Couponing

So I have decided that I am going to start couponing! Today was my first experience and let me tell you, it's not as easy as it looks. It took me 2 hrs to do my normal 45 minute! The thing I have to be careful of is I buy alot of off brands already so I have make sure if i buy a brand name with a coupon it needs to be cheaper than my off brand. Also, another thing I have to be careful of is buying stuff I don't usually buy because then that destroys the purpose of saving money.

I tried to prepare as much as possible so it would not take me long but obviously I didn't do it well enough. Anyway, I saved $20 my first grocery shopping trip! I was happy, I know that doesn't sound like a lot but $20 is diapers and wipes in this family! Hopefully, as time goes on, I will get the hang of it and get quicker and better. I just wish we had a Publix, Winn Dixie or Kroger on the mountain. They have the best sales! There is this great blog called the Krazy Koupon lady and it lists in alphabetical order all the coupons out there with links. That helps a lot. The thing that stinks is you do have to put your info in everywhere so they can track how many coupons are being printed so its a little time consuming but I think that is just the initial work and from that point you get notifications to your email what the sales are.

In this day and time, a lot of people are in financial woes. I am really trying to do a better job of saving and doing without because you never know what the future holds. I get so addicted to bargain shopping, I almost refuse to pay full price anymore. The boys clothes are bought at Consignment sales or off my americanpregnancy.com/forum from other ladies. You should see the stuff I get for next to nothing! Believe me when you have to buy for twins, you find ways to save money. Plus I have always had limits on stuff I buy. Namely because I know I can find it at that price and refuse to pay more. Here are some of my limits and please don't choke if you are drinking and eating lol and yes I am very strict about these and get it for these prices. Some items I get ebay. Some items I will not buy second hand but know where to get them at discounted prices:

Summer tops - $7
Winter tops - $10
Sweaters: $12-$15
Business suits - This used to be $40 but now since discovering ebay, I have hooked up with a few ex business women now stay at home moms and my limit is $10
Pants: $15
Shoes: $15 excluding sneakers I have had the same pair for 5 years now and still going strong.

This year I had to go through and weed out stuff that I had not worn in a long time that just sits in my closet. So I allowed myself to do some shopping online and this is what all I got for $40

1 suit
3 dress pants
1 capri pants
3 button up shirts
1 regular summer top
1 skirt
1 long sleeve shirt
6 tank tops

I think that was all....anyway, seriously how can you beat that?!?!

Alright, Tripp is tired of playing peek a boo with me on the couch so off to play! Hope everyone has a good book and a blanket with this rainy weather :-)

Nursing - the end is near

This is somewhat bitter sweet. This has been a great journey. If there was one thing that I had my mind stuck on was that I was going to nurse the twins. When I was pregnant, I seemed to get a lot of scoffs my way if this came up. Until I got pregnant, I didn't realize how many people looked down on nursing their babies, or other people nursing. This is so odd to me because its what was in God's plan. Just like women were made to have babies. It just seems like just a no brainer? Now, anyone woman who chooses to FF that is her choice. This post is really aimed to the ones that look down on bfing. Or lets choose a more positive audience, the ones that WANT to nurse and are not educated in this area.



There are so many misconceptions out there. "My milk never came in" "I never produced enough" "My baby never got full" and so on. There are medical reasons why some women have issues but a lot of the times, women just don't have the educated knowledge how to help their milk out. I want to share my journey because it was such a great and important one. Anyone who want to have the same journey I would love to help them achieve the same thing! Mine was not a simple easy going one either so hopefully it might help someone.



My twins were sent off to the NICU immediatly after birth. This causes an issue when it comes to bfing bc it is so important that as soon as your baby comes out, get them/him/her to latch on, skin to skin, very important. I already had a "Plan B" if this were to happen. I thought if I can't nurse, I will pump! As soon as I got to my room, I was asking for a pump and how to use it and within an hour of delivering I was pumping. Now Ladies, the first time you experience this, laugh! Don't get embarrassed, laugh! Bc it is the most odd feeling in the world that you are not used to and well you look like a cow doing it :-)



Don't get discouraged on amount you pump. At first it will be the colostrum aka Liquid Gold. Make sure you have a snack and water with you at all times!!!!



