Thompson Life Update.

We're officially residing in Cincinnati, OH. This last month has been a whirlwind, for lack of a better descriptor. We moved across country, unloaded, went to Young Life camp, unpacked, went to Phoenix, AZ, unpacked, Jeff started his new job, had visitors from Hilton Head... and now here we are.

All the while I've been maintaining my Etsy Shop, Our Baby Thompson Love, AND officially become a stay at home mom. It's been so crazy and we're ready to start fresh as a family of three and "relearn" how to live in Cincinnati.

We are temporarily living in Jeff's grandpa's house for FREE, so we can't complain at all. But we are beginning to explore different areas within the city and decide where we want to buy our first home. We are both excited about this, and are hoping to find a house that needs some substantial renovations/updates. I'm sure that seems crazy, but there will never be another time that we are living for free with no strings attached, allowing us an unlimited timeline and extra resources to renovate and make a house our first home! I cannot even begin to describe how eager I am to start this process, but I am also practicing patience and know it will be in God's timing. Our plan is that our house hunt will officially begin in early November, and realistically will continue well into the spring.

In other news, I'm training for a marathon. Perfect timing, right? It's been going well so far, although it's hard to carve out the time, we {Jeff and I} are making it a priority and he's supporting me as much as he can. He is also LOVING the time he's getting with Sullivan one-on-one while I go running, especially since he's adjusting to only seeing her for 2 hours a day, before bedtime {and weekends of course}.

I have lots of projects in the working: painting a lot of furniture, reupholstering our new Craigslist dining room chairs, some general decorating, and my favorite- planning for Sullivan's FIRST birthday party. I don't want to start a habit of doing over the top parties EVERY year, but how could we not for her very first?

Here's a couple pictures from the past month or so:

My Breastfeeding Experience {and Pumping}.

Breastfeeding and pumping seems so simple, but it's really so complicated, mostly because every experience is different. I feel like I still have questions about it and I'm 6 months into it. I want to share my experience with the hope that someone can relate!

The first days... 

Sullivan was immediately an "aggressive" feeder, as the nurses told me. We never had a problem with her latching, which I am so thankful for. The problem we initially had was it didn't seem like colostrum was enough for her. The lactation specialist at the hospital said she would be fine, but when we got home she just didn't seem satisfied at all after feeding. She just seemed really hungry and would cry and couldn't settle down/fall asleep. I was sent home with some individual "bottles" of formula {just in case}, so finally after a day or so I caved and let Jeff feed her a 1oz of a 2oz bottle. I cried the whole time and had to leave the room because I felt like a failure that I wasn't "enough" for her. I also feel so lucky that I was never sore, or dealt with cracked or bleeding nipples.

I kept waiting for my milk to come in {which I guess the average is 3 days}, mine took a week {7 whole days}! It was so exciting when it finally happened, but I was so worried and stressed that entire week that I wasn't going to be able to breastfeed. One of our older friends down here told us an old school trick, and had Jeff buy me a dark beer. So I'm sitting in my rocking chair, nursing Sullivan, and drinking a Guinness. About an hour or two later MY MILK CAME IN! We were so excited! From that point on it's pretty much been smooth sailing, but I regret how stressed I was the first week of her life, and feel like I really missed out on just loving her and getting to know her.

I have also never experienced too much pain or that full feeling, except for when Sullivan started sleeping for 8 hours straight. I have always done a dream feed {feed her while she's still kind of sleeping} at 10:30PM then she sleeps until 7AM. The first few times she started sleeping for that large chunk I woke up in pain and had to instantly feed her or pump. After a week or so this eased up and my body adjusted to the new schedule.

Pumping... 
Pumping has been OK. From the start I could never pump more than 2oz {TOTAL, from both sides}. Everything I've read and the lactation specialist at the hospital all say that I'm the norm, but every person {really, every person} that I've talked to/know can pump gallons. It's been frustrating, but we've managed. She only needs a few bottles a week, but I just couldn't get ahead. I have two friends who have "donated" their milk for Sullivan. I don't know how people feel about that, I guess it's a little weird, but I'm so thankful! I had my wisdom teeth out, and couldn't nurse for 24 hours... my supply would have never lasted for all that milk, but fortunately I had my friends' as back up!

I have tried every size flange {the funnel part of the pump} because we thought maybe that was the issue, but I kept getting the same results.

