Baby Bumble B

More Winners

2010-07-30T22:10:00.005-04:00

The winner of the Bored Inc. giveaway is Elkaye! I will be emailing you shortly! (Random.org 28)

The winner of the Teething Bling necklace and bangle is Erin! Erin, I don't have an email for you! Please email me at katie@babybumbleb.com with your mailing address. (Random.org 17)

If I don't hear from Elkaye and/or Erin in 72 hours I will draw a new winner :) Thanks ladies!

My family is leaving tomorrow (sobs, tears, pouts, and sad faces) so I will get the rest of the giveaways up this week. Do y'all miss me? ;)

Short Break

2010-07-22T21:58:00.002-04:00

We have had a death in the family and will be having house guests this weekend so I won't be on to post new reviews. I may be able to get the Thirsties review up tomorrow and announce the Teething Bling winner, but I'm not promising anything... Thanks!

The winner of the Back40Life giveaway is comment #48, Mary! Congrats!

Before anyone gets crazy on me, I know the comment was anonymous, but she commented right after it with her info & mistake, and I just deleted the 2nd one and left the 1st one, so no one get your panties in a wad ;) ;) ;)

Lil LJ Winner

2010-07-17T08:40:00.002-04:00

.... is Katie from Once Upon A Time!

Random.org picked number 2 (ILOVE Random.org. He never makes me count early in the morning....).

Congrats Katie!

Head over to Katie's blog. She has the most ADORABLE twins!!!

Don't forget the other 3 giveaways that are posted. The links are on the sidebar!

Bored Inc. Review & Giveaway

2010-07-12T22:09:00.004-04:00

I love Bored Inc. They are so so so funny, and really have my sense of humor.

They have an awesome POO series.

And Wiener series bahahahaha

They carry purses, totes, jewelry, belts, shirts, onesies, stickers, buttons, wall decals, really cute greeting cards, and SO MUCH MORE.

Bored Inc. sent us some monster wall decals!!! Austin's nursery is almost complete! They sent me a pack of two and I ~~begged~~ asked my dad to buy the other set because there was only ONE LEFT! They both came in a cardboard packaging with the CUTEST drawings on them! I love seeing the time companies will take for their customers! I love cute little surprises :)

Okay here are the pics! Once again I called in the ranks, aka unwitting slave boy Christopher, to help me with the project!

Here's the little green man hanging out above the coat rack and monster bean bag chair!

Here's little blue dude down near the floor playing with Austin and his toys!

And this red guy was supposed to be a little lower and to the right. Grr. Still can't let it go... ;) But I rearranged the monsters and made it work... Notice there aren't any pics of Christopher putting it up, because I was doing something with Austin, and was not supervising the application of red guy.

And this orange fella is hanging out here to read with us in the reading area! See, he's raising his hand! He knows what the dog says, and what the kitten likes...

Cute right?! These decals are so perfect! I really really wish they were reusable, since we're just renting an apartment. Hopefully I'll be able to find them again if we ever move. But the more I find such great things to personalize our apartment (especially Austin's room!), the more like home it feels!

Head over to Bored Inc and check out there vast selection of really cute and funny swag!

Be sure to visit their Etsy Page for even more fabulous selections, check out their super cute blog, and "Like" their Facebook for great updates!

Also, Bored Inc is sponsoring a giveaway for Baby Bumble B's readers! One lucky person will win any tshirt of their choice! There are plenty of men, women, kid, and baby shirts to choose from!

Mandatory Entry-

Visit Bored Inc and tell me what shirt you would pick if you won! (Don't worry, you won't be held to it if you win!)

Extra Entries-

-Tweet about this giveaway (one entry a day!)

"Win a hilarious shirt of your choice from @TokyoBunnie's Bored Inc & @BabyBumbleB! http://tinyurl.com/3xm5v7u #giveaway"

-Vote for Pickles & Paisleys on Top Mommy Blogs (One entry a day!)

-Follow Pickles And Paisleys on Google Friend Connect

-Vote for Austin in the Applecheeks Summer Photo Contest by "LIKING" this photo! (3 ENTRIES!)

Giveaway will end on July 28th, 8pm. Winner will be chosen via Random.org. Good luck!

I was given 2 wall decals and I bought 2 (well my dad did... haha). I was not compensated for this review. These opinions are mine and honest.

SmartMom Jewelry Review & Giveaway

2010-07-10T20:13:00.006-04:00

When I was pregnant and started this blog I was introduced to the world of giveaways and reviews. These necklace giveaways were like THE THING when I started blogging. And there is a good reason why!

SmartMom Jewelry carries tons of Teething Bling, a MUST HAVE for moms with teething babies. How many times have you been caught without a proper teething toy, or have been disgusted when baby drops said teething toy on the nasty ground, or all you have is a finger (and I hear those things are SHARP!)? Probably A LOT.

Teething bling is the best of all worlds... It's stylish, it's around your neck so no dropping on the floor, and it's the same silicone that most teething toys are made from. Most people think it's glass when they see mine and are so surprised it's not. Cause I would let Austin chew glass... But the point is, it looks really great! The clasp on the necklace does pop open with enough force, so don't worry, baby won't choke you to death ;) It's especially fabulous for the baby wearing mamas because your munchkin has something to play with and nom on that isn't your real necklace, collar bone, or the carrier itself... Austin has had his mouth full of Beco!

In addition to the infamous necklaces, SmartMom Jewelry carries bangles! The bangle is my favorite. It is made of the same silicone and I LOVE IT. It's the perfect size for Austin's little hands and I feel comfortable letting him play with it without wearing it. Plus it's really cute and if I was ever caught out without Austin and in the bangle, I'd keep it on!

SmartMom carries Tween Bling which are SCENTED. They also have keychains (genius, since babies like keys so much), and gift sets with one necklace and 2 bangles (which will definitely save you some $, making one of the bangles almost free). The colors are endless, solids and patterns. Zebra, marble, chameleon, list goes on. Some of the Tween Bling and all of the keychains come in heart shapes! They even have some cute and funny onesies!

I received Jade and Cotton Candy Blue colors since I figured the colors would fit with my Boy Event, but I really wish I got Onyx. The black would have definitely gone much better with all of my outfits. And I'd kill for a hot pink bangle... I also would be HAPPY to wear the teething bling that has Chris Noth attached to it on their webpage... Yumm...

But whatever the color, I wear it anyway because it's cute and I like to mix & match anyways ;) And Austin doesn't care what color it is, he's just happy to have something to put in his mouth that I'm not constantly taking away (my hair for example....)

Here is vintage Austin a couple of months ago (he's so wittle!) with the Jade bangle!

SO are you ready for your teething bling? Visit SmartMom Jewelry to pick up your bling!

Win a Jade necklace AND bangle here on Baby Bumble B!

Mandatory Entry-

Tell me what your babe's favorite teething remedy is! Teething Bling? Sophie? Frozen wet washcloth? Don't have a baby yet? Tell me how cute Austin is (my favorite entry question hehehe).

Extra Entries-

(each entry gets a separate comment!!!)

-Tweet about this on Twitter! (one entry per day!)

"Teething troubles? Bored baby? Win some @TeethingBling from SmartMom Jewelry and @BabyBumbleB! http://tinyurl.com/2w22ox4"

-"Like" Teething Bling on Facebook

-Vote for me (Pickles and Paisleys) on Top Mommy Blogs! (one entry per day!)

-Follow P&P on Google Friend Connect!

Giveaway ends on July 23rd at 11:59pmEST. Winner will be chosen via Random.org.

Good luck!

I was given a bangle and necklace to review and keep. I was not compensated for this review. All opinions are mine and honest. I really really do love this product!

Back40Life Review & GIveaway

2010-07-10T12:16:00.003-04:00

Austin's nursery is themed Monsters! I love it! But since we didn't pick and already-made-theme-in-a-bag we have just found things here and there. And as we all know, wall decals are THE nursery decor necessity!

As I browsed Etsy I came across Back40Life. They specialize in vinyl lettering, phrases, and also carry wooden signs. They also live in the good ol' South Carolina, so I know by that alone, they're fab ;)

Here are some of my favorite designs!

This is for the dance floor at a wedding reception. I think that's so smart! That would make for really neat pictures! They have a lot of different wedding reception decorations, and a lot of monograms for your home.

Back40Life has a ton of nursery/kid room designs. I really love these!

Back40Life has a lot of wodden signs to hang around your home as well.

I bet you're dying to see what I got, huh??

Austin in monster letters!!!!!

Back40Life has dozens of colors to choose from. I let Christopher help me out with this one, and he picked Lime. I'm glad he did, I really like it!!

The letters stuck to the paper at first and we had to peel so corners onto the paper that sticks the onto the wall, but it was a couple of weeks before we did this. I'm sure if we had done it "on time" it wouldn't have stuck. But it wasn't hard to do and thankfully Christopher has patience. He had no problem getting the letters on the wall and they look fabulous if I say so myself!

Back40Life has the best customer service, they're really genuinely nice people. But what else do you expect from SC?!

Check out Back40Life's Etsy shop to see what they have to offer. They are also happy to hear from you to do customs! The prices are great as well. Also be sure to check out their blog for updates and awesome offers and sales!

Buy your own personalizations for your home or nursery from Back40Life

Win a $20 gift certificate from Back40Life here!

