Boobies and Baby Butts!

So tonight I finally got the time I wanted to sit down and do some much-needed research. I had been wanting to do this research for quite some time... as I stated before I want two things out of this new baby: I want to pseudo-cloth diaper, and I was to breastfeed for REAL this time.

The cloth diapering has been one constant headache since I started looking into it a good 6-ish months ago when we started trying to conceive. Tonight I sat down and put my all into the research and have decided on a brand to try and picked out a few types of this one brand. I am so excited to finally have some sort of direction! Even if this brand turns out to be crappy and/or doesn't work for Sprout very well, I am thankful for the amount of knowledge I have accumulated the last few hours =D

These are bumGenius 4.0 cloth diapers. There are SEVERAL different designs and colors to them, but these are the two "styles": Snap buttons and Hook and Loop (aka, Velcro!) Each have their own pro's and cons, but these diapers are some of the only ones that made ANY real sense to me practically and financially. A) you can use them from birth until potty training; B) they have received some of the best reviews in terms of durability, absorbency, and overall bang-for-your-buck; C) they are SO SIMPLE to use... hands-down one of the easiest to adjust to your baby. I am so thrilled with this find!! I cannot wait to see if Sprout is a boy or girl and then order colors accordingly!

Now for breastfeeding... with Landon, it didn't work so well. Firstly, I was distracted by several factors in home life as well as the first few days in the hospital. The nurses were of no help and while I signed up for a lactation consultant to call me, I never received anything from said person(s). It was rough. I was new to motherhood and everything seemed so foreign and overwhelming. While the actual act of breastfeeding didn't last as long as I had hoped, I did pump for quite some time for him. I got sick several times and lost milk supply, and while my pump was a nice pump for what I paid for it, it did NOTHING to help me build up my supply and create a "pleasant" experience.

THIS TIME AROUND, I am determined to not only make the act of breastfeeding my baby work, I have ordered a new pump that has gotten amazing reviews and will be taking a class (or two... or more if they offer them!) on breastfeeding so I can hopefully be ready to meet my child's needs and do this properly this time! We are also living in our own home now and I can have the privacy/relaxation I need to get this breastfeeding thing down! If I get sick during breastfeeding, not only will I (hopefully) have my child to help me build my supply back up, but this pump is guaranteed to increase milk production (pictured to the left: Ameda Purely Yours Breast Pump - Carry All). I am certain this time around we will make breastfeeding work !!!!

I am excited to make it to September/October and get my little Sprout here in my arms to love and nurture!