Isaac @ 9 months

9 Months 

Seriously...I don't know why this has been so very hard to keep up with...Its not like being a Mom to a 9 month old, working, family stuff, etc. etc. keeps me busy! OK did you get the sarcasm there!? Because it is totally there!! Wow, 9 months is almost gone and again I find myself here scrambling to make this blog post before Isaac is 10 months. Maybe my new thing will be that  I write about the previous month and that way I'm right on schedule with this post. The milestone keep coming and my little man is getting bigger and bigger with each passing day. One of the main reasons that I really want to keep these monthly posts going is because I have developed a bad case of the 'mommy brain' and can't seem to keep my day, months, or even hours straight at times. Now...that we are almost done with this month let me try my best to conger up what has happened since the last post....

Sleep Training...who is training who??

The sleeping pattern of a little baby can be so unpredictable. I often wonder why I try to keep any schedule when my little man is going to do what he wants anyways. Or at least that is how it appears in our family . These past month we have seen a breakthrough of sorts.

Umm....its time to play not sleep Mommy!

After implementing our version of the Sleep Sense method Isaac can and will sleep through the entire night (7:30pm-6am). What I mean by our version is that this type of sleep training consists of staying in the room with your child while in a chair while they put themselves to sleep. The first night was HORRIBLE!! My strong willed dude cried for over an hour and a half! It progressively got better over the next couple days and Isaac slept through the night for the first time in months. Then can the early morning wake up calls at 4:30am and 5am this went on for a couple more days...Momma was tired. Lastly we had a huge setback, and I couldn't take it. My baby needed me and I couldn't do it anymore...so against all warnings of the method I 'gave in' and picked him up. Just to clarify or make myself feel more justified this was after 2 hours him not going back to sleep at 3am in the morning. Above all else I know that I was doing what was best for my child and that was all that really mattered to me. 


This has now lead to our own version of sleep training. I am back to rocking Isaac to sleep (which I am OK with). He is my little baby boy and I truly feel in my heart that this is not only bonding for us but what my baby needs not just wants. The improvement that I have seen from what we went through is that he can and will put himself back to sleep when he wakes in the night. I can also lay him in his crib when drowsy and tapping his bun and rubbing his back he will drift off into sleepy dream land. The Sleep Sense Method calls these 'sleeping props' and warns against them because your child will then rely on them for sleep. And I do not refute that one bit. At this point in time Isaac would not go to sleep without a fight if  I just placed him in his crib and walked away. I would be lying if I said that I did not want him to do that some nights...but I keep coming back to the same conclusion that  I love rocking Isaac to sleep in my arms and this is something that I would never want to loose at this point in time; and when the time comes for him to be a big boys we will cross that bridge when we come to it. 


Overall, I don't feel this sense of urgency for him to put himself to sleep but do gladly except and credit that had we not done the beginning portion of the Sleep Sense Method he probably would not have learn how to put himself back to sleep during the night when he is still tired. I don't ever profess to have it all under control  or figured out. This is all new to me and just a learning process with a huge learning curve!  


Just not Enough

Taking on solids has been an adventure. As a new parent you never like to think that you are going to have the picky eater. It would be a completely perfect scenario if you had the child that ate whenever and whatever you wanted them to right! It seems like right when you got it all figured out with the eating schedule they come to a new point in their life where is all needs to change again. That is what happened to us with adding in solids. OK you may be thinking....this Mom is talking about implementing solids at 9 months, "what the heck is her problem this should have been an issue at 6 months at the latest". Well, for us that is not the case. Isaac has a wonderful pediatrician that I adore (she was my pediatrician) and I trust her completely and highly respect her opinions and advice. That is all to say that when many Dr's where saying start solids at 4 months, she was still recommending 6 months. So we went with that advice, this is not to knock anyone or any Dr that recommended differently this is just what we did.

Of course it was a totally new experience adding in foods week by week. Isaac seems to like all that we were giving him. Then it was like we hit a brick wall around 8 months out of no where because he was no longer my easy going eater. Every meal was a fight and a struggle, at least he was taking the bottle when I was at work but the amount of solids was minimal at best. Then we discovered rice puff or baby crack..this seemed like a great thing. He would do anything for these puffs or so it seemed. Then our wonderful Dr. informed us that she is not a fan of the puff and that we should not use them as he does not need the extra sugar and flour in his diet. WHAT!!?? you mean to tell me that my only food luring leverage should be taken away! So...no more puffs now what?

Then in the same appointment some news I was somewhat expecting but no Mom wants to hears is that Isaac was not gaining weight properly. He growing curve had taken a small dip, this was by no means an emergency but definitely something that needed to be addressed. The cues that I had been taking as he was full were not he was full but that he did not want to eat what I was offering him. Now came the task of getting him to eat high good fat foods (for his age group). It has been a challenge that I have taken on full force and with each victory of finding a food that he likes there is always a celebration that follow. Shortly I will be blogging about the foods and recipes that we have liked and found.

