Weekend Roundup

Happy August 1st! I like that we are kicking off Monday with a new month.  It just feels like a fresh start. 

Our weekend was busy as usual.  Smart people would try and relax on their weekend, but we apparently cram as many activities as humanly possible into two days.

Her face is priceless.  Fresh caught seafood for dinner.

2nd Annual Clam Bake at the Wilsons

Some Slip & Slide Fun with Aunt Stacie

One would think crazy girl would love the rides?

Boy were we wrong! She spent the ride clinging to her cousin, screaming and crying.

Mom, are we really going on another ride?

Who doesn't like the merry-go-round?

Thank goodness for a bench so we didn't have to repeat the waterworks from the previous ride.

The only ride she enjoyed was the choo choo train that went about 2 MPH.

Kirkland Supreme vs. Pamper Swaddlers

A Diaper Review

I've used Pamper Swaddlers from the time Liv was born with no averse effects like diaper rash.  So my decision to try out a generic brand was purely experimental.  In reading other mommy blogs, I had seen that many recommended Costco's Kirkland brand.   

I typically buy in bulk to avoid running to the store weekly for diapers.  In addition, I try to keep a sleeve of diapers at each of my family member's houses that we visit frequently to eliminate any emergency situations. So I buy a good amount of diapers and happily look for any savings I can find.

We are currently in size 4 diapers so with Pamper Swaddlers I could get 144 for $45.99 but by going the generic route I could buy 180 for $38.99 with Kirkland Supreme.  This is what hooked me to try them out.  Who wouldn't want to get more bang for their buck?  It was a simple decision to try the brand where you get more diapers for less money.

Overall I think Kirkland is a good cheaper alternative.  One negative for me is that I don't feel they are as absorbent as Pampers.  Liv still takes a full bottle of milk before bed, and I have had a few occasions where she or the crib have been wet in the morning.  This is not every night so they may have been the rare times where she drank more the previous night.  My other downside is that Costco isn't as accessible as Target, where I typically buy the Pampers.  A friend actually picked up the Kirkland diapers for me during her last big haul to Costco since she has a membership.

It's Pampers for the win for me.  I like that they have a wet indicator on the diaper.  There is no mistaking whether she is wet or not when the line turns from yellow to blue.   I would buy Kirkland again if the opportunity presented itself, but I would not go out of my way to purchase them.  Every child is different and what works for me may not work for others.  For now, we are using the Kirkland diapers until we run out and then will switch back to Pampers.

Breastfeed Weaning

So long overdue but better late than never.  I wanted to document my journey so I would have a reference for the next time around.  Everything I read online stated that other moms stopped breastfeeding and poof two days later felt fine.  However, that was not my experience at all.

I set my goal to stop at eight months.  I had stored enough milk to last me some time. But eight months came and went and here I was still pumping away. Then we hit Christmas and I swore I was done after that, but we planned a vacation to Florida over New Year's and I knew better than to start the process then. Here I am ten months postpartum and continually putting off the weaning process but at the same time completely over the daily grind of pumping every 4-5 hours.  I will admit I am the absolute worst person at water consumption and while the back and forth on when to stop was going on I was training for my first 1/2 marathon.  So my body took over and started to produce less milk due to dehydration when my miles increased, which I took as a sign that it was a means to an end. 

I went from pumping four times a day to first thing in the morning and right before bed at night.  This schedule continued for about two weeks.  I figured I had weaned enough that I could just stop since I hadn't been filling up anymore.  I was now only two weeks away from my 1/2 and eleven months postpartum.  There was not a chance in hell I would lug my pump down to Disney for this race, and I was ready to be done.

As mentioned previously, the info I found online seemed to be extremely sugarcoated.  Mothers on forums were mentioning that days 2-5 were the worst but then engorgement subsided.  I was fully engorged for two whole weeks.  So much so that I could not lift my daughter or hold her b/c the mere touching of anything to my chest brought tears to my eyes. And running was completely out of the question, not the best timing I know.  Finally I called the lactation consultant from my hospital who was wonderful and confirmed I was doing all the right things - cold compresses, avoiding warm water in the shower, restrict movement, pain medicine and express small amounts for pressure relief.  She even suggested the old wives tale of cold cabbage leaves in your bra.  She made an insightful point that if my body had been lactating for eleven months, it simply couldn't turn off a switch and stop producing cold turkey.  Everything takes time and patience is necessary.  Lucky for me, I felt completely back to normal just days before leaving for the race.