I have really enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone & trying new things as Prater Ellis' mommy. If the Me of 3 years ago met the Me of today, she definitely wouldn't even recognize herself. During my pregnancy, I made some decisions to try a few things different from my norm & if they worked out, great, but if they didn't I would just be proud of myself for trying... thankfully, everything I have tried has worked (so far)!
Breastfeeding. As unsure as I was about the whole ordeal, I wanted to at least try... I thought, I've had these (rather large) inconveniences since Junior High, I would appreciate it if they at least worked the way God intended them to & if so, it would be nice to use a "natural resource" instead of having to buy Prater Ellis formula. If all the stars aligned & I wasn't too weirded out by the process, I would go forth & breastfeed. Thankfully, absolutely everything about breastfeeding has been a breeze for the both of us & we continue to enjoy it 4 months in.
These lovies have made mine & Prater's nursing lives more pleasant:
Cloth diapering. When my girlfriends started cloth diapering, I was highly intrigued & thought I would like to give it a whirl when the time came. I was super grateful when one of said girlfriends passed down her babe's grown-out-of cloth diaper covers & cloth wipes to me, only having to purchase the inserts (which I had a gift card for, hot dog!). Right now, we are using FuzziBunz Perfect Size (Small) diapers, Charlie Banana (Small) inserts while using this sprayer, I've been using this site to make my own cloth wipe solution & I have been super lucky that Arm & Hammer Liquid Detergent Perfume & Dye-Free laundry detergent has worked to clean them. When Prater Ellis grows out of these diapers at 18 pounds, I believe (I am still researching) we will switch to a bumGenius All-In-One.
Making her baby food. Because I love cooking mine & Aaron's food, I thought I would try my hand at making Miss Priss' food as well. This past weekend, we broke out the Baby Bullet (had a gift card for it too, woo hoo!) & so far, she loves her sweet potatoes for lunch & supper. I was able to prepare 44 servings (32 brown rice cereal, 10 sweet potato, & 2 avocado) in about 30 minutes for $1.79 - heck yes! I have gotten so much gratification from the process too!
DIY what I can. I would love for Prater Ellis to have a custom, themed outfit for absolutely everything... but it's just not reasonable to spend $40+ on a new outfit every week that she will, most likely, only wear once. So, when I can make her something myself, I want to at least try... I did just that for her Valentine's Day outfit & I am seriously smitten! I would go ahead & share, but I snagged some free photo card coupons & am planning to send her grandparents, aunts/uncles, & a few little friends V-Day cards so I don't want to spoil their fun, just yet. It was a fun project, cost me less than $3, & only took about an hour.
For someone who loved living inside her bubble, not coloring outside the lines, & holding a severe aversion to change, being Prater Ellis' mommy is teaching me that all change is not created evil & when bucking my norm I can be highly rewarded. How am I supposed to teach her when she's the one constantly teaching me?
1 comments:
Can I just liked this post a million times?
Some notes:
1. Some days I think Arden will actually turn into a sweet potato.
2. I buy my Arm and Hammer dye/scent free laundry detergent for a song at Big Lots!
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