The Mommy Blues

I'm calling this the Mommy Blues because I really don't have any other words for it right now. All I know is that lately it has been really hard for me to accept that working and not being an stay at home mom is what the Lord want for our family. With much prayer I have accepted this and like most things that God has put on our hearts and calls us to do (that we don't want to do) I am slowly saying YES each day. And instead of  having an ungrateful heart I desire each day to have a thankful heart. Notice how said each day... because it really is each day that I have to wake up and say. "Thank you Lord for providing for me and my family. Thank you for my job". Often I want to spend time scheming how to work from home, or how to not work right now...and in prayer it always leads me back to this is exactly where God wants me to be. It is a struggle daily to balance it all but it is when I stop trying to do it on my own is when I see that the weight is truly lifted.  Here at the almost 10 month mark it seem like the pain of not being with my little one all the time get stronger and stronger but I want to honor and trust in God for he is guiding my way :) 

Happy Father's Day Eddie

What a special day to celebrate! It was perfect in so many ways and I couldn't not have been blessed with a better man to celebrate with. It took me a while to compile what I wanted to get Eddie for his 1st Father's Day, and when it came down to it I knew that photos and a photo book were the way to go. I am not one to  keep secrets very well so it really was killing me to not be able to tell Eddie!! Using my ever so loved website Pintrest I found some great inspiration and the picture brought Eddie to tears it was such a beautiful moment. It was no easy task to get the shoes and hat without Eddie noticing either, like a theif in the night I had to pack the a bag the night before the shoot and go and hide it in the car...then the unlike a thief  I

Wearing Daddy's shoes and hat 

Love this shot

Not only did we celebrate Father's Day, but it was Isaac's baby dedication as well. It truly is amazing to see how our family has grown spiritually in these past months. Sharing this moment as a family was the highlight of the day. We love this little boy so much and cannot wait to see all that God has in store for his life.

Baby Dedication 2012

Our First Family Road Trip

Planning a vacation is no longer the same as before. I must admit that I was really nervous to travel so far away from home with Isaac. Nervous because I really didn't know what to expect at all. I am very thankful that I have wonderful Mommies around me that I offered plenty of tips, tricks, and just overall great advice for our first family trip. To my surprise Isaac did wonderful in the long car rides! It was a huge relief to me and I am glad that he did not scare us off from planning more vacations!

Here is some pics from Isaac's first trip to the beach...let's just say his Hawaiian side really came out, and he takes after my love of the water and the beach.

Beach Baby! 

Isaac loving the water on his toes

My big boy is 8 Months!

8 months is here and almost more than half way over...so I figured I better get this blog done before he is 9 months. It truly seems as if time is picking up. In months past the days seems to go by much slower and in the end when I would look back I could say, "wow! were did the time go?". That is not the case with this last month, it really seems like I am barely living each day. This last month has been jam packed full of events, moving into a home, finishing up my Spring Semester, and working a little over part time. Yet, some how we are managing to get it all done. Isaac is at a really fun age and I am loving seeing him discover all the changes that have been happening.

We have TEETH...Finally

I swear Isaac had been teething for over 2 1/2 months maybe more...and finally the day after he hit the 8 month mark his first little tooth arrived. I looks absolutely adorable! I was not worried that he would not get teeth (i'm not that much of a crazy Mom) I just really wanted some relief for him more than anything. He had been gnawing on everything and I could tell that he was just so uncomfortable. We got him teethers that worked for him sometimes, had the Tylenol nights (limited to the horrible nights), and all sorts of other little trick up our sleeves. In all it I know there is really no magical trick or way to take this pain away from our little ones, they just have to live through it. Unfortunately Isaac is a hard teether and I know that the months to come we will have some tough spots. I just really hope that as the remainder of the teeth arrive they don't take as long to come to the surface. Tooth #2 is slowly making its entrance and still not really visible...so I am starting to loose that hope of them coming in faster than the first one took.

Crawling, Standing & Mischief

Well when it rains it pours! Not literally but on Isaac's 'big' moments it sure has been that way. It was a waterfall this past month. He had started crawling but was not doing the 'classic crawl' it was more of a tummy/army crawl. But once he started to realize that he was going too slow the classic crawling started. Which then led to even more exploration in standing. From the looks of things I have a little climber on my hands!! Isaac will take anything and try to make it into his standing apparatus. Sometimes is is funny...and other times it is just down right dangerous. After a few minor falls I think he has gotten the hint that if it moves before I try to stand up fully it is no good. It is so interesting to see him explore and learn.

With the movement...of course what followed was the mischief. He takes curiosity to a new level for me, once he sees something that he wants or wants to do that is all that he needs to know. There is really no stopping him in his mind. The other day he wanted to pull on the vertical blinds in the family room, I indulged him and let him do it a little bit (heck the kid was having fun). Then he discovered that one of the blinds was broken, and all it would take is a light tug and it would come down. That was the point I had to stop the fun...well Mr. Mischief was not having that. He didn't throw a tantrum he just took it as a mischief challenge.  I would try to block him he would crawl under the coffee table and out the other side...I would run around blocking him again..and he would just laugh and laugh..This went on for a good 15 minutes!! I just love my little dude!! I can sure laugh at the mischief now...I hope it stays that way as he gets older but I'm not betting one it.


