Shutterfly for the Shutterbug

Finalist from last year's photo shoot

I hate to say it, but Christmas is coming soon!  Honestly, I am afraid to look at a countdown.  Normally by now, I have about half of my shopping done already. Right now?

None.

Zip.

Zilch.

Well, at least our Christmas cards will be done!  We send out photo cards each year both through the mail and via email.  Most years I end up waiting until the last minute.  Thankfully, this year will be different!

Most importantly, we already have the photos done. (Thanks Dad!)  In years past, we try to cram them in to a busy Thanksgiving break or even later.  Secondly, we're giving Shutterfly a try.  My friends keep telling me how much they love the products and service.

As I have been perusing the catalog, I am sad to see so few Christian Christmas cards.  There are a TON of "holiday" cards, but very few that mention ANYTHING about CHRISTMAS.  It is very important to my family that we present the Gospel at Christmas through our cards.

We will send out photo cards.  I really like that with the folded cards, I can create a sentiment for inside,  so if I choose a card that is a typical "holiday" card we can share the news of Christ's birth inside.  We may try getting some matching gift tags and address labels as well!

So far, I am liking the "Many Memories Tree" design - it allows for 6 photos.  I also like the "Family Wall Noir" which allows 6 photos as well as the "Rejoice Lord King" which allows for 7 photos.

A few other favorites:

• Every Good Gift
• All of Us
• Simple Memories

Did you know that some cards will even give back to charitable organizations such as Livestrong and American Lung Cancer Society?  My favorite one, called "Giving Squares," will give 10% of each card cost to Heifer.org who provides animals and training around the world to help people become self reliant.

So, how do you do Christmas cards? Have you used Shutterfly?  Were you happy?  

If you want to try Shutterfly, they are offering a special promotion. Shutterfly is offering 20% off all holiday cards.

** Disclosure Statement:  Shutterfly is providing me with 50 cards for free for writing this post.  The content and opinions are completely my own.

Free Wheelchair Mission: Matching Gift Challenge

Don't you love to stretch a buck?  I sure do!  Well, I am so excited to tell you about a way to stretch your dollar while GIVING to a fantastic mission.

Those who have been reading awhile know of my heart for the Free Wheelchair Mission.  If you'd like to learn more about it, simply click the tab at the top to see an informational video.

A very generous donor has offered to double every dollar donated with a goal of lifting 6,000 people off the ground.  How amazing is that?  Changing the lives of 6,000 people and their families!

For the cost of a family dinner out, you can give someone TWO people dignity and the chance to live a more normal life.  Changing one life two lives for under $60 is amazing.

The donor has extended the deadline by a week to make sure we can reach the goal.  I'm getting on to enter my donation!  Click this link to donate now!

DONATE NOW!!!

Day of Favorite Things

He LOVES sleeping with his pumpkins!

It's been a hard few weeks.  The hubs has been working very late nights and weekends.  I've been rockin' the "single mom" thing as best I can (my hat is off to those of you who do this on a daily basis).

I'm tired.

Exhausted.

I've missed posting as much as normal.  I've missed reading a lot of your blogs.  I've missed the planning and anticipating and working in forums.

Thankfully, today has been a day full of favorite things.

• Beautiful fall sky - crisp blue with some darker clouds that highlight the gorgeous remaining color
• Caramel hot cocoa - I couldn't find anything I wanted for breakfast so I had a gourmet caramel hot cocoa!
• Playing with the boys - Buggy insisted on napping with his three pumpkins.  He was so cute about it and so careful to carry all three upstairs one at a time that I gave in and let him sleep with them.  He cried when he woke up and thought he had to leave the pumpkins in his crib.  I don't know what we'll do when it comes time to cook them!
• Computer time - I was able to create a "favicon" (the little picture on the browser tab - look up and check it out - I'll do a tutorial one of these days) plus was able to spend some time on Wordpress creating my brother's website.
• Cincinnati Chili - talk about a fantastic fall treat. Yummy Cincy chili over spaghetti with cheese and oyster crackers.
• Visit - a spur of the moment visit from my cousin who lives about 7 hours away. Last time I saw him was a year ago for my dad's surprise 60th birthday party. He popped in for dinner tonight!
• The HUBS! - The Hubs came home at normal time today!  Granted, he sequestered himself in his office to teach a saxophone lesson, but he was IN the HOUSE!  He has tomorrow off too!
• Chat with a friend - while waiting at the dr office this morning (for a yearly not-favorite checkup), I saw a friend who I hadn't chatted with in forever.  It was great to catch up!
• Wine - I am enjoying a nice glass of wine to help decompress after such a busy run of things.

