Dani's Dirt

*Typed while Laramie snoozes in his dinosaur covered Boppy Lounger next to my laptop and we listen to 80’s/90’s country on the radio.*

Yeah, we’re millennials who still use a radio… but it’s connected to our record player. So, does give us our early 30’s street cred back?

But really, our Kentucky farm ground is surrounded by dense woods, add in the hills and rural setting and you have a recipe for crappy internet. Try as Dan might, fancy boosters and antennas on the house, we get by, but we still struggle certain times of day, or if clouds are in the sky, to get decent signal, so old school radio it is for us.

And we like it just fine.

Melodramatic, as I am, I sat down to type this post and realized my second post was another new mom related story and I sighed as I succumbed to officially crossing over from the right out of college, single, figuring out the world human I was when this blog began in 2012 and now, SUPER married, hormonal sweating in Target pj’s, stereotypical mommy blogger est. 2021.

I mean, two posts in a row makes me a mommy blogger, right?

Much like my radio, where I can’t opt out of ads, I like my new, self-appointed, mommy blogger title just fine.

I’m grateful to all the bloggers and YouTubers who shared bits of their hearts to the internet and were solace to me as I crawled and scraped through five years of infertility, trying to figure out what our next steps were. To the women who bared their souls online while healing from miscarriage who I had as silent friends when I was trying to navigate the wreckage of my own miscarriage and picked through the rubble that was my heart. And when the little blue and white stick finally showed two pink lines again, the posts and videos that helped me figure out what I needed and how to manage pregnancy and impending motherhood, finally getting to join this club is a honor. And while I make jokes, my heart is overjoyed to be in this space.

Which leads me to my first mom-based favorites post. Based on my two weeks of motherhood.

Also, this is my first favorites graphic to put together, and despite my communications background, I felt like most of Laramie’s newborn wardrobe assembling it — a dionsaur.

I did it in Photoshop, pretty sure no one else is doing these in Photoshop, but here we are.

Breastfeeding and pumping to build a supply is no joke though, and while I really cannot complain because my induction in this club has been relatively smooth — my baby is VERY committed to eating well and my equipment seems to be doing what they’re supposed to, I still wasn’t prepared to birth a baby and then less than a hour later, coming down from everything I had been pumped full of, exhausted from 27 hours of labor that ended in an emergency c-section, for a (very kind and patient) nurse to immediately boot camp feeding my child on me.

I couldn’t even lift my arms to hold him because I still had so many cords attached to me.

Hugs to every momma doing their best to make sure their babies are fed. No matter what route you chose, full tummies are all that matter. In my short time breastfeeding, I have a few products I swear by. Some I discovered on my own, some come from the women I call my fairy godmothers, who are friends who were pregnant at the same time as me who were on their fourth and fifth babies and shared their knowledge.

1. Silverette Silver Nursing Cups — Absolutely to each their own on this, but using nipple cream was something I was “ehhhhhh” about and carting around coconut oil and covering myself in that didn’t sound like a good time either. I found these silver cups and I’m such a big fan. Did you know silver has a proven track record as a powerful antimicrobial agent, fighting infections and aiding in cold and flu prevention, wound healing, and more. Silver also helps with internal heat regulation and circulation.
2. Motif Luna Pump — Type 5 enneagram swinging in here, I heavily researched pumps and read a lot of reviews. I picked this one because I liked how it had high ratings for being quick, getting the most milk in the shortest amount of time and that is was repeatedly mentioned how quiet it is. I’m a wedding photographer and pumping at fall weddings this year is going to be my life, I haven’t used it at a wedding yet, but I love that I’m finished pumping both sides (I dual pump) in 10-15 minutes flat. My insurance covered this purchase, which was really nice.
3. Washable Bamboo Nursing Pads — These are actually my favorite nursing pads, I like that they stay in place and are washable, so I feel like I’m wasting less.
4. Disposable Nursing Pads — Good to have disposables hanging around. I like that these stick inside my bra, I actually double up with the washable ones for overnight when I don’t want to wake up every two hours.
5. 2-in-1 Lactation Massager — It’s basically a vibrator for your boobs, which who knew this is something you needed, but I promise, it’s a lifesaver when clogged milk ducts come a calling OR when your milk comes in and you are 10 degrees of miserable OR if you’re a new mom and find yourself shocked at how intense a breast pump is at first. This makes everything easier, and it has a built in warmer. I give this a 10 out of 10. I picked mine up in the baby aisle in Target.
6. 4-pack Nursing Sleep Bras — Nursing bras are a given. You should definitely have a variety for day time, but I wouldn’t have thought about sleep nursing bras if someone hadn’t told me. And these are definitely needed if you’re a leaker. They’re soft and make nighttime feedings a breeze.

Whoop there it is, my first favorites list as a mom!

This only took me a few hours to write between two baby blowouts that involved full outfit changes, two feedings and one attempt at the bouncer so I could shower. It was a fail. Maybe next time.

Life with a newborn.

I’m excitingly exhausted.