Yes...I'm still nursing :) 

My goal from the start of nursing was to keep it going until Isaac is 12 months. So far that is still the plan. Many have asked that now that he has teeth do I want to stop? The answer: NO, I am going to nurse him until 12months then begin to wean him. From what started out as a somewhat traumatic experience has turned into a wonderful and special bond between us. When nursing him yesterday I realized how much I love to nurse him.Its not like this is the first time that I ever had this thought, it was more of a reminder of how much a love it. The good heavily out weighs the bad now and I am glad that I got to share this experience with him. I do not feel pressure by society that nursing must end by the 12 month mark but I think that once his body is able to handle the whole milk that is a nutritious choice for my boy! In all honesty I don't have a problem with those that choose to keep nursing well into the toddler year it just not for me.

Truly a Social Butterfly

The chatting and babbling started I think around 5 months and has not stopped. Isaac loves to chat it up and be around people. He is still developing the sense of when to say words and who to say them too but he pretty much has the Hi and Bye waving down. It truly melts my heart when he says Hi and Bye to me! He is such a smart little boy and seeing his social skills develop and shape his personality is what I am enjoying.

We made a visit back to my Postpartum Mom's group led by my fabulous Lactation Consultant Gail, and he was such a little ham!! During the time that you introduce yourself and your baby Isaac was waving and saying, "Hiiiiiieee" to all the ladies and other babies. He was the talk of the room at that point :) There are many areas and ways that I am blessed with Isaac and his social side is one of them. I helps in more ways then one. He loves to meet new people, go new places, and be in the nursery at church. I hope his social side continues to be 'easy' as I know that separation anxiety can be a terror on any family. Like any kid I know that there is the ups and downs of it all but for now I am more than content with were we are at.

Photo Book

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Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

5 Of This Summers DIY Must DO's

Over the past year I have started to to find a love for DIY projects. Call me crazy but I feel like when you make yourself there brings so much more value to final product. Maybe its because you can look at it and admire it knowing that you did this and be giving your self the little 'pat on the back. Or because you get that feeling of accomplishment.Whatever the reason I am loving DIY projects and had to start making a list of what I wanted to do this summer so that way I can make some of these projects become a reality. I always think that if you make a list things get done. I didn't want to take on too much of this DIY fun so I thought about my need at in my home and what I would also have some fun doing.

#1 Re-thrifiting Furniture 

I have always been a big fan of painting, some hate it well...I enjoy it and find is very therapeutic. I stumbled across this beautiful dresser that a fellow blogger Living with Lindsay's post Thrift Store Cast Off, and instantly thought I should be doing this! I have painted with spray paint before and love the convenience and look that it gives off . Large dressers can run upward of $1000+ in stores and often aren't even real wood theses days. This is a project on the top of my list of DIY! I love the idea of taking something that has an outdated look and would otherwise be a cast off as no good and turning it into a fabulous piece for your home. 

#2 Chalkboard Obsessed

I'm an 80's kid, so I grew up with the teachers writing on a chalkboard. When I was little we use to have a chalkboard in our garage that we would play school with and write on. Printrest rekindled my love for chalkboards in a big way. You could even say that I have become a bit obsessed with them trying to figure out how to incorporate them into our home with out my Hubby Eddie going insane. My latest find is chalkboard contact paper. I am really excited over this because although I love the idea of painting and spray painting but its not something that I want to do ALL the time. After finding this it really got my creative juices flowing in wondering what I could stick this too. SO....I thought this would be perfect for a chalkboard wall in Isaac's playroom. Not only will it be easy to get up but it will save on the mess and also be way less permanent in comparison to the paint. 

#3 Re-purposing or Upcycling 

Again I love the idea of taking something that would have been thrown out or not used and turning it in to something great. A new word that I have learned (thanks to Pintrest) is upcycling. Basically it is taking something and instead of recycling it you upgrade it into something that is even better and more useful to you.

I want to try my hand at some wall home decor. Because we just moved into a new home I would like to decorate with some other things besides photos. Don't get me wrong, I love a nice photo wall and seeing the smiling happy faces everywhere. But when looking for something a little different  I stumbled across this wonderful upcycle made from pieces wood from an old pallet. From the looks of it this could be a pretty simple piece to make and that is what I like SIMPLE. I have old pallets at my work old laying around for FREE (pallets are usually free because everyone wants to get rid of them). Once I give this one a go I will be posting material and a how to on this. 

#4 Sentimental l Organization


Time is something that always seems to be slipping away. And before we know it our memories have plied up. Looking back over the last 4 years I have acquired so many cards, keepsakes, and memories that I don't want to loose. I came across this perfect idea to organize and keep the memories without just storing them in some box. Making a card book and adding it to the photo scrapbook shelf and then it would be something that we can look through later. This project is combining two of my loves: Organization & Memories!! 

