Formula Feeding Tips

I am currently in my 34th week of pregnancy. I am starting to get tired quickly, ache all over and am counting down the next 3 weeks til I am on leave.

I am also starting to prepare myself mentally by reading as much as I can. Some things I am reading just to remind me how to do it all again with a newborn, others are new pieces of information. One 'new' area I am moving into is breastfeeding. My milk never properly came through with my daughter, Abigail. I think this was for a combination of reasons (that would be a whole different post). However, there is no reason I shouldn't be able to breastfeed this time, so I am reading up on it.

Doing this it has made me reflect on the fact that finding information on formula feeding was so difficult. When I was trying to find tips the first time around it was so hard to find any information. Most sites simply told you that 'breast was best' but if you 'HAD' to, then formula feed. There was advice about making sure you give the right amount of formula, but not many tips on how to store it, pack it etc. Not to mention the many guilt inducing sites, that implied you were doing the wrong thing by formula feeding. Personally i'm pretty sure not starving my child to death was in her best interests, but anyway...

So, with that in mind, I want to share a few tips I learnt in my journey feeding my daughter. I will also share some tips other people have found useful, so you can find what works best for you!

Preparing for the day

We found that our daughter fed about 8- 6 times a day depending on her age and the amount of formula she was drinking. At night time we would steralise all bottles, then prep them for the upcoming 24 hours. This is how we did that

• We had 2 formula containers with 4 compartments each. We measured the correct amount of formula into each compartment. This way we had it ready to go, and did not have to try to measure out the formula in the middle of the night while tired. Trust me, 2am is not the best time to pause and ask yourself if you had put 2 or 3 scoops into the bottle!

• We had each sterilised bottle filled with boiled water to the correct level for the amount of formula. These would sit at room temperature on the kitchen bench next to the pre measured formula.

When it was time for a feed we would add the formula to the water, shake well, then heat it in the microwave. Always microwave without the teat on, just to ensure the teat does not overheat, or cause any possible pressure build up of the bottle.

By the next night after the last bottle was used all bottles were sterilized and the system was set up again.

Other suggestions:

• Some people prefer to pre mix the formula with the water and keep the bottles prepared in the fridge. We preferred not to use up our fridge space, but it you may like this better!
• Some people suggest making up a days worth of formula in a large jug, and then pour it into a bottle. Some babies drink more or less at different times of the day, so this can be a good method for that. However, you do need to be careful worth measurements with this method. You are more likely to over or under calculate your water to formula ratio
• With any pre-made formula you must use the formula within 24 hours

Sterilizing and cleaning bottles

It is very important to properly clean you bottles and teats. We found it best to rinse out a bottle once used, then put it in our microwave sterilizer. That way most formula residue was already washed out, and then the bottles are sterilized that night.

Once a week we would also soak the bottles and give a good scrub with a bottle leaning brush before sterilizing.

Other suggestions:

• Some people prefer to use a sterilizing tablet or solution such as Milton. If you use this method you wash out he bottles, then soak them in the water solution. My sister used to do this and she kept all the bottles in the solution in a sealed container until they needed using
• Some people prefer to use an electric sterilizer instead of a microwave one. Or you can use a large stock pot and boil your bottles. You do need to check that your bottles actually fit in whichever sterilizer you use!

Feeding while out

The trickiest part in formula feeding is having the water warmed for a feed. I tried a few methods with varying success. I must admit, I was pretty pleased when my daughter decided she liked formula at room temperature!

So, here are all the methods I tried

1) Take a bottle with prefilled water. Fill a thermos with boiling water, and have a container big enough to fit the bottle in, plus water. When the formula needed warming I would mix up my pre-measured dry powder with the water int he bottle, then I would put the bottle in the larger container. Fill around the bottle with boiled water from the thermos, let it sit until warmed.