And the weekend holds more favorite things.  My parents are coming to visit. We will go to the Hub's university's football game with the boys in costume (and I won't be the only one chasing Buggy). I'll get to play with my still somewhat new camera at the game - fall colors on the top of a mountain!  Church Saturday night - I get to serve in the nursery with the little ones.  Sunday is a day to sleep in and have some family time and sing happy birthday to my mom!  Then, of course, trick or treating with the boys.  In our neighborhood, the adults all congregate on the sidewalks and just chat.  A few older kids walk from house to house.  It's a great time to get to know the neighbors and have adult conversation.

What are some of your favorite things? Let me know in the comments!



These are all Finer Things!  Head over to Amy's Finer Things to see more!  These things certainly are Simple Pleasures. Go on over to Dayle's place to see other simple pleasures.

Bloggy Basics: How to Install Alternative Comment Systems

Last week, I had a fantastic guest poster, Donna, who laid out the basics of commenting for those who would not call themselves blog-savvy.  She asked me to speak on alternative comment systems as part of her post. In my portion, I promised to explain how to install an alternative comment system on your blogger blog.

Here it is!  The big explanation of just how easy the installation really is.

There are two main comment systems that can be added to your blog to replace the traditional Blogger comment box. Intense Debate (ID) and Disqus have many similarities.  Both allow:

• Comment threading - a way for readers to interact with each other by replying to specific comments
• Email reply - ability for blog owner to respond to comments via email either directly to the reader's email address or as a reply to the comment on the blog post.  The blog owner can get comments directly in email inbox and respond! Readers can subscribe to the comment thread to keep the conversation going.
• Comment tracking - readers can opt to set up free accounts with either/both systems and can view and even EDIT the comments they leave all over the blogosphere. (How many times have you said something that didn't quite come across like you wanted? Now you can clarify after you hit publish!)
• Assurance - Both systems help to ensure that those commenting on your blog are who they say they are through their profiles and email addresses.
• Spam Filters - Both systems have their own spam filtering systems.
• Integration - Both systems allow for integration of different social media platforms such as twitter and facebook.
• Portable - both systems allow comments to move with your blog should you leave Blogger to go to a self hosted blog.

I chose to use ID on my blog because of one feature offered that is not offered through Disqus -  CommentLuv.  CommentLuv simply allows readers to leave their blog address with their comment so that their last post is displayed with their comment - a way to share the bloggy love and show off their blog!

Installing these systems is quite simple. You will need to know a few things about Blogger before jumping in.

HTML

You will need to know a few basic things about the HTML on your blog.

First, make sure you can get to the Edit HTML tab in your design page.

Then, be sure to download your template so that if anything should go wrong, you have everything saved!  It's easy.  Once you are in the Edit HTML tab, you will  see this:

Just click the link that says Download Full Template.  I choose to download right to my desktop so I can find it easily.   If you happen to download multiple versions, make sure you make a note (even on a piece of paper) of which template is which since the file will be mostly random numbers.

Should something to awry and you find the need to restore your template, simply click the "Choose File" button and upload the template you downloaded.

Installation

Intense Debate

Each system will walk you through, step by step, with simple installation.  With ID, I recommend the more difficult installation over the widget installation.  I had problems with the widget install.  When you do the more difficult install, you will be walked through how to download your template (that I covered above), how to upload the template to the ID website, how to download the revised template (ID simply installs the code in the correct spot on your website for you), and how to upload the new template to your blog (this is a good time to write down the template you want to re-install so you get the one with the new code).

**  If you find that you can no longer see where to add comments or can only add comments on posts after you click directly on the post, you will need to click one extra button.

Under "Settings," you will need to click on "Comments" and make sure that you have selected to allow comments.