Isaac will be 1 this summer so while all this organizing is going on I want to get this photo frame or shadow box together. When I saw this my exact thoughts were "DO this while you know where all this stuff is!" Because lets be honest.. half the battle of getting this type of project done is having the stuff to do it with. My goal would be to have this done and put it on display at his first birthday. I doing this to give myself a dead line because often I do work better under pressure of a dead line! This idea it is a great way to display the precious life changing moment of life without being an overwhelming focal point. This is something that I plan to put up in my kids room and then later display in my room. 

#5 MY very own craft corner! 

This picture was seriously love at first sight. Currently all of my crafting items, ribbons, crochet, and sewing stuff is all over the place. I do have some organization to it but what I don't like is that some of it is in one place and some in the other. Not only will this solve the issue of things being in different locations it is a little place for me that I can open up at spend time getting crafty! I am very excited to start working on this. I think my favorite part of this craft corner is that I will be able to close up shop and not have it bothered. With a little one crawling around these days it will be great to have a place that I can close off without having to take up a tremendous amount of space. From the looks of this picture I am pretty sure I will be able to recreate this based on my own needs. Again, I will be posting the how to on this later once I get it going and have it finished!

Adventures in Breastfeeding

Hours old..the journey began here

I have made mention in several prior post about getting around to making a blog post dedicated to my adventure and journey in breastfeeding with my boy Isaac. Well, the time has come an now I am ready to rock it out and get this going. My hope and goal of this post is share my experiences and maybe even give some tips to Mommies who want to give it a go. I cannot express enough that each mommy and baby's experience will be different and that my advice is based on my experiences and what worked and didn't work for me. Do not take this a medical advice as I am not a licences lactation consultant just a Mom that had a moderately rough time becoming successful in exclusively breastfeeding.

First of all I'd like to share why I made the decision to breastfeed; it is important to start here because this is where you may need to draw strength from later in your own journey. I recommend making a list of your own reason. Here are my top 5 reasons I chose to breastfeed:

1. Because I wanted to have this experience with my child
2. For my child's health benefits
3. (This is honesty) To save lots of $$$$$
4. (again honesty) The convenience, no heating bottles, packing formula, running to the store for formula..etc
5. (more honesty)  Less mess and clean up..no washing bottle after bottle after bottle...after bottle..

Okay, so now that you know my reasons and what I wanted before my little boy Isaac was here lets dive right into the reality of it all in what REALLY HAPPENED....Hours after Isaac was born I was told by the nurse that my nipples were too short and not 'good for breastfeeding'. She immediately tried to placing a nipple shield on me. I quickly told her to remove it as I wanted to try without it. Isaac was crying and crying and could not latch with it on. Once I did away with the shield he latched and was doing good however Isaac wasn't more than 2 days old when the hospital let me know that he had lost too much weight and was not getting enough from me so supplementing with formula was a must! Of course you need to do what is best health wise for your child so I started the supplementing.

Supplementing 

Isaac feeding with expressed milk

  I want to explain what supplementing is.Supplementing was a new to me and I didn't really know what it was. Let me make clear that it is not in any way a 'bad' or 'wrong' thing. To make it simple it is when you are using any other means besides exclusively breastfeeding. You can supplement in two ways through expressed breast milk or formula and also you can administer it in different was as well.  I was sure that I didn't want him to have nipple confusion so the nurses set me up with all the tool to administer tube feedings through my finger. This was a short lived venture by the time we got Isaac home the next day and tried the tube feeding by ourselves it was total chaos! I am not a Dr. nor a lactation consultant so my advise: Choose the method that works best with your comfort level. For me I wanted to avoid nipple confusion however I was not comfortable with the finger tube feeding so bottles were the way to go at this point. While supplementing with expressed milk or formula it is important to continue to pump after every feeding. This is what will help your milk to come in, it is tiresome to pump after feedings but it is a must to stimulate your breast to begin producing milk. I purchased the Ameda Purely Yours Pump before leaving the hospital (it was highly recommended by lactation consultant on staff  and I knew I would need it once I returned to work). In the first weeks if you are having to supplement you may be like me and be doing some feedings with breastmilk and others with formula depending on how much of a supply you have coming in.

**$$ saver tip: Check with your healthcare provider they may offer discounts that is one of the reason we purchase this pump through the hospital or rent one first to see if you like it before making the investment of purchasing your own.

Getting over your lack of success 


This is the perfect time to take that list of reasons why you chose to breastfeed out! At this point in my journey I was completely on the fence about if I was going to pursue breastfeeding. I was physically and emotionally drained and was tired of dreading every feeding. I did know if this was a 'normal' feeling but I sure felt like a failure in more ways than one. Isaac was not latching and every time I tried he would freak out bellowing out screaming and wailing cries that would break my heart each time we tried to feed. If you are at this point here are some suggestions and tips:

• Ask for help and get SUPPORT!!

