some inspiration...

I came upon this awesome project to promote the natural beauty of breastfeeding...

Breastfeeding Art Exhibit

I cannot wait to share more of my breastfeeding journey with you as well as some brave mamas!

To read about my bucket list---> Breastfeeding Bucketlist

my breastfeeding BUCKET LIST!

So I started this project more mentally for myself. I will eventually share my tough breastfeeding story, but long story short (for now), Estella nursed VERY often and I had a tough post-partum with the “baby blues”.

My choices were to hide away and nurse for 45 minutes at time EVERY 2 hours and feel left out of most things OR just whip it out (with a cover) no matter where I was. Yeah I got the awkward stares....turning of heads....and obvious gasps.  I nursed EVERYWHERE and rarely went into a nursery to do so. Honestly, I would go away from a public situation only because I wanted to...it was a great excuse (haha).

After a while, it became more fun. Estella and I had a natural rhythm together and it was this dance we did...every 2 hours. We both knew what to do, she did really well under the cover because she always fell asleep while nursing, and I could still have that closeness with her while being with my friends and family. Then I started to think of all the places I could nurse just cause I wanted to! It wasn’t the typical locations either....so I created this mental bucketlist....some documented and some left in memory.

Since Estella didn’t take a paci for longer than a couple weeks, I became her “paci”. She is a true introvert so when a situation became too overwhelming for her or she just needed a quick getaway, I was there. With every gulp she took, her body slowly released any tension and my body followed.

Breastfeeding has become this whirlwind of an adventure for us and I can’t wait to show Estella this adventure that we took together. I’m happy to share it with all of you!

My bucketlist

*success- stories to follow

Immediately after she was born*

Side-lying in bed*

Cubs game*

Middle of a 5k race in Chicago*

Hotel lobby in a big city

Middle of the flea market in Chicago*

John Hancock Building

In motion* (multiple times)

In the Ergo* (in motion)

Wedding*

In front of my brothers* (with a cover haha)

Farm* (on a tractor I should add haha)

Church*

On a beach

Rooftop terrace

Park*

At Cloudgate (The Bean!)*

Buckingham Fountain in Chicago*

In a foreign country

Chinatown

Viet-town*

Restaurants* (boring!! Haha)

Out in the open (no cover)*

Amusement Park

Museum
In the car (while she was in her seat)*

Library*
On a boat!
Air plane (especially after the dumb American Airline fiasco!)
At "Public Display of Breastfeeding" Day* (updated 8/16/13- story here )

(keep in mind, I tend to add locations to it on the spot when I come upon the opportunity!)

I can’t think of anymore right now. It feels weird to actually write it all down. Any ideas of places I should add?! ;)

comic relief

One of my good friends and a mama-to-be shared these with me! They are a great comic relief....and oh so very true! Thanks Doris!

Baby Breastfeeding Blues!

Tomorrow, I will finally feature my bucket list with some more stories!

boobs & a wedding

First off- I hope everyone was able to attend the “Big Latch On” events held across the states!

Wedding in Oct 2012! Look how little she is!

Secondly- we were out of town this weekend for a fabulous wedding (Chet & Krista Aliga’s wedding). Estella did amazing the entire weekend from the long road trip, dancing the night away (extended her bedtime a little), the drive to Rockford to pick up Oliver and then home, and walking around briefly University of Iowa (my undergrad).

I apologize for my lack of blog yesterday. As you can tell, we had an extremely busy weekend!

The first wedding that I nursed Estella was in Michigan when she was 3 weeks old. Yes we traveled with a 3 week old newborn and it was ... well exactly what it sounds like. DIFFICULT. I was new at this whole thing at that point...my nipples still hurt so badly and Estella was not use to breastfeeding yet. I was also breastfeeding on demand (which I still do) but we didn’t have the “rhythm” we do now. I hid away in a different room to feed her and still remember feeling so stressed....being there in a wedding (pretty much by myself because Ryan was in the wedding) with loud music, loud people, a newborn who nursed for 30-45 minutes every two hours....oh man oh man. How times have changed.

 

This was Estella’s second wedding. We were out in the open! I nursed her to while walking around during cocktail hour! Yup! I had the cover on because she fell asleep and it helps to keep her from looking around....it also helps build my upper body strength because she’s quite heavy now.

