Breast Ultrasound update

I had my breast ultrasound on Tuesday and it is not cancer. I was a little worried since I have a family history of breast cancer. The radiologist said it is a clogged duct or mastitis (even though I didn't have any of the symptoms) and that I should just continue to feed Baby Bear as I have been and let her do her job so that it will work itself out. The lump is smaller but it is still there. I guess because it was so big it will just take time to get rid of it. It hasn't affected my milk supply or flow in any way. In fact, it seems that that breast produces more milk and often times sprays Baby Bear when she latches off that breast. The joys of breastfeeding!

Bottle Strike

Baby Bear is on bottle strike for the last 2 days. She refuses to take the bottle. Papa Bear has been feeding Baby Bear every night for the last week and a half. Then yesterday she decided that she did not want anything to do with a bottle. Papa Bear tried and then I tried, after she started screaming at the bottle I gave in and gave her the breast. Again today she would not take the bottle. Grandma Bear tried to give her a bottle while I was at an appointment and she would not take it. Ugh!!!

A few of my favorite things

These are some of my can't do without baby gear; things have made life easier with Baby Bear and things that I just really like.

Fisher Price Starlight Papasan Cradle Swing



Baby Bear doesn't like to sleep or nap very much in her bassinet but she takes her afternoon naps in this swing. It is great! The great thing about this particular swing is that it plugs in so we don't have to heavily invest in batteries.

Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium Bouncer



This was a hand me down from some friends (gotta love free hand me downs! I have the best friends!!) and it is definitely a must have. Baby Bear loves to sit in this and look around the room. Papa Bear feeds her while she sits in her bouncer. We both talk and play with her while she is in her bouncer. Sometimes, she takes short little naps in her bouncer. You will also notice that she has had many pictures taken while sitting on the bouncer as well.

Moby Wrap Baby Carrier



Baby Bear will sleep longer if I wear her. She loves to be held all day long and the Moby wrap definitely helps me have my hands free. It is great when we go grocery shopping, I put the wrap on before I leave the house and once we get to the grocery store, I take her out of her car seat and put her in the wrap. She sleeps through the whole grocery adventure. It is much better than putting the car seat on the cart.

I also just ordered a Baby Hawk mei tai carrier. I am hoping that it will be easy to put on and stick in the diaper bag when we are out and about. I love the Moby, but it just take a little while to get on and wrap. I will update on the Baby Hawk later.

BOB Revolution Stroller



I love this stroller. This is a great stroller for taking Baby Bear out on walks around the neighborhood. It maneuvers great and is great for our bumpy sidewalks. Papa Bear also loves this stroller. Right now we use it with the car seat adapter. I highly recommend this stroller.

Aden and Anais blankets



I love these blankets, they are big and a great size for swaddling. Plus, they are lightweight; perfect for the summer. These ones were made for Target and they are a few inches smaller than the original one, but they are less expensive and the few inches really doesn't make a difference to me since they are a great size. I love them so much, that I just ordered another package of them.

Petunia Pickle Bottom Touring Tote



I love this diaper bag. I love that it attaches to the stroller and that it has adjustable straps. It fits everything I need (although I have it packed to the rim) and is easy to wear and tote around. I have received many compliments on it and it is easy to find what I pack inside with all the pockets. It was an impulse purchase since I had already purchased a diaper bag; I am glad I got this one because I like it better than the Fleurville Lexie Tote that I bought. The Fleurville is bigger and holds more, which will come to good use later on. My PPB is pretty full right now. The only downfall is that Papa Bear will not use this diaper bag, so we are going to have to get one for Papa Bear.

Wow a pair of pants that fit!

I can't believe it I have a pair of pre-pregnancy pants that fit me!! Wohoo! Of course, these particular pair were a little big before but now they fit perfectly. It is nice to have some regular non-maternity pants that fit. I still have a ways to go before I am back to my original size, but at least some of my pants are now fitting over my hips.