If you would like to use CommentLuv, you simply need to go to the Plugins in your IntenseDebate dashboard and select CommentLuv!  Here's a blog post with a great tutorial for you.

Disqus

Disqus offers just a simple widget installation.  Once you have set up an account and installed and placed your widget, you can add functionality such as allowing sign-in via facebook and twitter.

Troubleshooting

• Make sure you are set to allow comments.  Check the "settings" under "comments."
• Realize that the terminology on these comment sites has not been updated since Blogger launched an update.  The "Layout" tab mentioned is what is now the "Design" tab in the new Blogger.
• Please let me know if you cannot install CommentLuv.  I have all of my blogs installed and can no longer see in ID where to add CommentLuv to new accounts.  If the tutorial I linked doesn't explain it enough, just let me know and I will investigate!

Do you use an alternative comment system?  Which one? Does it work for you?  What questions do you have for me that I didn't answer? Want to just test out a system?  Comment below!



Want to learn more about blogger?  Click on the "For Blogs" tab at the top of this blog to see all the posts in the Bloggy Basics series!

Faith in Action: Mercy House, Kenya

I know, I am probably overwhelming you all with causes.

This one is time sensitive.

Join me on Nov 3rd.  Give $3. That's it.  Come back on Dec. 3rd. Give $3.

That's less than a latte at Starbucks.

Why?

It's for the Mercy House in Kenya, Africa.

The Mercy House exists to provide alternative options for pregnant girls living in the streets of Kenya. The Mercy House will aid them in nutrition, housing, prenatal care, counseling, Biblical teaching and job skills for sustainable living. 

A maternity house? Why?

The odds aren't in her favor. She lives in a country where rape happens every day, all day long. By neighbors, fathers, brothers, even policeman...The majority of these crimes aren't reported. But she bares the scars, inside and out, and the stigma for the rest of her life.

 Read Maureen's story of how Compassion International changed her life and how she is using this Maternity House to change the lives of others here.

Want to see a little of what life is like in the slums of Kenya?  Watch this video.




So, who is with me?  Will you join me and give just $3?  Put your faith in action.

Breastfeeding Myth: When Problems Arise, Call the Doctor

A few weeks ago, I spent some time with a good friend. She and I chatted a good bit about breast feeding.  At one point, she mentioned that she needed to ask her doctor a question about breastfeeding.

It seems normal enough - a problem arises, call the expert, the doctor.

But, is the doctor really the expert in breastfeeding?  In most cases, the answer is no.

Sadly, doctors receive very little training on the art of breastfeeding - often just a few hours of instruction in all of their years of study.  Out of their ignorance on the subject, many give very poor advice to moms seeking help and that advice often leads to early weaning or milk supply decrease.

Take heart!  There are places you can turn for help!  The two biggies are:

• An Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) - An IBCLC is the EXPERT when it comes to breastfeeding - not the doctor.  Sure, there are times that a doctor is needed. An IBCLC will work WITH the doctor to ensure proper care and nutrition for both mom and baby. The money spent on a consultation is MUCH less than a month's supply of formula (though some do consult for free, especially through hospital programs - not all Lactation Consultants are created equally - you may mesh better with one than another).
• La Leche League - visit meetings for help or talk with a leader for one on one help

Some other great resources:

• Kellymom.com
• NursingFreedom.org
• Breastfeeding Support and Help forum on babycenter
• Dr. Jack Newman - breastfeeding educator - contains helpful videos
• Lact-Med/ToxNet - look up the safety of medications while breastfeeding
• Best For Babes - giving breastfeeding a makeover

Have you ever gotten poor breastfeeding advice from a doctor? Check out the other breastfeeding posts under the "For Moms" tab to read about my HORRIBLE doctor experience!

Thankfulness: Eyes

Have you ever just been struck with thankfulness over something seemingly small?

Today in church, I needed to clean my glasses.  I have a toddler, you see. 'Nuff said.

As I was cleaning them, I was still watching our pastor as he gave the message (which was awesome, by the way).  I noticed that without my $8 glasses, I am blind. All I could see was a peach blob moving back and forth somewhere in front of me.