Well, I wasn’t sure how people would react to the situation but I didn’t care. My baby needed her nap (so mama & dada could have a chance at enjoying the reception) and she was hungry! Within the first 5 minutes, a woman came up to me and said “GOOD FOR YOU! I love seeing moms still nursing their babies.” It was a great encouragement. We then talked about how our goal was to nurse until at least 2 years old and then she said, “Oh you don’t even want to know how long I nursed my babies till...you’ll think I’m crazy!”

Ryan and I thanked her for the encouragement and both were stunned to receive such a positive reaction! It made me feel so good. I mean, yes, I know what I’m doing is great and I love it! But it’s always nice to get recognition from complete strangers...other than the common reaction, “Oh my gosh, you’re still nursing?!”

Then about 5 minutes after that, another woman came up to us and said “I am so proud of you...to see mothers still nursing. You feel comfortable to nurse that beautiful baby whenever and wherever you want. Me and (she listed other moms) started the breastfeeding support group here so be comfortable because you are in GOOD COMPANY! Heck, you don’t even need that cover if you don’t want it. We will support you!”

I was speechless. Ryan was too. We thanked her over and over again for the encouragement but we really didn’t know what to say or how to say it.

It made my heart smile...it made my eyes water. Wow. She wasn’t just encouraging but she uplifted us. We know what we’re doing is for Estella’s best interest. It’s for MY best as well. Well, and even for Ryan’s wallet too! It saves us so much money (haha). Sometimes, getting the stares and dirty looks gets frustrating but this one moment really takes all those frustrations away.

So although, I checked off a location from my bucket list (*a wedding) a while ago, this time around, it was much more positive and memorable. The wedding was beautiful and the atmosphere was filled with love. So many mothers we passed smiled at us and I knew what their looks were saying.

They all went through it with their multiple children. They were proud of me...it made me feel like a superhero.

Typical location for pumping: Creepy parking garage....haha! ;)

August 3rd 2013- Chicago, IL

The first outlet we found that didn't work...

I had a very busy day yesterday filled with packing, errands, and hanging out in the city with my best friends for the BACKSTREET BOYS concert.

Yes. I am THAT girl. I loved them when I was a teen and I still have LOVE for them! They were so AWESOME by the way...my love has been rekindled...I lost my voice from all the sceaming/singing we did...and I plan to buy their new album soon!

CREEEEEEPY!!

Anyhow-I am still typing up my “BREASTFEEDING BUCKET LIST” to share with you but today; I wanted to share the most unconventional place I had to find to pump since I was away from Estella for an extended period of time.

Some of you are probably thinking I could have just waited it out to get home, but after 2 excruciating experiences with multiple plugged ducts that almost led to mastitis, I packed up my pump along with my purse to head out to Chicago.

I thought I was so prepared. I even packed up a small cooler to store the milk and everything. Then as I was about to pump in the car on the way to the concert, I realized the biggest mistake of them all.

I forgot to grab batteries for the battery pack option of the pump. UGH dummy! I’m so use to having access to an outlet, that I didn’t even consider batteries. Then 5 seconds later after realizing the dread of it, my boobs reminded me. I had letdown and they were starting to feel “hard”. My heart dropped. Oh no....should I just rough it out and risk getting plugged ducts or just carry my sexy (not sexy...haha) pump backpack around while looking for outlets?!!

Yup...it's happening....

Well after parking in the parking garage, we got lost trying to get out.. but it actually worked out for us. We found an outlet and yes it was out in the open, but I didn’t care. My friends shielded me and I had my boob out and everything...and yes people walked by.....then oh no. The outlet didn’t work. GREEAAATT....

Our search continued. We found another outlet but it was in the creepiest corner of the parking garage ever. The perfect corner for a drug deal or murder or something!! But the outlet WORKED! The sweet sound of the pump made us all jump up and down and squeal!

My proud stash of liquid GOLD!

