Traveling with an Infant

Something we have gotten asked often enough is how do we travel now that we have a baby? Is it harder? And I always say that you still can totally travel however often and wherever you want, it just takes a little extra planning and more stuff than you think you need.
After thinking about it for a couple days, I thought I’d make a list of advice and things you may want to bring with you to make your travels easier.
We just got back from a week of driving around Montana and Northern Idaho. It was so fun to see family and friends, but we probably clocked about 20 hours in the car total- between driving to our destinations and then around towns when we were there. Since Baby was born we have gone camping, flown to Florida and back, flown to Seattle, driven to Seattle, driven to our hometown and now up to MT, so I feel like we have a pretty good handle on what we need. Planes or cars- maybe some of this can help another mama get more prepared for traveling with babies.

Whether you’re camping or driving or flying somewhere with a baby, I’ve found its helpful to have these things:

If formula feeding: besides extra formula and bottles, we like to pack travel size dish soap and bottle brush. When you get to the destination just set up a bottle station right away to establish a little normalcy and organization. We bring a new tin of formula, three bottles, bottle brush and soap with us everywhere. I also keep a water bottle for formula in the diaper bag in case we are somewhere that doesn’t have a ready water source (such as the time we got stuck in the snow for 3 hours on our way back home this last trip).

Baby-jail: bring something where baby can safely be out of the way but still in sight. We bring a pack n’ play (for sleep and play) and a bumbo that also serves as a high chair when we travel. I recommend looking for a bumbo on EBay, surprisingly they were expensive on Amazon.
Diapers and Wipes: more than you think you need. Pack what looks good and then throw in ten more. (We also have a little fold-able foam 1X3 changing pad that we bring with us everywhere, and that has saved countless white sheets and couches from poops)

Clothes: I feel like I basically pack all of Baby’s clothes that she currently fits in- which was barely enough because she spit up and got food on almost every outfit I had brought. I did run out of pajamas for her. (Doing laundry would have helped. Ha.)
Toys: I try to grab a few toys that she is familiar with, and a couple that she hasn’t played with for a while so they are “new” and keep her busy a little longer- especially on a plane. Even though most people have been really understanding so far, it’s still hard to be the parents with the crying baby.

Schedule: Although it is easier said than done, try to keep the babes on their schedule. It will keep some semblance of normalcy and the transition to the new place will go a little easier, as well as the transition when you’re back at home. Keep nap time and bed times the same, it sure helped keep me sane during our travels!
Road trip tips: We have had  a lot of success of planning our departure time around Baby nap. Everything we can do is done when she wakes up in the morning, we do finishing touches and then by the time she is ready for her next nap we take off in the car and get a solid 2-2.5 hours of drive time before she needs to be fed or we need to stop.

Plane tips: during take off and landing ear pops, we have had success when baby either had a bottle or a pacifier in during those times. Landings were not her favorite but we’ve only had one major melt down out of our 10 flights thus far. During the plane ride itself make sure baby is not too hot or too cold; one time she was fighting a nap really hard for about 15 minutes before I thought to take off her jacket and then she relaxed and fell asleep right away. We also keep a couple different kinds of snacks on hand now too and rotate through them to keep her busy and interested.

In conclusion, these are some things we stick to when traveling with our almost 10 month old! But, please don’t think that all of our travels go perfectly or without hitches! We are still learning and getting better at it every time we go out! In fact, try as I might on this trip, Baby would not sleep in her pack n’ play at night she ended up with us every night we were gone (she moves around a lot in her sleep!) We forgot dish soap this latest time, and had to improvise when cleaning our bottles while at the hotel we stayed! Baby did keep to her bedtime really well, her naps were a little wonky, but her eating habits got really out of wack. She still pooped a few times every day so she got enough to eat, but I was still stressed! We had a great time and everyone survived, and there are always curve balls, something forgotten, blow-outs, and general life happenstances. What I want you to take away is this: Just because you have a baby now (or several), still travel, go out to restaurants, camp, backpack, and all the general things you did before baby. You can do it! You and baby will do great.

Your First Baby is the Experiment One

Good morning! I’m just going to take a few bullet points and talk about some “controversial” parenting tactics that are constantly being debated.

Number 1: Pacifiers. Are they a do or don’t? When we had Baby at the hospital they had a strict no pacifiers rule because I guess a baby at some point (and this is TRAGIC) had one in and asphyxiated. So those are not given to you if you birth at a hospital. However as soon as we came home, we stuck a pacifier in the little one’s mouth and she loved it, and we loved less crying honestly. My school of thought was that I didn’t mind pacifiers because it’s easier to take away a pacifier than a thumb (also, she never “found” her thumb anyway as a means of self soothing). My experience with thumbs is limited to the fact that my little sister sucked her thumb, and my parents had a heck of a time getting her to stop, and didn’t really succeed until she was four. Now I face the daunting task of transitioning my little girl out of having one for sleep. I think with our next kid I’m going to try not giving one and see how he or she does.

