DIY Leg Warmers and A Little Love

Yesterday I was at my friend’s house hanging with the wild thing and doing crafty stuff. We ate, watched Brave, and made baby leg warmers from women’s and little boy’s socks. We found a very helpful tutorial on Little Pink Monster. It’s an old tutorial, but it beats spending $12 plus shipping on Babylegs leg warmers. I found some super cute socks at H&M.

I spent about $20 on socks and got 11 pairs of leg warmers. The hardest part was sewing the pieces together. While the mustaches were really cute, the amount of threads inside the sock made them less than ideal. I have never sewn fabric with stretch before and it was a little challenging. Keep in mind that I am NOT a skilled seamstress! You may be more skilled.

Natasha from Little Pink Monster recommends using a zigzag stitch, but when I did this you could see the stitching when my wild thing wore them. It was like it didn't hold the pieces together tightly. A straight stitch seemed to work better for me.

The other problem I had was that they two pieces we were sewing together were a little bit different in size. This meant we had to stretch the sock a little bit to keep the fabric from bunching. And were only mildly successful.

They look so cute on my wild thing’s chubby little legs. (Side Note: I love my Petunia Cake bag! I found it on sale at a little boutique. Love a good deal!)

The best part of the day, though, was hearing my cowboy’s voice. My friend found an old voicemail from my cowboy and I. She played it for me and hearing his little voice was the best feeling. It made me think of the baby lisp that he used to have. He said, “Hi…It’s me, cowboy…Talk to you later.” Oh, how I wish that were true.

The Low Down on Nursing Bras ( o )( o )

During my pregnancy I went shopping for bras. The women told me that I should go ahead and buy nursing bras because my boobs shouldn't get much bigger than they currently were. All I can say to that is, "HA!"..."Lies! All lies." Following delivery, none of my bras fit and still don't. I was generally free-boobin' until I was ready to leave the house several weeks in. At that point I decided that I wanted "the girls" where they are supposed to be...up...as opposed to down. This is a difficult task when you have, let's go with, large boobies and are nursing. Options are limited!

Let me tell you about a few I bought and how I feel about them. Disclaimer: These photos are not of me! I know we're all disappointed. ;)

Motherhood Full Coverage Underwire Nursing Bra (Note: I have heard that underwire bras while nursing can negatively impact milk production.)

Pros: I wore this bra throughout my pregnancy. It was pretty comfortable and
work appropriate. The fabric and construction are good quality. It is the only comfortable
underwire nursing bra I have found.

Cons: The underwire does make it difficult to actually nurse, since I feel it
gets in the way of accessing the whole boob. Because of the post-baby growth, I
never got to use it for nursing.

Motherhood Wireless Nursing Bra

Pros: This bra comes in a nude and pink stripe fabric. While neither are super sexy,
the pink is kind of cute. It's the one I bought. It is lined in the cups so that you can't
see your nipples. Much better than an unlined bra, as far as I'm concerned.

Cons: This one is not very comfortable. It has plastic stays along the band that
collapse and dig in on my sides. I cut them out to prevent this from being a problem. This
improved the bra. Also, being wireless, it does not provide enough support. My boobs had a
sort of smashed look. I'm big on bras providing support and feel that it looks bad seeing
boobies flopping around when people don't have good bras. Since I know that I feel this way,
I can't walk around looking all floppy.

Loving Moments by Leading Lady Maternity Wirefree Softcup Nursing Bra with Full Sling, 2-Pack from Walmart

Pros: This pack comes with a plain white bra and a white with pink polka-dots. Two
bras for around $13 is great. These work great for sleep or around-the-house bras. One thing
that I really like about these bras is that it has what they call a full sling. Instead of
just having a connection along the outside of the boob, this bra has a band that goes around
the top. It's very comfy for nursing and holds the boob in place. I also wash and dry this
bra without problems.

Cons: The cups are not lined, so you can see my nipples or nursing pads through my
shirts. The band under the boobs digs in if you wear it for a long period of time. While it
holds my boobs in place, it doesn't provide support for going out.

A Pea In The Pod Wireless Nursing Bra

Pros: This bra has good quality fabric and construction. I haven't had it long but
it appears to be holding up well. Again, the cups are lined preventing my nips from showing
through my clothes. The straps are a little wider and padded for comfort.

Cons: I don't know if I have a bad fit, though I was fitted when the bra was purchased.
The problem with this bra is that it collapses under my boobs. It fits the model nicely,
sitting flat between and under the boobs. It doesn't do this on me. I do wear my bras several
times before washing, so this may be a contributing factor. I usually hand wash this bra and
hang dry. I don't really like bras hanging all over my house (and I don't think hubs does either).
This bra is more pricey at around $50.

