Nursing Friendly Clothes Ep. 3

I know y'all.. I know! I said I was going to post nursing friendly items the first Friday of every month, but that just did not happen this month. Luca needs so much more of my attention this month that I haven't been able to get two blog posts up a week. And I apologize for that. But here it is, episode 3 of nursing friendly items. 

Also side note: I know I was going to do Old Navy clothes, but to be honest I just couldn't really find any that I liked, and I felt like the clothes I would have gotten there would have been repetitive. That being said, I am here reviewing two clothing items from  Undercover Mama. 

Undercover Mama is an online clothing store that has clothes specifically for breastfeeding from tanks and dresses to shirts. I will be reviewing their strapless tank and fringe nursing dress. 

The whole ordeal with me starting this series on my blog was to find nursing friendly items from other stores rather than nursing specific clothes. But the reason for that is because a lot of the clothes I could find was that you could only wear them during the time you nursed your baby. The great thing about Undercover Mama's clothes is that the nursing clothes are so discrete that you can wear them well after being done nursing your child. Also if you don't plan on nursing your baby, one of their dresses can be worn in the hospital or postpartum instead of for nursing. It is called the 24/7 house dress, and it comes in 8 different colors/patterns. The dress is over sized which is necessary when trying to recover after having a baby. At least for me, I did not want anything tight around my stomach so this dress would have been perfect. The next time I have a baby, I will definitely be getting me one of these dresses. Shop here for the 24/7 dresses and all the other dresses they have to offer. 

Now lets move on to the dress I am reviewing today. The dress is called the Fringe Nursing Dress in Mustard. And bonus IT HAS POCKETS! You can never go wrong with a dress that has pockets, but it is also super cute and comfy to wear as well. I will definitely be wearing this dress even after I am no longer nursing Luca!  

Other perks about this dress is that it has one handed nursing access, works with any bra (not just a nursing bra), has the perfect length in the sleeves, and the fabric is so soft and not sheer. They have sizes XS-2XL which is so wonderful. I am wearing a size small and its fit me perfectly. 

This dress allows for you to breastfeed, and be so discrete about it. I am usually the mama who likes to be covered when feeding her baby, and I am not exposed. So this dress allows me to do that without having to use a cover over Luca's face, which I am all for. It is so easy to breastfeed while wearing this dress. Like I stated above it has one handed access, and will attach to any of your favorite bras, and doesn't necessarily have to be a nursing bra. I typically wear sports bras or bralettes so it is awesome it can attach to them as well. 

As you can see in the pictures above, the dress attaches to the bra with a clip, and to have access to feed your baby all you have to do is unclip it and pull the material down while the top layer is still attached above for coverage. Now if you do like wearing nursing bras, they do have a a second attachment that loops around the clip on the nursing bra. How cool is that?? I got a close up of it with the nursing tank that you will see down below in this post. 

To purchase this exact dress click here. This dress comes in three different colors: black, navy, and mustard. Highly recommend this dress for nursing, but it can also be used for maternity wear as well. So versatile for sure! 

Now the great thing about this tank is that you can wear under your favorite shirt, and you cant even tell you are wearing it. The tank also has one handed easy access, and will attach to any of your favorite bras as well. No layers or extra straps get in the way which is so nice. This tank comes in 7 different colors, and some are actually on sale for $9.99! What?? That is a steal. 

As stated above, there is an extra attachment that you can put over the hook on your nursing bra for easy access as well. Picture of the extra attachment is below. To purchase this exact tank click here for $19.99 or go here for the ones that are on sale for $9.99. 

So I would highly recommend checking out Undercover Mama's website and all the nursing friendly clothing items they have to offer. Also follow them on Instagram while you are at! Right now they are having different daily deals since they have been in business for 10 years. Like wow! I wish I would have heard about them years ago! So I definitely give their clothes two thumbs up! I hope y'all have a great weekend and let me know if y'all have any questions. 

Nursing in Public-Hands Free Nursing Cover

Yes you heard that right... A hands free nursing cover. I repeat a hands free nursing cover. 

How amazing is that right?? 

The Kooi Cover was invented to make breastfeeding in public a more pleasurable experience for mother and baby. Side note: if you are a type of mama who can just whip out your boob in public.. You go girl!! But I am modest, and I don't see myself doing that. So when I came across the Kooi Cover.. I was so thrilled and excited to try this nursing cover out. 

A regular nursing cover is fine inside or when it is cool outside.. But y'all it is so hot where I live right now, and a nursing cover is not going to happen. I have read that using a nursing cover can make it 20 degrees hotter on the inside of the cover. So imagine if it is 90 degrees already outside and adding a normal nursing cover will make your baby feel like they are roasting while they are eating. And who would want to feel that way while they are eating? Not me! 