Mandatory Entry-

Visit their Etsy and tell me what you would want for your home or baby's nursery!

Additional Entries-

-"Like" B40L on Facebook

-Follow Back40Life on Twitter & Tweet about this giveaway (one entry a day!)

"Looking for a way to personalize your babe's nursery? Win $20 to @Back40Life on @BabyBumbleB! http://tinyurl.com/34fcddw"

-Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs! (one entry a day!)

-Follow Pickles & Paisley's (the main blog) on Google Friend Connect

Giveaway ends on July 21st. Winner will be chosen via Random.org.

Good Luck!

I was not compensated for this review. I was given a decal to review that I kept. All opinions are honest and mine.

Lil' LJ Review and Giveaway!

2010-07-07T21:13:00.003-04:00

Lil' LJ is a company that holds a special place in my heart. Loree is the owner and struggled with infertility. Her husband named their future miracle Lil Loree Junior, and Loree named her company after the babe. Loree started out making clothes for babies whose parents struggled with infertility as well, making designs that include Answered Prayer, Worth The Wait, and more. Now Loree and her husband have had their prayers answered and are most definitely blessed with twin girls. Lil LJ has a whole line of infertility and multiples shirts and onesies for you to choose from.

Loree started to branch out in the utter cuteness that is Lil'. She started making shirts like Lil Peanut, Lil Monster, Lil Monkey, and so many more adorable designs that are sure feature your lil one's nickname! She also has a Preemie line and a ton of other adorable designs.

BUT the BEST PART of it ALL is that they are ALL PERSONALIZED! Your child's name and birth date/place (when applicable) are featured on every.single.design. I LOVE having personalized stuff. As a southern girl we stick our monograms and names on EVERYTHING that sits still long enough!

Here are some of my favorite designs from Lil' LJ!

I LOVE THIS. If I saw this one I probably would have picked it out. It says "S is for Sarah". I obviously would have picked "A is for Austin", and you could pick say... "Q is for Q'e'Nan" (Thanks A)

I'm getting this for Austin for his first birthday. Since his "theme" is monsters, I felt it was only appropriate! Won't he be so stinkin' cute?!?! (Hear that Loree?? Save me one, k?!)

Here is an example of one of the Worth The Wait series. These are a great addition to your little miracle's wardrobe. You can add your Lil' One's name and birthday.

And for our NICU grads! Austin would look great sporting this one too, I'm sure hehe. I love how you pick his birth year and the hospital name!

And last but not least, here is the one I picked out! I was going to go with the Lil' Monster shirt, but this was way too cute to resist!

It says Austin under "Mama's Boy" and along the bottom of the heart really tiny it says "Already wrapped around her finger". Ain't that the truth?!

But honestly. How COULDN'T you be wrapped around his finger? Or fingerS. All of them.

Lil LJ offers their clothes in either 100% cotton or 100% organic cotton. They are prewashed and, like I've mentioned 100X before, I stink with laundry, and it didn't shrink one little bit, and if it didn't happen to me, it won't happen to you! It's super soft and long enough for his cloth diaper butt! I've washed it multiple times and the design looks brand new. It hasn't faded or peeled or anything. It's definitely a great quality onesie. This is definitely an outfit that I will be devastated to put away when he gets too big.

In addition to Loree's story, she talks a little more about infertility and endometriosis, one of the factors in her journey. She has some great links for you to browse!

Each onesie or shirt comes in this super cute little baby block gift box!

Love Lil' LJ's designs as much as I do? Head on over and buy one for your Lil' Rock Star, or Princess, or Snugglebug!

OR!

Enter to win a personalized onesie of your choice right here!

Loree is offering a lucky reader of Baby Bumble B a onesie or shirt for your Lil One!

Mandatory Entry-

"Like" Lil LJ on Facebook!

Extra Entries-

-Tweet about this on Twitter! (one per day)

"Win a personalized shirt for your Lil' One from Lil' LJ and @BabyBumbleB! http://tinyurl.com/2dcqxof"

-Follow me on Pickles&Paisley's Google Connect

-Vote for P&P on Top Mommy Blogs (one per day)

-Tell me what Austin is cuter and/or more awesome than! (kittens, vera bradley, lifetime supply of diet coke... you get the idea)

Good luck! The winner will be chosen via Random.org. Giveaway ends on July 16th at 8pm!

I was not compensated for this review. I received a onesie that I get to keep. All opinions are mine and honest.

Baby Rock Apparel Review & Giveaway!

2010-06-26T12:44:00.003-04:00

When looking for baby boy sponsors, I knew I wanted something COOL. I think I actually googled "cool baby boy clothes." That's where I found Baby Rock Apparel. They have tons of band tees, funny shirts, shoes, hats, hoodies, pacy clips, belts, and blank black clothes, something IMPOSSIBLE to find! The karate pants are a must-have for Austin's winter wardrobe.

I had a hard time picking one thing out. I loved the pants, a few onesies... Here are my favorites-

This is so funny, but I think Austin is sweeter than this. I don't want him being mean to little girls!

I loved this, but he has the Booby Monster onesie, so I thought I'd try to branch out, even though Christopher begged for me to get this one lol

And THIS is what I picked!

How funny is that? I LOVE to pair this onesie with Austin's pirate baby legs. He looks so rock star ;)

I got Austin a 6-12 month size and it's perfect. I was pleasantly surprised at how soft the fabric is. You know how some novelty stuff is not good quality and itching and rough? Honestly I expected this to be like that, but it absolutely wasn't, and after a few washes, is still as soft as can be! It hasn't faded or anything, and I really stink at laundry. If it's going to fade or get messed up, I will do it...

I mean honestly, all the girls will be swooning for that face! I am not responsible ;)

Visit Baby Rock Apparel for the wardrobe essentials for your little rock star!

Baby Rock is even offering Baby Bumble B readers 15% off their order!

So go get me those karate pants ;)

The code is babybumbleb and it ends in September!!!

I was given a onesie to review that I got to keep. I was not compensated. All opinions are mine and honest.

HUGE NEWS!

2010-06-22T13:32:00.006-04:00

I have big big news!

I have opened a NEW BLOG!

I felt as though my reviews and giveaways were kind of clogging and taking over my blog, as well as my blogging hiding my giveaways. In the process of moving Baby Bumble B from Blogger to Wordpress with Twenty70 Hosting, I decided to just open a whole new blog!

Austin won't be a baby forever and I also felt as though I was kind of restricted in what I could write about on the Baby Bumble B name.

SO I will have Baby Bumble B for reviews, giveaways, and will still update with Austin growing up, but the new blog will be my main page!

So I am happy to introduce you to-

Pickles And Paisleys!

With that said, I will be finishing up the Snips, Snails, and PuppyDog Tails Event this week! I still have some AMAZING sponsors lined up!

A Few Of My Favorite Things

2010-06-15T20:43:00.003-04:00

I apologize that I have been a blog and event slacker. I'm having a bit of a quarter life crisis and I'm finding it hard to do anything but take care of Austin.

In my attempts to rid my life of the negative (with a couple Facebook throw downs and HAPPY-to-deletes) and remember who I am again, I decided to list a few of my favorite things.

-Girl time. I haven't had girl time in.... I don't know... And if I had to use the ... it's obviously been too long. I had some girl time last night and made dinner for my 7th grade BFF, Austin, and myself. I've also been on a Sex And The City kick and had myself a mini-marathon the last couple days. Today I reached for the LAST DISC of the SERIES, GONE! Shed a tear. Honest. Searched the apartment high and low. I wish they were my friends ;)

-Carrie Bradshaw's Wardrobe. Well, like 89% of it. But ALL of her shoes.

-Imogen Heap. Found a cd (yes cd, crazy I know...) in the SATC Season 6 Part Two Disc 2 search, popped it into the XBox. Did you know you could rip music onto the XBox? Anyways...

-Bath Water Pools. We went to the pool today and it felt like bath water. I won't mention Austin here since this is about me. I won't tell you how much he LOVED the water, or how he splashed, and laughed, and didn't even get upset when I would accidentally get his face in the water (twice). Nope, I won't tell you about it.

-Computer Time. I have been wrestling with myself about this. Before my fab friend gave me this laptop, I went to bed at 7 with Christopher and Austin because there was nothing else to do. Since I've had the laptop I've been up WAY too late and been absolutely exhausted in the morning when Austin starts to smack me in the face at 6:30. But it's quiet time. I don't have to entertain the baby or feel guilty about letting him watch Baby Einstein for the 2nd time, not worry about Christopher feeling like I'm neglecting him, just zone out. Write. Tweet. Browse. Whatever I want. Yes I'm exhausted and feel it in the morning, but an extra Diet Coke in the morning won't kill me.

-Mail. Fluffy, sillybandz, invitations, notes, whatever kind of mail it is, I smile when I open that mailbox and it isn't some ad or coupon (sorry Elizabeth) or junk. When it has my name on it, I feel special and like someone at some time was thinking of me...

-Pink. Anything. Especially my pink toes from the pedicure my mom treated me to 2 weeks ago.

-Watching kids I babysat grow up. I feel like an old lady a little, but when I see these little kids and babies I used to babysit grow up and go to college for PRE-MED, travel the globe, turn out to be absolutely beautiful inside and out... I feel happy about it.

