Mommy moos like a cow.

This post is all about the milk. 

With my first baby I nursed her for a full year and let me tell u, it wasn't the easiest thing. It takes a lot of commitment to go that long. Most the time u can't be away from your baby for too long, so you are always on a time crunch. I love nursing and have been extremely blessed with babies that also love to nurse. 

Last baby I was crazy because she was my first and I didn't really want anyone else to feed her so I didn't really give pumping a shot. I would try every now and then but when I couldn't get very much out I just gave up. This time around is a little different. 

I want daddy to be able to feed KJ, I want for the hubby and I to go out on a date and not worry if we have been gone for longer than a feeding. It's hard to pump though, especially when my milk has regulated to KJs needs. I don't produce any more milk than I need to, so how do I pump? I've figured out something that is working really well for me and I wanted to share in case it can help anyone else. 

Normally, KJ nurses on both sides every time he eats except at night time. He only nurses on one side which gave me an idea. When I nurse KJ at 10pm to go to bed he nurses on the left side (my left side produces the most milk, about 3oz) and he goes down. He sleeps until about 2:20-3am then wakes up to eat so I nurse him on the left side AGAIN. He falls back asleep and by that time my right side is completely full so I pump about 2oz put it in a bag in the fridge. You can add milk together as long as it's within the same 24 hours so I usually can pump 2 nights and have it be within the same 24 hours and have a full bag (about 5 oz) in 2 days. 

I'm not looking to pump like crazy because I don't need to, I'm a stay at home mom. BUT I do want to go to the gym, I want to go to the grocery store.. ALONE, I want to go out on a date with my hubby without feeling like I'm on a time crunch. I hate to be rushed. So I pump once every night and so when I need it, it's there and I'm not trying to pump right before I leave. KJ spits up A LOT so there are times I nurse him, leave he spits it all up and is hungry before I get home. So this stock pile is a peace of mind and allows me freedom and others to bond with him at the same time. 

I've calmed down a ton this time around and it's made life so much easier. So if you are a first time mom and are a bit mama bear like, it's okay, it gets better lol and if you are a veteran mom you know what I mean. 

Nursing isn't for everyone, don't let the opinions of others ever get you down. You are the parent and whatever you feel is best for u and your baby is your business so keep up the great work! 

Thanks for reading, 

The Cancillas 

Grateful.

OMG we had a great weekend! Halloween was soo much fun, Kaili'a had such a good time going to houses around the neighborhood trick-or-treating. It's funny because when we were asking her if she wanted to go trick-or-treating she kept telling us no. When this girl says no it's a very "sassy" no, but when we started getting her ready she started to get excited. It was a lot of fun, KJ again slept in his stroller the entire time so we only had one child up at the door and at least 3 adults with her every time it was pretty funny. All in all we had a blast! 

I was so grateful that Saturday was between Halloween and KJs blessing because after Halloween I needed a recovery day lol 

Sunday was amazing, we were able to have KJ blessed and Joseph was able to do the blessing. We had such an amazing support group with all the men in the circle, you could feel how strong the spirit was. 

We had a get together afterwards (which my mother made sure to tell everyone that Joseph and I weren't really wanting to do but that she talked us into doing it lol)  It was a lot of fun to have both sides of the families all in one place. It was nice to chat a little bit with everyone and really have them there with us. I am thankful we listened to my mom and decided to have the get together, my mom pretty much did ALL of the work and we just wanted to put a shout out to her for what an amazing woman she is. She has done so much for us and we can't express enough how much we appreciate her and my dad. Thank you! 

This whole day light savings thing is messing with my well being lol I feel like it's soo much later or the day seems to be longer, i dunno, I just know it's tripping me out lol 

Today has been a pretty good day, FINALLY vacuumed my room then my child decides to eat her goldfish very enthusiastically. I swear this girl gets into every little thing. I wish I had taken a picture because before nap time I walked into the living room and she's gotten ALL of her toys out and had spread them across the entire floor, she didn't have any pants on, her hair was only about 40% still in the pointy tail and there she sat all innocent looking on the couch watching her show (she's obsessed with Micky Mouse Clubhouse). It was just classic lol 

My mom and I went to a few places while daddy stayed home with Kaili'a. We went to this freaking amazing bake shop out in Layton called "The sweet tooth fairy" goodness, if u go there get their seasonal cupcakes (pumpkin pie and apple pie) you will die over how delicious they are! 