In the beginning I never tried super hard to live on the pump, I was overwhelmed enough with how often and long she was nursing for, to then sit and spend another 15 minutes on the pump. I'm assuming if I would have been really disciplined with pumping in-between feedings that would have made the difference. It's definitely made things a little complicated. For example, our doctor recently said to give her MiraLAX, for constipation, by mixed in her milk once a day. That's an issue because I don't pump enough milk for a full feeding {or enough liquid to mix the MiraLAX with}, so I'm not sure what to do.

Other than needing more milk for convenience and so that I can leave her more, it's really easy to just let her nurse. She's super quick and efficient these days and there is no mess or clean up involved!

I hope this helps SOMEONE. Let me know if you have specific questions, I'd be happy to share more details and info. OH, and I've mentioned this before but I found a breastfeeding support group with a lactation specialist who is there every week- that was beyond helpful {for random questions/concerns those first 3 months}, not to mention she gives free products/pump accessories. I highly recommend it! 

Stay Home or Work.

As we are preparing to move back to Ohio {which I guess this is my official announcement, ha}, we are also faced with the BIG decision of whether or not I will work. I have so many mixed feelings about this. I have been VERY lucky that the past two years I've been able to work privately for a family {but still within a school setting}. I am a "private" intervention specialist at a preparatory school {and I coach cheerleading which took about 15-20 hours a week}.  I LOVE what I'm doing, but it's not technically a "real" job. I'm not paid by the school, I don't have benefits, no classroom or personal space. The school has really embraced my position and have treated me as if I'm a "real" teacher. They've even sent multiple families my way, to see if I'd be willing to take on another student.

Since having Sullivan I work 3 days a week {4 hours a day}. We don't pay for child care, because we have a wonderful friend who watches baby once a week. We have some other great women who are willing to occasionally watch her, and then Jeff keeps her one or two days. It has been such a blessing to have help when family isn't near by.

So the reasons we are even considering the idea of me working are strictly financial and planning for the future. I should mention that we want to have at least three kids, but REALLY want four. Plus we would love to adopt {at least one child}. If I could work for the next 3 years or so, it would really help us to "get ahead" and really prepare for our future goals and children. We definitely DON'T want me to work when we have multiple children, and in 3 years or so Jeff will be more established in his new career. So working for a few years when we only have one or two kids might be really helpful.

I wasn't even considering job searching or the idea of working until I had SEVERAL {possible} opportunities come my way. One of the jobs offers more flexibility {while still being full time} than a teaching career would. I can't bare the thought of Sullivan spending 40 hours a week with anyone else. Best case scenario, I would get off work by 4, by the time we got home and settled it'd probably be 5, and her bedtime routine starts at 7:15. That's MAYBE 20 hours with her Monday-Friday.

I know myself and I know that I will struggle with feelings of jealousy and bitterness towards whoever got the gift of spending so much time with her everyday. I would pick her up and THEY would be the one telling ME what her schedule is, what she liked, etc. I don't think I could handle it.

I may be wrong, I have NO prior experience in this area! ha. So if ANY has some insight PLEASE share. Right now I am leaning towards wanting to work {again temporarily, like three years}.

Hello... who WOULDN'T want to spend all day with this girl. {These are two moments I would have missed had I been at work}. 

Baby Food Making Essentials.

1. Mumi & Bubi Trays: These trays are awesome. They were an investment, but the company compares the purchase of the trays to a week of purchasing store bought baby food. The main things I wanted when looking for trays to freeze our baby food was that they were BPA free, had lids, wouldn't take up A LOT of space, and each "cube" size was 1 oz... VIOLA, these are perfect. This kit comes with two trays and two lids. When stacked they are 3in tall. Each tray holds 21oz. of baby food {thats 42oz total}. I really like these. Now, ice cube trays are another option, but I decided against it for various reasons. Plus these have a 1 year warranty, always an added bonus.

2. Food Processor: We had this 4 cup food processor for 3.5 years now, and I've used it once! So I was super excited to bust this bad boy out. Now these are sold in ALL kinds of cute colors {I'm kind of bummed I missed that boat}. You could use ANY blender or food processor you already have. Personally, I am not into the "baby bullet" type stuff, I feel like it's just extra expenses and kind of gimmicky.

3. Boon Squirt Spoon: This isn't to help MAKE food, but just another fun AND helpful product to add to feeding time. You put the food in the squeeze handle, and then you do just that... squeeze. It dispenses {squirts} food into the spoon. It also comes with a cute little cover for the spoon. This will be great for on the go feeding because it eliminates the need for a bowl! And check out the cute colors.