      Pro

• Could heat the bottle no matter where we were

     Con

• Time consuming (so you have to anticipate when bubs needs a feed, or listen to their hunger screams until warmed!)
• Takes up a lot of space having to carry a thermos and bowl (Although some bottles might fit in your thermos lid)
• Need a really good thermos that stays hot

 2) Take a thermos filled with hot water. Have a bottle with cooled water, just below the amount of water needed. Add the hot water to the cooled water until desired temperature, then pour out excess water and add formula.

 Pro

• Less time consuming than the above method
• Could heat bottle no matter where we were

Con

• If you over added hot water you could have a dilemma
• Can be a bit of back and forth until you get the right temp
• You had to have somewhere to pour the water out.

3) If you are heading out for just one feed you could fill the bottle with boiled water, and by the time bubs is ready for a feed the water should have cooled down

Pro

• Simple, quick and could heat bottle no matter where we were

Con

• You are relying on the water being cool enough by the time bubs wants is

4) Have water measured in bottles. Take container with pre-measured formula. Use a microwave to heat (often in the parent room, or can get a cafe to heat it for you) or ask for boiled water from a cafe/restaurant to heat the bottle

Pro

• Less to carry
• Can be heated quickly
• Most shopping centres have a parents room with a microwave or at least a bottle warmer (I never liked the bottle warmers, the water always seemed dirty, they were often broken or I couldn't work out how to use them!! )

Cons

• You are relying on there being a microwave/ boiled water accessible. Some cafes will not heat your bottle, or give you boiled water, for liability reasons
• If you get someone else to heat the bottle you run the risk of them over or under heating the bottle

They are all the methods I know of. In the end I used option 4 the most. However, if  I thought I would be going somewhere that there was no access to a microwave or cafe I would pack a thermos in the car. Even better, see if your bubs will take the milk at room temperature, and then all the above is solved. I discovered Abbie would take it at room temp when she was about 6 months. We were on the opposite end of the centre to the parents room, and she was screaming hysterically for her feed. Desperate times, desperate measures!

So there are some of my best tips for formula feeding. If you have found your way here looking for some tips and advice I hope you find the above helpful. If you have any tips yourself please share in the comments below. Most of all, enjoy this precious time of your child's life!

Note: I will be moderating the comments. There are some crazies out there, and for some reason how you feed your baby can be a sensitive issue. I will not tolerate any shaming or formula feeding bashing. No mother that chooses, or has to, formula feed does so without knowing that breast is best. Enough said.

Festival - Aussie Curves

I have not been to a music festival in a long time. I confess, now days my idea of a great festival is a foodie one!

When I was younger I loved a good music festival, and went to the Big Day Out for a few years. I still remember my first BDO. I wore cut off army cargo pants, that I had purchased from an Army disposal store, A tie dyed shirt, and a pair of canvas shoes that I had painted pink and aqua and coated in glitter.

I remember heading home after the concert on a high. I was completely saturated, not because it had rained, but because I had encountered my first mosh pit and I was covered in other people's sweat. I was buzzing with excitement over the amazing day I had experienced. I had seen, heard and smelt things I had never encountered before (including a rather strong whiff in the air that I discovered later was pot. Ha Ha!!)

My first ever mosh pit experience was during Courtney Love's set with her band Hole. At one point she took off her top which led to me being practically crushed as all the blokes around me rushed forward for a better look. As I am short I was wedged up at shoulder height amongst all the sweaty, leering crowd. This was fine, until she put her top back on and the crowd moved back, causing me to become unwedged and fall to the littered floor and nearly trampled on! I should have been scared but I was actually rather thrilled with my first mosh pit experience, and looked forward to many more!

From what I gather I think for the most part the music festival experience has stayed the same as what I first encountered. Although, I understand the mosh pit is somewhat safer today after the tragic death of a young girl that occured at my final BDO.

