Happy Mother's Day

"Motherhood is not a hobby. It is a calling. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for."  -Elder Neil L. Anderson-

I have the wonderful privilege of having two women I can call Mom: my biological mom and my stepmom, Dana. I'm so lucky to have both of them. They are both unique in their own ways, and that's why I love them.

My mom is one of the most kind and generous people that I've ever known. She will bend over backwards to help her children when they are in need. We've had our rough times, but what mother-daughter relationship doesn't? I gave her heck back in my teenager years, but those days are over, and I'm so happy with the relationship we have today.

My mom and me when I was a little one.

Us on my wedding day.

Dana is the best stepmom anyone could ask for. She is so much fun to be around, and so adventurous. I love chit-chatting with her, and we could talk all night! She has a spunky personality that makes her unique. She's so perfect for my dad, and you can tell they are so happy together.

 Dana with my sister and me in Hawaii

Dana, my sister with her son, and me

A year ago today, I announced on this blog that I was going to become a mother soon. (Read that post here.) I was 15 weeks along. This past year has been one of the fastest yet. It's been quite the ride that my husband and I have gone through becoming new parents. I have learned so much.

Being a mother is something that you can't explain to someone. There is nothing that can prepare you for this unique experience. You don't quite understand it until you become a mother yourself. The love I feel for Raegan is so strong. When she goes to bed at night, I find myself looking at pictures of her and just falling in love over and over again. 

I love you, Raegan. Forever and always!

Ahh... The Weekend.

As I'm sitting here in my living room typing this, both of my loves are quietly napping close by me. My little love is in her rocking to-go cradle, and my big love just crashed on the couch. Soon, it shall be my turn to take a nap uninterrupted.

Today, Raegan has -kind of- given me a hard time with her crankiness. She didn't want to take her early morning nap with me *sigh*, leading her to being more grumpy than usual when her actual morning nap rolled around. So, I'm grateful she's actually getting a good nap in: 2 hours now, and counting!

When Raegan is happy, (which is about 98% of the time), she is the most amazing baby ever! Sometimes I feel like it makes her unruly times harder to bear. I get frustrated with myself because I think I'm doing something wrong, when in all actuality, she's just being a baby! 

On a lighter note, she's mastering her sitting skill more and more every day. She also has found a love for her toy box in her room. I can see us spending a lot more time in her nursery when she becomes mobile.

I love that it's Friday and the weekend is here! That usually means more mommy breaks for me since daddy can take over and help out a little bit more than he can during the work week.

Well, I best get going. My little one just woke up and is all smiles and ready to have fun!

Until next time,

Lesly

A Nice Day for a Walk

While it was a little hot today, it was nice to to get out and go for a walk with my friend, Rebekah. She has a little man who is just one month younger than my baby. It's always fun to have friends with babies around the same age as yours!

Our friends, Rebekah and Jacob

Raegan got a little cranky when we stopped to take a few pictures, so I gave her my watch so she'd be more content.

"Mmm! Mommy's watch makes me happy!"

It's nice to get out and go for a walk/jog! We make it a date every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I'll have to get some pictures of Raegan and Jacob next time. They love each other!

Photography

I love photography. I actually hope to become a professional photographer someday. 

I have the perfect subjects too. My husband, my two dogs, and my baby girl! They probably get tired of me taking their snapshots though. But I need the practice!

Recently, my husband bought me a new camera lens. It's better than my previous one in the way that it has a larger aperture, making the subject of my photos stand out more and the background to blur. I LOVE IT!

I also love GIMP: it's a free photo editing software similar to photoshop. I'm getting the hang of using it, and it's fun just playing around. Here's a before and after of one of the photos I recently edited:

Pretty cool, huh?

Baby steps at a time, and I'll be a pro one of these days!

Happy 6 Months, Sweetheart!

I can't believe Raegan is already 6 months old! Yesterday was her half-birthday. I took some pictures like I do on every 3rd of the month since she was born. However, I had a new camera lens to play with! My husband gave me my mother's day gift a little early. (All I wanted was some chocolate for goodness sake! But what can I say... He spoils me.)

Back to Raegan: When she was newborn, she seemed so fragile. During my baby blues, I wished that she was just a little bit older, more solid. 6 months old is the perfect age. She is now "just a little bit older," just as I had wanted. I couldn't be more happy!

She loves playing on her tummy. She loves new things. She's exploring more of the world around her, at least as much as she can. She always wants to taste what I'm eating. She is so much fun!

Raegan is my little buddy. Being a stay at home mom, I get a lot of time with her, and for that I am grateful.

Here are some more pictures from what I took yesterday:

My favorite one. She is just too precious to me. Check out those ears!

Fenugreek, Miracle or Not?

For those who don't know, I exclusively pump to feed my baby. Starting out, I made more than enough milk. I even was able to stock some in my freezer because I was producing more than what my baby needed every day. It was incredible, knowing that even though breastfeeding didn't work out, I could still provide nourishment for my little one.

Well, after Christmas time, I noticed a decrease in my supply. I'm not sure how it all happened honestly.  I think I had a bad day or so when I wasn't able to keep up with the demands of pumping around the clock. Maybe it's because I dropped one or two pumping sessions a day. But since then, I haven't been able to keep up. I was forced to buy formula to supplement that extra bottle or so my baby needed at the end of the day to go to sleep.

Lately though, after going through several cans of formula, (which are in no way cheap), I've been looking for different ways to boost my supply! I miss having a stock of milk in my freezer for back up! So instead of first trying to pump more often, I decided to turn to fenugreek.

I had heard so many great things about it; how it boosts milk supply. I even heard of a woman who tripled her supply by taking it! So I had to try it out!

Well, I've been taking it for a little over a week now, and I have been hopeful... But even taking the max dose, (3 capsules, 3 times a day) I haven't seen my supply increase. Maybe by an ounce or so a day, but not enough to be worth buying this again. I will continue to take it and finish what I have though. I heard sometimes it can take 2 weeks for it to have an effect, but by golly I smell like maple syrup! It's a normal side effect, but it means I'm taking enough.

In the meantime, I think I will just have to resort to pumping more. These last few days, I've embraced my pump, and I've now managed to squeeze in two extra sessions a day. I do pump more than I did before, but I still have to give my baby formula. She's a growing girl!

I hope this fenugreek does end up working for me. I could really use a break. I want to have enough supply so I can store enough to feed her to her 1st birthday and beyond. I'd like to quit pumping before she hits that turning point, but I might not be so lucky.

Until next time. I'll post an update with my results when I figure out if it works for me or not!

Lesly