Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from

The Smith Family

Christmas Eve

I pray that you and your family have a wonderful Christmas. As for me, I'm wrapping those last gifts with packaging tape since I ran out of the regular type. The girls will be singing at Mass tonight. Friends and family will be gathering at my home both tonight and tomorrow.

I can't believe Christmas is here. So many things I wanted to accomplish during Advent never happened. I'm now relieved that I can relax and just enter this Christmas season (ready or not) with joy and peace.

Family Christmas picture will be ready after mass. I plan to take my camera and ask a friend to take some shots. Its the only way I can get a picture this year! LOL!

Merry Christmas dear friends!!

Wordless Wednesday

* Well, almost wordless! LOL! Just wanted to note that to make things simple this year, we're using pre-packaged cards, pre-packaged cookie mix, and store bought play dough. The kids didn't seem to notice or care. *

Sewing Fitted Diapers

I'm so excited about the fitted diaper I just made Veronica!!! I found a pattern that seemed simple enough. The best part was that it called for used tee shirts as the material. So, after raiding Craig's drawers (thanks sweetie), I found myself a blue tee that has seen enough years.

Next time I'm making a size medium instead of a small. I don't think this diaper will last her more than 2 weeks. Also, I wish the Velcro didn't stand out so much. I thought about cutting its width, but thought it wouldn't work as well. Maybe I can find colored Velcro for the future.

I made the sewn-in soaker style. I might try the stuffable style next time. How exciting! I think I'm going to put my crocheting down in light of this new hobby!

*Note* The diaper looks like its made of denim but its actually a very soft blue tee shirt. Click on the pictures to see full screen images and you'll be able to see how soft it actually is.

Twelve Days of Christmas

This is a repeat from last year. I thought I'd post it again. Its one of my favorites!

Christmas Meme

This looked like a fun meme to play. Thank you, Melissa, for sharing.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, of course. I even color coordinate for the children. Each child gets a different wrapping paper. That way, no one opens someone else's presents on Christmas morning. And they are decked out with ribbons and bows. I spend lots of time looking for just the right wrapping paper since I really want it to be religious in nature. I LOVE wrapping presents and making them beautiful!!!
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial
3. When do you put up the tree? About a week after Thanksgiving.
4. When do you take the tree down? After Epiphany
5. Do you like eggnog? Nope.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? My Menudo Christmas album. You remember about my huge crush, don't you?!? I'm still in love with them, you know. LOL! In case you don't know who Menudo is ............. Here they are singing the same song as adults for a reunion. Aren't they the cutest!! I loved Johnny the most. Yeah, that was my favorite gift ever. Maybe I'll have my parents bring it over this year (along with their record player). Moving on ....
7. Hardest person to buy for? My Mom
8. Easiest person to buy for? My kids
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Several! Both indoors and out.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Ha! Ha!! Ideally, mail. But its been a few years ....
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmm, I can't remember. ;-)
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? White Christmas with Bing Crosby.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? About a week after Thanksgiving. I start thinking about ideas as early as summer but don't actually purchase anything until 2-3 weeks before Christmas.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Honestly, YES!!! LOL!! But don't worry, I followed the gift recycling rules. You didn't know there were rules?!?
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My father's traditional Puerto Rican Christmas Eve dinner which includes pernil (Puerto Rican pork shoulder), arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas), pasteles, tostones (fried plantain with garlic), and templeque for dessert. YUM!!!
16. Lights on the tree? Clear colored.
17. Favorite Christmas song(s)? Pat a Pan, Do You Hear What I Hear?, and of course, all these songs!! ;-) Actually, I love ALL Christmas songs!!
18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home? Stay at home
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Nope! LOL!!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Presents from my parents on Christmas Eve, presents from us and Craig's parents on Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Secular Christmas songs and tv shows and commercials, to name a few.
23. What theme or color are you using? Pink and Purple (for Advent) with gold.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? See #15. Also, I LOVE my mother's bunuelos. They are crispy and flaky and just YUMMY!!! And tamales. Gosh, I'm getting hungry! LOL!
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Good health, time with my family and to hear screaming & laughter on Christmas morning. I already got my Christmas gift in having my precious Veronica.