I had a sudden realization that without this simple pair of glasses, I would be confined to my home, unable to function on my own (well, without a lot of teaching and practice).  I would not know my sons' faces. My husband's face.  Since I have needed glasses since first grade, so I would have had over 25 years without the gift of sight.

My heart immediately went to those in developing countries who do not have simple glasses.  I think about those without other simple adaptations that make a normal life possible - mainly wheelchairs.  Through the end of the month, the Free Wheelchair Mission will double every donation thanks to a very generous gift.

How much do you spend on glasses or contacts in a year? We spend several hundred on contacts and only recently have cut our eyeglass bill down to nearly nothing.

For less than $60, you can change a life TWO lives.  Think about it.  Click here for more info and to donate. Change some lives!

What simple thing are you thankful for?

I Shall Call This Meal..... Dessert-Fast

Just had to share my yummy breakfast with you!  It's too yummy to just be called "Breakfast" so I have dubbed it "Dessert-Fast!"

French toast on whole wheat bread smothered in nutella and powdered sugar!  This ought to wake me up!

What's YOUR favorite breakfast treat?

Guest Post: 8 Ways to Save Money While Eating Out

Eating out, who doesn't enjoy a nice evening out with good food? It's one of my hubby and I's favorite things to do! We love eating good food; however, I do not make good food. I make mediocre food. So we enjoy eating out. ;) But when living on a budget, it can get tricky. Here are some of my tips and tricks to eating out:

1. Never eat at a restaurant unless you have a coupon. So many restaurants have coupons available that it's silly to eat out without one. For example, here's an easy e-club to sign up for that will score you a free chips and queso right now! Just click here to sign up for Chili's e-club. Many restaurants have e-clubs that you can sign up for on their main homepage.

2. If you have kids, eat at kid friendly restaurants. Many places have kids eat free days or special hours. Check their websites, or call ahead to find out when kids eat free. Go during those times! Why pay for your child to eat when they could be eating free?

3. Buy gift cards, when they offer a bonus gift card deal. We've all seen the deals most restaurants offer around the holiday season, which lucky for us, is coming up pretty soon! The next time you're at your favorite restaurant, ask if they have any specials going on. Many times the deal will be buy a $50 gift card for someone else and get $20 gift card for yourself. If you take advantage of that deal and use it as a gift, or for yourself. If you eat once a month at Applebees without fail, then invest in the gift card bonus when it becomes available. It will save you money in the long run.

To read the rest, click on over to Frugally Marisha!  Make sure to thank her for sharing this post with us!

Simple Pleasures: Chilly Day

Today I had an amazing MORE than just a simple pleasure - BOTH boys were asleep at the same time for 30 minutes! I don't know if that has ever happened besides at night.

So, how did I use my time on this chilly fall day?

I cooked!

Buggy helped me with the banana bread before he went down for a nap.  The rest I did as they both slept. How therapeutic cooking is - especially the smell of cooking fall foods!

Just a few minutes left until it is done! Get the recipe on the "For Tummies" tab above.

Nothing says fall pampering like raspberry hot cocoa

Found a GREAT sale on whole chickens. I bought two. I probably shouldn't try to cook both at the same time again - they don't quite fit! We will have dinner for 2 weeks with this!

A new favorite of mine - sweet potato fries! Yum!  This is my lunch.

Got a pound of "Cook now or freeze" ground beef for a DOLLAR! It is simmering away in a pot becoming Cincinnati Chili. The smell will drive me crazy all day!

Join Dayle over at A Collection of This and That for more Simple Pleasures!

Bloggy Basics: Guest Post: Blog Commenting 101

I am so excited to have a guest poster for Bloggy Basics today!  I saw this post on Donna's blog and loved how she broke down the very basics of commenting in Blogger in a way that non bloggers can really understand!  I asked her to post here.  She agreed as long as I added in information about my Intense Debate comment system!  A full tutorial is coming soon!

Donna Perugini is a Children’s Author of 4 books, now available through Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Christian bookstores. 