-The scale. I've joined the one-hundred-teen-pound club. I haven't been in this club for YEARSSSSS. Of course it's all chalked up to breastfeeding and stress from above said quarter life crisis, but hey, the scale said 119 and I danced. This is a hard one since when I used to eat saltines for dinner and weighed 105 I HATED the scale, but I'm a woman now. I have curves and a new baby-made body to be proud of (and happy pills)! I'm a lucky one I know, and I will enjoy it for as long as I can!

-Popcorn. Popped on the stove, warm with salt and Parmesan cheese. And lots of kernels! My favorite part!

-Bluntcard.com

Speaking of popcorn...

Baby Led Weaning Drop Out

2010-06-14T11:33:00.004-04:00

I might be kicked out of the Baby Led Weaning club.

I've been giving Austin table food. Like I mentioned before, he's yellingggg at me when we're eating and he isn't. But when the food comes out, it is exactly like it went in. He's spitting out most of it, but he's enjoying it, so it's getting confusing to me.

I forget that Austin is a preemie. He really hasn't been behind on anything except his hand motor skills (which honestly bothers me ZILCH). But as I noticed he wasn't digesting his food, I remembered that may be this is one of those things that goes with his adjusted age, not his actual age. And if that is the case, his little digestive system is 4-5 months, not 6, and from what I believe with BLW, is too young to start food.

My theory was confirmed on a BLW message board. I should wait until his digestive system is 6 months. That's in about a month. Now, I know that doesn't sound like long, but this kid WANTS FOOD!!! He's getting to be a pro with the teething mesh bag holder things ma bobber (which banana does NOT COME OUT OF AGH!). My uber-crunchy IRL friend Ivy said to give him food, if he picks it up and puts it in his mouth, then he can have it and he's ready for it.

Saturday we made spaghetti and I stripped the babe to his diaper, stuck him in his high chair, and plopped some spaghetti on the tray. And he seemed happy playing with it, but was still fussing at us. **DING DING DING DING** I bought him some spoons at Walmart and handed one over. He was thrilled. He wants to just be a part of it. He kept sticking the spoon in his mouth and splaying with his spaghetti. He got it all over himself but didn't eat a bite. It was so cute.

Then I kinda just jumped off the BLW horse. My mom and I went to Captain D's after church and I brought a little container of baby oatmeal and a baby food jar of pears and mixed them up.

Seriously? Cutest. Ever. He played it around in his mouth, blew raspberries with it, took the spoon from me, he had a blast.

So here is my new plan- I will give him table food here and there when I can (I even gave him a couple green beans yesterday) and give him some baby food. I'm not going to do it all the time, just when we're eating and he's feeling left out. Once his digestive system matures a bit I'll reevaluate again.

This is something I've learned since having a baby, never say never... ;)

The Dark Place; My Postpartum Depression Post

2010-06-09T20:30:00.005-04:00

There is a dark place in motherhood. It's called Postpartum Depression. Recently a lot of (big) bloggers have been putting their two cents in on the subject. Beth Ann at The Heir to Blair is a really popular blogger and has recently blogged about her stint in the hospital for severe PPD. Alena from Charmingly Chandler read a checklist that BA typed up regarding PPD and realized she was suffering from many of the same symptoms. There are a couple handfuls of amazing bloggers out there that I look up to that are suffering from this disease.

In all honesty, I was very nervous after having Austin. I made sure Christopher knew what to look for because I have a history of anxiety, depression, and OCD. And lemme tell ya, it's NOT the house-has-to-be-spotless kind of OCD (I WISH! And so does Christopher...). It's the have-to-start-stairs-with-the-right-foot or have-to-sit-on-the-right-side-of-the-bus kinda of OCD. I have to step over cracks with my right foot. I have to have 4 steps in each "square" before the next crack. You may see me skipping to make it in correctly. If there are different color laminate tiles on the floor I have to step in the same color and not the other, if that makes sense. ANYWAYS, I'm a little looney is what I'm trying to put out there, so YES I was ABSOLUTELY worried about the possibility of PPD. THANK THE LORD my "baby blues" went away. I still take meds for the anxiety and OCD (not enough I don't think though... hence my Austin-was-on-my-left-side-instead-of-right incident Sunday) but all in all I feel great.

ANYWAYS there were a few new blog posts the last couple of days from PPD moms voicing their thoughts on how motherhood hasn't been what they imagined. Allison at O MY Family and BA at The Heir To Blair were among those moms. Please check out their blogs! HB talked about how things were harder than she imagined but didn't know if everyone felt this way or if it was the PPD talking. Then Emmie Bee wrote a post in response to BA. I think she was talking to moms NOT experiencing PPD/A but who were caught off guard with the not-so-perfectness of motherhood. A lot of moms took it all kinds of different ways, but being someone that is not a PPD sufferer, I just took it as the "man up" post to non-PPD sufferers I think she was trying to present. IDK, but I'm not getting into that debate here.

Alena commented on Emmie Bee's blog post.

"I think the difference between PPD and normal being a mother with highs and lows…is that there aren't those highs. There are the lows and there are indifferent. I don't have moments where I feel overwhelmed with how much I just am absolutely in love with her. Even when she's not screaming, or not upset. In those moments…I'm just here. I'm just playing a part. It's not *my* life. It's just something I'm here doing with out feeling much else. And in the bad moments, which really don't mean HER bad moments, it's a dark lonely place."

This comment really explained PPD to me in NO OTHER WAY ANYONE has explained it to me before. I have read BA's posts about thoughts that go through her mind, I have read posts from many other bloggers about the images they have and the feelings they get, but Alena's comment really SHOWED me what it must feel like to have PPD (NOT saying I know what it feels like, because I DON'T, I can just imagine).

I once had an awful awful day with Austin. It was dark and twisty and I had an awful awful thought cross my mind. I have been to that indifferent place before in my life. I have had lows in my life. I know a teeny tiny eensy weensy fraction of what these brave women feel on a daily basis.

But what makes me different is that I DO have those highs. I look at Austin sometimes and just want to CRY because I love him SO SO SO much. And to know that there are woman out there that can't feel that way breaks my heart to a million pieces. And after those few minutes of that dark and twisty moments I was DISTRAUGHT with myself and sobbed all night to Christopher. I felt so incredibly lost, guilty, sad, scared, and AWFUL. I don't know how to explain it to you (all of us non-PPD moms have probably had this one moment, but just don't talk about it). But the next day I felt a little bit better, and the day after that I felt back to normal, and until today I haven't really thought about it again. But to feel that way every day every minute...? Dark & twisty, guilty, sad, scared, AWFUL? I don't know how anyone handles it. I don't want to even think, much less tell you, what I think could possibly have happened to me or Austin if I felt like that 24/7.

I've heard of PPD as I'm sure you have too, whether it was from Tom Cruise or BA. People KNOW about it, but I don't think we're taking enough action to UNDERSTAND it and be behind these woman 100%.

And not only is there PPD, there is also PPA, Postpartum Anxiety. A blogger friend of mine since years ago when we were in the IF/Miscarriage blogger community together, Alyssa, was just diagnosed with this this week. Her baby isn't even 2 weeks old and Alyssa hasn't slept a total of 20 hours probably since Lyla's birth. She continually worries, can't eat, can't sleep, and other things she hasn't fully divulged on the internet. You can read and support Alyssa on her new rocky journey and see pictures of her beautiful new baby girl here at Twists Of Fate.

I'm adding women suffering from PPD to my prayers tonight and forever. Y'all are my new heroes. You're so strong to tell your stories and speak up. You're amazing for getting the help you need when you're scared. You're such awesome advocates for a disease that needs more awareness, understanding, and appreciation. Y'all are the best moms in the world (besides mine ;) ) Thank you!

Excuse The Mess

2010-06-09T11:46:00.001-04:00

Baby Bumble B is moving to Wordpress.org with Twenty70Hosting. It will look pretty messy here for a little while until I can get everything JUST how I want it, so please excuse the mess ;)

I Slept On The Rabbi

2010-06-08T09:03:00.003-04:00

Hahaha no I didn't, just kidding ;)

I thought about all of your comments, the ones that agreed with me and disagreed with me & I slept on it.

So this will be my conclusion post and (may be) all I will say about it (you know, unless something new comes out or someone makes a comment I have to write about). I actually felt kinda bad for being so mean to the rabbi. I was fired up, and I hate being mean to people. Christopher told me not to, but of course I do. And before you say "what makes her think she's so awesome that the rabbi read HER blog?!" just know that I emailed him the link...

So anyways, here is my slept-on-it-not-so-mad response.

My marriage isn't all about sex. My husband and I can enjoy each others' company without it. We can watch TV, play a game, or have a tickle fight like we did last night. I read him some responses I got on the last post and he said "I married you because you're Katie and I love you, and I love you even more 6 years later because you are the mother to my child." Having a child is a commitment that you both agree on taking on as a couple and should be taken as seriously as all the vows you say on that wedding day. It doesn't matter if you formula feed, breastfeed, babywear, cloth diaper, disposable diaper, bedshare, CIO, etc. Having a baby changes a lot and if any of those breaks the back of your marriage then there was something going on that should have been addresses before children were brought into the picture at all. And if my husband only wants me because of sex, then may be I would rather be divorced. You're not supposed to have sex before marriage and I'm assuming the Jewish religion is as strong about this as Christians. What did you do before you got married? Played a board game, watched a movie, made-out? If you can't stand to play monopoly one night instead of having sex than that's a much bigger issue than breastfeeding.