I tag anyone who wants to play. Leave me a comment if you decide to play.

Posh Baby

* UPDATED: Just wanted to add that her "Ralph Lauren" was a $6 second hand buy. Didn't want anyone thinking I regularly spent this much money on baby clothing. Ralph Lauren, smocked outfits and other expensive baby clothes were a dime a dozen where I used to live.
Here's Veronica wearing one of my favorite baby outfits. Many of my girls have sported this Ralph Lauren outfit. I'll be sad when she no longer fits into it.




Also, here's Veronica wearing her first Bumgenius diaper. I've wondered about them but never had ordered any. Well, Target carries them now!! I just had to pick one up and try it out. I can say that so far I love it!!

Guess what else Target is selling these days? California Baby shampoo (my favorite for over 10 years), No Sox, cute wet diaper bags, slings and much more. On the one hand, I hope they keep carrying boutique baby items I could only order on the internet. On the other hand, delayed gratification and shipping costs are what kept me from ordering many times! LOL!!

Well, off to Target to get more diapers! ;-)

More babies ....

Trisha just had her first little one and he's precious. Also, Katie and Devin are welcoming their two little boys this week. I also forgot to post about Roxie's baby that was due the same time as mine. Go over and congratulate these first time parents!!

I'm soooooo enjoying following all these baby threads. And am praying for all those mommies (both blogging and non-blogging) expecting babies.

As for my Veronica, this morning when Isabelle went to put an outfit on her, it was found that she had grown overnight. I'm trying to savor everyday because I am very aware of how fast babies grow.

Veronica is wrapped in a blanket I crocheted.

Happy St. Nicholas Day

The kids were giddy with excitement as they put their shoes out. Kolbe said he knew St. Nicholas liked "churchy things" and so he put a rosary in his shoes. I think he's hoping it'll help him score some points! LOL!!


Have a Blessed St. Nicholas Day!!

Veronica: 1 Month Old

Well, a month has gone by and Veronica is now one month old. She has turned out to be a beautiful nurser. Last weekend I was ready to quit but I've healed up nicely and she is doing beautifully. In fact, she is almost 1 pound over her birth weight!! YEAH!!

Here is my wide-eyed Veronica with her handsome daddy on Thanksgiving Day (her real one month birthday):

And, here she is (falling asleep) with me right before this morning's mass:

Boys & Their Hobbies: Part II

A while back I posted my thoughts on the need men have for meaningful hobbies.

Craig has taken on a new one, thanks to a lovely family we know! ;-) Yesterday, he went paintball fighting with my dad and my cousins. Today, he spent some time in the back with the kids. Anyone who's been over to our home would know we DO NOT have acreage and that my backyard is NOT set up for this kind of recreation.

So, after an hour of shooting I had to put my foot down. After all, they had stained my fence and bird bath. Instead, I sent them packing over to my mom-in-laws. She has a wide field perfect for target practice

Thank you, dear S. family, for introducing us to this wonderful sport! LOL!

The Posse

I just couldn't resist!! I used to love shooting with my cousin.

Isabelle

Anna

Sophia

Kolbe

Catherine, shooting air!! LOL!!

Veronica Pics

Veronica with my parents

This morning being held by Sophia

Sleeping on her wooley

Curious Catherine

Here is my Curious Catherine, again!! She did this 5 mins. before leaving for my mother's last week. I should have wondered why all was quiet.

HALLOWEEN 2008 (better late than never)

**We forgot to take our camera to the All Saint's Day Party. I keep meaning to dress the kids up in their saint costumes for pictures.**

Kolbe as Spiderman

Catherine as a Ladybug

Isabelle as a gypsy

Anna as a cowgirl

Sophia as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz

Doing the Happy Dance!!!