Darlene proceeded to put the backpack on so that I could pump (hilarious) and bam bam bam..10 minutes later, and I pumped about 8 ounces. I am a milk machine. Serious. My letdown is no joke and Estella still gets sprayed in the face sometime...sorry TMI! So I really could have pumped more but 1. I didn’t want to have to change pump bags etc since we weren’t in a very sterile environment and 2.  I wanted to get to the concert!

People walked by and probably just thought we were dealing or doing drugs because we were huddled and giggling the whole time! My friends were amazing and so supportive. The whole time they reminded me of how good of a mom I am while standing in awe that something was coming out of my boobs at the same time. They don’t have kids of their own yet (Maria has a step-daughter) but haven’t had the experience of breastfeeding, however I feel that I was able to inspire them...show them the power of our bodies...the beauty of being able to provide nourishment to another human being..and lastly, I hope I was able to show them how normal it all really can be...even in the weirdest and most inconvenient circumstances.

I love them!!

I had a goal. The concert wasn’t the only goal in my horizon that day. My goal was to still be able to provide to my daughter and take care of my body at the same time. Enjoying the concert with the three best friends a girl could ask for, was the cherry on top of such a fabulous day!

:)

Show em' your boobs!

 

 We will be out of a town this weekend but this looks like a great event to celebrate WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK/MONTH! 

Let me know if any of you are able to go! I would love to feature your experience on the blog. 

Happy World Breastfeeding Week (and MONTH!)

Hey everyone! 

I’m back! It seems that life has taken a hold of me and blogging has not been a priority so I apologize.

Ryan and I have made the decision to introduce more privacy in our lives for the sake of protecting Estella so my monthly updates of her have come to a halt (although, I am still updating and writing in her personal journal on my own).

I want to utilize my blog in a different way now...more so to reach out to the large community of moms out there, foodies, and health fanatics (considering all those things describe me completely hehe).

August is a very special month and the first week as well! It’s WORLD BREASTFEEDING MONTH (today is the start of world breastfeeding week!). There are so many movements and projects out there to promote the support for breastfeeding (especially the ability to nurse in public without judgment), so I wanted to start my own.

I’ve reached out to moms that I know share the same passion and love for nursing their babies (of all ages) to join me in what I like to call “ MY BREASTFEEDING BUCKETLIST”.

For anyone that has spoken to me about breastfeeding or seen any pictures I’ve posted, I’ve talked about all the random places I’ve had to bust out the boob and cover to feed my screaming hungry baby. Places have ranged from walking around Woodfield (yes literally walking and nursing in the Ergo), random spots in Target, on the sidewalk in the middle of Chicago, Cubs game, on a moving tractor, downtown Chicago, in church, etc etc. 

I will share my bucketlist with you, along with all the locations I've already completed and documented (with pictures!). The moms I've reached out to will be doing the same and may even share their breastfeeding story with you as well.

So this “awareness” project that I am sharing with all of you with some support from moms from all over, is really about awareness. If you are a mom who does not breastfeed, you are still an amazing mother. This isn’t about making you feel bad so if you are that mom right now reading this, please please please, don’t feel that way. 

This is really about shedding light on the moms who choose to breastfeed...providing support for more successful journeys, providing tips or products that other moms have used that have worked, and shedding the notion that breastfeeding needs to be a private thing hidden away.  

I don’t think being a bold breastfeeding mama has to be done without a nursing cover. I love breastfeeding with or without it, but this project is to open the world of possibilities for moms to breastfeed in general and in public with what makes that mom feel comfortable. Some moms don’t want or need a cover and some moms (who are a little more “blessed” haha), feel the need to use a cover to preserve their own personal modesty. Either way, they are still bold and badass!

So join me in this project! I will introduce you to fellow bold mamas who use their natural ability to bond with their children plus lots and lots of other research and stories to help you feel comfortable with breastfeeding.

If you would like to join this project, it’s not too late! I will be taking entries from mamas all month long.

To kick it off, it's only appropriate to join the craze with the new ROYAL BABY- Prince George!!

 Not only is Kate Middleton showing off her actual post-baby body and inspiring women all over the world, but yes you guessed it! She is BREASTFEEDING and have been doing it successfully! 

You can read more about it here: Baby Prince George

We will start off tomorrow with my bucket list and some pictures I've documented thus far. I hope you are all as excited as I am! :)

Thank you and much love to you all!