Category Archives: Baby Stuff

Diastasis Recti Tummy Chronicles

Visit the Diastasis Recti from a Mom’s Perspective page for more posts and encouragement!

This is me:

Not me 9 months pregnant.

Not me a couple of days postpartum.

Me today.

No brace.  No airbrushing.

We’ve talked Diastasis Recti before.  I had no idea how important that original post would become.  I had no idea how many women were out there suffering silently, wondering how this had happened.

Women

just

like

Me.

Ever since I mustered up the courage to post that first blog entry on the topic, I’ve been on a quest.  I’ve been searching for support garments in and out of pregnancy.  I’ve searched for the right size, the right amount of coverage, the right comfort level.  I’ve also faithfully stood by the Tupler Technique™ as the ONLY way to actually FIX what was broken.

However,

I did not think The Tupler Technique™ could really fix

ME.

After all, my diastasis was HUGE.  Unfixable…except with surgery…

In February, I consulted with a plastic surgeon who basically said he’d never seen anything like

THAT.

He said he could bring the fascia together, but not the muscles.  He said he couldn’t really help me.

I left his office crying.

The only thing to do now was to CONCEAL the diastasis as best as I could with a brace and compression garments.

OR…

Was there a way I could actually HEAL?

That’s when I ended up in touch with Julie Tupler herself!

She believed in

Me.

And IF she believed in MY ability to heal…a 10+ finger width diastasis…then ANYONE could heal!  And if THAT was possible, then I would shout it from the rooftops!

And so, the journey begins…

NOTE:  The 4 tools I talk about below are great if you have the money; however, I still wholeheartedly endorse the book and offer some other “tweaking” ideas in my post: So, I Fell Off the Wagon.

Today, I have in hand 4 tools:
1.  Julie Tupler’s DVD
{The DVD is so much better than the book I bought back in 2007!  Julie shows you exactly how to put on the splint – even double splinting like I have to- and goes through all the exercises WITH you.  Watching this, I also realized my diastasis was MUCH larger than I had originally supposed because I was not checking it correctly.  I received this DVD free of charge.}

2.  The Tupler Technique™ Guidebook
{This book is a quick reference guide and a logbook for checking off each day’s exercises.  I purchased this book myself.}

3.  Two Diastasis Rehab Splints™
The splint at top is the splint Julie now sells.  I have 2 of these as per Julie’s orders since my diastasis is so large.  The splint shown below is the old one I bought in 2007 – this is the splint I could not recommend.  I had no idea it had been revamped.  I wholeheartedly endorse the new version!  Using two of them has been perfect for what I needed.  To see how to wear the splint, view the video shown here.  {I received the two new splints free of charge.}

4.  Online Support from Julie herself.
{This is something that is coming soon to Julie’s website.  I’m getting Julie live via Skype free of charge.  The online support program will be in a webinar format.  I had my first session with Julie last week!  It was so nice to have her doing the exercises along with me and cheering me on!  But, I will tell you, she’s not a pushover!  No half-hearted attempts at the exercises allowed!}

The Tummy Chronicles will give you a candid look at one mom’s hope to heal.  This will be a no-holds-barred chronicle of the program…the ups, the downs, and everything in between.  This is real, folks.  This is

Me.

If you would like to join me on this journey, the first 3 items on my list are the ones you will need to get started (see note).  You will need to measure your waist around the belly button to get the right splint size (make sure you order 2 if need be!)

Be sure and check your diastasis to see how large it is so you can track your progress.  To check for a diastasis, READ THIS CAREFULLY.  As I said above, I thought my diastasis was smaller than it actually was.  Mine is a 10+ finger width, meaning I don’t even have enough fingers to check it!

Also, my connective tissue is VERY weak.  I can actually see my internal organs moving just below the skin.  Julie talks more about this in the DVD.

And lastly, Julie said something to me that has really stuck with me as I’ve begun this journey…{and I paraphrase}…

Having a diastasis is like having a broken bone.  To heal, a broken bone must have a cast on it.  The splint is like a cast.  It might not always be comfortable, but that is what it takes to heal.

I’ve spent so much time looking for comfort, I never even thought about the possibility that healing isn’t always a comfortable business.

I am committed.

I want this.  I need this.  I’d love to have you join me!

Note: You can do this program to PREVENT a diastasis AND you can do this program while you are PREGNANT!  Please, please let other women know that this IS preventable!

Visit my Diastasis Recti from a Mom’s Perspective page for more posts!