1. Find a local mothers group that may emphasize in lactation issues **I found a FREE group through Palo Alto Medical Foundation that is open to the public 
2. Set up an appointment with your health care providers lactation consultants these are FREE usually for at least one or two visits after birth. 
3. Contact FREE advise lines with feeding experts: Similac for Strong Moms (800)986-8800
4. Hire a lactation consultant that came come to your home, this is not free but it can be helpful to be in your own home setting. 

• KNOW this is a learning time for both Mommy and Baby! Just like you need to learn how to breastfeed your baby really does need to learn how to feed!! (it took me a while to really understand this) 
• RELAX!! RELAX!! RELAX!! then remind yourself to RELAX!! Stress will hinder your progress, and baby can tell when Mom is not relaxed. 
• Don't listen to everyone's opinions 

Tired and broken down  is the understatement 

If you are struggling with breastfeeding I cannot stress how important it is to understand that you are going through a learning phase that will take time for both you and baby, and finding a support system will be vital in your ability to 'weather the storm'. It took Isaac until  3 weeks old to latch (using a nipple shield), another 2 weeks to latch with out it and other 3 weeks to get a good latch that was comfortable for me. Doing the math...we were at 8 weeks (2months old) before we were having successful breastfeeding. When I was expecting it was so very easy to say that I would give breastfeeding a try for 8 weeks...but to live through those 8 weeks is something else. Also, if you reading this and living the defeat right now please know that every Mom has their own threshold of sanity and ultimately please do what is best for you and your baby! Don't feel that you are a failure for any choices that you make. The most important thing to remind yourself of is that your baby needs a Mom that is emotionally healthy.

When seeking to set up your support team it is important to make sure that you are in fact getting support and help! If you are seeing a lactation consultant (LC) that you do not feel comfortable with find another one. It is very important that you feel relaxed and comfortable. When I went to my free visit through my healthcare provider I did not feel like it was a good match with the LC. So, I didn't not return for another visit I just pursued other support systems! It is also important to NOT listen or take with a 'grain of salt' others opinions. I really struggled with this one, not just because it is an emotional time and you are already dealing with so much but because their words can truly discourage and hurt you. Although they surly mean well and are not chiming in to hurt your feelings it can happen and that is why it is very important to just go on auto pilot and ignore it. Remember you are trying to build a supportive environment to succeed in and not to be torn down and feel like a failure.


What there is Costs!?

This portion is not so much about breastfeeding but about the the investment of money and cost of breastfeeding. Well, you might be saying what cost!? And that was my reaction before this journey...So if you recall my #3 reason for choosing breastfeeding what to save money. Well, of course you will save lots and lots of money in the long run, however there will be an initial investment that you will need to make and some minor reoccurring cost that you can encounter. Your cost breakdown can be different than mine and some of these items I did get as gifts but to simplify it I'll just like the items I used and the average costs:

• Nipple Shields (to help baby latch)  - 2 pack $14 
• Lanolin (helps with sore or cracked nipples) - $8
• Breast Shells (collect milk and help air out nipples [loved theses!!]) - $20 
• Nursing pillow - $20-$40
• Nursing Shirts and Bras - $20-30 each 
• Hospital grade breast pump rental - $20 per week average of 1 month = $100
• Manual Breast Pump - $50
• Electrical Breast Pump and accessories - $300-$400
• Milk Storage bags 50 count - $9
• Breast pads 100 count - $12 *you can get reusable ones but the never worked for me I always leaked through
• Lactation Consultant 3 visits for $180
• Antibiotics for thrush and mastitis - $40

                Average Estimated Total --$800 - $1,000

Keep in mind your cost will vary depending on what you use. PLEASE know that I not my this laundry list of items to discourage you from breastfeeding!! It is just simply to help you prepare for what is potentially to come. Even though the average costs could total up to $1,000 formula feeding is still more expensive and on average for just the formula alone you could spend $1,900. All in all breastfeeding solely to save money may or may not pan out is more my point. Yes, over the long run you will save money but its not 100% free.

Milk Drunk

Try Try Try...Again and Again

I explain my success with breastfeed like a light switch. It was as if Isaac had flipped the switch on that day and just decided that he would do it. Before we had success with just the breast it was a matter of trying and trying again. You may read in other breastfeeding material about 'offering the breast first', well this may be hard if your child does what Isaac did and that is: want food right away..going from zero to sixty on the freak out scale!! So I completely understand if you don't offer the breast first at every feeding. However if you don't offer it they aren't going  to learn to take it, so it is important to find a balance of what will work for you and your baby.

I did a number of trial and error methods which included:

• Trying to get to him before he was too hungry
• Feeding some from the bottle then trying to slip the breast in 
• Using a nipple shield
• Try different holds until you find one that works well

Even though I didn't offer him the breast at every feeding however I did keep trying! It was not easy and like I mentioned before I wanted to cry before every feeding because I didn't know what to expect. Yet, to reach my goal of breastfeeding success I had to dig deep many many times. There is a couple of analogies that come to mind when I think about breastfeeding and the best one that I can think of to compare it to is learning how how to ride a bike but not just any bike a tandem bike. Not only will you need to help of someone to teach you how to ride the bike you also need the help of the other person on the bike to make it successful. In this case the other person would be your baby! So even though you may be doing everything right and just the way that you are being taught to do it, you still need your baby to learn as well. Like riding a bike you are going to fall, it may hurt, you'll cry, be upset and probably not be very successful at first but you won't learn if you don't keep at it and then once you get it down its seriously the easiest thing ever! And those days of struggling and dreading feeding will be long gone.

