It's true...

So this evening, there was a brief moment where I realized my toddler was a little too quite. It is true... Silence is golden. Unless it's your toddler, then it's scary.... I was in the bathroom washing my face and getting ready for bed, and then it dawned on me... Braeden wasn't in there with me making messes. I found him in my bed room, on the bed. The light was turned off, so for a second I thought he must have just been rolling in the covers... Then, I smelled it. The overwhelming smell of baby powder... He dumped half of the container out on the comforter. I jumped into action cleaning it off... In the meantime, he tried to get off the bed and out of the room (probably thinking he was about to be put into time out). And then this happened.... I laughed and snapped a picture... Then, quickly helped clean him off... I figured it was enough punishment :)

Ohhhh, life with a toddler :)

He's totally fine by the way... Once I got him cleaned off, he went on to his next adventure ;)

Breastfeeding: Tips and Honest Truth

       This post is for those soon-to-be moms, new moms, or moms that may need a refresher and have some questions about breastfeeding. I'll try to touch on topics that I had a ton of questions about with my first born. I will also be brutally honest about things. I was lucky to have a friend that was honest with me and had experienced all the same stuff just a few months ahead of me. I'll be that friend for you right now...

Soreness:
     I went to a few breastfeeding classes through my health department prior to having Braeden. They would always say... When you start breastfeeding, if it hurts, then there is something wrong. Well, that's not the total truth. I did find out, 2 days after Braeden was born, that he did have a tongue tie. Luckily, his doctor specializes in tongue ties, and we got it taken care of that day. I did notice a significant difference when he fed from that point on. It was not as painful as it was in the very beginning. However, more than likely, you will experience some kind of tenderness or soreness within the first 2 weeks of breastfeeding. I remember, right around that 2 week mark, it didn't hurt any more. What you need to realize is that your body is not use to breastfeeding. When the baby latches on, it may, at first, feel like it's going to rip your nipple off, but don't stop feeding just because it hurts. I would definitely talk to your child's doctor or a lactation consultant to make sure there isn't any thing wrong. There are creams and home remedies you can try to help ease that pain a little bit, but all you need to do is persevere... and remember that you chose to breastfeed because it's one of the best things you can do for your baby.

Pumping:
        I know it sucks... literally, BUT when you first get home from the hospital, the best thing you can do is start pumping. Pumping does so many great things for you and the baby. Every time your baby latches on or you pump, it helps your cervix compress back to it's normal size. (In fact: you may notice when you feed or pump that you feel like you are gushing down there, that's because it makes your cervix compress.) Another benefit to pumping as soon as you can, is that it will help your milk supply come in faster. You will notice, the first day or two of pumping, you will only be getting colostrum in the bottles. That's all your baby needs for the first few days. Pumping will make your body think it needs to produce more and more for the baby, and it will cause your milk to come in faster. Pumping will also help with your milk supply. The more and more you pump, the more your body thinks it needs to produce. This way you can build up a supply in your fridge and freezer. This is important, especially, if you know you will be returning to work or needing to leave your baby for more than 2-3 hours at a time. So remember, even though it will become the worst task ever... pump, pump, pump! (Oh, and anything that can make it hands-free will be a PLUS.)

How will I know when my milk comes in?:
        Trust me, you'll know. :) It may hit you in the middle of the night while you're sleeping (or for that matter feeding). It could be when ever. All of a sudden, your breast will feel full. Your only hope will be that the baby is ready to feed as soon as it comes in, because feeling full can be a little bit painful. If your baby is sleeping, or doesn't want to feed, there's nothing wrong with pumping. Again, the more and more you pump, the more your supply will grow.