Getting ready to go to two work out classes tonight because of our "sweet" lunch we had lol have a great week! 

Thanks for reading, 

The Cancillas! 

Good week

This week has been better, Kaili'a seems to have calmed down enough to be noticed. It's like every other night Kaili'a has a hard time going to bed and wants myself or her daddy to hold her for about 20 mins and then she goes down. But for the most part she seems like she's starting to handle the fact that KJ is here a little better, who knows she might act out again next week but for this week she's been a rockstar! 

One huge accomplishment that has happen this past week is us three getting out everyday. There's this incredible park across the street that has a path that goes around the whole thing and it's just shy of a mile, we walk around it 3 times and if Kaili'a has been good she gets to get out when we have about 1/4 of a way left to walk with me and then play at the playground for awhile. It's so nice for me and the kids, we're just trying to soak up as much sunshine as we can :-) (we walked 13.2 miles last week, boo yah!!) 

Funny thing my husband told me the other day, he told me that he's happy to have his wife back lol. He said he's noticed a change in me and he's just so thrilled that I'm not pregnant anymore. We lose ourselves when we get pregnant, the hormones take over and bye bye normal self for 9 months. Even though we've been pregnant before and I told him all through out this pregnancy that I would return to normal after the baby came, he had a hard time believing me. 

I have to admit it's nice to be me again, I know getting outside and walking 3 miles helps my mood so much. Who doesn't feel better after some sunshine, fresh air and a work out? I'm gonna have to get creative during winter time to go walking with the kids or maybe it'll be time to get our passes to the treehouse. 

Like I said it's just been a good week, KJ is growing right before my eyes, Kaili'a is growing right before my eyes, just intellectually more than physically like KJ. Life is good. 

Happy Birthday Joseph 10.02 

Bronson came to visit! 

Living life fully, 

The Cancillas 

So nice to have help...

Adjusting to two kids is exhausting to say the least, I am so extremely grateful for all of the help we have recieved these past couple of weeks. 

Right now we are living with my parents while we put money away to buy a home sometime next year so it's been nice having help just upstairs. 

My mom has been sooo helpful I can't thank her or tell her how grateful I am enough for her to really understand. The first week I was home she had Kaili'a just about everyday and almost the entire day so I could relax, heal and bond with Kj. I would put Kaili'a down for her nap and get her at night and put her to bed but for the most part my mom took care of her all week. 

Kaili'a didn't seem to mind one bit, she loves her grandma(s) so much! I know that my dad, both sisters, brother and my brothers girlfriend helped my mom out a lot as well and I just wanted to say thank you to them all! 

I've had people bring me dinners and gifts and my heart is just over whelmed with love. 

It use to be hard for me to ask for help or even accept help and it's still not the easiest thing but man it feels so nice to have the help. My husband and I have studied love languages and there is one called "acts of service" some people like to receive love this way and some people like to give love this way. For example: my husbands love language is acts of service and when I do certain things or help him in certain ways he can tell I'm "showing" him love. Guess what? It's not my love language but since I know it's his I really try "showing" I love him, I am more of a "tell" me you love me type of gal. But anyways my point is, is that allowing others to "show me they love me" in their love language is just an amazing thing to see and be apart of. 

This week has been the rockiest week so far, Kaili'a has just been really acting out and that's hard to handle when it happens when I'm nursing KJ. If she throws a fit and I'm feeding KJ I can't do anything about it just because I don't want KJ to detach and he's too small that when I move he comes off really easily. So it's just been a little frustrating when your two year old is screaming in your face and throwing a tantrum and all u can do is sit there and watch. I guess On the positive side, it is teaching me more patience because I have to sit and wait to respond instead of just reacting right away. We will get there :-) 

A fun thing we did this week was purchase a double stroller!! I have my brothers girlfriend to thank for that, she found it on FB and helped communicate. I bought a slightly used one for an outstanding price. I can't believe how big it is compared to my other stroller, it's a really good stroller and the wheels are nice and smooth so it moves really nicely and it gives me an arm work out every time I need to turn :-) BONUS! 

One thing that is hard having a baby around this time, in Utah, I don't have time to put off walking or going outside because there's not gonna be the weather in a month or so. I had my daughter at this time also and my recovery took a lot longer than this time around but I lived in Sunny San Diego CA also so I was able to get outside and walk all "winter" long. So I'm really trying to get outside everyday and either go walking, to the playground or even just go in the backyard so not only I benefit but KJ gets out and Kaili'a can enjoy the nice weather also.

