Our Day in Pictures.

 Happy Saturday, lovelies! Thank you all so much for the incredible feedback on my exclusively pumping post. So much encouragement there for mamas in every situation, if you are currently struggling with your breastfeeding experience, I encourage you to read all of the comments & you will instantly be reminded of what a badass you are just for trying.

A lot of the feedback in the Q&A posts (here & here) was about our daily routine & what our  schedule looks like. I thought it would be fun to post once a week an hourly play-by-play of a typical weekday! I will incorporate meals, workouts & lots of other boring stuff :)

 6:00 am | This.

 

7:00 am | Iced coffee, email Pinterest & a blanket on the couch while the house is still quiet.

8:00 am | Breakfast with this pretty little lady. (Pajamas)

 9:00 am | Multi-tasking takes on a whole new meaning. Working & watching the doodle bug run wild out of the corner of my eye.

10:00 am | Like a boss.

11:00 am | No nap ninja strikes again thanks to the mailman ringing the doorbell like a lunatic & then slamming a package into my front door.

 12:00 pm | Lunch (True Life: We are addicted to sourdough bread).

   1:00 pm | Home from a quick Publix run. (Sweaterdress, Leggings, Headband)

 2:00 pm | Story Time. Harper LOVES looking at the pictures in Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

  

3:00 pm | Going down for nap numero dos.

4:00 pm | Client calls, excel sheets & snacks.

5:00 pm | Fresh air & a little diva pucker. (Sweaterdress, Sunglasses, Wagon)

 6:00 pm | Wine & Noggin (they go hand in hand!)

7:00 pm | Bathtime. Brandon usually does her bath/bottle routine, while I cook dinner. On the menu: Potato Crusted Tilapia & Broccoli. I never knew fish could be this delicious.

By 8:00 pm we are spent! Working & having Harper home with me all day make things a little crazy. Although I feel so blessed to have her sweet little face to look at all day.

Life doesn't get much better than that! ;)

My Exclusive Pumping Story

I have attempted to write this post so many times & I end up staring at a blank screen. I don't even know where to begin with our  breastfeeding journey, how it went wrong or how I ended up in exclusive pumping territory so I will attempt to piece this together as best I can.

Before Harper was born, I had every intention of breastfeeding as long as I could. We took classes, read books, talked to our experienced friends, we were ready to roll. I had a scheduled c-section (because Harper was breech, you can read her birth story here), and immediately after the surgery was over, we were wheeled to recovery where the nurses assisted in getting her latched for the first time. I felt like things were going well, we were bonding, she was getting colostrum & I didn't feel much pain. After about 24 hours in the hospital, it seemed like things weren't really progressing with her latch, we met with a lactation consultant & eventually ended up feeding her a little bit from a plastic spoon. We continued to get help from our nurses & two other lactation consultants while we were in the hospital, but Harper just couldn't latch properly. On day 3, she had lost over a pound & our nurse told us that it was time to supplement with some formula. I was totally against it. I vaguely remember wanting to rip my husband's head off when the nurses finally talked us him us into it & he got to bottle feed her for the first time. I yelled at him saying that he only agreed to give her formula because he wanted to feed her. (wow, I was an asshole!)

Long story short, the lactation consultants recommended using a nipple shield as a temporary solution. It seemed to help with her latch for the most part, but apparently does not allow for proper milk stimulation, so it required pumping after each feeding. 10-15 minutes of breastfeeding on each side with the shield plus 10-15 minutes of pumping after. Then I could feed Harper the rest of the pumped milk after or save it for the next feeding.

I purchased the Medela Pump in Style Advanced before she was born, so we were lucky to have it waiting for us when we got home since we used a hospital one during our stay. It was well worth the money!

Our feeding routine eventually looked something like this:

Breastfeed with nipple shield - 20 min.

Pump (both sides at once) - 10-15 min.

Cry because I hardly produced any milk - 2 min (sometimes 2 hours)

Bottlefeed with rest of milk - 10 min.

Wash Pump Parts & nipple shield for next round - 10 min.

Contemplate putting all pump parts down the garbage disposal & running the actual pump over with my car - 30 seconds (sometimes longer)

Repeat 2 hours later.