Simple Homemaking – Cheap and Simple Cloth Diapering

{Don’t miss the GIVEAWAY in this post!}

The number one question I get asked when it comes to cloth diapering is:

What is the easiest way to get started?

Which translates into many forms including:

How many diapers do I need?

How can I do this without spending a fortune?

HELP!  I don’t know what I am doing!

This post is my simple answer…

~Prefolds~

Don’t be afraid!  Prefolds are not as hard as you think they are.  These diapers are incredibly versatile and last FOREVER.

Infant size fits until baby is 15 lbs and Premiums can easily last until you potty train. (I prefer Premiums over Regulars because they are more absorbant due to more center layers)

2 dozen in each size is plenty.

{click here to see prefolds from Sweet Little Blessings and here to read my post on using prefolds}

~Snappis~

These little things are Y-shaped blessings!  No more pins!  No more worrying about poking baby!

All you need are 2. (unless you are prone to losing things, then you might want more!)

{click here to see how to use a Snappi}

~Covers~

I’m partial to Bummis Super Whisper Wraps and Mother-ease Air Flows.

You will need 4 per size.

{click here to see Sweet Little Blessings’ diaper cover choices}

This truly is the simplest way to go!

{don’t forget to link up your simple homemaking tips below!}

But first…

Have you figured out yet what this giveaway might be all about?

That’s right!  Coleen from Sweet Little Blessings, long-time advertiser here at Raising Arrows and another mom of many is offering one my readers a

$25 Gift Certificate!

How to Enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me whether or not you use cloth diapers.

2. “Like” Sweet Little Blessings Facebook page.

3. Sign up for Sweet Little Blessings mailing list.

4. Facebook this giveaway.

5. Tweet this giveaway.

{leave a comment for each entry!}

As an added bonus, you can receive a

10% OFF COUPON

if you become a Raising Arrows subscriber either by Email or in a Feed Reader.  The code, which expires May 21, will be in the feed footer, so don’t miss it!

This giveaway ends May 19th at 11:59pm.  Winner will be chosen at random by an automated system.

And I just found out my friend Lauren at Mama’s Laundry Talk is doing a 2 week series on Cloth Diaper Care!  Check it out here:


Here’s the link up! {Grab a button if you’d like}

Copy the code below



Affording Kids – Keeping Them Healthy

I’ll be honest with you, sick children scare me.  And when there are fevers in the house, I can do nothing but beg God’s mercy.

That is why this post will not be a light-hearted one.  It hits me too close to home.

What I have to say here will not be some comprehensive list on how to keep children healthy or how to afford healthcare.  It will not be a commentary on the healthcare plan or a laundry list of helpful herbs.  I could do all this, and probably will at some point, but not in this post.

This post is a story.  A story of our family’s choice.  A choice that works for us.  Keeping YOUR children healthy is YOUR business.  There is no ONE right choice.  With that said, I want to share with you how we chose to think outside the box and the blessings that followed.

After years of using traditional insurance and even having insurance through my husband’s job (that we paid a pretty penny for), we felt convicted to leave the world of high premiums and numbers without names.  We were introduced to a company called Christian Healthcare Ministries by some friends of ours.  We liked what we saw and decided to drop our “safe” insurance and go with CHM, a Christian cost-share type program where members “shared” each other’s healthcare costs.

In many ways, it was a leap of faith.

In fact, I was pregnant with Emily at the time.  CHM would not be able to cover the cost of her birth.  I had no idea how we would pay the thousands of dollars it would be to deliver her, but my husband believed this was what we should do.

Leap.

And the Lord provided for her birth.

Then Emily got sick.  As the bills rolled in, I wondered how we would ever pay for all of this.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Doing our part to help reduce the bills, we sent bill after adjusted bill into Christian Healthcare Ministries.  CHM even sent someone in to help us get these bills reduced.  Sometimes we felt as if we were knocking heads with the hospital.  Sometimes we wondered if the money would be there to pay for it all.  After all, we had only been members for a little over a year.  We knew how the program was supposed to work.  But would it?

And then Emily died.

And Christian Healthcare Ministries took over completely.

The hospital bill was reduced and finalized and taken out of our hands.  The money began to come in from CHM and we paid off everything.

Everything.

Since then we have had 2 babies and several hospital stays.  We have nothing but good to say about Christian Healthcare Ministries.  As it turns out, Fox news agrees with us.

If you have ever wondered about cost-share programs or simply wanted a way out of the health insurance cycle, please visit Christian Healthcare Ministries.  Tell them I sent you.  My referral number is 112373.

