Nursing Mamas Weight Loss Program
I'm so excited to announce that my meal plan is now available on Amazon!!! Many of you nursing mamas know how hard it is to lose weight without compromising your milk, so I wanted to put together all the meals that I ate while nursing. I'm still nursing and have plenty of milk supply. Here are my pics after baby number 4!
Get Lost in a Good Book
I know most of us moms rarely get time to read when you have small children, but don't you just LOVE getting lost in a good book? I think we should make it a priority every once in a while even though our time is limited. It's good for the soul, especially when it's an uplifting book. Right now I'm reading this BEAUTIFUL book inspired by a true love story that took place during World War II.
This book By the Stars captivated me from the very beginning. It's about a young couple who first met when they were in the 8th grade and instantly had a special connection. Over the years they lost touch for a time until one fateful day crossed paths once again.
The author LindsayFerguson is seriously amazing! Her words are so beautiful, poetic and engaging in a way that allows you to feel as if you are witnessing this story in real life. She really did her research when writing this book. I love what she says at the end--"everyone has a story to tell". I totally agree with this and just love that she was inspired to use her gifts to share this one with others.
Extended Nursing
This post was originally written in 2012, but I'm now on my second "extended nursing" experience and loving every bit of it.
I’ve been wanting to talk about extended nursing (nursing beyond the first year) for a while. Brooklyn is the first baby that I’ve attempted extended nursing with and I loved every minute of it. She will be turning two in about a month and I’m proud to say we just barely quit last week.
I really enjoyed every bit of time I had nursing her. So much snuggle time that I will forever cherish. I felt like I was really able to enjoy her baby stage. We all know how fast they grow, and I felt like I was able to extend it just a little longer. I also enjoyed the convenience of nursing. Never once had to make a bottle in the middle of the night like I did multiple times with Olly. I loved that I was always able to soothe her no matter what. She actually never even had rice cereal or baby food either. She nursed for 9 months and went straight on to regular food. I of course tried feeding her baby food multiple times starting at 5 months, but she didn’t want anything to do with it. I figured as long as she was healthy and growing then I had nothing to worry about. I actually felt pretty proud that my body was solely producing all the nutrition she needed to grow up until that point. My goal was to nurse her for 2 years and I basically reached that goal. Just shy one month but only because being pregnant has made my milk dry up.
Extended nursing is quite foreign here in the U.S. I didn’t even consider it with my first two for this reason. I never heard of anyone doing it, so I didn’t bother reading up on it. Since taking a more natural approach to things, I’ve become quite educated on the benefits of nursing past the first year.
Some of the benefits include:
info from Babycenter.com
•Even though your child now gets most of his nutrition from solid food, breast milk still provides calories, valuable immunities, vitamins, and enzymes. In fact, studies have shown that breastfeeding toddlers get sick less often than their peers.
•Breastfeeding is good for your health, too. According to the surgeon general, exclusive breastfeeding for longer periods is associated with a lower risk of breast and ovarian cancers in women.
•As your child becomes more independent, breastfeeding can be an important source of reassurance and emotional support. The strong connection your child feels with you while nursing will foster independence, not make him overly dependent or clingy as some may have you believe.Our culture tends to believe that pushing children away helps them develop a strong sense of self-worth and independence, says Kathleen Huggins, author of The Nursing Mother’s Companion, when in fact, the opposite is true. Forcing a child to stop nursing before he’s developmentally ready won’t necessarily create a more confident child – rather, it could make him more clingy.
•If your child is sick, breast milk may be the only thing he can keep down. You’ll feel better too, knowing that you’re helping him fight off the illness.
•If you travel a lot, breastfeeding is a lot easier than carrying around formula or worrying about having to buy it at your destination. And when you stay overnight in a strange place, the comfort of your breast may be the best way to ease your child’s fears and make him feel more secure.
•You may be able to put off getting your period for a year or more, an advantage for anyone who dreads the thought of dealing with cramps and bloating again. But keep in mind that nursing isn’t an effective form of birth control, especially after your baby is 6 months old (when you’ve introduced solids and you might not be nursing as often). It’s a good idea to use a backup birth control, such as a condom, every time you have sex if you’re not ready to have another baby.