We quickly learned that this was just not really working. I kept trying to get her to latch, we met with another lactation consultant to try to wean from the shield & I was not producing enough milk, so I was sometimes supplementing with formula. She also spit up EVERYTHING, like projectile liquid the second she was done eating, all over herself/us/earth. Then, she starting to refuse breastfeeding all together since it was just so much easier to drink from the bottle. Finally, we made the executive decision that if I had to pump ANYWAY, we might as well just go that route & stop forcing it. From that point on (Harper was almost a month old), I went to exclusively pumping. At this point, she was eating every 3 hours (spitting it all up immediately after), with usually one (sometimes two) 4 oz. bottles of formula in the mix to supplement.

 I was on maternity leave for 8 weeks, but then I worked from home. Sounds great right? It was nearly impossible to actually work all day, while feeding+pumping+washing took almost an hour, every three hours. I also HATED the actual pumping process. It was painful & so inconvenient. Not to mention, Harper was sleeping through the night at five weeks, but I couldn't get through the night without waking up in pain with clogged milk ducts, so I still had to wake up once or twice in the night to pump. Seriously, fuck that. The only thing worse than waking up to your crying baby is waking up just to stick your boobs in a vacuum. I remember my husband telling me how he would dream of the "black-ops. black-ops. black-ops" sound in his sleep. I longed to just be able to put the baby on the boob when she was hungry & be done with it.

Eventually I got the hang of it & was able to produce enough milk, but the spitting up just kept going. It was tough to work so hard to pump that milk & then watch her spit it up all over the couch. The doctors kept telling us that as long as she was gaining weight & not crying when she spit up that she was fine. BUT she was grumpy/cranky/gassy all the time. I tried cutting a million things out of my diet, switched bottles eight hundred times, paci, no paci, different positions, etc. Our doctor gave us a sample of Similac Sensitive Formula at one of the appointments & told us to try that as her supplement for a little while. We were skeptical, but willing to try anything at that point. 

And whaddaya know. She didn't barf it up. We tried it again the next day, happy baby, no spit up. Then we gave her two bottles of it, then three & I swear. to. God. she was a whole different baby. To this day, I will never know what it was about breastmilk or other formulas that her tummy couldn't handle, but that sensitive formula did the trick. I kept trying to force for her to keep having breastmilk, but eventually realized it was more for me & less for her. Around five months, we finally decided to call it quits. I kept pumping for a little while JUST in case we changed our minds, slowly decreasing pumping sessions by one every other day. We soon had a freezer full of breastmilk popsicles & a baby totally content with never drinking it again. It was time to say goodbye to the pump. I was pumping around 3 times per day. I actually went with old wives tale of putting cabbage leaves in my bra, and wa-la! It worked! Just three days later, no more milk (and no more boobs). My husband was awesome throughout this whole experience, he was very pro-breastfeeding as well, so it could have gone either way with us trying to make decisions together. He was honestly such a rockstar throughout the entire process.

Tips for Exclusively Pumping:

• EAT. A LOT. Especially healthy fats. The reason I struggled so much in the beginning with milk production was that I didn't eat enough. Who has time for eating with a newborn?! My best friend, Whitney (champion breastfeeder & pumping badass) came to visit me when Harper was a little over a month old & the first thing she told me was to go have a cheeseburger! After having her at my house & pumping together for a week, I was producing almost 2oz more milk per pumping session! I started keeping bananas & granola bars in my beside table to eat in the middle of the night when I woke up to pump.
• Never skip a pumping session. Not only do you have to pump every time the baby eats, but also in between sometimes in order to keep your supply up & to relieve yourself. It sucks. It's the hardest part is the self discipline not to sleep through it.
• Invest in lots of extra pump parts & a good washing station. Since all of the pieces need thoroughly washed/sanitized, it's worth the money to get a few hundred extras so you aren't forced to wash between each use. If you plan to use the Medela Pump, I recommend getting a couple of these accessory sets, it will save you so many headaches. We also sectioned off one side of the sink & counter top to have a basin/bowl to wash everything in, we used BabyGanics Bottle Soap, Munchkin Bottle Brushes & my beloved Boon Lawn Drying Rack (with these Boon Stem Accessories for small pieces). 
• Stay hydrated. Another tip from Whitney (who called me out on not drinking enough water) would push me to drink an entire tumbler of water during each pumping session. Again, totally made a huge difference in my supply. 
• Don't kill yourself over having to supplement every now & again. You are doing your very best as a mama to give your baby every bit of your milk that you can, the stress of breastfeeding can take such a toll on your relationship with your baby (and husband), that a little formula here & there can be just what you need to get back in the game.