A Pea In The Pod Seamless Nursing Bra (Note: There is, apparently, a similar bra in the Motherhood line that is about half the price, but I haven't tried it. A Pea In The Pod seems to be made of better, more resilient fabrics.)

Pros: I really like this bra. It's the best that I've purchased. It's a cross between
a sports bra and normal bra. It has normal bra straps and a lower neckline which makes it
wearable with tank tops. The way the "cups" are sewn make shows that I have 2 boobs, unlike
most sports bras.

Cons: It's not very attractive. When the salesperson brought it to me, I was doubtful.
It stretches out some if you wear it too many times. I don't know what too many is. Let's just
say I wear my bras more than once between washings. This bra is more pricey at around $50.

My least favorite is an underwire nursing bra. I purchased it at Walmart. It is another Loving Moments nursing bra. I don't have anything good to say about it. It is super uncomfortable and my boobs don't fit all the way into the cup (because of the full sling design). Ugh! Looking at the website right now, it doesn't look like they sell it anymore. If they do, don't buy it!

The seamless Pea in the Pod bra is by far my favorite. I would recommend spending a little extra to get a good bra. I did and I now have two that are comfortable and able to be worn when I'll be seen by people. Well, people besides my wild thing and hubs. Hope this helps anyone looking for a nursing bra. There isn't a lot of information out there and the reviews are often misleading. Make sure to try bras on before buying. Online purchases didn't work out very well for me. I'd be happy to answer any additional questions. :)

Nursing Tops

People have told me that they are shirt-up or shirt-down nursers. I do both, but prefer shirt-down because I'm a babywearer. Pulling up my shirt is a pain while wearing a baby and it's hot. (I always wear a cami under my shirt if I'm lifting it up so I don't flash my floppy belly to the world.) Funny that I don't mind my boobs being out, but the belly is off-limits. Haha!

Since I'm opposed to spending $40+ on shirts I will only wear for a year (at most) I went to Destination Maternity for their nursing event. Buy 3 get 1 free! The downside is that they have a very limited selection...the big upside is that all tops I got are in the $20-30 range.

Motherhood Sleeveless Pull Over Snap Placket Nursing Top (On website as: Motherhood Sleeveless Pull Over Double Opening Tab Cuff Nursing Top...No, I don't know why. They obviously need help quality checking their site. I'd be happy to freelance for them.)

Pros: This top is comfy and the snaps make nursing access easy. It can be washed and dried. Also,
my hubs compliments me on it almost every time I wear it.

Cons: It's baggier in the belly than on the model. (I guess this is a pro if you want to camouflage.)
If you're modest and don't have a cover, you will be exposed. If I'm out, some kind of cover is a must!

Motherhood Sleeveless Pull Down Double Opening Braided Strap Nursing Top

Pros: This one actually has the double opening for nursing. It's more coverage than any of the other
nursing tops I've purchased. It comes in cute, bright colors (I have a blueish and coral.) The shoulder
detail is cute, as well.

Cons: I feel like it's a little big on top and a smaller size would have made it tight in my tummy.
It gets more stretched out when I nurse and babywear. The fabric is thin enough (though I wouldn't call it
a bad fabric) that you can see the inner panel right across the middle of my belly. Also, I don't think it's
supposed to be dried. I wash it in cold and hang dry.

Motherhood Sleeveless Pull Over Double Opening Stretch Fabric Nursing Top(Note: This is not double opening, but a pull down top.)

Pros: My personal favorite. This top fits well and the double elastic along the neckline adds detail.
It's comfortable and I feel cute in it. To nurse, it's a simple pull down design. The fabric is a soft
cotton that is easily washed and dried. I have been wearing this shirt for a few months now and was worried
about stretch in the neckline from pulling it down. I haven't had any problems with that so far.

Cons: If you are modest, this shirt offers no coverage while nursing. You need a cover if you
don't want "the girls" hanging out.

I have one other top that came from Target. It is a hand-me-down, so I couldn't find information on it for you. Instead of a double opening, this shirt has a panel across the boobs that has elastic (like an empire waistline). I'm not sure what that is called. The benefit of this top is that it provides a lot of coverage while nursing. The panel that lifts up covers the top portion of your boob, which most tops I've found don't do.

If you have extra in the budget and want some cute tops, check out peek-a-boo maternity & nursing wear. The tops that I've found there are super cute. This is an example: Angel Sleeve Top.

Hope this helps those who are monumentally confused by the world of nursingwear!