Since I got the okay from my OB to start exercising, I have been easing myself into exercise beyond walking. I have been doing some light weights and yesterday I was able to go the gym and take my favorite yoga class. This time I came home and Baby Bear and Papa Bear were just fine. No melt downs. So I am going to try to make it to this yoga class each week. I was able to do a lot of the poses including a few of the advance moves. My back and abs are still a bit weak, but yoga will definitely help to strengthen them and get me back to the level I was before. The nice thing is that since I had practiced yoga throughout my pregnancy, I haven't lost much of my flexibility. It felt so good to challenge myself and practice yoga. It was also nice to see a lot of my gym friends.

I am hoping to incorporate more work outs in. The hardest part is finding the time. I have a few videos that I started to do this week during Baby Bear's afternoon naps. I feel really good about getting back into shape. I really missed working out and taking some of my gym classes. It is hard to get to the gym so for now the videos will have to do.

7 weeks!

I can't believe that 7 weeks has passed. Baby Bear weighs in at 10 lbs. 9 oz. She is just growing!! She is "talking" more and more each day.



She seems to get really quiet and serious when the camera is on though.

Postpartum: 6 weeks

I had my postpartum appointment yesterday. I have the okay to exercise and do most anything I did pre-pregnancy. I am excited to get back to working out. I have been walking and hopefully now I can do a little more, of course I don't know where I will find the time to do that now. It has been so hot that it is hard to go for walks with Baby Bear. Tomorrow, I will attempt to go to yoga again and leave Baby Bear with Papa Bear. I am looking forward to that. Hopefully, I will be able to get in more exercise. I am really eager to start a more regular routine, I just hope I can make it work with Baby Bear.

I still have the plugged duct in my right breast and I went to be seen by the dr. last week. I was given an antibiotic to treat mastitis. I never had a fever or developed any other flu-like symptoms. It is not as painful as it used to be and it doesn't appear to be as red, so maybe it is just taking time for the antibiotics to work. It is hard to tell if it has gotten any smaller and the plugged duct hasn't fully resolved. At my appointment yesterday my OB ordered a breast ultrasound just to be on the safe side. Hopefully it will resolve and all will be well. My ultrasound is next week.

I also talked with my OB about birth control. Right now I don't know if we will have another child. I always thought that I would like two children and Papa Bear is content with one. We will see in few years how we feel. For now, I want to make sure there are no surprises. My OB gave me a prescription for the mini-pill, which is safe to take while breastfeeding. I also asked him about an IUD; there are two types the non-hormonal and the hormonal type. I am going to look a little more into it, but that is another option. We'll see what is right for me.

6 weeks!!

Wow how time flies! Baby Bear is growing and thriving and doing so well. She started smiling last week and making some new noises. I love her smile and it is just he most beautiful thing in the world. It is nice to have some interaction that is positive from her.

Oh how I love this little girl.

Operation Bottle II = SUCCESS!

We tried the bottle again tonight. This time I stayed home just in case. It took a little while, but Baby Bear took the bottle and went to town with it. Whew!

We are going to give her in the evenings to get her used to it. I am not going back to work for another 12 weeks, but she needs to get used to the bottle at some point and this gives Papa Bear and her some time together as well.

Her first race

Papa Bear loves boat races and last weekend was the Catalina Ski race. We go every year and this year was no exception. So Baby Bear went to her first race!! It was our first weekend staying away from home. Even though the race took place in Long Beach, just an hour from home, we decided it would be easiest to stay at the hotel the night before so that Baby Bear could be comfortable. Baby Bear stayed at her first hotel and did so well. She made many friends and liked the sound of the boats.

She had her race onesie on!

More on breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is not easy that is for sure. I have a plugged duct on my right breast. I have had it for almost 2 weeks now and I can't seem to get rid of it. I have followed the advice of my lactation consultant at the feeding clinic and the information found on kellymom.com, yet it hasn't relieved itself. I do a hot compress, massage the lump, and have Baby Bear empty the breast or pump to empty the breast if she doesn't do it.