The Kooi Cover is hands free like I stated above, and attaches to your stroller or you can sit it in your lap. You are covered completely but the cover is not over you or baby. 

There are many different vents through out the cover that will keep your baby nice and cool while feeding. It makes your baby feel like it is in a home environment, and can see you the whole time they are eating. 

There is also a magnetic snap closure that you can lift up to take a peep at baby or you can leave it open for even more ventilation. While I was inside feeding Luca, I just opened it for a minute to look at him, but when I was at the park feeding him outside I left it opened the whole time. There is also a pocket on the inside which is where I put my nipple shield and its case at while I got Luca situated. Now if you all have been following me on Instagram, I have been talking about how I am currently weaning him off the nipple shield, and that we finally got confirmation of his lip and tongue tie and got them clipped. I will be going into more detail about all of that once weaning him off becomes successful. But for now, I am still using the shield and it is very challenging to feed him in public with the shield and a nursing cover. I am usually sweating or my hair is a wreck after finally get him and the nipple shield in place to feed. But y'all the Kooi Cover made it like a breeze for me. Like I stated, I put the shield in the pocket, got him situated, and then grabbed the shield out of the pocket, and bam starting feeding him. The reason why it was so much easier is because him or I didn't have a nursing cover over us and I could see exactly what I was doing. This cover is literally a life safer, especially in my case. 

Another great thing about the cover, is that it is very compact and folds up very easily. You can either attach it to your diaper bag (like I did in the picture on the left), leave it attached to your stroller so it is ready to go whenever baby is hungry, or toss it under the stroller. Some may be able to put it in the diaper bag as well but I have so much stuff in my diaper bag it wouldn't fit in there obviously. 

There is also plenty of  extra strong Velcro so you can attach it your stroller however you please and works best for you and baby. Also there is a string you can pull so you can adjust the cover to your torso. Which is awesome meaning that it would work with everyone and all body types. 

This cover just makes me so happy because I can feed my little man any and everywhere. And him and I can be comfortable wherever I feed him. I remember when he was around 2 months old, I fed him at this same park. It was so hot outside, and all I had was a regular nursing cover. I tried the nursing cover, but it was obviously way to hot to use it and him and I were both sweating. So I said screw it.. I will just whip my boob out really quick and feed him. It always takes me a minute with the nipple shield to feed him, but I did it because my baby needed to eat. I honestly wasn't that comfortable and baby can sense that when they are eating and laying on your chest. Therefore, his nursing experience wasn't the greatest that time. So the pictures above were from round two with the Kooi Cover, and y'all he fed like a champ.. and then a nice breeze went by which was also nice as well. 

Lastly, the Kooi Cover can be used for many different things besides nursing which is amazing. This means that the cover can grow with the baby when they are no longer nursing. How cool is that? So mamas that are no longer nursing your babies or decided not to nurse.. You can use the cover for changing your baby's diaper in public, potty training in public, and changing their clothes in public. Have you ever felt awkward changing your child in public or you just didn't want strangers to see your baby naked?? Well this is the perfect solution for y'all too. The cover gives your children a sense of security as they learn to potty train on the go, and getting their clothes changed. 

Kooi Cover is now shipping, and you can get 15% off your first order when putting in your email on their website. So why not get y'all one? It is also a perfect baby shower gift for the mamas to be out there. If you use babylist.com or amazon you can add the Kooi Cover to your registry!

Visit their website here: https://kooicover.com/

Also follow them on instagram: @kooicover

Luca's Three Month Update

I say this every month update. But how on earth is my little Luca already another month older?? Where is time going?? Seriously though.. It is like flying by. 

Thus far I have been taking notes in my phone as he does something new or if he loves or hates something. But this past month I did not. Working so much got in the way, and I forgot to take notes.. Whoops! So I am going to try my best to remember everything from the top of my head. 

So many things exciting did happen this month, and not so exciting/needed to be done happened as well. 

First things first, Luca is 12 lbs 3 oz and 23 inches long. He finally grew two inches since last month. Woo hoo! But our sweet boy is still a little guy being only in the 10th percentile. He does have some chunky legs though.. It must be where all of his weight is going haha! But y'all his head is in the 50th percentile.. I guess that means he is going to smart right?? Luca is wearing size 3 months clothes and only some 0-3 months if they are made bigger. Still can't fit into any shoes yet. His feet are so small. Hopefully he will be able to soon. Oh! and he is wearing size 2 diapers. We are loving Target and Babyganics diapers at the moment, and only use Babyganics wipes. And all Babyganics products for bath time, lotion, sunscreen, bud spray, hand sanitizers, etc. 