Her Author Website (when finally online) is www.DonnaPerugini.com  for purchases, book trailers and FREE coloring pages 

Check out her blog:  http://www.donnaperuginichildrensauthor.com/  for FREE coloring pages of the book’s characters, Subscribe by Email and leave a comment on any posting for FREE music with book illustrations DVD to download of The Flight of Orville Wright Caterpillar,and watch all 4 book trailers. 

Donna lives in the Pacific NW, Washington State , and is a loving, appreciative wife, mother of three and grandmother of four.  She is also a Women’s Ministry Speaker and a Potter/Sculptor, entering juried shows with her ceramics. 

My Books will be ready October 2010!  The Author
Website will be http://www.donnaperugini.com/
Subscribe to my blog by email to be informed!!

 This is for all my Facebook friends who wonder

• what a blog is,
• how do I read it,
• what do you mean subscribe by email,
• why isn't my comment being accepted after hitting the accept button at least 3 times, and
• why are you frustrating me this way? 

A BLOG is simply my way to give you useful information as parents and grandparents, stories, book reviews and interviews with interesting people (who you might even know).

READING A BLOG can be done a few ways.  You might have found it 'partially' on Facebook.  If you click the 'like' or 'thumbs up' or 'comment', it will appear on your Facebook wall.  To really get to my blog, you will need to click the title of the Posting on my Facebook wall.  This takes you to my blog where at the top of my blog you will see a header with tabs underneath.  These tabs offer you great opportunities to get FREE coloring pages, look inside the books, see book trailers (simply a partial video of the book being read with illustrations), my ceramics website (I'm also a potter/sculptor and do pottery with the book's characters on them).

SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL means my postings will always show up in your personal email box. The email address you leave is never revealed to anyone else...just me. I'll use it to send announcements of new books, giveaways and freebies.  Soon I'll have a musical DVD link available for each book for FREE when you subscribe by email to my blog.  It's a simple step to take and get songs that were specifically written for each book. If you subscribe by email before the musical DVD URL is posted, I'll simply look at my email list you subscribed on and send you the URL.  Please subscribe by email to my blog postings.

COMMENTS can be left by clicking at the top of the posting where it shows the words, "Intelligent Thoughts".  The number of comments appears before the words, "Intelligent Thoughts".  This takes you to the place where you'll post that intelligent opinion.  After posting, you'll see that you need to sign in under one of these headings (if you belong to any of them).....Google, TypePad, WordPress, Live Journal, AIM, Open ID, Name/Url, Anonymous.Okay, so you don't recognize what to do next?  More than likely you are not someone who has a blog. 

So this is what you do....you click Anonymous.

If you click on Anonymous, please let me know who you are in the body of your comment by leaving a way to reach you.  You may be anonymous to the blogging world, but I don't want you to remain anonymous to me!  I REALLY ENJOY HEARING FROM MY READERS.  As a matter of fact, your comments count a lot to a Literary Agent or a Publisher looking at my blog and interaction with my readers through 'intelligent thoughts' on my blog.  They believe if you like me enough to leave your thoughts, then they see possibility in acquiring me as one of their authors.

FRUSTRATION IN COMMENTING is common for Blogspot (where my blog is hosted).  I took off the 'spam checker' that made my readers jump through hoops when they wanted to leave a comment(spam checker makes you spell out the word you see) because of that frustration.  My own sister said, "When you get with your Peeps and straighten this out, I'll leave a comment".

Don't Leave the Comment Page After Clicking Once

This is what will happen to you when you click the "Post Comment" button....it will look like it worked, but then you'll need to click it again.  Then it will look like you were successful but you need to check and see if it posted on the blog.  If it did not post, click it one more time.  I know, you'd think the people who make the software for Blogger would have this one covered, but until then, that's the format.  Keep clicking until you see it took you comments.  You know it took them by looking to see if it posted on the blog like you see the others posted.

I Learned The Hard Way!!

One piece of advice from someone who learned the hard way:  Copy your comments until you know for sure that everything went okay.  If your commenting was deleted by leaving the page somehow or you left after the first click, then you'll at least have what you copied to put it in and try again (don't quit!)  I figured that one out by losing too many comments...and some were brilliant! 

When you are at the Post Comment button, look to your right and you'll see another Subscribe by Email button.  You'll even see the Subscribe by Email link in the body of this posting.  And another place to find it is in the top right corner of this blog page where it says Subscribe by Email. 

