September 2019 | so then they say

I still can’t believe I have a 15 month old. It feels like just yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital and feeding her at all hours of the night. But it happened. I am 100% done with bottles and have moved on to bowls.

From the time I was a child, I always knew I didn’t want to breastfeed. It is true. I don’t know why but I always said it just wasn’t for me. I had a lot of friends say, “wait until your baby comes. I bet you change your mind.” Well, I didn’t. I think it is truly amazing for all the moms who do it but for me and my household, it was off the table. Knowing that I would be making a lot of bottles one of the items that was on my wish list was the Brezza. It is a formula dispenser, where with the push of one button, warm milk comes out in the exact ounces you need. It is a Nespresso machine for formula and it is amazing! One time I went to my parents house for the weekend and didn’t bring it, I realized how annoying it would have been to have to scoop formula, wait for the water to warm, and then shake the bottle until it was all perfectly combined. I never traveled without the Brezza again. You make A LOT of bottles at all house of the night, on next to zero sleep, so anything that can make your life a touch easier, I say, DO IT!

As great as the Brezza was, to be totally honest, I was ready to be done with bottles. I talked to our Pediatrician and we decided that the day she turned 1, the bottles were done. Knowing this was our plan, I wanted to ween her off slowly so it wasn’t a shock to her system. I first started Eleanor on solids around 6 months (banana, mashed avocado, fruit, and packets). Around 7 months I started giving her a “breakfast” and a “dinner” which accompanied her bottles. Slowly over the months she would eat more food and less milk. Around 10 months I started taking bottles away to help her rely more on nutrients from food. It was around 10/11 months where she was down to a morning bottle and night bottle. She turned one in July, so the first two weeks of June she kept her morning bottle and night bottle. But around the middle of June, I took away the morning bottle and the last two weeks I took away the nighttime bottle. Tapering off her bottles allowed for her to be completely fine when we stopped them entirely. I was so scared to take away the nighttime bottle in fear she would wake-up in the night but she was completely fine and never fussed at all.

When it came time to buying dishes for Eleanor, I wanted the same ease as the Brezza. I wanted to know I could give her the dish, walk away, and everything would still be there. I found this Avanchy Bamboo Stay Put bowl (free next day shipping offered on this *mom win) and love it! It is clean of toxins and the suction at the bottom makes it stick to any surface so she can’t pick it up and throw it (something we are working on). The bowl comes with a matching spoon that is the perfect size for toddlers. I also purchased this Yumbox Bento Box (comes in multiple colors) for her school lunches. I love how it has each portion sized for each food group. It makes packing her lunches so easy. My friend saw it at pick-up and purchased one immediately. If you have a toddler who goes to school, I highly recommend it.

So there you have it. That is where we are in our lives with little Eleanor! I still can’t believe the Brezza has been put away until the next baby and we are learning how to use spoons and eating out of real bowls. Where did the time go?

Because our lives are so crazy I need a one-stop-shop for all of our needs. Everything from the Brezza to the Bowl’s I got at Walmart. And now that a lot of their items are free next day, as a mom, I can’t pass that up. They have been my stop shop for everything from diapers and wipes to premium brands like Avanchy, Doc-a-Tot, Boon and Brezza (which is available for free next day shipping). If you have a baby or a toddler, you have to take advantage of their mass amounts of brands (let me say it again – ONE.STOP.SHOP), roll-backs, and shipping policies.

Eleanor’s Sample Meal Day:

Breakfast
Scrambled eggs / Raspberries / Toast / Milk

Snack #1
Yogurt / Water

Lunch
In her Bento Box (which makes it so easy)
Turkey / Avocado / Veggies from previous nights dinner / Cheese / Graham Cracker (a tiny bit as a treat) / Water

Snack #2
Peanut Butter + Apple or Cracker / Water

Dinner
Ground Turkey or Chicken / Zucchini / Sweet Potato / Milk

SHOP THE POST

I have suffered from sleep issues for as long as I can remember. My mom has sleep issues so I always assumed there wasn’t much I could do. At one point I became so tired, while at my doctors office for my yearly physical I broke down in tears at how exhausted I was. She put me on a prescription sleep aid for nights I needed my body to truly reset. And the pills worked great. But I always hated the idea of them. And eventually stopped taking them and started researching natural ways to get better sleep. I tried everything from drinking hot water before bed, lavender baths, and eating certain foods for dinner. Nothing worked. I was about to throw in the towel when I heard about Olly vitamins. I was told the Olly “sleep” gummies worked really well so I decided to give them a try.

I love that they only have three ingredients (Melatonin, L-Theanine, and Botanicals), all of which help calm, relax, and promote sleep. I took two gummies 30 minutes before bed and started feeling very relaxed and fell asleep VERY easily. I thought it was too good to be true so tried them the following night too. And I got the same results. They even helped me fall back asleep quickly when I woke up in the middle of the night. This was very new territory, but in the best way possible. After a few weeks of taking the gummies I wanted to try to find a way to sleep without having to take any sleep aid. The mission continued.

While I was visiting my friend Ashley at her Miami apartment she handed me a sleep mask. Because her apartment was so bright she said I would need it. I told her it was okay because I could never sleep in a sleep mask. She just told me to try it, so I obliged. Not only did I sleep phenomenally and fall back asleep easily, I slept until late in the morning. I’ve learned that when I wake up, if I see any light, I am wide awake for the rest of the night. But this mask allows you to open your eyes, see black, and easily fall back asleep. THIS MASK IS A MUST! Even my sister, who swore she would never wear a sleep mask, tried it out at my house and ended up purchasing one for herself. She says she has never slept better.

From Brezza’s to Bowls

MY Sleep Savior