It is a fact of life that children do get sick.  Christian Healthcare Ministries gives this mama one less thing to worry about.

Affording Kids Series:
Introduction
Feeding Them
Schooling Them
Entertaining Them
Keeping Them Healthy – this post

The Colicky Baby

Garin as a newborn.

I didn’t talk about it much.  I couldn’t find the right words.  Words to explain how blessed I felt, but also how utterly exhausted and frustrated I felt as well.

It took time…lots of time.

Garin, my 7th born child, was colicky.  Painfully, ear-piercingly colicky.  From his first full night outside the womb until he reached 4 months of age, he cried…a lot.

Couple this with the fact that for the first time ever I experienced postpartum depression, and you have a recipe for long, exhausting days and even longer emotionally-draining nights.

Many people would say,

“Is he always like this?”

And I would nod my head and choke back tears.

I felt absolutely helpless.

My oldest son was able to rock him to sleep from time to time.  Oh, how I depended on Blake’s rocking ability!

I snapped pictures whenever I could catch Garin between crying jags.  I didn’t want his photo album to be full of screaming baby pictures.  I didn’t want colic to be the only memories I had of his early days.

I gave him Gripe Water.  It helped.  I was thankful.

But the one thing that kept me going was

hope.

Hope offered by another mother.  One who had been there.  One who didn’t gloss over the desperation I felt.  One who told me…

4 months.

Four months and her son was a different child.  An amazingly happy, wonderfully smiley little boy.

I clung to her words…with every ounce of my being.  I wondered if I could survive until then, but every day was one step closer.  I prayed,

“Lord, give me the strength for one more day.”

As that 4 month mark approached, the crying became less, the smiles more.  I began to see my little guy’s gorgeous eyes and crazy-cute dimple more and more.

We slept.

And now, at 6½ months, I barely remember those days.

This isn’t a post about what to do when your child is colicky.  This is a post about hope.  The hope of time and encouragement and other mamas who have been there who are willing to share their stories.

What a blessing!

Good Nights

We are a family who likes to sleep.

We are also a family who likes to sleep in places other than our own beds.  As I am typing this, my husband is asleep in the chair across from me, my toddler is tangled up in the covers in my bed, and the rest of the children (minus the baby) are having a slumber party in the boy’s room!

But, the actual sleeping isn’t usually the issue in a growing family, now is it?

It’s either the getting to sleep or the staying asleep that causes us angst.

Nicole asked
How do you deal with sleep issues?…I feel exhausted with nursing a baby and having waking toddlers. I’m leery of them sharing a room too soon because I’m scared they would wake each other up! How do you do it? Do you sleep train your kids?

To answer these questions, I thought I’d give you a glimpse of what we do, what works, what doesn’t, and what I’d like to see us do better, and then turn it over to all of you!

The rooms are divided up as Girls and Boys. The baby currently sleeps in our room in his crib for most of the night and in bed with me some of the night (he is very easily congested and doesn’t do well co-sleeping).

I usually move baby out of our room about the time baby turns 10 months or so. That is a totally arbitrary age.  It just seems, for some reason, about that time frame is when I feel like I need them to start sleeping through the night, and sleeping through the night is better facilitated outside of my room.  It usually takes me another couple of months to get them to the point of sleeping through the night.  So, yes, in a sense I do sleep train, but it’s a pretty wimpy version of what most people mean when they say “sleep train.” I really like the book, The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley.  I use a lot of her ideas when I move baby to a different room.

The room I move baby to depends on which room is the calmest at night. Currently, that would be the girls room; however, this has not always been the case.  I have a daughter who struggled with sleep issues for many years.  A couple of years ago, her room would not have been a good place for baby.

When I moved Micah out of our room, he went into a room by himself for a time.  I managed to create this environment by putting our preschool aged son in his sister’s room and moving my oldest downstairs to a small room of his own (which he hated, by the way…so much for kids needing their own rooms, huh?).  We kept this arrangement until Micah was able to go to sleep calmly, at which time we put his brother back in the room with him.

The little boys' toddler beds.

I have found that at a certain point, children become immune to the cries of a baby in the night. I don’t know what the precise age is, but around here it seems by about 20 months, they don’t even flinch in their sleep when they hear a baby cry.  In fact, I remember nights of babies crying very loudly for a very long time and my oldest son sleeping right through it all!