I got to nurse my twins for the first time 10 hrs after they were born. At this point I was pumping every 2 hours. And it hurts. Don't let anyone fool you, it is painful but just remember that its just painful in the beginning. Your body will get used to it. Take advantage of your Lactation Consultant at the hospital as well. Ours helped us!! So we go in this little room attached to the NICU. I was nervous I am not going to lie but I had it in my head that this was not going to be easy and I was just going to be patient! So after being groped by the LC I think Major was the first one that latched but bless their hearts, they had no clue what they were doing, I had no clue what I was doing. So what my plan was to try bf them fr 30 minutes then I would pump. I already had pumped so after I had "nursed them" I would bottle feed them so they would get calories in. I believe this is what helped them not be so angry through the process bc they got full so we would nurse first, then bottle feed. And this is what we did the whole time I was in the hospital. It was a lot of work and with 2 babies, it took NIck and I both to get them situated.

I got so excited when my milk came in! So this is how I continued after getting home, nursing, then feeding with a bottle then pumping. One thing to remember is that as your milk is coming in, its supply and demand. Yes,its easier to hand your husband a bottle and say "Im worn out" but that will affect your milk. You will feel like that baby of yours never leaves your chest but in the beginning it is so important to let them nurse when they want to.

Important things to remember: 1. Always eat plain ol regular oats. Not instant. This helped my milk SO MUCH. 2. You can drink Mothers Milk tea. 3. You can take More Milk Plus drops. 3. Drink drink drink and I don't mean sodas! Mostly water but juices, milk etc. 4. When you nurse, your water bottle and a fruit/snack needs to be by your side. 5. Food needs to be packed with good calories, veggies fruits proteins, nuts are great too. 6. There are huge growth spurt stages, 4 months and 9 months. You will feel like you are not producing enough, you are! Your body is adjusting to your baby. I believe it is around 6-8 weeks you will one day feel like you could feed quads then the next feel like your baby is hungry. This is the stage where your body is trying to figure out where the good point of supply is.

**During growth spurts DO NOT supplement!!!! Your baby will wake up every 2 hours maybe every hour, suck it up, get up and go feed your baby...think of it as "quality time" :-)**

Babies that have latching issues seem to have the mothers that their milk does not come all the way in. Try pumping. If your baby is not latching good, pump after you nurse. This will help stimulate and get your milk flowing.

Don't get frustrated. It hurts. Its time consuming. You have no clue what you are doing. But it always works out, just be patient and pray for sanity! Its such a special gift that God gave women. Don't think that God punished us. We GET to have the babies, we GET to feed our babies. We have such a special bond that cannot be replaced.

Some other good tidbits to remember:
-Steer clear of negative comments. Its better to just not tell everyone what you plan to do bc you will get opinions, if you choose to say then close your ears after!
- God made breastmilk....need I say more?
- Read, go to classes, educate yourself!
- Its so much cheaper !
- You don't have to fix bottles to go out anywhere
- This is a privilege remember that.
- And for the theory that bfing changes the way your chest looks, so does having babies so just by not bfing does not mean you will look the same :-( Sorry to break it to ya!

Kudos to all the Bfing Moms out there!

Just a few updates

So you would think I would say Spring is in the air; however, I am inclined to say that Summer is! This weather is crazy!!!! And I am loving every minute of it. Gets me so excited for the beach in May. We are off to Hilton Head for a week. Can I just say that I have NEVER had a weeks vacation....in my whole life! So I am more than thrilled about this. Granted the bikini will not be pulled out...probably ever...so I have to go bathing suit shopping before we go. Thanks to Aunt Bevie the boys are set with their swimming trunks. I think we need to invest in one of those tent like deals. Otherwise we will only be staying out for 15-20 min at a time.

But before that, my boys will be turning 1. How crazy is that! Lets go back down Memory Lane for a bit.....

In Hospital:

June:

August:

October:

December:

Now:

My sweet boys are growing up too fast! I already have a theme planned out for the first birthday. Nick made sure I knew after that they get to decide what they want! Seriously?! Oh well I guess I will let them ;-)