4. mOmma Straw Cup: Another straw cup, and it's SUPER cute {always a motivator for me}. The Playtex training cups I bought are fine, but you have to suck really hard on the straw to get a drink {Sullivan still hasn't learned}. This cup is much easier to drink from. Plus it has the two handles so it's great for her to hold and control, and of course it's spill proof.

5. Organic Frozen/Fresh Produce: There are MANY reasons why I am choosing to only give Sullivan organic foods. I will mostly be using organic frozen veggies and fruit, because studies have shown frozen produce is equally as good as fresh produce {in some cases BETTER, whaaaat?} I have to sites listed below, and both have great information specifically about baby food. Both sites {and many more} 100% agree that organic is the BEST for babies. If "regular" produce is used it has chemicals and pesticides from the growing processes. Organic removes all that.


How I decided to make our baby food: 
Pros: 
1. The other day I went to the baby isle at the grocery, I looked at baby foods and read the ingredient list. It was WILD all the crap that was listed! I have bought some store bought baby foods and under ingredients all it should say {all I want it to say} is ORGANIC PEAS or ORGANIC WHATEVER. nothing else should be listed/is necessary. When you make your own baby food... you know EXACTLY what's in it.
3. Fresh {no idea how long store-bought baby food has been sitting on the shelves/manufacturers}
2. Money saver {one jar or pouch of organic baby food at my grocery is $1.39 for 3.5oz, I made 14oz for $2.89}
3. Better for the environment {no jars/pouches}
4. NO waste {when you open a jar/pouch of baby food, it has to be thrown out within 48 hours, with homemade you can prepare a little at a time}

Cons: 
1. Time {which really is minimal}
2. Learning/researching how to prepare {I get nervous I'm doing it wrong, causing added stress}
3. Less convenient than grabbing a jar {duh}

Making baby food really is THIS simple. It took me less than 20 minutes to make 42oz. of baby food and only $6 {for three different kinds- I will post specific pictures and "recipes" later}. 
To start I researched as much as I could about what foods to start with. An interesting mindset to have when starting solids is that our goal of giving foods/solids isn't to supplement or stop babies from nursing or taking formula, it's to introduce babies to AS MANY different foods as possible before their first birthday {check out this video, my pediatrician recommended this site, and it's all research based and a doctor's perspective}. I personally decided to start with veggies. Babies don't have preference at this point, every taste is a new experience, and they can't possibly know what they do and don't like BUT introducing fruits first {because of the natural sugars and sweetness} could make babies prefer fruits to veggies {just a thought}. I read On Becoming Baby Wise: Book II and did A LOT of research on Wholesome Baby Food and Dr. Greene.com.

If you have any questions, advice, or fun recipes please share!

A year ago, life changed.

So exactly a year ago from today we discovered we were pregnant {and by we I mean I}. About a week earlier, I finally went to the store and bought an at home test- a box of three. Of course it was the kind with the pink lines... The first test I THINK said "no you're not pregnant" but those blurred lines {Robin Thicker anyone} are pretty tricky. So a week later, on Wednesday {3/6/13}, I took a second test. This time that second blurry pink line was definitely making an appearance. When I told Jeff he said "you probably did it wrong" and started googling about false positives. So later that night I too the last of my three tests, and that third test DEFINITELY confirmed that indeed, I was pregnant. But Mr. Skeptic wasn't so positive. The next day he was out of town all day, so I went and bought a DIFFERENT brand, the kind that literally says "pregnant" or "not pregnant", pretty cut and dry.  Sure enough my screen said "pregnant". I took a picture of that and text Jeff saying "I'm calling the Doctor".

It's funny thinking back because at this point I was working out a lot and was running a 10 mile race on that Saturay {3/9/13} the day after my birthday! But I had eaten an entire LARGE jar of whole pickles from Sams Club in two days. I mentioned that to friends at school and of course their reaction was "uhhh sounds like you're prego". To which I responded "no my body must just need extra sodium from running so much"- WHAT? I ran a full marathon a couple years ago and NEVER needed a extra large family sized jar of pickles {and juice}. 

So all of it came together to mean only one thing- WE WERE MOST CERTAINLY PREGNANT. I kid you not, after all of this Jeff was STILL not convinced. That's Friday we had a 2.5 hour drive to Jacksonville to celebrate my birthday and for the race. The whole way Jeff kept saying "well IF we're pregnant" "if we really are...." Finally I couldn't take anymore denial and let him have it. ha. 