A good Lactation Consultant is worth her weight in gold!! Today, the LC was able to do in 10 MINUTES what I couldn't get done in 3 weeks ..... she got Veronica nursing on the left side!!! I can't tell you how happy I am!! Of course, I figured she probably didn't get much milk since my supply was going down, but turns out (after having pre and post feeding weight checks) she ate the same amount on both sides. So, this whole time she's been barely keeping herself hydrated and REALLY, REALLY needed both sides to get that full, satiated feeling.

I was so happy and so relieved that our problem could be fixed.

You can stop reading now unless you want all the details!! I almost feel like including a picture but ... LOL!!

Turns out, Veronica has a bubble palate. I found lots of information about bubble palates. But none of it was blogging material. Too many diagrams and lots of technical articles. In other words, kinda boring unless you're really interested in bubble palates. So, I thought I would just give you this one link because it describes what we're going through and gives me that reaffirmation that we really did have something going awry with our nursing relationship and that it wasn't all in my head (whew ... long sentence).

bubble palate and failure to thrive (This sounds like us!! Veronica lost another 1.5 oz. since Monday's weigh in. I just knew something was wrong. She was latching on correctly and being held correctly. I was doing my part. And poor thing was trying to do hers. All you ladies who kept saying it was an abnormality in her palate were right. You get two gold stickers!!!)

To say that I have nipple soreness is an understatement. It is pretty painful right now. However, she's a quick learner and with scheduled feedings (I've NEVER done that before) and lots of persistence on my part, she can relearn to suck properly.

Looking on the good side, she has a beautiful latch and she really is a fast learner.

After the LC left today, I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to re-create what she had taught me. But, when it was time for next feeding, I did exactly what she said and she was nursing within 3 minutes on the LEFT side!!! WooHoo!!

Here's what I'm doing:
Scheduled feedings every 2 hours NO MATTER WHAT!! She likes to sleep and will sleep through her feedings. She's already sleeping through the night!! Normally, I would appreciate the extra sleep but not now. The LC says that part of the problem why she doesn't cry to let me know she's hungry is because she's never felt completely full. She is ignoring her body signals for hunger. So, in addition to learning to suck properly, she also has to learn to listen to her body signals. Until she gets used to having a full tummy, I have to feed her VERY frequently. Right now she's eating just to stay hydrated but not enough to gain weight.

I will say that she is the most alert baby I've ever had. My other babies would always get that "drunk" look and fall asleep after nursing. Veronica, on the other hand, pops up and is wide awake after feedings. I've not been able to nurse her to sleep ... UNTIL TODAY!!!! Already I've nursed her to sleep TWICE!!! TWICE!!!! YEAH!!!

I'm going to start taking fenugreek and blessed thistle herbs in capsule form. I've tried the tea and just couldn't swallow it. Hated the taste. The LC says the capsules are just as effective.

I'm going to lay down when nursing on the left side. We'll do this for the next 3 days before moving onto other positions. When I try to hold her (cradle, football, etc.), the LC says it makes Veronica feels like she's being forced to nurse. With the laying down position, it gives her the allusion of control. I just have to make sure that I put something behind her (like a rice sock or heavy pillow) that acts as a permanent wall so she can't reposition herself. Veronica tries really hard to reposition herself so she can suck incorrectly. She doesn't seem to fight the "wall" as much as she fights my arms. The LC said it was very important that we weren't fighting with each other. I didn't realize we were fighting. ;-)

Also, if she starts to get frustrated (a little whimper or cry) at anytime on the left side, I have to immediately stop and let her nurse on the right side. I then pump on the left side and feed it to her later. She doesn't want Veronica to get a bad association with nursing and wants her to start liking the left side as much as she likes the right side.

I'm using timers and alarm clocks to remind me to nurse.

