Firsts: bottle

Yesterday Ashlynn was given her first bottle, compliments of her two oldest sisters.

Although I breastfeed exclusively, I like the flexibility of being able to leave the baby every once in a while. So I try to make sure that starting at 6-8 weeks old, I pump once every week or two so that the baby is accustomed to taking an occasional bottle. This way I am confident that, should the need or want arise, I can safely leave them once in a while.

I've had one baby who didn't take a bottle very well, because I didn't do this. Fortunately, Ashlynn takes a pacifier, so she took to it like a champ. But it still is a little weird to watch someone else feed my baby!

A Brush with History

Last week Kora spent a few days with Kelly's brother and his family. They had such a good time, going fishing, swimming, and doing some touring of Austin. One of the neatest things Kora saw was in this building, which is, I am told, on the campus of UT.
Does anyone know what this is?
This is one of 48 existing copies of the Gutenberg Bible. Kora says the book on the left is actually a replica so you can see what the cover looks like. The book on the right is the real McCoy. I had no idea we had one so close to us, or I would have taken the whole family this last semester when we were studying this! Too cool! Anyone up for a field trip?
Oh, and I sure hope this isn't an omen for her future...

Ramblings about Summer Break and Reclaiming my House

I'm so glad that I pretty much stayed at home and hibernated that first month after Ashlynn was born, because it has been go, go go! every since.

I have had several projects going on in and around the house. Mainly of the decorating, organizing, cleaning, and cleaning out kind. My kids really hate the last kind, as it usually involves getting rid of toys. But the Barbies have executed a hostile takeover of Brynna and Hailey's room, so the local charity donations will soon be receiving some very little high heels.

We've also ordered some bunk beds for Brynna and Hailey. As soon as they come in, we are going to switch up some of the kids' bedrooms. Brynna and Hailey will be moving into the bedroom which shares a Jack and Jill bath with Kora and Aubrey. Lauryn will be moving to the big bedroom and we'll also be setting the crib up in there for Ashlynn's eventual move out of our bedroom. In preparation for this, I have painted both of these bedrooms. Of course, now I am committed to paint Kora and Aubrey's room as well. :-) I've also been comforter shopping and gathering items to decorate the two smallest girls' room when the switch occurs.

But I've been having a blast with it. It is so wonderful to get up and do something after so many months of just doing enough to get through the day. And the fact that I feel like doing things and working hard is great!

Then last week I had to also get ready for my in-laws visit this past weekend. My sweet MIL offered to bring her carpet cleaner. Our downstairs carpet looked really bed, and my cleaner has something very wrong with it. So I even got my carpets cleaned, and they look fantastic! Thanks, Vickie!

Now I am helping my hubby get ready for a business trip and hosting a good friend of mine for the next week and a half while she works at a camp here in San Antonio. So while I am waiting for furniture deliveries, I am going to be cleaning out the stuff my clutter bugs have collected, and just plain cleaning. When I was cleaning for my in-laws last week, I realized just how far I had let certain areas of my house go. Eeeew. So hopefully I can get a good bit of that done while Kelly is gone.

I usually don't take an extended summer break, preferring to keep a more year-round schedule. But, I have to admit, that I am savoring the long break this year! I just put in my school order last week, so I am hoping I will be ready to get back to it and get the next year planned out in July.

My Favorite Things: Soothies Gel Pads

I have a terrible secret. I hate nursing the first couple of weeks. Eventually I love it, but I have a really hard time getting started.

Not only do I make enough milk to feed the entire neighborhood, nursing hurts at first. I have talked to enough nursing moms to know that this is not the norm for all new mothers, but I have been through the same thing six times now. So it is the norm for me, as is being engorged for a week instead of the 24-48 hours the pregnancy books will tell you.

When I had Hailey, I had open, cracked, bleeding sores for eight weeks. I cried every time I nursed for most of that time. When I got pregnant again with Lauryn, I saw a lactation consultant both before and after she was born. And she became my new best friend because she gave me these:

Soothies Gel Pads

These are my all time favorite new baby item. You see, when I nurse with these sores, between feedings they will scab over. Then at the next feeding, my nursing pad has dried to the scab, and I have to rip it off. This of course exacerbates the problem. But these pads are coated with a gel like is used on burn patients. It doesn't stick to the wound!

I wear them between my skin and another regular nursing pad for more absorbency. I went through about 4 pair of these with Ashlynn. I love them. I use them until I am healed up enough to use just regular nursing pads alone. With Ashlynn this took about 4 weeks.

You can also put these in the fridge to get them good and cool before wearing them, but frankly they were never off of me long enough for me to do this. You can buy these at CVS and Walgreens, and I'm sure other places as well. They will seem a little steep (about $10 a pair) but they are totally worth every penny! So if you have soreness or crack open when nursing, you NEED SOOTHIES!

Picture from soothies.com

Paradise Lost

I just found out last night that Kora swam within a couple of feet of a water snake on Saturday. When she saw it, she booked it the other way.

Good thing I didn't know at the time. I might have acted a little panicky.

OK, a lot panicky.

Actually, I'm hyperventilating right now.

I hate snakes.

Who Knew Paradise Was So Close?

Saturday, we went to Paradise Canyon, about 25 minutes west of us on the Rio Medina River. Some friends from church were celebrating their 10th anniversary by renewing their vows and afterwards, their four oldest children were being baptized. So it was a special day for their family as well as our church.
It was also a beautiful day and a beautiful location. I didn't feel like I was near San Antonio at all! Plus the weather was a little overcast and breezy - just enough to keep us comfortable. It also would lightly rain on us occasionally - again just enough to keep the temperatures down - and reminded more than one of us of the weather in Hawaii.
They have a beautiful lodge out there that our friends had rented which made a great place to serve lunch, change clothes, nurse a baby, etc. It was huge!
Our pastor, Dirk, performed the marriage covenant renewal service. It was simple, heartfelt, and very sweet.
Then JD washed his wife's feet, as a symbol of being a servant leader in the home. I'm not sure Shannon knew about this part, because she looked a little surprised to me.
Then Dirk did a quick clothes change and came back out to baptize the kids. That water was quite chilly, too!
(I'm sure some of you are wondering, so I'll just add that our church does pour or immerse, depending on the convictions of the family.)
I am kicking myself for not getting any more pictures of after the ceremony. We had a wonderful catered lunch, and the kids swam, rode in a paddle boat, inner tubed, splashed, jumped off 10-12 foot cliffs into the water, and just generally had a great time. It was a beautiful place, and I can't wait to go back sometime!

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