What's Up with Raw Amber?

Raw amber is believed to have immune boosting properties, reduction in teething pain and is helpful in calming baby down without the use of drugs. It is made from tree resin that is fossilized. It is warm to the touch and is light weight. It has a twist clasp for safety as well as individually knotted beads.

I was a skeptic at first. How could these little necklaces give any sort of relief? The biggest question; does it work? Yes my dear readers, I believe it does work. My little man has been wearing it since he was six months of age. He got in his first bottom teeth at 8 months and there was one day that I gave him a small dose of Tylenol for what I believe was teething discomfort. He is now cutting in his two top teeth with minimal discomfort.  I might just buy one for my self!

I got mine from a company called The Art of Cure on amazon. It comes in a cute little bag and a letter of authenticity. The key thing to look for is the certificate of  authenticity or you might just be getting plastic. The have bracelets and necklaces.The price isn't bad at about $12-15. They come in many different colors but I liked the multicolored raw amber for my boy.

Which would you get, bracelet or necklace?

Born Free Teething

One of my sons favorite toys is a Born Free teether. It's made of silicone type material that makes for the perfect texture to cut those little ivory teeth in. It is BPA and PVC free. It's perfect to carry around in your purse or diaper bag. You could even put on a cord and wear around YOUR neck for when your out and about. Even if your baby doesn't use a binki you could still use a binki leash and put this great little teether on it and attach for easy access when baby is in the car. It is one of a few must toys I would get again if we lost it. There are many more teething tricks to come. Be on a look out! What is your babies favorite teething toy? You can buy this Born Free toy here: Orange I awesome?

What do You Hug at Night?

When you start your third trimester, your body starts to ache from your wee bundle of joy making room in your now big belly. Trying to get comfortable while sleeping seems like a dreaded chore. I found great comfort in body pillows. One behind me to support my back and one in front to put between my knees and support my front side. They do make some big body pillows that wrap around you. Like this one from Amazon. (click here to see in Amazon)

 I didn't want to wait, I wanted mine now! So off to Target I went. I was able to find some body pillows and stuffed two into shopping cart, still not too entirely happy with the price of two body pillows and two covers. I was temped to put them back and order the one off Amazon right there in the store, but the thought of going to bed without some sort of relief had me wanting to over pay. I rounded the corner of the bedding and happened upon a great sale of body pillows. Just my luck!  The price $4.98 EACH! Here is the down fall, horrible ugly yellow. That is when it struck me, why not make my own cover.

I walked out of Target and headed to Joanns Fabric store. Found fabric that I liked that wasn't too expensive, Used my 40% coupon from my phone application. Made my husband do the same in a different ring up at check out and I had two body pillows that I could stand looking at for around $25. It didn't take but ten min to sew up the sides and put a satin binding on the end that you see. I even added an easy over lap flap so that I could wash the pillow case with ease.

Did you have trouble getting comfortable at night? What helped you?

Why You Want to Eat Your Baby!

"Oh, that baby is just so cute I want to gabble him/her up!" "I want to eat your toes!" Do these sentences sound familiar? It happens for woman mostly and the need is stronger if you are a mother. There is a scientific name for it 'cute aggression'. After reading many different articles about it, I found a fun read here: There’s Actually A Scientific Reason You Sometimes Want To Eat Your Baby (or Puppy)

NUK VS MAM Who Will Win?

If you decide that a binki (pacifier) is right for you, you go into the store, stand at the wall and nearly scream in frustration at the amount of choices! Lots of people stick to the one they get in the hospital.

But when this binki gets lost and you replace it with the doppelgangers from the store you will find that baby just doesn't see it to be the same as the all and mighty hospital one. 

With my older son I don't recall why I pick NUK as the choice. In any case, he seemed to really like it. I found them convenient as far as travel. The loop on the front makes it easy to attach a binki leash or stick your finger in while doing other things. I even would put them on my nursing tank straps. (Unhook place binki loop on strap and hook again) I mainly did this while at home or when we would go to the pool. 

When I was pregnant with my youngest son, I registered with Target for my baby shower. They give you this neat pack of goodies when you do this. It has a sample diaper, sample lotion, a baby toy, lots of coupons and a binki made by MAM. As you will start to see in posts to come, I love bunny rabbits! The binki that came in the gift pack had a bunny on it. I was SOLD! It was gender natural and perfect. The newborn size was perfect for my little premi and soothed him well. He didn't even think twice after switching out the hospital binki. I have found the binki leash is a must for travel. When babies are young their sucking is erratic and you'll find yourself cleaning that binki a bunch.They make special leashes for MAM because they don't have the loop.

At this point I would say that NUK is winning with the loop. Even though I was sold because of the rabbit!

Here is the final win:

MAM makes Glow in the Dark Pacifiers! I do believe NUK does but I have not seen them in stores around here, just online. I can't tell you enough what a life saver it is. How I managed to sleep nights with my first son with out it; oh wait, I remember now. A million binkies in bed with us! I charge it up with my phone flash light right before bed for only a few seconds and it lasts all night.  The push far over the finish line for me, is that they have blue bunny glow in the dark binkies! 

I found my MAM Glow in the Dark Pacifiers at BabiesRUs.

What kind of binki do you use?

Onsie Mystery

Have you ever noticed that onesies have overlaps in the collar? I always thought they were for babies cute melon heads. Nope wrong. It's so you can roll the onesie over the shoulders and down the body to better clean up those diaper blow outs. I never knew. All of those blow out diapers and I never knew. Have you ever used this trick before?

Fenugreek to Help the Milky Milk Flow.

With my second son I started using Fenugreek to help with lactation. It helped! My breasts did get engorged but the feeling of making food for my baby out weighed any discomfort. Fenugreek is a plant and the seeds are what is used for the capsules. When I took it, it made me feel like a walking, breathing pancake. YUP, PANCAKE! Fenugreek smells like maple syrup. When taken it can make your sweat glands and urine smell like your morning breakfast. I still haven't finished the first bottle that I bought 11 months ago. The serving size is 3 at a time. In the beginning I took 3, 4 times a day. I was a super pancake. Here is a link on the other great things that Fenugreek can help with: Fenugreek

There is also Mothers Milk Tea and NON alcoholic beer that can help bring in the milk. I haven't tried these methods but have heard from friends and nurses that have, with good review.  I did find that eating granola seems to help. It was one of the staples while in our extended stay at the hospital. I feel that it was my body that knew it needed it and craved it. Even now 11 months later I find eating granola seems to engorge my breasts. 

I bought my Fenugreek at Fred Meyer. You will find it in the herbal department. You can also find Mother's Milk Tea in the same section.

What have you used to get your milky milk flowing? Have you used Fenugreek? Did you smell like a pancake too?!