Despite elaborate plans, nothing ever goes the way you want it to. I ultimately had to do what was best for us & stop worrying about what everyone else would think. I was terrified to tell other moms that I wasn't breastfeeding her or thinking about who was watching & judging me in restaurants as I made a formula bottle for her.

This may not be the most helpful/insightful post, but this is my experience. I know there are probably a million other things we should have/could have done, but I know that I gave it my best & Harper turned out just fine. She has always been an extremely healthy baby & she is a great eater.

 

I love this little girl more than life itself. All I ever want to do is make the best decisions that I can for her, and in this situation, I think we did. I look forward to giving it another shot with baby number two, someday. 

I also look forward to putting my pump in a bonfire after it's all said & done.

Mama + Mini

I'm ready to backflip into a tall margarita & it's only Wednesday.
It's been one of those weeks. Harper got a taste of "life beyond the gates" this past weekend when we had the brilliant idea to let her run amok around the house instead of the usual baby-gated-play-areas. She's officially called bullshit now when I try to corral her into my workspace, so we have decided that this weekend all gates are coming down & we will just be forced to finish baby proofing the house so she will have free reign. Worst idea ever? Maybe.

Back to margaritas, let's talk about our love for lime. I have always been a huge fan of the lime & lavender color combo, especially in the Spring! After discovering Hunter's new line of jelly-inspired flats & the adorable new Bloch flats for girls, I've been loving these colors together even more!

One. Two. Three. Four.

Five. Six. Seven. Eight.


And I didn't forget your little men, while this color combo might be a bit harder to pull off, these lime shorts paired with a simple pocket-tee onesie (pockets on babies?!) would be the perfect Mama + Mr. matching outfit!
Hurry up, warm weather!

We are in the middle of getting our back patio screened in to make it a little more kid friendly. Turns out our yard is perfect for hammocks & slip-n-slides, but is totally not a place for kids to play. We are really going to have to use our creativity to make our yard child-appropriate. We are going a little stir-crazy in the house lately & can only handle so many wagon rides each day.

Yesterday, I was that mom walking my kid in her wagon at 6:30 pm around the neighborhood, with a beer while Harper was still in her pajamas with mac-n-cheese in her our hair.
All aboard the hot mess express!

"Wait just one minute mama, you really expect me to play out here?"

"If that's the case, I'm envisioning a sandbox over here, possibly a water table over there and..."

"...Oooh, dirt!"

Can't you just see her little personality written all over these photos?! She just kills me with her cuteness.

PS. If you haven't already entered the awesome "Decorate Your Babies!" giveaway on my Instagram @jlgarvin, there is a chance to win a set of headbands from a handful of our favorite shops for both you & a friend! Be sure to follow & comment before Friday morning! :)
Sources: Dress, Headband

Your Questions Answered (Part 2)

Ew, how is the weekend over already? Weekends are always so much more fun when the weather is nice, so it's even less fun to get back into the weekday swing of things.
I'm sure this foxy little lady is feeling the exact same way.

Fox, Hi Onesie, Hair Bow

I wanted to thank you all again for the sweet feedback on Part 1 of Questions & Answers, and to finish answering a few more questions here in this post! :) If you have others, feel free to leave them in the comments!

What camera do I use for my pictures & what apps/programs do I use to edit them?

For the longest time (up until about two months ago) I used only my iPhone 4 to take pictures. I think it takes great photos for the most part, especially since you can rapid fire & catch as many shots as possible in hopes of getting one clear picture.

