A very very sweet ending

I'm sorry for the delay in follow-up regarding my Ulcerative Colitis post. I've had a few people coming into the store asking what's happened so, I figured that I'd share it one post. I'll make it snappy though because we have lots and lots of good stuff to talk about! 

I saw the doctor and she confirmed my UC flare-up, prescribed me tons of medication to get me into remission; steroids, daily meds, etc. 
I had informed her that we were trying for baby #2 and she wanted me to cease my baby making because the medication that I "would" be taking isn't safe for pregnancy (this made me sad..) she suggested that I go home and take a pregnancy test...before taking any meds. 

Turns out...I'M PREGNANT!!!! 

We couldn't be more happy and excited! In the appt with my GI I was informed that pregnancy could be good for my UC because pregnancy slows auto-immune response and UC is an auto-immune disorder. So we'll see how my body responds but not gonna lie, on the way home from the appt I was praying I was pregnant!

Now...onto the good stuff..we are very happy and excited to welcome our new little person in! I'm between 9-10 weeks along and my "due" date is at the end of September! I'm feeling pretty good! I found out i was pregnant really early and had a very rough first month. We actually had to close the store a few days because I was so nauseated! I'm much much better now! I have a little energy back but I'm still pretty sleepy! Ha!

Ella gets it. It's so weird and amazing! I've told her about the new baby and she kisses my belly. It's so cute! I feel so blessed.

I can't wait to nurse them both! I've always thought tandem nursing is super rad. Speaking of nursing and pregnancy, my milk is different and I can really tell. It's so funny like two weeks ago…I could SMELL my milk and either my pregnant nose was lying to me or it smelled weird!

Well...can't wait to keep you up to date! 

I leave you with beautiful photography by my awesome friend Cassie Leah! I actually saw her a few days after we found out and she was so excited to shoot these! You should check her out! I can't wait for her to do my newborn photos! Her newborn portfolio makes me ovulate…well…MADE me ovulate! Haha! 

I love you guys! You're the best! 

XOXOX

Mothering the Mother: Supporting and Loving Our Young Mamas!

I am very excited to announce The partnership that has been created between Cyesis and Everyday Baby! 

Let me tell you a little bit about the Cyesis program! 

"The CYESIS Program goes back to 1978 when a group of concerned citizens and community agencies saw the need for an educational program for pregnant and parenting teens. Students are able to stay in school, knowing their babies are in a safe environment. The CYESIS Program influenced the State of Florida's decision to guarantee all teen parents the right to an education with additional services available to assist them in the health and care of raising a child.

Today, Sarasota County offers a strong teen parent program with on-site childcare at the Riverview High School campus and at the North Port High School campus."

Being the daughter of a teen mother, I know and understand the struggle firsthand. I watched my mother as she strived for her education. When she was in high school, they did not have a program like this and as a result she had to drop out of school. 

I am excited to have the opportunity to mentor, teach and assist these young mothers!

We need your help! As you can imagine, running a program like this is very costly. Some of the young ladies have a real needs and "even $5 is a LOT to some of these mamas"! 

How can you help? We are going to be coming up with a few creative ways but in the meantime the current needs are; any double strollers, any used baby carriers and lastly any donations for breast pumps! 

If you are interested in assisting us or partnering, please let us know! 

You can contact Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Suncoast to become a mentor or volunteer! These young ladies need positive people in their lives. Why not you? 

Xoxo

An Adoptive Mamas Journey "You're Nursing Your Baby!"

Did you know that human lactation is not limited to just women given who have given birth? That's right! You can induce lactation and my sweet friend Kathy is proving it! 

I met Kathy at our Cloth Diapering 101 class. She had just adopted a new baby and was excited about this new journey. 

Her commitment to feeding her baby breastmilk was brought up during class and as a result I mentioned inducing lactation. Given her previous medical history, she was weary about pursuing..so we just continued on talking about cloth diapers! 

A few days later I got a message from Kathy about possibly inducing lactation and using a supplemental nursing device. I was thrilled at the opportunity to help her and knew that the moment her baby nursed for the first time, she was going to be hooked! 

I was right! 

She is now nursing her baby and loving it. As I've told her "this has made my day, year and century!" Being a newly trained CLC I feel so blessed to have been a part of it! 

We could use your help! Kathy is still using an SNS with expressed breastmilk until her supply has built up! Any donations are greatly appreciated and if you contact me I can connect the two of you.

**DISCLAIMER** 

As a CLC I do not condone the use of unpasteurized breastmilk from mother to mother.