Number 2: When to Start Giving Solid Foods VS Exclusively Breastfeeding/Formula Until One Year (or longer)
I will say that a traditional pediatrician seems to push solid foods fairly soon. I’ve read all sorts of things regarding when babies are ready for some rice cereal or baby oatmeal- how many teeth they have is a sign that their digestive system is ready for more, when they start watching you eat/opening their mouth when you take a bite o food. I also recently learned that the push to start solid foods between 4-6 months is so that their risk of allergies to food in the future go down. (I’m aware that there are exceptions to every case of course and that genetics also play a role. And I will say if you suspect your child has an allergy go get a proper diagnosis from a doctor). Personally, Baby had her two bottom teeth by four months and was showing all other signs of being interested in food, so we started giving her baby cereal with every feeding and she loved it. At 9 months, she basically eats anything we eat- from scrambled eggs to chicken “soup” (just the chicken/onions/carrots) and of course, I’m still giving her a bottle before I feed her food. Now this is just what I chose to do with my kid, and I had no personal problem with it, but obviously other moms choose to breastfeed exclusively and that is awesome!

Number 3: Co-sleeping VS Independent Sleeping
Before she was born, my husband and I decided that we would not do long term co-sleeping. And I read a really great book that outlined how to get baby to sleep through the night by herself, without having to do some sort of ritual to get her to go to sleep- such as rocking/nursing/driving them to sleep. We are at the point where even if I wanted her to go to sleep with me, she won’t! Again, I’d read different pros and cons about co sleeping. We had her with us while she was still eating at night but by about 4 months she was sleeping in a bassinet that we kept by our bed at night. At nine months we have her in her crib in her room just down the hall from us. She goes to bed at 8 (currently waking up again at midnight because her teeth hurt, so we give her baby Tylenol and she goes back to sleep) and wakes up around 7:30-8:00. Some mamas say that they don’t need their babies to be so independent right away- and they don’t, but it was just our decision to keep our marriage bed to ourselves. It also is a huge stress reliefe that I’m not stuck putting her down for a nap or bedtime for more than 10 minutes, I swaddle, pacifier, kiss and hug and put her down and she just goes to sleep!

Number 4: Swaddling VS Not and Back Sleeping VS Tummy Sleeping

This one is a combo set I guess. I wouldn’t consider these subjects heatedly debated among mothers, but I’d just like to share my experience with these in general. I think every mom hears or reads that babies like being swaddled because it reminds them of being safe and cozy in the womb. They make awesome “auto” swaddlers that make it really easy for new parents to get the hang of tucking the babe into a blanket. Well, the trouble that I’ve run into is that now Baby has a hard time going to sleep when she isn’t swaddled, and sometimes she’ll just stand up and cry for eternity in her crib because she now can hoist herself up. In addition to that babies figure out how to bust out of the swaddle and the risk is then that they’ll end up covering their nose and mouth with the loose blanket and that’s not good. In order to avoid her busting out, loosing her pacifier or standing up, I’ve started leaving one arm out, flip flopping which arm so that she isn’t mainly dominate with one arm. So far the transition has been good, and since she has an arm out, she can put her pacifier back in by herself and roll over onto her tummy- which is now her favorite way to sleep. Speaking of tummy sleeping, “back is best” is the current mindset being proclaimed among the professionals these days. According to my lactation consultant from a few months ago, 15 years ago, tummy was best… and now it’s the opposite but I’ve read that when babies can roll over and that they start doing that to go to sleep, leave them. How exhausting would it be to continually be going in, waking up yourself and them to roll them back over onto their back? Just make sure that when they start doing that to go to sleep, there are no extra blankets or pillows for them to roll onto or get snuggled in too close.

Some questions for my readers:
What do you moms do to get your littles to go to sleep?
What has been your experience with solid foods or no? Any allergies?
What is your opinion about co-sleeping?

Thanks for reading!