Postpartum Period:
         Right after you finish giving birth to your wonderful bundle of joy, you will begin that wonderful postpartum bleeding. This, however, is not a period. It is what most call "after birth." Your body needs to purge itself from everything that was inside of it for the past 9 months. This can take as little as three weeks or as long as eight weeks. Average time is usually 4-6 weeks. I was around 5 weeks postpartum when I finally was finished. The whole time, I was breastfeeding. When I went for my 6 week check-up at my OB, the nurse asked me if I had had my first postpartum period yet. I told her not yet, that it had only been about a week that I had stopped bleeding after-birth. She said, "well it will come soon enough." But it didn't. I started to freak out at little that I could be pregnant again, and so soon. I knew there hadn't been many chances for that to even happen, plus at the time, I was on the low dose pill. So, I text my friend (the honest one I had mentioned before) freaking out about not having a period. She reassured me that breastfeeding mothers tend to have a delayed period. I did a little research, on babycenter.com, and the reason is due to hormones and the frequency of feedings. The article I read, said a period could start at 11 weeks postpartum or could be delayed up to 24 months. Mine came about 7 months postpartum-mainly because my son quit breastfeeding at that time. So, don't necessarily stress that you could be pregnant if your period doesn't come by 11 weeks postpartum if you are exclusively breastfeeding. If you are worried that could be the case, then take a pregnancy test (I'd suggest just a dollar store test first).

Is my baby getting enough milk?:
       You must first remember this... their stomachs are small. It does not take much to fill them up. Normally, a baby will latch on and then let go when they are finished. If they are fussy immediately after letting go, I suggest, first trying to burp the baby. Then, if they have burped and still are fussy, try offering the breast again. If the baby is still hungry, then they will latch back on. Word of warning though, if the baby does eat too much, they will more than likely spit up... A LOT. That being said, just because they spit up after feeding, does not mean they are eating too much... it's just a normal baby thing. Excessive spit up is when you would want to be concerned. One benefit to breastfeeding, is that the baby learns when they are hungry or full. Eventually, even you, will pick up on their signs of hungry vs. full too. (With brand new parents, it can take a little while to pick up on that.) I have read that breastfed babies tend to not have obesity problems, even later in life, because they can tell when they are full quicker. One thing I do suggest, if you are pumping and bottle feeding. When the baby is 3mo or younger, start with only 2 oz of breast milk in the bottle. Then, burp and see if the baby seems like they need more. Once they reach about 3-4 mo you can increase it to 3-4 oz. With my son, it seemed like he would increase an ounce with each month he turned older. However, when they do start on solids (aka baby food), try no more than 4 oz immediately after, if they seem hungry still. (You don't want to over feed you baby, just as much as you don't want to under feed.)


I'm sure there are more topics I forgot to touch on. Please comment if there is something about breastfeeding you would like me to touch on. I may even get back on here and add to the post if I think of some things.

Christmas Traditions

    Merry Christmas Eve to everyone... I, first, want to go ahead and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and I hope everyone has safe travels where ever you may go. 

    This is the first Christmas that Braeden kind of understands the concept of Santa. Paul and I are overly stoked about that!! What I want to do is go over my family's Christmas traditions, and I would love to hear about yours...

    Until I met my husband, I never really realized that people did things differently ... I never gave it much thought. I knew about other types of celebrations, like Hanukkah, but I just never put much thought into the fact that others can do things differently. Here's what I'm referencing... My family always has a Chistmas Eve dinner (and it's not usually the regular Christmas dinner but some thing special, like we've done "fish n' chips" before). Then, after dinner, we open the gifts we got each other. Once we're finished with that, we set out the cookies for Santa, and go to bed... awaiting his arrival. Being the oldest of 3, I usually had my sister slumber party it up with me that night... I realize now, it was more to keep them from waking up at 2 am and getting into Santa's presents.  My sisters would wake me up anywhere between 6-7am to go upstairs and see what Santa brought. I would first go up, and make sure our parents were awake before I "released the hounds." Now, that we're older, we still keep our Chistmas Eve traditions in tact, but I share my Christmas Day with my husbands family.

   My husbands family did things a little differently when he was a child. Their focus on everything was actually mostly all on Chistmas day. 

