A Day at the Zoo

Today I was finally feeling up to getting out of the house and going on a play date so we met one of the play groups at the zoo. We got to bring Maegan with us and she had been looking forward to going. We started off with the petting zoo and the farm animals. Izzy had a great time feeding the goats and wasn't afraid to stick her hand in there. Then she checked out the giant pig and thought he was really funny. We looked at snakes and monkeys and even bison in the American section. Then we moved around to the African section and saw elephants, lions, zebras, giraffes and more! Izabel loved them all and she would point to them and then run to the next thing. After we looked at all the animals we took a ride on the train. It is a new addition to the zoo here and this was the first time we got to ride. They charge $2.00 for adults to ride but all the money goes to help support the animals and build new exhibits. The train took us around all the construction so we didn't get to see animals from it but they told us what they were building and that was exciting. There is going to be a whole new tiger exhibit along with primates and some other things added to what the zoo has to offer. When they first built the African section they said their goal was to build a section for each continent so we'll see if that ever gets accomplished! After the train ride Izzy played in the fountains with Maegan while I fed Tanner and then we had lunch at McDonalds before heading home. I knew Izzy would fall asleep in the car so I wanted to make sure she ate first so she would take a good nap! We had a great time and I was really glad to get out of the house and outside for a while! We look forward to going back to the zoo soon!

Maegan and Izzy in the petting zoo

My beautiful girl

Feeding the goats

Maegan inside the prairie dog exhibit!

Taking a ride on the train

Some Fun Pictures

Since our weekend was pretty boring I thought I would put some fun pictures up. I had some pics that were kind of random and didn't have a particular post to go with and also some pics from WOW last week. Hope you enjoy and hopefully we'll do some fun things this week that I can post pictures of!

My big boy sitting up!

Izzy reading her books

Tanner sitting up in the entertainer having a great time :)

Jumping in the puddles with Aunt Theresa

Check out the adorable rain boots!

Izzy and Maegan at WOW (Botanical Gardens)

Love the face :)

Bench swings that we just discovered on this visit

Playing in the water

It's pretty cold

Mastitis :( Update!

Update: I have not nursed Tanner for over 48 hours now. The infection part seems to be getting a little bit better but the drying up part is a lot harder than I thought it would be. It was so gradual with Izabel so I had no idea it would be like this, but I still have plenty of pain meds left and I am trying all the tricks everyone has to offer! Hopefully the worst of it is almost over and I can go back to being myself for my last few days of summer. I feel a little guilty that I am putting Tanner on formula but I am excited to get to have my body back. It's been so long since I've been neither pregnant or breastfeeding! Tanner had his first bottle of formula today and so far so good. Thanks for all of the advice and encouraging messages! Something so natural shouldn't be so hard but I know it'll all be better soon!

Mastitis: A sore breast or plugged duct can become a breast infection. This means that not only is the breast tender, but also the mother feels achy, run-down and feverish. This condition may or may not be treated by antibiotics.

I've been battling a breast infection for almost three months now. It finally got bad enough to force me to go to the doctor and I was diagnosed with an extreme repeated case of Mastitis. It started out Saturday and Sunday with a really high fever and chills. Then I woke up Monday with the pain. It is the most excrutiating pain I've ever experienced and I've had two c-sections! By Wednesday when it was time to see the doctor I was crying every time I sat down to feed Tanner. I knew I had to keep feeding him but it hurt so bad and I would feel nauseous when I did it. The doctor did an exam and said I needed antibiotics and as much bed rest as possible.

Let me just stop for a minute...bed rest...she does know I have two kids doesn't she!

Anyway I'm on an antibiotic four times a day for 10 days and percoset for the pain. I'm trying to rest but as you can imagine there's not too much of that going on around here (for me anyway). I talked to few people that have experienced this before and they all said that the infection came back and the only way to get rid of it for good was to stop breastfeeding. I have really had a hard time with this decision but we finally decided yesterday that it would be best to stop. I've done my best and made it through a lot but the thought of going through this again is unbearable! Now I am in the process of drying up and I'm experiencing a whole new kind of pain! At least I have the strong pain killers to help get me through which is why I thought this would be the best time. I'll update soon on how that is going but so far Tanner is having no problems with the bottle. We're still using up saved milk but we'll see how he likes formula very soon!

Hope everyone is doing better than me and having a great weekend!

Sneaky Chef Strikes Again!

I tried a couple more sneaky chef recipes and I wanted to share them with you. I started with the grilled cheese muffins. Izabel likes grilled cheese and the peanut butter and jelly muffins were such a hit that I was sure she would like these but she definitely did not! I didn't make them at a meal time so I couldn't serve them warm which the recipe suggests but after her reaction I don't think it would have mattered. Then I made the meatloaf. I thought it was good but needed a little work with the seasoning. Izabel loved it and ate it with my parents for three days while we were in A.C. It was a huge hit! Noah didn't get to try it but hopefully he'll like it too. Finally I tried the Power Pizza. I didn't cook it quite long enough but I loved it and so did Izzy. She ate two big pieces for dinner and had some for lunch the next day as well. I love that I have been able to sneak so many veggies, whole grains and even beans into our diets. More recipes to come so I'll be sure to share! Click here to see the recipes and try some sneaky dishes yourself!

A Hop, A Skip and A Jump!

I actually thought I posted this last week but I must have just wrote the post in my head and never actually typed it. When I went to download new pictures today all of these downloaded as well and I realized I was a little behind!

Last Wednesday we went to Hop, Skip, Jump with the play group. This is an indoor play place with toys that encourage imaginative play and learning. Izabel had a great time there which is kind of unfortunate since they closed for good on Friday :( Here are some pics from our one and only visit!

Happy Birthday Mimi and Papa!

Yesterday was Mimi's birthday and Friday was Papa's so we wanted to say Happy Birthday to both of you! We hope you both had a wonderful day and enjoy many more! We can't wait for you to come visit again!

Papa meeting Tanner for the first time

We were lucky enough to have Mimi and Papa visiting with us last week. They came in Monday for a surprise visit and stayed until Saturday. They brought Maegan with them too! Everyone had a great time hanging out at the beach or pool and we even got to go to Ocean Breeze! Izabel had a blast seeing them and Papa finally got to meet Tanner in person!

My happy little man!

Izzy Bizy playing in Auntie's backyard

Running...she loves to run!

On the baby lazy river at Ocean Breeze. She thought this was pretty boring and preferred the slides but I didn't have anyone else to help get her down them so I don't have any pictures...maybe next time Daddy can come too!Me and Izzy! We had such a great time but we were exhausted!

Mimi, Izzy and Tanner right before we left for A.C.!

We love you Mimi and Papa and we're so glad you got to come visit!

Look Up!

That's right! I finally got some family pictures taken and updated the blog header. Thanks for all of the reminders that we are now a family of four! Trust me...I never forgot, I just wanted a family picture taken before I had the header updated. Hilary (see her tag on the right side of the blog) does a great job creating blog designs. Check out her website here and enjoy the 3 month and family pictures we had taken recently!

To see all of the pictures we had taken at this session click here and type in Whitney Ketchledge when it asks for a customer name. Enjoy!