You want to get FREE updates by email or RSS.

**********************

Thank you Donna!  Now, a little bit about alternative comment systems.

Q - Why?
A - I chose to use one so I could INTERACT through comments. Readers can respond directly to comments through a reply feature. If a reader opts to leave an email address, I can respond directly to them. It's great to build a community.  I can even reply to comments directly from my email!

Q - What's out there?
A - The two main systems are Intense Debate and Disqus.  Both offer very similar features.  Both help prevent spam. Both allow replies. Both allow for leaving email addresses (which are never published).  I chose Intense Debate because of CommentLuv. Readers who blog can leave their blog address and  show others what their latest post was - a great way to help promote other blogs.

Q - Is it hard to set up?
A - I had a few hiccups installing Intense Debate, but after a few tries, I got it right. I installed it on my now-ended PennyPinchingPenguin blog and did it lickety split.  I'll walk you through the steps so you don't have the same issues I did.  I just about installed Disqus.  It seemed to be a very simple install as well.

Here is a post I wrote explaining how to use the system right after I installed it.  Hopefully it will shed some light on the systems.  Next week I will teach you HOW to install Intense Debate!




For past Bloggy Basics, make sure to check the "For Blogs" tab at the top!

Let's Reclaim Masculinity

Credit

Here's an assignment.  Watch one hour of television.  Not the news.  Just regular TV.  Sitcoms. Dramas. Whatever. Pay attention to the shows and the commercials.  Take note of interactions. 

How many times do you see the father figure/husband figure put down? How many times is he made to appear to be an idiot?

What shows did you watch? Everybody Loves Raymond? The Simpsons?  The Jetsons? Malcolm in the Middle?  The View?  What commercials did you see?

Our culture has been undermining men for years.  Television would have us believe that men are nincompoops who are incapable of doing anything on their own, especially anything domestic. Our culture would have us believe that as women, we need to train our men. We need to make them submit to our ideas and plans since we, obviously, know best.

It's time to reclaim masculinity. 

It's time to pray for our husbands and encourage them as leaders.  It is time to submit to their authority (yeah - I know - not something we like to hear, but it's the order God laid out).

Have you noticed that God seems to call us to roles that go against our natural inclinations? Women are called to submit and men are called to lead. If we were left on our own, how long would it take for men to step back from leadership and let the women step up and take over? Honestly?  Just look at our "post-Christian" culture.  Just as you saw in the television experiment, it is so common to see women taking over leadership positions and men stepping back. (there are appropriate times for women in leadership but that is a whole different post)

Let's vote with our remotes.  Let's let networks know that we want to see men portrayed as they often are and as they SHOULD be: intelligent, loving, and leading rather than as whipped buffoons in need of constant direction and teaching.  

Let's vote with our dollars. Chose to give your business to companies who do not degrade men.  Let companies who do know that they need to change (the Progressive commercial where the husband is wearing a "European Shoulder Bag" jumps out in my mind).

It's time.

Reclaim masculinity.

What are your thoughts?  How are you raising your boys to be godly men?  How are you going to help change the culture?  Does the culture NEED to be changed?

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I've been wanting to try my hand at making a chicken tortilla soup for quite some time.  I gave it a go tonight!  I started with the recipe listed in my "For Tummies" tab and tweaked it a bit.  I really liked it.  The  Hubs wasn't so enthused.  Maybe y'all can give me some ideas to try for next time!  One thing - he is opposed to beans and opposed to most vegetables.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
(serves 3-4)

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth (I used homemade stock)
1/2 jar Pace salsa (choose the heat level you prefer)
1 cup water
1 cup frozen corn
2-3 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded or cubed)
sour cream to taste
cheese to taste (I used a Mexican blend)
corn tortilla chips

Mix cream of chicken soup, broth, salsa, water, corn, and chicken in soup pot.  Bring to boil then simmer for 15 - 30 minutes.  Add sour cream and stir until combined.  Pour into bowls and top with cheese.  Serve with tortilla chips.

