Breast Feeding 101

So we have been breastfeeding for 7 weeks now and I can honestly say it isn't as big of a deal as I thought it was.  My first son was really really bad at breast feeding.  He couldn't latch on or would do it wrong and I didn't know how to teach him and we both ended up pissed off.  I got out the breast pump and used that thing for 9 months. 

When my second son was born I was determined we were going to get this right.  He latched on right after delivery and the nurses were all impressed.  I was thinking yeah well my other kid the same thing and we ended up attatched to the breast pump and I'm not doing that again.  So the whole time we were in the hospital Sam and I worked on breast feeding not that I had anything else to do but that's what we did.  Sam had some issues but nothing major, I think visitors were ammused at my little pep talks to Sammy as he tried to latch, "Come on now, this isn't new, get your hands out of the way." 

Once we got home we still had some minor issues mostly just getting him to find the nipple and not his hands.  The important thing I realized was that this was never supposed to hurt.  With Max it hurt all the time every time and it made me dread feeding him.  I know I could have gone to a lactation consultant but I had already given up in my mind, and it freaking hurt anyway.  With Sam nothing hurt really, I could feel it but I can also sleep through it so its not bad at all.

I had been told give it two weeks and you can breast feed anywhere.  Well, I think for us it was more like a month.  When Sam was at the OB with me when he was first born I was all embarrassed that I had to breast feed in the waiting room.  As if I was the only one had ever breast fed there.  We had to go to the OB again today and I had no trouble feeding him in the waiting room.  The modesty fades with time I think.  Although when we were first feeding I was all about using the nursing shaw, now its like if you don't wanna see it don't look at it but Sammy needs to eat. 

Their were a few things I had been told in the past that either arn't true or Sammy never read the book on the subject.  Things like nipple confusion where they can get confused between the breast a bottle and a pacifier.  Sam knew early on, if you suck on it and it fills you up keep sucking, if it doesn't spit it out.  Also he takes the breast and a bottle, also something not every baby can do I guess.  He on the other hand will drink from anything and not only that but I his mom, the one with the boobies, can give him the bottle. 

Happy Mothers Day!

Actually its the day before Mothers Day but who's counting?  I became mother of tow six weeks ago yesterday.  On the last two Mother's Days I have been a little less likely to celebrate for my self but this year I decided I at least want something semi special like my favorite dessert.  German chocolate cake it is then.  I like having two kids, it makes me laugh at all my friends who have one baby and are over whelmed.  The even funnier part is I was over whelmed with one kid also.  Now I look at Sam and Max and think man it was easy when I only had one baby.  If it is the case that you grow more efficient with each additional child just imagine how efficient Michelle is of the Duggar family.

Sammy

Posted all about our new baby....Realized I didn't include a single picture. 

 My son Max seems to really enjoy his brother.

My first thought when I saw him was "he looks like a naked mole rat!"  Now I have a degree in Zoology and I say it with love. 

 Going home outfit.  If Sam look big to you its because he is.  8lbs 11oz.

 Max being attentive

Sam with is dad

Welcome Sam Bowers!

On Friday March 25th we had our second son Samuel Wayne Bowers.  He weighed 8lb 11oz and was 20 inches long.  When we went to the hospital to have our scheduled c-section my doctor had not informed the hospital of the date and time so when we arrived at 8am on Friday nobody knew why we were there.  The really nice thing was that even though we "didn't have an appointment" since the operating room wasn't booked they allowed us to be fit into the schedule and 4 hours later we had our son.

The OB nurses are really very nice and I know they have a hard job to do.  Pregnant women can be very very cranky.  However, this buisness of having my and Sam's vitals checked in the middle of the night is kinda lame.  If they must do that can they at least do us both at the same time?  I was so tired after spending 2 nights at the hospital I asked to go home early.  The best part about the hospital stay though is that you don't have to cook.  When you get hungry you just have to call a phone number and they bring you food.  I guess when you are staying in a room that costs thousands of dollars a day the least they can do is feed you. 

I can't help but continually compare and contrast Sam and Max in my mind.  The way they both have very long fingers and were born with a full head of black hair.  That Sam figured out breast feeding right away and after a week of trying to latch on with Max we gave up an pumped for 9 monthes.  I assume this is normal. 

I also can't believe how much harder it was to have one baby than two.  With our first it was like all we could do to keep up with what he needed and the house was always a mess.  I feel so much for efficient with the 2 kids.  Today we took care of the baby, did our taxes, the dishes, and vacuumed the floor.