Little did I know a year Iater our baby girl would be 4 months old and the sweetest, happiest, and BEST thing that would ever happen to us.  Life has changed drastically. We can't stay out past 7:30pm, we have to plan out our weeks down to the littlest details, and we would have a new purpose in life. Nothing we do can be without thoughtful consideration of Sullivan and what would be best for HER. It's wild to think that for the rest of our life we will put her {and all other children} best interest ahead of our own. WHOA. 

Funny story- after I ran that race last year, we got back to the hotel and the concierge asked how I did. At that exact moment I had the sudden urge to puke... And the only option was a bush right there. So I throw up in the bush, look back at the concierge, and run away crying. All while Jeff is standing there witnessing this hugely embarrassing moment. His response is "she's pregnant" and comes to find me hiding in the lobby. That was one of three times I puked during my pregnancy. 

Random Issues We've Had.

It's so easy to make life seem perfect and have my baby appear to be the best thing ever {which, hello, she is...ha}. The reality is that it's not always a walk in the park and fields of flowers. But posting cute pictures is so deceiving because obviously I'm not going to post pictures of her screaming and I'm not really into airing dirty laundry as my Facebook status. 

Some of the problems and issues that have arose with both mama and baby...

**My first month postpartum, I struggled with baby blues. All the warnings I got seemed silly and I thought it was a joke. No joke people, the "baby blues" are a real thing. I couldn't believe they {the awesome nurses and hospital staff} just sent me home with a helpless baby. I was still recovering from a somewhat intense delivery {3 hr pushing session}, and thought "they" should send an in-home nurse or something to help with the transition. I had no previous experience with babies, especially newborns, so it was foreign territory for me and the husband. After 2 weeks I was feeling more stable {emotionally} but still very overwhelmed. By 4 weeks out I seriously told Jeff I as ready to have another baby- whaaaat? Now being 3 months out I know that I was created to be a mama, and I have so much confidence in myself and my decisions in regards to to our baby girl.

**I got terrible stretch marks at 31 weeks pregnant {yes, I cried when they showed up}. After the delivery my marks got real red and puffy and SO freakin itchy. I thought it was normal because my skin was "shrinking". Within a day or two a rash developed all over my upper thighs, waist, and even my arms! I finally called my doctor and apparently I had a unique case of postpartum PUPPP. I had to take some allergy medicine and it took a whole week to clear up.

**A hemangioma showed up on Sullivan's nose at 2 weeks old. These are reaaaally common in babies but not always in super noticeable places. It started swelling and getting bigger, which happens through the first year THEN it begins to reduce and eventually disappear. The doctors {and us} were concerned by the location of Sullivan's, near the corner of her eye and it was starting to swell/grow into her tear duct, so we decided to treat it. The first level of treatment is, get ready for this...  a blood pressure medicine! I was so nervous but it's been almost a month and she's had no negative side effects and the hemangioma has reduced in size, but it's definitely not going away anytime soon, which we're fine with- it's unique!

**Sullivan hasn't been a big weight gainer. She eats great {we breastfeed} but isn't gaining like other babies we know. Doctors say she's totally fine! People just kept making comments {FYI don't do that} and got me nervous about it. At her 2 month well visit she was in the 25th percentile for weight but 75th for height. So she's tall and skinny. Within the last month she's definitely put on weight though. I will be weighing her today actually at my breastfeeding support group {everyone should find one of these}.

**Her poop was green for 2 weeks! As a breastfed baby the poop is supposed to be mustard yellow, and was for the first 6 weeks then randomly turned all different shades of green and different textures. Guess what- the doctor said he doesn't worry about green, yellow, or orange poop! Hooray. Never in my life did I think I'd be talking about or CARE about poop.

**She has a herniated belly button- AKA an outie.

**She had an umbilical granuloma, which she had to have "burned" off 3 different times with silver nitrate. It causes her zero pain but stains her belly button blackish for forever. Good news, it's officially healed, which is reeeally great because the doctors were talking surgery if it didn't. 

We are blessed that all of these things have been/are minor and cause no concern or worry, especially since our little nugget wasn't breathing when she was born! Praise the Lord she is so healthy!

Chambray Baby Gap One-Piece//Hobby Lobby Bow

Please feel free to ask any specific questions you might have! 

My Birth Story... 3 Months Late.

I want to write down and share my birth story. It all started Tuesday, October 29th. Well really it started 2 weeks before when I had a false alarm that landed me in the hospital for a day, because the night before I had labor like symptoms- complete with throwing up from cramps in front of all my cheerleaders on the sidelines of a high school football game. Perfect. 

