This was originally posted by Amy Neyer at: http://starcrossedkayla.tumblr.com/post/48462427854/i-went-on-amazon-and-bought-all-the-top-books-on. It has since gone viral, (making it to the Today Show: http://www.today.com/moms/exhausted-new-moms-hilarious-take-expert-sleep-advice-goes-viral-6C9559908) As a new mom I thought this was very funny and true!
Neyer’s brilliant take on expert sleep advice:
“You shouldn’t sleep train at all, before a year, before 6 months, or before 4 months, but if you wait too late, your baby will never be able to sleep without you. College-aged children never need to be nursed, rocked, helped to sleep, so don’t worry about any bad habits. Nursing, rocking, singing, swaddling, etc to sleep are all bad habits and should be stopped immediately.
Naps should only be taken in the bed, never in a swing, car seat, stroller, or when worn. Letting them sleep in the car seat or swing will damage their skulls. If your baby has trouble falling asleep in the bed, put them in a swing, car seat, stroller, or wear them. Use the crib only for sleep and keep it free of distractions. If the baby is having trouble adjusting to the crib, have them play in it first. If the baby wakes up at night and wants to play, put fun toys in the crib to distract them.
Put the baby in a nursery, bed in your room, in your bed. Co-sleeping is the best way to get sleep, except that it can kill your baby, so never, ever do it. If your baby doesn’t die, you will need to bed-share until college.
Keep the room warm, but not too warm. Swaddle the baby tightly, but not too tightly. Put them on their backs to sleep, but don’t let them be on their backs too long or they will be developmentally delayed. Give them a pacifier to reduce SIDS. Be careful about pacifiers because they can cause nursing problems and stop your baby from sleeping soundly. If your baby sleeps too soundly, they’ll die of SIDS.
Don’t let your baby sleep too long, except when they’ve been napping too much, then you should wake them. Never wake a sleeping baby. Any baby problem can be solved by putting them to bed earlier, even if they are waking up too early. If your baby wakes up too early, put them to bed later or cut out a nap. Don’t let them nap after 5 p.m. Sleep begets sleep, so try to get your child to sleep as much as possible. Put the baby to bed awake but drowsy. Don’t wake the baby if it fell asleep while nursing.
You should start a routine and keep track of everything. Don’t watch the clock. Put them on a schedule. Scheduling will make your life impossible because they will constantly be thrown off of it and you will become a prisoner in your home.
Using the “Cry It Out” method (CIO) will make them think they’ve been abandoned and will be eaten by a lion shortly. It also causes brain damage. Not getting enough sleep will cause behavior and mental problems, so be sure to put them to sleep by any means necessary, especially CIO, which is the most effective form. CIO is cruel beyond belief and the only thing that truly works because parents are a distraction.
Formula and solid foods will help the baby sleep longer. Solid foods shouldn’t be given at night because they might wake the baby. Don’t stop the baby from nursing when asleep. Be wary of night feeds. If you respond too quickly with food or comfort, your baby is manipulating you. Babies can’t manipulate. Babies older than six months can manipulate.
Sleep when the baby sleeps. Clean when the baby cleans. Don’t worry. Stress causes your baby stress and a stressed baby won’t sleep.”
I hope this made you laughed and maybe relieved a little stress/worry about sleeping.
~Karen
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
Cheeseburger Pie with Crescent Roll Crust
So I found a new recipe at http://southernfood.about.com/od/groundbeefpies/r/bl30116h.htm and I wanted to give it a try. I modified it a little because I didn't want any of the spices in it but it turned out SO good!!!! I have to say this will be a new regular dinner in our house. Even my one year old loved it!!
Cook at 350 and your total cook time is 40 minutes.
What you will need:
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 medium onion (I just used onion flakes)
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1 4oz can of mushrooms, drained
7 slices American Cheese
2 packages of crescent rolls
3 eggs
Salt and Pepper
Mix well and set aside
Open one package of crescent rolls and arrange them in a lightly greased 9in pie pan. Make sure to press all the creases together.
Now take one egg and separate the yolk and the egg white. Set the yolk aside.
Next mix the egg white with your two other eggs.
Pour half of this egg mixture into the pie crust.
Now add your meat mixture to the pan.
Next arrange your cheese slices to cover the meat. The original recipe called for 6 slices but I used 7 to cover it all. After this you will pour the other half of your egg mixture over the cheese.
