Breastfeeding- and I take the Bronze

I made it to 6 months and have kept on going, and so, I shamelessly award myself the Bronze. Those first 10 weeks were hell. Complete and utter HELL. But I overcame it and up until a week ago, Julian was Exclusively Breast Fed. It's still his main source of caloric intake, but we've started introducing solids via a mix of purees (of our table foods) and Baby Led Weaning. This is the short version of this story. The, it shouldn't freak anyone out version. The following is pretty descriptive and at times graphic, it's not for the squeamish or for those who have an illusion that breast are for fun only. Breast are meant to nourish, I'm hoping that my struggles will help power someone else through those hard times.

The long story. Ah yes.....

Thank You...

If only for a short time, Julian was so lucky to have met you. I don't think I could have asked for a better family to have married into, and you, along with your sweetheart, were responsible for that. From the very first time you met me 8 years ago, you welcomed me in with open arms and sarcastic jokes. You treated me like one of your own Grandchildren from that very first day and I will always love you for that.

Every story I have ever heard has made you out to be a great man, a sweet man, a passionate man, a man of honor and respect. Every adventure you provided for your daughters and grandchildren will continue on. You may no longer be with us physically, but someone as amazing as you can never truly be gone. You live on in those pictures we hold so dear, in those stories that will be told for years to come, in the memories of every person who met you, and especially those you held dear.

I simply want to say Thank You! Thank you for raising, along with Grandma, four beautiful daughters. Little girls who grew up to be amazing women. Women who had children of their own, and in doing so, ensured that your legacy would continue on. Thank you for every single Griffin, I love them all, and although I've only been around for 8 years, I feel like I have known them for a lifetime.

I would like to especially thank you for one specific daughter. Thank you for Eileen in whom, along with Grandma, you instilled amazing ethics and morals. The same virtues she eventually passed on to your first born Grandson, my own sweetheart Nicholas. A little boy who loved Grandpa and grew into a man that respected and held you dear to his heart. A man who would eventually meet me, and help in creating the next generation of Griffins. Thank you for making my little man a possibility. Without you, there would be no Julian. There is so much more I can say, so much more I can write, but it all comes down to one thing.

THANK YOU

Taking in the view of his first Great Grandchild, my little man Julian

Half a Year

My oh my, I can't believe it's almost that time. In just a few short weeks the Bean will be 1/2 a year wiser. I'm planning on doing it up big. Stay tuned for awesome photos!

(and sorry for slacking on posts, keeping up with a blog is a ton harder than I thought it would be)

Peace, Love and Chicken Grease my dear friends.

Cinco

My oh my how the time has flown by. 5 months ago yesterday we welcomed Julian into this world. It amazes me how 5 months can seem like both a short and long amount of time. It's crazy how much he has changed in such a short amount of time, but it's also hard to believe that I haven't had him for so much longer. He has become such an important part of me that I couldn't imagine life without him.

 

He's become quite the ferocious little man. A little 'tude-y, but what can be expect from the offspring of Nick and I.

He's been developing insanely lately too. Everyday it seems as though he's learned something new. Just a week ago, he never picked up this toy, now it's one of his favorites.

YUMMMMMM!!!! Toes are DELICIOUS!

Woops

Forgot to update with this beauty. It just arrived this week. Loveeee it. Custome Mei Tai from Obi Mama Her description: short stage 1 with 80" kombi straps, 70" waist, aluminum linen with applique designed by its mama, and ink silk reverse with asymmetrical vertaicle pin tucks, and a heavyweight canvas mid-layer. Can't wait to use it.

Cafe Bustelo

YES PLEASE (btw, I blame this little saying on Miss. J Diggity). I grew up on this stuff. Like any typical Dominican, I most likely had my first taste of cafe con leche some time before I was one years old. I was drinking some form of coffee at least once a week by 6. Don't freak out, it was really mostly milk with a splash of coffee. And of course I always had one of the following options for dunking in my cafesito.

That's right. Pan Sobao or Coconete, yummmmmmm! Oh and just in case you didn't know, well, now you know:

Picture taken from Nathan Ota

Seriously!? Another One!