A Little Life Update

Hello! I've been thinking that our friends and family might enjoy a little life update from the Adams family!
Living in North Idaho has been exactly what we needed. Husband is home from the ship until March and being together again as a family is amazing. The transition when he got home was one of the smoothest as long as we have been married (a total answer to prayer). I honestly feel like all we have been doing together is laughing and raising our baby. I know that for our family in Boise it is hard to have us away, but have comfort in the face that the Lord has us here on purpose and that we are happy and enjoying the cute college town.
We actually were in Boise very briefly a week or so ago for a family emergency. Everything turned out ok; the grandmas are recovering, and even though we went down under exacting circumstances it was nice to connect with as many family that we could.
We have some projects we are working on while Husband is home! Some of which including unpacking a few final boxes and finding cute bookshelves to put the rest of our book and trinkets away! The other, more fun one, is that we got some new recording equipment and have had tons of fun recording covers of our favorite songs- me usually singing and Husband singing or playing th guitar.
Baby is doing great! She is almost hitting 18 lbs, still on the tall side and her head is finally measuring average on the bell curve as opposed to in the 90%. As of today she now has a total of SIX teeth! Her top four are still coming down but they are all through the gums and making her pretty fussy. She loves every food I put in front of her, except banana... and she will only feed herself. If I try to feed her with a spoon she pushes out her little lips and will dodge and turn her head away until I leave her alone. She's a quick little crawler, and of course finds the cabinets, water bottles, apples and fridge much more fun to play with than her actual toys. She'll occasionally munch on some toy animals but that's the extent. She loves "reading" books, and can turn pages on a board book, and says a variety of sounds. She loves saying "mama" and "da-da" especially when she feels she is in distress! Her eyes are still blue, isn't that crazy?! We are thinking they will stay that way. She is absolutely beautiful and smart, and overall a pretty easy baby to have as our first one! I'm so curious to see if the others down the road will have the same happy disposition.
We want to do some traveling up to Coeur'd Lane for some skiing and to Butte, MT to visit family... and who knows where else? The end of March is a while away and we want to make up for lost time! Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us, they are definitely being answered! My own have been answered as well in the form of several new amazing friendships! There is a Calvary Chapel here. The church is on the smaller end, the preaching is great, and the people who go there were so welcoming right away. We've been able to start quality friendships with people who are strong believers and some who have kids- all of which are huge praises!

Anyway, since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are some snippets of our time together so far! Thanks for reading!

Matching PJs!

Cuties

We got her a cozy snow suite!

Some of you may have seen a few of these fun pictures we took when Baby turned 9 months

She moves her high chair around the kitchen

Applesauce is her current favorite!

Lazy mornings are our routine with Daddy :)

Starting a Diet Around the Holidays

The beginning of November held a realization for me: I did not have to wait one more second to start being healthier. Around the holidays, many people psych themselves up to start being the "better them" for New Year's- we've all made our resolutions but how many people really follow through with them past the first three months of the year? I certainly hadn't before, and I didn't want to keep telling myself "Tomorrow" "Monday" "After the weekend"- I made the decision to have a healthier lifestyle on a Wednesday afternoon.

If you're still with me, the suspense is now over: I began the Keto diet. 

Now, first of all, I hate the word diet because in my mind it is synonymous with the mindset that you do something for a certain amount of time, get the results, and then go back to what you were doing before. This will not be my story. 

Second of all, I did tons of research: 2FitDocs on YouTube, Magic Pill from Netflix, tons of articles and tips. I'm sure you all know what the basis of Keto is, you cut carbs so that your body will stop using those for energy and will instead use the excess fat in your body by releasing ketones into your blood therefore having your body be in an extended state of ketosis. You also want to eat more high protein and high fat meals (yes, bacon is allowed but it's not like I'm eating that with every meal). As the Magic Pill explains, fat somehow got a bad rap, "fat makes you fat", but in reality, good fats in food are good for you! Guess what makes you fat? Sugar! Guess what your body turns carbs into? Sugar! 

After all my research, I'm doing Keto for six months, trying to eat between 25-35 grams of carbs per day, and then I will re-introduce some grains and legumes in moderation back into my diet. After two solid weeks I began to see success in my body. Not only am I losing weight and inches, but I have not had a blood sugar crash since I've been doing it. The high protein, vegetables, and fat consumption leaves you feeling full and more energized throughout the day and in between meals.This has been awesome and this has helped me to stay super motivated to continue this lifestyle!

I don't have cheat days, but I have had to get creative with recipes and this girl has been an awesome source of motivation and meal ideas as she herself has been doing Keto for quite a while. She even has some desserts (I've made Keto brownies and keto ice cream and they've both turned out super yummy!) and cocktails.

Something interesting that I have yet to research more is that a lot of carbs you see on the nutritional label are derived from sugars, for example Egg-Nog you buy at the store has a total 27 G of carbohydrates, but 20 G of that is sugars. I'm wondering if the weight loss and feeling more energized (and my skin is super clear) has more to do with less sugar in my diet than a lack of carbs. I'll be able to take better notes of that when I try grains and legumes again in May when my six months is over. 