Now mix your egg yolk with one tablespoon of water.
Use this mixture to brush over the edge of the crescent rolls that you can still see. Then open the second package of crescent rolls and arrange them to make your top crust. After you have that on, use the remaining yolk/water mixture to brush over the whole pie.
Cover the edges of your pie lightly with tinfoil to prevent burning and then cook at 350 for the first 20 minutes.
After the 20 minutes take it out and cover your whole pie with tinfoil and put it in for another 20 minutes.
You now have your Cheeseburger Pie with a Crescent Roll Crust!!! I hope you enjoy it!!!
~Sarah
Cook at 350 and your total cook time is 40 minutes.
What you will need:
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 medium onion (I just used onion flakes)
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1 4oz can of mushrooms, drained
7 slices American Cheese
2 packages of crescent rolls
3 eggs
Salt and Pepper
First you will need to brown your meat and onion
Next, drain off any excess fat and then add your tomato sauce, mushrooms, and salt/pepper
Mix well and set aside
Open one package of crescent rolls and arrange them in a lightly greased 9in pie pan. Make sure to press all the creases together.
Now take one egg and separate the yolk and the egg white. Set the yolk aside.
Next mix the egg white with your two other eggs.
Pour half of this egg mixture into the pie crust.
Now add your meat mixture to the pan.
Next arrange your cheese slices to cover the meat. The original recipe called for 6 slices but I used 7 to cover it all. After this you will pour the other half of your egg mixture over the cheese.
Now mix your egg yolk with one tablespoon of water.
Use this mixture to brush over the edge of the crescent rolls that you can still see. Then open the second package of crescent rolls and arrange them to make your top crust. After you have that on, use the remaining yolk/water mixture to brush over the whole pie.
Cover the edges of your pie lightly with tinfoil to prevent burning and then cook at 350 for the first 20 minutes.
After the 20 minutes take it out and cover your whole pie with tinfoil and put it in for another 20 minutes.
You now have your Cheeseburger Pie with a Crescent Roll Crust!!! I hope you enjoy it!!!
~Sarah
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Breastfeeding after breast reduction
As a teenager I had a lot of shoulder and back pain. So at the age of 18 I decided to have breast reduction surgery. The surgeon told me that there was a chance that the surgery may affect breastfeeding. I was told that I may be able to breastfeed 100%, breastfeed some and have to supplement,or not be able to breastfeed at all. As an 18 year old the thought of not being able to breastfeed didn’t really affect me. Now as a 29 year old mother the thought of not being able to 100% breastfeed my baby has been hard. I knew that there was a high chance that I may not be able to breast feed. Thankfully I have a great little sister Sarah! Sarah has a one year old and was a “milk making machine”!! So she was pumping and freezing her milk for me for almost a year; she had 1100 ounces of milk frozen. So I knew that if I wasn’t able to breastfeed that I would at least have breast milk to use. Our husbands at first thought this was gross and weird. Sarah and I told them it’s not like my child would be breastfeeding from Sarah. We explained the benefits to breastfeeding and how we feel it’s important to breastfeed.