The Joys of Nursing

Now, having baby number 2, I have been on both sides of the nursing debate. One was formula-fed and the other exclusively breastfed. What you choose is up to you. It's a very personal decision.

I didn't nurse my cowboy. He was a formula boy. I was happy with my decision at the time. He grew and thrived.

I currently nurse my little wild thing. I said I would try it because my husband felt strongly about it and the research says it's best. For me, it gave me the ickies. I'm generally very modest and have a history of abuse. Let me say this, now that I've done it...I love it. What I don't love is the small selection of good nursing attire.

Good bras, tanks, and shirts are hard to come by. Let me define good: functional, comfortable, non-frumpy, and affordable. Affordable has been a big one for me. At most, I plan on nursing for a year. Spending hundreds of dollars on a nursing wardrobe is not in the budget. If it's cute, it's probably out of my price-range.

Before I began nursing, I anticipated that I would look something like these women shortly after I had my wild thing.

I was so wrong. With the bras and clothing choices I had, I ended up looking floppy-breasted, porn star-esque, or muffin-boobed...not to mention that my tummy is big and floppy. Can we say SUPER sexy? A few weeks after my wild thing was born I decided enough was enough. If I was going to leave the house, I wanted to look presentable. I had looked online endlessly, deciding if $40-80 was acceptable for a shirt. Then I drug hubs and my wild thing along for a "short" shopping trip.

Join me for two posts that give the pros and cons of the nursing attire I have acquired.

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Fauxby Wrap

I love my Moby. It's a little warm, as is wearing baby using any carrier/wrap/sling. I have been raving about the joys of babywearing to a friend of mine for weeks. The best part is that I get to keep my wild thing close AND use both of my arms. I'm going to be honest...after the first few weeks of sitting on the couch staring lovingly at my wild thing while holding him, I needed to get up and do stuff. Happy baby and happy mommy. Awesome possum!

The other day we decided to make our own. We watched a few how to videos. None of them were very specific on the fabric to use. Jersey knit was all we got. At Jo-Ann we ended up selecting a poly-cotton blend. Not the most natural fabric but it had nice stretch and was thinner than my current Moby.

My Moby is a little short and I can't tie it in the front like all of the tutorials. (READ: I feel like a fatty.) It's also very uncomfortable to tie in the back, especially if you're riding in the car. Someone suggested that bigger or taller girls should get 5 1/2 or 6 yards. We got 6 and it feels like miles and miles of fabric. I'm 5' 9" and my friend is a little bigger. For anyone buying fabric I recommend buying more and cutting it down to your size. That way you don't end up tying it in the back by default and, like me, feeling like a super fatty.

I thought about making a pocket at one end to hold some miscellaneous items. We'll see if I get ambitious. The cool thing is that there's no sewing involved in making the basic wrap. I got an iron-on patch to mark the center, which makes it way easier to wrap up.

The Money: That's what we all want to know, right? A standard Moby is $47-ish. It was about $50 for the fabric and patches. We made 2 wraps, although you could probably get 3. My friend and I split the cost. So, the wrap was about $25. A little tip...use a coupon. The fabric was $9.99/yard, but we had a 40% off coupon for Jo-Ann.

Save the drama for the llamas.

There has been so much drama lately, I'm not sure what's going on. Is it the super moon? Is it the horrendous southern California heat? I came home the other day and told the hubs, "You may drive me crazy, but at least our lives are mostly drama free."

There has been pregnancy, death, death, heart conditions, fights, marital separation, death, pregnancy, and bipolar episodes (without the diagnosis). All of this in the span of a week or two. ALL of this within my small circle or family and friends.

Don't get me wrong; I hurt for all they are going through. I've been through all of this myself. BUT do you ever wonder why there are people for whom drama is a constant part of their lives? Is it their choices, personality, etc.? I don't have the answer. I just know I'm thought to be a HUGE B for trying to avoid it in my life. I'm unsupportive and judgmental. (I won't lie. I'm judging. Everyone does.)

A few years ago, my life was in a season of struggle and "small" amount of drama. There was marital separation, girlfriends, divorce, custody battles, cancer, and death. I'm blessed that the current season of my life is much calmer. I spend time with hubs and my little wild thing in our calm (if a little dirty) house. I'm not so stupid to think I will be this way forever. I'm just glad it is now.

For a laugh (and distraction from the drama all around) I read a little commentary on Fundies. Hilarious! I disagree on one count. Sex in the hot tub is still fun. Not to mention that you can do crazy positions in there that gravity just won't allow at your current ____. Fill in the blank with whatever applies to you: weight, flexibility, strength, age. Don't think that I am some crazy sex kitten. I have a newborn... enough said!