Someone suggested that "mere" meant "being nothing more than specified". I saw it as "not as good as" and when I looked it up, my definition was the first listed, and that's how I read it, and I stand firm behind my comment that the Rabbi needs to stop looking at women as a piece of meat for men. We're people too.

And no a wife should not neglect her husband the first 2 years, but if her husband can't give up a few extra hours here and there then he shouldn't be a father. Marriage and parenting are about sacrifices. Why should the mom and baby give up something that is so important for them but the husband not give up anything at all?

May be the Rabbi doesn't mean to sound so sexist and anti-attachment parenting, but he does. And the first article is still out there despite his 2nd "apology" (which I still claim to be just as bad as the first). It's out there for new moms to see, for pregnant women to see, women that may all be nervous about breastfeeding and their relationships.

To the Rabbi- Thanks for making an effort to apologize. However the message in both articles are still detrimental to the self-conscious new breastfeeding mother. If you are truly sorry, remove the article or at least link your apology at the end of it. Obviously everyone in the world has different opinions, and I absolutely do not agree with you at all, except that marriage to a child is absolutely important. However I think there are much better ways to fix a marriage than deny a woman and child something that is so wonderful and works so well for them just because the husband is uncomfortable. If I have to make a sacrifice, so can he. Marriage is equal, women are not subordinates.

I hope this clears up some thoughts from my readers, and I feel better writing it now that I am not so angry. ;)

Rabbi Wrote Me An Email

2010-06-07T13:48:00.006-04:00

The Rabbi sent an email to all the people who contacted him regarding the distasteful article I blogged about last night. (PLEASE read that first hehe)

Here is what he had to say:

Dear friends,

Over the weekend our office received many emails from angry women saying I had attacked breast-feeding. One woman even said I had equated breast-feeding with adultery, which has to be one of the most flagrant acts of misrepresentation I have ever encountered.

In truth, the article they were quoting, which they said was new, was written four years ago in June, 2006. Even then it was severely misrepresented, so a few months later, in August 2006, I wrote this response below, portraying my real views on the importance of both breastfeeding and marriage.

Should the need arise, I will write an even newer response so that my views are in no way misrepresented.

Thank you.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

My Real Views on Breastfeeding Children

By Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

This past June (2006) I wrote a column and became the anti-Christ, which, in itself, is quite a feat for a Jewish rabbi. To be sure, in my life I have not hesitated to be controversial when the situation warranted. But to become, in the eyes of my devoted readers, the twin brother of Saddam Hussein over a straightforward article on breastfeeding was, to say the least, unexpected.

But OK, if I was wrong, I’ll admit it. True, as many of you will point out, I’ve never been wrong before. But I am, after all, human, that is, unless you’re one of my breastfeeding critics, in which case I am a bushy-bearded, one-eyed Cyclops.

But first the facts.

The column I wrote was in response to a New York Times report on the benefits of breastfeeding for babies. I noted that while no one disagrees that breastfeeding is much better for a baby than formula, as a marital counselor I had seen that in some marriages, admittedly a minority, breastfeeding could come between a husband and wife, its incessant demands serving as an impediment to romance. For many couples it meant not being able to go out on a date without the baby for months, and having the baby sleep in the matrimonial bed, with the inevitable deleterious effect on the couples’ love life. My solution: if breastfeeding created distance between you and your husband, don’t feel guilty about supplementing the breast with the bottle.

Sounds innocuous, right? But the suggestion opened the floodgates of hell. Women who admired me as a lifelong champion of women’s rights, in books like ‘Hating Women’ and ‘Kosher Sex,’ felt betrayed. They were now calling me a misogynist because, in their mind, I took the side of male chauvinists whose selfish claim on their wives’ time imperiled their children, and whose need to eroticize their wives’ breasts took precedence over the role of the breast in feeding a child.

Commentary on the article exploded all over the internet with the inevitable misquotation and misrepresentation. Suddenly, I was reading how I had dismissed breastfeeding as unsexy and destructive to marriages. Women’s breasts’ don’t belong to their husbands, was how critics castigated the article. One woman wrote a Blog saying, “Breastfeeding does not hurt marriages. Selfish fathers hurt marriages." Less charitably, one blogger claimed that I had equated breastfeeding with adultery, which is one of the stupidest things I have ever read.

My article, of course, said none of these things. So here is my real position.

Firstly, I absolutely believe that women should breastfeed. My wife has breastfed every single one of our nine children. It was good for her, it was good for the children, and it good for our marriage because it endeared my wife to me to see the extent of her devotion to our children. When we took a cross-country RV trip this summer, I told my wife repeatedly that she should avail herself, on the long daily drives, of breastfeeding our baby completely rather than giving him the occasional bottle which she had begun. I

believe that a woman’s first choice should always be to breastfeed

So why did I write my article? Because when we make breastfeeding an outright obsession, we cause harm to those families for whom the practice is a hardship. For instance, many families are absolutely dependent on a wife’s income for their basic sustenance. So a few weeks after having a baby, a mom will often be forced to return to work. She will feel extremely guilty at not being able to breastfeed during the day. Should we dig in the knife by telling her that she is harming her children? Since formula, albeit as a lesser alternative, exists, should we make her feel that quitting a necessary job must be prioritized over her rent and food money for her children? To be sure, it would be much better, of course, if she were to stay home with her baby. But for many women, that is simply not an option. And yes, I realize that she can express milk. But for many women, who are already overrun with too many job and household responsibilities, the added chore of having to express milk prior to rushing to work, after getting their other kids ready for school and making lunch, becomes the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Then there are all the women who simply cannot breastfeed do to medical considerations. Many moms simply don’t have enough milk. And every time they read one of these article about how cruel it is not to breastfeed, they feel like inadequate mothers.

Furthermore, however much people will disagree with and condemn me, I have counseled many marriageswhere breastfeeding became an impediment to romance. We can criticize those husbands all we want for not being understanding about their children’s need to be suckled. And in those counseling sessions, I did. I made it clear to the men that love and romance is holistic, encompassing a spouse as woman, wife, and mother. But in the final analysis if a husband and wife both agree that the little time they have together is being compromised by the constantly demands of breastfeeding, then it is for them to make the choice of an alternative, without those wives being made to feel like they are horrendous moms.

In my article, I gave the example of a couple who appeared on Shalom in the Home, even though the breastfeeding aspect was not included in their on-air story. Their marriage was passionate and their attraction strong until the birth of their baby boy. This should not surprise us since a Harvard study indicates that sexual activity between a husband and wife decreases by about 74 percent in the first year after the birth of a child. What increased the loss of eroticism for this particular couple was that the mother nursed her baby constantly, so much so that the husband no longer felt he even had a place in their marital bed and moved into a spare bedroom.

When I met them the baby was already a year old. The mom told me that her sex and romantic life with her husband had atrophied because of her being constantly on-call to breastfeed. I told her that in her case, having nursed the baby for an entire year, there was nothing wrong with putting him on the bottle some of the time and that the family would be better served if the marriage was brought back from the brink. Many readers assailed me for that advice, arguing that I should have told the husband to stop being so selfish and put the interests of his children first. I would respond that the husband felt that he had done so for an entire year, but now wanted to share intimacy with his wife and felt unable to do so because the baby was always in their bed. I believe strongly that children should have their own beds and should not be sleeping with their parents. I am adamant about this advice, what hatred is shown to me for it.

In this couple’s case, the wife would nurse the baby in bed and both would fall asleep. I am, in general, a great opponent of children sleeping in the matrimonial bed because, first, it is inappropriate, and second, it prevents parents from being lovers, and a bad and loveless marriage is ultimately detrimental to the children who are a product of that marriage. Giving up breastfeeding was the right choice for this couple because the wife herself complained that she was too tired for sex since she was up most of the night feeding. She also said that she and her husband had stopped going out together on dates because she had to be back to feed the baby. In the first year after the baby’s birth, they did not go out alone together even once. When she put the baby on the bottle, her love life was restored and she and her husband were happier.

Who has the right to judge this couple, and condemn the parents for being selfish, when their only desire was to recapture the affection that had produced the baby in the first place?

While I am a staunch advocate of breastfeeding, and would not recommend the above advice for most couples, including myself, if forced to choose between a couple’s romantic life and supplementing breastfeeding with the bottle, I would advocate the bottle. Period. And I will endure the withering criticism that I have of late to stand by this advice. I am in the business of saving families and reversing the out of control American divorce rate. The best thing for children is to see their parents in love rather than the children becoming yo-yos of a divorced household, pulled between Mom and Dad every other weekend.

Even so, breastfeeding remains the correct decision for the vast majority of couples and husbands should go out of their way to support and encourage their wives in making that choice. However in a case where both spouses agree that breastfeeding has come between them, then the baby will survive perfectly well on a bottle.

I have written many times that the greatest gift a man can give his children is to love their mother, and the greatest gift a woman can give her children is to love their father. In a healthy marriage, horrible as it may sound, the relationship comes before the children. In an unhealthy marriage, the parents put the children before each other. This, as an marital counselor can tell you, simply doesn’t work. Husbands and wiveswith small children should feel no sense of guilt getting a babysitter once a week so that they can be a man and a woman on a date again. And they should try and go away at least one, and perhaps, twice a year together, even though it means leaving the children with family or friends. Marriages have needs to, and if you starve your marriage it will not survive. Period.