After delivering Emma I attempted to breastfeed; but, Emma had a hard time latching on. A nurse suggested that I try pumping and feeding Emma what I pumped. So I started pumping and was getting about 1ml of colostrum each time and I syringe fed Emma. I was happy that I was producing colostrum and was thinking that I was in the clear and going to be able to breastfeed. I had met with the lactation consultant and she worked with me and I was able to get Emma to latch on and she nursed for 15 minutes! I was excited and was hoping that it would continue to go well. So I continued to try nursing and kept pumping. It had been close to 24 hours since Emma was born and she still hadn’t had a wet diaper and the nurse was concerned that Emma was not getting enough to eat and was trying to get me to give her formula. I felt strongly about breastfeeding and wanted to stick with breastfeeding and pumping. Emma finally had a wet diaper so I felt that she was getting enough milk. During the night Emma was getting fussy and the nurse kept telling me that formula feed babies would be eating 1-2 ounces and that Emma was not getting enough. I knew that formula and colstrum is different and that the amount they need is different. Emma was still fussy and I was worried that she wasn’t getting enough so I finally gave her 2 ounces of formula. The formula seemed to satisfy her and she slept through the night. We were discharged the next day and I knew that I had Sarah’s breast milk at home to give Emma. When we were waiting to be discharged Emma was getting fussy so I tried to nurse her again; she latched on right away and nursed for 10 minutes!! When we got home and it was time for Emma to eat I tried to nurse her; but, couldn’t get her to latch on so I gave her 2 ounces of Sarah’s breast milk. I continued to try to nurse Emma and every 2 hours. It was a struggle to get her to latch on because my nipples are flat. So I looked into nipple shields. Medela has great resources about the nipple shield : Mother’s may have has flat or inverted nipples. Some new mothers have nipple tissue that is not very stretchable. If it is difficult for the baby to draw in the mother’s nipple, the baby may pull away, cry, or simply fall asleep. The Medela nipple shield provides sensation deep in the mouth that stimulates the baby to keep sucking. As the milk begins to flow, the baby discovers that breast feeding works! Over time, the mother’s nipples will become more pliable,and the shield is no longer needed to trigger the sucking reflex. http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/tips-and-solutions/112/nipple-shields. So I finally got a nipple shield and my life became so much easier! Emma would latch on right away and start nursing! I was nursing Emma every 2 hours during the day; however, I usually had to wake her up to nurse and she would often fall asleep half way through nursing. I was getting concerned that she was not getting enough to eat since she was not back up to her birth weight. So I decided since it was the weekend that I would pump every 2 hours and give her the milk in a bottle so I would know for sure how much she was getting. So I pumped every 2 hours all day and was only getting about 1 ounce each time. I realized that I was not producing enough to feed Emma. This was really hard for me to process.I struggled with knowing that I was not able to 100% breastfeed. I knew that I had Sarah’s breast milk and that would last a couple of months; but, it wasn’t me breastfeeding my daughter. In a way I felt like I was failing as a mother. I came from a breastfeeding family and breastfeeding is very important to me. My mom reassured me that it was okay that I couldn’t breast feed and that I had tried for two weeks. She advised me to do what I felt I could handle. She said that if I felt that I could keep on pumping to keep doing it; but, if I felt to overwhelmed with pumping every 2 hours that it was okay too. So I had a big decision to make and felt overwhelmed just thinking about it. My husband told me that he supported what every decision I made and that Emma would be fine with Sarah’s breast milk and then formula down the road. So I really thought about my choices and knew that I couldn’t handle pumping every two hours when I was home alone with Emma during the day. So I have decided that I would pump four times a day and have been getting around 5 ounces a day. I am so thankful that I have a great sister and that she was willing to pump for almost a year and freeze milk for me!!!
After delivering Emma I attempted to breastfeed; but, Emma had a hard time latching on. A nurse suggested that I try pumping and feeding Emma what I pumped. So I started pumping and was getting about 1ml of colostrum each time and I syringe fed Emma. I was happy that I was producing colostrum and was thinking that I was in the clear and going to be able to breastfeed. I had met with the lactation consultant and she worked with me and I was able to get Emma to latch on and she nursed for 15 minutes! I was excited and was hoping that it would continue to go well. So I continued to try nursing and kept pumping. It had been close to 24 hours since Emma was born and she still hadn’t had a wet diaper and the nurse was concerned that Emma was not getting enough to eat and was trying to get me to give her formula. I felt strongly about breastfeeding and wanted to stick with breastfeeding and pumping. Emma finally had a wet diaper so I felt that she was getting enough milk. During the night Emma was getting fussy and the nurse kept telling me that formula feed babies would be eating 1-2 ounces and that Emma was not getting enough. I knew that formula and colstrum is different and that the amount they need is different. Emma was still fussy and I was worried that she wasn’t getting enough so I finally gave her 2 ounces of formula. The formula seemed to satisfy