I am worried that if it doesn't get any better that it will become infected and turn into mastitis. It hurts when I massage it each time that Baby Bear eats, but I also know I have to be aggressive in treating it so I massage it through the pain. My postpartum appointment is in a week so if it doesn't get better I am going to have to talk to my doctor about it. The joys of breastfeeding!! It is just not joyous or fun. I am a cow for my baby!! I hope it gets better and easier. I really want to continue to breastfeed but there are days I want to stop. I am just taking it week by week but my ultimate goal is to make it for a year (I'll be happy if I do 6 mos.). Baby Bear is doing so well; she is gaining weight and doing so well. I can't believe that she is already 9 lbs. 11 oz. She is becoming my little chunky bear. I love it!! She is just the best!!

Operation Bottle = FAIL

Last night, Papa Bear stayed home with Baby Bear while I went to a yoga class. It was so nice to have an hour or so all to myself. I left a bottle of pumped breast milk with Papa Bear and fed Baby Bear before I left. So we were all set, or so I thought. Baby Bear was fussy all day and that should have been a clue that she probably would not take to a bottle. A half hour after I left she was unhappy and would not take the bottle and nothing that Papa Bear did would soothe her. I came home to a crying baby. I breastfed her and she was fine for a short time. She was fussy up until she went to bed.

She also had a rough night. At 4am she woke up screaming and was fussy and would barely eat. We finally got her to sleep. In the morning, repeat of the night before. Until she finally threw up all over Papa Bear. She must have had an upset tummy and then I also noticed that she had an awful diaper rash. Poor baby! She is much better since throwing up and now sleeping. We will have to try the bottle again another time and another attempt at being able to go out on my own. Hopefully the next attempt will work out much better.

Postpartum: 5 week

Last night, I took a yoga class. It was so nice to get out. I definitely noticed that my abs and back are still quite weak. I hope that I can keep on taking my yoga class (hopefully Baby Bear will take a bottle from Papa Bear). It was so great to be able to take yoga. I love yoga and miss it so much. I hadn't practiced any yoga since Baby Bear was born. I did have to sit out several poses, but it was nice to be back.

I still have 10 pounds to lose and my stomach doesn't seem to have changed from last week. My hips have grown, so my pre-pregnancy pants don't fit over my hips. I know it took 9 months for me to gain all that weight so I shouldn't be discouraged. But it is tough on my self-esteem. I just feel blah and flabby!! I was so healthy throughout my pregnancy that it is hard knowing that I don't feel like that right now and feel so fat. Ugh.

1 month old!

It is amazing the change that has happened in one month. Baby Bear is growing and changing every day. She is now 9 lbs. 3 oz. It is hard to believe that just one month ago she made her appearance into this world at 7 lbs. 6 oz. She has grown so much and is more beautiful each day. I am exhausted and tired but I want to cherish this time as much as possible. She is so beautiful and I can't believe how in love with her I am. I knew I would love Baby Bear but the love I feel for her is nothing like I have ever experienced. She is just the best baby in the world and I am so in love with this little girl. She is just awesome.



There are days when I am exhausted and frustrated; I miss sleeping, having my body to myself, and getting time to myself for more than an hour or so. Despite all that I just look into her little face and I realize how wonderful she is. She is just so special and no matter what I feel, I am so happy to have her in my life and in my world. I love Baby Bear and I am so thankful to have her in my life! I love you Baby Bear!!! Happy 1 month birthday!

Postpartum: 4 weeks

I can't believe it has been 4 weeks! I had a optometrist appointment yesterday and Grandma Bear watched Baby Bear for an hour. I fed her and changed her before I left. I pump every morning to build up a stash, so I left a bottle of pumped milk with Grandma Bear just in case. She was a good little girl and took a bottle for the first time. It is good to know that she had no problem taking a bottle and later on today was back to the breast. No nipple confusion here.

Last week, we started going on walks with our wonderful BOB Revolution stroller. I love that stroller; it is great. Baby Bear seems to enjoy the walks. I am glad to be able to get myself moving a little bit. I am waiting to start more exercise until I get my OB's okay. Hopefully in a couple of weeks.