Eating bananas for the first time!

He ate it all!

5 months!

After giving the rice cereal to Kellen only a few times over the last few weeks, I decided to go ahead and try giving some banana to him this morning. He has been waking up in the middle of the night consistently over the last week or so, so I thought maybe he does need something a little more than just milk. It was my first time preparing the food for him, and I must say it wasn't hard or terribly time consuming, but it definitely wasn't as quick and easy as popping the lid off of a jar of commercial baby food. First, I had a hard time getting it to the consistency I wanted. I mashed it with a fork and added breastmilk to thin it out a bit, but it was still was a bit lumpy. He seemed to tolerate it just fine. I was worried it would be too lumpy, but I guess I'm just being over paranoid. My kids tend to have a very easy gag reflex, but he ate it with no problems. Boy, did he! He loved
it(no surprise there) and gobbled it all up.
It is still so hard for me to think of how far he has come in such a short time. I can't believe he was just born almost 5 months ago(on Friday), so tiny and now is such a big boy! His new favorite things are standing(he gets so excited), and being naked. Those things make him so unbelievably happy! He also is teething like crazy(he has two teeth cutting through on the bottom), and is trying to grab everything and put it in his mouth!
Every time I look at my kids, I am reminded of how unbelievably blessed I am. I am so lucky to be their mommy!

So Bummed...

So, yesterday we went and did some major shopping and I had my list of everything that I wanted and needed to get. But I am so bummed because they didn't have the exersaucer/jumperoo thingy I've been wanting to get Kellen for just about forever! It is the same one I've been wanting for almost two years, but I was waiting to get it until Kellen could actually use it. It was just at Babies R Us a few weeks or so ago, and yesterday when we went they didn't have it! They didn't even have any I liked. I am so bummed! I also wanted to get Kellen some really cute binkys, and they were out of those too. Needless to say I am very upset that I didn't just buy these things a few months ago. I had no idea I wouldn't be able to get them.
I was hoping that an exersaucer could be my answer to getting Kellen content to play on his own for a little bit. Although he did make some progress yesterday. I put him in his bouncy seat so I could take a shower and he was totally content the entire time! I then tested my luck and pumped before I put him to bed, and he ended up falling asleep next to me. That is some major progress. I have spoiled this kid to end with him sleeping with me, so that was kind of a big deal to me. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE having him sleep with me, I just want to be able to put him down when I need to.
But back to the shopping trip, all in all it was pretty successful. Although I didn't find any clothes for me that I liked, I did get some much needed new makeup. It is so hard for me not to go crazy at the MAC makeup counter, but with Josh and the kids with me, it forced me to stick to my list. I just tend to get hypnotized by all the pretty eyeshadows. I want to get them all, but I try to stick to the colors I know I'll actually use, with a few different ones in the mix for when I want to change it up a bit. I did get a blush(a shimmery peachy color, so pretty!), powder, eyeliner, lipgloss, and mascara also, and ended up getting three new eyeshadows. I also bought myself a new makeup case(mine was getting too small) and some new hot rollers. I can't wait to use my new hot rollers today! I was a little bummed though that I didn't find any new clothes I liked, but it's also hard for me
to shell out money for clothes when I'm trying to lose weight. So, I guess I'll just save it for when I do get to my goal weight and need a whole new wardrobe(it WILL happen!).
So far the weight loss has been pretty slow. I do feel a little firmer, but my weight is only down a few pounds. Although I can now wear jeans that I couldn't even button a month ago, so that's promising. I just wish it came off easier! I'm going to try to kick up my diet a little bit more and see if that helps. My metabolism is pretty dead, so I'm trying to eat more often to speed it up. I'd like to lose at least 30lbs by the time we go to Vegas in June. I don't think it's going to happen, but I'm sure going to try! But, I do want to be at my goal weight by Kellen's first birthday, so that gives me 7 months to lose 40lbs! I think I can do that. I just wish it was as easy to lose it as it was to gain it! But I guess that's why so many people are now overweight. I just keep trying to tell myself that the I slower I lose it, the more likely it is I'll be able to keep it off. Slow and
steady wins the race.....right?! I sure hope so!

Trying Not to Quit

As I posted a few days ago, my supply has decreased dramatically, and it has got me really down. I've been "trying" to do what I can, but I know I haven't been doing everything I should. It has made me pretty depressed about it, but with Kellen's recent crankiness due to teething, I really haven't been able to pump more often. I was trying to feel okay about stopping pumping, but I just can't bring myself to do it! So I decided to really give it one last shot to see if I can get my supply back up. I'm going to give it two weeks to see if it helps, and then if it doesn't increase at least I know I exhausted all my efforts! So, not only am I going to increase pumping times, do some power pumping when possible, drink more water, and continue eating oatmeal, I'm going to also try a supplement that a friend recommended. I really hope this works! I did find out recently that my mom's milk
supply dried up around the three month mark, and she was breastfeeding exclusively, so who knows. But, at least I know I tried everything. Every time I have to make a bottle of formula, it makes me so sad! Luckily, he still gets mainly breastmilk thanks to a huge freezer stash, but I'd like him to continue to get breastmilk until at least the one year mark. I'd even settle for half breastmilk and half formula.
As long as I can still get milk out, I'll continue to pump. It's just too important to me just to stop. But I hope and pray I can get it back up to at least 25oz a day. I was pumping 40oz, but now I usually only get between 10-15oz.
So, I'm thinking lots of positive thoughts and know that even if he eventually only gets one breastmilk bottle a day, that is still better than nothing!