So one amazing thing that he is doing now is smiling back at every one and following us with his eyes. No longer gas smiles.. We get really big smiles from him... He is such a ham, and I honestly think he knows he is so dang cute. Luca also loves making the funniest faces haha!! See below!

I know last month he was getting better at holding his head up, but now he does such a good job.. Every week he kept getting better and better, and currently we are working on sitting up.. But that will be an update for next month! Speaking of being good at holding his head, we have been working on it with tummy time. And oh my gosh! My boy no longer does tummy time anymore because every time we put him on his tummy he rolls over to his back. I repeat my baby rolls over from belly to back. Like what in the world? Too big he is too big. 

We briefly worked on sitting up this past month, and I decided to try him in the bumbo one day. He actually did really good sitting in it. I kept him in it as long as he was content and sitting up straight. Once he started leaning back (probably about after 10 minutes or so), and dropping his head backwards I took him out. But while he was in there I decided to help him grasp a toy and rattle. The reason I did this is because the note the doctor gave me at his two month appointment said that he should be able to hold a rattle by three months. Well three months was rolling around and I still hadn't worked on that.. Whoops. Like I said time flies, and it is hard to keep up sometimes. But anyway, he did so good holding the rattle and the toy.. He actually kept pulling it towards his mouth to eat it. haha! 

Luca is now only taking his paci before bed, and lately he has been just putting himself to bed. He also is now sucking on his first and fingers instead to soothe himself. And it is not just one finger at a time, it is like 2 or 3 or 4.. I guess his fingers are that yummy! haha!! But if he can self soothe himself. I am all for it... But I heard sucking on his thumb or fingers can be harder wean when they get older. But who knows! I know some people have a lot of trouble with weaning pacis too. So I say who cares.. whatever makes your baby happy right?

Luca finally went for his first swim this month. Well actually more like me holding him or held him up in his pool float. The pool float is slightly big for him and he can't sit up by himself yet obviously. But he will grow into! I also bought swim diapers. And dang are they expensive. But the ones I got he can wear up to 20 pounds I think? But if any of y'all know of affordable swim diapers please let me know. 

But back to his first experience in the pool. The first attempt in the pool, he screamed and was not happy at all. But go figure it was around the time he was ready to eat again. So I fed him, and then he was ready for round two. And yay! He loved it. He is so content in the water for a good hour I think. Or at least it felt like an hour. And then he was ready to get out to take a snooze. I can't wait to take him to the pool more often. I really do hope he is a water baby. 

We took Luca's three months pictures, and oh my goodness my baby is so freakin adorable. He seriously knows how to work the camera and smile so big. Here are a few of the pictures. I still do not have all of them back yet. But I can not wait to see them!!! 

Luca is still not sleeping through the night. He usually wakes up once early in the morning to eat, and then he will go back to sleep. I still haven't put him on a strict sleep schedule, and I honestly don't know if I will. Right now what we are doing is working really well, and he is doing it all himself and I am only assisting a little bit. 

He usually falls asleep around 11 pm. But here lately it has been 10 pm. He will wake up anywhere between 4-6 am to eat, and goes to back to bed anywhere between 8-10 am. So I go back to bed when he does so I can catch up on some sleep because I do not have time to take any naps anymore. 

He has started to take 30 minute naps around 12:00 pm and 2:00pm. And usually takes an hour nap between 3:30-4:00pm. And some times takes a little nap between 7:00-8:00pm.

He is eating on average every 3 hours, but since I am trying to get him off the nipple shield (yes I am still using a nipple shield to breastfeed) he eats every 2- 2.5 hours. Side note: I will be doing a more detailed post on my breastfeeding experience, weening him off the shield, and feature a Q & A with my LC. I will put the blog post up once weaning him off the shield is successful. Until then I need some prayers.. 

I will also talk about his procedure he got done which was his lip and tongue clipped, so I will not go into detail about that in this post. But look at the difference in his mouth already in this pictures below. Like wow! The left in both pictures is before. 

Some random updates: The mamaroo has only been used on occasion now, the sit me up chair stays at his Pop Paul's now, and Luca uses it every time he goes over there. He lays on his play mat occasionally as well. Also if we are in the play room, I lay him in his automatic bouncer and he loves it now. He was actually so content in it yesterday. 

I have also been putting him in his activity bouncer ( I guess that is what it is called). And he loves it so much. It is Finding Nemo themed, and he just loves the music it plays and looking around at all the different characters on it. I have been putting a pillow under his feet since he is short and he has been moving his legs some moving in back and forth.. But not up and down yet. I think Crush is his favorite though. 

Well y'all that is all I can think of.. As always I can not wait to see where my little man will be at next month and how much he will weigh. I hope y'all have a blessed weekend!! Luca says peace out.. I'm chillin with my daddy :)