In addition to keto, I am working out at least five days a week. I'm intermittently doing high intensity work outs and strengthening yoga, all of which has been amazing. For me there was a three day hump where, after working out for three days in a row I was sore, tired and unmotivated but I soldiered on through days four and five. I found a groove and I've been loving getting stronger! Post-partum left a lot of muscles to be strengthened and I feel so much better in my lower back and my posture has immensely improved! It is hard to be consistent, especially when every day looks a little bit different with my sweet babe, but its worth it to feel confident and strong. In the end a healthier me is a healthier and happier wife and mother. I'm loving this new lifestyle, who says you can't start your New Year's Resolution two months early?! 

Thanks for reading! I'd love to answer any questions or receive tips or fun Keto-friendly recipes! :)

Marrying A Man Who Leaves

“Oh wow, he’s gone for how long?” “That must be hard.” “Since you’re getting married is he going to do something else?” “Since you’re having a baby, is he going to do something else?” “I guess that is nice when he’s home, but I just COULDN’T do that, it’s too much time away.” “How much longer is he going to sail?”

As some of you may know, my husband has a very interesting career. He sails on an oil tanker down in the Gulf of Mexico, and this job requires that he work for 75 days at a time and then gets to come home for about 75 days at a time. This means that when he is gone I am the only caretaker of our house and daughter, the only one going to church every Sunday (okay, almost every Sunday…), the one who takes out the trash, the main parent to our children and the person who sleeps with a gun on the bedside table at night.

But most of all, we are a married couple who love each other very much. So, yes, it can be hard. But, he may never do anything else. Unless we won the lottery, in which case HELLO COFFEE TRUCK! As we all know, those odds are slim. So, a-sailing he must go!

He was 27 and I was 20 when we met and was a few years into this career already, so there was hardly a transition. This just IS our normal. We have exchanged countless emails when he’s out at sea, and when he is in port, countless phone calls and texts. We got to know each other very well those months that we were dating and when I starting falling in love with him I very seriously weighed the consequences of marrying him. He who would have to be apart from me for almost three months at a time. Ouch. Of course, I decided that its totally and completely worth it. HE is worth it, and he obviously decided I was worth it too. Ever the gentleman, he did give me several opportunities to “back out”, and warned me that this lifestyle was not for everyone. Well here we are three years later with a baby. And neither of us will ever back out.

Our life is amazing. You know the phrase “absence makes the heart grow fonder”? Well, it does. I appreciate him always, but every time he leaves I am reminded at what an amazing man God let me marry. He is absolutely my best friend, and I like to throw around the term “soulmate” even though he thinks its cheesy as heck. Our relationship is on double time and on half time simultaneously. Since our time together is always precious we usually don’t sweat the small stuff. I say usually because how often can a girl trip over a man’s shoes in a day that were left in the walking path without getting the least bit annoyed? I can’t say that we are always good at “picking our battles” but we definitely don’t worry about things that are inconsequential in the long run. I’m not saying we never have disagreements or petty arguments because we do, but we have learned to resolve things quickly. We had to learn how to communicate very well especially when he is on the ship- because when he is working, everything else has to take a back burner, and that’s okay. He works really hard all day every day for 70-80 days straight.

Growing up I never thought I’d marry someone who would leave for extended periods of time because I like to be close to my people, yet here I am. Our life and this love are proof that the Lord will always know what is best for me and for us. This relationship is teaching me that I cannot always look to my husband for love, joy, and fulfillment; I must look to the Lord for those things.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy and with my song I praise Him.” Psalm 28:7 NIV

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” Psalm 23: 1-3 ESV

Me and Baby on the bridge!

Chief Mate himself, with his best girl on the bridge!

The Beauty That Is Breastfeeding

Good afternoon! I'm just going to jump right in here.

Breastfeeding.

When I found out I was pregnant the very first thing I started to "fantasize" about was breastfeeding my baby! What sweet moments between the two of us, the bonding, the nurturing and the satisfaction that I was giving my baby the best option! In reality, I've never cried so much and also... OUCH. Breastfeeding HURTS, however, there is nothing like breast milk when it comes to nutrition, antibodies and so many other things so I kept it up! It's so good for your new baby.... and when the time came for my milk to "come in" a few days after my girl was born I got a big huge nothing. Okay, I had a little bit. But my daughter is my husbands child and she was HUNGRY ALL THE TIME. After a few days, horror of horrors, baby lost weight when she should have been gaining. (Yes I know that babies loose some ounces after they are born because they aren't attached to the feeding tube aka umbilical cord. Baby lost her newborn ounces, gained some back and then lost them again... not good.) I started pumping and realized that she was only getting half an ounce from me TOTAL. I cried for days. After all, isn't this is what my body is supposed to be able to do?! Is there something wrong with me?! I started drinking a beer every day, I ate lactation cookies, took lactation supplements, drank gallons of water every day and when I wasn't feeding baby, I was pumping. I pumped while she napped, I pumped after I fed her to up the demand.... I started losing my mind. And on top of that I was still having to supplement with formula.