I just got a big girl camera though. It might be a little too advanced for me at this point but I am determined to figure it out. I won't even talk about the things I think that I like about it, because if there are any real photographers reading this, I'm just going to sound like an asshole trying to speak photography-lingo. You can take lots of pictures, really fast, without even pushing the button each time. I think it's called shutter speed. But I could be full of it. Anyway, it's the Nikon J1. I originally liked it because it was white, surprise! But read great reviews & learned that it was it was the perfect bridge between a standard point and shoot & a DSLR. I totally love it.
For photo editing, sometimes I don't edit them at all, but for the most part, I just use Instagram (@jlgarvin). I am just now learning how to use my Adobe Suite to actually edit pictures. Slowly but surely. I desperately want to be good at it.

What Philosophy skincare products do I use & how do I store/organize my makeup?
This was a hot topic after I mentioned using Philosophy's products in the last Q&A. Like I mentioned before, Philosophy is the only brand that I have loved every single product that they make. I originally started loving them for their body wash, if you haven't used Pink Frosted Animal Cracker before, put it on your Christmas list. The Supernatural Airbrush Canvas & Purity Facewash have been my favorites forever & I was recently given a sample of a few of their moisturizers. Then I got a Philosophy facial & decided it was time to invest the money in all of their skincare products. I know everyone's skin type is different, I have very sensitive/combination skin. I use the Take a Deep Breath Oxygen Cream as my everyday moisturizer & Miracle Worker at night. I've since started using the Kiss Me Lip Exfoliator & Kiss Me Lip Balm (this is like crack for a chapstick addict) & the Here Comes the Sun line. Like I said before, it's a little pricey but lasts forever & everything is well worth it (remember, cost-per-use).

As far as storing my makeup, I've come to realize that my side of the bathroom is always a hot mess when I try to keep things tucked away in a drawer or makeup bag. I'm always digging for something that I can't find & leaving things slung all over the counter top. So I opted for leaving everything out where I can see it, with all of my makeup in a glass canister. I don't use a ton of products, so I just have the medium sized one that fits it all. The rest is just kept in a lucite tray, which can be found at The Container Store.

  How did I deal with postpartum hair loss & what hair products do I use?
Ah, the antlers. The unicorn horn. Four thousand strands of my hair slapped up on the shower wall, shaped into masterpieces. What a shitshow.
My hair started falling out when Harper was around 3 months (I was still breastfeeding at the time) and lasted until she was about 6 months old. It started growing back (mostly around my hairline) right around my brother's wedding in August, just in time to look like a total dipshit with my wedding updo. I'm not sure if there is a way to prevent or combat this, but I did find that using a Tangle Teezer instead of a regular hairbrush helped for brushing through wet hair, when it is prone to fall out the most. I also rocked the top knot for weeks when it was falling out, but once it started growing back, messy curls were the best way to disguise the regrowth.
As for products, I have always used Pantene shampoo & conditioner. I also use Moroccan Oil every few days (on damp hair after washing) it is AMAZING for keeping your hair shiny. Other than that, I don't use any product on my hair, it's really fine so adding anything to it really weighs it down. I also let my hair air dry every day, which I'm sure is part of the reason that it stays healthy. I don't have the time or patience to blow dry it, but my hair is also stick straight so I get the same result either way. When I curl it, I use this Conair 1 Inch Barrel Instant Heat Curling Iron.


Did we ever find a solution to Harper's sleep troubles (around 4 months) and/or how long until she started sleeping well again?
We never actually solved the problem, but I think that it was a combination of teething & a growth spurt. Before 4 months, Harper slept like a baby man. She was in bed by eight & slept through the night until eight in the morning. Out of nowhere, she was waking up two or three times a night. This was right around the time that we had transitioned her out of her swaddle & Nap Nanny, so I know that adjusting to new sleep conditions had to play a part in it. It seemed like the only way to get her to go back to sleep was to feed her. So I would give her 3-4 oz. each time she woke up, and she would fall back asleep for a few hours. I would try to soothe her with a paci & rubbing her head/belly to get her to go back to sleep but the bottle was the only thing that would do it. Finally, after a month or so, it just passed on her own. She started sleeping until maybe 4 am before she would wake up wanting to eat. We decided that it was time then to put her in her own room, so we transitioned her out of the pack n play at that point and into her crib. Part of me thinks she was waking up to us rolling around in bed, so I think being in her own space helped. From then on, she went right back to sleeping like a champ. We still use this Sound Machine & she has slept with these Aden + Anais Security Blankets since around 5 months as well, which I swear help soothe her back to sleep whenever she wakes up.