her and she slept through the night. We were discharged the next day and I knew that I had Sarah’s breast milk at home to give Emma. When we were waiting to be discharged Emma was getting fussy so I tried to nurse her again; she latched on right away and nursed for 10 minutes!! When we got home and it was time for Emma to eat I tried to nurse her; but, couldn’t get her to latch on so I gave her 2 ounces of Sarah’s breast milk. I continued to try to nurse Emma and every 2 hours. It was a struggle to get her to latch on because my nipples are flat. So I looked into nipple shields. Medela has great resources about the nipple shield : Mother’s may have has flat or inverted nipples. Some new mothers have nipple tissue that is not very stretchable. If it is difficult for the baby to draw in the mother’s nipple, the baby may pull away, cry, or simply fall asleep. The Medela nipple shield provides sensation deep in the mouth that stimulates the baby to keep sucking. As the milk begins to flow, the baby discovers that breast feeding works! Over time, the mother’s nipples will become more pliable,and the shield is no longer needed to trigger the sucking reflex. http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/tips-and-solutions/112/nipple-shields. So I finally got a nipple shield and my life became so much easier! Emma would latch on right away and start nursing! I was nursing Emma every 2 hours during the day; however, I usually had to wake her up to nurse and she would often fall asleep half way through nursing. I was getting concerned that she was not getting enough to eat since she was not back up to her birth weight. So I decided since it was the weekend that I would pump every 2 hours and give her the milk in a bottle so I would know for sure how much she was getting. So I pumped every 2 hours all day and was only getting about 1 ounce each time. I realized that I was not producing enough to feed Emma. This was really hard for me to process.I struggled with knowing that I was not able to 100% breastfeed. I knew that I had Sarah’s breast milk and that would last a couple of months; but, it wasn’t me breastfeeding my daughter. In a way I felt like I was failing as a mother. I came from a breastfeeding family and breastfeeding is very important to me. My mom reassured me that it was okay that I couldn’t breast feed and that I had tried for two weeks. She advised me to do what I felt I could handle. She said that if I felt that I could keep on pumping to keep doing it; but, if I felt to overwhelmed with pumping every 2 hours that it was okay too. So I had a big decision to make and felt overwhelmed just thinking about it. My husband told me that he supported what every decision I made and that Emma would be fine with Sarah’s breast milk and then formula down the road. So I really thought about my choices and knew that I couldn’t handle pumping every two hours when I was home alone with Emma during the day. So I have decided that I would pump four times a day and have been getting around 5 ounces a day. I am so thankful that I have a great sister and that she was willing to pump for almost a year and freeze milk for me!!!
Check back to see how my breastfeeding experience goes!
~Karen
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Homemade Fabric Softener
~Sarah
All About Us
We are two sisters that want to share with you about our everyday lives! Our lives as sisters, wives, mothers, daughters, friends and more! Here is who we are:
Karen: I have
been married to my husband Reese for almost a year. We were blessed with a
beautiful daughter Emma on April 6, 2013. I can’t imagine my life without
her. I am the third of four children in
my family. I am extremely close with my family and enjoy spending time with
them.
I went to Spring Arbor University and got my Bachelors
degree in Family Life Education and was a Families First Worker for two years.
As a Families First Worker I worked with families that were involved with Child
Protective Services and were at risk of losing their children to foster care. I
provided intensive home-based intervention and taught life skills to prevent
recurrence of abuse and neglect. I am currently blessed to be a stay at home
mom.
Sarah: I have
been married to Michael for almost 3 years now. On March 31, 2012 we were
blessed with a beautiful baby boy, Aiden. He has the best little personality
and he is my whole world! I am the youngest of the four children in my family,
and though many people think, I am not a twin to either of my sisters; we are
actually quite far apart in age!! I am very lucky to live within five minutes
of my parents whom I am very close with.
I went to Oakland University to get my Bachelor’s degree in
Elementary Education and I am certified to teach K-8 grade. Unfortunately,
where I live there are not many teaching positions open, so I currently work
part time at our ISD with hearing impaired kids. As much as I LOVE teaching and
working with kids, my dream is to be a stay at home mom. I was lucky enough to
stay home with Aiden for the first six months but then I accepted this job in
hopes that it would lead to a full time teaching job so I could use my degree.
Our parents have been married for almost 38
years. Our oldest sibling lives in Georgia with her husband.
She moved there to get her master’s degree and never came back! We get to see
her a few times a year but we wish we could see her more! Our brother
and his wife have twins; a boy and a girl. They live very close to me (Sarah) and about
two hours from Karen. We both enjoy spending time with them and watching their
sporting events. We don’t live as close to each other as we would like; but, we
Facetime everyday so we can see Aiden and Emma.
We look forward to sharing things with you about our simple
yet wonderful “everyday” lives!!
~~Karen and Sarah
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