Overall, there is now right way or wrong way to feed you baby in my opinion. I think that as Moms we are faced with more decisions than we could even begin to count. In the end it is important to do what is best for your family not what everyone else thinks that you should be doing. Breastfeeding Isaac has been a wonderful journey and it sure has been filled with its ups and down. When he was a newborn I could not imagine what our nursing experience would be like months down the road. It was just to hard to even comprehend much during those first weeks home and now we have come a very long way in the journey and to say that it is what I expected would not be the truth at all. As for the future I plan to continue to breastfeed him until his is 12 months and then start to wean him. He will be 8 months at the end of this month and it seem odd that he is closer to the end of our journey than the beginning...that is the hard part to comprehend at this point. I want to close by leaving you with my top 5 tips to summarize what I feel made my journey what it is today.

1. Follow your Mommy instincts -- believe me you do have them 
2. Find a comfortable place to nurse for you and your baby - ours ended up being in my bed propped up with pillows. Isaac is not a fan of the rocking chair or couch.  
3. Find the hold that your baby likes - Isaac only would latch well in the cross cradle and the same it true for today. 
4. Establish a good support team 
5. Patience and Persistence 

If you have any questions please leave them in the comments, enjoy your journey!! 

Isaac is 7 Months Old

7 Months Old 

This year sure is flying on by, here we are already at the 7 month stage. Isaac have embraced this new stage of life with all that his little body will allow. Since last months blog it seems like a blur but I know so much has happened. I find myself now trying to write down the moments as we go along because I truly have "Mommy Brain" and will quickly forget what just happens hours before.

Mr. Chatty

Isaac's ability to verbalize has really left us stunned. By verbalize I do not mean that he is talking but it is his constant baby chatter that is amazing to us. His efforts to get his point across is just too cute. When he is super excited it is this high pitch squeal mixed with raspberries and slobber. He is such a little mimic these days too. You say "Hi" and he responds "Hiiiiii" or the same with "Hey" he says "Heeyyyy". Now I know every parent believes that their child is the most advanced but really I am truly blow away by what Isaac is attempting to verbalize. So far this month next to Dada he has added his Ma, Mu, and Pa sounds into the mix. Earlier this week was the first time that he has MaMu together and I am not 100% convinced that he was talking to me but I am willing to take it!! He does know that when a Ma Ma Ma comes out I get all excited and happy and come running.

Forward and Beyond 


We have FORWARD movement!! This is a huge milestone for my little mover. His personality has shown that he is such a cautious little dude that likes to take his time with everything that he does. It took him a few weeks of getting up on to his knees to really start progressing forward. He is not doing the classic traditional crawling movement yet but he is sure getting there. He is a tummy crawler and still likes to using his rolling skills to get around. He is still getting his baby work outs in doing push up on his knees and even gets on to his toes. I included a video below of his movements this was taken a few weeks ago. I love that he is moving more although like everyone had warned us about....it is a little bit more of a challenge. He is always wanting down to get down and move move move!!

Sweet Sweet Boy

Isaac has such a sweet and loving disposition and is my sweet sweet boy. He loves to just stare into your eyes and stroke your cheeks. It is such a pure and loving moment with my boy that I cherish. Often I find myself just staring at him and getting lost in those big brown eyes of his. I can never get enough snuggling with this boys he is a cuddle bug! That is one of the things that I am cherishing the most these days. I have often thought that when he is older he will no longer want to hug and snuggle with his Momma..however this is one thing that I want to know he will never be too old to love him Mom. When I was at the store the other day I saw this young man just loving on him Mom and it brought tears to my eyes. I think in the this society today there is this generalization that when you hit a certain age that is no longer OK...well when I saw this boy and his Mom it was refreshing to see that he didn't care who was around or if he'd be un-cool or looked at as a "Momma's Boy". Now I of course don't know this boy and his Mom so there could have been a phase in there that he wasn't like this, but I seeing this did make me feel that it is possible to skip that phase!

Happy Easter! 


We celebrated our first Easter as a family! With all the bad weather that we had been getting I was hoping for a beautifully sunny day and that is exactly what it was. It was wonderful to experience Easter with Isaac here. Last Easter I was expecting and of course knew the love of a parent but it does change (for the better) once your child is here and in your arms. What a different experience it is as a parent on Easter..not just because you get to dress your child up, take photos, and hunt for eggs; but because you truly know what a parents love is. Then to apply that love to our Savior's death and Resurrection is very powerful. I am looking forward to the years to come when I can share why we celebrate Easter with Isaac. That it is of course a celebratory day to spend with family and friends, and there is nothing wrong with getting dressed up, taking photos or even enjoying the egg hunt festivities...but it should never shadow that we celebrate Easter to rejoice that Jesus conquered the grave!

