polish stayed pretty well on the girls, in fact its still on Lucy because she's refusing to let me take it off. I used the Piggy Paint Nail Polish Remover to take mine off. I had to rub just a bit more than with a "normal" nail polish remover, but again there was no awful scent to deal with. We are very happy with Piggy Paint nail polish and remover! Lucy already has other colors picked out that she wants to try.

Check out their website to see all of the fun colors available (we used Forever Fancy). They also have some great tips for teaching colors and patterns with nail polish - fun! If you'd like to try Piggy Paint, you can use the code WORD10L for 10% off anything on their website including sale items. (expires July 31, 2010) If you spend over $35 you get free shipping. Join their Facebook page for special sales and offers. Thanks Piggy Paint!

I received Piggy Paint Nail Polish and Remover for review. I did not receive any other compensation and the opinions are all my own.

Children's Medicine Recall

McNeil Products is recalling ALL LOTS that have not yet expired of certain children's medications including Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec, and Benedryl.

Some of the products included in the recall may contain a higher concentration of active ingredient than is specified; others may contain inactive ingredients that may not meet internal testing requirements; and others may contain tiny particles. While the potential for serious medical events is remote, the company advises consumers who have purchased these recalled products to discontinue use.

Ugh, this just illustrates why I refuse to use the stuff unless absolutely necessary. I can't even keep track anymore of how many times Tylenol has been recalled. Please check your medicine cabinets. For ideas on natural remedies check out my list here.

NYTimes article on the topic

Spring Babies

This is a face only a mother could love, don't you think? A family of cardinals made their home in a climbing rose bush just outside a window in our garage. I stood on a bucket in the garage looking out the window to take this photo. Lucy and Julia were able to take a peek and see the eggs before they hatched. Ross even saw the daddy cardinal feeding the babies. I love it when nature allows us a close up view of things like this!

Lucy and I are making a Spring photo book together. We went outside a month or so ago and took photos of green shoots sprouting from the ground, buds on trees, and anything else that reminded us of Spring. I printed the photos and put them in a little book for her. We'll definitely add these and try to get a few more shots as the babies grow!