As for the many women who were puzzled by my advice that when they breastfeed they should do so modestly and try, even a little, to cover up, this is consistent with my advice, given in my book ‘KosherAdultery’ and elsewhere, that even after marriage husbands and wives should not parade around the bedroom naked for fear that overexposure to each other’s bodies could invite erotic boredom. Yes, the breast is an organ beautifully designed by G-d for the nurturance of a baby. But even as it becomes an infant’s milksource, it should always retain its erotic allure. Surely every woman is, and wishes to remain, attractive in every phase of life, and surely a husband who truly loves his wife will always show her how indescribably beautiful she is to him – as mother, wife, and woman.

Ummm great apology... Or NOT! HOW is a baby sleeping in bed with his parent's INAPPROPRIATE?! I'd love to hear your take on this Rabbi. I bet it is perverted and condescending and really really stupid. And YES YOU DID SAY that breastfeeding was adultery. Wait I think THIS is EXACTLY what you said-

"I make the point that infidelity is primarily a sin of omission rather than commission. It is not the bad thing you do that destroys a marriage, but all the good that you fail to do, preoccupied as you are with a sinful relationship that diverts your attention away from your spouse."

I think YOU'RE the stupid one. Don't call someone stupid for stating something you yourself wrote in your article. You're an idiot. I kinda tried to be nice in my last post, but no more. Get over yourself. Just like some women can't breastfeed, SOME women can't bottle feed. Before you go around with your "poor me my parent's are divorced" issues blaming every one for not looking at every situation, look in the mirror. You're just as bad if not worse. I would say WORSE because you are supposed to be a figure for people to look up to. You have your own TV show and apparently do marriage counseling... I feel sorry for these people. Yes marriage is SO IMPORTANT to children. I will NOT disagree with you here, but OMG IT'S SUCH A SHORT SHORT TIME that a child needs his parents like this. If you can't commit 100% to your children, if you can't handle giving up time and energy to care for them, if you can't get over your stupid chauvinistic attitude regarding your views of breastfeeding, may be you SHOULDN'T HAVE CHILDREN OR TELL PEOPLE HOW TO RAISE THEIRS. I bet I could find 10X more people and SCIENTISTS that agree with me than you. Why would ANYONE even HAVE kids if they don't want to take care of them?!

And ya know what else?! Pumping and giving a bottle is a MUCH bigger commitment than just breastfeeding. It takes a WHOLE lot longer, and if you're so worried about breasts being desexualized, then GOD FORBID you accidentally walk in on your poor wife pumping. Because guess what? She looks like a cow. And if I was doing that just for you and your needs and you all of sudden are so turned off and got mad at me, I would show you what you could do with that mere penis of yours. Would you like me to wear a head wrap while we're at it? Would only seeing my eyes be kosher enough for you?

I bet you did tell your wife to EBF the baby on a trip. Because omg what if your time was hindered because she had to pump or you had to feed the baby? And let's not get into the Mommy War that has already happened again and again. No some moms can't breastfeed, and if they feel guilty and inadequate for not breastfeeding, then that's their issue, not mine. I will continue to talk about breastfeeding because it is what's best. I'm sorry for moms who can't or don't. I don't judge them (or try REALLY hard not to) and I respect their decision to do what they are doing just as THEY should respect what I am doing.

And dear Rabbi, guess what?! The bed isn't' the only place you can have sex. When my baby is sleeping in my bed (because I get MORE sleep that way thank you very much) I have sex on the couch. Have you tried that? Couch, washing machine, kitchen counter, dining room table... You don't just have to have sex in the bed. You're so hell bent on sex this and sex that I would think you might be able to think outside the bedroom a little more.

Once again, starve your child, he will die. Starve your marriage? It can be saved. And if it can't? Issues were much bigger than breastfeeding your baby. I HIGHLY DOUBT that there is more than a handful of couples that get divorced because the mom breastfed her child for a year. That is seriously the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.

Stop using your insecurities in your marriage and childhood and perversion of breastfeeding and bashing couples for making the best decision possible for their children. Get your mind of of the gutter and stop counseling people on something you so obviously know NOTHING about. If you're really sorry for the article, remove it. Stop apologizing and then saying "BUT" and repeating the same things over and over. Don't call someone STUPID for stating something YOU SAID. You're stupid.

Please Read Part One HERE

& Part Three HERE (where I'm not as angry and sum up my feelings)

Simple Wishes Hands Free Pumping Bustier Review & Giveaway!

2010-06-07T11:22:00.004-04:00

Y'all know I hate pumping. I remember the day I almost threw in the towel. I just came home with Austin from our 2 week stint in the NICU and I was having to pump and give him fortified bottles. He slept all the time since he was just at that point supposed to be a 36 week old fetus and was exhausted from trying to grow. He was only 5lbs. I used the Medela Symphony at the hospital the entire time Austin was in the NICU. It is the hospital grade pump and super awesome. I got a Lansinoh pump from a friend and an old Pump In Style on Craigslist. Niether was getting what the Symphony did. They were hurting me and I wasn't getting much milk. THEN Austin was awake. He was AWAKE sitting in his swing, and I had to just look at him from across the room because I was plugged into the wall. I was so distraught. It was awful.

Eventually after we were able to breastfeed and not do bottles, my deep freezer broke and I lost 200+ ounces of breast milk. I had none on hand anymore, and looking back at my pumping experiences, I decided I would never pump again and just breastfeed exclusively.

That's worked FINE for me up until this past week. You may have read my post from earlier today, I NEEDED A BREAK. I broke the pump out. I could only find one tubing, but I did it. And this time, I had this awesome Simple Wishes Pumping Bustier.

Yes it still hurt, yes it was hard, but I had my hands! Austin was fussy and I got to sit on the floor and play with him! I could pick him up and tickle him and give him kisses all the while pumping some milk for him! It was seriously awesome. I really wish I had bought one of these back when I was pumping every 3 hours. It REALLY would have made my life a lot easier and I highly doubt I would have been so stressed out!

It is simple to put on. It has this huge velcro panel in the back so you can fit it to your body, and refit it if your body changes. My breasts changed about 28973487 times at the beginning, so something adjustable and customizable is necessary. Once you have it to your size, there is a zipper in the front for easy and quick put on & take off! The fabric is really really soft and it's PINK! :) It was perfectly comfortable. There is an extender for large busted women and straps that you can take on and off.

Check out the video to see how it works, awesome instances you can use it, how easy it is, and everything else you need to know!

Sorry guys, no pics of my using it ;)

The only thing that I wish was a little different is that it was less bulky and you could just wear as a bra. You could if you wore something thick probably, and I know it HAS to be bulky for it to actually work the way it's supposed to, but I don't think I could wear it under a fitted tee. It's definitely comfortable enough, but might look funny.

I love the name. Simple Wishes. It really was a simple wish of mine to be hands free back then and be able to play with my little baby while I pumped milk for him.

You can visit Simple Wishes and get a Pumping Bustier for yourself

Win one here!!!

One lucky reader will get a bustier in the size of their choice!

Mandatory entry-

Tell me what YOU would do if you were hands free while pumping!

Extra Entries-

-Follow my blog with Google Connect

-"Like" Simple Wishes' Facebook Page

-Follow Simple Wishes on Twitter

-Tweet about this giveaway (one tweet, one entry per day.)

"Play w/ baby while pumping! Win a Hands Free Pumping Bustier by @SimpleWishes_ from @BabyBumbleB! #breastfeeding http://tinyurl.com/2ffawxq"

Giveaway ends on Wednesday June 16th at 8pm! Winner will be chosen via Random.org!

Good luck!

I Took A Nap

2010-06-07T09:27:00.002-04:00

I took a nap yesterday. I baby nap. Austin is 6 months old and I have never been without him. I mean, I've gone to Target and BRU after he went to sleep and was home with Christopher for an hour or so, but never really left him. You know, except for 2 weeks numerous times a day in the NICU... But that's another story all together...

Yesterday after church Christopher, Austin, my mom & dad, and I were having lunch at Los Arcos. My OCD was giving me a hard time. I was sitting on the booth with his carrier to the left of me instead of the right of me and all of sudden I had an overwhelming feeling of anxiety and panic. Then Austin was getting mad because I was eating chips and salsa without him. He wanted some too. So I got him some rice and let him eat a little while we waited for the food. All the while he's jsut WHINING. Then I switched sides with the carrier and sat to the left of it and put Austin in it and felt 100X better. He finally quit whining and I didn't feel off anymore.

But then he started screaming. And it was happy screaming. Like hear my cool high pitch loud voice yall! kinda screaming. It was cute, we were all laughing, but seriously, we were at a restaurant, and I'm sure it wasn't funny to anyone else trying to enjoy their lunch, and the sound of his voice was like nails on a chalkboard at this moment. So I tried to give him more rice and then he got mad. He started fussing again. Christopher had already walked him around a little and at this point my dad was finished with his food. He took Austin for a walk around the restaurant.