In order to cope with the inevitable sleepless nights, we have a mandatory Rest Time. Each afternoon, I either snuggle up with the toddler or the baby while everyone else heads to their beds or another secluded area of the house, for an hour of rest.  And yes, I sleep too!  I find having the children in their own beds works best for keeping them “restful” during this time. However, if I really want the toddler to sleep, he almost invariably has to be in my arms…which is fine with me since warm squishy toddlers make for warm sleepy mommies!  It isn’t uncommon for me to get the toddler to sleep while we sit cuddled up in the recliner, only to eventually move to the couch with the baby because he’s awakened and fall back asleep with him in my arms.  (I seriously look forward to this time of day!)

As you know, bedtime here is later than in many households, and all the children (except for the baby, who is usually down by 8pm) go to bed at the same time.  This greatly reduces the desire of the children to get up and see what might be going on that they are missing by being in bed.  I suppose at some point this will have to change, but for now, it works well.

We try to keep a rhythm to our evenings as well. Around 7:30 or so, life begins to slow.  On bath night, they bathe and put on jammies and often snuggle up on the couch for Bible Time or a movie or grab a book to read.  About 8:50, the evening paraphernalia is put away and teeth are brushed, prayers are said, and children are carted off to bed.

We do not allow a lot of commotion after everyone is in bed. That means no jabbering, no getting out of bed, no asking Mommy for this or that.  Now, don’t get me wrong, all this still happens, we just keep a pretty tight rein on it all.  That said, I do try to stay in tune with my children to decide if what they need is truly a need. I do take the time to sit up and talk with children who need to hash something out or get a drink for a child who truly is parched.  I’ve come to realize you cannot parent with an iron fist because not everything is done in defiance.  Parenting with wisdom is much more effective.

A Breastfeeding Journey – Part 2


(Part 1 of this journey can be found HERE.)

On with the story…

Chapter 5

I was now pregnant with my 5th child; this being the second time I had become pregnant while practicing ecological breastfeeding (breastfeeding on demand, co-sleeping, etc).  I nursed through the pregnancy until my 5th month when my father died.  With preparations and time spent at his bedside, I found myself spending long stretches of time away from my 4th child.  When we were reunited, he no longer wanted to nurse.  Emotionally run down and physically exhausted, I allowed him to wean. He was 13 months old.  4 months later, his little sister Emily was born.

Chapter 6

My nursing relationship with Emily was publicly chronicled in my award-winning post entitled Breastfeeding:  The Memory of Emily.  You will have to excuse me if I do not recount that story here.  This chapter is painfully short, as was my precious daughter’s life.

Chapter 7

As with my other babies, I had already been cycling regularly while nursing Emily.  6 weeks after her death, I found out I was pregnant with who would become our New Year’s baby, little Micah.  However, his birth did not go as I had expected, and a tramatic emergency c-section put wrenches in our breastfeeding relationship from the get-go.  I was too weak and tired to nurse him in a way that would boost my milk production for my “little” 10# 6 ounce baby boy.  He required supplementation, which led to nipple confusion, which led to frustration.  A month later, after I was finally healed from the surgery,  I took him to bed with me for the day and walked away from the bottles forever.

Chapter 8

For the first time EVER, my cycles did not return until my newest baby was 9 months old!  I was overjoyed!  What was different?  The only thing I can even remotely attribute this to was the fact that our diet now consisted of entirely organic meat.  It’s my theory and I’m stickin’ to it.

The day Micah turned 1, I got a positive pregnancy test.  He was weaned shortly thereafter…for personal reasons.

Chapter 9

In case you are counting, that is now 5 babies in just at 6 years, with Garin being born 19 days after my 3rd child’s 6th birthday.  Of my 7 children, ONLY the ones born less than 2 years apart were conceived while I was breastfeeding. Sometimes you do everything “right” and God still bless! ;)

Garin is nearly 4 months old, is exclusively breastfed, and nurses whenever he pleases.  By his own choice, he does not take a pacifier and has yet to figure out that his thumb can be peeled away from the rest of his fist so as to make only his thumb sopping wet, rather than his entire body.

He was not an easy baby to nurse in the beginning.  Let’s just say the word PIRANHA is what comes to mind when I think of those early weeks.  In addition to that, he was colicky until about a month ago.  Add to that postpartum depression for the first time ever and you get a little bit of a nightmare, but we stayed the course.  He nurses fantastically now, he’s a happy little guy most days, and my hormones are beginning to level.

The rest of this chapter has yet to be written.  I don’t have a breastfeeding philosophy because I’ve never managed to have two children exactly alike. All I know is breastfeeding has been a wonderful experience, but not always an easy one.  I cherish these years, and I am sure when I am an old woman, I will dearly miss having a nursling in my arms.