My plan for fall and winter is to make sure we all have clothes that are appropriate for the cold weather so we can still go outside and enjoy the leaves and snow to get fresh air and get our wiggles out :-) 

KJ had his 2-4 week check up on Thursday and he's doing great! He's a growing boy that's for sure, he's gained an entire pound in like a week! Mamas milk is doing his body good ;-) he also got his little Winkie snipped and he was a champ! I'm so glad I didn't have to be in the room when they did that, I would've cried lol 

My husband has been a huge help these past few weeks as well. He's a very busy man and I have appreciated his help so much, I'm such a lucky lady to have a husband like him in my life. He's such an amazing husband but even more incredible dad and I couldn't ask for a better dad for my children. 

Thank you thank you thank for everyone's help, prayers, text messages and thoughts it means so much to us we can't even explain it. 

Thanks for reading, 

The Cancillas :-) 

Getting the hang of it... Sort of...

Alright so we have survived our second week of this new chapter, I think I'm getting the hang of it, we'll sort of. 

I'm a breastfeeding mom and I'm happy to announce that it's going really well. We are past the "ouch" phase of where every time your sweet baby latches on you think you're gonna die from the pain. Kj nurses a little differently than Kaili'a did and it's not bad or good, just different. Kaili'a normaly ate every 2 hours (like clock work) and only ate off of one side. My milk was never over flowing or anything like that, it was just the right amount that she needed. (Fun fact: did you know that your baby is  in control of your milk? You help with your diet and fluid intake but your baby is the one that controls the majority of it) now with Kj, during the day he can go every 3.5 - 4 hours and he eats off of both sides but then again sometimes he will eat only off of one side and needs to feed more often. He's more of a go with the flow type of baby when it comes to eating and my milk is totally over flowing, I cannot believe how much milk my body is producing and I'm extremely thankful for it. 

This pose is what he looks like after he's ate, it's his "Drunk off of mamas milk" pose :-) makes me laugh every time. 

I think this week has been a little harder on Kaili'a, she's been acting out A LOT. She's got a little "attitude" anyways in her personality but man it's been rough. I know she's just adjusting and I was expecting at least these first couple months to adjust. 

She isn't rude to her baby brother, it's more towards me and as a mom it breaks my heart but I know she will get through this and I can't blame her for feeling left out or angry that she's not the only one anymore. I'm sure I acted the same way when my sister came into the picture. 

I'm really trying very hard to put KJ down in his bassinet when he sleeps so he can get use to the bed and he knows that's where he sleeps plus it gives me a chance to give Kaili'a all of my attention and we can play, color or watch a movie while Kj sleeps. It blows my mind what Kj can sleep through, it's true when they say your second kid can usually sleep in the room that everything is going on in. He doesn't even flinch most the time when Kaili'a throws a huge fit and screams right by him. It's actually really nice that he can sleep through loud noises because he's in the room with myself and Kaili'a so I can keep an eye on him but we dont have to be quiet. 

With Kaili'a we couldn't do anything without waking her up, she also had to sleep on mine or my husbands chest for the first 10 weeks. It was extremely rough that I made myself a promise to really work on making sure my second baby was able to sleep on their own next to my bed, not in it. 

We still have a lot to learn but I feel like we're getting the hang of things and starting to form our morning routine which will be nice when I can wake up to my alarm like I was before Kj was born. I would set my alarm 15 mins before Kaili'a woke up to get up get dressed, go to the restroom, brush my teeth, eat some cereal and get us both a drink and be back downstairs by the time she woke up. Then I could just get her up, change her bum and turn on her morning show with her juice and snacks. 

I'm almost back to it, I mean I have to wake up when she does anyways that you would think that 15 mins earlier wouldn't be so hard. But with a newborn I guess I'm trying to squeeze every last second of sleep in. 

Like I said, we're  getting the hang of if... Sort of. :-) 

Here are some pictures from our week :-) 

We did some newborn photos of Kj this weekend. It's funny because he has his binkee in his mouth but every time I took it out he would squirm and moved all over. So I kept the binkee in his mouth because I mean he loves it and it's apart of his newborn lifestyle so it works :-) 

Thanks for Reading, 

The Cancilla Family