Then I started crying. Christopher didn't understand what my problem was. I said to him "You know how you need Chris time sometimes? I HAVEN'T HAD KATIE TIME IN 7 MONTHS! HOW WOULD THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?!" I think he may have gotten it. Then he wanted to know why I was being mean to him. I said "I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to put it in a way for you to be able to understand how I am feeling and why I am so overwhelmed." My mom said "Why don't you let daddy take you to a movie and Christopher and I will watch Austin."

Girl, she didn't have to say it twice. Within an hour or two my dad and I were in the truck on the way to the movie theatre. I only had 3 ounces of pumped milk in the freezer (which was a PAIN IN THE BUTT to get! I remember now why I stopped pumping months ago...) and was SO DESPERATE to get away I told Christopher where the emergency can of soy formula was in the cabinet. I didn't even feel that guilty about it. I texted Nicole and Joanna and asked them to reassure me that it was fine, and of course they did. I nursed Austin before I left and handed him over to Christopher and left.

What did I end up seeing? Sex And The City 2. With my dad. LOL! He said he'd rather have needles shoved under my nails, but I don't think he wanted me to go by myself. I wouldn't have minded, but it was funny. I'm sure he looked like my sugar daddy, which was kinda weird, but who cares.

(Spoiler Alert)- When Charlotte was in the closet crying because she was baby-overwhelmed I almost started crying. That was the exact reason I was in that theatre! I was so overwhelmed! And when they were on vaca she had some liquid courage and explained how much she loved her girls and how hard she tried to get them here, but said "They're driving me crazy!" haha I laughed so hard. I felt for her.

When the movie was over I couldn't wait to see my baby. I called Christopher and let him know we were on the way home and my baby was LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY in the background. WHAT!?!? I'm glad he had a great time, but a part of me really wanted him to be upset the whole time missing me. Stupid, I know. But I guess we both needed a break. He was so happy to see me and I was so happy to see him. When he fought bedtime last night I didn't get frustrated. I just continued singing him his lullabies.

I felt like I took a good nap. Like I hadn't slept in 7 months and I had a recharging nap. I've always told moms that that's obviously good for them, happy mommy=happy baby, but until you live it, you don't know the guilt you feel. So Austin and I both had a great time and we both were so happy to see each other. He never needed the formula and he drank the 3 ounces of breast milk from a sippy cup in about 60 seconds, according to Christopher. He konked out by the time we got home and I nursed his sleeping self while getting snuggles.

We both survived. And now I feel a little less apprehensive about leaving him. The only reason I don't want to is because pumping was such a pain in the butt and I hate it so much. But I have a date with my friend Erin to see Eclipse at the midnight opening in a couple of weeks, so I need to hook this baby up for his daddy again.

I realize mommy time is important. I had a great time and honestly I didn't obsess about him the entire movie. I needed a girl's night out, even if it was with my dad on a Sunday afternoon. I had great company and the girl's night ended up being Samantha, Charlotte, Miranda, and Carrie (who I could just kill to get that wardrobe....)

Did You Know Breastfeeding Ruins Marriages?

2010-06-06T20:19:00.004-04:00

At least that is what this Rabbi dude believes. He wrote an absolutely horrific sexist article on the negative impact breastfeeding has on marriages.

The entire article can be read here, but here are some specific excerpts from "Moms, Don't Forget To Feed Your Marriages" that particularly perturbed and offended me.

"...I said, her obsession (of breastfeeding her son at 11 months) had turned one of her most attractive body parts into a feeding station, an attractive cafeteria rather than a scintillating piece of flesh."

Obsession? How about primal instinct given to her from GOD to feed her child?! Is a cow obsessed? Is a cat obsessed? And scintillating piece of flesh? How about a body part that belongs to a woman. She isn't your slave. She is a person. And breastfeeding at 11 months is horrific to him. The AAP says to breastfeed until 12 months, WHO says until 2 at LEAST. 11 months is not unnatural or unheard of. What an amazing mom.

"...I make the point that infidelity is primarily a sin of omission rather than commission. It is not the bad thing you do that destroys a marriage, but all the good that you fail to do, preoccupied as you are with a sinful relationship that diverts your attention away from your spouse. "

Breastfeeding makes Christopher jealous sometimes. Jealous that he can't feed his son, NOT that his son is using my breasts. I am NOT cheating on my husband and our marital sexual relationship by feeding my son, and if you think I am, you are DISGUSTING and should PROBABLY speak to someone about this.

"I am surprised that when scientists discuss all the benefits of breast-feeding, they neglect its most negative consequence. If breast-feeding gets in the way of the marriage........the child will probably end up worse off, however many colds or bouts with diarrhea he now avoids."

Diarrhea? Colds? I think you might be referring to Rotavirus and Pertussis which kills hundreds of babies a year. No, breastfeeding may not be THE answer to a lot of these cases, but I bet it is for some. I think you'd rather your wife feed your child the way God intended it than saying a prayer to Him at your baby's funeral.

"I would take the diarrhea and cough any day over the permanent sense of brokenness that affects children of divorce."

I think the guilt of the knowledge that you could have possibly saved your child's life by not being an arrogant selfish chauvinistic pig would break your marriage worse than letting your wife use HER breasts to do what they were predestined to do...

"In the end, there are two effects of breast-feeding that we often refuse to acknowledge. One is the de-eroticization of a woman's body, as her husband witnesses one of the most attractive parts of her body serving a utilitarian rather than romantic purpose."

Ummmm... A utilitarian? Last time I checked my breasts were made to produce milk. They have these super cool things called glands that MAKE MILK (how amazing, really) and awesome things called nipples that fit ever so perfectly into a baby's mouth that have DUCTS in it for milk to come out of. Wow. Dang right it's utilitarian.

"I believe that wives should cover up, even when they nurse their babies in their husband's presence."

No words.

"I believe this same problem comes up when men witness childbirth up close..... That is just too erotic a part of a wife's anatomy for it to become a mere birth canal."

Okay, so unfortunately I was not able to have a normal child birth and push Austin out of my MERE BIRTH CANAL. But this still offends me. Do you even have the brain capacity to realize the huge amount of work that a woman goes through for TEN MONTHS to grow a baby and the sheer labor (hence the term LABOR) to bring him into the world? That is NOT MERE. This is BEYOND sexist. Sometimes I can take the whole breast=sex thing with rolled eyes and an ignorance plea, but SERIOUSLY? Not this one. Mere? I wish that this rabbi could for one SECOND feel the absolute sheer pain, stress, emotion, EVERYTHING that goes into birthing a baby. Mere. You have GOT to be kidding me! I'm so annoyed by this statement. I didn't get to use my MERE birth canal for birthing my baby and yes I am disappointed. I didn't get to do what a woman is supposed to do. I thank God every day that my son is here safe and sound and that cesareans are possible in this day and age, but yes if I could have chosen the end, I would have used my mere birth canal at 40, 42 weeks. Don't call it mere. Mere. What if I called your penis MERE? Because all it's there for is to get pleasure, right? You aren't supposed to use it to rid your body of toxins. No, that's so mere. You get yours, but the female race will just sit back and be your mere play thing. (I never realized what a feminist I am...)

"I agree that breast-feeding is usually the best thing for a baby. But the principal form of marital breakdown in our time is a loss of erotic desire between husband and wife, and if couples find that breast-feeding is adding to a sense of alienation, there is always the bottle."

Usually? No, it IS the best. And no you don't agree that breastfeeding is best for baby. Because if you did, you would be behind it 100%. I understand that marriage should be the first concern and children second. I get that. I don't always follow it, but you know what? My baby is an innocent little being that can not fend for himself. In a couple of years, I'm all yours hubby. But until my child can make himself a bowl of cereal or a PB&J, I'm all he has. And I will feed him and I will put his needs at the top of my list. You're a big boy Rabbi. You can stop being selfish for a total of 2 years for your children. You say that a healthy marriage is the most important thing for your children? I totally agree. But you know what else is important? Learning to not be judgmental, to not be selfish, to SHARE. I bet you teach your children to share their toys don't you? Then share the boobs dude. The boobs that don't even belong to you.

Someone on Twitter suggested we send positive feedback to the rabbi. I didn't sent him the above rant, but I did let him know how I felt.

I am sorry you have such a poor outlook on breastfeeding and marriage. My husband respects me MORE as woman for the way that I am nurturing our FAMILY by feeding my son the way that GOD intended. He knows that this is a short short time and my son will only need my breasts for a year, possibly two. He will have me the rest of our lives. Breastfeeding is represented MANY times in the Bible (old testament...) and is a wonderful pure act. It saddens me that there are men (and women) in this world that are hung up on breasts being sexual only. If a marriage fails due to breastfeeding, there are obviously underlying issues that occurred before the baby was even born and somehow have been manifested in breastfeeding and blame given to the woman doing what her body is predestined to do. I know you said you'd rather have diarrhea than be divorced, but would you rather your children die than have an unhealthy marriage? Marriages can be rebuilt, but a baby can not be resurrected. I assume you are referring to Rotavirus which kills many babies a year and could be prevented a hundred times over by exclusively breastfeeding. I would imagine the pain and guilt of my child dying from a disease that I may have been able to prevent would cause a much heavier burden on my marriage than letting my baby borrow my breasts a few times a day for two years. I pray that one day no one is so judgmental about the natural and nonsexual way women are feeding their children.

