my non-cuddler

i always thought my baby would love to cuddle. when i worked in the day care center, every baby loved to be hugged and snuggled. when i hold my friend's babies, they all love to be hugged and snuggled. sadly, sophia does not like to be hugged or snuggled. she makes noises stating her dissatisfaction. one would think she was flying vertically. her body is curved outwards against the curve of my body. and even then, i try to curve my body towards her.

recently it made me feel sad and i would kind of force her to me so we could be closer and bond. but that didn't feel worth it nor did she appreciate it. understandably so. so i stopped and try not to take it personally. there are moments however when i feel like, "sheesh. i only grew you inside my belly for 10 months and then pushed you out without pain meds so your system wouldn't have to experience drugs (as well as other reasons) and now lactate so you can eat and grow... oh, that's all." but it's too early to start the guilt tripping. don't cha think? :P

alas, God made my daughter as she is for very specific reasons. it's my job to love her and grow her as she is.

my jacked up dislocated pinky :: part II

turns out the pinky isn't only dislocated.... the hand doctor said i ruptured a tendon and fractured some bone. :( boo. the remedy is a custom splint worn 24/7 for 6 weeks.

last saturday our football team played in the WFFI new jersey flag football tournament. i only played a handful of times. i really wanted to play more but was rather fearful of getting more injured since i have to take care of sophia. we made it to the tournament of champions though (YAY!) which means we're playing again on nov 20th. maybe, just maybe, the tendon will heal by then and i'll be able to play with my team. :) that would be so awesome.

the team did so well. go vision! this mama was/is so proud of each and every one of you! :)

my jacked up dislocated pinky

football is so fun. less fun is dislocating my finger while playing football. it happened yesterday while i was rushing the QB. i was trying to grab his flag and my poor little pinky got stuck in his pocket. and then there was some twisting and some pain. i remember looking at my hand wondering why it was hurting so much. and then i saw my finger stuck in an abnormal position. fortunately for me there's a doctor on our team. she's a dermatologist but managed to make me believe she knew what she was about to do to my dislocated finger. i braced myself for the pain that is putting a dislocated joint back into its socket but was pleasantly surprised. i felt the clicking but that's about it. i think it was semi-numb because of the initial pain as well as the adrenaline rushing through me.

i always heard people say that if something is dislocated, it'll feel much better (and like normal) after it's popped back into place. is that true? because my finger certainly does not feel normal. it's swollen, bruised, and ugly. i didn't know i was so vain when it came to my fingers. :P i'll find out on friday if anything is torn or fractured as i'm going to see my hand doc then. our tournament is saturday... oh, how i hope i can play.

aside from disliking not being 100%, it's actually really hard to take care of sophia without having full finger capabilities. even in a splint, i notice myself wincing when i pick her up and tend to her needs. ah. the joys of getting older. when i tore my ligament in my ring finger a couple of years ago, i asked the hand doc why it tore this time when on numerous occasions while playing football, my fingers have jammed. he answered that once you hit 30, nothing is the same. man... that was the year i turned 30. i guess at 32, a dislocated finger is to be expected.

BabyBond nursing {giveaway}

UPDATE: and the winner is #30, AmyLynn. congrat's!

::
nursing. sometimes it brings me great joy. other times it brings me to my knees with tears in my eyes. i am thankful for creative folks who try to come up with ways to help a nursing mother.

{{introducing}} 
BabyBond. an innovative idea, this sash covers only mom making for less fight and struggle as my baby isn't draped over by a piece of cloth. BabyBond generously gave me a BabyBond Flex in charcoal to test out. {thank you!} the first thing i noticed was how extremely soft the fabric is. a positive since the fabric touches sophia's face. i like that the babybond flex is easy to use and quickly maneuverable. another great feature is the burp cloth strap. my sophia just loves to spit up which means i find this particular feature rather functional. overall, i found this great to nurse in and with a 5 month old who gets easily distracted, the fabric gave her just enough to play with while still remaining focused.

{{win it}}
how generous of BabyBond to offer a BabyBond Original in turquoise (size 2) for one lucky reader!

mandatory entry: leave a comment
•'like' BabyBond on FB and say that {MustardSeed by.carollai} sent you!

additional entries: leave a separate comment for each
•'follow' my blog
•swing by my etsy shop and tell me your favorite item
•'like' my FB page
•link this giveaway to your blog
•share with us your favorite nursing memory

open to readers worldwide. the winner will be chosen via random.org on 10.24.10 at 11.59pm EST and has 48 hrs to respond.

as if that wasn't marvelous enough, the people at BabyBond are offering 2 BabyBonds for less than $46. that's a 75% discount! this way you can buy one for yourself and another for a friend.

all you need to do is purchase one BabyBond via babiesrus.com and email a copy of your receipt from babiesrus.com to missy@babybondnursing.com. you will receive a discount code to purchase another BabyBond via their website for 75% off! make sure to place the first order on babiesrus.com within 4 days of this post (by monday 10.18.10) and on the babybond website within 24 hours of receiving the discount code.

enjoy!

oozing with love . my sophia

in the beginning, i thought my sophia was goofy cute. then we bonded and i began to grow in my 'like' of her. after some more time i started to love her. just recently though do i look at her and love her SO MUCH and find her to be the most adorable little baby ever. i've become that mommy. :)

let me explain.