Another thing that has changed since my first festival is the availablity of plus size clothing for the young girl. You see, my choice of men's cargo pants was not simply a fashion choice. They were the only shorts that actually fit me at the time. I was not a size 14 (I was most likely a 16) and at the time very few clothing for my age was made beyond a 14.

So, for this week's challenge I have put together an inspiration board of festival friendly clothing for the plus sized festival goer. The emphasis is on comfort with a little whimsy!

Print tank top / High-waisted denim shorts / Lana Lace-Up Canvas Shoes - Black - Target Australia / Daisy Chain Headband / Accessories - Target Australia

For me this outfit is perfect.Shorts that keep you cool but also avoid chub rub. A relaxed singlet with a funky print. Flat funky sneakers that offer comfort as well as style. A flower crown for a touch of whimsy. A bright cross-body bag where you can keep some money, ID, sunscreen and a small water bottle.

Check out what the other fabulous curvy festival goers are wearing this week!

5 tips for making your grocery budget stretch further.

I never gave much thought to how much my Husband and I spent on groceries or take away until I was getting ready to go on maternity leave with my first child. In order to prepare I decided it was time to look at where we spent our money, and make a plan for the following year while I was on maternity leave.

This was a painstaking process as we had never kept track of our expenses. We pulled out every bill from the past year, backtracked through our bank statements to find any reference to grocery shopping, and generally looked at our expenditure and catergorised it. What was most shocking was the sheer amount of money we simply could not account for. It had gone on miscellaneous items, eating out, and just general frivolity.

While I was on leave I really looked for ways to make our grocery shop stretch further, and since then I would say we do pretty well. I won't pretend that we have a super low grocery bill, there are certainly areas we could cut costs further, if needed. However, we are also aware of those choices we make that make the bill a little higher. Choosing certain brands over others, not always using the cheapest cuts of meat etc. I do know that we do one major shop every 2 months spending about $300 and then small top ups equaling maybe another $50 -100 a month. These are often for non bulk items suc as milk, fruit and veg. The big shop also includes items such as nappies, wipes, cleaning products, and the occasional 'I bought because we saw it' splurge.

So here are my top tips:

1) Have a 'Eat what you have' week (or two)

A week or so before a bi- monthly shop I go through the fridge, freezer and pantry. I check what meat and vegetables I have that need using and write them down. I then check what items I have in the pantry. Armed with this knowledge I wrote down as many meals as possible using up as much of the ingredients as I can.

This is a really great way of ensuring you are not wasting anything. It is surprising how many more meals you can actually get when you think you have nothing left. I aim to take any leftovers in the freezer for lunch that week, and use up and last bits of sauces that may be in the fridge.

2) Meal plan

Once you are ready to do a big shop, do a big brainstorm of what meals you would like to have. I make up a table with 3 columns. In one column I put the names of meals. In the second I put any ingredients; or in some cases if trying something new, I put the recipe. Once I have down a big brainstorm I then put the tiems I need to buy in the far column. I check where I use an ingredient more than once, I make sure I have the quantities of meat I need, and I remove any items I may have already.

When brainstorming I think about the following
- What are our favourite meals to eat?
- Is there anything new I want to try?
- What are some really quick, cheap meals. These are for the days you might be tempted to just get take away
- Have a mix of meals that need fresh ingredients (Fruit, Vegetables, Herbs) and some that can use freezer and pantry staples (Frozen Vegetables, oven wedges, canned corn etc)

3) Make what you can from a few staple items

I personally don't use many packet mixes. This is partly due to cost, and partly due to concern about what is in some things (preservative, salt, anti caking ingredients etc).

So many meal bases are actually really easy to make yourself, and last a long time. There are so many things I can make so long as I have the following items
- Soy Sauce
- Minced Garlic and Ginger
- Honey
- Olive Oil
- Spices ( I use paprika, cinnamon, tumeric, cumin, fennel, dried chilli and basil the most)
- Cornflour
- Tomato Paste
- Tinned Tomato/Passata
- Coconut Milk
- Cornflour

From the above items I know I have everything i need to make Asian marinades, Mexican spices, Italian sauces, gravy and curries. That means there are a lot of meals that can be made where I just add meat, vegetables and a either pasta, rice or wraps.

