Healthy Eating 2016

Hello All!!! It's been a long while since I blogged. :) I just wanted to share my fun new gadget the SPIRAL SLICER!!(seen here)

  I love pasta, but it does not always fit into my healthy lifestyle. I like to follow my 21 day fix portion control container system and with that you only get two servings of carbs a day.  That's the two pieces of bread on a sandwich.  So instead of adding spaghetti noodles I now use the Spiral Slicer.

Here is how it works.  You get your zucchini (yellow squash or carrot).

Decide if you want thin cut "noodles" like spaghetti or thinker like linguine.

Thin side

Thick side

 I, personally, like the spaghetti size the best.  Then, you insert your zucchini and twist it to make the noodles.

Thin side

Thick side

Now what?  I saute mine on the stove top for about 5 minutes. This leaves them a bit al dente.  I don't like my regular pasta this way, but for a veggie it's nice to have a little crispness to it. :)  I add onion powder, Himalayan sea salt and pepper. MMM

If you'd like to purchase a spiral slicer you can get yours by here. (disclaimer: This is my affiliated link.  I get a small proceeds from all sales.)

Baked chicken added on top (1 red and 2 greens for you 21 Day Fixers)

This is the first meal my 6 year old has eaten non stop. There was no yelling, no reminding, no bargaining, and he was done before everyone else. haha

Exclusive pumping facts

     After Pumping for a year, I have felt the need to pass on some exclusive pumping facts. Nothing crazy, just a little understanding for those mommas. You are NOT ALONE!! You are doing GREAT! Your baby loves you so much. Don't give up! Don't quit on a bad day! There are others that are there that can help you and encourage you!  Mommas unite :)

1.     You will be best friends with moms you DON”T even know because you share a bond and struggle that only they will understand.  Go get in the facebook group Here!!!

2.       Sometimes, you are so tired that you fall asleep on the couch while you pump at 2 am.

3.       You WILL find the most interesting places to add to your places I’ve pumped list:

a.       At home on the couch

b.      On an Army rifle range (in a van)

c.       In the car before a race (10 k)

d.      In the car while moving from California to Louisiana (yes, while driving)

e.      In a hotel

f.        In the airport next to other people (using a cover)

g.       In a fancy bathroom by the sinks

h.      In Church

4.       Lecithin will be your best friend. It helps to empty faster and works wonders on clogs.

5.       You celebrate getting ½ an ounce more!

6.       You’ll cry when you don’t notice the tiny bottle overfills and spills on your pants while pumping

7.       You’ll cry when you don’t tighten the bottle and you spill milk on the floor, the baby or yourself.

8.       You feel bad for cows and know their pain. Haha

9.       You plan outings around your pumping schedule.

10.   You have to go pump before being intimate.

11.   You pray for more letdowns= more milk.

12.   Sometimes you start to have another letdown and then you have to poo… like REALLY poo. Oops. Haha

13.  You feel amazing when you make enough to donate to someone else or milk banks.

If you agree feel free to click on the ad to the right or below to donate to my family (it's at no cost to you, just a click or two.) THank  you. Pump on Mommas!

Love, Ashley

Traveling as an Exclusive Pumper and the Holidays!

     We're going to Georgia for the holidays to see my mom.  And I even pumped in public in the airport. I had Daphne in her little car seat on the wheel board drinking. Dallyn was playing and such. I just got the cover for privacy and plugged the Medela in. I kinda just didn't care.  I, of course, got a lot of smiles from strangers. haha But when guys figured out why I had my nursing cover on they moved on lol. Oh man is the struggle real!! Got contacted by the milk bank! So close to a pay check! I've donated over 30 gallons to 6 mommas so far. It'll be nice to get reimbursed for all the work. I'll be giving some milk to a local momma here before going back to Cali. 
     I got this super clog.  It has lasted for about a week. I sure broke out the Lecithin! I mean OW!! It was terrible. I also used hot rags, hot showers, slight massage/ pressure while pumping, Dangle pumping (while leaning forward)... every trick in the book.  I think since I hit the 6 month mark that my supply started to go down AND then this happened. :( I hope I still over produce in order to donate and get some moola.