her thighs are chubby. they are soft and they like to kick and fling about ever so carefree-ly. they don't have much control yet which just makes it all that much cuter. it makes me smile.

her cheeks {the ones on her face} are similarly chubby and so kissable. i often squish my lips into them. sometimes she'll squish back against my face. i like that.

even her little teeny tiny feet are so irresistible. they're adorably pudgy and rounded-ly rectangular. she finds it funny when i play games with them.

her head is so round and smells a little sweaty most the time. it's not disgusting, it's rather endearing. :)

her chubby arms are just long enough to reach the side of her head to tug on her hair, which she will do when we read together or when she gets tired. those often go hand-in-hand. i like peering down at her when we're reading together. all i see is the top of her head and her cheeks.

when she wakes from a nap, she lets me know by 'calling' me.  when i go to her and her eyes focus on me, she breaks out in a cheeky sweet smile. i love lifting her up from her crib and hugging her close to me.

see what i mean? don't you love her now too? {{smiles}}

my sophia at 4.5 months.

review and discount code! {the fresh stitch}

i first found corinne at the fresh stitch by search for baby related products on etsy. how delighted i was when i clicked into her etsy shop! i was greeted with quite the visual... adorable (and some eco-friendly and organic) fabrics that made up a variety of great looking bibs, burp cloths, minky blankets, embellished onesies and more. i was addicted and looked at nearly everything in her shop. :)

after starting up a conversation, corinne generously mailed me this beautiful bib and burp cloth set since i had mentioned to her that my sweet baby girl is quite the spitter upper. the green leaf fabric is 60% cotton and 40% bamboo poplin and the reverse side is 100% certified organic french terry. isn't it pretty?

i was delighted when i received it. the package was so thoughtfully put together (i could easily have given this as a gift!), the product looked amazing (sewn so perfectly. believe me, i examined it!) and felt so so soft to the touch, but i still wondered how it would hold up under sophia's, at times, messy dribble and massive spit up. the answer? BEAUTIFULLY!

first the hubby tested out the bib when he did his once a night bottle feed. many other bibs that we have get totally sopped and instead of keeping the milk dribble off sophia, the end result is a wet disaster. {note how she's now naked when feeding from the bottle!} not so with this bib! i loved it. baby remained dry and the bib was somewhat damp but not even completely sopping wet. i didn't know how corinne did it until she mentioned the layer of cotton batting inside the bib. she's a genius! :)

sophia looks kind of serious here but she's really thanking corinne for making a bib that has kept her dry! {"thank you!"}

now to the burp cloth. corinne is accurate in saying that this burp cloth has a variety of uses. she writes, "this burp cloth wipes up any mess resulting from spit up, vomit, baby food, milk, diaper changes and can also function as an over-sized wash cloth!" it's true. i've used it while burping baby (works well so long as she doesn't completely spit up her entire meal -- for those instances, i'd use the fresh stitches cloth diaper variety which is 6-ply. talk about absorbent!) and while baby is on her activity mat (another great use since sophia tends to drool when on tummy time.)

look at that neck strength! :) yay for sophia!

all in all, i just love this etsy shop and owner. aside from the many different adorable/cute/fun choices and products, corinne was so kind and easy to converse with. i always love 'meeting' the face behind a product i love. it's particularly refreshing when that person is so open and friendly!

what's in it for you?
corinne at the fresh stitch is generously offering 10% off to my readers for the month of august. simply write MUSTARDSEED10 in a conversation to corinne prior to the sale for a reserved listing or write it in the 'note from buyer' section at checkout and corinne will refund your paypal.

thank you corinne for sending us the bib and burp cloth. you really do make such wonderful things and we'll be back for more!

diaper bag {genius}

it's hard to find a good diaper bag. as i searched for the 'perfect' one and wasn't able to find it, i gave up. thankfully when baby came, the hospital gave us a similac diaper bag on our discharge. it was great! it came in an urban and simple across your chest backpack form with just enough space for the changing pad, numerous diapers/wipes/buttpaste, change of clothes, a couple of burp clothes and a swaddle blanket. we were even able to stuff a few other things in there when needed. that took care of the functional aspect, but what about fashion? i was still searching.

one day i stumbled upon babyeverafter {aka. hot mama handbags}. this etsy shop sells handbags that can also be used as diaper bags. or maybe it's better described as diaper bags that can also be used as handbags. in any case, i was so excited because the prints and patterns of the fabrics are so very cute. after hemming and hawing and saving up some money, i purchased one.

today i received it and i just love it! first, the owner, maranda lee has great customer service. she had so many conversations with me as i considered and re-considered and requested some changes, etc. i was very thankful for her willingness to talk with me through some thoughts and to answer questions i had.

now to the bag. it is very well made, the fabric is beautiful and it's an easy bag to pair with many different things. the pockets come very much so in handy whether i want to put diapers or a bottle or anything else. the little compartments help me easily find things. there's even a key hook so i won't need to be rummaging around to find my keys. i highly recommend this bag for diaper bag/baby needs and/or for just plain pretty handbag needs. :D p.s. isn't my bag pretty?