    As I grow older, I find that my thoughts towards Chistmas have changed. I make sure I remember what Chistmas is truly about. I've also noticed my focus has changed from "presents, presents, presents" to spending time with family and giving more than the whole receiving aspect. I honestly enjoy this outlook better. I also am enjoying getting to witness Christmas from a childs point of

view watching my son learn more and more about the Christmas season. This truly is "the best time of the year!" And we are loving every minute of it. So,

I want to wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

One Blessed Mommy

    Well we got all our Christmas shopping finished... Now to just get everything put together. 

     Last night, I kept trying to get comfortable in bed (the more pregnant I get, the harder that task is). Well, Braeden was in bed with us and every time I moved away from him, he would pop up and ask for me and grab my hand. Well, today I'm definitely feeling those sleep interruptions... ZzZz... And in a few months I'm going to be living like this because of a new born.  (But I do love to cuddle, so it wasn't all terrible.) When I started to complain about last night to my husband this morning, I remembered that not only am I blessed to have such a wonderful, loving child now ... But we are about to be blessed with another one! Even if it means I'm sleep deprived, I wouldn't change it for the world! I love being a mommy. I also love that I have a little boy that thinks the world of me... Even if I know I don't deserve it. I am overly blessed, and so so in love with my little family.

This was him yesterday morning... He's already big enough to take over the bed!!

Christmas is almost here!

     It's only 6 days until Christmas.... Should we panic... Maybe a little. I haven't done any shopping. Here lately, I can barely walk though the grocery store without feeling like I've been in a car accident... Back pain, abdominal pain, swelling...Needless to say, I haven't really had the "spirit" to shop. Tomorrow is our big day for shopping... I hope hormones doesn't make me strangle anyone. ;) 

    The other reason I haven't had a huge focus on shopping, is because I've been trying to remember that real reason for Christmas isn't all about gifts. Its about enjoying family (as much as possible), giving NOT RECEIVING, and most importantly....It's about the birth of Jesus Christ. The only perfect man to have walked on Earth, and became the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. 

    We may get stressed about shopping, dinners, and family.... But we need to remember this holiday isn't about us. So Merry CHRISTmas! 

My Favorite DIY sugar scrub and bath soak

I truly believe giving is one of the best parts of the Christmas season! Last year I decided to do a few DIY gifts for the family. My two favorite things I made was a sugar body scrub and a bath soak. They were simple and rather cheap to make. Here's how I made them, plus a few extra ideas:

1st the sugar scrub:

I made a peppermint sugar scrub. I ended up making enough for 6 ladies in my family. I put them in a mason jar for cute packaging. (I used a blue pint sized mason jar... I can't find the picture)

Pour 2 bags of sugar in a large bowl. Stir and pour slowly a 1/2 cup of baby oil (unscented). One thing I might suggest is try 1/2 cup of coconut oil melted and cooled, instead of baby oil. Add 1 teaspoon of peppermint essential oil (you can use flavoring if you are unable to find the essential oil). And stir it all together. Then, I took half of the mixture and put it in a seperate bowl and dyed it blue (2-3 drops of blue coloring). I originally was going to do pink, but since I used blue mason jars, I decided to go with blue. Once that is mixed thoroughly, I then grabbed my jars. Then, I took a cooking spoon of the white mixture and poured it into the bottom of the jar. Then, I layered the blue on top of that and repeated the process until the jar was filled. It's beautiful and feels so great on your skin (yeah I made myself some to try too). 

Here's a picture of what it kinda looks like layered:

Now, the bath soak:

I made an orange spice bath soak. 

I got a 6 lb bag of Epsom salts and pour it into a large bowl. While stirring and pouring slowly, I added about 1/4 cup of baby oil (unscented). Then, I added about 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1/2 a teaspoon of all spice. Next, I grated the orange peel of 1 entire orange into the mixture. Then, juiced 1/2 the Orange into the mix, and stirred thoroughly. Lastly, I added 2-3 drops of orange food coloring and mixed until the mixture turned orange. (It does not turn the bathtub orange, I checked before I gave it as gifts). I had 6 empty, clean, and super dry Starbucks coffee drink bottles. I took off the label and got the stickiness off by using grubbing alcohol and a hand towel. For the lid, I took mod podge and added wrapping paper to it, making it festive and covering up the SB label on the lid. You pour the mixture in it to the top and seal. I used ribbon to hold the name tag. 