4) Reduce your meat intake

Being Australian, many of us have been brought up on the 'Meat and 3 Veg' meals. This is fine, except the serving size of meat is often too large.

My Husband and I noticed that when we ate meals such as stirfrys and curries we could easily use about 250g - 300g meat between us. This still often left enough foe either a second serve, or leftovers for lunch. We bulk up a lot of our meals with vegetables, and have tend to have a carbohydrate too. We will tend to only have a meal the requires a whole piece of meat once a week.

Another good idea is to have meat free meals. This might mean a vegetarian or fish/seafood meal. Frozen prawns and fish are not very expensive, and make quick, cheap meals. Some of our favourite meat free meals are:
- Spinach and Ricotta Canneloni
- Prawn Fried Rice
- Salmon and Vegetables
- Vegetable Frittata or Quiche

5) Use some cheaper items  and buy in season

You can use cheaper cuts of meats and this does not always mean fattier. I just cut off any visible fat and slow cook the meat, This is great for curries and stews, as well as roasts that you slow cook.

I tend to use a premium mince, which has less fat. It does cost more tat the super cheap mince, but I tend to think I get more out of it as there is less fat in it. Also, it is very easy to bulk up mince by adding carrots, celery and other vegetables to any mince mixture.

I also use canned beans. These can be added to mince for a mexican dish, can be made into a simple side dish (can of 4 bean mix, some vinegar dressing, a can of corn kernels, fresh herbs).

For fruit and vegetables if you look at what is in season you can have fresh produce that is very cheap. It is also worthwhile checking out any marked down items. These are often close to expiry, but if you plan to use them for a meal within the next few days they are fine. Or if they are an item you can cut up and freeze.

What are your top tips for reducing your grocery shopping budget? Please share them below!!

Our Movie Themed 30th Birthday Bash!

My Husband and I share our birthdays approximately 2 weeks apart, so we knew that it was going to be best to share a 30th Birthday celebration.Neither of us have had a birthday party since our 21st, and will be unlikely to have another until our 40th, so we decided to go all out!

We actually settled on a movie theme almost a year earlier. It was the only theme that we deemed suitable for the both of us. Originally our plan was to have a backyard movie party. However we realised the weather was too unpredictable, and our guest list grew.

We hired a local hall, booked catering and wrote up a guest list.

Now was the fun part. Planning. We both actually really enjoyed planning this celebration and commented to each other that we hadn't put in this much effort since our wedding! In fact, my Husband thinks he put in more for this celebration!

The Food

I love to cook, and usually I insist on making everything for a celebration from scratch. Yet, this time I decided to get it catered. I looked around at different catering options and found you can have woodfire pizza, made fresh. They turn up with a woodfire oven on the back of a trailer, dough and all the toppings for a variety of pizzas. The pizza was unlimited for 3 hours, and included entree, main and even dessert pizza.

It was a huge hit, people ate until their bellies were full, and we had about 20 boxes of leftover pizza at the end of the night! (These were pressed on people as they left, so happily we only took home 3 savour and 3 sweet).

I also made 2 salads and had a fruit and cheese platter, although truthfully these were not really needed.

The Cake

I do a bit of cake decorating on the side, so I made the cake. I was pleased with how it turned out, and wasn't too difficult. Although it was meant to be two tiers, however one tier didn't look right so I took it off and just cut it up when serving cake later.

The decoration

I had pinned a variety of ideas for table centrepices using news reels and other movie items. However, I found that to buy some cheap plastic reels would be $13 a table, which I thought was too expensive given we wouldn't use them again.

Instead, I decided to use some large popcorn buckets, and have some helium balloons in the colour theme inside them.