•Continued breastfeeding may help to keep your weight in check. Some research shows that breastfeeding combined with a healthy diet and exercise may keep you trimmer for years to come. Other research shows that extended breastfeeding protects against excessive weight loss in women at risk of being extremely underweight.
•Weaning your child when he’s ready is more natural and less abrupt than picking an arbitrary end point. Nursing a child beyond the first year was common around the world before the invention of formula and still is in some cultures.
I noticed many benefits with Brooklyn. First of all she hardly ever gets sick. She’s had a few colds here and there, and did get the stomach flu once, but I was grateful that I was still nursing her since that was the only thing I could do to comfort her. Plus, she obviously didn’t want to eat anything else, so I felt good knowing that she was getting nutritionally hydrated through my milk. I’ve never had to take her to the doctor once and I’m pretty proud of that.
The ONE downside to extended nursing, which really wasn’t that bad, is that it was harder to wean her. I never had trouble with that in the past. I weaned Lily at 8 months (and I really don’t even know why I did), and Oliver sadly weaned himself at 3 months :(. So when I tried to wean Brooklyn, I had a hard time. I hated telling her no more “boo boo”. I admit, I gave in several times, even though I wasn’t even producing much milk. I just felt bad withholding something that brought her so much comfort. Not only that, but I was having a hard time letting go myself. I was sad that my nursing time with her was coming to an end. It’s a fact that holding and snuggling babies releases endorphins, and once babies reach a certain age, they don’t want to snuggle as much. They are just too busy :(.
I’m still amazed with how much I DIDN’T know when I first became a mom. Thank goodness I still have time to put into practice what I’m learning:).
I’ve been wanting to talk about extended nursing (nursing beyond the first year) for a while. Brooklyn is the first baby that I’ve attempted extended nursing with and I loved every minute of it. She will be turning two in about a month and I’m proud to say we just barely quit last week.
Extended nursing is quite foreign here in the U.S. I didn’t even consider it with my first two for this reason. I never heard of anyone doing it, so I didn’t bother reading up on it. Since taking a more natural approach to things, I’ve become quite educated on the benefits of nursing past the first year.
Some of the benefits include:
info from Babycenter.com
•Even though your child now gets most of his nutrition from solid food, breast milk still provides calories, valuable immunities, vitamins, and enzymes. In fact, studies have shown that breastfeeding toddlers get sick less often than their peers.
•Breastfeeding is good for your health, too. According to the surgeon general, exclusive breastfeeding for longer periods is associated with a lower risk of breast and ovarian cancers in women.
•As your child becomes more independent, breastfeeding can be an important source of reassurance and emotional support. The strong connection your child feels with you while nursing will foster independence, not make him overly dependent or clingy as some may have you believe.Our culture tends to believe that pushing children away helps them develop a strong sense of self-worth and independence, says Kathleen Huggins, author of The Nursing Mother’s Companion, when in fact, the opposite is true. Forcing a child to stop nursing before he’s developmentally ready won’t necessarily create a more confident child – rather, it could make him more clingy.
•If your child is sick, breast milk may be the only thing he can keep down. You’ll feel better too, knowing that you’re helping him fight off the illness.
•If you travel a lot, breastfeeding is a lot easier than carrying around formula or worrying about having to buy it at your destination. And when you stay overnight in a strange place, the comfort of your breast may be the best way to ease your child’s fears and make him feel more secure.
•You may be able to put off getting your period for a year or more, an advantage for anyone who dreads the thought of dealing with cramps and bloating again. But keep in mind that nursing isn’t an effective form of birth control, especially after your baby is 6 months old (when you’ve introduced solids and you might not be nursing as often). It’s a good idea to use a backup birth control, such as a condom, every time you have sex if you’re not ready to have another baby.
•Continued breastfeeding may help to keep your weight in check. Some research shows that breastfeeding combined with a healthy diet and exercise may keep you trimmer for years to come. Other research shows that extended breastfeeding protects against excessive weight loss in women at risk of being extremely underweight.
•Weaning your child when he’s ready is more natural and less abrupt than picking an arbitrary end point. Nursing a child beyond the first year was common around the world before the invention of formula and still is in some cultures.
I noticed many benefits with Brooklyn. First of all she hardly ever gets sick. She’s had a few colds here and there, and did get the stomach flu once, but I was grateful that I was still nursing her since that was the only thing I could do to comfort her. Plus, she obviously didn’t want to eat anything else, so I felt good knowing that she was getting nutritionally hydrated through my milk. I’ve never had to take her to the doctor once and I’m pretty proud of that.
