Saturday, October 23, 2010

Sears Kidvantage Club

Posted by Unknown at 7:26 AM 1 comments
I'm not a frequent shopper of Sears. Especially for clothing. However, my aunt purchased a few pairs of jeans for Yaya from there. They came with a tag that said "Kidvantage Club" which explains if your child wears out the pants before they grow out of them that Sears will replace them for free.


Kidvantage club is Free




What is the Sears Kidvantage Club. As explained on the website:



  1. It's easy, you can sign up at the register at the store (so buying the above jeans is not auto enrollement)
  2. For every $100 spent on kids or infant clothing or shoes you receive a %15 off coupon for infants or childrens clothing
  3. The Wear Out Warranty If your infant or child wears out the clothing or shoes before the child grows out of them Sears will replace it FREE (only available in brick and mortar locations)
So at first thought I was thinking What a great idea! I should buy more clothing at Sears! 


Robeez look a likes offered at Sears
But then, I seriously thought about it. How many items has my daughter worn out of before outgrowing it?...
I thought and thought. I don't think she has worn through any one item yet, even at three years of age. Except maybe a few pairs of socks. Even her soft Hello Kitty slippers look practically brand new. In fact, I have several bags of infant-toddler clothing in bags she outgrew that are still in almost brand new condition (some of which were handed down to me from other moms)

In all honesty, this is beginning to seem like a marketing ploy.

Unless you're talking about an age where your child is at a growing standstill or they have a favorite pair of  pajamas I don't ever see a situation where they might actually wear through something. It might be a good idea for sports-wear clothing/sneakers for your child, or other situations where they are particularly rough on items of clothing, but otherwise. 

I'd like your input, what do you think of Sears Wear Out Warranty?

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

How Long to Breastfeed

Posted by Unknown at 7:50 AM 7 comments
My story on breastfeeding encompassed over 2 long years. I originally had only planned to nurse Yaya for 2 months...
Breast Mother

I do advocate breastfeeding whenever possible. However, I'm really not one of those people who will haggle anyone about it. What you choose, whatever works for you and you baby, is best. Number one importance is keeping your sanity and not feeling guilty about one decision or the other!

My story started long before Yaya was born. Originally I figured I'd "give it a try" and breast feed her. I soon realized I would have less of a choice about it then most people. Our funds became so limited, and formula is well... Expensive!

Breast feeding accessories are ALSO very expensive. Friends and family were more willing to gift physically usable items like nursing pillows, nursing covers, bottles, then say, gift tubs of formula. Which makes sense, usually once a family picks a brand of formula that works for them, they stick to it. More-so than all that my insurance was willing to gift me a top of the line Medela pump IF I breastfed the first 6 weeks. I made a promise to breastfeed for 2 months exclusively, then to do combined feeding with formula and pumped only milk.

Fast forward to after all the wonderful, sweaty, painful birth stuff.

Here she was, the most frail creature I'd ever seen still covered in birth snot. They placed the 17" long baby on me and cleaned her up after, thinking I'd like to hold this wet smelly thing (I was still quite exhausted, adrenaline still pumping, and I was kind of surprised). I shot a look around the room like are you sure this is mine? When I looked back her eyes met mine and suddenly like hitting a brick wall at 90mph I burst out crying quite loudly. I was not sad, I was overwhelmed with sudden emotions. Fear, Happiness, and most of all absolute pure undeniable LOVE. Love like I'd never felt before. 

The rest of the story  of how hard it REALLY was I shall speak of later on. It is quite long, and quite a struggle.

After she hit one year old people began asking when we were going to stop nursing. It's not like we hadn't tried over the months. She refused bottles all together. She hated formula. The lovely $300+ breast pump from my insurance company sat barely touched... It took me 12 hours to pump 4oz of milk. We saved frozen milk for emergencies only.

Now she was old enough for cow's milk and I was beginning to feel like a cow. I didn't realize this wasn't the end of it. She, of course, was not a fan of actual cow's milk...

Warning: Boobs are for food.
Another year passed. I definitely was a cow now, only a skinny cow. I lost most of my pregnancy weight. My breasts went from a C cup pre pregnancy, to over a DD-DDD after 5-6 months of nursing, to maybe a B-C cup.

My daughter was on mostly solids and finally willing to drink cow's milk during the daytime. She only breast fed for comfort, especially before bed. It still ruined any intimacy my fiancĂ© might have with my chest. I was still producing breastmilk, obviously. 

Most of the family was not supportive, but they had long given up. They instead made jabs at me and my daughter. Which only hurt both of us emotionally. I did have supporters, I knew many people who breastfed until their children were 4 or 5, but this was getting out of hand for me. I didn't WANT to breastfeed that long, I already felt it had gone too far.

We tried a lot of things. Eventually using bitter items on my nipples to avert her tastes. I told her Mommy's breast milk had gone sour. It worked quite well, along with wearing many layers of clothing to bed to make it hard for her to sneak on while I slept. It was an easy break for me, not so for her. 

Eventually, after several weeks she got the picture. Not that she didn't still attempt occasionally for months. However, now my breasts were dry and tiny. Barely filling in an A cup (this changed again  several months later). It took time, but I began feeling like I missed it. Our special time together. I knew, that despite missing breastfeeding, I did the right thing for us.

I won't lie, it still took a long long time before I'd let my fiancĂ© even think about touching my breasts again. It felt too weird for a long time. He was sort of upset I didn't feel the disconnect from food source to sexiness right away. However, he still gave me the time I needed to feel less like a cow and more like a "wife" again.

So how long is too long? Really... only you can answer that for yourself. If you decide to do extended breastfeeding, more power to you! I'd highly suggest being prepared for the ups and downs. Also, the fact that everyone has input, you can't make everyone happy. Some will think you've done it too long, others too short. If you're pregnant, don't set a timeline in stone either. Things never work out as planned with motherhood!

 Just listen to your heart.

Only you know what is best for you, and your baby.

 

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