He was pierced for our transgressions, 

he was crushed for our iniquities, 

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, 

and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

First Family Easter Picture 

26 Week Pregnant Last Easter 

My little dapper man

Mommy & Baby at Church 

Our Funny Bunny Boy 

This is not your Cafeteria Style Salisbury Steak

Yummy..Husband tested and approved! 

When I first encountered this recipe which was handed down to me from a coworker I was rather hesitant. My husband Eddie is a bit picky and it is always tricky adding something new to the dinner menu. In complete honesty  Salisbury Steak reminds me a cafeteria food or something that you would see served at an retirement home; but when I looked at the simplicity of the ingredients and how easy it was to put this meal together it was 100% worth a try.

A great thing about this recipe is that you can really make it your own. By adding seasoning to taste and what you know you and your family like. I omit the bread crumbs and have used crackers or lately I have not been adding any at all and it still comes out great. The first time that I made this is didn't have mustard powder on hand so I just used regular mustard and that also worked. Another great add is fresh mushrooms, sometime I have them around so I add them to the sauce when its cooking. That is why I love this recipe because you can change things and it won't ruin the dish but add some extra character. If also found that the Sauce will also double as a gravy for a side of mashed potatoes.

Again I must give the disclaimer that this recipe is a must try before you judge! It meets my top 3 criteria for meals during the busy work week =  #1 no fuss ingredients, #2 not time consuming prep, #3 and you can make it in less than 30minutes (probably 45 minutes total with all the prep).

Ingredients

• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs -- I don't use bread crumbs and it turns out fine
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder -- I use just regular mustard 

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together 1/3 cup condensed French onion soup with ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, salt and black pepper. Shape into 6 oval patties.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown both sides of patties. Pour off excess fat.
3. In a small bowl, blend flour and remaining soup until smooth. Mix in ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder. Pour over meat in skillet. Cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Blogs got a brand new name

After thinking about it for a while it was time to say goodbye to the name 'California Living' and find a new name for my blog. It comes with much nostalgia to let the name go. The reason I decided to change the name is simply because I wanted something that was more reflective of myself and what I like to blog about. It was hard like naming a child..well maybe not a serious as naming my son but it took me a while to decide on the final name change. I didn't want to be generic but I also didn't want to be too complicated. And anyone who knows me knows that I like to go back and forth and then back and forth on decision making. This is all to say that I finally nailed it down and changed the name of my blog! To "Me, The Mrs. & Mommy".

My goal for the remainder of this year is to blog much more. Lately most of my blog post have been about my little bundle of boy Isaac who I could write about until my fingers fall off. However I want to also blog about other aspects of my life. Which of course include myself and being Mrs. Tostado! So this new name pretty much covers it all.

A confession that I must also make is that some of the inspiration of chagning the name came from my new obsession with Pintrest. I love, love, love to pin and repin and I noticed that many of my pins are coming from these fabulous bloggers sharing their ideas. So I thought why not join the sensation and get my own blog up to speed. Whats to come or what will be different with this blog you may ask!? I will be included more posts about my DIY crafting experiences, food I'm making, some parenting or mommy tips, trials and errors that I find along the way and pretty much what Team Tostado is up to! Hope you stay tuned for what's to come.

Happy Half Birthday Isaac

6 months old and happy as can be

No it can be so...but it is the day has come and past. Our little Isaac is already 6 months old! What an amazing 6 months this has been. God had shown our family so much through this little bundle of boy and I really just can't imagine our lives with without Isaac in it. Daily I am reminded of what a blessing, job, challenge, and adventure it is to be a parent. With the anticipation of actually getting to celebrate Isaac's Half Birthday due to a leap year I found this milestone very exciting. It was a big month for Team Tostado that is for sure. Isaac is growing into his 9 months clothes and tipping the scales at 15lbs 14oz! And to Daddy's delight he is a growing nice and tall at 26.5" ...watch out NBA Team Tostado is growing a future all star for ya!! 

aannd 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 Baby Pushups make me strong!

 Mommy can't I just do something w/out the camera all in my face

 I Got Jokes

Isaac is living up to the meaning of his name which is laughter. He is my silly little boy with a smile that will melt your heart. His personality is shining through more and more, and I see that he is such a happy boy. It is so funny to see him get going, it is like he knows that what he is doing is funny or silly. His laughter is beyond contagious and I really can't get enough of it. He never wants to miss a beat and is super social and I am loving seeing that develop in him. His favorite things that make him laugh are how silly Mommy and Daddy can be, peek-a-boo with his bibs or blankets, and of course he is very ticklish. He also likes to imitate tickling and will lunge forward and place his head on you and rub his face into your body to try and make you laugh. He is without a doubt in his own way telling us, "I got jokes".



Team Tostado takes the Zoo!