I have never been such a feminist before, but he disgusts me with this! Women are not mens' little sexual play things, and that is what he is "preaching" in this article. He acts like he is in such a higher class than women and children. Like we should bow to him and do what he wants us to do. My husband was even disgusted by this guy. Why is he so selfish and sexist? Is he that sex obsessed? I honestly can not wrap my head around this man's thinking.

I am so upset and disappointed in people sometimes it just has made me angry. I am sorry if this post was too ranty for you, but thankfully I have an outlet for my feelings and a place to shout to women that breastfeeding is NOT BAD! I wish people would realize that it is perfect and wonderful and to stop being so RUDE. It also hurts my feelings because when people make negative comments about breastfeeding I feel like they are making direct negative comments to me and about my baby. And do NOT mess with me, and especially my baby!

*I am in no way shape of form judging families who formula feed. I know there are situations where this is necessary, and situations when women are BOOBY TRAPPED into believing it's wrong or too hard and don't have the necessary outlets for help or information. This article is exactly why so many woman don't breastfeed and it needs to be stopped.

Please Read Part Two HERE (Where the Rabbi "apologizes")

& Part Three HERE (where I'm not so angry & summarize my feelings)

I'm So In

2010-06-05T22:07:00.002-04:00

I am so in right now. I have ZANYBANDS!!!! Or sillybands, or whatever they are!

Please do not tell me you didn't get caught up in some sort of trend, because... well I won't believe you. And let me just say right now... I LOOOOVE trends. I don't follow them all because honestly, some of those "trendy" clothes are awful (I don't do plaid or wedges... I just can't).

Here are some super duper awesome trends that I absolutely follow/ed.

Pogs

I had about 987237987509834 pogs. I had every president on a pog, every state, a ton of astronaut space pogs, a pog maker, a pog game, and every other pog on the universe. And don't forget the SLAMMERS! Or the neon colored tubes you kept them in! These were SO MUCH FUN to trade in school. (Mom, do we still have these somewhere?!)

Rainbow Brite

I had it all. Sheets, toys, dolls (ALL of them, the sprites, the horse, all the friends...), rainbow play houses, movies, EVERYTHING! I was even Rainbow Brite 3 Halloweens ago (when I was blonde). I looked just like her. She is my idol. I have some tapes still and am searching for a VCR so I can watch them.

I totally remember that scene y'all.

Lisa Frank Trapper Keepers

I don't think I need to explain any farther.

Slap Bracelets

Did you try to see how hard you could hit your friends with these? Me neither...

Tamagotchi (Nano Pets, Giga Pets)

In 7th grade I had about 5 of these. I had an ALIEN Nano Pet. NO ONE else had this one. It was sooooo cool and it had been alive for like 2 weeks and was an old man. I left it in the desk in Science class along with a few others and I got them all returned to me EXCEPT the alien. I could never find an alien again. It was sad. We used to trade these too. Once my friend Karen let me borrow her Giga Pet baby over the weekend and I left it on the bus. On Monday I asked the bus driver about it and she found it and had been feeding it. YAAAY thanks bus lady!

OMG MY MIND IS BLOWN. These things are selling for $100 on eBay!!! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!

Furby

My mom and I called Toys R Us every DAY looking for one of these bad boys. Finally got in there and they had ONE LEFT! ACK! I loooooove this thing. It's so cool. I ended up with 4 or 5 and then a mini one too. Oh and alllll of the McDonalds mini plastic ones. Where are the batteries? I want to fire one of these up now...

Twilight Saga

Haven't read the books? Get with the program. Btw, Team Edward. ALL THE WAY. I'd like to La Push Jacob off a cliff! hahhahahaha (if you don't know why that's so funny and AWESOME, hit the bricks to your nearest book store and get them. You can thank me later.)

Gauchos

Whatever. I still wear these. Christopher loves them. He said "They give the illusion of a skirt, but hug you butt like pants." These were my BEST FRIENDS when I was preggo too!

Crocs

Yeah man, Jibbitz and all! Honestly, they were awesome shoes to work in the hospital in. But then they were banned because of blood and stuff would get in the holes. Whatev. That's what socks are for.

Secret Compartment Pencil Cases

I would KILL for one of these today. Seriously.

Vera Bradley

I only have... hm... 875 Vera pieces... I only have a lamp, ribbon board, placemats, napkins, dog carriers, file folders, stationary, dry erase board, and a ton of bags and luggage of course. And I only got in line for the 9am outlet sale at 5am.

So anyways. Like over a month ago, may be two, I saw my dad had one of these Zanybandz, sillybanz, whatever bands. He is a music/band teacher and it was a trumpet. I thought it was so cute and some student must have seen it somewhere and gave it to him.

Then suddenly on the internet or something I saw them. Everywhere. And then? I saw them everywhere in real life. And then? I had to have one. NOW. I mentioned it on Twitter and Beth wrote me on Facebook about it, and sent me some! FOUR Disney Princess Silly Banz! AHHH! I heart them. A lot. And I heart you Beth ;)

Thanks to some Twitter friends for helping me remember these classics ;)

Pics courtesy of Google images and weheartit.com

My Kids Lids: Mr. Monster Hat Review!

2010-06-04T21:32:00.004-04:00

My Kids Lids is a really sweet Etsy shop I stumbled upon. Confession (if you haven't figured it out already...)- I seriously love when businesses mention that their kids help with designing and modeling and helping out with business. It's really neat to me that the whole family gets involved and everyone enjoys what they're doing, and enjoys doing it together!

Creator Katie Segel gets plenty of feedback from her two children. Josie, three, LOVES her soft fleece hats and insists on wearing them all the time. Owen, seven, gets very excited about new styles and ideas and has even come up with a few good ones himself.

The owner Katie is an awesome communicator and with my new mommy brain I always get thrown off when she emails me. I told her this, and I'm sure she thinks I'm certifiably crazy... Which I am... ;)

Katie makes these awesome fleece hats. She has tons of designs in her shop. She has some ADORABLE girl hats with this precious flowers, but I won't talk about them since this is TECHNICALLY a boy event... But if you have a girl, please make sure you stop by. She also has fleece flower hair clips! AHHH!

Katie was kind enough to send me a monster hat for Austin since monsters is his "thing". It is so so nice. This hat is seriously made better than ANY hat I have bought in a mass produced store. It is immaculate. It is so detailed and sewn so perfectly. Honestly, I was surprised. Handmade is AMAZING, but sometimes you expect a little fault here or there ( which usually gives your piece an extra kick of personality) but this hat has none. I am really impressed with how well it is made. How many different ways are there to say that? THIS HAT IS AWESOME. I LOVE IT.

I have the 6-24 month size, which fits Austin perfectly right now (he has a big noggin like me. It's cause we're so smart...). I hope it still fits next winter! If not, I know where I'll be getting him another! :)

This hat has such personality. The "hair" on top makes me giggle every.single.time. It's really warm. I HATE winter, but I'm seriously looking forward to Austin wearing this hat this year, and I'm being serious, pinkie promise, cross my heart.

Not my kid... This one seems to be a little more cooperative than mine...

In addition to this super cute Mr. Monster hat, Katie carries Miss Monster (once again for the girls... I can't resist, the stuff is just too cute), alligators, crabs, puppies, etc!

Please check out My Kids Lids for hats, clips, and scarves!

For the Sock Monkey lovers! This comes in a boy style as well, sans the flower.

I was given a hat to review that I got to keep. I was not compensated for this review. All statements are my own and TRUE! I really do love this hat this much ;)

Katie & Christopher Answer Your Questions!

2010-06-02T18:53:00.002-04:00

I told Christopher he had to wear a shirt since Nicole pointed out the fact that he NEVER does. He then said "No I can't! It's my staple now!" Sooooo here is Christopher shirtless once again, and my super awesome pink wig...

Oops forgot some questions!

I don't touch my face that much IRL. IDK why I am doing that.

BTW one of these days I'm going to put on make-up, do my hair, and do my eyebrows and make a Vlog. Because I clean up nice, I promise.

Please comment. It makes me happy.

For The Preggos: Things No One Tells You About Breastfeeding

2010-06-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

I am not a breastfeeding expert at all. But when I was in the hospital after having Austin, there were things I came across that I had NEVER EVER heard of. It was an all new territory for me. I was scared and embarrassed, and thankfully I had a couple of friends who helped and Twitter for any other questions and I learned a few things!!!

I decided to make a list of things that never occurred to me and may not occur to you either ;) Hopefully you won't feel as silly as I did.

1. When your milk comes in... HOLY PAMELA ANDERSON. Wow. Seriously. Geez. HUGE, rock hard, and painful. But they go away. In a couple of days you will look a little less Heidi Montag.

2. At the beginning there will be milk E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E. And that smell? That's spoiled milk. No this concept never even DAWNED on me. I thought that sour nasty smell on my nursing tank was the lanolin. But alas, no, it was spoiled milk that was leaking or left over from pumping. Bring nursing pads to the hospital. Trust me.

3. If your baby is in the NICU and you are having to pump, be prepared to pump A LOT. Like, more than every 3 hours. When you sit there for 20 hours a day, those crying babies will seriously increase your supply. Austin has every one of those babies in that special care nursery to thank for his freezer stash (RIP freezer stash.)