But the party really started on October 29th at 6:45pm. I had just gotten home from cheer practice, and we had to be at small group with friends from church at 7. Someone had made us a breakfast casserole a few days before, so given our timeframe that night, we had it for dinner. Jeff text the friend that made it for us and said how perfect it was. I looked at his phone and saw he said "damn group" instead of small group... Honest mistake. Which I found hilarious and started laughing hard, so hard I peed... But actually I've never been one of those girls to pee myself while laughing so then I realized it could be my water breaking. After I changed three different times because I kept "peeing" we assumed it was the water breaking. My first reaction was to start cleaning and doing all the things I had been wanting to do before the baby arrived, and we made it to the hospital around 8pm. I literally had one bite of the breakfast casserole, and we never made it to small group. 

When we got to the hospital they needed to know how certain I was that my water broke- I was 90% sure. So I was admitted, but feeling great so everyone was skeptical. I would have been SO mortified had it been pee. They had to run some test on the "water" to be certain it was amniotic fluid.. And results would be back in an hour. They checked my cervix.. I was 1cm dilated 75% effaced, which is what I had been for over a month now. It wasn't looking good the nurse and my doula (EVERYONE NEEDS A DOULA, just saying) said it would be a loooong night and process. We talked to my doctor at 11pm and she wanted to start me on pitocin at 1am if I hadn't made any progress. 

Also important- at 30 weeks pregnant I switched doctors. Bold move, I know. A lot of thought and prayer went into the decision. Now, we fully believe it was the right decision. I had marginal placenta previa, which means the placenta could potentially block the baby's exit. So there was talk of a possible C-section. I had to have so many ultrasounds and my doctors seemed to be settling on the idea of a C-section, despite the possibility of the placenta moving. I wasn't searching for a different answer, and have nothing against C-sections, but I wanted the opportunity to at least try a vaginal delivery. I didn't exactly trust that the doctors had my best interest in mind, so I got a second opinion. Sure enough, my placenta was fine and I was totally in the clear to have a vaginal birth. Later, I learned a lot of horrible things about the practice I was originally at. 

I wanted to attempt to have an all natural birth experience. When the possibility of pitocin came up, I was nervous because it can make the laboring so much more intense, and it's less likely to manage the pain without drugs. We (husband, doula, and I) walked, walked, and walked around that hospital- so much so that nurses kept calling the women's center to let them know I was roaming around, and making sure it was ok. Ha! At 1am the nurses checked me and I had dilated to a 4! So I was good to keep letting my body naturally progress. The rest is a blur... I wish I remembered the whole process, but I was in a deep state of meditation. I barely said any words or made any noises. Apparently I was the most quiet and composed laboring women the nurses and my doula had ever seen! At 4am my doctor arrived and it was time to push. Everything I read said when you get to the pushing- it's over. Well, go figure, it was the opposite for me. I pushed for over 2.5 hours and nothing I did could get the baby out! Finally, my doctor called for the "small vacuum". Before I knew what was going on, I had the biggest relief of my life and was told I had a BABY GIRL! At 6:51am my baby girl was in the world! 

Jeff was weeping and I was being tended to. All I kept asking was "How much does she weigh?" I was in such a strange state of mind, I didn't even realize she wasn't crying. Within seconds they were able to resuscitate her and I was able to hold her, but I had to keep hitting her back to help loosen up fluids. The trauma in the birth canal made her heart rate drop and the umbilical cord got wrapped around her neck, so she wasn't breathing at birth. The pediatrician said there would be no lasting/long term effects of her birth trauma. 

Sullivan Carolina Thompson as born October 30, 2013 at 6:51am. She weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce and was 21.25 inches. She has forever changed our life and has been the best, most perfect gift from God! 

Baby T Grew.

Although it's WAY late I wanted to post the pictures of Baby T {Sullivan} growing. It's fun to look at these now and think about that mysterious baby! Having a gender and a face to now blame all those kicks and moves. 

                       

                                 Obviously, the math seems off. We announced our dog, Walter and the baby! 2 doubled is 4. 

                      

                                                 

                                                 

                                                 

                                                             

                           

                           

                            

                            

And unfortunately I kept procrastinating and didn't take my 40 week picture holding a pumpkin {which would have been super appropriate, her being born October 30th and all}. Disappointment. Next baby I'll hopefully complete it.