Once again, I have proven to be a weak person. Apparently, one Mei Tai, a custom one that has yet to be finalized and received, is not enough. ObiMama recently put up a pre-made Mei Tai. It was beautiful, a moss green linen with a retro applique on one side, an Echino scooter print on the other. I mean how could someone not love this. Being the good April Mama that I am, I posted it on our wall (it's a private wall so no, you can't go snooping) in hopes that someone would get to enjoy this beautiful piece. Well, five minutes later guess what happened.....

If you guessed that it now resides in Casa Nuñez-Formickella, you guessed right. I have NO WILLPOWER. Oh well, at least it's stunning. I will hopefully get some action shots Labor Day weekend and will most certainly post and share.

My loves

A night in with my boys....

Julian seems to really enjoy his Bumbo... most of the time. This toy (thanks Bobby and Pam) is the only one aside from his stuffed Mickey Mouse that he pays any attention to. As you can see, it also quickly becomes a source of frustration. Why you may ask? Well, simply because Short Stack get's pissy that he can't reach it so he can eat it. Yup, we have officially entered the everything goes in my mouth stage.

They were both a little tired. JuJu is seen here practicing "Blue Steel". He has high hopes of one day gracing the runway's of Milan. Tres Fabuloso.

The tiredness was short lived. These two looovvveee each other. Short Round loves to talk to Daddy and tell him all about his day. It get's very intense. You'd think since I have the jugs JuJu would prefer to tell me all about his day. Nope, he just beats and yells at me until I give up the goods.

This picture was quickly followed up by an eye rub. Like speed demons we scooped him up. You've got to move quick once Creature is tired, or be prepared to face his wrath.

Mud LOVE

Seriously, Mud Truck, I love you. I have always strongly dislike Strabucks coffee, there's a 'wichcraft near my office and their java isn't so bad, but that was as good as it got. And then, one day, the Mud Truck appeared on the corner. Cheaper and soooo much tastier than other brew options in the neighborhood. I'm officially obsessed. I started today off with an iced Breve and it is yuuuuummmmy!

Almost Forgot

I mean, how could I??? I am excited to say that I have finally snagged a spot for a custom Mei Tai from ObiMama. I am sooo excited.

A little background: I LOVE baby wearing. Although I think our stroller is super cute, I'd just rather carry my baby. It all started off, get ready this is TMI territory: because of all of our breastfeeding troubles. The short of it was that for a while he wasn't able to nurse and was on bottles ALL THE TIME! I wanted to ensure that we still had an intimate bond and so began the baby wearing. We started off with a gift from Jerry and Jill, the Baby Nest Carrier. I was strolling through the neighborhood just 4 days after giving birth with Julian strapped to my chest:

As you can see, I was incredibly exhausted. Anywho, Nick decided that he didn't feel sturdy enough in this so he ended up getting the B'jorn which you can see him wearing below. I didn't like that carrier, at all, and decided I wanted yet another one which would be easier to put on than my stretchy. Mostly for short walks, and in restaurants when we took the stroller and had to leave it aside. The purchase was the Maya Ring Sling: 

This one was great, and Julian just looks soooo precious in it. But wait, I wasn't done yet. I now needed a carrier that would be great for long walks. After trying on a few different buckle style carriers, I settled on the Gemini Becco. Seriously, I'm obsessed, it's a GREAT carrier: 

 

But of course, I needed one more (for now). After browsing the internet and reading up on reviews, I knew an Obi Mama was for me. She does beautiful work. This isn't what I got, but it's a sample of what the overall shape will look like :

I can't wait. Will definitely post pictures once it arrives. 

I'm Terrible at This

Honestly, I never really know what to write. But oh's well. Nick went away with his Frater's this weekend for their annual summer retreat, which of course left me alone with Julian. So far things haven't been too bad. While he's napping/sleeping I've been doing some work-work and running around the house trying to tidy up a bit. And so, of course, I'm exhausted. I love my Short Stack but I'll be happy when next year rolls around and I can go away for a night or weekend and not have to worry about whether I need to pump or if I have enough frozen stash to get him through. 