What would you do differently?  It was quite flavorful and not too hot. I ate three bowls! The Hubs said it didn't taste much like the tortilla soups at restaurants.  Ideas?

Fall Foto Fun!

Ahhh - I LOVE fall!  The Hubs actually had a weekend off so we made the trek to my parents' house.  We twisted Dad's arm to get out his fancy DSLR camera (Nikon D90 DSLR) and get us some sweet family shots.  Buggy is now 2 and Scrunch is 5 months.  Here are a few of our favorites - before any editing.

I'm Featured: Sweet Jeanette

Hey all!  I totally don't want to take away from Losing Brownies as a guest poster today!  I just want to mention that I am being featured over on Sweet Jeanette's blog!  Check it out and learn how I've started Batch Cooking!

Now, scroll down to read Losing Brownies' story of breastfeeding after breast reduction!  Leave her some comment love!

Guest Post: Breastfeeding After Reduction - A Personal Journey

My name is Losing Brownies and I’m a BFAR mom.

I’m also the author of Losing the baby weight…one brownie at a time. I often write about my life as a SAHM to The Boy and usually I include my husband, Gadget Guy, in these adventures, mishaps, and antics.  Sometimes I write just about myself or things that are going on in my mind. You really don’t know what you’ll find there on any given day!

Today I’m writing about BFARing.

After writing my post Boobies!, Audra asked me to guest post on this topic. If you read that entry, don’t worry, this isn’t one of those copy and paste deals.

First things first… BFAR stands for Breast Feeding After Reduction.

There is a whole community of us out there who have had life altering surgeries to better our physical and mental health, but still strive to naturally feed our children. BFAR is not exclusive to those who had actual breast reductions. It’s also for women who have had any type of breast/nipple surgery. There is even a section for moms who haven’t had surgery, but just suffer with low milk supply.

Before The Boy was even a thought in my mind I struggled with large breasts.

Women on both my mom’s and my dad’s side of the family were large busted. 

I was given the dubious pleasure of bra shopping when I was in the second grade. I was 7 when I started wearing an A cup and they just continued to grow.

I was teased for having breasts before my peers. I received negative attention from boys and girls alike. I even had a box of milk dumped on me in the fifth grade to see if I would deflate.

By the time I was in high school, I had to have bras custom made. At that time I had to go to the same store my grandmother bought her prosthetic breasts. Let me tell you, those types of bras were not attractive. I longed to be able to buy cute bras from Target.

That wasn’t even the worst of my problems. I had crippling migraines from the stress of the weight and my spine started to curve. When I was 19 I decided to see a specialist about it. His options were have a breast reduction now, or face back surgery to correct my spine in a few years.

I took the breast reduction option, and I felt great afterwards. The doctor removed a combined total of 8 pounds of tissue and I was left with a high C.  I had a few years of physical therapy to help repair the damage that had been done and I could finally wear those cute Target bras.

I knew that when I had children I might not be able to breast feed at all. When I fell pregnant last fall this fact was at the forefront of my mind. I did a lot of research and was very hopeful when my breast started making changes. The most exciting of these was leaking colostrum.

The Boy was born via emergency c-section in mid May. Complications caused him to be on I.V. antibiotics, so he wasn’t able to stay in room with me. Gadget Guy wheeled me down to him every two hours to attempt breast feeding.

I didn’t know what to expect, but knew for a fact that there was colostrum, so on the breast he went. It hurt. I had three different lactation consultants come talk to me while I was in the hospital. Each of them had different pieces of advice.

I was told that with my surgery there might be a low production of milk. The consultants advised me that I might need to use a Supplemental Nursing System and/or cup feeding. They even helped show me how to use such devices.

I did really well with two of the consultants. They were very understanding and willing to help me. The third was a Boob Nazi and told me I was selfish for having a breast reduction before I had children and that I was depriving my child of the best. She berated me and made me feel worthless and guilty. She even went as far as to tell me that my child wouldn’t have the developmental advantages of breast fed babies if I supplemented.

My postpartum nurse was so supportive though and she was very patient with me and helped me as The Boy cried and made my nipples crack and bleed. She told the Boob Nazi that a new mother didn’t need to hear that and made sure she was not allowed to see me again while I was in the hospital.

