Category: parenting

To breast feed or not to breastfeed that is the question

To breast feed or not to breastfeed that is the question

by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

To breast feed or not to breast feed that is the question that crosses every womans mind when have their first child. I’m not for or against it but I’ve always had this notion that if it happens then it happens and if it doesnt then so be it. For many women this is a very sensitive topic and some will say yes do it all the way while others will say nah its not for me. Well, I was one of those that was in between. Yeah, sure I wanted to try it but it probably wasnt in my best interest to continue after the first year thanks to post partum.

While I am glad that I did it, however, a part of me knows that it isn’t in my best interest to do it again or at least for as long as I did it. I am fine with my second child, whenever we become pregnant, to have formula. We did supplement with my son until he started eating food. I really do think that pumping or breastfeeding, whatever you want to call it, really did play a huge part in my post partum depression. In fact I know it did because once I stopped I almost became like my old self again except with a kid of course! It was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and I felt happier again. Of course I could feel my hormones shift but I felt happier and that I could really enjoy my son. Many women still get post partum without breast feeding but because of the hormone fluctuations I feel like it made mine worse. I strongly do encourage that if you do have post partum to talk to both your doctor and a therapist. I did and it sure did help me get the help that I did.

If covid didn’t happen then I would have stopped a lot earlier than when I planned to. However, since we were and still are in a pandemic, I decided to continue until my son turned a year old. I am all for the health benefits that it gives babies but for me it had a darker side that came in the form of post partum. Am I glad I did it? Yes I am glad because I stuck to my guns you could say when I had people tell me to literally give up. I’m glad I did it because I knew I was giving my son antibodies to fight covid after he got it from me. I’m also glad I did it because I really do believe it helps with protecting him from having allergies down the line. Overall, I’m glad I did do it.

So overall if someone were to ask to breastfeed or not to breastfeed I would say to look deep down inside yourself and ask why. If they still want to go through with it then i would say if in a few weeks you change your mind then you can stop. However, if you dont want to stop then hey more power to you!

Our Gardening Journey week 3

Our Gardening Journey week 3

by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So I’ve made a lot of changes this week with my little plants. Some have grown a lot and some not very much. I’ve learned what has worked and what mistakes I’ve made so far.

First thing to start off with, I bought more supplies. I didn’t buy them to start off with because I wanted to wait and see what I would need all while trying not to break the bank. I ended up buying a few things such as potting soil, self watering indoor containers, a potted plant cage container and more pellets. The potting soil that I bought is one that can be used for indoor and outdoor plants. Which is great because I want to hang some flower pots outside on our front porch. I used espoma organic mix for indoor and outdoor pots. I wish I would have bought more bags of this mix.

The second thing that I bought is self watering containers. Eventually I want to use these to grow herbs inside but for right now they are being used to help grow cucumbers and basil. It’s already been a few days and I can already see a lot of growth happening. I even see new stems growing after I potted these. I honestly love these little containers cause all you need to do is just water them in the smaller black hole once a week or once a month depending on the plant you have.

As you can see I became resourceful and used a plastic fork from my son’s recent birthday party to help hold up this cucumber plant.

The third thing that I bought is a pack of 3 plant cages. The bottom of the plant cage is what looks like a big black bag that you will plant your plants in. Most plant cages are expensive but I decided to go with this one because of the cost and the fact that you get 3 of them. I haven’t used these just yet but when I do I will post them. Below are the ones that I bought. These are the cheapest ones that I bought.

Lastly, I bought more refill jiffy pellets on Amazon to replant plants that did not grow the first time around. So far I see a lot more growth this time around. I think these pellets are better to start off with then the ones that already come with the containers. I didn’t have a lot of growth the last time.

This week I learned what I could have done differently. Well for starters I soaked my sweet Williams and green bean seeds overnight in warm water. I think that was my biggest issue with them not growing. I don’t know if it will make a difference but I figured that I would try it. I also am kind of experimenting to see it the green beans and sweet William seeds will germinate in my little green house or in a cup that I put some potting soil in. I also think that I over watered them too much too and that may have also killed them too.

Green beans

Overall, I know I’ve learned what I can do better for this round of seeds. I want to know what mistakes did you make when you first started gardening. Please add them in the comments! I have also added in the links where to find them on Amazon!

My Covid baby one year on

My Covid baby one year on

by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment 
 
So my son was born during the height of covid in 2020. I never would have thought that when I first got pregnant with him that he would be born during a pandemic. Like many other moms in 2020 I had so many plans of bringing him places and doing things with him that were shattered because of the pandemic.
 
 
If you would have asked me before covid who would I have liked to be with me at the hospital I would have said my family and friends. That didn’t happen. Instead it was just me and my husband. In some ways I did like it because we got to bond with him but in other ways I did not. It would have been nice to have someone their to help me out while my husband went back home to shower and eat. 
 
 
When the whole pandemic started I heard on the radio one morning that this pandemic is going to take a toll on our mental state of minds for both adults and children. What they didn’t mention are the covid babies. 
 
 
In my past career I was a Montessori teacher for toddlers. I’m used to being around kids that are active and a little bit socially mature both in and outside of school The thing that I find interesting about the pandemic is that all these babies that were and still are being sheltered are a lot more cautious when meeting new people or going out in general. When I’ve spoken with other covid moms that had babies in 2020 they have noticed the same reactions even if their child was their second baby. Every time my son meets new people or relatives he hasn’t seen in over 2 weeks he does this face that makes him look like he is mad. It’s honestly a funny and cute looking face though. It’s also kind of a sad reality that masks are normal for him outside of our house. Having a covid born baby is making me wonder what effects this is going to have on them mentally and socially later on down the line.
 