Nothing is ever perfect, if it was we wouldn't need sarcasm

I was reading CNN today, a habit I should probably break, and I saw an article about not being perfect parents and it really spoke to me.  The article was all about how people on Facebook and other venues brag about how well their child sleeps through the night, or the perfect vacation they just went on, or how Sophie just got into the perfect preschool that will surly get her into Harvard when she grows up.  Thing is to one degree or another we all have friends who do this. 

Now I love to hear about my friends kids and how they are doing but some days what I really need is an honest mom who says "my kid just kicked the cat for the last time, I am shipping them both to China to cool off".  Be honest, its great to show off your new babies pictures but its also comforting for the rest of us to hear "and fyi that cute little outfit she is wearing only lasted 15 mins before she simultaneously puked and pooped in it".  And we all think "yeah, been there done that"  to ourselves.  It is because of this that I have posted less on Facebook and a bit more on my blog.

Besides, how interesting would it be to post "Lord give me strength not to strangle, scream, or swear."  And how many people would reply "now Heather, that's not nice"  or "now Heather, he's only 2"  Then I'd be even more annoyed.

So for now just a brief look into how our day has been.  Had to drop off the car again to be repaired, had to also take Max.  Max is mad because he gets in the car seat at home, gets out at home.  Max is mad because dad then goes to work.  Max is mad because I want him to finish his breakfest from this morning and he wants something from the pantry .  Max is also tired.  There fore Max has a 25 min screaming fit for any of the above reasons.  While he is having this fit he is also trying to hand me toys which is cute yet even more confusing to me.  I started to eat the eggs he didn't want to eat and well that was a bad plan too.  All I can think is in 10 days i'm going to be out numbered and even more tired. Insert previous comment about the Lord giving me strength here..  

It's not perfect, some times not pretty, but its what we here like to call a Tuesday.  Perhaps later we will get out the finger paint.

Language Delay

For the past 2 years we have been waiting for Max to talk.  He started small with words like Mom, Dad, Hey, baby and for a long time we were okay with that.  We didn't know a lot of other kids exactly his age so we didn't think to much of him only saying a few words.  We have friends with girls right around his age that could talk circles around him but I had been told by several people that girls talk sooner then boys.  Well time keep ticking by and I kept waiting for Max to start really talking.  His friends can sing, say the alphabet and tell you how their day went and Max still had trouble saying truck.  When I took him to his pediatrician for his 2 year check up and the doctor said he had a 4-6 month language delay but that he should out grow it.  Well the problem with this is that as he continued to maybe learn a few new words a week his peers are not only learning up to 6 words a day but also can answer much more complex questions simply because they had been talking and using more words for a longer time.  So after much thought on my part and my husbands we decided to seek some help for our son.  After many phone calls we found a program called Early On which is a program for any sort of developmental delay be it speech, motor, or other wise.  So far I can't say enough positive about the program.  They have been very prompt in all that they have done, not made me wait 6 weeks for an appointment or anything.  We had our evaluation which is was free as is most of their services and it was an in home eval so that the kid can be comfortable and act as he normally would.  Max had a complete evaluation meaning not only did they test his speech but also gross and fine motor skills as well as social skills.  I am happy to say that he did well with his social and motor skills.  His language at this point is that of a 2 year old.  They actually have a really interesting system in which for every major skill they have a task and depending on what they do they get a score which correlates to an age.  One thing that I noticed in watching him answer questions is that if for instance he saw a picture of a wet dog he would say "uh oh"  but when asked what to dry the dog with he couldn't come up with towel, or when there was a child in a car but he couldn't say car when asked what the child was ridding in.  They call this skill expressive language .  I have to admit I found the whole process fascinating.  Now we are on our way to some speech therapy.  A lady is going to come to our home twice a month and teach us how to teach Max to talk.  Lets pray it works for him.  The only regret I have is that I didn't do this sooner. 

January fun

Max got to go sledding for the first time at a friends house.  He liked it okay till he tipped the sled over and did a face plant right into the snow.  Then I couldn't get him to get back into the sled.  He did enjoy pulling the sled around behind him though. 

Its Friday so that means only 9 weeks to go till my c-section.  I am so ready to not be pregnant anymore.  I am really interested to see how Max will handle being a big brother.  They say to keep the older sibling involved in the babies care and Max  is very helpful by nature so hopefully things will go okay.  We got Max a baby brother doll for Christmas and for some reason when we dance to the radio he gets his doll and hands it too me to dance with.  He also likes to strip the doll naked which is something he wont be allowed to do with Sam.