My pregnancy goals evaluated

My goals with this pregnancy were:

1.       Gain a NORMAL amount of weight 25-35lb. (Not 52)

2.       Be able to wear my wedding rings the entire time. Or maybe just passed week 26.

3.       Fit in my combat boots longer than week 17/18.

4.       No overeating.

5.       Watch my sodium intake.

My results were:

1.       I gained 39 pound

2.       I wore my wedding rings until the very end

3.       I wore my combat boots to work until my boss told me to stop coming to work at 39 weeks.

4.       I didn’t overeat.

5.       Sodium wasn’t an issue. I didn’t want a lot of salty things. I wanted sweet and healthy things: fruits etc.

I certainly was happy with my overall health this time around.  I'm currently 13 weeks post partum.  I have 5 pounds more to lose.  I feel great. :)

 P.S. Please take a minute to click on an ad to the side or below this post. It gives money to our family with NO cost to you. Thank you.

Milk Cow Status!!!

I appreciate the work dairy cows go through to give us milk. Oh yes... I've reached milk cow status. Lol (36- 43 oz to the freezer every dayafter feeding baby girl enough for the day) I have enough breast milk in the freezer to feed Little Miss for more than 40 days. (that's over 1,000 ounces... 9 gallons). feels like winning.

Breastfeeding to Pumping Exclusively

     Daphne was really good at breastfeeding.  She seemed to be perfect at it.  I just couldn’t figure out why it hurt so badly.  I mean it was a deep stabbing pain deep in my breast.  It seemed to travel under my arm pit to my back.  There were a few times when it wouldn’t hurt at all.  It was perfect! Just a slight tugging and she would get so much milk. J She was adorable.  But the pain and such got worse and worse. 

     My blood pressure started to rise.  I was having pains in my arms and losing feeling to my fingers (like my cubital tunnel syndrome).  My ankles were super swollen up to the size of softballs.  I was getting shortness of breath and dizzy.  Tyler later told me that he had checked me in the night to make sure I was breathing still.  My nerves were over reacting all over my body causing my whole body to shake in pain when she would nurse.   I knew the reason wasn’t her; I just couldn't figure it out until I started losing feeling in my hands. That was a symptom from my nerve problem before.

     So I started pumping and after a day my body was feeling a bit normal again. I immediately started producing a lot of milk. So pumping is going to be my way and freezing the milk she doesn’t need right now. This is just the beginning.

Birth Story

So there I was... 5 days overdue.  Of course, I was seriously discouraged!! I had been having contractions for a few weeks but they were not getting us anywhere.  We would go on walks all the time to help.  We tried everything to induce naturally.  Nothing worked.   So , at my appointment on day 5 overdue my doctor massaged my cervix in hopes that it’ll kick start things (which it did). 

I had contractions for hours and they increased over the night.  I woke up at 6am and decided to tell my hubs that it was time to go to the hospital.  The hubs, my mom and I got up there around 7.  I was only 4 cm, but the contractions were strong enough to make me have to pause and breathe through them.  At lunch time, the nurse suggested that I use the labor tub.  The hot water was nice but it didn’t take the pain away like everyone told me that it would.  The jets in the tub really started to tick me off tho.  We listened to Johnny Cash, the Jackson 5 and Craig Morgan.

My water broke in the tub at 1:24.  I almost passed out trying to get back to the room from the tub.  I went to the bathroom and got onto the bed.  It was getting super intense.  I decided that doing this all natural thing was silly and a little too painful for me.  I asked for the epidural.  As the doctor was prepping me, my body decided it as time to push Little Miss out.  I had gone from 5 cm to pushing in 20 minutes!!   

My body pushed so violently.  The doctor came in and stated that he’d let me do my own thing and basically just catch the baby.   I pushed a few times and the doctor told me to stop.  Little Miss was trying to come out with her hands up on her head.  So the doctor pushed her arms back in and after another push or two she was born.  She was born at 2:22pm, only 58 minutes from the time my water broke.  No wonder it hurt so bad!! Birth doesn’t normally happen that fast. Haha

She was placed on my chest immediately.  The doctor stitched me up.  My husband cut the cord after a few minutes.  Our sweet Little Miss was just soooo cute.  She was placed on the breast pretty much immediately.   She didn’t really cry.  She liked to just look around and snuggle.  She is very much like her brother in that way.

P.S. Please take a minute to click on an ad to the side or below this post. It gives money to our family with NO cost to you. Thank you.