We did a TON of walking today and I am EXHAUSTED! But I got to hang out with Jules, who I haven't seen in a bit, so it's totally worth it. We started off with brunch at Bogota Latin Bistro. Why did I include the picture on the right? No real reason, Jules and I just thought it was silly. Anywho, she had this awesome looking frech toast stuffed with, get this, platano maduros! I, true to my roots, went for the Dominican Breakfast: Mangu, fried eggs, fried cheese, and well, they failed me on the Salami but provided a pretty yummy chorizo so I'll forgive them. 

We then headed to her apt which is super cute and after that moseyed on over to Caroll Gardens and had a late lunch/ early dinner at Sweet Melissa, which to be honest, I did not like. Oh well. 

Anywho, I am now extremely exhausted and since Julian is already asleep, even though it'd only 8:25, I'm heading to bed as well. 

Peace out loves! 

Exciting things coming soon....

HOPEFULLY!

As some of you know, I've been designing since I was a wee child. Thanks to my cousins Diane and Gio, I was quite the artistic 5 year old and have only gotten better since (if I do say so myself). Through the years both family and friends have tried to get me to pursue my design skills, and to a certain extent I did that by becoming and Interior Designer. However, every once in a while I get the itch to whip out my sewing machine and make some of my designs a reality. Julian has now opened my eyes to an even more exciting possible venture.

I'm not sure where I will go with this and don't plan on becoming a SAHM (stay at home mom) and quitting my job to pursue my own personal ventures anytime soon. Hopefully, slowly but surely, with a good push from my hubs, I will put my talents to good use.

Love, Peace and Chicken Grease Kiddos!

The Bean for Serious Now

Ok, so the last post didn't exactly put JuJu Beans (which is MY nickname for him so don't even think about using it or else....) in the best of lights. But seriously, this kid is my life. The baby making process had a few hiccups in this household, we had two losses in the last few year, and although I think any Mother who has gone through that will agree that you never really get over it, welcoming Julian into my life has most certainly filled alot of the sadness from those pregnancies with happiness. I can't help but think that the timing wasn't right, and that maybe I wasn't ready and the man above, or whoever you choose to or not to believe in, knew we weren't ready.

I'll admit that motherhood didn't come easy those first three weeks, I was convinced that I wasn't good enough and that I would never get a hang of it. Slowly, things got better, and now, I'm the Pro when it comes to Julian. No one knows him better than me, and that is an AWESOME feeling! I love this little man with all of my heart

The Bean!

Somehow I've never seen this picture before, but I think it is now officially one of my favorites. AWESOME!! He's only 9 days old, how can you not love this face??

ps: I swear this is not some cruel form of child abuse. This is the only way he'd burp in those early days.

Hot Shizniggies!

And the sexy Daddy award goes to!!!!

No, but seriously. I've loved Nick for eight years. Through all of his craziness, through all of mine. I knew without a doubt that he'd be an amazing father, but I didn't expect to fall so much more in love with him because of it. I don't think a man can be any sexier than when he gives his love to a child. Seriously, how do you not want to jump his bones?? ;-P

Preggers!

Ok, so I know this happened months ago but I just wanted to say how much I LOVED being preganant. Seriously, I'd lie if I said I didn't think I was one of the cutest pregnant women ever. I loved my body, my glow, everything about my looks, I've never been more self confident. I mean check out these pics, is this a sexy Momma or what:

Oooh, how very techie!

Hello loves. We (I) decided to go ahead and start a blog so that friends and family can keep up with our little adventures and of course, the happenings of our bestest little man Julian since unfortunately, we don't all live near each other. 


I'll be honest, we don't really have adventures, but maybe having a blog will force us too, one can hope right? Maybe some weekend roadtrips in our future? YES PLEASE!!! 


Anywho, I hope to keep this up fairly regularly, hope you all enjoy. 

Peace, Love and Chicken Grease dear friends!