My nurse gave me the name of a pediatrician through the hospital that specialized in breast feeding. She encouraged me to call her.

Five days after birth my milk came in, but The Boy’s weight drastically dropped and his pediatrician said that we needed to supplement and get his weight back up. That is when I called Dr. Breast Helper. She was amazing.

In our first appointment she weighed The Boy before and after feeding and we found that he was only getting two ounces a feed. I was going to have to supplement. Dr. Breast Helper pointed out that when my surgery was done my nipples must have been reattached upside down, because the nipple were pointed upward and The Boy literally had to climb up on them for a decent latch. For positioning she suggested not using the Boppy pillow because it was too soft and wouldn’t give the support he needed to reach the nipple. She also gave me nipple shields to help with the pain.

She helped Gadget Guy and me as we set up the SNS and gave me a list of supplements I could take to naturally boost my milk supply. Our first appointment was over 2 hours long and we were set up for another in a week, and once a week for the next month.

When we left both Gadget Guy and I were feeling confident that The Boy would be able to breast feed, even if it was with a little help.

We immediately bought a copy of Defining Your Own Success, a Brest Friend Pillow for proper positioning and I started taking herbal galactagogues including fenugreek, alfalfa, blessed thistle, shatavari, goat’s rue, and Motherlove More Milk Plus. I was taking roughly 100 herbal pills a day and it caused me to smell strongly of maple syrup.

When The Boy wasn’t on the breast I was pumping to increase production. It was to the point that I was baby, pump, baby, pump all day long. I was even pumping in the middle of the night after his feeds.

We carried on like this and battled reoccurring thrush and a case of mastitis on top of a uterine infection that caused me to be back in the hospital. Oh, and I had brutal PPD.

He was about a month old when he started crying on the breast and refused to stay latched on, with or without the shield. I was in tears every time he was on the breast. When the breast wouldn’t work, I tried cup feeding and finger feeding, but he wasn’t interested in that either.

Dr. Breast Helper suggested it was the lack of flow. I was heartbroken. I didn’t want it to be over yet. My goal was to BFAR until The Boy was at least 3 months, and if that went well then to 6 months and beyond.

With Dr. Breast Helper’s support and the mantra “some breast milk is better than none” I continued to pump and chart my results. We switched to BreastFlow Bottles so that he would still have the breast compression sensation when eating.

I pumped on average 8-9 oz of breast milk a day.

At first, we mixed the breast milk with the formula since he was use to that with the SNS. Then we found that if he had one breast milk bottle before bed and another in the middle of the night he slept much better. Of course, as The Boy grew he ate more in a session so at two months he was taking the full 8 oz before bed. That is also when I started seeing a drop in my production.

I was slowly losing my supply. I tried more supplements, but that didn’t help. I even considered ordering Domperidone from Canada. Domperidone is not a FDA approved drug, but BFAR moms all over the world saw a huge increase of milk supply with it. Gadget Guy was not on board and Dr. Breast Helper didn’t think it was a good idea for me personally, because of my PPD.

I continued on though because I wanted The Boy to have the best. I had mastitis two more times before my milk supply dried up completely, a week after he turned 3 months.

While I did my best, I had a difficult time. I felt guilty for not being able to do more for him. I had lots of supportive people around me, but for every ten supportive people there would be one judgey mommy, like the Boob Nazi, who would bring me down.

The Boy is nearly 5 months old and he is no different developmentally than any other 5 month old boy. He is healthy and well fed. He is completely formula fed now, but you know what, there is nothing wrong with that.

I envy moms who can breast feed with no problems, and my heart breaks for moms who struggle and can’t do it. Formula is there for a reason. It’s made for women who can’t breast feed and for those who choose not to. We are fortunate that we have something like that out there and that babies can thrive on it.

Regardless of what you choose to do, or what life chooses for you, you do the best you can for your child. There are resources like BFAR and Low Milk Supply out there; you just have to reach out to them. Good luck and happy feeding! 

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Thank you, Losing Brownies, for being so open with us all about your struggles!  You are such an encouragement to so many.  Now, Let's show her some comment love!  Click over and visit Losing Brownie's blog!