So now that we know Baby # 2 is a girl...

       Yesterday,  I was laying down in bed with another migraine thinking about what this means that we are having a girl. It, then, all of a sudden hit me, we're going to have to figure out a new nursery theme, and buy all pink-girly things. If we had a boy again, I would have just reused everything. Luckily, my friend is having a boy, so all my super boy things have a place to go. I haven't been feeling like doing much of anything lately, so coming up with a new theme, new registry, figuring out baby shower dates... That's going to have to wait a little while longer... Good thing I'm only 21 weeks today! I'll tackle one thing at a time...
         We are so excited to be having a baby girl. According to everyones guesses, you all already knew we were having a girl. We had a hunch too. :) Even though we are most familiar with a little boy right now, I grew up with 2 little sisters. So, I'll be a little rusty, but make it though. Braeden keeps pointing to my belly and saying baby, then leans over and kisses it. Yeah, he can be a super sweetie. I hope it lasts once his sister gets here.

Ohh...so the planning must being :)

                                                       Image from: itsblogworthy.com

It's a.... Gender Reveal

      Well, I've made it to 20 weeks. Not only does that mean I'm no longer considered a "threatened miscarriage," but it also means we get to find out the baby's gender at the 20 week anatomy ultrasound. The Dr. said everything looks great, even after having a possible diabetes scare earlier in the week. Apparently, my nausea is still causing me problems. I must  not have been eating enough protein to keep me from spilling ketones. Monday - (my primary care appointment) I was spilling ketones, Tuesday - I gorged on protein everything, and Wednesday - (my OB appointment) I was no longer spilling ketones. Now, I have to force myself to eat every 2-3 hours some form of protein. Normally, it's eggs, cheese, Greek yogurt, protein bars, or chicken in some form. Well, enough about me... The baby looks great and I know.....You all clicked on here to see the picture at the bottom of the blog... the one that actually reveals Baby Campbell # 2's gender. We are excited to be announcing that we will be having a .....

                    It's a GIRL!!!! We will be welcoming Kathryn Elizabeth Campbell in April!!
                   As you can tell, Braeden is excited, and he kisses and hugs my stomach  all the time. He
                                                              even tells her he loves her!

He or She .... What will it be? What does the Old Wives Tales say...

   We found out what the gender of our 2nd child is... We are waiting a few days to make an announcement. I have gone though several of the "Old Wives Tales" to see what they say the gender will be. Some of them are simple questions, while others are a little more detail oriented or require you to complete simple tasks...

                                                                                    BOY                                   GIRL

Heartbeat:                                                                                                                 147
-under 140 Boy, over 140 Girl                                                             

Baby Position on 1st ultrasound:                                  Right  
-on right side Boy, on left side Girl

How Belly Looks:                                                                                                 Watermelon
Basketball/low=Boy, Watermelon/middle=Girl

Urine Color:                                                                                                           Dull Yellow
Bright Yellow=Boy, Dull Yellow=Girl

Cravings:      (Tied)                                                      Sweet                                   Salty                 
Salty & Sour=Boy, Sweet & Orange Juice=Girl

Age at conception:                                                                                                      25
Even=Boy, Odd=Girl

Chinese Gender Predictor:                                            Boy
(used the tool on babycenter.com)

Wedding Ring test:                                                     Circles
Circles=Boy, Sideways=Girl

Baking Soda Pee test:                                                  Fizzed
Bubbles/fizzes=Boy, Nothing=Girl
-Put baking soda in a clear cup and pee


As you can see, it's dead even as to what the "Old Wives Tales" says the baby is.... Now let's hear your guesses...

                                                            1st Ultrasound Picture

                                                                    Belly Comparison