Homeschooling has been reduced to any schoolwork that is independent (math, spelling, science & history reading, Latin, silent reading, piano, cursive). Also, Craig comes home tomorrow and will take over their school work. He's going to take Sophia to her speech therapy and the kids to their co-op, piano lessons, choir rehearsal and swimming! YEAH!! I'm so glad he's home everyday all of next week.

I'm NOT getting upset with where we are in the syllabus. Last week I was trying to resume a normal life and that backfired on me. It made things worse for our nursing relationship. Veronica is now top priority. I thought she was last week but I now see that she needs more of my time.

If you read this far, then not only do you get stickers, consider yourself my bosom friend (pun intended)!!! Almost 10 years ago, I had nursing problems with Isabelle. A LC saved our nursing relationship and I vowed back then that one day I would be a LC. I started working on my volunteer hours when Isabelle was 3 yo at a W.I.C. clinic but it would take years and years to get all those required hours. And I had Anna on the way. And, soon Sophia and Kolbe joined our family. If you've read this far, maybe you should consider becoming a LC. We can go into business together!! Of course, this is in about 15-20 years!! LOL!

I think GOOD LC's are priceless. They are not all equally skilled. The reason I wanted this lady was because she was highly recommended. I had gone to the "free hospital LC" when Veronica was 1 week old. They recommended the Dr. Brown bottle. While I understood and shared their concern for Veronica's lack of weight gain, they weren't helping me with the underlying issue of her nursing problems. I left very saddened. I supplemented with a medicine dropper/spoon until I could get more answers.

We're still not out of the woods. I'm still having lots of pain. But right now its more important that she's nursing. The LC gave me these (available at some Walgreens) and I can't believe I've never heard of them before!!! I was using TONS and TONS of Lanolin with breast pads but still in so much pain. Just wearing a bra or pad or tee shirt hurt. These gel pads make clothing tolerable again. I'm sure the rest of the world is grateful for that!!! LOL!!

Gotta go!

Help is on the way

My midwife highly recommended a lactation consultant that was hard to pin down and get an appt. with. She's in high demand.

The kids have been listening to Glory Stories (and having other forms of media entertainment since I'm busy right now). Their favorite, the one about St. Rose of Lima, has the parable about the knocking man. "Knock and you shall receive." So I did lots of knocking!! LOL!! I filled up her voice box and basically muscled my way into her appointment calendar. She's arriving to my house in 30 mins.!!

Honestly, I almost gave up (both nursing and calling her) but that little CD (which has been played several times a day) really reminded me to not give up. So, in between my phone calls I offered up ever so many Memorares.

My mom (in law) is here and making me dinner. She's going to stay with the kids downstairs while I work with the LC upstairs. Wish us luck!!

And thank you SO MUCH for all your heart felt prayers and comments. When Craig is gone and I'm all alone with the children, you ladies really are my support and have become very dear friends to me ... even if I've never met some of you. Thank you!!

I'm so blue-ue-ue, blue-ue-ue, blue-ue-ue-blue ....

..... I'm so blue I don't know what to do ... about nursing this little one.

Please send up prayers for us.

I haven't been able to move onto anything else ... like her Baptism, holidays, birthdays, etc. because we are struggling DAILY with her nursing. Sometimes she does fine, but then there are periods (that can last hours) that are a real struggle for her and/or me. It doesn't help that my Craig left this morning and doesn't return until Thursday.

I'm at a loss and waiting to hear from another lactation consultant. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.

Any thoughts?

This is what I'm currently doing: I borrowed my sister's electric pump and am trying to replenish my supply on the side she is avoiding. However, today she started having problems on the other side and I broke down!!! Which didn't help. I kinda freaked because I need her nursing on at least one side!! I'm sure things aren't as bad as they feel. Still, could you keep us in your prayers ... as well as my older kids because I'm not being the normal mommy they are used to. Catherine is especially missing her old mommy.

This is not how I envisioned my Babymoon. I just praise God I have my Veronica. I know this is just a little bump in the road.

*tears*