Around the walls we had some Elvis and Marylin posters (We had actually won these a year ago at a work trivia night, along with some movie themed plates and some banners. It was after we had already decided to have a movie themed party). We also found on the internet some high definition movie posters, and printed them at my Husbands work in A3, then laminated them, These posters were scattered around the room.

Tables and chairs were part of hall hire, and we were delighted to discover the chairs were black,which matched the roll of black tablecloth we used on the tables.

Entertainment

My Husband is a movie buff, and knows so much movie trivia, so he decided he wanted to have a trivia competition though the night. We spent a few weeks coming up with questons, making the slideshow, downloading movie clips for some of the questions and making answer cards.

Despite some questions being way too hard, people seemed to really enjoy the novelty of the trivia and many laughs were had.

For prizes we made up mini popcorn tubs filled with chocolate bars and microwave popcorn. The winning table each received a tub. We were lucky because the chocolate bars were on sale when we bought them, so each tub only cost about $6

Candy Bar

I know lolly bars are being done to death, but it is with good reason! They are a crowd pleaser. We used jars that were left over from our wedding and filled them with popcorn. I then borrowed the rest of the jars from a friend and ordered lollies in bulk from an online shop.

We found popcorn boxes that fitted our colour theme, and hung some '30' strings behind as a backdrop.
It looked amazing, and adults and kids alike loved filling up containers through the night, and took some home too!

Kids Corner

We had a few kids attending, including our own daughter, so we decided to set up a corner for them. We put down some rugs, pillows and beanbags in a corner. We set up a mini dvd player, and some crayons with paper. The kids played happily all night and were well behaved.

Dress Up!

We asked everyone to dress up as either a movie character or movie star. Everyone got really into it and looked great! It was a bit of fun, and worked as a good conversation starter with people.

Wolverine, Cleopatra and Jessie!

Our 30th was so much fun. The best part of all was being surrounded by the people we love. It makes you appreciate all you have achieved in 30 years and understand that life is successful when you are surrounded by people you love :)

$50 outfit - Aussie Curves

I think putting together a $50 outfit is a great idea. It shows you can look great for not much $$

However, I am only just scraping g in with this weeks post. I wore a few $50 outfits through the week, but me never managed to take a photo! I was determined this morning though, so I got dressed and made Hubby snap some shots before we went shopping.

I experimented with curling my hair too. I have never had much success, but I watched a few you tube videos, and went in armed with a comb and some clips for my hair. I pretty happy with how it turned out! 

Dress- Best & Less - $18
Jacket - Autograph - $20
Shoes- Target - $7
Necklace - Old & Fixed $0

This outfit is so bright and cheerful. A refreshing change from the darker shades of winter. 

The dress is from Best & Less current season. It doesn't look like much on the hanger, but on it is perfect. Soft stretch jersey fabric, rushing at the bust and under bust. The colours are beautiful. Even better, this is a dress that will see me through the remaining 10 weeks of this pregnancy, as the weather heats up.

The jacket you have seen. The best Autograph bargain yet at $20. with amazi g cut and button detailing. It is just perfect and I find I am preferring to pop on a denim jacket rather than a cardigan. The shoes are $7 from target. They have a huge range of colours and styles for $7 My feet swell a bit I. Summer, and I seem to have gone up half a size in pregnancy. I a unsure it this will remain, so I wanted some cheap shoes to see me through. For $7 I couldn't resist and bought 5 pairs!!!

The necklace is an old one, but I remember it being less than $10. I. Fact, I a, almost considering g this free, because it actually broke Nd I had it on the throw away pile. However I love the colour, so I found a leather string for another broken necklace and retired it. Tadaa!!

Aussie Curves - Vulnerable Side

I think that as a plus size woman there are many things I could say I am vulnerable about. Hell, I think that applies for women in general. We live in a society where the bar is so high for what is considered beautiful & successful it is hard not to feel inadequate.