 
I will say though that the only good thing about being pregnant during a pandemic is the 6 feet away part because that kept people from touching me while pregnant. However, I’m hoping that the last part of 2021 and 2022 will allow us all to hopefully go back to somewhat normal. 
 
   
 
  
 
 
 
 Top 5 items to buy for baby 
 
Top 5 items to buy for baby
 
  by alexa parisi   ♥  0 Leave a Comment  
 
 
 
 
Disclaimer: I am not being paid for any of my opinions or advertising. These are mine and only my opinions only.
 
1. Mug/ bottle warmer for your car
 
Seriously I never thought about this before having my son but having a bottle warmer in the car was very beneficial. We didn’t need one until we started taking him out to more places. This is a great idea especially for long car rides and trips. I wish I would have put this on my registry list. The one that I got is this one. https://amzn.to/3uVUalJI will say though that you have to really push in the charger for it to go on. It does take some time to warm up but it did the job. Plus you can also use it for coffee and tea too. 
 
2. Camper high chair.
 
You won’t just use it for camping. I used mine for going to see my in-laws a lot. This especially came in handy when we went on a recent trip. It was the best $50.00 I’ve ever spent on baby products. I didn’t want to buy an extra bulky high chair to lug back and forth between houses. Another added plus is that they are really easy to clean. The one that I used is from Ciao on Amazon. It has a plastic table “tray” that is easily wipeable. It is so easy to clean. 
 
 
 
3. Cuisinart baby food maker/bottle warmer
 
Seriously this is the next best thing to buy. All I wanted was a gadget that gets the job done of making his food and warming his bottle. I didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars for those high end brezza baby products.
 
4. Dehumidifier
 
Getting one will help loosen baby’s boogers especially when they are a newborn. You can get them anywhere. I had one running in my son’s room during the winter or when he had a bit of a stuffy nose.
 
Just a cute picture of my son and our dog pepper!
 
5. Nose frida
 
I can’t say how much I love this product. My son on the other hand not so much. It really gets some of those hard to reach boogers out especially when they are sick.
 
All of these items can be purchased on Amazon. I also want to know what are your top items that you bought for your baby?
 
   
 
  
 
 
 
 5 things that you don’t need on your baby list 
 
5 things that you don’t need on your baby list
 
  by alexa parisi   ♥  0 Leave a Comment  
 
 
 
 
1. Lots of clothes that are 6 months and above
 
◦ I know it’s really temping but do not put clothes that he/she will not use in the first 6 months. Especially if your child is a premie or grows like a weed. If people give them to you and you don’t have them on your list then that’s fine but chances are that if you put clothes that are 7-12 months then they will get you that instead of 0-3 or 3-6. My son was already in 6 month clothing at the age of 4 months.
 
2. Newborn clothes
 
◦ Most babies will only fit into these for a week or two. If you do have a premie then by all means get them but for the most part have on your list 0-3 months clothing.
 
3. Wipe warmers
 
◦ For one thing this is just a extra gadget that you don’t need. Many babies have survived with wipes that are not from a wipe warmer. Plus wipe warmers dry out the wipes faster. Wipe warmers are very much unnecessary and most of the time your newborn will be drowsy at night when you are diaper changing them. Plus if the wipe warmers is defective you could be possibly run the risk of it being a fire hazard. Also, if the baby is always used to warm wipes then it could be problematic when you are out and about and all you have is cold wipes. 
 
 
 
4. Swaddles/sleep sacks.
 
◦ I’m going to get a lot of flak for this but swaddles that have the arms in you don’t need. You are just prolonging having to deal with the startle reflex at night. I’ve taught infants in a Montessori classroom and the ones that had a harder time falling asleep without one were the ones that have slept with sleep sacks with the arms in. The only time my son had one was in the hospital. It took him a week or two at the very beginning to learn not to sleep with it. If you wait till 3 or 4 months you are just adding onto the reasons why your baby is more cranky at night on top of teething. However, if you are going to buy one then look for a brand with the arm holes so you can put their arms out. Also, again this is a item that the baby industry says that you need in which you don’t really need. Many babies have survived with out being swaddled at night for the first 12 weeks outside of the hospital.
 
5. Nursing bras or pads.
 
◦ This is something that you need to buy on your own! You need items that the baby is going to need only! If you are going to nurse your baby that’s great but people are not going to buy that for you. They are going to buy items that are specifically for the baby.
  
  
 
 
 
 5 things I’ve learned being a new mom 
 
5 things I’ve learned being a new mom
 
  by alexa parisi   ♥  0 Leave a Comment  
 
 
 
 
1. Don’t be ashamed to ask for help
 
◦ If things get really hard ask for help from your support team. It’s okay to ask for help from your partner, parents, and friends when you are having a hard time. Having a infant is tough in and of itself. This also helps when you just need time to yourself.
 
◦ 2. Don’t be afraid to talk to someone.
 
◦ Especially if you are dealing with anxiety and post partum depression. I thought that I wasn’t going to have depression because I’ve handled kids for years being a teacher. Boy was I wrong. My body could not handle the change of hormones and talking to someone and taking the right medications helped a lot.
 
3. Don’t plan big life events in the first year
 
◦ This one is really important especially when you have a infant and are trying to get into a routine. My husband and I put our house up for sale when our son was two months old. That combined with my post partum and covid on top was not a good situation. While I am glad that we are in our new home my husband promised me to not ever put us through that again.
 
4. Have a support group.
 
◦ This is extremely important especially going through post partum depression. Anyone that will be able to help you or even talk to you when things get hard. It also helps to have someone that already has kids and can give their advice.
 
5. Don’t be afraid to set boundaries
 
◦ This is especially important when it comes to grandparents or strangers. If you don’t feel comfortable then just say it. You are the parents and only you can decide what you want for your child.