The ONE downside to extended nursing, which really wasn’t that bad, is that it was harder to wean her. I never had trouble with that in the past. I weaned Lily at 8 months (and I really don’t even know why I did), and Oliver sadly weaned himself at 3 months :(. So when I tried to wean Brooklyn, I had a hard time. I hated telling her no more “boo boo”. I admit, I gave in several times, even though I wasn’t even producing much milk. I just felt bad withholding something that brought her so much comfort. Not only that, but I was having a hard time letting go myself. I was sad that my nursing time with her was coming to an end. It’s a fact that holding and snuggling babies releases endorphins, and once babies reach a certain age, they don’t want to snuggle as much. They are just too busy :(.
I’m still amazed with how much I DIDN’T know when I first became a mom. Thank goodness I still have time to put into practice what I’m learning:).
Discovering Who We Are
This is the time of year we get to celebrate all the Pisces out there, myself included. Wahoo! Can't believe I'm going to be 35, WHAT???? When did this happen? Well as I mentioned on Periscope a couple days ago, I just realized that I achieved a goal I set for myself. About 5 years ago I announced here on the blog that I wanted to write a book before I turned 35. Well guess what!? I wrote a book!!!!
Okay, well it's not exactly the kind of book I had in mind but I decided to make it count anyway. I made a little instruction manual on how to make fermented foods and also about sprouting and cleansing. So I was pretty excited when I figured out how to do this AND how to make it available on Amazon. If you have a book on Amazon you officially gain the title of "Published author" right? Well if you disagree then please don't burst my bubble. I like feeling all smart and sophisticated.
So the book is $5 free shipping for prime members, but trust me, I aint gettin rich off this. I think I get like less than $1 for each book sold, but that's okay. My purpose in writing a book is not to make money. I'm just trying to share what I know in hopes to help others. The process of self discovery and how we can help others do the same provides great fulfillment in life.
Okay, well it's not exactly the kind of book I had in mind but I decided to make it count anyway. I made a little instruction manual on how to make fermented foods and also about sprouting and cleansing. So I was pretty excited when I figured out how to do this AND how to make it available on Amazon. If you have a book on Amazon you officially gain the title of "Published author" right? Well if you disagree then please don't burst my bubble. I like feeling all smart and sophisticated.
So the book is $5 free shipping for prime members, but trust me, I aint gettin rich off this. I think I get like less than $1 for each book sold, but that's okay. My purpose in writing a book is not to make money. I'm just trying to share what I know in hopes to help others. The process of self discovery and how we can help others do the same provides great fulfillment in life.
So now let's talk about the Pisces horoscope. It's funny, because everything that my horoscope told me, seemed to be VERY comforting, and in fact answered many of my questions.
My NEEDS as a Pisces, is: A purpose, so as to focus thoughts and avert boredom. Quiet intervals, to foster a sense of identity and peace. To feel ENCOURAGED, trusted and loved. Pisces needs to stick to a schedule or they'll get lost in their own dreams. Too much regimentation, however, will crush their creativity.
I mean seriously! This is exactly what I've been struggling with lately. Being TOO regimented and not allowing God and creativity into my life. I was just too busy following my schedule. So a few months ago I threw out my "to do" lists and schedules was so liberating. But then I just craved ROUTINE. So now I'm just trying to find the balance between routines and "fly by the seat of my pants". Ugh, it's that word again, BALANCE... the unattainable goal. One day y'all... I'm gonna find that balance I so desperately need in my life.
My NEEDS as a Pisces, is: A purpose, so as to focus thoughts and avert boredom. Quiet intervals, to foster a sense of identity and peace. To feel ENCOURAGED, trusted and loved. Pisces needs to stick to a schedule or they'll get lost in their own dreams. Too much regimentation, however, will crush their creativity.
I mean seriously! This is exactly what I've been struggling with lately. Being TOO regimented and not allowing God and creativity into my life. I was just too busy following my schedule. So a few months ago I threw out my "to do" lists and schedules was so liberating. But then I just craved ROUTINE. So now I'm just trying to find the balance between routines and "fly by the seat of my pants". Ugh, it's that word again, BALANCE... the unattainable goal. One day y'all... I'm gonna find that balance I so desperately need in my life.
"THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE" John 8:32
Horoscopes and patriarchal blessings are very interesting. If you choose to believe them, it unwraps the truth about ones self, and in a sense, setting us free to do MORE with the gifts/ talents we've been given. It enhances faith in our own abilities, giving us the reassurance that, YES, we are special, and even GOOD at certain things. It gives us affirmations of what we can ultimately become, and perhaps unveiling the hidden obstacles holding us back.
RISING ABOVE
I laughed when I read in my horoscope that I NEED to feel encouraged :) I've noticed that about myself and I believe it's a weakness. It holds me back a little in life, provoking me to second guess myself A LOT! I remember when I first started telling people I wanted to serve an LDS Mission. People literally laughed, thinking I was joking. This caused me to really doubt my abilities and think maybe I was fooling myself at thinking I could ACTUALLY do something like this. I knew I had to rise above the negative comments and go forth with my endeavor. It's not easy for me to ignore the nay sayers, or my own self doubts, but I know it's the only way to succeed.
COMPARING OURSELVES
I think it's human nature to compare ourselves with others, and in so doing, we tend to compare our weaknesses with others strengths. Why not be happy with who we are and what we have been given? I ask myself this all the time. It's hard to always be aware of the unique abilities we each have, and not be jealous of others gifts. I'm always doing this to myself, not realizing at the moment the harm it's doing to my self confidence. I read other blogs and I'm completely blown away by the talent these other women have. I can't help but feel less as a person and completely inadequate in every way. Comparing yourself to others is guaranteed to bring you down and make you feel worthless, therefore leading you in the opposite direction of finding true fulfillment in life.
HURRY LESS
SEASONS OF LIFE
I know I'm in the season of motherhood and that in and of itself is something to be grateful for and proud of. I also believe very strongly that it's so important for us mothers to have other hobbies that don't include wiping bums and cleaning up messes. It's important for us to set aside time for ourselves to refine our minds and develop talents.
"Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children."
-Elder M. Russell Ballard
I want to try harder to fulfill my purpose by allowing the truth to set me free, rising above the negativity, quit comparing myself to others, and hurry less in my season of motherhood.
I laughed when I read in my horoscope that I NEED to feel encouraged :) I've noticed that about myself and I believe it's a weakness. It holds me back a little in life, provoking me to second guess myself A LOT! I remember when I first started telling people I wanted to serve an LDS Mission. People literally laughed, thinking I was joking. This caused me to really doubt my abilities and think maybe I was fooling myself at thinking I could ACTUALLY do something like this. I knew I had to rise above the negative comments and go forth with my endeavor. It's not easy for me to ignore the nay sayers, or my own self doubts, but I know it's the only way to succeed.
COMPARING OURSELVES
I think it's human nature to compare ourselves with others, and in so doing, we tend to compare our weaknesses with others strengths. Why not be happy with who we are and what we have been given? I ask myself this all the time. It's hard to always be aware of the unique abilities we each have, and not be jealous of others gifts. I'm always doing this to myself, not realizing at the moment the harm it's doing to my self confidence. I read other blogs and I'm completely blown away by the talent these other women have. I can't help but feel less as a person and completely inadequate in every way. Comparing yourself to others is guaranteed to bring you down and make you feel worthless, therefore leading you in the opposite direction of finding true fulfillment in life.
HURRY LESS
In a world that's ever changing and clocks that seem to be going 100 miles a minute, it's hard for us to take time to relax and enjoy the little things. Maybe I should just speak for myself. I'm constantly trying to remind myself to slow down and relax a little, always feel like there's something more I should be doing, like there is never enough time in a day to accomplish it all. I'm reminded of the quote by President Ezra Taft Benson, "When we put God first, all other things fall into place."
SEASONS OF LIFE
I know I'm in the season of motherhood and that in and of itself is something to be grateful for and proud of. I also believe very strongly that it's so important for us mothers to have other hobbies that don't include wiping bums and cleaning up messes. It's important for us to set aside time for ourselves to refine our minds and develop talents.
"Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children."
-Elder M. Russell Ballard
I want to try harder to fulfill my purpose by allowing the truth to set me free, rising above the negativity, quit comparing myself to others, and hurry less in my season of motherhood.
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