4. RIP freezer stash? Yeah. Check your deep freezer. @CrunchyNurse on Twitter told me they have an alarm thermometer thingy in theirs so when it gets above a certain temp it alarms. Genius. Wish I new about it before I lost 200oz+.

5. When your milk comes in and you're dying from the pain? It's totally normal and it goes away. I didn't know that. I had no idea I would get engorged and my boobs would fill up like that and I would hurt so bad. I thought I was getting mastitis and I FREAKED OUT.

6. When you're hurting and engorged and the baby and/or pump are doing you no good, get in the warm shower and hand express and massage. It's fab.

7. If you're pumping, make sure the flanges (those thingies that cover your boobs) are big enough. (TMI warning for the family members and men that made it this far). When I had Austin my nipples were huge. When I pumped they would swell up like 70X their size. I was using the regular Medela flanges that are 24mm or whatever and I was crying in pain. Nothing was coming out. I wasn't getting any milk at all. I watched and my nipples were filling the whole flange and milk couldn't come out because my ducts were stretched out on the inside against the plastic (that makes no sense, I'm sorry, but I don't know how to explain it). So I asked for a bigger size and it took awhile so I finially resorted to hand expression. I had to hand express for like a day or 2 (which doesn't SOUND like a long time, but it is) until I got bigger flanges. I actually ended up with the XLs. Once Austin was a month old they weren't so big anymore and I moved down to a L. I could probably fit in the Regular or Medium now.

8. Don't buy a nursing bra yet. Just get some tanks. Your boobs are going to be 25 different sizes until your supply evens out. When babe is like a month old, then you can buy some expensive bras (or not. I don't have one.). (this is just my opinion. some people won't agree with this. but if you're on a tight budget, seriously, save your $).

9. Washable nursing pads (once you get home obviously) are your best friends. Check out bamboobies.com. Those boxes of disposables go FASTTTT. Washable ones can be washed daily with your tanks and bras because you're going to be washing those a lot too ;)

10. If gets easier. I promise. It's so so so so hard at the beginning. Baby might nurse for an hour and have bad latch issues and you have to latch baby yourself. You'll dream of days where baby just latches on and you don't have to do anything. It'll get there before you know it. I PROMISE. Just get through.

11. Letdown is the term for when you're starting to nurse, pump, or leak (at the most inopportune time). The milk will just start flowing. It will like squirt across the room LOL. I had no idea this had a name. And sometimes newborns won't be able to nurse through it because the flow is just too fast. When I started nursing Austin (finally, after he was a month old) if he got choked and it was too fast, I just took a burp cloth or wash cloth and held it on my boob for a minute or so until the flow slowed. Austin used to just lick like I was a lollipop because it just poured out haha! Now he has no issues with it, but sometimes he'll pull off and he'll get sprayed. It's pretty funny.

12. Got the baby blues? Exhausted? Need a laugh? Squirt your husband. It's great.

Those are just a few things I didn't know and would have loved to had a smidge of knowledge about when I had Austin. I hope may be someone learned something ;)

BBQ, Banana Pudding, & Baby Deer

2010-05-31T21:00:00.006-04:00

I hope every one had a great Memorial Day weekend!

Of course I would like to thank all of the men and women who gave ALL for our country. Can you even imagine where we would all be if it weren't for the amazing brave soldiers that have served our country?! Secondly, I'd like to thank all active and inactive service members for their sacrifices they have made for us as well. Thanks to my brother in law Matt, both of my grandfathers, my father-in-law, my BFF's husband James, my cousins Jay, Michael, and Wesley, and many many friends who have given their time at some point (and still are!) for our country!!!! I wish that everyone was as thankful as y'all deserve.

We celebrated this weekend at Santee State Park with our favorite camping buddies! Christopher, Austin, my mom, Kea (her dog), Becky, Kevin, W and N (their boys, 5 & 3, that I do not have permission to post their names yet lol), Carolyn and C (who is 9).

Friday night we went up to Lonestar. Y'all have no idea how fabulous this place is. It's in these old old stores and is some of the best BBQ ever. They have tons of antiques for sale and on display. There was a Bluegrass festival this weekend so it was PACKED, but that just meant great music and and even bigger assortment of food than normal. I'm a picky eater, but I love this place. I piled my plate with ribs, BBQ, chicken, macaroni and cheese, rice, green beans, watermelon, pickles, and OMG the BEST banana pudding EVER on the face of the EARTH.

Austin enjoyed some green beans, watermelon, and banana pudding (which I kind of regret... Pudding has milk doesn't it?). He loved it and it was evident in his diaper...

Saturday we just relaxed and enjoyed the day. Christopher, Austin, and I took a walk... I took a nap with Austin... Christopher took a nap with Austin... We walked to the lake and put our toes in... We hung out around the pool... Relaxed on the hammock... Made smores (well, I let Kevin and C make my 2)... Ate junk all day... Hung out around the campfire (which Austin was AMAZED by!)... Attempted a shower with baby (all of you Twitter folk that says that's easy? You're lying)... Played games with the boys... Rode bikes...

ooooooooooo fiiiiirrrrreeeee

The pool. Pretty much the smartest most amazing idea ever for camping with small children.

Relaxing (?) on the hammock

This morning we all lounged around and ate breakfast, then it started thundering and looking very dark so we all scurried around as fast as we could to pack up before it started to rain. Sure enough as soon as we packed the very last thing, the sun broke through the clouds... Austin was extra cranky (being out of his element, not able to get good naps, it was hot, I was too lazy to entertain him, etc) so I stuck him in the Beco and he finallyyyyy crashed. I stuck him in the car seat while we finished up, still in carrier, because I was not wakin' his butt up for anything!

All in all it was a great trip. There were a couple of hiccups, like last night I had some dark twisty dreams. I hate that. And Friday on our way to Lonestar we were in our caravan. Becky, Kevin, and their boys were in the front, then Carolyn and C in their car, and then we were holding up the back. All of a sudden we see Becky stop in the road, and then pull to the side. Carolyn stops in the middle of the road, and so I stopped behind her. Kevin gets out of the van and walks to the opposite side of the road and leans down and touches something. I thought it was a huge snake, but why in the world would he be touching a gigantic snake? My mom thought it was a bird, and then it came into focus and Christopher jumped out. It was an hours-old baby deer. It was just laying on the side of the road. I was heartbroken thinking it was hit. All of a sudden it jumped up, ran into Christopher because it was not stable on its little spindly legs at all, and ran into the woods. I jumped out of the car because I wanted to grab him. He was all alone! What happened to his mom?! We should take him to the park ranger is what I was thinking. Carolyn said to leave him and she went on her way, but I just couldn't. Christopher and I tried to find the baby, but by then he was perfectly camouflaged in the nature, and we would have never found him. I was so so so so sad. Then we got the full story at dinner. Becky said she saw the mom standing there with the baby. When they came around the corner the baby collapsed and the mom took off across the street and into the woods. Becky couldn't leave the baby on the side of the road. It's a busy-ish road and people go wayyyyy too fast. Kevin was going to try to pick him up and take him to the other side and into the woods a little where his mom went but he was worried that if he touched him the mom wouldn't want anything to do with him anymore. Then the fawn got up and ran away to opposite direction of the mom. Carolyn said that when danger comes the mom deer will run away and the baby will just collapse and not move or make noise since he blends with the enviroment and the mom will find him. If I had known all of this (that the mom was present at one point, we didn't see her at the back of the caravan, and that this is deer instinct) I wouldn't have spent 3 minutes looking for him, possibly scaring him farther away.

This was Friday night. It is now Monday night and I am STILL heartbroken. I really really really really hope that the mom found her baby. What if she didn't?! She'll be so so so sad and that baby would never make it. This morning Christopher told me they were probably enjoying milk and berries right at that moment and I needed to stop worrying. Or that may be the mom was a bad mom deer and went and got crack and a opossum and wise-cracking owl found the baby and are raising it.

If anything, he'll always keep me laughing.

So that was the adventures of the weekend. Someone tell me that the mom found her baby... Anyone know anything about deer?!?!

The winner of the Pooters pocket diaper is Jenn and the winner of the $10 Pooters gift certificate is Janelle! Congrats y'all!!!

Also, please email your questions for me to answer! Ask me anything that you have been curious about or something really really funny like Natalie and Beth have done. This vlog will be full of laughs! :)

Christopher's First Vlog!

2010-05-29T13:42:00.003-04:00

Here is Christopher's first vlog. It went so well until the very end....

Remember to email me your questions! Ask me anything! Natalie already sent me some really funny ones. I'm going to answer them all in a vlog wearing a hot pink wig. So send in your craziest questions, and some real ones too ;)

katie[at]babybumble[dot]com

Ask Me Anything!

2010-05-28T21:29:00.003-04:00

Memorial Day weekend is upon us! Christopher, Austin, and I are going camping with my mom and some camping friends of ours.

For this weekend, since I won't be blogging probably, I would love if y'all emailed me some questions! Ask me anything! It'll be fun for y'all to get to know me and I hope they're funny because I'm ready to laugh. Come on Natalie, the pressure is on! May be I'll even vlog them! Such a treat to see me, right?! If I get 20 questions I'll wear a hot pink wig...

katie@babybumbleb.com, yo.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to post a Vlog that Christopher and I did tonight. It is so so so great. You'll love it ;)

I hope every one has a great holiday! Don't forget then men and women that gave all for us!!!!!!