To celebrate Isaac turning 6 months we wanted to do something special so we planned out first big family outing to the Oakland Zoo. It was a great day in many ways, not only did I get to spend time with my two favorites I got to see the Zoo in a new way. Having a family has shown me a different way to look at life and all that we have. Isaac LOVED the zoo, he is my little nature boy! It was fun to see him try to figure out what exactly he was looking at. His favorite animals were the meerkats, zebras, elephants, and the bronzed turtle.

Dada = Daddy!! 

I tried and tried to deny it but I can't anymore as of this last Sunday Isaac now calls Eddie DaDa. It is bittersweet that is for sure but I was prepared that he would say it first before Momma. It was about month  ago that he just say Dada Dada Dada over and over. I knew that he really had yet to connect the two and was always quick to make sure Eddie knew it too. How it happened I was talking to Isaac in the morning on the bed pointing at myself saying Momma and then pointing at him and saying baby. Then clear as day he turns and looks at Eddie and say, "Dada" I was shocked at first, and told Eddie to wake up! Isaac had just called him Dada and I couldn't take that away from him. So I asked Isaac, "who is that!?" and again he said "Dada"...still not wanting to believe it deep down and wanting it to be a fluke Isaac proved me wrong and said it in the proper context 5 more time that day. He is still working on it and is not a show pony that we can get to preform on cue (believe me we tried to get it on camera) but he said it again today when Eddie got home. Isaac is a little chatter box already with his baby talk and being the little social butterfly that he is it doesn't surprise me that he is try and wanting to talk. 

I like my carseat...most of the time 

It never ceases to amaze me or even shock me that once we think we have our kiddo pegged he show us that we could not be more wrong. It seems like I was just blogging about how Isaac despises the carseat; well that is not the case anymore. He is actually quite the little passenger these days. I honestly don't know what changed because I sure know that it is nothing that I did. Whatever it may be I'll take it gladly with a smile. I never realized how stressful it was to drive around cringing and hoping that in the 15 minute car ride there would not be a meltdown. It is really refreshing to drive with him and sing along to the radio or hear his little giggles and baby babbling from the back seat. Now...don't think that this is an all the time occurrence. I would love to say it is so, but it is just not the case. We still have the meltdowns at least once or twice a week, but this is a vast improvement considers the past months. It actually gives me hope the future road trips in our near future.Going through this hating the carseat phase thought me lots about myself. I always considered myself to be the type of person that could handle a crying baby calmly being able to sooth the situation and that was not the case here. I was frantic, crazed, emotionally drained, and even feeling like a failure each time we would get in the car..wondering, hoping, PRAYING that we could just make it home without a meltdown! Coming thought this low helped me compile as checklist or possible 'help me' list for other parents going though a similar experience I'll share that in a future blog.

Adventures in Eating 

Well...like the carseat Isaac has decided that he will drink out of the bottle. This is truly a huge answer to prayer. With my return to work this is what made it the most difficult. Had I been with Isaac all the time this would of course impeded me from have more than a few hours away but having to work 6hours at a time and Isaac not having the same schedule everyday made him not taking a bottle very stressful on both of us. Very much like any struggle with an infant I must say this one by far takes the ultimate cake. Any parent who has to be away from their child and they do not take a bottle knows this pain. I use the word pain because that is truly what it is. It is a feeling in your stomach or chest that hurts knowing that your child is not with you and cannot eat when they want to. In my last blog I showed the line up or arsenal of bottles that we went through in trying to get him to take the bottle and in the end he went back to the nipple that we originally started him out with which was the Dr. Browns.

Something new that we have been doing is starting solids regularly. We had tried to do solids around 4 months and he was really not ready at all so I didn't push it. Then when I went back to work around 5 months it was mostly a necessity due to his refusal of the bottle. But now...it is just so crazy because my little man really needs more food other that Momma's jugs (as we call them on Team Tostado). He is eating more oatmeal cereal, bananas, and carrots. This next week we will be introducing his 3rd food which will be squash. It is an exciting new venture for us all!! 

Yummy Oatmeal

I like this food stuff

Sleep..dare I say it?

I would be very foolish to think that my 6 month old will hold to the sleep pattern that he has developed for the rest of his young days but I again will take this sleeping through the night with a thankful heart! It started around the 5 1/2 month mark that he would sleep an average of 9-11 hours. It sounds odd but at first it actually made me a little more tired because of getting more sleep. Isaac has always been my little random boy without much of schedule to depend on other than bed time which is typically around 7:30ish. He is still not napping for more than 1 hour to an hour and a half twice a day but to quote the our pediatrician, "If you wanted to choose when he sleeps it should be the night, count yourselves lucky that he is choosing the night!". I really don't say this to make anyone who's child is waking several times during the night feel less than or that they are doing something wrong. This is just another lesson to me that every child is and will always be different. Of course there are some sleep training books that have been proved to work but we are still trucking along with our own parent led/baby led way of life.

Here some more pics from the last month

Getting use to my excersaucer

I'm gonna get you Tinky!!

Niners!!

Loves going on walks