One thing that makes me feel so vulnerable is seeing photos of myself. I often see pictures after an event and think 'Is that really how I look?'. My eyes always look to small, my chins too many, my arms too flabby, but ass too big. It is difficult to see and I end up feeling vulnerable. Yet I don't think any of this would change if I was any thinner. In fact, I know it wouldn't.

This weekend my Husband and I hosted a joint 30th. In the lead up to it I put together a slide show with photos of us from childhood to present day. What was most sobering is seeing pictures of myself from my teenage years and through my early - mid 20's. I was dieting through most of that time. I never felt good enough. I hated photos of myself and felt every bit as fat as I still do to this day. Yet the pictures now tell me a different story

The pictures show me that I was never as fat as I thought I was. That I was beautiful. That I was fine the way I was.

Hindsight is a bitch.

Sadly, the photos also showed me slowing getting bigger. After years of pressuring myself I reached a point where I threw my hands in the air and started being unhealthy. I felt like I was never going to get 'thin' (Never realising I wasn't 'fat' in the first place) so why bother. Regrettably though, I punished myself with food, almost challenging myself to eat the things that I had spent a life depriving myself of. I especially blew up during my pregnancy with my daughter. I realised that I wasn't any happier eating this way though and went back to my usual mostly healthy eating habits, but by then the 'damage' was done.

 I avoided having photos with my daughter at first, partly because of my size and partly because of an awful case of hives I developed post birth. I still rarely take a photo with my daughter, and find that people often don't bother taking photos of me with her either.  I regret this so much though, as I am missing from the documentation of my daughter's life. My Sister in Law will feature more heavily in photos with my daughter than I will.

One of the few photos I have from the first few weeks of my daughters life

I am already taking steps to change this. Starting this blog was the first step. Thinking about how I look, and appreciating myself is the next. Each week I take part in a challenge I am pushing my own vulnerability. I am posting photos for the world to see. Yet I am seeing myself clearer than I ever have before.

Before I fell pregnant I went to see a dietitian, especially after a dangerous health scare where my weight was a contributing factor. I accepted that my problem with my weight was in my mind more than anything else. I have continued to see her through the pregnancy, with the aim of not putting on any further excess weight. I have made breakthroughs regarding my relationship with food, as well as discovering some medical reasons for why I have always found it such a battle to lose any weight once put on. I am feeling in control for the first time ever. 

I am shedding my vulnerability. I am becoming stronger and happier. I am starting to love the woman that I am, and am realising I don't need to punish, or soothe, myself with food.

I am loved, I am beautiful as I am, and I am starting to see myself more clearly than ever before.

Black & White - Mood Board Monday

It is another week of Moodboard Monday. I missed last week as I was crazy busy preparing for My Husband and Mine's 30th Birthday Bash! I was determined not to miss out this week though,

I had the idea of a black and white table setting. It is so simple and classic, and can make a dinner party look really special, just by using some basic items.

I went even further by deciding to put together my mood board using only items from Kmart. This makes it afforable and accessible around most of Australia.

Start by placing the floral tablecloth on the table. This makes a neutral base, but the pattern adds a bit of shape and interest. Then put down a  normal white dinner plate, a knife and fork, a wine glass and a water glass.

The dinner plate will act as backdrop for the smaller entree plate from the black rimmed dinner set.  You will use this plate for your entree or starter. You can either fold the black napkin into a rectangular shape and sit under the smaller plate, or fold it up and place on top of the plate.

Put a table runner down the middle of the table and use a couple of lanterns with some candles in them down the middle, or you might want to put a vase of flowers in the middle and have white platters of food.

The best part about this black and white table setting is that you can change it up by adding a pop of colour. Swap the napkins for some fun yellow ones, and put some lemons in the lanterns. Make it romantic by using a red table runner and some red placemats. Super simple, super stylish, super cheap!!