I found myself sitting all day, every day and my milk supply had only gone up by an ounce. I wasn't sleeping very much at night because baby was still waking up every three to four hours and I was starting to feel sad and angry all the time. 

Thankfully, Jesus loves me and all of a sudden women I was very good friends with started sharing how they too had low milk supply! I was stunned! Low milk supply is a thing?! I looked it up, and read blogs and articles about moms everywhere who, for whatever reason, also had low-to-no milk supply. I was encouraged and was able to come to terms with the fact that what I had going on was not unheard of. I started calling my boobs unmotivated instead of defective.

I had to start getting active again, and regain some of my sanity. I stopped stressing out about pumping all the time ( it wasn't really helping anyway), going on walks every day because I had a little more freedom and my baby was doing great! Normal in every way and gaining and growing. Formula was saving me. 

Fast forward to today- after the move and not being able to pump at all, or really nurse in the morning like we used to, my milk supply tanked and now I have drops. I have peace of mind though. As my OB nurse said, breast milk is great, formula is good. And now that baby is eating more solid foods I've stopped worrying about it completely. Baby is happy and healthy, and I'm not chained to my pump. 

Maybe with the next baby my body will kick into drive, but I can't hinge my triumphs or failures as a mother on something that's completely out of my control. I'm just thankful formula isn't evaporated milk and corn syrup anymore. 

Thanks for reading!

Basically newborns are awake only long enough to nurse and pee/poop.

Milk drunk is a real thing. Soooo cute

 

Baby was really good at breastfeeding! And then after a few weeks she figured out that the bottle was faster.... and then it was a battle of wills every time we had to nurse. She always won. 

Life Update

It's a rainy, cloudy day today here is North Idaho. And thanks to our newest member of the family (an at-home espresso machine) I have all the hot chocolate and lattes I need to get through the gloomy season now upon us. The past few months have been full of traveling! Husband had a work conference in Fort Lauderdale, FL in September, so the three of us flew down to spend the week by tropical Dania Beach. While he was away from 8-5 Mon-Thurs, baby and I swam in the pool, watched some movies, tanned a little, did yoga and read books! I got to meet some other moms/wives of Chief Mates and Captains, and we all endured the 90 degree weather and 80% humidity together.

Baby did extremely well on her first flights to FL (with a layover in Dallas-Ft Worth). Only the descent seemed to bother her, but she stayed on her schedule very well, taking naps and eating well during the flights. She is a pretty content child, though, and I suspect God blessed me with an easygoing baby on the first go-around. She is teething and while we were in Florida she popped her first tooth! She had another one start to poke out, but I think it retracted because I don't feel more teeth. The weekend following the conference we drove to Miami (which is only 30 minutes away from Ft. Lauderdale) and stayed at a fancy hotel that had direct access to the beach. It was my first time actually swimming in the Atlantic and it was amazing! I've always loved anything having to do with the Ocean (whether East coast or West coast). The sea mesmerizes me, reminds me of the Eternal One, and calls to my soul (as I'm sure it does for most people). I'm happy to have married a sailor! I could have swam in that warm, salty water for hours! Adeline gets up around 7 most days, so we got up with her and watched the sunrise over the horizon! The sun rises above the sea level much quicker than you think it does, quickly becoming very bright and warm.

After we got back from FL (both flights were delayed by a couple hours) we had four days to prepare for having family staying with us! My in-laws and my mom and sister come up and spent the weekend with us... only let's be honest, they just came to see the baby... It was so fun to have everyone here. My in-laws made dinner a couple times for everyone ( and those nights ended up being 8 people when my two brothers were over), they let Husband and I go on date nights and it was so nice to have time for just us! I love having a full house, and makes me look forward to doing it again for Thanksgiving! It will especially nice since Husband will likely miss all the holidays.

So that's the little update for all my avid readers! Hehe :)

Hanging out in the hotel lobby!

Our view from the hotel room!

Family photo while watching the sunrise.

Cutie girl!

Another sunrise.... in love.

Adeline loved the ocean! She got doused a couple times and was unfazed!