What do my husband & I do on the weekends and for fun?
We have always been determined to make our house a fun environment so we weren't always tempted to want to go places. Especially after having Harper, it's hard to get out of the house all the time, so we do what we can to bring the fun to us!
We both work long hours, so we really live for the weekends!

Baby Jogger City Mini Stroller

We love spending time outside, so we really tried to make our outdoor space as fun as we could. We bought some hammocks, string lights & a fire pit, so there is always a fun way to relax at night after Harper goes to bed. We also love to play beer pong (we are total college kids), horseshoes or bags (some call it cornhole). When it's cold or raining, we love playing cards, pick up new seasons of shows (and watch them all at once on DVR) or turn old movies into drinking games. I could probably go on all day long about all the silly two person drinking games that we have come up with over the years, but I'll save that for another day! ;)

Hammocks, String Lights

What are our typical dinners & go-to meals?
We never go out for dinner, maybe once a month. Our favorite meal to eat out is breakfast, which we also do probably once a month, along with grabbing Chipotle, Jimmy Johns or the occasional froyo every once in a while. But for the most part, we cook every meal at home (by we, I mean me) My man can make a damn good omelet, but other than breakfast foods, cooking is usually my arena. Many would think that since I work from home, cooking should be a breeze, but it honestly makes no difference. I'm still scrambling to thaw ground beef or casually convincing Brandon that I "really wanted egg salad!" for dinner. A typical week for us looks something like this...
Sunday - Fajitas (we have fajitas every sunday, because I hate hate double hate cutting chicken, so I do ALL of the cutting on Sunday nights, including chicken & veggies for the next day). This is sliced chicken, peppers & onions, using this fajita seasoning recipe that I make in bulk once a  month, served on tortillas w/ shredded cheese. Easy. Delicious. Probably our favorite meal.
Monday - some other chicken meal, usually Chicken Green Bean Casserole (yep, just how it sounds, make some GBC & add chicken), some sort of chinese-inspired chicken stir fry (chicken with sesame oil, minced garlic, soy sauce, sea salt & brown sugar in a frying pan, served over brown rice), or chicken with spaghetti squash.
Tuesday - Maid Rites. It's an Iowa thing. One pound of lean ground beef, half of a finely chopped onion, a can of beef consomme soup all cooked (scrambled) in a pan together until all of the soup dissolves, served on a hamburger bun with american cheese.
Wednesday - Crockpot. By Wednesday, I'm ready to run my head into a wall when I hear the word "dinner". BBQ Pork or Hot Beef/Gravy over mashed potatoes is typically our go-to.
Thursday - Pasta. It's always pasta. We love lasagna, penne or chicken parm.
Friday - I like to refer to this as No-Dinner-Friday. I think my husband gets scared every week that I'm serious, but this is usually when I throw together egg salad, turkey subs or "breakfast for dinner!". Plus, it's time to drink beer by now anyway.
Saturday - Something on the grill, usually steaks & fresh veggies. In the winter, homemade pizza or chili.

Whew. I'm sick of cooking just from typing this! :) Like I've said before, my recipes are very half-assed, I don't measure a lot, but I will try to add some more to my recipe page if you are interested.

I hope you've all found this helpful! I promise to finish my breastfeeding post soon, since I know there are still a few of you with questions there! :)

You can find Part 1 here & part 3 to come! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! XOXO

Backyard Photo Sesh

  Ladies. I cannot thank you all enough for the AMAZING feedback on my last blog post. Seriously, so sweet & so encouraging! I am taking ALL of your suggestions & looking forward to posting more about our home & our daily life mixed in with all the other regular stuff! :) You all are the sweetest & I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart!!

Harper thanks you  as well. With kisses!

 

 Ruffle Pettiskirt from Target last season (similar here), Headband

I'm so excited to share some of our pictures we had done for Harper's one year (even though it is almost two months later). We opted to not redo her cake smash session since the pictures we got on her actual birthday were just too good to replicate. Like I've mentioned before, it is nearly impossible to get this girl to smile for pictures, so we will just have to embrace the rest of her facial expressions. Like this one.

