I like babywearing.

For those that don't know it is the buzzword for carrying your baby in a sling, wrap or carrier. 

As with most things in my life, I do not take it all the way. Some will only wear their baby and never buy a stroller. Frankly, I can see why, some of the carriers out there can cost as much as a stroller. We have a stroller and we like it very much, thank you. Yes, it is mostly for carrying all our crap, but it is still useful.

I don't have A constantly attached, she enjoys her bouncy chair an floor mat...

I am happy with 2 ring slings, a moby wrap and an Ella Roo hip carrier. All were given to me, so I cannot speak to cost, but I'd totally suggest checking craigslist, or asking your local baby boutique if they have a lending library. My local one does babies-in-bloom. in Carlsbad. Do these things first, then if you LOVE a style, then go out and spend tons of money on the perfect fabric/print that you want. Or be like me, and just be happy with the ones you have.

I did fall for the free udder cover and seven slings deal. Honestly, the $10 in shipping you pay is about what the product is worth, eh, maybe a little more. I am sure they work just fine, but I gave away my sling because I love the adjustability of my ring sling. 

At 13lbs we are already nearing the end of the moby's life. There are other wraps out there that are not a stretchy fabric that will hold an older child, but I may stick with the slings. Papa wears her occasionally and the plain black sling works for him. We may buy something for her when she is bigger so she can ride on our backs, I'll be checking out the lending library first.

Nursing in public, my new normal...

I try to be somewhat discrete about it, but it doesn't always work out that way, and honestly I am more concerned that my child is getting fed than that some stranger may catch a glimpse of part of my boob.

Nursing covers are nice, but the all prints are SUPER bright, which some consider cute but make me feel like a huge red sign over my head saying HEY LOOK HERE I AM BREASTFEEDING IN PUBLIC. I have a nice cover that is white with a butterfly pattern all over it that my Dear Friend made for me, I prefer that one to the udder cover by far. 

In California I am not overly inclined to cover my child with a blanket, but I will use that or a muslin blanket or just feed her in her sling when I need to. 

Seriously, I need to do it often.. 

My kid apparently loves to eat in public. Actually, what happens is, she gets hungry, I feed her, she gets distracted because we are out in public so she stops before she is full. She falls asleep and wakes up hungry again. So no matter where we are she needs to eat. 

This last weekend, it was in the middle of a lake. 

I. kid. you. not. 

We were on a paddle boat and she decided she was starving, so I had to make it work around her HUGEMONGEOUS life jacket.

Disneyland, the Wild Animal Park, every restaurant we have ever been to, yep, she's nursed in all those places. 

I do feel slightly bad for our friends who spend time with us as they are always having to talk to me over my kid eating but I already pump while I am at work and she takes bottles during the day so the last thing I want to do is make her take more bottles when I am there to feed her.

I have been truly fortunate not to have any real issues with breasteeding, No mastitis, no thrush ( I believe, this is due to me letting the girls air dry after feeding her, and using cloth breast pads instead of disposable ones) no supply issues. I do have tea from my sister that I drank for day or two during one of A's growth spurts. 

http://www.earthmamaangelbaby.com/breastfeeding-support/milkmaid-tea.html

I plan to drink it for a week here soon so we can build up a bigger freezer supply. 

At about 6 weeks A would get super fussy after eating and get gassy, I tried eliminating dairy for 2 weeks and it did nothing. I really believe in most cases mama's diet doesn't really affect baby. There are, of course, exceptions, but usually when I hear a mamma talking about eliminating foods, it is right around a growth spurt time: 2 weeks, 2 months, 4 months... Baby is going to be super fussy and unsatisfied after eating no matter what mamma eliminates.