If you have even two trees in your backyard, PLEASE, I urge you. Go get a hammock. Most. Fun. Ever. We have this Eagles Nest Outfitters one (actually three!) & it is sooooo comfy. I am going to post about our back yard/patio & how we are dressing it up for spring/summer & will show some details on how my husband (should have been an engineer) hung this & made it extra badass.

 Grey Sweatshirt Top, Floral Denim, Polka Dot Denim, Hammock

I had this teepee setup in my mind since the day I got it & was so excited go finally put it together! I secretly wish this was all weatherproof so we could keep this whole spot just like this in the backyard. Although, our neighbors would certainly think we were hippies. As if they don't already with our hammock trifecta (long hair, don't care).

And of course, saving the best for last. That look & her baby blues... I just live for this face.

  Teepee, Black Ruffle Romper, Headband

Don't these photos make you just want to get an early start on the weekend?! It totally does for me. Have a great one, friends! XOXO

Photos via Sugar Snap Photography.

Hello, April!

I love April. Mostly because it's my birthday month. I know it won't be long before I stop saying that but for now, I'll embrace the big two seven.

I've been banned from celebrating April Fool's Day ever since I pranked my husband in college when a friend & I called to tell him that I lost my fingers in a paper shredder. She was a really good actress screaming into the phone & he ended up going into a ditch on the interstate trying to whip a u-turn to come back. (We didn't know he was driving at the time). Anyway, He's still bitter (for good reason?) so I'm not even allowed to SAY April Fool's in this house. Suckity suck suck.
I guess if any holiday is going to get swiped from my roster, that's not a bad one to lose.

But April is ALSO the month that the weather actually starts getting warm enough to bust out our Spring wardrobe. I've been hoarding this dress for Harper & staring at it in her closet every. single. day. for the last few weeks, until finally it has been warm enough (and I cranked the heat inside) for her to wear it. I have such a crush on it AND the matching headband made by my girls at Jameson Monroe. 

 Sleeveless Utility Dress, Jameson Monroe Headband

And no, she wasn't lying still posing like a beautiful baby model here. This is one of 20398502934 pictures I took while we were playing "she's sleeeeeeping..." on the floor of her room.
 

I have been drooling over all of the new Spring Baby Gap gear, I mean, for the Love of God. Why doesn't this stuff come in my size?! My motto with dressing Harper has always been, would I wear that? Hence her out of the ordinary style sometimes. (And if you're wondering, hell yes I would wear my onesie on the outside instead of the inside. As we always say, some call it superhero style, we just call it style!) I would rock that white ruffle dress & metallic strap sandals like it was my job.

Get a load of this cuteness... it's chambray, neutrals & sparkle all day long!

White Ruffle Dress - Ivory Pleated Dress - Chambray Ruffle Bloomers

Chambray Eyelet Top - Metallic Strap Sandals - Chambray Bow Headband

Eyelet Sandals - Sparkle Ruffle Bloomers

The perfect matching swag for mama? This adorable eyelet skirt (it's a little on the short side but way cute on!) or these crazy cute, affordable glitter sandals! 

I am in total spring/summer shopping mode these days, thinking about our first trip to Florida in one month with Harper!! We are so excited to take her back to where we used to live, bring her to meet all of our friends & take her to the beach for the first time!

She's already been practicing being awesome in the water.

I am finishing Part 2 of my Q&A series (there will probably even be a Part 3 since my email inbox is starting to resemble my closet...neither are pretty). But this time, I have a question for YOU! What do you like reading most on my blog? Photo overloads of my little piggy lady? Chalkboards, mama + mini or monthly must haves? Tell me what you want to see more (or less) of! Now that Harper is hardly a baby anymore & there are an endless amount of months before the next holiday (I can hear fireworks already)... I want to make sure to fill the pages of this blog with as much good stuff as possible! :) 

And speaking of good stuff, a new weekly feature will be starting next week to help me brush up on my photography skills (hint: lots more pics of Harper & peeks into our everyday life!) AND a super exciting giveaway is about to take place on my Instagram (@jlgarvin) in the next few days!

Happy April my friends!! :)